iTrapped: All the things Apple won’t let you do with your iPhone

stizz3000

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
AAKrxdC.img

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/me...-covid-origin-theory/ar-AAKnt0g?ocid=msedgntp

Have you ever tried to swap Siri for a better voice assistant on your iPhone? Don’t bother, you can’t.


Tried to buy e-books from the Kindle app? Can’t do that, either.


Send iMessages to someone with an Android phone? Nope. Backup your iPhone to Google Drive? Nope. Get your own iPhone repair parts from Apple? Nope. Transfer your digital life to a different kind of smartphone? Good luck, my friend. When you buy an iPhone, it isn’t really yours.

It’s time to reclaim our iPhones. The debate that’s happening in courts and Congress about Big Tech’s power is also playing out in the palm of our hands.

I’ve used an iPhone for the past 12 years, and like most of you I am not looking to change. But we’ve become so accustomed to restrictions Apple built into the iPhone, we don’t even realize how we’re contorting ourselves to comply — or what we’re missing out on. One sign we’re being manipulated by a monopoly is when it’s hard to even consider an alternative. Apple says it’s protecting our security and privacy, but it has become clear that locking down our iPhones is also about controlling us so Apple can make more money.



This column — an iPhone owner’s Bill of Rights, we-the-people style — is an inventory of the things we ought to be able to do with our iPhones, but Apple won’t let us. Let me know what you agree with, disagree with, and what else you’d add — I’ll accept quill on parchment or email.


This week, a federal judge finished hearing a case that helped expose how damaging Apple’s unregulated power has become for consumers. A lawsuit from Epic Games, the company that makes the video game “Fortnite,” put a literal price tag on Apple’s monopoly: 30 percent. That’s the markup top developers have to pay on app purchases because Apple is the only store allowed on the iPhone.

Apple thinks it’s handcuffing us for our own good. During the “Fortnite” trial, CEO Tim Cook said Apple needs to tightly integrate software and hardware in the iPhone to make sure it’s easy to use. “We take a lot of the complexity of technology away from the user,” Cook said. That’s part of why the iPhone gets very high customer satisfaction ratings, Apple often says.

What Apple doesn’t mention is that rival Android phone maker Samsung actually now rates slightly higher with owners, with a score of 81 vs. 80 for the iPhone in the independent American Customer Satisfaction Index. Unlike Apple, Samsung offers two voice assistant choices, lets us buy digital media from any app and download from different app stores, just to name a few basic digital liberties.

I’m not arguing Samsung phones are better — I have written lists of reasons you should buy a new iPhone and applaud Apple’s recent steps to stop invasive app tracking. My point is that Apple’s rationale for locking down the iPhone doesn’t make as much sense for consumers in 2021 as it might have in 2011, when smartphones were unfamiliar and brought unknown risks.

What about security and privacy? “The parade of horribles out there is pretty long,” Cook said about the risks of bad apps that Apple helps keep off iPhones. I obsess about security and privacy more than most people, and frequently criticize tech companies that betray our trust. But it’s a false choice to say Apple alone can prevent app Armageddon.

It’s partly a philosophical question: Is an iPhone just a phone that does more stuff, or has it now become a full-fledged computer? Could you imagine spending $1,000 on a laptop, but not being allowed to use whatever software, games or e-books you want? That’s how the iPhone works. “It’s a computer. It’s my computer. Whether it fits in my pocket or sits on my desk just doesn’t matter,” software pioneer David Heinemeier Hansson wrote earlier this week.

I want Apple to make the best iPhone for how we live our lives today, which might involve relationships with one company’s virtual assistant, a different company’s smartwatch and yet a third company’s backup service. I can understand why Apple might want a piece of all those businesses, but it’s too many aspects of life for one tech company to control, or to always get 100 percent right. Competition would make digital products and services better — and customers would choose the Apple ones when they’re truly superior.

