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Connected

440: Indie Straps

 

00:00:00   [Music]

00:00:07   Hello and welcome to episode 440 of Connected.

00:00:12   This is a podcast from Relay FM.

00:00:15   My name is Mike Hurley and I am joined by Federico Fettucci.

00:00:17   Hi Federico.

00:00:18   Hello Mike. Kind of a low energy intro.

00:00:21   Well, I get lost now.

00:00:23   Emily, Mike low energy today.

00:00:25   I also forgot to say this episode is brought to you by ExpressVPN.

00:00:29   indeed an hover. I'm pleased you remembered now. I know how to introduce

00:00:33   like the shows I introduce you know like I'm not used to introducing this one

00:00:37   obviously Steven's not here. Right I just wanted to double check to double check

00:00:40   that this is from Reel AFM like it's not some fake version of connected is it

00:00:45   from Reel AFM? Is it the one? I guess that's a question to ask yourself right

00:00:51   like if the three of us aren't here is it fake connected? It's faux connected

00:00:57   Yeah, maybe.

00:00:58   Although, to be honest, can you imagine, like, fake connected, like, how bad that would be

00:01:02   if someone tried to, like...

00:01:03   Yeah, like, swap the three of us with some other three guys?

00:01:05   It would be so bad, like, if someone thought that they could do that, like, that they actually

00:01:09   thought that they would be good enough to try and pretend they could be us.

00:01:12   Yeah, no, we don't want to think about that.

00:01:14   We don't want to think about that.

00:01:15   There's only one connected.

00:01:16   Don't even try.

00:01:17   Don't even come at us.

00:01:18   I've got some follow-up for you if you'd like it.

00:01:21   Okay, yes, I like it.

00:01:23   So we were talking about live activities last time.

00:01:26   There are sports scores, we were talking about this as a thing and Stephen has some sports

00:01:31   app, I don't know, he's always doing all kinds of sports, he's going to games and like sending

00:01:36   me images, I don't know what it's all about.

00:01:38   He's a sporty guy.

00:01:40   But there are a few other instances, so Apple's TV app now does live activities for the major

00:01:46   league soccer game scores.

00:01:48   Oh okay.

00:01:49   Right, so because that's the thing they do.

00:01:52   there are if you I think there is a thing where if you use the sports feature in news

00:01:58   now it sometimes can tie into the TV app and show you sports scores as well so the TV app

00:02:03   does it.

00:02:05   Listener Levi pointed out the official NFL app has live activity support and I wanted

00:02:10   to follow up to say that the Formula One app that I was using called BoxBox now the first

00:02:16   race of the season is done I got to experience their like Dynamic Island and live activity

00:02:22   support. I thought it was pretty good. All of these things I think it's only as good as the

00:02:28   frequency that they get the data and the frequency that they can update the information. So like I

00:02:35   don't think that this kind of stuff is a good companion to actually watching live. Like if

00:02:40   you're watching live and want the information, open the apps or whatever to get it. But as a way to be

00:02:45   able to keep up with something if you can't watch live, I think that this is an example of it working

00:02:50   pretty well. But I turned on that feature where you can have some apps update more frequently.

00:02:57   Okay.

00:02:58   And actually the reason I turned it on, I'd forgotten about it, because you know it's

00:03:01   like a toggle you can get, right? But the live activity itself prompted me to turn it

00:03:08   on. It was like this app would benefit from more like increased frequency or whatever

00:03:13   they call it of update. And so I was able to turn it on in the same way that it gives

00:03:18   you that little drop down to be like would you like to allow this live

00:03:21   activity there was a similar one there about about increased frequency of

00:03:25   updating I heard that Ferrari didn't didn't do so well no no I heard I didn't

00:03:33   I didn't watch it I never well I used to I used to watch Formula One as a kid but

00:03:40   I am familiar because it's it's always on the news here when I when I turn on

00:03:43   the news usually at lunchtime and yeah I hear in the background that it didn't

00:03:48   do so well. The Tofosi would have been mad. Yeah. Yeah, no it wasn't good. Okay.

