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Tag: iPhone

December 16, 2018

5 Steps to Simplify Your iPhone XS Max Purchase

If you’re feeling a bit paralyzed about your next iPhone purchase, I’ve got a few tips that might help you finally pull out your credit card…

I love my Apple tech, but I’ve got to admit that it’s getting more complicated to decide exactly which features and options to buy these days. Take my new iPhone… Yes, I’m now the proud owner of a silver iPhone XS Max.
(Applause)

But that virtual applause isn’t for my choice to get Apple’s latest and greatest device. It’s more about the fact that I finally made it through my decision tree!

If you’ve been delaying your own purchase, because there are so many pieces to the iPhone decision-making process, perhaps you’ll find the details of my recent Apple Store shopping experience helpful…

Advantages of an Unlocked iPhone
My Apple Genius at the Apple Store told me that buying my iPhone XS Max outright from Apple would enabled me to get an unlocked iPhone and avoid a $30 AT&T (upgrade?) charge.
(So, there’s some upside to an all-in purchase vs. monthly payments with 0% interest.)

But perhaps more importantly, an unlocked iPhone provides more flexibility down the line should you want to switch carriers.

Shopping note: If you go with the iPhone Upgrade Program, you’ll also get an unlocked iPhone.

Step 1:

  • I bought an unlocked iPhone.
    (My Apple Genius simply popped my AT&T SIM Card out of my old iPhone 6 Plus and inserted it into my iPhone XS Max.)

Theft and Loss Protection
I’ve always attached AppleCare+ to all of my Apple products. Why quibble over the extra cost if you’re already spending so much money? You want to protect your expensive Apple gear!

Have I ever used AppleCare+? Yep.
Enough said.

But AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss?
Another hundred bucks adds loss and theft protection to the plan.
That’s great, right?

Hang on…
If you end up walking into an Apple Store without your iPhone and a sad tale of loss, there’s a $269 replacement fee (deductible) for a new iPhone XS Max. You pay the deductible instead of the cost of a whole new iPhone.

That’s $269 plus the original $100 in the plan.

So, it’s essentially a $369 insurance plan against loss.
Is that a good deal?

Well, I guess that depends on the odds of your iPhone XS Max leaving you over the next two years.

I’m hoping not to attract any attention from the evil ‘Fates of Bad iPhone Luck’ by talking about this.

Step 2:

  • I added AppleCare+ for $199 instead of the $299 AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss option.

Let’s move on…
(Cough)

256GB of Memory
Look, I know I agonized over this a particular topic when the iPhone XS Max first came out… and I pledged that I would go all in with the 512GB model.

The most storage… the greatest ability to shoot and hold onto 4K video content. More is always better, right?

Well, yes…
…and no.

The truth is I quickly started to struggle with my choice.

And the simple reason is cost. I had difficulty justifying to myself the extra $200 to supersize to 512GB. These iPhones are just so expensive. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.
(You’ll notice I’m not even mentioning iPhone pricing. If you’ve done any research, I’m sure you know how much they cost.)

I questioned my Apple Genius on the 256GB vs 512GB choice. He agreed that more people have gone with the smaller capacity. Then, he said, “But if you never want to worry about your storage, then go with 512GB.

Ironically, that’s what sealed it for me… but not how you’d think.

Here’s my truth… if you’re planning to capture 4K videos of your family, you’re eventually going to run out of storage, no matter the capacity. It’s just a matter of when.

And it’s actually more important to have a media management plan that forces you to offload and organize your content rather than let it sit gathering digital dust in your iPhone’s massive internal storage.

Step 3:

  • Yes, I changed my mind… and went with the 256GB model.

Screen Protection
Of course I wanted a screen protector for my new iPhone…

Sure, there are several out there you can choose between. But that will send you down another decision rabbit hole.

The Apple Store sells Belkin InvisiGlass screen protectors for $39.95. And an Apple Genius professionally will install it for you.

I’d say that’s totally worth it…
You’ve got a perfectly-positioned screen protector and no worries.

Step #4:

  • I went with Belkin InvisiGlass and professional installation.

iPhone Armor
I’m not exactly sure why I’ve covered up all of my previous iPhones with black cases that obscured all of the iPhone’s design beauty. Perhaps that wasn’t an such important factor to me, and protection was.

With my new silver iPhone XS Max, I suddenly wanted to retain the cool silver edging. So, after I left the Apple Store, I shopped for a clear case and landed on OtterBox’s Symmetry Clear Series Case for $49.95.
(You can find it for less online… D’oh!!)