How does Google’s monopoly hurt you? Try these searches.
Don’t just take my word about Apple’s mixed motives. Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs held a 2010 planning meeting to talk about how to “tie all of our products together, so we further lock customers into our ecosystem,” according to an internal Apple email. In another email that surfaced during the “Fortnite” trial, Apple Senior Vice President Craig Federighi laid bare why Apple wouldn’t make a version of iMessage that works on non-Apple devices: “I am concerned [that] iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones.”

© Vicki Behringer/AP This courtroom sketch shows Apple CEO Tim Cook being questioned by Apple attorney Veronica Moye, right, during a trial in U.S. District Court in San Ramon, Calif., on Friday, May 21, 2021. Cook described the company's ironclad control over its mobile app store as a way to keep things simple for customers while protecting them against security threats and privacy intrusions.
Lately, Apple has allowed a monopolistic way of thinking to overrun even basic product functions. Ads for Apple services — Arcade, Fitness Plus, TV Plus, iCloud storage — have colonized once-simple menus, and the only way to remove some of them is to subscribe.

More proof that some of Apple’s restrictions are bad for consumers is that Apple actually reversed course on a few under the spotlight of government scrutiny. It loosened up iCloud Photos so we can move our pictures in bulk to Google’s more-functional Photos service (if you know where to click). And with iOS 14.5, we can force Siri to play music from streaming service Spotify by default instead of Apple Music (if we know how to train it).

Our digital lives are on a collision course with Apple’s monopoly mind-set. So let’s make it clear to Apple — not to mention lawmakers — that we demand to be in control of our most-important device. We, the iPhone owners, should be able to:

Download apps and subscriptions from different stores

What Apple does: Only Apple’s App Store is allowed on iPhones, and we can’t easily download and install apps without the store. That means Apple alone gets to set its markup price and alone gets to decide what app content is and isn’t allowed.

Apple says it reviews every app, and the control is critical to its ability to protect our privacy and security.

Why we should be independent: Apple’s control literally makes owning an iPhone more expensive. Apple taxes app developers up to 30 percent, and they pass the cost along to us. Apple is also making unilateral decisions about what should be allowed in the App Store that not everyone agrees with, such as removing apps the Chinese government doesn’t approve of.

Gatekeepers: These tech firms control what’s allowed online
Android device owners have a choice of app stores including ones run by Google, Samsung and Amazon. With competition, customers could still choose Apple’s App Store if they prefer its values — but stores could also emerge focused on different values, such as apps vetted to not rot kids’ brains.

App store competition would also help us because Apple has proved it doesn’t always do a great job at vetting apps to protect our privacy and prevent scams. In January, I discovered the privacy “nutrition labels” Apple attaches to app store listings are filled with inaccuracies.

iMessage and FaceTime anyone (and anywhere) we want

What Apple does: The default iMessage chat app encrypts conversations and adds useful capabilities — but only works with people using Apple-made devices. Messages sent to people on Android phones come through as SMS text in green bubbles, which are less functional, less secure and can be flaky when people change phones.

In 2010, Jobs promised in a keynote presentation that Apple would make FaceTime video an open industry standard, but that has yet to materialize.

Why Apple should open up: Limiting iMessage and FaceTime makes the iPhone less useful. Many of Apple’s customers don’t live in a world where family, friends and work use all-Apple devices. Even iPhone owners can’t read their own message correspondence on a Windows PC.

Choose a voice assistant (or two)

What Apple does: The iPhone limits the use of a wake word and physical buttons to the Apple-made voice assistant Siri. We can deactivate Siri, but can’t just replace it with a competitor such as Google Assistant.

There is a workaround, but it shows just how much we have to contort around Apple’s control: We can create a Siri Shortcut to ask Siri to ask Google a question. (After setting up the hack, we literally have to say, “Hey Siri, Ok Google.”)

Why Apple should open up: Even though Siri has been improving, many of us have invested in a relationship with a different voice service to look up answers, go shopping or operate our smart homes.

