iPhone 6s and other Apple announcements today

canderson

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Granted I am coming from a 5 (which had a newish battery) but yesterday I plugged it in at 42 percent and had 6:13 of usage and 15:45 of standby. 
 

derekson

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Granted I didn't use my phone much yesterday (or so far today) but I'm still amazed at the battery life:
 
 

wibi

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My wife picked up her 6S on Sunday and this was her final screen shot before the phone died.
 
 

mt8thsw9th

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I have the 6S and my battery life is only a touch better than the 5S, but I am using it quite a bit. I'm honestly convinced at this point that I have an aura that causes batteries to drain at a rate twice what other people's batteries drain, so I've just come to deal with it. I really haven't had great battery life on any phone since iOS 4.
 

NortheasternPJ

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mt8thsw9th said:
I have the 6S and my battery life is only a touch better than the 5S, but I am using it quite a bit. I'm honestly convinced at this point that I have an aura that causes batteries to drain at a rate twice what other people's batteries drain, so I've just come to deal with it. I really haven't had great battery life on any phone since iOS 4.
 
have you gone through turning off background location access etc? 
 

mt8thsw9th

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I had in the past, but just noticed a handful of more apps that were "always on" for no good reason. Hopefully that's a start.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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Related to my post upthread about Amazon Instant Video on Apple TV, Bloomberg reports this today.
 
Amazon.com Inc. will stop selling media-streaming devices from Google Inc. and Apple Inc. that aren’t easily compatible with its video service, the latest example of the company using its clout to promote products that fit with its own retailing strategy.
 
The Seattle-based Web retailer sent an e-mail to its marketplace sellers that it will stop selling the Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast since those devices don’t "interact well" with Prime Video. No new listings for the products will be allowed and posting of existing inventory will be removed Oct. 29, Amazon said. Prime Video doesn’t run easily on its rival’s hardware.
 
A couple of years ago, Coke products disappeared from Costco when Costco and Coke couldn't find a mutually acceptable price. They came back soon enough. I'm hoping this is resolved soon with Amazon Instant Video on Apple TV.
 

derekson

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3D Touch on the keyboard for text selection is such a massive usability improvement.
 

canderson

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Is anyone having alarm issues? When my alarm goes off I can't snooze it from the screen without first touching the screen or unlocking it. When I do this it turns the entire alarm off and isn't snoozing it. My 5 had the snooze / alarm stuff lit up when it went off without touching the phone. 
 

Spelunker

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Hriniak] Related to [url="http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/91122-iphone-6s-and-other-apple-announcements-today/page-4#entry6220131 said:
my post upthread[/url] about Amazon Instant Video on Apple TV, Bloomberg reports this today.
 
 
A couple of years ago, Coke products disappeared from Costco when Costco and Coke couldn't find a mutually acceptable price. They came back soon enough. I'm hoping this is resolved soon with Amazon Instant Video on Apple TV.
Which is hilarious because the reality is the exact opposite. Amazon apps on Android are tragically terrible because Amazon wants to push their own stuff. The hoops you have to jump through to get Prime Video running on your phone are silly, and then it doesn't work with Chromecast.

I somehow doubt that's Google's fault.
 

derekson

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canderson said:
Is anyone having alarm issues? When my alarm goes off I can't snooze it from the screen without first touching the screen or unlocking it. When I do this it turns the entire alarm off and isn't snoozing it. My 5 had the snooze / alarm stuff lit up when it went off without touching the phone. 
Was the phone face down? Notifications no longer light up the screen when the phone is face down or in a pocket.
 

canderson

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derekson said:
Was the phone face down? Notifications no longer light up the screen when the phone is face down or in a pocket.
Nope, face up on my nightstand. I grabbed it to hit snooze and screen was off. 
 

bschase2

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Question.

I have an 5c. The battery is not good, and I need a new phone. Here's my decision. I really don't want the larger size that began with the 6. It just seems to big for what I do with the phone. Given that, I'm not sure which phone to get.

