7 Minute Miles

Apple Updates


It seems like the tech press has almost become bored with Apple these days. I also sense that many people like to see the Android/iOS competition as the second coming of Mac versus Windows. Whatever. I still use the tools I like best and most of those still come from Cupertino. Are there things I still hate? Of course – looking at you iOS keyboard, OS X Finder and AppleID management.

Part of my job involves staying current with what everyone else is doing, so I’ve tested Windows 8, Android and Windows Phone. Some of it is OK, but at the end of the day, I still primarily use my MacBook Air, iPad mini and iPhone 5S.

When it came time to get a new personal phone, I decided to skip the lower cost 5C option and get a 32GB “space gray” 5S. The main differences for me were the faster processor, the better camera and the touchID sensor. Speed has been decent and the sensor is handier than I imagined (especially when buying items), but the camera hasn’t been as much of an improvement over the 5 as I had hoped. Granted, the old camera was still pretty great for a phone.

As for the other recent Apple announcements, I guess the only thing I’d buy right now (if I had the money) would be the Retina iPad mini. I thought the current work mini I have had a great screen and was plenty fast, so to get a new model that’s faster and sharper with no other tradeoff would be very nice. On the other hand, if I could get a phone that had a screen size somewhere between the 5S and the mini, I’d need only one iOS device. The iPad Airs are technically very nice, but I just don’t like that size in my hands.

In the laptop world, my true dream machine hasn’t been built yet. The new Retina MacBook Pros are nice, but I prefer the Air size and feel. Add a Retina screen to that, include a pooled LTE data connection and 1TB of SSD storage and it would be just about perfect. No real interest in the new Mac Pro for my needs…

Originally published by DK on November 20, 2013 at 10:42 pm in Longform, Technology


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