Even better, let us have more than one assistant, like Samsung offers on its Galaxy phones with Google and its homemade Bixby. Maybe we’d choose to call out “Hey, Siri” for certain queries, but “Ok, Google” for others.

Buy movies, e-books and other digital media anywhere

What Apple does: Only Apple’s own apps — or ones approved by Apple — can sell movies, e-books and music on the iPhone. Making payments for digital goods go through Apple ensures there isn’t fraud.

Why Apple should open up: It makes no sense that we can buy an $11,000 canoe on the Amazon app but not a $10 e-book. Apple’s restrictions make it very cumbersome to patronize stores that might have better prices and selection. To purchase books from Amazon’s Kindle store, the most popular e-book retailer, we have to quit the app and pull up the Amazon website, make the purchase there, and then return to the Kindle app. (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, but I review all tech with the same critical eye.)

For movies, Amazon is now a member of Apple’s Video Partner Program and allowed to sell movies directly, but other retailers including Fandango Now and Vudu still have to send us through a rigmarole.

Set our own default apps

What Apple does: Last year, iOS finally began letting us choose our own mail and web-browsing app. But the iPhone still won’t let us choose system-default apps for some other really important functions, including messaging, phone calls, camera and maps.

Why Apple should open up: Competition for these core app functions would encourage all of them to get better. For example, camera apps with special features are already among the most-popular downloads on iPhones.

Clear away ads for Apple services

What Apple does: If you compared today’s iPhone software with how it looked even 5 years ago, you might be shocked by all the ads for Apple services. There are Settings ads for AppleCare Plus and iCloud storage, App Store ads for Arcade, TV app ads for Apple TV Plus, Fitness app ads for Fitness Plus, Apple News app ads to subscribe to Apple News Plus, Music app ads to subscribe to Apple Music and more.

Apple says its services are superior because they collect as little data about us as possible to protect privacy.

Why Apple should open up: Android critics call the preinstalled apps and ads on those phones “crapware.” But these Apple ads aren’t much better.

One reason people choose Apple products is because it has a tradition of keeping menus simple and clean. If Apple insists on pitching new customers on its paid services, we should at least be able to tap “stop asking” and make them go away permanently. If it can make the case that its services are superior, we’ll still choose them — and maybe the competition will spur other companies to compete on privacy, too.

Make our data truly portable

What Apple does: When we plug in our iPhones at night, Apple makes a backup of them to iCloud. The Photos app also offloads our pictures to iCloud. But after the free 5 gigabytes of iCloud storage fills up, Apple asks us to start paying for an iCloud subscription. And then it asks again. And again.

We can’t choose Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive for backups. Google’s Photos app can offload extra photos, but Google Drive isn’t a direct storage location in the native Photos app. And we can make a local backup copy of an iPhone on a Mac or Windows PC, but that requires plugging it in and waiting.

Want to borrow that e-book from the library? Sorry, Amazon won’t let you.
In 2019, Apple joined Google and Microsoft in an industry group called the Data Transfer Project, but changes that make moving data easy for consumers have been slow to come. Recently, Apple added the ability to automatically move an iCloud Photos collection to Google Photos.

Why Apple should open up: It’s our data, and we should be able to take it wherever we want. We might already have a subscription to a storage service such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive and don’t want to pay for another.

Get repairs wherever we’d like

What Apple does: Apple won’t sell customers parts to repair iPhones themselves. Instead, it pushes us to have repairs made by Apple stores or its authorized partners, who get access to its parts and instructions.

Independent repair shops can fix iPhones, but there are some repairs that they can’t do because of Apple’s software controls. For example, they can’t reset a warning message about off-brand battery replacements — the equivalent of Jiffy Lube being unable to turn off the check-oil light.

Apple says repairs can be dangerous if they’re not done correctly. Last year, Apple added new traveling repair people in some cities where an Apple authorized service provider will come to you.

