Review

The iPhone XS Max review – Same old same old, but the price not so old

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Price

Having purchased my Silver 512GB XS Max for quite a bit lower than the local MSRP, I have to say that this is a worthwhile purchase at the price I bought the phone at. At the local MSRP though, the 512GB Max is probably not a worthy purchase, nor even a reasonable one.

One thing though, for the majority of people the 256GB model will almost definitely be enough for your phone needs, there is no need to pay the additional 400 Singapore dollars or so for the 512GB model.

During the reveal of the iPhone X last year, I was crying foul because the MSRP of the X in Singapore is so much higher than in other countries like Japan and Hong Kong. Apple is price discriminating surely, but nobody seems to mind.

When the rumored 100 USD drop to the pricier XS line did not happen this year, I shuddered at the thought of spending 2349 Singapore dollars on a phone. I knew that I wanted the 512GB, as my previous 256GB phones were chocked full of photos and videos after less than a year of usage, so to me only the storage space of 512GB phone be will enough for my use. The most I ever paid for a portable Mac was around 1.7K (Hi 12” MacBook!), and it almost makes little sense to pay way more for a phone that will likely only last me for a year.

However, in Singapore we have various ways of buying phones that do not directly involve Apple in the sales process. And one of these “ways” worked out quite well for myself. So maybe this is the one time I will tell you not to buy something from Apple directly (either via Apple Orchard or the online store).

Size

The Max is the preferred size of iPhones for me. I had been using the Plus sized phones since the 6s Plus, and the display of the iPhone X last year was simple not wide enough for my use cases. Despite having what seems to be a bigger screen in total area size than the iPhone 8 Plus, the usable area size of the X was definitely more similar to that of the smaller iPhone 8. So the XS Max was a welcomed change.

Battery Life

I don’t know how Consumer Reports was testing the phone, but it does not last longer than my iPhone 8 Plus, frequently unable to last a hectic work day without topping up the charge. However it is likely still going to last longer than the regular XS. iPhones have never had the best battery life in the industry since multitasking become a thing in iOS (and since iPhones don’t trade having a manageable size for more battery life), and it does not bother me so long it lasts most of a day.

So I’ve just repeated what most reviewers said about the phone.

But then this phone is just that – just the exact phone that everyone else is saying it is. It’s a bigger version of last year’s iPhone X. And it is likely to delight anyone who loves the iPhone X last year but thinks that the usable screen estate is too small.

The XR

Unlike most others who used the iPhone XS Max exclusively without any experience of using the XR, I have been using a blue XR (a family member’s phone) since its launch a few weeks ago.

To be honest, there are so many ways that I prefer XR over the Max that I rather use the XR as my main phone if only it had the telephoto lens and 3D Touch. Those are likely the major annoyances on the XR for the majority of power users.

But the XR has a shitty display you say? Not even 1080P you say?

The XR has arguably a better overall display than the XS Max, the colors of photos simply looked more natural on the XR than the XS Max, and while I am not sure how close Android idiots/users look at their phone screen, the XR screen looks as sharp as any other iPhone displays I used. It might not go as bright as the XS Max can, but seriously who uses their phones at full brightness?

Coupled with the fact that you are actually getting the exact same screen estate as the XS Max but in a more usable form factor (without a pop socket or bunker ring) not to mention the great color options (everyday I look at the AWESOME blue body of the XR and then at the boring gold/silver Max, I wonder why anyone pays more for the Max), I have no idea why anyone except the most dedicated iPhone users will buy the Max over the XR (oh yes the regular XS is not even in the consideration, it is not much smaller physically than the XR but shows a lot less information on the screen). Oh, and the battery life of the XR is much better than the Max.

But this is not the iPhone XR review. That is coming later.

In conclusion, I love the 512GB storage tier, the presence of 3D Touch and the telephone lens (but the XR takes better portrait photos, I use the telephoto lens for 2X zoom mainly) about the Max, but nothing much else. I hate the steel antenna bands, for they can scratch to the high hells even with much care, and dislike the weight, unwieldy-ness and the boring colors of the Max/XS. Oh and once again who can forget the high MSRP of the phone? Get it if you buy on contract or get a decent deal on the highest spec models. Miss it if you want to. Either way I don’t care.

