iPad

iPad mini 6 Purple Unboxing and Thoughts

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It is finally here!

The iPad mini has been Air-ified and now justifies its place as an mini version of the iPad Air, above the standard cheap iPad (SE?), with the redesign to a home button-less face and a Touch ID power button.

One major difference the iPad mini 6 has is the screen aspect ratio is now 3:2, and is surprising very usable, especially in split screen mode when the screen is that small. You will not find the UI too cramp to use iPad multitasking on, and the same cannot be said for the previous iPad minis.

Obviously I have to get the iPad mini in PURPLE. This is absolutely the BEST color any iPad has ever came in, since the 2011 introduction.

It is extremely hard to portray the actual shade of purple in digital photos, but I tried my best. Here are the photos.

iPad Mini 6 Purple

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iPad mini 6 Purple

iPad mini 6 Purple

Last Minute Apple Christmas Presents for your Loved Ones (Singapore 2020 Version)

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It’s less than three days from Christmas! Have you already prepared presents for your loved ones? Or have you totally forgotten that 2020 is near its end?

If your loved one/s are big Apple or iPhones fans, and you have already made up your mind to gift them an Apple this Thursday night or Friday, you will need to act fast.

It is unlikely that deliveries will make it in time, so your best bet is buying from the three Apple Stores locally. However, due to COVID-19 you can no longer just walk into any Apple Store without an appointment, so the way to go is to purchase online and do an in-store pickup.

For your wife/girlfriend/secret girlfriends who needs a phone upgrade

The iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 12 Pro Max

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I have previously detailed why I think these two models are the ones to check out. Even as reports are coming in that initial sales of the 12 mini are lackluster, you will likely know what size of phone your loved one needs. The 12 mini is small and cute, and light on your wallet. The 12 Pro Max, the favorite for Singaporeans who can never get enough of the best things, is an investment but one that is worthy for your loved one.

Stock Status:
The iPhone 12 and 12 mini are in stock in almost every capacity in each of the three Apple Stores.

The 12 Pro, however, are mostly out of stock with the exception of the 512GB models. The 256 models are in stock only at Apple Orchard.

The 12 Pro Max is fully in stock in every color and capacity with the exception of 128GB Silver being unavailable at Apple MBS.

Girlfriend or kid with an old laptop

M1 MacBook Air

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Now, if your kid or girlfriend has a old-as-hell laptop, it is likely time to get them the best laptop the computing industry has ever witnessed in three decades – the M1 MacBook Air.

Stock Status:
The space grey models are completely out of stock, with only sporadic availability for the gold and silver models. I personally prefer the gold, but you will know if the recipient is not a gold kind of person if you are spending this kind of money on time. Do act fast if you are intending to buy the MacBook Air. Like right now.

Friend, Fling or you are just broke

AirPods or Beats (selected models)

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If you are buying something for someone you just met, or you are simply too broke to afford anything more, the Apple and Beats’ range of earphones are a good idea. However, you can almost always get them at a cheaper price elsewhere, so buying directly from Apple may not be the best idea. Maybe a promise that they will get their present when it arrives in Singapore will suffice for Christmas Eve.

These are the ones to go for: AirPods, AirPods Pro, Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro and the Beats Flex. The Beats Flex you can buy from Apple since they are unlikely to be cheaper elsewhere for now. For the Powerbeats and Powerbeats Pro, take note that they may not fit every ear.

Loved one who does not need a new computer

iPad Air

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If your loved one seldom uses the computer at home, or already has a new-ish computer, the new iPad Air may be your answer. However, due to their popularity, you are unlikely to find many models in stock locally.

Stock Status:
Only the Sky Blue 64GB wifi models are in stock at one or two of the Apple Stores (Jewel and MBS), and Rose Gold 256GB wifi at MBS. Maybe hitting up resellers is a better choice if you want an iPad Air by Friday.