Part of me wants to just get the 5s. It's the right size, and outside of the battery, the 5c has been fine. But, my general rule for technology is never to buy old. The 5 is two generations old. Is it a bad idea to buy a phone this old? iOS 10 will be out before I can get another.

And, along those lines, if it is too old, should I avoid a 6 for the same reason? I'd like to save money, but I also don't want to live with and old, slow phone wanting to upgrade because it will cost me even more to get a new phone early.

Which then leads me to the 6s. I don't see anything that is a must have for me, but it is the newest phone. Might I be angry to not have this stuff in 12 months?

I'm giving up on figuring this out on my own. I need help. The stress is killing me. Thoughts?
 

bohous

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Yes, the 5s is too old. Go for a 6. You will not only get used to the size but I'm sure you will ultimately really appreciate it. 
 

canderson

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Yeah a week into my 6S coming from my 5, the 5 looks tiiiiiiiiny now. Crazy how much nicer the larger but not fabric size is.

I fixed my alarm issue, just needed a manual reboot I guess.
 

rodderick

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bschase2 said:
Question.

I have an 5c. The battery is not good, and I need a new phone. Here's my decision. I really don't want the larger size that began with the 6. It just seems to big for what I do with the phone. Given that, I'm not sure which phone to get.

Part of me wants to just get the 5s. It's the right size, and outside of the battery, the 5c has been fine. But, my general rule for technology is never to buy old. The 5 is two generations old. Is it a bad idea to buy a phone this old? iOS 10 will be out before I can get another.

And, along those lines, if it is too old, should I avoid a 6 for the same reason? I'd like to save money, but I also don't want to live with and old, slow phone wanting to upgrade because it will cost me even more to get a new phone early.

Which then leads me to the 6s. I don't see anything that is a must have for me, but it is the newest phone. Might I be angry to not have this stuff in 12 months?

I'm giving up on figuring this out on my own. I need help. The stress is killing me. Thoughts?
Every single person I know that was really adamant about having a smaller phone eventually gave in and learned to love a bigger screen. It might not happen with you, but don't assume that because you believe a 4.5+ inch screen is too big now that you won't get used to it in the future.

Unless you've had a big phone before and really didn't like it, I'm pretty comfortable in saying the size won't bother you in the least with the 6S (which in the current climate is a small flagship phone).
 

Murderer's Crow

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rodderick said:
Every single person I know that was really adamant about having a smaller phone eventually gave in and learned to love a bigger screen. It might not happen with you, but don't assume that because you believe a 4.5+ inch screen is too big now that you won't get used to it in the future.

Unless you've had a big phone before and really didn't like it, I'm pretty comfortable in saying the size won't bother you in the least with the 6S (which in the current climate is a small flagship phone).
It wasn't about the screen size as much as it was about the size of the phone and how to hold it. Apple made a larger screen with an amazing body that's easy and comfortable to hold. There are a lot of 4.7 inch phones that feel worse than the Note in your hand (or there was).
 

wibi

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Anyone having a notification issue where they just wont go away without a hard reboot?  Only seeing it on emails so far
 

derekson

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My brother is the only person I know who is so adamant about using a small phone that he won't even test drive a 6S during the return period to see how he likes it. Last time I talked to him he was talking about replacing his 16 GB 5S with a 32 GB 5S. I think he's nuts personally, but in his 30s he's becoming like my father in hating change of any kind.
 

wibi

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So I broke down and picked up a 6s+ 64GB over the weekend and Im only upset that I didnt do it the weekend before with my wife. 
 
Missing a couple of little things from the android I had but I'm sure I can figure those out
 

wibi

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The things Im looking to do are more Android customizations that I got used to having on my old phone.
 
1) Have the alarm show in the "today" screen without having to use the Today or Tomorrow's events to do it.
2) Have the screen turn on when the alarm goes off.  I sleep in a very dark room (gotta love blackout curtains) and have been struggling to find my phone when the alarm goes off since the screen doesnt light up
3) Text from my windows based computer (ie MightySMS for android)
 
None of these are deal breakers as I love this new phone but stuff I had gotten used to since moving to Android 3 years ago
 

jaba

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wibi said:
The things Im looking to do are more Android customizations that I got used to having on my old phone.
 
