Singapore

Apple Silicon Macs are Not Available to Buy in Singapore Just Yet

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This is not the first time IMDA has cause a delay in the purchasing of Macs in Singapore. Every time there is a significant change in the Mac’s innards or when something surprise drops (like the AirPods Pro), they are never available to order at the same time as the other countries. And this is definitely not Apple’s fault.

Now I have no idea of the process it takes to certify wireless devices locally, but I cannot imagine that the process is much longer in Singapore than in other bigger, more advanced countries. And I hate to wait.

If you know someone working in IMDA, or if you yourself are from IMDA, and are involved in the process, can you let me know? DM me on Twitter, email, or anything. I will read your email, delete it and pretend that I have no recollection of your existence or identity.

Also, I will love to hear from anyone interested in purchasing one of the three Macs Apple updated with Apple Silicon earlier today. Is the MacBook Air the must buy? Or will a Mac Mini as a supplementary desktop to test out Apple Silicon make more sense to you? I personally will not advise anyone to go for the 13 inch MacBook Pro since rumors are that an updated display (14 inch) is on the horizon. M1 (not the shitty telco) is so exciting.

Edit: The MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro are now available to order at 10am, 12th November. For some reason the Mac mini is still not available yet.

5G in Singapore with the iPhone 12 / Pro / mini / Max

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Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.38.50 PM

Now that you have decided which iPhone 12 you will purchase (or have already purchased one), the next thing that you are likely concerned about is the network service, for one of the headlining features of the iPhone 12 series is after all, 5G.

Sub-6GHz 5G in Singapore

All current iPhone 12 models that are not produced for the American market do not support mmWave, only sub–6GHz. In Singapore, the three main telcos, Singtel, M1 and Starhub (M1 and Starhub bidded as a joint entity) have won the two licenses available to build the nationwide 3.6GHz 5G network, and so it is likely that anyone looking for 5G services locally right now should expect that only the Big Three will offer it, for now at least.

If your main network is a MVNO (like mine is), please forget about 5G for the time being.

5G coverage, according to M1, Starhub and Singtel (accurate on 31st Oct 2020)

Here is M1’s coverage map.

Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.21.47 PM

Here is Starhub’s coverage map.

Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.24.03 PM

It covers the following locations;

Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.36.35 PM

And finally, here is Singtel’s coverage map.

Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.25.35 PMAreas in grey will only be live by March 2021

How much does 5G cost in Singapore?

Both Starhub and Singtel appears to only allow you access to 5G if you sign up for one of their postpaid plans that include 5G specifically, with all the shackles of traditional mobile plans.

Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.27.48 PM
Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.29.58 PM

M1 is the only telco locally that seem to allow you to purchase 5G as a “booster pack” to their SIM-only plans with pricing structures similar to those of the local MVNOs.

Screenshot 2020-10-31 at 8.32.15 PM

Will you be going 5G? Or will you wait until the technology matures?

Which iPhone 12 Should You Buy?

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Apple_announce-iphone12pro_10132020

Writing this after the 6.1 inches 12 and 12 Pro preorder day is over sounds counterproductive, but despite recent reports of Apple’s own predictions of which iPhone 12 will sell well, for the bulk of people who are likely to be early buyers, the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max are more likely to be the preferred models.

Coming from a Singaporean perspective, the easy answer here is to buy either the 128GB or the 256GB models of the 12 Pro Max, with the rational that since you are already spending upwards of 1.5K for most of the regular sized models, the Max at 1.8/1.9K is not that far off price wise, not to mention that the Max is spec-wise, the best iPhone 12 in the whole line-up with its improved camera sensor.

What about the regular 12 and 12 mini then? The mini’s price points this year is exactly the same as that of last year’s iPhone 11, and simply put, if you are unwilling to spend the kind of money needed to buy a Pro iPhone, the ambiguous prices for the regular 12 ($1369 for 128GB, $1539 for 256GB) and the kind of tradeoffs (no zoom lens, aluminum frame, less ram, no ProRAW) versus the Pro make the regular 12 the phone NOT to buy if you are looking for the best cost-performance ratio.

