The iPhone 16 Camera Control Button will make your photos worse.
To put it simply, pressing the physical camera control button versus tapping the shutter button on-screen makes it more likely that you will end up with a blurry photo.
Oh, the irony!
Especially if you one-hand your phone to take photos, you will definitely get blurrier photos since the force you put on the button will make your phone shake.
Apple was touting that they will update the button later this year with the ability to half-press the button to focus and a full press to take the photo.
This is even worse because your camera already does a really good job of focusing on your subject. If you really need to fine tune your focus point, the touch screen is the only way to select a focal point accurately and quickly.
I do love the button for quickly launching the app, but that's it. It will come in handy in emergency situations where you really need to grab a photo or video. For that it is invaluable since the button works every time. You can essentially start taking photos and videos even if you are blindfolded.
There is one limitation with video recording. After launching the camera, you have to press and hold the button for video recordings. When you let go of the button, the recording stops. A simple update should fix that to allow the recording to continue after letting go of the button.
Does Apple’s clear case with MagSafe turn yellow over time?
My wife has had the iPhone MagSafe clear case installed on her Gold 12 Pro Max since December 2020, and after over 3.5 years, I was surprised by what happened to the transparency of the case.
Jet Black Apple Watch Genius Bar Appointment - part 2
I made it to the Apple Store, and told them what was wrong with the Jet Black watch. Gave them the full spiel.
The Genius was very sympathetic to my (minor) frustration, but he said that since it looks like cosmetic damage, Apple won’t cover that minor flaw. Since it has been out of the 14 day return period, I can’t just do a return and get out of the situation.
I was not happy with that answer, and explained to the Genius that if I had smacked the watch at that spot where the “rugged” Jet Black coating rubbed off, the screen would have cracked or scratched since it is right at the junction between glass and metal. I told them that it is a manufacturing defect.
It was out of the Genius’ hands, and even his manager had the same thing to say once again (roughly quoting:)
“If it is out of the 14 day period, we can’t return it and you would have to file a claim. From what I’ve seen in the past, the repair depot will just look at it and consider it cosmetic damage and you will get the same watch returned back to you. Since we don’t know for a fact what happened to the watch, we have to assume customer error.”
My next step is to try and call Apple directly and try to explain it to them on the phone. The Genius said it is more likely they will replace the watch as a manufacturer defect when you call them since in-person store interactions are more cut and dry, and there is less leeway to make exceptions.
Stay tuned.
Jet Black Apple Watch durability 28 days later - part 1
It’s been 28 days since I have been wearing the Jet Black Series 10 Apple Watch, and I am impressed with its durability, except for one minor flaw that I would call a manufacturing defect.
We’ll get to that part at the end.
Part of this past month involved me taking the watch on an international 10-day trip and purposefully leaving my Stainless Steel Series 9 at home so I would have no choice but to always wear the Jet Black.
There were some moments where I did smack the watch in the shower, or on a wall just maneuvering through the hotel room, but thankfully the Jet Black finish is still flawless.
I tried to find scratches today under the harshest light that I have, but I could not find any.
The fact that I needed harsh light to even look for scratches tells you something.
It looks like Apple has improved their manufacturing technique for the Jet Black finish when compared to the iPhone 7. Even if there were scratches, the rounded nature of the watch hides them well since every curve of the watch reflects light and masks any scratches that might be there.
The only flat surface with a jet black finish on this watch is the digital crown capacitive sensor, and even that was scratch free.
I even looked at the grooves where the bands are inserted, and those edges and corners were still flawless.
Now don’t take this the wrong way. This material is aluminum after all.
If you were to put your watch through more extreme situations such as an auto mechanic who is constantly rubbing and bumping against metal parts and concrete floors, or if you are just doing some basic hiking and trip and fall and the watch smacks the ground hard, you will probably scratch the jet black finish. Normal day to day bumps won’t harm your watch, but extreme cases will.
I know when my Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus hit the floor on the corner (many years ago), the corner got scuffed and you could see regular aluminum through it. I don’t think most people need to worry about the watch taking such a tumble since most people hopefully aren’t falling down that hard.
Near the end of my watch examination, I did notice…
How to reduce Motion Sickness while using your iPhone.
Great write-up by Ryan Christoffel at 9to5Mac. I’m not normally the passenger when in a vehicle, but when I am, I do get motion sickness and have to put my phone down.
I will have to try this one day, but I’m sure it will work just as advertised:
Vehicle Motion Cues is a new accessibility feature in iOS and iPadOS 18. You can activate it by opening Settings ⇾ Accessibility ⇾ Motion, or with a Control Center toggle.
When adding the Control Center toggle, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom under “Vision Accessibility,” to add the toggle. Here is what the toggle looks like in small and big form.
Does the iPhone’s Battery Charging Limit Really Preserve Battery Health?
Your iPhone’s battery is a consumable product, one that degrades a little bit each day. The rate of degradation can vary depending on a lot of factors:
Ambient temperature.