1) Have the alarm show in the "today" screen without having to use the Today or Tomorrow's events to do it.
2) Have the screen turn on when the alarm goes off.  I sleep in a very dark room (gotta love blackout curtains) and have been struggling to find my phone when the alarm goes off since the screen doesnt light up
3) Text from my windows based computer (ie MightySMS for android)
 
None of these are deal breakers as I love this new phone but stuff I had gotten used to since moving to Android 3 years ago
 
Let me know how the transition goes. I decided to make the leap from Android (2103 Moto X) as my work pays for an iPhone and the Moto had become painfully slow.
 

singaporesoxfan

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I switched my personal phone from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 6S on AT&T and love it. My work phone is a 5S on Verizon and I get to upgrade that in a month or so. I'm debating which network to use (we get to choose from AT&T / Verizon / Sprint / T-Mobile). My main bugbears from the Verizon experience so far have been:
  1. A really annoying tendency to get stuck at 1x reception. Most notably when I come out of my office car park, which has terrible reception, my phone will be stuck at 1x. Unless I turn on and off airplane mode it takes forever to switch to LTE, even in an area I know has good LTE reception. This essentially means GPS and map-based apps don't work. Frankly, I prefer AT&T just saying "no service" until it gets a decent enough signal.
  2. The inability to make calls and check the Internet at the same time without wi-fi. I end up using my personal phone's data plan for work purposes too often.
  3. Not great reception in my house; AT&T had the same issue but AT&T sent me a free Microcell which has made reception much better
I know people love Verizon, but the only thing that I can see as a reason not to switch to AT&T is the ability to watch NFL games from my phone. I'd like to keep that but it's not worth the hassle of the problems above. Have people experienced similar frustrations with older Verizon phones that went away when they got the 6 or 6S? Or should I just switch?
 

HriniakPosterChild

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singaporesoxfan said:
  Not great reception in my house; AT&T had the same issue but AT&T sent me a free Microcell which has made reception much better
 
Do you have an old-fashioned landline? If not, how do you call the cable company to complain when your Internet goes out? For that matter, how do you call anyone when your Internet goes out.
 
(I was offered the microcell when I found I could get no reception via AT&T with my first iPhone. I was underwhelmed.)
 

B H Kim

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wibi said:
The things Im looking to do are more Android customizations that I got used to having on my old phone.
 
1) Have the alarm show in the "today" screen without having to use the Today or Tomorrow's events to do it.
2) Have the screen turn on when the alarm goes off.  I sleep in a very dark room (gotta love blackout curtains) and have been struggling to find my phone when the alarm goes off since the screen doesnt light up
3) Text from my windows based computer (ie MightySMS for android)
 
None of these are deal breakers as I love this new phone but stuff I had gotten used to since moving to Android 3 years ago
I use the Red Clock app. I like it a lot better than the stock alarm and the screen lights up when the alarm goes off.

EDIT: I just took a look at the App Store reviews for the latest version of the app and there are a lot of complaints about alarms not working under iOS 9 (although I've been using it consistently since upgrading and haven't had any issues).
 

mt8thsw9th

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Yeah, the sleep tracking app I used to use (Smart Alarm) doesn't really work with iOS 9 anymore. Another one I had (which lost out to Smart Alarm long ago) does, Sleep Bot. It appears to be a common issue with alarm apps.
 

singaporesoxfan

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HriniakPosterChild said:
 
Do you have an old-fashioned landline? If not, how do you call the cable company to complain when your Internet goes out? For that matter, how do you call anyone when your Internet goes out.
 
(I was offered the microcell when I found I could get no reception via AT&T with my first iPhone. I was underwhelmed.)
 
No landline. Reception is not great but not so terrible that I'm reliant on the microcell and can't call a cable company to complain - at worst I'll have to walk to the bottom of my driveway to make calls.
 
