Apple Watch Ultra – I’m Out

April 3, 2023
2 min read

When Apple first announced the Apple Watch Ultra, my first thought was – thankfully, it’s not for me. I’ve bought Stainless Steel Series 7 last year, thinking it would last two or even three years, so paying another €900 after just a year seemed a bit too much.

When it came out, I still went to the store to try one out, just out of curiosity. And again, thankfully, I didn’t like it. The main negative surprise was how light it was for the size. I was really expecting something much heavier.

But then I started seeing them on people’s wrists, and it didn’t look bad at all. As I’ve seen even more while on a trip to London, I started thinking of buying one. After getting on my wife’s nerves for a couple of days, she finally sent me to the Apple Store, just to shut me up.

What I’ve done is put my current watch on my right wrist and Ultra on my left, seeing them side by side made me realise how much I don’t like… both of them.

Ultra looked good, but I like watch faces that are filled with color and if you use those the bezel just stares at you, looking old. And if you look at a regular watch, it’s apparent how much better it looks.

But at the same time, the regular Series looks… old. I’ve said previously, that people are wrong saying that there is not much change between Series 4-6 and 7-8, but on the whole they are similar. The main difference is in the screen and especially compared with Series 3, the newest one looks much better, but the case design, is indeed almost the same. And it’s here for 8 years. It’s time to change.

I’ve bought my first Apple Watch in 2017, when Series 3 came out, and wore one every single day for almost 6 entire years. First 3 years, I’ve been closing all 3 rings every day, but afterward realised that although it is good for my physical health, it’s not that good for my mental health and stopped doing it. And now, I’ve put my Apple Watch for sale with an expectation not to buy another one.

Apple Watch Series 7 Review – Bigger is Better

December 31, 2021
5 min read

Since the Apple Watch updates are very iterative, I’m very comfortable in updating every other year. This was such a year. I’ve had Series 5 and by the end of the second year the battery was bad. Taking it of the charger at around 7 AM, it would go to Power Reserve mode at around 10-11 PM. Even without workouts. But I waited for a new one, since Series 6 didn’t add anything major. And although some reviewers would tell you that Series 7 is not much different, I believe this is a substantial update.

Design and Screen

I am a fan of big watches. Not bulky, but with a larger watch dial. So, a bigger display was a welcome change. And considering that it didn’t much change the size of the watch itself, I would say it is a big win.

By the end of year two with my previous watch, I started thinking how big the bezel was around the screen. It feels much more like an all–screen face now, especially if you go for a Contour watch face.

Series 7 is noticeably larger
Series 7 is noticeably larger

The screen is also much brighter in the always–on mode. This was improved in the Series 6, but lucky me – I get two years of improvements instead of one.

On the other hand, colours this year for aluminium model are just bad. Not that blue, green, or red don’t look good. They do. But they are very opinionated. If you are ready to rock the red watch the whole year (or two), more power to you. I just think those watches won’t go with many clothes and watch bands. Recently, I realised that it’s too boring having every technology in black (just look at my car, laptop, or a phone). Moreover, Midnight Aluminium is not black, it is almost very dark blue. So, I was excited to buy a silver aluminium model, but they didn’t make it in this colour this year. Instead, there is Starlight. Which, honestly, looks like … nothing. When I saw it in the store, it is so dull.

That left me with a choice between Titanium and Stainless Steel. I went for the Stainless Steel, as it was a bit shinier. I couldn’t choose between Gold and Silver for a long time (believe me, I got the looks from the Apple Store employee). But in the end settled for the Silver one with the Milanese Loop (finally, had an opportunity to get this band, always wanted one).

I love how it looks. Surprisingly, it goes with every watch band I own, even colourful ones.

It is noticeably heavier. But in an enjoyable way. It feels more substantial. Just a bit closer to a real watch. I already have a couple of scratches after a month of use, and I am careful with my watches. The good news is – you can polish stainless steel, and it will look almost like a new one.

Battery and Charging

As I mentioned before, my Series 5 got terrible battery life by the end of the year two. It actually was never great, barely good enough. Series 7 is much better. I have always–on display turned on at all times and without workout will have around 50% by the end of the day. Not comfortable for a 2–day use, but more than enough for one.

But the main improvement is fast charging. You have to use the new charger for this, but it is spectacular when you need it. Recently, someone messed with my wall charger, I didn’t notice it in the evening. When I woke up, my watch and phone weren’t charged at all. For a phone I have chargers everywhere, so it wasn’t much of a problem, but what do you do with a watch? I’ve got the new cable from the box and in about 30 minutes it was almost full. This is the must–have feature if you track sleep with your watch (I don’t, it’s just too big).