Method of charging.
Power hungry apps you run on your phone.
In other words, heat is the biggest culprit for both battery life and battery health. The more you can avoid it, the longer and healthier your battery will be. It will be able to perform at a high level for a longer period of time, not causing your iPhone to slow down or to shut down.
I have had my iPhone 15 Pro Max for exactly one year set to the 80% charging limit and I wanted to explain my battery health results.
My battery charging habits
I charge my iPhone 90-95% of the time wirelessly with MagSafe or Qi2 charging, and 5-10% of the time via a USB-C cable. Note that I only used Qi2 wireless charging, which includes magnets that mimic MagSafe. Both bedrooms that I use for charging are pretty cold and stay around 70-77 degrees year long. It is mainly at work when I use wired charging, also in a room hovering around 70 degrees. The last 2 weeks I was traveling overseas, so I resorted strictly to wired charging.
My battery settings
From the very beginning I had set my iPhone to an 80% battery charging limit, which means the phone stops charging at 80%. Occasionally the phone does charge to 100% on its own to recalibrate the capacity, but those special days were few and far in between. I was fine with 80% charge most of the time and never really ran out of juice. I have another MagSafe charger in our kitchen area, so I would always get a battery boost whenever I needed it.
My phone habits
My iPhone habits are pretty typical, consisting mainly of social media browsing, Safari, Camera, YouTube, email, PocketCasts, etc. I don’t game much at all on my iPhone, and when I do I play very basic games that don’t really tax the phone and cause it to dim or overheat (thank you Crossy Road and Alto’s Odyssey!). I also use the flashlight, A LOT.
I’m also like many people who sometimes just unlocks their iPhone for no real reason, only to lock it back again. ADHD is alive and well.
I have auto-brightness disabled almost all the time and tend to keep the brightness higher than what Apple would recommend. The Always-On display is also a favorite feature of mine that I use, with the wallpaper and notifications active.
I did run developer and public betas on my iPhone all year long.
Final Battery Health and Conclusion
With all these parameters in mind, I was still able to achieve a 99% battery health, with 296 cycle counts. I attribute most of that success to the 80% charge limit. Juli Clover from MacRumors also tried this experiment and got 94% battery health with 294 cycles. Other MacRumors staff members who did not have their battery charge set to 80% had the following results:
Current capacity: 87%. Cycles: 329
Current capacity: 90%. Cycles: 271
I am just one test subject, but based on what I have seen, limiting your battery charging limit can definitely preserve your battery for many years to come. Good charging habits are also key in keeping the battery health at its maximum by using wired charging and efficient wireless solutions such as MagSafe and Qi2 charging.
How to get USB-C charging on your old AirPods
Filipe Espósito from 9to5Mac:
Engineer Ken Pillonel has developed a simple but great accessory: a case for AirPods that have a charging case with a Lightning port. But rather than being a mere protective case, Pillonel’s invention comes with a USB-C port, so that owners of older AirPods can simply “upgrade” their charging case.
Essentially, the case created by Pillonel has a built-in Lightning to USB-C adapter. All users need to do is put their original AirPods case inside the USB-C case. Then, when you connect a USB-C cable to the protective case, it will transmit power to the AirPods case inside.
Apple sells a USB-C charging case for the second generation AirPods Pro, so that those who own the Lightning version can upgrade without having to buy new earbuds. However, the case alone costs $99. Pillonel’s solution costs around $40 and is available not only for AirPods Pro 2, but also for AirPods 1, 2 and 3 and the original AirPods Pro.
Not a bad idea if you just want to go full on USB-C. Plus they're made in Switzerland. I really like how the engineer was trying to avoid any litigation from Apple by cleverly disguising the name AirPods into 41rP0d$.
Don’t buy a new MacBook right now..
Rajesh Pandey from Cult of Mac:
In the latest Power On edition, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman claims Apple will release its new M4-powered Macs on November 1. These include a new low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 chip and high-end versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro featuring M4 Pro and Max.
M4 iMac and a revamped Mac mini with a smaller design should also launch on November 1. A new iPad mini with a faster chip will supposedly debut alongside the M4 Macs.
Gurman reports that Apple will release iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence support on October 28. So, the company might officially unveil its new Macs on the same day, presumably via a press release.
The M4 MacBook Pros are not unsurprising, but what I’m really interested to see is what Apple will do with the new desktops. If we are getting an all new design for the Mac mini, then surely we should be getting new USB-C accessories?
Apple’s Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad all still charge via lightning, and that is just not acceptable anymore in 2024.
Just wait till they announce these Macs before buying one now. You can either get the latest and greatest hardware that will last longer, or you can score an even better deal when the M3 hardware goes on deep discounts.
iPhone 15 Pro charging limit - one year experiment comparison
Juli Clover from MacRumors talks about her one-year long experiment keeping the iPhone 15 Pro Max at an 80% charging limit:
My iPhone 15 Pro Max battery level is currently at 94 percent with 299 cycles. For a lot of 2024, my battery level stayed above 97 percent, but it started dropping more rapidly over the last couple of months.