For almost everyone

The Apple Watch

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Finally, i think the Apple product that is best suited as a Christmas Present is the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch is one of the Apple items that may not be in every iPhone user’s hands yet, maybe because they do not want to fork out the cash to test something they have no experience with, or they simply do not have the habit of wearing watches for them to fork out the extra cash. Gifting the Apple Watch, will open these people’s minds to the idea of having an accessory that does things that they do not expect their iPhones to do, or even features that they think they needed before.

The Apple Watch spans such a huge range of prices that they literally fit everyone’s budget. You can gift a kid an affordable Series 3, or gift your wife an expensive Hermes Apple Watch. The Edition and Stainless Steel models are practically jewellery. The SE is a good gift for your parents to track their health, and the Series 6 is good for anyone who wants to be at the forefront of Apple tech. Unless the recipient is a watch snob, or someone who always have scratched watches on their wrists, I do not know any iPhone user who will be unhappy to receive one.

Stock Status:
Take note, that the Hermes are hard to find in stock, especially with the wide range of band options. The Apple Watch Edition Titanium models are much easier to find, even though not every band is available everywhere.

All the Series 6 and SE aluminium and stainless steel models are in stock at all stores (not every band is), including the Red and Blue models.

Tip 1: If you are set on buying a Space Grey or Silver Aluminum model, buy the Nike+ ones. They cost exactly the same but have Nike+ model specific watch faces that you cannot get with the normal models. The only catch is that you have to choose from the available Nike+ bands to pair with the watch.

Tip 2: Always use the Apple Watch Studio to find your favourite watch and band pairing instead of just selecting one of the default Apple pairings on their site.

Tip 3: Unless you are absolutely sure of the recipient’s wrist size (even the Apple tool can get it wrong), do not order the Apple Watch with any of the Solo loops. It will be a pain in the arse to get it exchanged as many sizes and colours are in and out of stock all the time. Get the Sport Band or the Sport Loop, or any of the leather options if you want something high class.

What are you waiting for? There is no time to lose. Order on Apple.com today and collect tomorrow.

Online Apple Store is down! 3 hrs 33mins to Apple Event

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According to the rumors, we will see;

  1. Apple Watch Series 6
  2. Apple Watch SE
  3. iPad Air 4
  4. iPad 8
  5. Air Tags
  6. Apple One Service

Can’t wait!

Why I no longer have much to write about Apple

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These days Apple is hitting the news cycle for everything it dabbles in, from watches to a tv subscription service, but I largely stopped writing about Apple because I no long find much to write about.

Yes I can write rumors about the upcoming iPhones, but do you really need to hear them from me? This year’s iPhones are going to be largely the same as last year’s, with some additional feature here or there. Honestly, the whole phone market is just full of iPhones and iPhone clones, and we have reached the point where nothing new can be truly new. Yes, folding phones (with foldable screens) are not “new”, they are an evolution of the folding “productivity” phones of the early 2000s, which never really caught on. I buy iPhone and will continue to buy iPhone because the competition is both shitty and atrocious, and iOS is great, despite its flaws.

But I digress. I find nothing to write about Apple these days because Apple these days is more like Sony twenty years ago, or even Microsoft during their MSN days. There is so much going on because so many people are doing so many things separately at the company, and you can no longer tell what Apple’s “plan” because everything is so diverse. Hell I bet even Tim Cook don’t have a hold on everything that is happening at the company.

Yes I can write about flaws like the recent keyboards with butterfly switches, or highs like iPadOS, but you know, the MacBook Pros always go through one design generation of being slightly shitty, then the next generation being almost flawless, then to another generation of being slightly shitty again, eg. titanium G4 (slightly shitty), aluminum G4/MBP (almost perfect), first unibody MBPs (slightly shitty), Retina MBP (almost perfect) and now we are at the TB3 MBPs (slightly shitty) generation again. So it will likely get better.

iPadOS wise, if you are a serious follower of Apple throughout even just the last decade, it will have been easy to spot how Apple has always been slowly building up iOS on the iPad to this stage, especially since five years ago. The problem these days are people like MKBHD and other well-known youtubers without an actual history of following Apple sprouting fallacies like “Apple is finally giving us this and that..” when really, it was in the works all along. I mean, the guy makes good-looking videos, but that does not mean he is John Siracusa.