It took a little work to pop my iPhone into the Symmetry case, but once the job was done, I felt my new companion was properly prepared to face its new life with me…

I’ve been a big fan of OtterBox over the years, and even though the Symmetry design is more minimalistic than the typical OtterBox, I feel comfortable that my new iPhone is plenty safe.

Step #5:

One usability note:
My iPhone in its Symmetry Clear Case is a little slippery on smooth surfaces when you rest it on its plastic back. But if you flip the iPhone over so the screen faces down, the Symmetry’s rubbery front edges provide much better grip.

And a note about OtterBox…
The Apple Store I visited carried a couple OtterBox models (not the Symmetry). Apple and OtterBox is an interesting business relationship that I think is great from a consumer perspective…

Why Not an iPhone XR?
I’ve read a lot of great reviews about the iPhone XR.
Why didn’t I just go that way?
(It would have surely saved me a lot of money…)

…I wanted the advanced camera capability of the XS line with the 2X optical zoom. I believe that punch-in feature without pixel loss really offers value. I also craved the more advanced portrait-mode ‘background blur’ muscle of the XS line. For example…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These features should enable my new iPhone to better handle more of my day-to-day photography opportunities when I’m not carrying another camera with me.

In my eternal quest to capture great photos of family and friends, I’ll take all of the help I can get!

Cutting Edge for Now…
So that’s my story that put a new iPhone XS Max in my pocket. I hope it helps to simplify your own decision-making process, because I expect you really don’t want to delay.

Every day that passes is a day closer to next September when your new iPhone becomes last year’s iPhone.

If you’re going to go for it, that time is now.

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November 11, 2018

iPhone Fix: When Videos Won’t Rotate to Play in Landscape Mode

Can you identify every status icon in this image? If not, you may find yourself in trouble the next time you play a video on your iPhone…

How do you encourage videos on your iPhone to play horizontally? Well, that’s easy… you simply rotate your device on its side to cue the video to rotate and play full screen in landscape mode. Right?
(Barrett’s being a little silly.)

And to be clear, I’m not talking about vertical videos. I’m referring to horizontal videos that first pop up at a fraction of their size to fit in your vertically oriented iPhone as you typically palm it.

But what do you do when your gravity-driven iPhone reflex stops working, and your video remains locked in its portrait orientation after you’ve turned your phone?

Well, that’s exactly what happened to me!

The Icon Holds the Answer
So, I figured some setting had gone awry. It was just a matter of figuring out exactly which one it was…

The irony was my iPhone was trying to tell me the answer all along, but I didn’t recognize the hint…

In the status bar at the top of its screen, my iPhone had been displaying a little ‘lock icon’ with a curved arrow around it.

 

I had noticed the icon before. I just didn’t know what it meant!
(lazy Barrett)

Portrait Orientation Lock
After a little Googling, I discovered the answer. It means… ‘Portrait Orientation Lock.’ And when it’s on, that mode disables the phone’s ability to play videos horizontally.

So, here’s how you turn it off…

  • From your iPhone’s home screen, open the Control Center
  • Find the lock and arrow icon on the left side in the middle
  • Tap it to deselect it
  • Close the Control Center

It’s embarrassingly simple.

Cautionary Tale
There’s just one final unexplained piece to my original mystery… How did Portrait Orientation Lock get turned on in the first place?

Perhaps I accidentally tapped it when I was trying to use my iPhone as a flashlight. Beyond that, I’ll just chalk it up to a practical joke from the video gods.

The lesson, of course is to always pay attention to every new icon that mysteriously pops up on your smartphone. You can ignore it for a while. But eventually, its purpose will reveal itself, and not always in a positive way.

Mobile devices are constantly evolving. You’d better keep up or your digital life is going to get squeezed… just like a video that refuses to rotate properly on your smartphone.

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September 16, 2018

Why Do You Need an iPhone with 512GB of Storage?

The world has somehow gotten along until now without an iPhone with 512GB of storage. Do you really need this much in your iPhone Xs? Here’s one opinion…

I’m sure I am one of countless Apple fans trying to figure out which iPhone to buy now that the annual upgrades have been announced. And after some serious consideration, I think I’m going to pull the trigger on the massive iPhone Xs Max.

Why?

Well, I’ve simply become accustomed to the larger screen of my old iPhone 6 Plus. I’ve got to say that I love my old ‘phablet.’ So, sticker shock aside, I know I’d be totally comfortable handling an Xs Max throughout my day. The big question is whether I really need to max out on the whopping 512GB of storage, which balloons the price tag to $1,449.