Why Apple should open up: In some places, there are few authorized Apple service providers, and sending a device to Apple to get repaired would take a long time. Individuals, businesses and schools ought to have the right to tinker with their own equipment. It’s good for us, not to mention for the environment, if we can repair our gear rather than buying new.




 
Apple will never open up iMesaages because it's the one feature that keeps Apple users in the ecosystem. I'm an Android fan and my Galaxy S21 is better than any iPhone but iMesaage is a killer feature and works extremely well.
 
Great article and valid points.
The problem is that the people who don't buy Apple already knew this. And the people who buy Apple ain't trying hear none of this.

I've been trying to get my family to stick over to andriod for years. I finally give up a year or two ago. At this point some people are too ingrained to the Apple system to ever try to learn how to use an adriod.
 
Literally zero of these things are problems for me

Exactly. I use Macbook Pros and iPhones for work and personal use just because everything works and, most importantly, I get regular on time security updates directly from Apple. Waiting on T-mobile or Verizon to push updates months late isn't going to work for me. :lol:

The list of things that were supposed to the "death" of the iPhone...

lack of physical keyboard
non removable battery
no expandable memory
lack of headphone jack
lack of flash support

You will see lots of "new" articles pushing android just because the opt out is killing Facebook/Google. They are estimating it cost them a combined 25 billion


 
Exactly. I use Macbook Pros and iPhones for work and personal use just because everything works and, most importantly, I get regular on time security updates directly from Apple. Waiting on T-mobile or Verizon to push updates months late isn't going to work for me. :lol:

The list of things that were supposed to the "death" of the iPhone...

lack of physical keyboard
non removable battery
no expandable memory
lack of headphone jack
lack of flash support

You will see lots of "new" articles pushing android just because the opt out is killing Facebook/Google. They are estimating it cost them a combined 25 billion


I'm not even on the it just works train

They all just work (flagships), just like they all have problems from time to time

I used to be android then I switched because a client wanted me to and bought the phone, now I don't wanna go back
 
I'm not even on the it just works train

They all just work (flagships), just like they all have problems from time to time

I used to be android then I switched because a client wanted me to and bought the phone, now I don't wanna go back

The biggest issues with android/pc for me is the lack of timely updates and the price/quality ratio. If I am going to have to pay $1,500-2,000+ to get a quality 13-15" pc why the fuck would I not just buy a Mac for the same price and not have to deal with Windows bullshit ? :lol:

I tried android and see the appeal definitely if you are coming windows or linux. My primary issue with the android phones is that you have to wait to get the updates from the carrier and some of the preinstalled bullshit they have on the phones. Again, I think those wouldn't really be huge problems but for knowing that iOS/OSX don't have those issues.
 
The biggest issues with android/pc for me is the lack of timely updates and the price/quality ratio. If I am going to have to pay $1,500-2,000+ to get a quality 13-15" pc why the fuck would I not just buy a Mac for the same price and not have to deal with Windows bullshit ? :lol:

I tried android and see the appeal definitely if you are coming windows or linux. My primary issue with the android phones is that you have to wait to get the updates from the carrier and some of the preinstalled bullshit they have on the phones. Again, I think those wouldn't really be huge problems but for knowing that iOS/OSX don't have those issues.

I love android for the freedom but I can't apply most of it to my daily life, I have a IPhone now and I find it more friendly for everyday basic use. Imessage, better typing, wider and easily to type on.

but yeah I miss youtube vanced, and all the downloading and torrents but then again if I'm on the street downloading videos and watching youtube all day then I have other things I need to address.