Software Features

There are just two features that are exclusive to the Series 7 Apple Watch – two watch faces and a keyboard.

The faces are Contour one, I already mentioned, which shows how small the bezel is. It has many colours, I like the light grey with the Milanese Loop band and pride with everything else. The second one is Modular Duo, which had so much potential when Apple presented it, but it is bad. It tries to flex the bigger screen, but there is just not enough information. I could try to forgive it, if there was at least a date above the time, like in an old Modular, but alas.

Not even a date
Not even a date
Looks amazing
Looks amazing

Another software feature is a full–size keyboard. Yes, you can type on a watch now. It is surprisingly good. Mostly not to type, but to swipe. As always with Apple, there is a catch. The feature works only with English keyboard. Yes, in the year 2021. And, why, for the love of God, is it not available on older devices? If that’s because of the size – it is available on the smaller size of the current generation, which is smaller than the larger Series 6.

A whole keyboard on a watch
A whole keyboard on a watch

Again, I’m not the one to give the advice whether to upgrade, but don’t let anyone fool you – Series 7 is a very noticeable upgrade even from the previous model. The screen is bigger, and it shows in the day–to–day use. If you wish to skip a year – you also won’t go wrong. Just don’t let anyone dictate what should be your decision.

Stainless Steel looks great. Sorry for tha hairy hand
Stainless Steel looks great. Sorry for tha hairy hand

Some Thoughts On Apple Event – September 2021

September 18, 2021
2 min read

It was yet another Apple event during the pandemic. I’m sure if you’ve watched at least one you will have a feeling about how it went.

iPad

Although updating the “no description iPad” iPad is great – it is an astonishing value for money, what surprised everyone was an updated iPad mini. It got an iPad Pro like design – doesn’t have home button, supports 2nd generation Apple Pencil and is available in a couple of different colors. This is iPad I’ve been waiting for and will definitely be getting one.

Apple Watch

It’s funny how wrong rumor sites were. It’s a nice upgrade with a bigger screen, I actually noticed a couple of months ago how big the bezel around the screen is in the current version and it looks like the Series 7 will solve that.

What I don’t like are the colors. I need to see them in person, but from the photos I only like stainless steel ones and they are either not available in Latvia or are ridiculously expensive.

I think Apple Watch is a perfect device for a two year upgrade. The battery in my Series 5 is sure ready to be replaced. I just need to choose the version.

iPhone

Although it might look like nothing much on the outside, it seems to be totally reworked on the inside. I love the bigger battery and updated cameras. I didn’t care much about Cinematic video, since it looked like the first Portrait mode version (not good).

The blue Pro looks okay, but I will need to see it in person. Pink non-Pro model looks amazing, I would get it if I was buying one.

I will be upgrading to the 13. This time just a regular Pro, since Pro Max doesn’t offer anything better in terms of camera. 

I know a lot of people are somehow disappointed by the event, but I thought it was a strong one. There were no boring demos or store updates, we’ve got some new devices and even a surprise. You can count it as a success in my book. 

Apple in 2020: My Report Card

March 15, 2021
7 min read

I like an annual look at Apple fromSix Colors, with commentaries from prominent people. Nobody asks me, but I have opinions, so here is my report card. Yes, I know it’s March already, but as there were no events or product releases from Apple I think it’s still relevant. 2020 was a good year for Apple in terms of hardware and not so great in terms of regulations and developer relations.

Mac

Grade: A

How can you give a different score when there was a release of Apple Silicon? It seems that M1 is just perfect, although I didn’t buy a new laptop yet, I’m very tempted. Last year was a turning point for the Mac and let’s hope it will continue that way.

The problems with keyboard are over, Apple designed processors are remarkable, we are just waiting for new hardware (redesigned iMac among other things, please).

For the last couple of years I didn’t use Mac much, so can’t give a mark regarding software quality, but I don’t mind Big Sur, from whatever use I got from it.

But all the changes Apple made tempt me to return to Mac and I think that tells a lot.

iPhone

Grade: A

This is the great year for an iPhone. First, iPhone SE — perfect budget phone, yes the design is a bit old, but internals are great and for that price it’s unbeatable.

Next, the iPhone 12 lineup is solid. Although, there are reports that Apple overestimated the demand for the Mini (and I believe them, just because when it was hard to find Pro Max every store had iPhone 12 Mini in abundance in every color), I loved holding one. If the camera was on par with the biggest one I would buy the Mini without hesitation.

