A much needed lazy weekend after a packed week. Clocks have moved back so darkness for the next few months in mornings and late afternoons. Did enjoy a fantastic meal at Ka Pao in Glasgow. Sharing menu is always a favourite…which 3 of us shared instead of 4. Oops.
Apple Upgrades
Upgraded to the iPhone 17 Pro and AirPods Pro 3 in September and that feels enough time to scribble some thoughts down. The iPhone’s move back to aluminium has meant a pop of colour finally in the Pro phones. I love the orange but it will scratch up more…but I always use a case so not a biggie. I don’t mind the camera plateau stretching across the whole phone, but looks more and more like a Pixel. The camera’s upgrades are actually noticeable especially the move from 12 to 48MP for the zoom lens. The x4 instead of x5 delivers a much better photo than the 16 Pro. I’ve compared a few taken from similar spots year and year and it’s a pretty big step. The other noticeable change is the lack of heat – the 16 Pro would feel hot from time to time and I’ve not noticed it once with the 17 Pro. Overall a positive upgrade but lets be honest, its all become pretty incremental.
Not so positive – eSIM’s. The transfer did not go well, ended up with no cellular data/phone/texts for three days as the transfer needed unpicked by EE. Even a visit to the shop didn’t resolve it…but I now have a working old fashioned SIM instead.
The Airpods Pro 3 were an insta purchase when Apple said the noise cancellation was improved. Actual results have been more mixed. The new Pro’s sound better but they fit in the ear differently and I still can’t settle on a proper fit. I either get slightly more outside noise or the tighter fit means they click with every step. The case is also slightly lighter, slightly bigger, feels cheaper and as the battery is less needs to be charged more.
Alongside the new hardware Apple launched iOS, macOS, iPadOS 26. For me this has been one of the worst of the yearly upgrades. Liquid Glass feels unfinished. So many readability issues, so many animation bugs and I hope that the .1’s when the come out address a lot of the problems. Worse is macOS. Liquid Glass is pretty ugly in a number of places but I’ve had so many software problems since upgrading. Safari – redraw issues, every page complaining about memory issues, needing frequent restarts. Spotlight – app searching fine, everything else broken. Can’t find a file, no clipboard history and I’ve tried many of the fixes but for whatever reason it’s broke. Finder – craps out from time to time connecting to a network share. Every thirds or fourth wake from sleep there’s no menu bars, no system menu’s. Need to sleep again or reboot. Couple all that with many graphical glitches, two hard crashes and once when the keyboard just wouldn’t work until a reboot…can’t wait for the first proper update to hopefully address these issues.
A positive is iPadOS. Proper windowing and quite a number of improvements finally mean the software is stepping up to the hardware. Swap out Files for Finder and it would be fantastic.
Always look to chuckle at Windows and BSOD’s and the ugly bugs they’d have throughout their operating systems. Not anymore, the quality of Apple software feels at an all time low especially when you throw in Apple Intelligence and Siri. A real shame as the hardware is streets ahead.
What I Read
- UK designates Apple and Google as having ‘strategic market status,’ opening door for more regulation – good. Bring on alternative AppStore’s and side loading.
- OpenAI acquires Software Applications Incorporated, maker of Sky – Amazed Apple never tried (maybe they did?) to acquire this but as OpenAI were already investors maybe it was out of reach.
- Govan is the secret economic engine of Glasgow. Do locals benefit? – great article showcasing investment around Glasgow but when you see some of the poverty in Govan its hard to say that the whole area is benefiting.
- Why the Shutter Button Matters So Much to Photographers – something a phone or software button will never recreate well. Camera control on the iPhone requires too much pressure to work effectively as a shutter so all it does is launch the Camera app.
- Roc Camera – interesting device, stepping away from computational photography and AI
- Xbox fully surrenders the console wars: ‘Halo is on PlayStation going forward,’ a fact that just doesn’t seem real – Microsoft have been bringing their AAA titles like Forza to PlayStation but announcing a remake of Halo for Xbox, Pc and PlayStation feels like the beginning of the end of Xbox as a console brand. Perhaps the next generation of consoles from Microsoft will also be the last.
- Loving Celebrity Traitors and also cracked through Slow Horses which is good as ever if a little safe/samey. Also (finally) got into Battlefield 6. Such a great return to form after 2042 was such a bust at the start of its life.