00:03:55   No, it's not, not, not good again. We'll see. I have hopes for him but not a great

00:04:02   start but there's only one race so far so a lot can change. Mm-hmm. Even though

00:04:08   Steven's not here this week I wanted to mention something that he was working on

00:04:12   for Rogue Amoeba. Did you see this? I saw this. This is the Rogue Amoeba screenshot

00:04:17   archive so listen this had steven's fingerprints all over it all over this project yeah even if

00:04:22   they wouldn't have mentioned it you would assume that he'd done it yes uh so if you remember steven

00:04:28   some years ago seemed to punish himself by uh creating the mac os screenshot archive where

00:04:35   he took screenshots of mac os features and apps running on the actual hardware that they were

00:04:43   were running on and then put together like an archive of all of that and it's

00:04:49   got it on the on his website the 512 pixels website yes and so Roga Miba

00:04:55   asked him if he would do this to celebrate their 20th anniversary so they

00:04:59   gave him I accept app binaries and code of various apps that he had to compile

00:05:05   and then run on old hardware so he took the screenshots on the hardware that

00:05:11   that these things would have run on.

00:05:13   And now there is an archive of the applications over time

00:05:17   on the Rogamiva website, which is pretty cool.

00:05:21   My favorite one of these is Piezo.

00:05:23   'Cause I use Piezo sometimes, and I look at it,

00:05:27   it's like, oh, it's like a cute,

00:05:28   now it feels like a throwback, right?

00:05:30   'Cause it's like-- - It never changed.

00:05:31   - 'Cause it has been around since 2011,

00:05:34   and the main UI of the app has never changed.

00:05:36   And I just think that that is like an incredible thing

00:05:39   that like, it was retro-inspired,

00:05:41   and then like it's meant to look like old kind of radio stuff.

00:05:45   And there's something about that where it still works for me visually

00:05:49   because it was always designed to be old.

00:05:51   And I just think that that's really funny.

00:05:53   Yeah.

00:05:54   Yeah, if something is already old,

00:05:57   you're never going to notice it's aging.

00:06:00   Kind of like Steven, if you think about it.

00:06:01   Exactly.

00:06:03   Yeah.

00:06:04   Yeah.

00:06:05   Steven is the piezo of the show.

00:06:08   Steven is the piezo of people.

00:06:09   (both laughing)

00:06:12   - iOS 16.4 beta 3 allows you to sign in

00:06:18   to a different Apple ID to download like apps, not apps, OSs.

00:06:23   Remember we spoke about this last time

00:06:26   that they were basically gonna be tying app update.

00:06:31   I keep saying app, OS updates of betas to an Apple ID.

00:06:36   So you didn't have to deal with that profile nonsense

00:06:38   anymore and something that a few people worried about was like well if I'm a

00:06:42   developer and my developer ID is actually a different Apple ID to my

00:06:46   personal ID which is probably a good way to run things. I am one of those people yes.

00:06:50   I mean it makes a lot of sense right because then if you're taking

00:06:53   screenshots or when people were using testing devices that it hasn't got that

00:06:56   actual information attached to it so Apple have put this into beta 3 to allow

00:07:02   you to sign into a different Apple ID for beta software which I think I mean

00:07:07   I mean, I've got to hand it to them.

00:07:08   I don't know if they were planning this already

00:07:10   and they just pushed the first version,

00:07:11   but like they got that taken care of real quick.

00:07:14   - Yeah, yeah, this is great.

00:07:15   I have that exact setup.

00:07:17   I have my main Apple ID, which is an iCloud account,

00:07:20   but I have my developer account,

00:07:22   which is tied to a different email address.

00:07:24   And so being able to separate those

00:07:26   and maybe choose not to sign in with my main Apple ID

00:07:29   on a testing device or in the summary,

00:07:31   if the betas are rough or whatever, much, much better.

00:07:34   And I don't have to deal with that profile nonsense

00:07:36   that you mentioned, like just log in

00:07:37   with your developer account.

00:07:38   We're gonna see the different types of betas

00:07:41   that you can install.

00:07:42   I believe there's three categories.