Every time I buy a new iPhone, I get the one with the best camera and this time was no different. I got iPhone 12 Pro Max in glorious gold color and I love it. Still, after 4 months, sometimes I catch myself looking at it and enjoying it as a physical object.

One could argue there is one thing Apple missed with the iPhone this year — high refresh rate display. I would agree, but the current display is so good, I don’t see the difference even using it simultaneously with the iPad Pro (interestingly, I do see the difference when using Pro and non-Pro iPad).

All things considered — iPhone 12 Pro Max is the favourite thing I bought last year, and I bought many good things.

iOS 14 is also solid, with addition of widgets, the first time in a while I downloaded public beta before a release because I wanted new features like incoming calls as a notification and Picture in Picture.

iPad

Grade C

As an iPad Pro user I didn’t see much change. iPadOS 14 gave nothing, it’s hard to call 2020 iPad Pro new, so there was no need to upgrade. The only new addition this year is The Magic Keyboard, but it is too expensive for what it is. I know Apple products are expensive, and I gladly pay for them, but not this time, especially for 12.9” iPad Pro.

I’m waiting for a new new iPad Pro and probably will go for a smaller one (if everything else remains equal). I hope last year was a year of Mac and this year Apple will give attention to the iPad.

Watch and Wearables

Wearables: Grade: B

Watch: Grade B-

The only new product in wearables are The AirPods Max which I guess is a great product, but too pricey for many. I see myself buying them in the future and I think it is a compelling product for a niche audience.

I finally bought a pair of AirPods Pro, and they are great. Spatial audio is great, but unfortunately, it is not adopted by different services, so there is not much use.

Apple Watch on the other hand (sorry) didn’t compel me in any way. I bought one for my wife, but not because of some new feature, but because she wanted one, so I bought the latest. With Series 5 there was a big selling point — always-on display, they could’ve left everything else untouched I would’ve still bought one the first day, but with Series 6, there is nothing even remotely similar.

Apple Watch SE, although a nice addition, is overpriced for what it is and will probably become more viable after a price drop.

Apple TV

Grade: F

It’s just laughable. I did buy one last year or a year before, but wouldn’t have now. I have everything Apple offers on my LG OLED TV (Fitness+ the only thing missing, but it is missing everywhere in the world and hardware has nothing to do with it). Apple TV box wasn’t updated in years and still costs a lot. You can’t even compare it to other boxes, sure there is a privacy angle, but common, it’s comically expensive and internals are outdated.

Services

Grade: C

I’m starting to get frustrated. I didn’t understand why Apple News+ is not available in my country, but okay, there could’ve been some rights issues or something, it’s not Apple’s content, but Fitness+, really? Apple makes all the videos, so in this case they do own the content, why not make it available everywhere? I hope they know people over the world speak English… And because of that Apple One Premiere is not available in Latvia. So to have more storage, I have to pay extra and the idea of a bundle and one payment is not working.

I did subscribe to the family Apple One bundle plus an additional 200 GB of storage, so Apple is taking my money monthly.

The really great thing about services — Ted Lasso, of course. I’ve watched it three times already, it’s so good.

HomeKit

Grade: C

I only started to use smart home appliances and I don’t see much from Apple. Home app is not great, Apple doesn’t provide accessories themselves, so I’m not even sure what to grade here.

Hardware reliability

Grade: A

All my Apple hardware worked perfectly last year (maybe because I didn’t buy a laptop with a butterfly keyboard). The only thing I’m afraid of — problems with AirPods Pro, but so far they work, so can’t say anything bad.

Software quality

Grade: B

Although the iOS 14 and watchOS 7 are solid, I still have some inexplicable problems from time to time. Mail stops showing messages until a restart is the latest. Notifications in Big Sur are bad, but luckily, I don’t use macOS a lot.

Developer relations

Grade: C

I think Apple had an awful year with developers. It tried to improve it with the commission cut at the end of the year, but there were still many questions. The whole Epic saga and Hey fiasco gave a lot of bad publicity. Whoever you support in both situations, Apple still doesn’t look good.

Environmental and social issues

Grade: C

It’s hard to give a high score to a company which is so heavily reliant on Chinese labor and precious metals mines. Whatever Apple tells, it remains a badly kept secret that working conditions there are below humane. I know Apple can’t change everything, but they are so vocal about some things, that you start question why they are not about the other.

They tried to do a lot of good regarding Covid-19, but contact tracing went nowhere, I would say fortunately, but that is another topic altogether.

Taking a charger out of the box, while understandable, still doesn’t sound like something totally because of the environment.