The 256GB option already doubles the current capacity of my 6 Plus.
Is it necessary to double it again?

To use all that up, you’d have to maintain a boatload of Hollywood movies on your iPhone or shoot an insane number of home videos.

And it’s ironic that while all media today is supposed to be easily stored and instantly available on the cloud… larger local storage is still marketed as a premium feature.
(But we all know that network upload speeds can’t compete with the huge media file sizes that we’re creating.)

Media Management Still Required
I try to download my iPhone videos to my iMac for long-term storage and then delete many of them from my iPhone. So I haven’t really been facing an iPhone storage crunch lately. But I also haven’t been shooting videos like I’m holding a bottomless bottle of beer.

If there’s one thing to remember when considering a new technology purchase, it’s how you might use it into the future…
(Past experience is not necessarily an indicator of future needs.)

Okay… So, why 512GB?

The Downside of Shooting in 4K
I was talking with a work colleague about this question, and he reminded me that you can chew through a lot of memory if you’re shooting video in 4K.

Oh… right. 4K:

  • The format I pledged over a year ago that I would use to shoot all of my family videos with my Panasonic Lumix LX10
  • The format that was quickly becoming the new video standard
  • The format that would future proof all of my home media
    (Just like 720HD and 1080HD was supposed to do not that long ago.)
  • The format that creates gigantic files

Yes… I’m shooting in 4K… mostly.

I know 4K video capability isn’t new in iPhones, but for those who are jumping into a 4K workflow on an iPhone, it’s worth remembering the heavy lifting that’s ahead for you…
(And remember, you can’t just pop in a fresh memory card when your iPhone fills up!)

Prepare for Huge File Sizes
Here’s approximately what a minute of 4K video on an iPhone consumes:

  • At 24 fps- 135MB
  • At 30 fps- 170MB
  • At 60 fps- 400MB

If you’re like me and ‘committed’ to 4K video, on average you’ll probably be using up about 500 MB of memory every time you shoot a video clip at 60 fps (assuming a little more than a minute a pop).

So let’s do some simple math:

  • You’d get 900 clips from 450GB of memory in a 512GB iPhone
  • And 400 clips from 200GB of memory in a 256GB iPhone

That’s a ton of clips either way!
(Remember, you’ve got to leave some memory for a few movies, your photos and all your apps!)

So again… who really needs 512GB of storage?

How It Gets Worse
Well, if you’re shooting longer segments on your iPhone such as capturing a 30-minute music recital, the math paints a different story:

That’s 12GB for 30 minutes.
Twenty 30-minute ‘events’ will absorb 240GB and your 256GB iPhone would suddenly be maxed out.

It’s Never Enough
Here’s the harsh reality: No matter how much onboard memory you’ve got on an iPhone, you’ll eventually fill it up… It’s just a matter of time if you’re not exporting and then deleting some of your content from your iPhone.

Sure, having 512GB to play with will delay the problem, but eventually, you’ll want to capture that once-in-a-lifetime moment, and your phone will choke.

The Wisdom of 256GB
Yes, there’s a minimum amount of storage that you absolutely need to handle your day to day. 64GB should certainly cover that… But it might get tight really quickly, even if you’re somewhat conscientious about offloading your video clips.

So, Is 256GB the sweet spot if you’re expecting to shoot a healthy number of photos and video clips?

Probably.

My Surprising Turning Point
It’s costs $200 more to supersize to 512GB.
That’s a lot of money for something you may not need.
But it’s not that much more considering you’re already going to plunk down $1,249.

Hmmm….

Well, you’re sure getting the best price-per-GB with 512GB.

And as much as I don’t feel I need 512GB of storage, I know I’ve been known to say you can never have too much memory.

The Decision Crystalizes
So who really needs 512GB of storage?
Probably about 54 people worldwide.

Who feels better having 512GB to play with?

Me.

I can’t really defend my choice.
But I think that’s what I’m going to do.

And I know I’m not alone.

Excessive?
I could blame the whole 4K video revolution.
I could blame my inconsistent home media management practices.
I could blame ‘FONES.’ (Fear of Not Enough Storage)

I’m going all in on 512GB on my iPhone Xs Max, and one day I may still run out of memory on the darn thing.

But after you think about it for a while, (or write a blog post about it)
…you figure that 200 bucks more may be worth a little peace of mind for the next couple of years as the family videographer.

It’s one opinion…
…for your consideration if you’re in the market for a new iPhone.

Good luck with your decision!

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