Two months with the Apple Watch

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When the watch was first announced to launch in only several countries that excluded Singapore, I was slightly upset but for the first time in many years, I did not feel an absolute need to get the Watch on launch day.

I have owned a Pebble since when they were on Kickstarter, and thanks to the bad customer service and the cheap looking watch body, and the constant need to recharge the watch, I gave up wearing it after a few weeks. I did not know if the Apple Watch will be any different, and the biggest features that was announced like the health related stuff really was not what an obese guy like me wanted in life.

I resigned to my fate and decided to wait for a Singapore launch.

Then somehow I got a chance to purchase some Apple Watches for launch day, and bought a Space Grey Sport and a Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) with Black Sports Band. The Sport I gave to my brother, the nicer one I kept for myself.

And I started wearing the Watch.

At first I would only wear it when I go out of the house, and try to keep the Watch safe if I was going to be in a situation where I would be rough doing work. It was, after all, the first time I own a 800-dollar watch. Then I started wearing it more and more. Even on days when I don’t leave the house. Even when I enter the shower. Sometimes even when I sleep. It just felt natural because the Black Sport Band is so comfortable when you put it on that it hardly feels like a watch on your arm.

It was convenient after all, I could take calls anywhere in the house even when I was away from my iPhone (it works over wifi), I could text friends through dictation, see my emails and decide if they were important or urgent enoguh that I need to get up from the sofa and walk into my room to reply, send my friends stickers over Line, run some Automator-ish workflows from Workflow, and even add reminders to my phone as and when I remember something in any part of my house.

One function that I did not anticipate using much was the heart rate sensor function/Glance. It informed me that I have a high resting heart rate, and I started monitoring my heart rate measurements using the Health app on my iPhone, as the watch will automatically record the measurements and send them to your phone. The Activity Glance, which I did not anticipate that I will even use, turned out to effective enough at forcing me to clear some of the easiest goals set by the app on default, daily.

Notifications. Need I even explain how this can literally be why anyone will purchase a Apple Watch? Fine tuning the kind of notifications you receive on your watch is absolutely necessary, right from the get on. You should only set to receive notifications from important apps and turn off stupid notifications like say, from games or other spammish apps you have on your phone. And it never fails to tap you on your wrist everytime a notification comes in, even if your phone is in your bag, or if you can’t feel the vibration of the phone in your jeans’ pocket.

When you receive a notification, if you mute the watch, no one else will know that a notification came in except for you yourself, for the screen will NOT light up, unless you lift your arm to read the message. Which means that it is not going to affect you in your important meeting when some idiotic friends of yours suddenly started spam messaging you to sob about their sad sad love story. You’ll feel her sadness on your wrist, but no one else will realise that (so long you do not keep lifting your arm to read the messages).

Charging is so simple, you literally just plug in another cable (to a usb charger) next to your iPhone, and when you charge your phone for the night you just charge the watch next to it as well. Battery life does last way more than an average day but unlike the Pebble, there are so many things that you want to do with your watch everyday that charging it daily is not a chore. Not to mention how the shitty charging cable Pebble has keeps falling off the magnetic contacts everytime you lightly touch it – the Apple Watch’s magnetic charging cable fits snugly but does not require much torch to separate it from the watch in the morning.

There are so many things more I can say about this lovely “device” that I put on my wrist everyday – how much easier it is to put on compared to a normal watch band after you get the hang of it, how inconspicuous it is (despite wearing it around for 2 months only three people noticed the watch, and that was because I was playing with it) if you select one with a band that is not the Pink, Blue or Green sport band, so it works well for professional work places as well, etc, etc, etc.

I Will be getting more bands for my Apple watch. Probably the Pink Sport Band since the Sport Bands are so comfortable.

I love my Apple Watch.

First looks at the Google Nexus 7

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Mine came in late last week, thanks to the help of a good friend. Been playing with it all weekend, here are the first thoughts;

1. It’s slightly faster than the Galaxy Nexus on Jelly Bean, but when you have lots of widgets on your home screen or try to do multiple actions at one time, the lag is no joke. So much for Jelly Bean’s Project Butter (edit: It’s pretty fast generally, you can’t see any legginess in the interface so long you don’t push it)

2. It’s supposed to be a tablet, but in reality it’s really a giant Android phone, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Certain apps with tablet interfaces don’t work very well on the small screen, especially due to the crazily short width of the tablet in portrait mode, so apps work way better in “phone mode” (you can choose).