Oh you want to talk about Jony Ive leaving? The guy’s a massive asshole. After Steve died he used all his influence to get rid of Scott Forstall and his people, with the excuse of “unifying software and hardware design under the same person”. After Forstall was fired, Ive then reassigned software design and hardware design to two different men, splitting the responsibilities up again. Getting rid of Forstall and his men drove a stake into iOS’s stability that it really never recovered until iOS 12 recently. So yeah, Ive’s gone, so what. I considered him to be capable enough to be in the running to succeed Tim Cook eventually, but apparently he is not interested. So out he goes.

I have no insight on Apple Card, Apple TV+, Apple Music (I still think Eddy Cue’s a bozo) and I generally disagree with everything Apple is doing on the subscription front. But that is a story for another day. Or maybe one I will never write.

Apple’s Accessories Lineup Autumn 2017

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Ever since a few years ago, Apple has been putting massive efforts into their accessories, realizing that accessories are a massive cash cow.
While their iPhone/iPad cases/covers might not offer the best protection, they are definitely some of the most well-made products on the market.

While the iPhone X stole the thunder of the September event, there is also a lot of excitement from Apple Watch owners, especially those who collect Apple’s own first-party watch bands, for this season’s watch band line up look to one of the more interesting ones in recent memory.

I paid a visit to Apple Orchard last week, hoping to check out the Ultra Violet accessories in person and my, they did not disappoint. Apple’s accessories have had a tendency to be offered in muted or less exciting colors, but Ultra Violet was like, “WOW”.

The Apple Silicon cases for the iPhone 7/8 Plus were especially tempting as they offer a lot of Ultra Violet “WOW”ness for less money than the Apple Watch bands ($58 vs $78).

One thing I did not expect was how nice Blue Cobalt actually looked. The color did not look interesting at all on Apple’s site, but in person (and the right lighting) it definitely looks like one of the best blues Apple’s ever offered for their accessories.

Besides the Sports bands, Apple also introduced the Sports Loop into the Apple Watch band lineup. For old timers who remember the very first Casio Baby Gs decades ago, these offered probably the same style/feel. And while they are definitely not as bright or striking like some of the Sport Band colors, they are really comfortable.

The question ultimately is, how many watch bands does one need?

I also managed to check out the two new colors that the Beats X is now offered in (muted silver and muted gold), and while they looked interesting, I have to say I much preferred my blue pair. The old four colors which are now discontinued are being heavily discounted on Amazon and other online outlets from time to time, so it will be a great time to snatch a pair if you do not have one yet!

ExFAT 3: Packing for Travel

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We barely made it for December.

Daniel and I exchanged some tips and information on packing and preparations for travel.

Links to products mentioned in the podcast are as below;

Anker Powerport 5

Anker Powerport 4

Anker Powerport 6

Anker Powerport 10

Anker PowerLine Micro USB (1ft)

[Apple MFi Certified] Anker 1ft / 0.3m Extra Short Tangle-Free Lightning to USB Cable with Ultra Compact Connector Head for iPhone, iPod and iPad

Cowon M2 Media Player

AmazonBasics High-Speed Micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable – 5.9 Feet (1.8 Meters) – Supports Ethernet, 3D, and Audio Return

SIM Ejector tool

And some we forgot to mention;

TP Link TL-WR702N Mini Travel Router

Logitech Keys To Go Ultra Portable Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad

Subscribe to ExFAT in iTunes

Tech Review: The iBLEAH (or at least that’s what the owner calls it)

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Let me make this clear – the object being reviewed is undoubtedly a SOLID PIECE OF CRAP. I am not even going to make excuses for it.

From time to time I get to see seriously weird gadgets, and by that I mean stuff that were made so badly, without any effort or thought going into the design, and probably manufacturing into a single product for sale just to get rid of unwanted, crappy parts that no decent manufacturer wants.