I left my iPhone at that 80 percent limit and at no point turned the setting off or tweaked it. There were some days when I ran out of battery because I was without a charger for most of the day, and there were other times that I had to bring a battery along to make sure I didn't run out of power. It wasn't always convenient to keep it at 80 percent, but there were days when it didn't have too much of an impact.
She used a 70/30 split between wired charging and MagSafe, and I used a 10/90 split between wired charging and MagSafe.
I went all MagSafe once the iPhones 12 were released.
Let’s compare her results to her other colleagues who did not use any charging limit:
Juli - Current capacity: 94%. Cycles: 299
Person 2 - Current capacity: 87%. Cycles: 329
Person 3 - Current capacity: 90%. Cycles: 271
There isn’t a huge difference in battery health, but here’s another crucial point that she brings up…
It's possible that the real gains from an 80 percent limit will come in two or three years rather than a single year, and I'll keep it limited to 80 percent to see the longer term impact.
I think this is where limiting the charging limit will really shine. Most people aren’t serial upgraders like ourselves who get the new phone every year or max every 2 years, but they will use their phone for 4 or 5 years.
These normal people will be able to maximize the performance of their iPhones, and they are the type of people who aren’t power users and won’t mind an 80% charge limit.
More power to them, literally.
As for my battery health? My first use date is October 9, 2023, and so far I have 285 cycles with a drumroll…
99% battery health as of today.
I’m not sure why mine is still at 99% especially when I predominantly use MagSafe charging, but I think Apple’s wireless charging protocols are very sophisticated. I’m sure that if I had just used a regular Qi charger, I would have closer to 90% in battery health due to the extra heat.
One thing to note. Many sites advertise their battery health when reselling iPhones, and many buyers ask about battery health as well. It is something that more people are becoming aware of (as they should because who wants to buy a dud iPhone that shuts off after a few hours?)
iFixit hot-wires the iPhone 16 battery (updated).
Great write-up and explanation of how the battery gets replaced in the new iPhone 16 lineup. Love the microscope images.
I recently replaced the battery in my original iPhone SE, and it was a pain to get those pull tabs out. I had to significantly bend the battery just to dislodge it at one point since the pull tabs were so fragile, and I had to tell my curious kids to back away since I didn’t know if the battery would explode.
The new method on the iPhone 16 lineup would have saved me at least an hour, plus the anxiety of potentially damaging my phone. Be careful though because if you reverse the polarity, then all the residue stays on the phone instead of the battery:
The reverse polarity did have an effect: when we reverse-zapped a new phone, the zap released the battery, but the adhesive residue stuck to the frame instead of the battery. Before that, a positive zap consistently left the residue on the battery. If you’re trying this at home, be sure to get the polarity right so you have less residue to clean up on the frame!
Jet Black Apple Watch with link bracelet hands on: Luxury at a discount.
I really was not planning on buying a Series 10, as I already own a Series 9 in stainless steel. The color was a surprise announcement at the Apple event, and I couldn’t help myself and just had to get one. A bonus at work hit at the right time as well, so I took the plunge.
How to swipe between watch faces on Apple Watch.
I can’t believe Apple doesn’t make this ON by default, but there is a simple way to swipe left and right between Apple Watch faces.
Got a new iPhone? Here is the one battery setting you need to fix now.
Your iPhone battery is a consumable item, just like any other battery. The more you take care of it, the longer it will last, and the better your performance will be.
What is the most effective thing you can do to improve your battery health?
Apple Watch Series 10’s greatest feature is extremely limited.
Hiding your apps in iOS 18 is a new feature that everyone will find useful, for better or for worse. The crazy thing is, when you want to actually find those apps, it can drive you nuts trying to figure out where they actually went.
How to find your hidden apps in iOS 18.
Hiding your apps in iOS 18 is a new feature that everyone will find useful, for better or for worse. The crazy thing is, when you want to actually find those apps, it can drive you nuts trying to figure out where they actually went.
Your high tech car is probably spying on you.
If you’re buying a modern vehicle, there is a very high chance that your driving is being monitored. You might now know it, but all your driving metrics such as speed, location, and how fast and what angle you’re turning are all being recorded by your vehicle. All this data is then being saved into the car’s computer, and sent wirelessly to the manufacturer.
The manufacturer could then use these driving metrics to do investigations for warranty claims, and they can deny your warranty since they think you might be a dangerous driver.
Could they also be working with insurance companies and furnishing them with this information, to determine if the customer violated their insurance policies by driving dangerously?
Untitled Folder Wallet: 1 year review
I bought the Untitled folder back in June 2023, and I have used it as my daily driver wallet for over a year now. How has it held up overall?