I got a 14 Pro Max last time I upgraded and love it. If you read and/or game on your phone the larger size is great. I’ll never go back to a smaller phone unless they stop making them this big.
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exactly this. Plus a cataract so…
I bought a 15 Pro last fall, and my wife a 15 Pro Max. The Pro is about the largest size that will fit in my shirt pocket where I like to carry it — the Max will not fit, at least not in all of my shirts. Wife carries hers in purse so doesn’t care about that.
We’re both totally with you on the eyesight thing. These phones are great, but I wouldn’t want 'em any bigger; at that point you’re into tablet territory.
BTW, as for cataracts: get the surgery already. Wife and I each had it done on both eyes about two years ago, and I can’t recommend it enough.
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Does anyone have experience with the Google Pixel 8 Pro? I keep putting off getting a modern phone, but lately it’s becoming irritating to me (as opposed to just everyone else), so I’m looking at my options. I know the iphones are great, but I have several apple devices now and am continuously pissed off at them incessantly demanding that I sign in. “Now sign in on this device. Oh, now this one too.” It’s never ending sign-in pop-ups with those people.
This is not an answer to your question at all, but since we’re talking hardware, I can’t imagine making the switch now. On paper, I like the flexibility of the Android platform but Apple has its roots so deep in my family that I don’t see how I could easily switch. I got an iPhone a decade or so ago as part of a family bundle so I didn’t really have much choice in the matter but now I’ve got apple stuff everywhere and it integrates so easily that my infrastructure just keeps growing. Heck, even my dog has an Apple device at this point (she’s got an AirTag on her collar). Siri runs my smart house; everyone has multiple devices; switching out would be like starting over…
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Same. So invested in Apple I couldn’t even. Everyone has an iPad, wife and I have phones, 11 has watch and iPod, 8 has iPod. HomePod minis in literally every room; Mac desktop and laptop. Apple TVs. The whole shebang. AirPods for all 4 of us.
Wish they gave better attention to certain things like CarPlay, screen time, etc, but they do make things easy for family sharing and coordination.
AirTags. AirTags too.
ETA: no wonder my wallet weeps regularly. Here I was blaming it on guns but…
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Small ray of sunshine in having to repaint the cabinet fronts of our new dishwasher (long story but my MiL sells them, old one was old, she got a deal, etc) but when they took the panel off to color match I discovered that it’s WiFi enabled. Why WiFi? Fucked if I know. But who doesn’t love another app. At least now I don’t have to guesstifuckemate how long is left until the thing finishes.
Peak 21st century right here. Also not sure why it needs remote start considering the useless thing won’t remote load, amirite?
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My dishwasher does the same and I never use it. Every appliance is wi-fi enabled these days and it is pointless for most. Ovens aren’t bad because you can preheat if you are out, but if you have the foresight you can just program them manually to preheat later.
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Welcome to the Internet of shit.
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Also kind of boggling at the fact the dishwasher has two independent compartments. Although tbf Mrs StC and I manage to fill a normal-for-Europe one daily so yeah, I can see that might be useful.
eta also the app for when I can’t remember if I set it running overnight and wouldn’t have to schlep downstairs to check. Makes complete sense.
It’s this particular companies claim to fame; my mother in law loves the stupid things so ofc my wife does too. I guess you can run it more often because you don’t have to wait for it to fill as much?
Looking for some input, if anyone has some:
I’ve had AirPod Pros (gen 1) since they released. Unfortunately, they’ve developed an obnoxious crackling sound if I move when ANC is on. It sounds like a known defect; they extended their warranty to 3 years and there is a class action suit for the issue. I’m outside the warranty window and I’m not paying $90/bud for repairs…
Anyways, I’m really torn over what I want next. I’m trying to work within a moderate budget ($200 or less) and I understand that there are a lot of considerations.
Right now I’m torn between the AirPod Pros (gen 2) and the Beats Studio Pros. I like how well they work with my iOS devices, which is a big consideration. I know some of the audio arguments for or against either of them and if I were truly looking for the best sound, I’d be looking elsewhere. As for use, primarily going on walks, flights, road trips. For working out, I always have my old air pods, which are annoying but usable.
