Blue – MacRyu – The Worst Mac Blog in Singapore, and Some Say the World

The AirPods Max (Sky Blue) – Unboxing and a Short Review

June 20, 2021June 19, 2021 by Ryu

I know this is way past the AirPods Max’s launch period, but I was not able to have access to one until very recently. I have been testing it heavily for more than a week already, and I can not find anything bad about it (other than the price, which obviously is going to be higher than the flimsy plasticky headphones that the tech community are familiar with).

It is way more comfortable than all the full size headphones I have, the sound quality is great, and most importantly spatial audio and the transparency mode is way beyond what the competition can offer.

No doubt that it will be an expensive purchase, even with the recent discounts, but the AirPods Max will be well worth your money, especially in a year when most have all the time at home to enjoy the Max.

Comfort

I tend to have problems with wearing full size headphones. The cushion headbands on those put pressure on the top of my head andI will feel a dull pain on my head after wearing headphones for a hour or so. Not so with the AirPods Max. The mash headband does not feel like it is there at all, even after two or more hours. Normal headphones’ ear pads usually puts pressure on the side of my ears and makes my ears feel like they are suffocating, the fabric earpads on the Max for some reason do not do the same, my ears feel like they can breath.

Sound Quality

Way better than both the Bose QuietComfort 25 and 35 (Bose headphones have terrible sound), and the Sony XM3s (I have not tested the XM4s, but I have heard that the sound is similar). Some reviewers prefer a punchier and more “exciting” sound (that the Sonys provide by its default sound signature), and thus rated the Max’s sound as not as good. However, if you use an iOS device, you can use the headphone accommodations settings to tune to sound into something similar to the Sonys, I recommend the “Slight – Brightness” setting.

Headphone Accomodations

You can access the headphone accommodations setting in Settings > Accessibility > AirPods>AirPods Max (or the name of your AirPods) > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations > Custom Audio Setup.

Cons

The aluminium ear cups are so nice and they feel like they can be accidentally scratched if you were not paying attention. You will likely need to buy covers for them to feel at ease. Also there is simply no way to have a pure analog input into the AirPods Max, even with the Apple 30USD cable. If you want to use this with your high-end DAC it is a no go.

Unboxing

Here are the unboxing pictures.

A Blast from the Past – Apple Smart Case for iPad Air (Blue) [MF050ZM/A]

April 5, 2021 by Ryu

One upon a time, Apple made accessories for its iPhone and iPad lines, as a small sideline to complement device sales. As such, most of the earlier offerings were limited to smaller ranges of color choices, unlike the big range of offerings every season of todayâ€™s Apple.

The leather covers always feel much better than the silicon ones

This leather back is something you won’t find on Apple’s iPad accessories anymore

Since the iPad 2, the iPad had always have the Smart Cover accessory, a magnetic display cover that triggers the sleep wake function every time you undo the flap. When the iPad Air (and iPad Mini) was released, Apple introduced an all-in-one solution for the iPad – the iPad Smart Case. It covers the display as well as protect the body of the iPad, and is made of leather. People either loved the iPad Smart Case, hated its high price and weakness against the elements (since it is leather).

The microfibre lined inside

The insides of both the cover and the body are color matched

With the introduction of the iPad Pro, Apple stopped making all-in-one iPad protection. It replaced the Smart Case with the â€œSilicon Caseâ€, which was really just a silicon back cover intended to be used with a separate Smart Cover. This increased the cost of total protection from 119 SGD for the iPad Smart Case to 99 SGD for the Silicon Case, and an additional 75 SGD for the Smart Case. Furthermore, despite paying over 50 SGD more, the Smart Cover+Silicon Case combination is made from silicon instead of premium leather, and is a lot heavier than the Smart Case.

The Silicon Case did not find any lovers, as most iPad owners opt to buy third party back covers that are more rigid and cost way less. Apple eventually discontinued the Silicon Case as well.

The antenna area

“iPad Smart Case”

The iPad Smart Case I have here is for the original iPad Air (the very one I bought on its launch day when iStudio tried to scam Apple fans who queued up through the night by forcing bundles on them if they want the iPads). It is officially in â€œBlueâ€, though the actual shade of blue is closer to todayâ€™s Northern Blue than Blue Gen 1 and Blue Gen 2 (from the Apple Watch bands). Unfortunately I had to discard the packaging as it was dirty (it lived in a warehouse for half a decade or more), and forgot to take photos of it. Nevertheless the Smart Case is spotlessly clean.

The iPad Air meant to go inside this case is still housed within a ESR case, and in the possession of my parents. I will retrieve it someday.

Apple Watch Series 6 (PRODUCT)RED Aluminum and Blue Aluminum Unboxings

November 3, 2020November 3, 2020 by Ryu

Thanks to a friend, I am able to do the PRODUCT(RED) unboxing. The blue watch I had purchased when the watch was first announced, but subsequently returned when the bundled band did not fit into the watch’s slots.

