Lukewarm Takes on the iPhone 7 Event
Now that I’ve had a day to think about what we saw yesterday from Apple, and have digested (or not) all the hot takes; some thoughts.
First and foremost, I thought it was a pretty solid event. It was almost exactly two hours long, but it didn’t seem long. I thought Apple had a pretty good cadence moving from Apple Music/App Store (shorter) to Apple Watch (longer) to iPhone (longest). The Mario/Miyamoto thing was a legitimate surprise, so that elevates the event right there above the other recent events where we’ve known basically everything that was coming.
The beginning and the end of the event were a bit awkward. The Carpool Karaoke thing was too dad-joke-y for my taste. The Sia performance was almost the opposite — a little too avant-garde for my taste. Also, why was she dressed as an Amazing Technicolor Stanford Tree?
But easily the low-point of the event was when Phil Schiller declared Apple was killing the headphone jack because of “courage.”
Look, I’m 100% on board with removing the headphone jack. And my thoughts on the matter from a few months ago seemed to be largely echoed on stage yesterday. This is about the future. And the future is wireless. Until we fully get there, we have a bridge to the past in the form of a dongle. But it’s not the end of the world. If you want to use your old headphones with the newer iPhones, just leave the dongle attached to them at all times when you carry them around. It adds like an inch in length and presumably no noticable weight. Really, with everything else going on in the world today, we’re going to get all mad about this? Ultimately, who gives a shit? It’s a mild inconvenience. And one that no one will care about in two years when everyone has copied Apple’s move here.
Anyway, having said all that, saying Apple did this because they have “courage” was foolish. We all know what Schiller was trying to say, but it’s just not a good way to say it, at all. Many things require courage — and again, in today’s world, we see examples all the time. Removing the headphone jack didn’t require courage, it required Apple doing what Apple always does: pushing forward towards a future they see as inevitable. In a way, it may have been better for Schiller to say “it takes balls.” While perhaps it would have been taken as mildly sexist, at least it would have been funny. Instead, this is a meme that will live on in infamy.
Beyond that, everything Apple showcased looked great.
The Watch
Definitely getting the new Apple Watch. While I’m still not convinced it’s for everyone — or perhaps even most people yet — watchOS 3, which I’ve been beta testing for several weeks now is roughly a 100% improvement on the initial software. I’m not exaggerating. That either means it’s that much better now, or the original software was that poor. I’ll leave it to you to guess which it is.¹
While the Apple Watch is hardly in iPhone or even iPad territory for me, I have worn it every single day since I got it (on day one). And the few times I haven’t had it on (mainly because I had forgotten to charge it the night before), I felt it missing. So yeah, I’ll go ahead and get the second iteration and see how much better it is. GPS and waterproofing are both nice-to-haves for me, but not vital. The improved speed is what I’ll care about the most.
I may even “downgrade” to the aluminum (sorry, a-lew-min-e-um, Sir Jony) because I’m not sure the slightly better materials on the steel version I currently have justify the higher cost.
The Phone
Definitely getting the iPhone 7 Plus — yeah, I know many folks are bummed that the dual-camera isn’t on the smaller 7, but it makes the choice between the two a no-brainer for me. Plus, the Plus still has better battery life.
I’ve never not gotten the latest version of the iPhone and I’ve never regretted that decision. Sure, perhaps my wallet has. But let’s be honest: this is all of our most-used device. Maybe most-used thing, period. To pay some amount of money to upgrade such a device to a faster/better version is always going to be worth it in my book.
The real question for our times: “Jet” Black or “Black” Black?²
The Wireless Earphones
Sure, the AirPods look a little funny right now. But that’s mainly because they look exactly like EarPods with the wires cut off. We’ll get used to them over time. But it will take time, because I don’t expect that many people to shell out $159 for them. Most will wait until they’re included with every iPhone. Maybe the iPhone 8? 9?
Then again, I’m also a person who walks around with a Jawbone Era in their ear most of the time. So I’m 100% ready for this move to wireless by Apple. To that end, I love that you’ll be able to use just one of the AirPods at a time. Perfect if you’re say, listening to Pocket articles, versus music, and don’t necessarily need stereo sound. Or making a phone call.
If people still do that.
I’m also interested in hearing more about the Beats variety of wireless headphones. Fascinating that they’re not only keeping the brand around, but continuing to extend it with new products — ones that compete directly with Apple-branded products now.
The Plumber
I still can’t believe they pulled off the Mario move in secret. Such a master-stroke. The questions that remain include: how long will Super Mario Run be exclusive to iOS? And when is Zelda coming? Also, when is Zelda coming?
But the most interesting element is what was explicitly not said: the price. Miyamoto made the point that they wanted to price the game so that anyone could play all the time without hidden charges — meaning, presumably, in-app payments. But it seems that in-app payments will still be a part of the game…
My initial guess was that they’d charge $10 for Mario. This seems low, but considering that people are having a hard time charging $1 in the App Store these days, it’s perhaps the best case for them. But as I thought more about it, $30 also made some sense. To me, it depends on just how much in-app selling Nintendo intends to do. If it’s very little, they’re leaving a lot of money on the table, so they’ll have to charge more up front.
Also, $30 would send a very definitive message: Nintendo, like Apple, is a premium brand that commands premium prices. (Which they can.)
I’ll split the difference and guess $20. I’m assuming all of this is exactly what Nintendo (with guidance from Apple) is debating right now.
[Update: After reading a few interviews with Miyamoto after the event, I’m going back to my original $10 guess. It’s pretty clear that Nintendo doesn’t view Super Mario Run as a “full” game — meaning, they thought about making it for one of their consoles, but decided it was too simple for that platform. Also, talking to The Verge, Miyamoto talked about “the lack of subscription services or in-app purchases in the game” — so it’s not clear what to believe at this point. But I’m guessing $10 with the possibility of less if they do decide to go with some in-app elements…]
Regardless, awesome to have Mario on iOS. Finally.
¹ It’s a combination of both.
² I’m currently leaning “Jet Black” because it’s so unique. Then again, I’m looking at the screen on my current iPhone, a screen which is also, basically, Jet Black, and it’s fingerprints galore. That may drive me crazy. And you know when even Apple is suggesting a case, it’s an issue.