The mini, however, is quite a bit cheaper than the Pro Max for the same capacities (mini at $1219 for 128GB vs Max at $1799 for 128GB), has the highest PPI screen, and the added benefit of fitting the one hand use of people who refused to add a bunker ring to the back of their phone cases. With the allure of the MagSafe charger and accessories this year (making it hard to add a bunker ring if you want to use them), a small phone is very attractive. If you do not want to spend Pro Max money, and want to use your iPhone with MagSafe, and have no problem with the smaller screen, the mini is your iPhone 12 of choice.

Lastly, the regular Pro is really only for people who absolutely refused to buy the Max, for the price difference is only $150 but you get the better sensor, you get the longer range zoom lens, and you get a bigger display for what you will spend for lunch for three people in a stationary Airbus A380.

All prices in Singapore dollars

iPhone 7? Maybe not

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For all it is worth, early rumors of the next iPhone are showing something different about Apple’s strategy this time round – iPhone 7 might be the iPhone 6ss.

Nothing says more about a new iPhone being “new” than a need to buy a new case for it.

Right now the rumors are;

  1. Same industrial design (aka phone body shape and size) with the exception of redesigned antenna lines

  2. Dual-lens cameras on a brand new iPhone Pro, which will be the higher spec-ed model of a iPhone 7 Plus

  3. Will underwhelm. LOL.

Kind of a bummer.

Well, it is not like real iOS people are going to jump ship to Android all of a sudden, and the random customers who do will eventually come back when a nicer iPhone comes around in a few years’ time, so no big deal I guess.

Apple Watch Prices in Singapore

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These are the official Apple Watch prices. All prices are in Singapore dollars. As previously revealed, prices are off from the rumored ones by $40 to $50.

Apple Watch Sport

38mm – $518
42mm – $598

Apple Watch (Stainless Steel)

i. Stainless Steel Case with White/Black Sport Band

38mm – S$798
42mm – S$878

ii. Stainless Steel Case with Milanese Loop/Classic Buckle/Leather Loop (42mm only)

38mm – S$948
42mm – S$1018

iii. Stainless Steel Case with Modern Buckle (38mm only)

38mm – S$1088

iv. Stainless Steel case with Link Braclet

38mm – $1388
42mm – $1458

v. Space Black Stainless Steel case with Link Braclet

38mm – $1528
42mm – $1598

Wondering which watch to buy?

Here is my review of the Apple Watch after wearing it for two months.

Rumored pricing for Apple Watch in Singapore

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Apple Watch Sports

38mm – S$478
42mm – S$548

Apple Watch (Stainless Steel)

i. Stainless Steel Case with White/Black Sport Band

38mm – S$758
42mm – S$828

ii. Stainless Steel Case with Milanese Loop/Classic Buckle/Leather Loop (42mm only)

38mm – S$898
42mm – S$968

iii. Stainless Steel Case with Modern Buckle (38mm only)

38mm – S$1038

Update: The rumored prices are off by a margin of around 40SGD.

Apple Watch locally will be available from S$518 for the cheapest 38mm Sport model to S$1,528 for the Apple Watch Space Black Link Bracelet.

Which Apple Watch to buy – Sport or Stainless Steel?

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This is not a article on whether you should buy a Apple Watch or not – there are already plenty of those.

This is about the difference between the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) and the Apple Watch Sport, and if the difference is worth the extra money.

Note: When I talk about the “Apple Watch”, I am referring to the stainless steel model. The Apple Watch Sport will be the “Apple Watch Sport” or just simply the “Sport”.

I am not going to talk about the Edition. If you are in the market for a gold watch, you should just get the Edition. Otherwise, for the rest of us mere mortals, our only choices are the Apple Watch Sport, and the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel).

Having had a stainless steel model (with Black Sports Band) since the launch day in April, and having prolonged exposure to the Space Grey Sport model (as my brother has one), it is obvious to me the difference between the two, and you slowly get to appreciate the benefits of each model.