The PRODUCT(RED) Series 6

The Blue Series 6

The blue watch is very dark

I first unboxed it in a indoor environment with only artificial lighting available, and at first sight I did not like it. In most less than idea lighting, you will not be able to tell the Blue watch from the Space Grey watch. The shade of blue on the watch looks pretty nice if you are in strong, bright lighting, but for most other situations, the blue watch is going to look very understated. If that is what you are going for, the blue watch is worth considering. However, I went to the Apple Store to take a look at the PRODUCT(RED) watch when it was just out, and the blue just looked really dull next to the bright and shiny thing that is the PRODUCT(RED) watch, even in Apple Store lighting.

Band pairing is an art

Unlike the relatively safe colours out for the Apple Watch so far, the blue and PRODUCT(RED) watches will NOT look nice when paired with certain watch band colours. If you made a bad pairing, everyone is going to know that you have no taste. However, for those who are either band savvy or just plan to use the bundled band, you are going to be just fine.

Nah.

Public Service Announcement regarding the geniune Apple Sport Bands this year

…and especially this season. I was first made aware of this issue when the bundled Deep Navy sport band did not fit into my blue Series 6, and I had to return the watch. After much discussions with fellow genuine ‘Apple Watch Band masketeers’ online, we discovered that the quality control of the sport bands are extremely lacking this year, especially for the bands announced with the Series 6 and SE. The two main complaints are either the band is too thin and can not lock into place when slot into the watch, or the band is too thick and cannot even fit into the slots in the first place. There are cases where only one or two (out of three) of the sport band parts in the box have this issue, so for now the advice is to buy directly from Apple where you get the choice of returning or a direct swap (within 14 days from purchase) if you find such issues. If you buy in store and try it on there and then, you can get an immediate swap if the bands do not fit.

Cannot afford a new Apple Watch this year? Dying to find out if your Apple Watch Series 2, 1 and 0 can pair with iOS 14 phones? Find out..

Which iPhone 12 to Buy? Top Features to Consider and Price Differences (in Singapore Dollars)

October 30, 2020 by Ryu

Thanks to 2020 and the weird release schedules of the various iPhone 12 models this year, many potential buyers are likely still undecided on which iPhone 12 version to buy. With preorders for the two most interesting models (iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max) coming up in exactly one week’s time from the time of this posting, have you decided which iPhone 12 you want? Are you confused by the number of models this year and the difference in features between each model? Fret not, I have prepared a two-step solution to your first world problems.

1. Select the color of your iPhone 12 series

All available colors of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini.

All available colors of the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max (Pardon the lighting).

2. Select the storage capacity of your iPhone 12 series

I have prepared two sets of data, one for the 128GB models and one for the 256GB models (512GB models are $330 more). Look at the respective charts for the features of each model and their price differences. 64GB is not listed because it is frankly speaking, too little storage. As the file sizes of iOS and apps grow in the future, you will likely regret saving that little bit of money now. Besides, if your budget can only afford you the 64GB models, you do not need the following information in the first place.

All prices are in Singapore Dollars (SGD).

The 128GB Models

Model	Top Features	Body	128GB $(SGD)
iPhone 12 mini (5.4-inch display)	Mini size Pocketable Cute	Glossy Back Matte Sides (aluminium)	$1219
iPhone 12 (6.1-inch display)	Standard Model Same accessories as 12 Pro	Glossy Back Matte Sides (aluminium)	$1369 (+$150)
iPhone 12 Pro (6.1-inch display)	Premium Feel LiDAR ProRAW Telephoto lens(2X)	Matte Back Glossy Sides (stainless steel)	$1649 (+$280)
iPhone 12 Pro Max (6.7-inch display)	Premium Feel LiDAR ProRAW Biggest screen Longer Telephoto(2.5x) Better Main Sensor	Matte Back Glossy Sides (stainless steel)	$1799 (+$150)

The 256GB Models

Model	Top Features	Body	256GB $(SGD)
iPhone 12 mini (5.4-inch display)	Mini size Pocketable Cute	Glossy Back Matte Sides (aluminium)	$1389
iPhone 12 (6.1-inch display)	Standard Model Same accessories as 12 Pro	Glossy Back Matte Sides (aluminium)	$1539 (+$150)
iPhone 12 Pro (6.1-inch display)	Premium Feel LiDAR ProRAW Telephoto lens(2X) 512GB Option(+$330)	Matte Back Glossy Sides (stainless steel)	$1819 (+$280)
iPhone 12 Pro Max (6.1-inch display)	Premium Feel LiDAR ProRAW Biggest screen Longer Telephoto(2.5x) Better Main Sensor 512GB Option(+$330)	Matte Back Glossy Sides (stainless steel)	$1969 (+$150)

So, which iPhone 12 will you buy?