Apple Event – 15.09.2020

September 15, 2020
5 min read

Although it is strange to watch September Apple Event and not see new iPhones, we do live in different times, so here we go. The presentation itself was good, the same style as WWDC 2020 and I enjoyed watching it (in case you are wondering, I realize that it is an hour long ad by a trillion dollar company).

Apple tried to manage expectations when it announced the event (a lot of journalists covering Apple immediately said there won’t be new iPhones) and at the very start of the presentation Tim Cook said they will talk Apple Watch and iPad today.

Apple Watch

Apple Watch Series 6

Same design as last year, although they’ve added three new colors – Gold, Blue and Red. I think they look good, especially the blue one (it will look great with the new blue iPhone).

There is a new sensor which will measure your blood oxygen levels. The manual measurement takes only 15 seconds and it does periodic background measurements, even at night if you sleep with your watch on. Although Apple didn’t say it, but it is helpful for the COVID-19.

The Always-On display got 2.5 times brighter outdoors.

Starting price remains the same at $399 in the US.

Apple Watch SE

The same display size and design as a Series 6, but without Always-On display and with an older S5 chip, which is 2x faster than Series 3. It is available both without and with cellular.

The price starts at $279 and Series 3 still remains in the lineup for $199.

Right now, if you are able to find discounted Series 5 it will be a much better deal – it has an always-on display, more health sensors and the same processor and design.

Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop

New bands for Apple Watches that don’t have a clasp or a buckle. That means you have to buy one that fits you, it has a lot of different sizes. What interesting, it says on the ordering page that it is not compatible with Series 3 and older watches, but I always thought the band connectors were identical.

Family Setup

You can now use your iPhone to set up an Apple Watch for someone in your family, who doesn’t have an iPhone. They will have a dedicated phone number and cellular connection. This is an amazing feature for kids or older family members and another step to the iPhone-less future for the Apple Watch.

Apple Fitness+

“First fitness service built around Apple Watch.”

Interesting how they presented it as something only possible with an Apple Watch. There will be 10 types of workouts, provided by world class trainers, with Apple Music (you don’t need a subscription for the service to work). New workouts will be added every week.

The new service is available on the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. It will show all the metrics during the workout on the screen and when a trainer will remind you to check your heart rate, the metric will get bigger.

When you start your workout on one of your devices, it will automatically start the workout on the Apple Watch.

There is an absolute beginner program, with all the basics covered and personalized recommendations in the app.

It will cost $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year (Family Sharing included) and you will get 3 months free with an Apple Watch purchase.
Unfortunately service is available only in handful of countries, so we will have to wait for it’s launch.

Other

There are a lot of new watch faces, including GMT which shows multiple time zones at once, typography with a lot of combinations, Chronograph Pro and a lot more.

Apple also announced that it will remove power adapter from the box, basically trying to present the cost-saving measure as an environmental thing.

Everything else that will be changed and added in watchOS7 got covered in the WWDC2020 presentation.

Apple One

The long rumored bundle from Apple is here, but unfortunately it’s not that simple. First, the name – Apple One. There are actually Three different bundles and only Two available everywhere.

First one – for $14.95 you get Apple Music, TV+, Arcade and 50GB of iCloud storage.

Second – for $19.95 you will get the same bundle, but with 200GB of storage.

And Premier – for $29.95 you will get 1TB of storage and News+ and Fitness+ as additional services.

The Premier one is available only in the countries where Apple News+ and Fitness+ are available and there are not a lot of those.

Because of the iCloud storage, the only one that makes sense for me is Premier, which will be unavailable. It is possible to add more storage to the first two, but at that point I’m not sure it will be a good deal. So no Apple One for me.

iPad

8th generation

This is the same plain iPad with a better processor (A12 Bionic), which means it will be more powerful. The design remains the same, with Touch ID button and screen bezels. It will still only support 1st generation Apple Pencil. But for the price of $329 it is an amazing value.

iPad Air

The iPad Air on the other hand got a complete redesign, it now looks the same as 11” iPad Pro, with rose gold, green and sky blue options available.

For the first time in a very long time, iPad gets new SoC before iPhone and iPad Air has A14 Bionic, which is industry leading 5 nanometer processor.

It also has a Touch ID sensor which is now in the Top Button (yeap, they’ve renamed Power Button in this one).

What is similar with the iPad Pro, except for design – it now has USB-C connector, support for 2nd generation Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.

What it lacks is Pro Motion (120Hz) display, FaceID, camera array and microphone and speaker system.

For $599 right now it looks like a much better purchase than 11” iPad Pro and Apple tablet lineup remains weird and complicated.

