Apple Event April 20

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by datostar

I've got a late 2012 iMac, 16GB RAM and Intel i7 quad core processor, which was severely let down by the 5400rpm 1TB HDDwhich just seemed to get slower and slower. Now absolutely transformed and running Catalina perfectly from a 1TB external SSD which is a sight cheaper than a new machine.

I have a 2012 Mini and I was considering going down the external SSD route as well, because I lack the confidence and a sufficiently dust free space to make internal changes... which are you using?

[tomsem]

https://9to5mac.com/2021/03/11/m1-mac-ssd-wear/

The concern may be exaggerated. It would be good to get an independent test, to see what it takes to get to a point of failure.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by tomsem

https://9to5mac.com/2021/03/11/m1-mac-ssd-wear/

The concern may be exaggerated. It would be good to get an independent test, to see what it takes to get to a point of failure.

Exaggerated? Say it ain't so! Of course, it's exaggerated. If it's been out 6 months and people are seeing their SSD drives fail, that's a problem. People saying that maybe it might wear faster than expected, then it's much more likely they are making assumptions based on not understanding the new hardware. If Apple is selling machines whose hard drives fail within 6 months of purchase, they will be replacing those hard drives and they will fix the problem.

[OtinG]

I'm expecting new and/or updated iPad Pro models. Beyond that I have no clue. There is a lot of speculation, but I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. With all the speculation, I’m sure a lot of people will be disappointed if the focus is mostly on new iPad Pros rather than including all the other speculated goodies, but traditionally the spring event has centered around iPad Pros.

I'm definitely waiting for at least the 2nd generation of M1/M1X chips before I even consider a new Mac. The non-M1 Macs are too expensive, and the M1 Macs have the reported SSD issue and they haven't released enough native apps for them yet. I'm currently using a 2012 Mac mini and a 2014 MacBook Pro 15" Retina, both with internal HDD, both with old ports that are really too slow for external SSD drives to be fast enough. The internal HDD is faster than the USB SSD external I bought, way faster. The old MacBook Pro has two Thunderbolt 2 ports, but SSD with them are too expensive. At any rate, I manage to get what I need from my current Macs, so not worth updating until better M1/M1X or later chips are used, and only then after a sufficient number of apps I use have been updated for them. By contrast, my new iPad Air 2020 has very fast file transfer via USB C. But older ports on my old Macs are just too slow...

Since getting my iPad Air 2020 I’ve found myself moving more of my computer tasks to it. With the Logitech folio keyboard case, Logitech Crayon, and a good USB C multiport hub, it is more like a laptop than I thought it would be. But unfortunately iPadOS lacks the ability to really function well as a high enthusiast or professional RAW photo processing platform. Using Photoshop and Lightroom is good for working with a few RAW photos at a time, but so far it has not been useful aligning and stacking dozens to hundreds of images to create the kind of astrophotos I like. That is more of a lack of specialized software than hardware on iPadOS though, and even the macOS is limited to very little software for this. Although I suspect the 3GB RAM on the iPad Air 2020 will be way too small for such processing anyway.

[OtinG]

The only thing that might peak my interest in the spring event would be a new, more user friendly remote for the TV. I'm perfectly happy with my current TV 4K and have no need nor desire to upgrade it, but the remote is nearly useless to me with my arthritis. I can never get that trackpad portion to work correctly, especially while holding the remote. So if Apple comes up with a greatly improved design for the remote, and it is compatible with my current TV 4K, and it doesn't cost a king's ransom, then I might get one. Although my Sony Bravia TV remote via HDMI-CEC does almost everything the TV remote does, so any improvements in the TV remote will have to be significant to get my attention.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by OtinG

... but the remote is nearly useless to me with my arthritis. I can never get that trackpad portion to work correctly, especially while holding the remote.

Same here. I gave up trying to use it within the first week after I discovered that the old remote from my 3rd gen aTV works just fine and that I can manage. I’m not a lover of trackpads in any form.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

The only thing that might peak my interest in the spring event would be a new, more user friendly remote for the TV. I'm perfectly happy with my current TV 4K and have no need nor desire to upgrade it, but the remote is nearly useless to me with my arthritis. I can never get that trackpad portion to work correctly, especially while holding the remote. So if Apple comes up with a greatly improved design for the remote, and it is compatible with my current TV 4K, and it doesn't cost a king's ransom, then I might get one. Although my Sony Bravia TV remote via HDMI-CEC does almost everything the TV remote does, so any improvements in the TV remote will have to be significant to get my attention.