3. It’s pretty light, and I’ll love to bring it everywhere I go, until the iPad Mini (definitely coming out, thanks sources) debuts of course.

4. Build quality is a bit shoddy, I can hear the screen moving every time I touched a certain spot on the screen.

5. Every single bad point about the Android OS remains, such as the ability to do work on it due to the lack of proper apps, fugly app interfaces, irritating country-based restrictions on what you can or cannot buy from them, which means in Singapore you generally get NO CONTENT to buy. No books no music no movies no nothing.

Conclusion: This is just a first look, but I doubt my opinions about it will change. The Nexus 7 is a toy. A toy you can bring along on overseas trips together with your MacBook Air because it’s so small and portable, to watch videos that you torrent off the net because Cathay’s In-Flight Entertainment is a joke. And there’s really nothing bad about it being a toy. I love toys. It’s just not an iPad, and will never be in the next 5 years or so.

iPad cases review: The Artisans Craftsmen’s Case for iPad

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Right now you must be thinking, the Artisans Craftsmen’s case is totally inspired by the DODOcase.

Not like being inspired by what many has termed “the best iPad case in 2010” is a bad thing. The Artisans Craftsmen’s Case attempt to improve upon the original DODOcase in construction and quality.

Nevertheless I will attempt to look at the Artisans Craftsmen’s Case for iPad in its own light, rather than compare it with a product that I have neither own nor have the intend to purchase.

What is the Craftsmen’s Case? The most direct answer is: it turns your iPad into a giant moleskine notebook.

The Craftsmen’s Case is completely handmade, which means on closer look you will never find two completely same cases, a good thing for those who like their iPad accessories to be unique.

The case is designed to turn your iPad into a digital moleskine. There is the usual hardcover (used on hardcover books) and moleskine-like rubber strap on the outside, and in the inside, a wooden spine/frame (that is made from one solid piece of wood, thus increasing its strength, unlike the DODOcase whose wooden parts are made from a few pieces of wood) holds the iPad firmly in the case without the need for any rubber grips that might lose its hold over time. The whole case, including the wooden spine/frame, is hand made locally, as detailed in this video here.

The case is surprisingly light for its size, due to the materials used. It does, however, add considerable thickness to the iPad, despite not adding much weight to it. This is partly because, when the iPad is held in the case by the wooden spine, little or no part of the iPad’s aluminum back is actually touching the hard cover, from what I can tell personally from testing the case. This in theory (I haven’t been using the case long enough to tell if it will actually scratch) prevents the aluminum back from scratching against the hard cover back.


Because of how it is designed, the iPad is actually raised above the bottom cover by the wooden spine/frame, thus prevent the back of the iPad from touching the bottom of the cover for better prevention against scratches

Of course, like any other iPad case, it has its weaknesses. And for this case in particular there are a few.

Firstly, since it’s really made up of mostly paper, glue, and some wood, being waterproof/splashproof is definitely not one of its strengths. Most other cases made with plastic or leather on the market could theorically be a better choice for protection against the elements than the Craftsmen’s case, basically due to the type of materials used in its construction. However, how many iPad cases on the market are as unique as the Craftmen’s Case?

Also, exactly because it’s made with perishable materials, your Craftsmen’s Case will definitely show some wear and tear over time. Not exactly for the kind of owner who expects his iPad and its case to looked untouched for the rest of his life.

Then there’s the price. At over a hundred dollars retail, this case isn’t going to win any best value for money awards.

However, it is clear to everyone who will be interested in the case that it is definitely a premium product, and it is definitely a pretty well made premium product.

If you are the type who loves your moleskine as much as you love your iPad, and want your iPad to “become” a moleskine, the Artisans Craftsmen’s Case should be a perfect fit for you.

If you just want proper protection for your iPad at the lowest possible price, the Craftsman’s Case was never made for you in the first place, and you will be better served by something like Apple’s own iPad case.

For more information and pictures about the Craftmen’s Case, you can check out the Artisans’ website here.