Sunday Endorsement – 31.05.2020

May 31, 2020
5 min read

📱 Tot Pocket

I was very skeptical at first. I mean, who wouldn’t be – €21.99 for a very limited note taking app. But after much consideration and keeping in mind the possibility to refund (yay Europe) I decided to give it a try. I’ve been trying to find an easy to use note app for a long time and nothing could come close to what I wanted. Notes.app was where I kept all my notes and didn’t feel like simple jotting app, I’ve tried Bear for a year, but it just replaced Notes and I never was a Markdown fan, I wanted something with rich text support. Drafts came close, but I always felt overwhelmed by it and after a week there would be tens of notes which I couldn’t remember what they were about.

Tot is light, colorful (it even changes the color of keyboard to match the dot and what surprised me most – even 3rd party keyboards get colored). I didn’t like icon at first, but recently they’ve added Mobius, which is now my favorite. I use all but one dots for something already and love it.

One disclaimer I have to add – I’ve had a data loss with the app. Just yesterday I was walking around town, listening to the audiobook and adding some notes, including citations I’ve transcribed myself. When I came home and opened an app – there was nothing. Just one word I’ve put as a placeholder when I created the note. And now I can’t shake the feeling of distrust. I hope it was a one time thing, but I’m not sure when I will be able to trust the application fully again.

I can’t recommend an app costing €21.99 to everyone, but if you look at screenshots and read the description you will know if the app is right for you. It is for me.

📺 Drive To Survive – Season 2

“Netflix are a bunch of cunts, aren’t they? I would love for them to play that.”

At the beginning of the season two they immediately let you know – this time it’s bigger, we have Mercedes and Ferrari now, but that somehow ruins it a bit. It became more pristine. The most controversial things were mostly when drivers and principals mentioned the documentary or Netflix.

But I still would recommend watching it. And I feel like it is much more interesting to those who have never watched F1, because otherwise you would already know what happened.

One additional note – I was the victim of advertising. After watching the show I went for a walk and had such a strong desire for a Red Bull I went to the store and bought one. Marketing works.

📜 Stratechery – The Google Squeeze

Half a year old article, but still very interesting. I never though how much advertising there is on Google. The screenshot which shows the results, where you have to scroll 3 pages in order to get to the organic results is worth the read alone.

I’ve compared the article with my own usage and it is the same in some instances and completely different in others. I hate the hotel module of Google. It always feels like some shitty websites want to give you a very bad deal. When I’m looking for a hotel I always go to booking.com. Always. And, as it turns out, that’s what they’ve tried to do – incentivize people to go straight to them. I guess it works.

⌚️ Pride California Watch Face

With the most recent update of the Apple Watch there are a couple of new Pride watch faces. One of them is California with Pride colors. It is my favorite watch face right now. I’ve been meaning to write about watch faces and how they all are bad for some reason or other. There are customizations, but it always feels like there could be more. But in terms of look – this one is just amazing.

One note – the process was a bit cumbersome. I had newest update on my Apple Watch, but new colors weren’t there. I updated my iPhone to iOS 13.5 and could choose a new California color, but it wouldn’t show up on my Watch. Only after restarting the watch did it work.

📚 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight

I’ve laughed a couple of times while listening to the book. It is probably the best memoir by a businessman I have ever read. It is more about motivation and drive and less about the decisions themselves. I’m sure that in order to build such a monumental company there have to be more controversial stories, but this book is not the place for them.

Ending is just beautiful. The book itself is very personal, but ending takes it to the new level. I didn’t want for it to end. One of the strongest recommendations I can give. Everyone should read it.

Upgrading With Purpose

November 6, 2019
4 min read

Up until recently I was getting the new iPhone every year just as it comes out. Believe me, it is hard to do in Latvia, but I’ve always found a way. Sometimes through persistence, like with the iPhone X, I pulled every string I could, but got one of the firsts. Sometimes through luck – we’ve had tickets booked to Berlin right for the day of iPhone XS going on sale, so the second pre-orders started I was navigating Apple Store in German (which I don’t understand at all) and ordering the iPhone XS Max. This went on since I’ve returned to the iOS with iPhone 6S Plus, so it were a good couple of years. This was probably one of my favorite tweets of all time:

Recently though, I’ve started to think more about upgrading the devices I use and try to ask myself – is it really necessary to do that just because the new comes out or do they improve something I really need?

First the AirPods, when the second generation came out, I didn’t see the need to upgrade, as I don’t use wireless charging, the battery on mine was still fine and the sound wasn’t improved. I could benefit from the faster pairing process and a bit longer battery life while calling, but those were minor changes considering the price. I’ve used the 1st generation AirPods until the battery got abysmal and upgraded.