Also, I have FIOS, and so far in half a year here and 2 years in Philly I've never had FIOS go out. (As opposed to once-every-3-months in DC.)
 

derekson

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It seems like my 6S Plus does a better job of falling back to 4G (HSPA+) than my 6 did. In particular I'd run into this issue on deeper parts of the T (especially Porter Square to Alewife) where I'd lose LTE signal and I wouldn't get any connectivity on the 6 while the 6S+ quickly connects to the fallback network and connectivity is uninterrupted.

Perhaps it's better baseband firmware or something. I know the old phone was capable of getting the 4G signal but I'd have to turn off LTE data and force it to do so most of the time in this specific location.
 

jtn46

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If my contract ends tomorrow (the 29th) do I go in tomorrow or on the 30th to get a new phone? If I backup my 5S to my computer, anything I need to make sure of for the 6S? Pretty sure it went fine when I upgraded to the 5S that way, but this is the first time I'll probably be trading in the phone I have for a new one.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Just goes to show what an amazing company Apple is
Joking aside, these are the things that are driving me nuts about Apple lately. The attention to detail is lacking for stuff like this. I get they need to make approximately a billion iPhones a year and not everyone can get one on release day but how do you release the iPad Pro and not have the pencil and keyboards ready??

It's not like they have to make a hundred million iPad Pros. They should have this figured out, especially with Capt. Supply Chain Tim Cook at the helm.
 

derekson

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From what I'm seeing now, it looks like there was a small stock of Apple Pencils available at release but they went so quickly they got pushed back to December. Looks like yield issues or a massive miscalculation of demand.
 

derekson

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How are folks liking the iPad pro?
I really wish that I could justify buying one. I played around with one in the Apple Store and I think it's absolutely amazing. I was surpised to find that the keyboard cover is actually sturdy enough to use as a laptop (as in using it in your actual lap rather than having to set it up on a table like the Surface). The keyboard also feels really great for a cloth keyboard. I was able to type almost as fast as I can on my MBP while I played with it without even taking any time to adjust to it.
 

VORP Speed

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It's a big iPad. Seems fast, Microsoft office is great on it, movies look nice. Talk to me in a month when the pencil and keyboard actually arrive.
 

Traut

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It's a big iPad. Seems fast, Microsoft office is great on it, movies look nice. Talk to me in a month when the pencil and keyboard actually arrive.
What do you use for a cover while you wait for a keyboard?
 

VORP Speed

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I have it in an old laptop sleeve for now. It's pretty ridiculous. Honestly, I would wait to get it until the accessories are available. I only pulled the trigger because I needed it for some travel over Thanksgiving week.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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From what I'm seeing now, it looks like there was a small stock of Apple Pencils available at release but they went so quickly they got pushed back to December. Looks like yield issues or a massive miscalculation of demand.
I've never been convinced that the inability to get something Apple releases without waiting for a "second batch" or the histrionics of waiting in line/staying up until 3 AM to order online, etc, is anything more than a marketing ploy. Create a buzz and it helps sales. There's a lot of smart fucking people working there and their products have been around long enough and last through enough generations that there is literally no excuse for not having supply meet demand on launch. It's not like little children in Africa are going to be toting around unsold Apple products like an old tshirt for a team that lost in the Super Bowl.

I say this as a complete Apple zombie, mind you, but I've at least been able to shift my calendars enough that I'm not drooling on release day for stuff because I know it will always be a hassle. It's part of their ploy.
 

Murderer's Crow

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It might be about buzz but there is a lot of analysis in retail that goes into impulse buyers and how they think. The impulse to buy now vs the risk of buying later when something might not be available weighs very heavily in online buyers' minds. Couple that with a "cancel at any time and return within 14 days" and it's a recipe for manipulation of supply.

That being said, I think it's very expected at this point and if something is in full stock at launch, it might put a halt on purchases for a lot of people.
 

the1andonly3003

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Not great reception in my house; AT&T had the same issue but AT&T sent me a free Microcell which has made reception much better
(I was offered the microcell when I found I could get no reception via AT&T with my first iPhone. I was underwhelmed.)
how did you guys get AT&T to give you a Microcell for free? they tried to charge me $200 the last time I called them complaining of coverage inside my home