“Shanzai” is the chinese term for imitation products, and is often used in the tech industry to describe knock-off lookalikes of popular tech gadgets like iPhones and iPads made by disgusting Cheena manufacturers. The quality of shanzai items ranges from complete lookalike (which may cost you almost the price of a real one) or a half-fuck knock-off that only slightly resembles the real thing. One common point of all these stanza products? The software, or operating system is always SHITTE. More often than not they run some older version of Android, and since Android is free, any joker can shove Android into their crap shanzai item and call it a tablet. Where else did you think all that Android marketshare came from?

This object I am “reviewing” today, after a lot of careful inspection, seems to be a shanzai Original iPad.

It is truly the finest work of art, with “the greatest of originality and innovation”, or at least that is what Samsung will say about all shameless knockoffs anyway. Samsung’s idea of innovation has always been “look at customers’ designs after accepting manufacturing orders, copies the designs, rejects the orders, make a product based on the customers’ designs, print the Samsung badge on it”. Perfect and flawless strategy.

Specs/Details

Manufacturer: Unknown Cheena Manufacturer
Price: Unknown
Category: Shanzai Wannabe iPad Original
OS: Android 1.6
Display: Unresponsive pressure-based touchscreen, resolution unknown
Chipset/CPU: Unknown
Place of purchase: China

The display is horrible

The extremely low resolution pressure-based touchscreen display is so bad, that I am having difficulty reading smaller elements on the screen. The touchscreen part is so bad that despite frequently pressing and poking, the screen rarely responses to my touch. I guess the display is still enough for displaying low resolution photos. Oh, and the light leakage is DAMN BAD.

Speed. Or the lack of.

In other words, it took me 5 whole minutes to boot the thing up to its home screen. I’m not even sure why it is that slow. Apps open dog slow, and only after frequent pokes of the screen, even scrolling in Android Browser was extremely lagging and unresponsive.

Conclusion

I guess the item’s cheap and all, and will make for an interesting toy for a day or two, but I still cannot understand the logic behind purchasing junk. It doesn’t work, it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t even look like the original iPad enough to fake your tech-idiot friends. Makes for a great paper weight though – the thing is really heavy!

Why iOS 4.3 will bring Mobile Hotspot to the majority of iPhone owners before Android does to its minions

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So I posted a tweeted the other day declaring that the majority of current Android phone owners will never see their phones ever getting the Mobile Hotspot feature despite Android announcing the feature first in Froyo, Android 2.2, which was released in May 2010.

Why did I say that?

It’s very simple. The majority of Android handsets simply do not qualify for Froyo updates, usually because the carrier can’t be bothered or they just want to push sales of their newer handsets that come with Froyo installed, like the hundreds of new handsets slated for release in the next six months in a world when Gingerbread already exists.

Some guy replied to my tweet, stating,”I don’t think that applies to SG. I’ve been able to tether internet access from my HTC Desire for months now.”

Right.

And the majority of Android-using Singaporeans are using the presumably fugly HTC desire as their phone.

That is simply not true.

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On the whole iPad and iPhone losing their physical home buttons rumor….

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This whole rumor was probably triggered by the fact that iOS 4.3 beta 1 for iPad comes with multitouch gesture controls for changing applications (by swiping multiple fingers horizontally, like on the Mac for changing pages), returning to home screen (by the 5-finger pinch), etc. These gestures definitely will be familiar to current Mac users who already have similar multitouch gestures, and will no doubt will work on the big and nice 9.7-inch iPad screen.

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IPad cases review: Fabrix Booklet for iPad

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I have to admit that I was kinda jealous when Lester from lesterchan.net posted that he received a free faux black Fabrix Booklet for simply being a “great supporter”. Thus I was so thrilled when I was presented with a brown “Classic Tan” Fabrix Booklet for review a week or two ago.

Have always been a Fabrix Cases fan since my University days, since they are one of the very few Singaporean companies that make high quality accessories and cases for Apple products (majority of the local ones produce crappy generic China-made cheap stuff that does little to glorify the Apple products that they are used with) and are well-known internationally.

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