I'm getting a android tablet to stream sports through crackstreams and downloading from BGOL and youtube vanced but outside of that I see little benefit for android. THe IOS apps look better and face ID is better.
 
i dunno.....Im tethered to my Note/android eco system. Im the exact opposite of the previous poster. I do the technical stuff with my phone EVERYDAY. All that daily family struff, calls, video chats etc...we have multiple options. Ima need it to do more than "just work" if Im gonna spend 1000 dollars. Mint mobile just works
 
The biggest issues with android/pc for me is the lack of timely updates and the price/quality ratio. If I am going to have to pay $1,500-2,000+ to get a quality 13-15" pc why the fuck would I not just buy a Mac for the same price and not have to deal with Windows bullshit ? :lol:

I tried android and see the appeal definitely if you are coming windows or linux. My primary issue with the android phones is that you have to wait to get the updates from the carrier and some of the preinstalled bullshit they have on the phones. Again, I think those wouldn't really be huge problems but for knowing that iOS/OSX don't have those issues.
This is why these takes get me

When people say apple, they mean one thing. When people say android/windows, they mean one thing when it refers to about a thousand things. There are shit android and windows devices and there are amazing android and windows devices.

I have a windows laptop that blows the fucking doors off an identically spec'd MacBook (which didn't exist, but the highest spec'd MacBook that WAS available was still over a grand more, for less performance), so that's one reason to not get a mac. They are not always the best option.

I also think pc's are still fighting the "windows bullshit" stigma from back when people still got viruses and shit in the 2000's. I can't even remember when I last had to deal with any OS weirdness.

Some people don't mind paying more for less performance and the virtue signaling thing has always been a part of apple culture. Not even making a judgment on it, just stating the fact.
 
The biggest issues with android/pc for me is the lack of timely updates and the price/quality ratio. If I am going to have to pay $1,500-2,000+ to get a quality 13-15" pc why the fuck would I not just buy a Mac for the same price and not have to deal with Windows bullshit ? :lol:

I tried android and see the appeal definitely if you are coming windows or linux. My primary issue with the android phones is that you have to wait to get the updates from the carrier and some of the preinstalled bullshit they have on the phones. Again, I think those wouldn't really be huge problems but for knowing that iOS/OSX don't have those issues.


Google Nexus / Pixel user here for 7+ years... I don't have that problem
 
The iPhone will innovate with certain features (best cell phone video camera, dolby vision support, face ID) then be the last one to adopt other features (widgets, custom notification sounds, water resistance, wireless charging, OLED display, 5G, phablet).

Then when they finally get a feature that Android phones have had for years, some of the same folks that claimed they didn't care about those features end up using them all the time.

They still don't have 120hz, USB-C, scum bag zoom, reverse wireless charging, or multitasking (I'm talking about the iPhone not iPad).

If you have a Samsung phone, tablet, and watch, all you need is one USB-C cable to charge everything. If you're on travel and forget it, you can pick up a cheap one from anywhere.

If you have an iPhone, iPad pro, and Apple watch, you need at least two cables/chargers. If you forget them at home, your going to pay a lot more.
 
I also think pc's are still fighting the "windows bullshit" stigma from back when people still got viruses and shit in the 2000's. I can't even remember when I last had to deal with any OS weirdness.

Some people don't mind paying more for less performance and the virtue signaling thing has always been a part of apple culture. Not even making a judgment on it, just stating the fact.

"Windows Bullshit" is more an issue with PC maker's race to the bottom effectively training the majority of users to not spend more than $300 on a machine. I hate giving out advice to people I know now because almost every last one gets mad when everyone I show them is around $500-700. Even when you can physically show them how much better and faster a machine can be by just spending $200 more most still don't get it. It's the industry's fault for not adequately explaining it in a way that the average person can understand. It's not like a car where you can just look at a Chevy Spark and see how it's different than a Malibu.

As for Mac and iPhones for that matter, Virtue signaling is an elitist copout that can't believe that some people actually don't want choice, or doesn't want to think about how they use their product. My sister went from iPhone to Samsung and back because she basically found the different options and ways to do some things confusing. Another friend switched to Mac because she hated how for example, the Photos app on Windows will only pick up standard iPhone photos and will ignore the HDR ones, and she can never remember to go to the iCloud to open them. That isn't a problem on a Mac because they all show up in the Picture's folder. In another car analogy, Just because you prefer a stick shift doesn't mean everyone should want one too.
 