Then there was an Apple Watch. I loved my Series 3, but when the Series 4 came out, it looked outdated, with the square screen and without the new watch faces. Series 3 was still powerful enough (unlike its predecessors). Series 4 had a couple of new health features, which are still not available in Latvia. The watch I had was still perfectly fine. On the other hand, when Series 5 came out with the always-on display, it was a big change and improvement to get myself an upgrade.

That way we get to the star of the upgrading show – the iPhone. I would love to have the newest and greatest, but do I need it? My year old XS Max works great, the battery is still good and lasts me all day. The camera improved, but I use it for some snapshots day-to-day and it is perfectly fine for that, when I travel I always take my “big” camera as I love to take photos with that. I tried Night Mode on my wife’s iPhone 11 and it is … okay. It looks cool, but I don’t see myself using it often yet.

The struggle is real and one of the biggest problems are social networks. I open my Twitter feed and there are all the tech bloggers getting phones for review or buying on the first day. I open my Instagram Explore tab and it is filled with new iPhones, AirPods and other products. From YouTubers, who got them from Apple, to influencers, to photo aggregator accounts. This creates the biggest FOMO I have probably ever experienced.

But are there any other reasons for not upgrading besides self-restraint? Except for the obvious one – money, there is also emotional – next year or the year after, when you upgrade, it would be a two or three times better leap in technology. Phones today don’t get much upgrade year over year, so in those two or three years there would be enough to surprise and delight you.

When I’ve upgraded to Series 5, as I’ve mentioned before the biggest upgrade was always-on display, but if I had Series 4 before that, it would be the only new feature. It is amazing, but it wouldn’t give you the same feeling for a couple of days, when you want to play with new device (if you don’t also consider the horrendous battery life as a new feature). For me the screen changed, it got bigger, there are a lot of new watch faces to play with. New types of complications. I’ve had this new device feeling, when for a couple of days I wanted to play with my new toy. I’m not sure it would have been the same upgrading from Series 4 to Series 5.

I’m not saying everyone should stop buying new watches or phones every year, I’m not even sure I won’t buy one, still. But I want to be more mindful about those things. Put more thought into the decision and not just run after new and shiny every time Apple presents or announces something.

AirPods 2nd Generation

October 29, 2019
3 min read

When Apple announced AirPods I was very eager to get my hands on them. Unfortunately they weren’t available in Latvia for about 9 months and I’ve bought a pair as soon as it was possible. That was exactly two years and two months ago. Since then I’ve been using them daily, one could say constantly and as I told more than once – this is probably the most seamless and fun product Apple introduced in years.

They are small, had a great battery, sounded … like Apple headphones sound and you could easily connect to all your Apple devices.

When the 2nd generation was introduced there weren’t any incentives to upgrade right away. Sure the battery got better and they would connect faster, but otherwise – the sound didn’t change and I don’t care for the wireless charging. So I decided to wait it out.

A little more than a month ago my AirPods started to get considerably worse battery life. It felt like sunset close to equator – it was fine until suddenly it wasn’t. I would go on the hour and a half walk and would hear the sad sound of battery dying not even close to finishing. I had to think about charging them which was never the case before.

Going to London for a weekend was a final straw. I would constantly hear the boop-bip noise. So when I’ve went to the Apple Store I’ve decided to buy a new pair.

While I was working on this story, Apple announced AirPods Pro with active noise cancellation. I’ve never liked in-ear headphones that completely seal the ear. I love the way EarPods and later AirPods were in between those in-ear headphones which seal your ear completely and the ones just hanging there. So don’t regret my decision to buy a pair of 2nd generation AirPods just before the new model was announced.

The first day I started wearing new AirPods I was shocked – I didn’t remember how good the battery life was. I could walk half a day at least without getting them out. And then I remembered that they were updated with the new chip and are always listening for “Hey, Siri”. So I’ve decided to try using it. Being in a different city, I’ve asked for walking directions throughout the whole weekend and it was great. Siri listened to me and showed the directions on the watch, still announcing the turns through the headphones.

This is as close to the ambient computing as we are getting right now, but it is very fun and futuristic.

They connect faster than the first generation, especially when you change the device you are connecting to. As always, I didn’t think my 1st gen AirPods were slow at connecting before Apple told from stage that they were. I immediately started noticing how I’ve waiting for them to connect. Nothing like that here.

Otherwise those are the same AirPods as two years ago. They are comfortable for my ears, the case is small. The battery life is great. And they sound … not terrible. This is the time when I am totally ready to trade convenience over the sound quality.

If you have the first generation AirPods I still wouldn’t upgrade just because. Wait until the battery dies and then update, otherwise they are similar enough, so you don’t miss out on anything.