The reflective look of the polished stainless steel body gives the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) a much more refined look

The stainless steel body of the Apple Watch gives it a refined, polished high-end look, not unsimilar to many of the expensive watches out there, even with the cheapest black or white sports band.

On the other hand, the silver aluminium models make the Sport models look like Swatches (which is not a bad thing in itself), and have a obvious sports-look that may not be as presentable at formal events or in certain lines of work.

The Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) has heft

The heft of the Apple Watch compared to the (comparatively) weightlessness of the Sport actually gives it a better feel, especially if you are the type who prefers watches with decent heft, like many chronograph models. That said, if you are the kind of person to be bothered by a heavy piece of metal weighing you down throughout the day, the Sport will suit you better.

Sapphire > Ion Glass

The difference of the Sapphire cover “glass” on the Apple Watch can actually be felt, and it really is indestructible. Several knocks on the sapphire cover glass have produced zero scratches, while according to the rest of the Internet, the Ion Glass cover glass on the Sport, while strong (same glass as the iPhone 6), is still prone to scratches.

However, the Stainless Steel body of the Apple Watch is more prone to scratching than 7000-series aluminium used in the body of the Sport. If you are interested in purchasing a silicon cover/protector for your Apple Watch/Sport’s body, there have been reports of millions of micro-scratches on the stainless steel models resulting from the trapped dust rubbing against the stainless steel body, so these silicon covers will work better on the Sport models than the stainless steel ones.

That said, it is relatively enough to buff the scratches out on stainless steel, as watch repairers have done for as long as stainless steel have been used to make watches.

With the exception of the Sport bands and the Leather Loop, all other bands are fit to look right only with the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel)

As the lugs for bands like the Classic Buckle and the Milanese Loop are stainless steel, they will look most right on the stainless steel models as compared to the Sport models, even though there are no physical restrictions to swapping stainless steel lug-equiped bands onto the Sport, they just look better on the stainless steel body of the Apple Watch.

Then of course there are the niceties like the nicer jewellery case that comes with the stainless steel models, as well as the metallic magnetic charger as opposed to the plastic ones that comes with the Sport models, all of these makes having the Apple Watch (Stainless Steel) a slightly nicer experience as compared with the less-expensive Sport. (But with the Sport you get to save quite a bit of money!)

Of course, the Sport models are no slouch, and they function exactly the same (even though the internal construction of the Sport models and the stainless steel models are different, thanks to the dismantling pics from ifixit) with no difference in capacities and speed compared to the more expensive stainless steel models.

Besides, like many others on the various apple forums who have regretted their original purchases and decided to upgrade to stainless steel models, so long you purchased the Apple Watch from the Apple Online Store, there is a 14-day return policy which you can make use of to swap to a model that you prefer. Of course there’s the enhanced wait for the replacement, but it beats getting stuck with the remorse of buying the less than perfect model.

You can take a look at the (pretty amateur-ly done) unboxing video that I have done here.

Regarding the Apple Watch – Before the Apple Event

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I have been physically writing down drafts of blog posts on premium paper lately due to a newfound interest in fountain pens and the respective inks, and as dumb as that sound I thoroughly enjoy the process of writing after a multi-year hiatus from physical writing (I graduated from Media Studies “Communications and New Media” in NUS). However I do not share the same enthusiasm when putting those blog posts to Byword, so most of the content remain in my trusty notebook, with some of them already expired (as events happened and stuff gets introduced). But I thought I will at least get this out before the event next Monday, so here goes my Apple Watch rumbling.

Regarding the prices of the Watch, the speculation is rife (on every single tech blog and news outlet) on the Edition models being ridiculously expensive and starting at 10000usd, after factoring in the price of the raw gold in the watch body.

I say 4999usd for the cheapest Edition model, and 14999usd for the gold link bracelet model.

What obviously is more important but less speculated on is the starting price of the stainless steel models, as well as the price of probably the most popular model with tech geeks – the Apple Watch with stainless steel link bracelet.

499usd for the stainless steel model with sport band, and 999usd for the link bracelet model.