00:07:44   You can choose between developer betas, public betas,

00:07:48   and I think there's a different category

00:07:49   called customer beta, which is kind of weird.

00:07:52   It should be the Apple Seed testing program.

00:07:55   I think it shows up as customer beta

00:07:59   in those categories of types of beta releases

00:08:02   you can install.

00:08:03   So very nicely done, about time.

00:08:05   We don't have to deal, like I remember the dark times of,

00:08:09   hopefully this will propagate to other Apple devices.

00:08:14   And I'm looking especially at the Apple TV.

00:08:16   I remember when I used to store my beta profile in Dropbox,

00:08:21   and then I had to paste the URL of the Dropbox file

00:08:27   via the iPhone keyboard to the Apple TV.

00:08:32   Man, that was rough.

00:08:34   And I think it's become easier over time

00:08:38   to install betas on tvOS.

00:08:40   Hopefully this account-based system

00:08:43   will also be available on tvOS.

00:08:45   I haven't checked if it is already in 16.4

00:08:48   because normally I don't run tvOS betas during the year.

00:08:53   I just install it in June.

00:08:55   Maybe you should do it as the US guy.

00:08:58   - Actually, you know what I probably should.

00:08:58   - Maybe you should tell me.

00:08:59   - I should be on top of this.

00:09:00   - If the account system is already there.

00:09:03   But yes, this is great.

00:09:04   - Which is yes, Federico.

00:09:05   - Nice, perfect.

00:09:06   So no more dealing with the profile.

00:09:10   - And you can trust me, 'cause I definitely checked.

00:09:13   - I can trust you.

00:09:14   And look, if the information is incorrect,

00:09:18   your reputation is on the line.

00:09:21   - No, you can just assume I have like a secret beta

00:09:24   that has the feature, that's what you can assume.

00:09:27   - Sure, sure.

00:09:28   - Tip, tap, meme.

00:09:29   - Made just for you, okay.

00:09:32   - Apple frames 3.1.1 has been released.

00:09:36   - Small update.

00:09:37   - Okay, what is so small about it?

00:09:40   - Well, it's really something that I,

00:09:42   that as soon as Apple frames 3.1 came out,

00:09:45   I realized, oh, I forgot to include this option,

00:09:49   which is kind of obvious in hindsight.

00:09:50   And as soon as I saw it,

00:09:51   and as soon as I saw how people were using Apple frames 3.1

00:09:55   with the Apple frames API,

00:09:57   I realized, well, this is something I should have.

00:09:59   So as we discussed last week,

00:10:01   One of the changes of Apple Frames 3.1 is the ability

00:10:04   to use it as a feature of other shortcuts, right?

00:10:08   Shortcuts as an action called run shortcut

00:10:11   that you can include in one of your other shortcuts.

00:10:15   The idea being you wanna put together

00:10:18   like a longer workflow that, you know,

00:10:20   does a bunch of different things.

00:10:22   And maybe one of those things is,

00:10:24   oh, you should also run these other shortcut

00:10:26   that I have in my library.

00:10:27   And so that becomes, it becomes possible

00:10:29   with Apple Frames 3.1 to turn the shortcut,

00:10:34   which normally it presents you with a menu,

00:10:38   it lets you choose images,

00:10:40   it lets you choose what you wanna do at the end.

00:10:42   Instead, you turn the shortcut into a feature

00:10:45   to frame screenshots in whatever other shortcut

00:10:49   you may be using.

00:10:50   But something that was missing from that approach was,

00:10:54   well, what if you just wanna use the shortcut

00:10:56   as a function, as a feature, and you just want to pass the output of Apple Frames through

00:11:04   to the next action.

00:11:06   And the original version of Apple Frames 3.1 could only do that via a workaround, like

00:11:13   store the framed image in the system clipboard.

00:11:18   And that was doable, but I realized, no, I should have a proper, like a native pass-through

00:11:25   output feature.

00:11:26   So that's what I added in 3.1.1.

00:11:29   Now you can frame an image and you can pass it on to the next action in a shortcut

00:11:36   without having to store that framed image anywhere.