Apple Pay: Two Months In

October 18, 2019
4 min read

We’ve just got to Spain and despite of it being late at night decided to go swimming, the sea was about 3 minute walking distance from our hotel, so we’ve changed in the room, took towels and nothing else. I had only my Apple Watch with me. We’ve went to the sea, had a nice swim (which my Watch tracked as an activity) and on the way back we saw a bar. We went there and as nobody had a wallet, I’ve bought drinks for everyone with my watch. Tell me this 10-15 years ago, I wouldn’t believe you.

There are different types of technologies – the ones that disrupt, the ones that improve or worsen our lives and the ones that blend seamlessly into our lives and it feels like they’ve always been there.

When you first pay using Apple Pay it just feels right. It’s easy, fast, natural and secure. The one problem? During the presentation I though we would never get it in Latvia. When AirPods came out I had to wait 9 months before I was able to buy a pair. We still, after a year, don’t have EKG (although most of the Europe does), so imagine my surprise when one day out of the blue I see news that Apple Pay is available in Latvia. Five years after it was announced.

I immediately opened Wallet app to set it up both on my phone and my watch. It is still available only in mobile payment systems – Revolut and Monese (although Swedbank is promising the support soon), no other local bank offers it, so the barrier to entry right now is a bit high for users. It took me a minute to set it up and 5 minutes later I was using my watch to pay for coke. It felt like I live in the future.

It is now about two months since launch in Latvia and it feels like there wasn’t any other way before. I’ve used the physical card just a handful of times and mostly outside of the country.

My wife asked me to help her order Revolut card, so she could use Apple Pay. I’ve had a couple of waiters ask how is it possible to set up Apple Pay and they seemed very enthusiastic and really wanted to try it out.

Here in Latvia, almost every terminal is equipped with NFC reader, so I’ve only had one time where I couldn’t use it. After about a week I’ve left my physical Revolut card at home and never looked back. I have one back-up card in my wallet, but it almost never gets used.

I was surprised that there are a lot of terminals that don’t have NFC in Lithuania, granted it wasn’t the capital, but the smaller touristy city, but still. In Russia on the other hand contactless terminals are the norm. Even in some god forgotten little towns where cashier is a babooshka you can pay with your watch or a phone.

I love that there are no limits using Apple Pay, like there are with contactless. I’ve paid large amounts without the need to enter PIN, just pushing the button on the watch.

The offline story is very well covered here in Latvia, unfortunately not so much online. I was able to try out Apple Pay on a website just once, but it was a blast. There are a couple of apps that I use that added Apple Pay as their payment option (mostly apps that rent e-scooters), using those makes me wish every app and website supported it.

I hope more banks add the support for the Apple Pay in the future, as this is fast, easy to use and most importantly secure way to pay, so the more users have the ability to use it, the better.

Apple Watch Series 5: Review

October 10, 2019
8 min read

I’ve got my first watch as a present in the middle school. It was a very nice watch for a kid and I still have it. Since then I’ve started appreciating watches and was wearing them daily. The last one I had was a vintage soviet watch Raketa, I’ve found and restored. You had to manually wind it about once every two days.

I’ve never used the phone to tell time, only watch. When I’ve bought Fitbit – it was an additional accessory on the right hand. Analogue watch always stayed on my left, no matter what.

That is until we’ve travelled to the New York City two years ago, where I got Apple Watch. I liked the Series 3 a lot for two main reasons – activity tracking and notifications. The one thing I didn’t like? The ability (or more precisely the lack of) to tell time. I was even considering wearing two watches – Apple Watch and an analogue one, but this would look too dorky, so I’ve decided to manage with just an Apple Watch.

When the Series 4 came out, I didn’t feel the need to upgrade. There were a couple of health features like fall detection (I think I don’t need it yet) and EKG (it is still not available in Latvia) and changed screen design. Sure, the Series 3 looked really old the second I’ve seen Series 4 in person, but I still couldn’t force myself to upgrade to another watch that you have to shake in order for it to tell time.

This year when the Series 5 was announced, I had to upgrade. How couldn’t I? They fixed the most important thing! I’ve had 42mm Series 3 and decided to get the big one again.

Display

The always on display is such a crucial feature of the watch that after half a day of using it, I couldn’t even imagine how it was possible to live without it. At first I had to learn not to turn my wrist too aggressively, but then it became natural, like so many years before.

When your hands are on the keyboard typing or you are driving, just a little glance at the wrist and you know what time it is – what a novel concept!

