This week on The CultCast: Apple’s new iPad is cheaper, fatter, heavier and underpowered, but you should still get one. Plus: Why the “iPad mini Pro” is kind of a ripoff; two reasons you should not buy a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7; everything you can do with Apple’s new Clips app; our hands-on review of the new Pioneer SPH-DA120 budget Car Play stereo; and we test out the Think Tank Helipack V2, a gigantic backpack built for your DJI Phantom.
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CultCast #276 – Our Apple hardware reactions Subscribe on iTunes
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Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad is more affordable than ever
- Apple introduces a new, fatter 9.7-inch iPad that’s more affordable than ever before.
- Macrumors calls the new iPad “a little bit iPhone 6s, a little bit iPad Air, and a little bit iPad Air 2.”
- The device looks almost identical to the iPad Air 2 that it is replacing in Apple’s tablet lineup.
- Starts at just $329 with 32GB of storage, $429 for 128GB.
- Apple swapped out the older model’s A8X chip for a faster, 64-bit A9 processor that debuted with the iPhone 6s.
- It uses an unlaminated screen, and is 7 percent heavier and 20 percent fatter than the iPad Air 2. But the screen is brighter.
- Went on sale Friday.
iPad mini 4 gets 128GB of storage, still a total ripoff
- The iPad mini 4 remains the same price, but you get more storage for free. The 128GB model with Wi-Fi now starts at $399, which was previously the price for the 32GB model.
- It seems like a good deal, until you consider that the new 9.7-inch iPad, which offers a bigger and sharper display and a faster A9 chip, makes the iPad mini 4 a total ripoff.
iPhone SE now comes in 32GB and 128GB flavors
- The iPhone SE is still the same phone, but it’s now available in 32GB and 128GB flavors, doubling the storage capacity of the previous versions. Prices are still $399 and $499 (unlocked).
This is the (RED) iPhone 7 Apple should have made
- The special-edition (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cost the same as the regular models, but there is no 32GB option. So, prices start at $749 for a 128GB iPhone 7, and $869 for a 128GB iPhone 7 Plus.
- Not everyone loves the color of the red iPhone.
Apple’s new Clips app muscles in on fun social video sharing
- Apple announced the upcoming launch of a new app designed to make it fun and easy for people to create and share “expressive videos” on their iPhone and iPads.
- Called Clips, the social app will work by combining video clips, photos and music into videos that can be shared with friends through the Messages app, or using Instagram, Facebook and other popular social networks.
- Clips features “Live Titles” — text captions created by what you say in the video, timed to when you say the words.
- You can splice in soundtracks.
- Video is cropped to square.
- App recognize faces of people if they’re tagged in your Photos app.
- Clips also recognizes names spoken in your video if they’re in your contacts, and will suggest you share videos with those friends.
Erfon Elijah is the producer and host of The CultCast. When not editing podcasts or watching Mrs. Doubtfire, you’ll find him on Xbox Live hunting CoD Ghosts foes like the Predator. Here are his tweets…
3 responses to “Our new Apple hardware reactions, this week on The CultCast”
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I tried making the iPad more productive for 4 generations and just got tired of jumping through app hoops to try and make it mimic a PC. I finally got tired of trying and went with the MS Surface Pro which I really like. They will need to give iOS for the iPad Pro some more features before I give up my Surface Pro and come back. A device with the screen size that the iPad Pro has demands a few more features from it’s OS, and the iPad Pro just seems lacking without them. There are 4 features I would need before I could replace my Surface Pro with an iPad Pro. They could even make it so people that don’t want these features could turn them off for a more simple experience.
1. iOS for iPad Pro should have the ability to set your own default apps for things like email, web browser, etc. just like you can do on a Mac or PC.
2. iOS for iPad Pro should have a real file manager so you can store and arrange your files the way you want to. The ability to click on a file and open it with the app of your choice is also a must. I just can’t stand the fact that you are forced to save files in the app they were created in. How cumbersome is that?
3. The ability to use a mouse, or put a touch pad on the “Smart Keyboard”. For the iPad Pro to truly be a Mac or PC replacement, this would be a must. I can mirror an iPad to my Apple TV, but instead of a keyboard and mouse to control it, I have to actually have the iPad in my lap. Same thing when I hook one up to a monitor with an HDMI cable.
4. And, for the ease of transferring files on and off an iPad and expanding it’s storage, it needs a micro SD card slot or USB. I would prefer the micro SD for the smaller footprint.
So when they say the iPad Pro can replace a Mac or PC, I say: PC replacement my ass! How the hell can they claim it as an Mac or PC replacement when you can’t even use it like one?
Just to make myself clear, I don’t care if the normal iPad(iPad Air) gets an update. The iPad Pro,
which claims to be an Mac or PC replacement needs the features I mentioned above. If you can’t use it like a real Mac or PC, then it can’t replace a real Mac or PC. I would really love to buy a new iPad Pro, but until Apple gives the OS features that can let the iPad Pro be really used like a Mac or PC, it is not a true Mac or PC replacement.
And to to those who comment on the touch interface not being compatible with point and click devices, you are dead wrong. On my Surface Pro there is the regular Windows 10 desktop, and a Windows 10 touch interface. The mouse point and click works just as well on either interface. Yes, touch does not work as well on the regular Windows 10 desktop interface, but it works just fine on the touch interface side. I have no doubt that the mouse or touch pad would work just fine in iOS and its apps also.
I have used both Mac and PC since 1990 and like them both. I don’t camp out in either camp and refuse to get into the silly useless debates about which is better. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, and to me they are equal in their ability to be fun and productive.