If you have an iPhone, iPad pro, and Apple watch, you need at least two cables/chargers. If you forget them at home, your going to pay a lot more.

Not really, because someone you know is going to have one. Or the hotel will loan you one from the lost and found or similar. Gas stations sell them. It's been around for 9 years. Not to mention the various bullshit that has gone around with USB-C for at least 5 or those years on various things. And even when things are starting to clear, now there's new revisions every year to start the confusion again on what device or cable supports what. It's a pain in the ass to explain that the port may look and plug the same, but it isn't really the same as the one next to it.


That kind of touches on some of the other things you said. It's not that they think they didn't care, it's that they didn't want to think about it. Samsung may have had 120hz screens first, but you also had to think about how it affected battery life the first two years of that. Dolby Vision doesn't mean shit if you don't have a certified device to play it back with (This isn't just about certified TVs) Apple is being behind on things on purpose because they want them to be polished and not thought about for their users. There's plenty of people who like that.
 
Great article and valid points.
The problem is that the people who don't buy Apple already knew this. And the people who buy Apple ain't trying hear none of this.

I've been trying to get my family to stick over to andriod for years. I finally give up a year or two ago. At this point some people are too ingrained to the Apple system to ever try to learn how to use an adriod.


Its like trump supporters saying
he did a good job. It's a cult! I
can't think of ANY other reason. :(
 
Its like trump supporters saying
he did a good job. It's a cult! I
can't think of ANY other reason. :(
I don't think it's even that serious. It's just the fear of change.

If you been using iMessage and iTunes for the better part of 15 years, you mighy honestly not know that there are other options. Those are just the things that has 'always' been on your phones so you begin to think that not having other options is normal.
 
Not really, because someone you know is going to have one. Or the hotel will loan you one from the lost and found or similar. Gas stations sell them. It's been around for 9 years. Not to mention the various bullshit that has gone around with USB-C for at least 5 or those years on various things. And even when things are starting to clear, now there's new revisions every year to start the confusion again on what device or cable supports what. It's a pain in the ass to explain that the port may look and plug the same, but it isn't really the same as the one next to it.


That kind of touches on some of the other things you said. It's not that they think they didn't care, it's that they didn't want to think about it. Samsung may have had 120hz screens first, but you also had to think about how it affected battery life the first two years of that. Dolby Vision doesn't mean shit if you don't have a certified device to play it back with (This isn't just about certified TVs) Apple is being behind on things on purpose because they want them to be polished and not thought about for their users. There's plenty of people who like that.


Samsung actually got a lot of criticism for making people choose between 1440p and 120hz when the s20 line came out last year whereas reviewers barely mentioned it when Apple stuck with the 60hz display. The criticism stemmed from the viewpoint that the user should be allowed to decide if they want to run their phone in a way that'll kill the battery.

Some features like 30x zoom still need improvement, but with other features like reverse wireless charge, it's better to have it even if it charges slowly, rather than not have it at all. Flossy Carter has talked about using his phone to charge his daughter's iPhone when they go out. Lol.

Other features like water resistance is something that was hurting users by taking so long to implement. I had friends kill their phones because they got wet while I was able to wash my phone with no problems.

I consider Dolby Vision to be a forward looking technology. 5-10 years from now, most displays will support HDR, and a lot more (than now) will support Dolby Vision. Samsung's HDR10+ will be the next betamax, HD-DVD, etc.

Apple makes a solid phone that plenty of people are happy with, but I could never switch over.
 
Google Nexus / Pixel user here for 7+ years... I don't have that problem

How many replacement pixels did you get though? :roflmao: Don't tell me otherwise, do let me pull up that build quality issue over the years.

I know a dude with a damn 6s in 2021 and it still works:D
 
This is why these takes get me

When people say apple, they mean one thing. When people say android/windows, they mean one thing when it refers to about a thousand things. There are shit android and windows devices and there are amazing android and windows devices.