I want the Apple Watch Stainless Steel model (42mm), with link bracelet, in regular steel/silver finish. The Space Grey finish looks absolutely sweet on paper, but as I am interested in getting spare straps/bands for the Watch I am not so sure the silver Milanese loop will look nice on the Space Grey model.

The Sport models might be cheap, but like any iPhone owner I know how Aluminum looks when knocked against a hard surface, and unlike a phone, the possibility of a watched getting banged up through daily use is way way higher.

I own several Seikos and Casios, and I know how well steel watches stand up to abuse, especially if they have sapphire cover glasses.

Seriously speaking, as I really want the link bracelet model myself, I really hope that it will end up being cheaper than 999usd, but 999usd is absolutely the limit on how much I will spend on a watch. If the link bracelet model ends up being more than 999usd, I might possibly skip the stainless steel models all together and get a Sport model instead, since it is a first generation model and first generation Apple stuff is never flawless.

The naming of the various Apple Watch lines is also weird, with the cheapest “Sport “models and the most expensive 18K gold models getting the “Edition” name, but the stainless steel models being called just regular “Apple Watch”. It is obvious Apple wants the stainless steel models to be the regular line, but just calling it “Apple Watch” will confuse consumers who are less than well-informed on the differences between the three lines besides pricing.

I fully expect Apple to correct that oversight by suddenly calling the stainless steel line by another name during next Monday’s event, be it “Apple Watch Steel” or “Apple Watch Premium”.

Details about battery life have leaked out in the last few days, and I fully expect all the leaks to be accurate – be it the 5-hour on high use or the power reserve mode, charging is essentially going to be a daily thing.

What I am more interested in will be the kind of portable charging solutions announced, or if there will be any of them.

It is pretty normal to be charging your iPhone with mobile power packs connected to Lightning cables these days, and cables are very portable and relatively affordable.

The Apple Watch, with its magnetic charging, and the cable with its charging plate, does not really look very portable, nor affordable enough to purchase separately from the Watch to use while you are on the go. And it will be a pain to carry two cables when you are out. I wonder if there will be a Lightning to Watch magnetic charging adapter for sale.

Availability is another question. Since the telcos that are involved in iPhone, and to a lesser extent, iPad distribution during the various launches, will Apple with its distribution channels be able to launch in the same set of countries as they do for iPhone launches? It is however unlikely that the Watch will be sold in the same ridiculous numbers of the iPhone, as demand for a new category of products is always likely to be lower than one for a mature popular product line, so the stress on the distribution channels will be much lesser than typical iPhone launches.

In this case, if the distribution of the Watch follows the same channels as Singapore will most likely be in the first wave of countries the Watch will launch in, to simplify the logistics involved by shipping Apple Watch through the same channels. And that will be great news. For I will really really want to have an Apple Watch on Launch Day.

Unlike the iPhone and the iPad, there are many who are not convinced of the utility of the Apple Watch, some of whom are long term Apple fans. I wish all of these people will not be swayed by the event to preorder the Watch for Launch Day – I do not want to fight with others for the chance to have my Apple Watch the very first second they go on sale.

Oh please let it be April already. Cannot wait. Argh.

MI (Multimedia Integrated) Closes Down

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Recently I was in Funan for lunch and noticed something slightly different when I walked past Gamescore.

MI (Multimedia Integrated) closed down.

A quick check to its website revealed this;

with a QQ number to facilitate the possible sale of its domain name to Xiaomi, since anyone searching for Xiaomi Singapore is likely to go to www.mi.com.sg instead of Xiaomi’s www.mi.com/sg domain.

In the old days, MI was one of the big boys in the local Apple retail scene, together with iShop and Epicentre. Epicentre became a big shot, and we all knew what happened to iShop.

Seems like with Apple favoring only retailers with big capital these days (nuBox and Epi) and the skyrocketing local rent, sheer “legacy” is no longer enough to keep certain retail stores alive.

I did not know anyone in MI even in the past, but it is still sad to see another part of local Apple legacy go.