YMMV but a gel case for the remote helped immensely with hold-ability as well as being able to tell which end is which. Like you and the Sony remote I also found a Toshiba IR remote would operate AppleTV for most things. And of course you can use the remote app found in Control Panel on iPhone/iPad.

[datostar]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

I have a 2012 Mini and I was considering going down the external SSD route as well, because I lack the confidence and a sufficiently dust free space to make internal changes... which are you using?

Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB. Comes with USB3 cable and an adapter to use with USB 2 ports (which I have to use and which you will probably need too). Entirely satisfied with it, so much so that I bought a 2nd one to use as a daily-updated clone with Carbon Copy Cloner.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Exaggerated? Say it ain't so! Of course, it's exaggerated. If it's been out 6 months and people are seeing their SSD drives fail, that's a problem. People saying that maybe it might wear faster than expected, then it's much more likely they are making assumptions based on not understanding the new hardware. If Apple is selling machines whose hard drives fail within 6 months of purchase, they will be replacing those hard drives and they will fix the problem.

Yes, all I see is fear mongering about this, without any actual evidence. Apple would surely have done their homework (testing) on this.

[tomsem]

Another reason a new AppleTV must come: support for spatial audio. It seems likely that any future Apple wireless headphones/earbuds will have this feature (currently AirPods Pro and Max only).

[JSWolf]

There is one very important rule when it comes to Apple.

NEVER BUY ANY 1ST GENERATION PRODUCT APPLE RELEASES BECAUSE THERE WILL BE SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH IT.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

YMMV but a gel case for the remote helped immensely with hold-ability as well as being able to tell which end is which. Like you and the Sony remote I also found a Toshiba IR remote would operate AppleTV for most things. And of course you can use the remote app found in Control Panel on iPhone/iPad.

I’ve got a gel case on the TV remote, but it didn’t really help much. That trackpad is demonic and has a mind of its own! Well, at least it is nearly impossible for me to hold it without touching the darn trackpad even when I’m trying to avoid it. I’m a plus 1 for not liking trackpads of any kind, but the TV remote trackpad is really bad.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Yes, all I see is fear mongering about this, without any actual evidence. Apple would surely have done their homework (testing) on this.

I suspect there is not much evidence yet, mostly speculation, although I don’t keep up with the current forums on this matter. The more important reason I will avoid the M1 Macs is their lack of apps written specifically for them. That is a deal killer for me.

I remember buying an HDTV in late 1990s or early 2000s then having to wait years for a decent number of HD shows to be released and movies formatted for it. Nothing ever looked as bad on an HDTV as a letterboxed VGA program with SDTV resolution, except maybe a SDTV resolution 4x3 program stretched out to 16x9. People either looked stretched out or warped along the vertical edges! For some reason, SDTV shows on HDTVs looked horrible. I guess the early HDTVs didn’t do very well at upconverting them. They looked fine on SDTVs but like poop on HDTVs. That is why I waited until a few months ago to upgrade to a 4K TV. There needed to be enough 4K to watch before I was willing to make the leap. And the same goes for the M1 Macs, there need to be enough apps written specifically for them before I’ll upgrade.

[downeaster59]

The speculation I have seen and the reports about Mac SSD's failing prematurely affect some Intel Macs as well as M1 Macs. If this is actually the case, then the SSD failure issue is not tied strictly to the M1. It may be something with the SSD itself, or with some other hardware or software component.

I have an M1 Air. Best Mac I ever had. Rosetta 2, on rare occasions, stumbles initially on a few apps. Overall, though, this is a keeper.

[tomsem]

We’re still on a 42” 720p HDTV. No plans to upgrade.

I don’t have any qualms about Apple Silicon Macs, I just am not in the market for one now. We just bought what will probably prove to be the last Intel iMac Apple produces a few months ago, and I don’t expect to have any reason to replace it for some years. Good thing, too: the Windows box it replaced died completely less than a week after we got the iMac (of a broken heart?).

I would like to have an Apple Silicon Mac, but have yet to invent the requirement for one.