I have a windows laptop that blows the fucking doors off an identically spec'd MacBook (which didn't exist, but the highest spec'd MacBook that WAS available was still over a grand more, for less performance), so that's one reason to not get a mac. They are not always the best option.

I also think pc's are still fighting the "windows bullshit" stigma from back when people still got viruses and shit in the 2000's. I can't even remember when I last had to deal with any OS weirdness.

Some people don't mind paying more for less performance and the virtue signaling thing has always been a part of apple culture. Not even making a judgment on it, just stating the fact.

I haven't used windows since '04 or '05. If you are a gamer or "power" user, you can definitely get a PC with better specs for much cheaper. I primarily do spreadsheets/word processing but also use Photoshop and Lightroom so I usually get the max ram/storage MBP 15 and hold on to it for a while. I still have a an older retina MBP 15" I use along with some older MBPs and even a Thinkpad running Linux. :lol:
 
"Windows Bullshit" is more an issue with PC maker's race to the bottom effectively training the majority of users to not spend more than $300 on a machine. I hate giving out advice to people I know now because almost every last one gets mad when everyone I show them is around $500-700. Even when you can physically show them how much better and faster a machine can be by just spending $200 more most still don't get it. It's the industry's fault for not adequately explaining it in a way that the average person can understand. It's not like a car where you can just look at a Chevy Spark and see how it's different than a Malibu.

As for Mac and iPhones for that matter, Virtue signaling is an elitist copout that can't believe that some people actually don't want choice, or doesn't want to think about how they use their product. My sister went from iPhone to Samsung and back because she basically found the different options and ways to do some things confusing. Another friend switched to Mac because she hated how for example, the Photos app on Windows will only pick up standard iPhone photos and will ignore the HDR ones, and she can never remember to go to the iCloud to open them. That isn't a problem on a Mac because they all show up in the Picture's folder. In another car analogy, Just because you prefer a stick shift doesn't mean everyone should want one too.

:yes:

That is my main point with all of this. You have to spend close to $1,000 to get a PC with a decent screen/battery/keyboard when I can spend around the same on a retina MBP. I had bullshit Toshiba's and hated Apple before I made the switch to the G4 Powerbook :lol:Not looked back since.
 
:yes:

That is my main point with all of this. You have to spend close to $1,000 to get a PC with a decent screen/battery/keyboard when I can spend around the same on a retina MBP. I had bullshit Toshiba's and hated Apple before I made the switch to the G4 Powerbook :lol:Not looked back since.

What type of PC is decent to you though? Cuz I got a XPS 8940 with a I5-400, 1660K, 256 mb, 8 gig for 619.99 months ago. I posted the dell on the board.

and that comes with keyboard and mouse so I don't know what you're talking about. You must be on some high end hardware.

I was thinking about copping a Macbook air, i couldn't afford the pro but instead I got a P14 second gen for the same price.
 
How many replacement pixels did you get though? :roflmao: Don't tell me otherwise, do let me pull up that build quality issue over the years.

I know a dude with a damn 6s in 2021 and it still works:D
my last couple of phones have also been Nexus/Pixels. I had the first pixel and now have the 3. Didn't bother to upgrade to the 4 or the 5, but i will get the 6. my 3 is in perfect condition and only had to replace it once, don't even remember why.
 
my last couple of phones have also been Nexus/Pixels. I had the first pixel and now have the 3. Didn't bother to upgrade to the 4 or the 5, but i will get the 6. my 3 is in perfect condition and only had to replace it once, don't even remember why.

Low key I still wish I didn't buy the iphone and bought the pixel 5. I love that little phone, pretty for us weak niggas :roflmao:

but seriously though the size and weight are perfect to just throw in a pocket and rock with it.
 
Low key I still wish I didn't buy the iphone and bought the pixel 5. I love that little phone, pretty for us weak niggas :roflmao:

but seriously though the size and weight are perfect to just throw in a pocket and rock with it.
agree, i have only a spigen tough armor case on mine, and it still fits perfectly in my pocket.
 
Back
Top