I’m not really looking for a review of either of these products compared to other sound on the market, but of anyone has any specific experience, or even has both and has some opinions between them, I’d appreciate any insight.
Edit: I know the two things I mentioned are both usually above my price limit but they are frequently on sale for $180-200.
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I can’t comment on the Studio Pros, but I have the Airpods Pro 2 and recently bought the new version of the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 (say that ten times fast).
Love the APP2; they’re a typical Apple product and if you’re familiar with the gen 1, the gen 2 is more of the same but better. I love the spatial awareness, seamless device switching, etc. The only thing that made me pick up the Beats was the, admittedly first world problem, of the APP2 not staying in my ears during workouts.
The Powerbeats are 95% Apple quality. While not a direct comparison with over the ear headphones that you’re looking at, the sound is good enough for my use and the little ear hooks make them stay put during workouts, although can be annoying with glasses sometimes.
My main quibble with the Beats ecosystem vs Apple is that the Beats don’t do seamless device switching - you have to hit the little button on case to pair them from device to device again. If you use your APP with multiple devices, I’d say stay with them.
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I had and liked EarPods pro gen 1, got the same problem, and replaced them with the Jabra elite 7 pros. I switch devices rarely enough that two-device multipoint and pretty easy re-connecting was fine, and I found sound quality, noise cancelling, and general ease of use comparable, for about $100 on sale. Sadly, the pros aren’t as waterproof as the actives, and I managed to kill one of the earbuds in the wash. Replaced those with the even cheaper Anker Soundcore A20s for $60, and the noise cancelling is worse enough that, were I in the market now, I’d go back up to the Jabra Elite 7 Actives (unless their product line has changed in the interim).
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My experience with beats in general is that I do not like their sound much. I find them very bass heavy, and I do not like that, as I usually listen to more calm music (piano etc), or audiobooks. I love the sound and practicability of the APP2, but they also tend to fall very easily out of my ears. I bought extensions for them, but you have to remove them every time you put the APP2 back into their box. Finally I bought the AirPod Max, which is crazy great sound, but you can’t do sports with them. So, long story short, no perfect solution.
I would love the APP2, if they wouldn’t fall off, maybe you do not have this issue… I’ve heard that the new generation of APP might have better fixing in the ears, but nothing certain.
I’m able to run with the APP1s, though I feel like I do have to reach up and push them back deeper every few minutes.
For running, I’m a total convert to Shokz Openrun. Open-ear bone-conduction, surprisingly good sound, more than adequate. I even used them as normal headphone son a long-haul flight and didn’t really miss my over-ear set.
Completely irrelevant to the Beats/Airpods discussion of course, apologies for that.
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I also have the APP 2s, and like them. Their noise cancellation ability is pretty remarkable for earbuds. My only gripe is the same as others mentioned: they don’t stay in my ears as well as I’d wish, even with the “right” size of tip selected. (I’m actually on my second pair of them, because I lost one in an unmentionable place.) But that’s been true of several previous generations of Apple and other earbuds as well. I guess my ears are just not the standard shape.
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I have some home network questions and I feel like some people here have some experience with this.
We currently have cable internet, something like a 400mbps plan. My wireless router is a dual band Netgear R6220 that caps out at 500mbps. We live in a 2 story house with 3 upstairs bedrooms. Router is located downstairs. I think I have coverage all over the house but haven’t checked speeds all around; I can stream from any room. My PS5 is wired.
We are getting fiber optic installed in the neighborhood that offer 2GB speeds. I, therefore, need at minimum a new router.
I am torn between the idea of a mesh system and a classic wireless, especially since I’ve been fine with a regular router. I know mesh supposedly gives me better coverage, but can also lead to lower speeds if not placed and configured correctly.
Any opinions or recommendations? I’ve been looking at some of the higher end TP-Link and Netgear routers but am bad at making decisions.