In total Apple fashion, they’ve though the feature through, there is an option to hide sensitive complications while in always on mode, I would argue it should be on by default, but it’s not. For me it shows time, weather and date, but doesn’t show reminders, activity and progress in Streaks. That is a great feature, if you commute, for example, people won’t be able to glance at your wrist and read information.

The full screen display with rounded corners looks nice, if you have those new complications along the corners or full screen watch face. 

Notifications

This is the thing that changed the least after two years. It is the same mess if you don’t manage them, but if you do, it is possible to live with them. The one feature I would really love is the ability to manage notifications in the messaging apps on the chat by chat basis. A couple of chats would definitely buzz my wrist, but most would stay on the phone, probably silently.

Activity Tracking

When I wrote the review of Apple Watch Series 3, I had my first perfect month. Since then I’ve had 23 more. Since the day I bought a watch, I didn’t miss a day, closing all three rings. I’ve had Active calories ring set to around 500 most of the time, but for the last two-three months the goal is more than 900. The challenges for the month became, well … more challenging. Something changed in the algorithm and I don’t get easy ones anymore (like closing all the rings for a month, which I already do), right now those challenges really push me. I have to plan in advance how to complete them. This is great, but I would still love to have a less challenging month once in a while – some rest is also needed.

Battery

When the Series 4 came out, there were a lot of raving reviews saying how good the battery was. For some it was a two-day battery, for some it allowed to start tracking sleep. This year is different. On a big watch with the normal use from 6am to 23pm with one hour and a half workout there is about 15% of the battery left. On Series 3 after the same day there would be more than 50% left (and my watch is two years old).

On Twitter some are trying to turn everything off (like noise monitoring or always on display), with no luck, so the reason could be in the software (there are some reports WatchOS 6.1 beta fixed it). This one is definitely on Apple, I shouldn’t manage battery life and I have to be able to use all the feature that they’ve advertised.

On the other hand, they said it is “all-day battery, which lasts 18 hours”, and it does (although “all-day” one would think is a bit more than 18 hours). It’s just before battery was so good, I never would even think to manage it. You just put it on a charger before going to sleep and that is the whole management. The one time I had to think about battery was during the 14 hour flight, but that’s expected.

I’ve tried to restore the watch and set it up as new, as it helped some, but battery life stayed the same. In order to stay sane, I’ve decided to try not to think about the battery and see how will I manage.

Watch Faces

I agree with Marco Arment – there is still a shortage of good watch faces. Previous generation watches faces look so bad on the new screen, that they should probably be removed from the new watches. The most easy to use yet configurable are digital faces. But as someone who was wearing watches before Apple Watch, I like to use analogue and there are not many good ones. I love Navy Blue California face, but it looks good only in the full screen mode, which has only two complications and one of them is limited in choice, so I can’t use it during the day, because I actually use complications.

Meridian face would be a step in the right direction, but I don’t like the white background shining at me and black just looks really bad.

So that leaves me three watch faces I use a lot – switching between black California face with circular dial and Infograph Modular. And in the evening or when going out – Navy Blue California face with full screen dial.

Taptic Engine

Apple has a lead in a couple of places, some big – like an A-series chip, some small – like haptics. It is very enjoyable on the phone and it is changed a lot on the watch. I’ve noticed new engine immediately, it’s so much nicer. I like how it works when you use Digital Crown, it is so delightful. Vibrations for notifications are also quite nice. This is a small thing, but the one that gives you a joy using the device.

Room For Improvement

As my main gripe about the Apple Watch was fixed, I have a couple of small wishes going into the future.

As I mentioned the algorithm in challenges changed, so I have to plan how to complete them. Adding complication that shows progress would help a lot.

As someone who closed all the rings for more than two years, I would really love to have the ability to have a day off (I can even show a note from the doctor if it would be necessary).

More thought through watch faces, especially analogue ones. I’m not sure Apple has to allow 3rd party watch faces, but they definitely have to step up their watch face game.

And of course battery life. I know it technically lasts “all day”, but if you want to go out in the evening, you have to either charge the watch or forget about it, because it just won’t last.

Conclusions

Last year when the Apple Watch Series 4 got announced, even though it didn’t change the form much, the bigger screen with rounded corners looked fresh. Comparing two watches, you could definitely see how Series 3 was a previous generation. Using it day-to-day, though didn’t bother me much, because you don’t have something to compare to all the time. This is why I had no desire to upgrade.

This year they sold me after the words “always on display”. My guess is, this feature would be the reason for many to buy a new watch. It is a game changer. Yes, I have problems with the battery life, but I didn’t even think for a second trying to turn off the always on display to preserve battery life. It wouldn’t be the product I’ve bought.