00:11:40   Not in files, not in the clipboard, not anywhere else.

00:11:44   You just pass it on to the next action as a variable.

00:11:47   That's it.

00:11:48   That's nice.

00:11:49   How was the reaction in general to the frames API stuff?

00:11:53   Oh, super good.

00:11:54   Did people understand it?

00:11:55   Yes.

00:11:55   getting questions, like what was it like?

00:11:58   - I'm getting questions, it's been so nice to hear

00:12:02   from developers and designers who I knew were relying

00:12:06   on this before, like when they saw the option

00:12:09   to like batch process an entire folder of screenshots.

00:12:13   Like I heard from a few people that were super happy

00:12:15   to see that.

00:12:16   My friend Matt Bertrall on YouTube,

00:12:20   has an excellent channel.

00:12:23   he put together this video showing off how to use Apple Frames 3.1 with Hazel on macOS,

00:12:30   which is a fantastic idea and exactly what I was thinking of.

00:12:34   You can incorporate Apple Frames into other types of automations, other types of workflows.

00:12:40   And the video that Matt did showed off, you have a folder on your Mac and you want to

00:12:46   monitor that folder and anytime there's a screenshot in it, you want to frame it, you

00:12:52   can do that.

00:12:53   Hazel monitors the folder and if it picks up a screenshot, it runs Apple Frames on it.

00:12:58   That's very smart.

00:13:00   Wild! And one of the things you can do with the Apple Frames API.

00:13:03   On macOS, you just invoke Apple Frames, you give some commands to it,

00:13:08   and you say, "Yeah, take this image and save it back in this folder,

00:13:12   or save it into another folder, like whatever you want to do."

00:13:15   And Hazel just works out of the box with it.

00:13:18   I'll put that link in the show notes.

00:13:21   - How I'm using-- - A better computer, I think,

00:13:23   is the name of the channel. - A better computer, yeah.

00:13:24   - Yes, great channel.

00:13:25   - Yeah, he does good stuff.

00:13:26   I liked some videos about Arc when me and Jason

00:13:29   were testing out the Arc browser,

00:13:31   'cause he was using that a lot.

00:13:32   - Been watching those too, yeah.

00:13:33   - I still hope that they'll make an iOS version.

00:13:35   I like-- - I know.

00:13:36   - I know they're working on it.

00:13:38   - I think the roadmap said like,

00:13:40   iOS version first half of the year,

00:13:44   Windows version fall 2023.

00:13:46   I think that's their goal.

00:13:48   They're doing something very intriguing on Windows,

00:13:52   which is they're building Arc with Swift on Windows.

00:13:57   Which, yeah, yeah.

00:13:59   - Can you do that?

00:14:00   - Well, apparently so, yeah.

00:14:02   I forgot the details.

00:14:04   They have a video where one of the lead engineers on it

00:14:07   is explaining what they're doing,

00:14:09   but I'm pretty sure, yeah, that the gist of it was

00:14:11   we're gonna build it using Swift on Windows.

00:14:14   It's wild.

00:14:16   I just found a tweet.

00:14:19   "Ark..."

00:14:19   This is from Tom Warren.

00:14:21   "Ark will run Swift on Windows.

00:14:24   Most browsers running C++, it's going to be a heavy lift in the browser company

00:14:28   to get their code across from Mac OS and a big focus on UI and implement fluid elements."

00:14:34   This is...

00:14:34   That is wild.

00:14:35   Yeah, it's pretty incredible, honestly.

00:14:38   But yeah, they're going to do that.

00:14:40   And they...

00:14:40   I believe last week, one of the engineers showed off

00:14:45   like a very first working version on Windows,

00:14:49   which is like nothing.

00:14:50   It's basically like a blank canvas with a webpage.

00:14:53   Doesn't have any menus and the sidebar is like a gray box

00:14:56   on the left side, but hey, it's like hello world material.

00:15:00   It's working, just doesn't have a UI.

00:15:03   But yeah, they're building it with Swift.

00:15:06   - This almost feels like that conversation

00:15:09   we've had before about some apps moving to Swift UI sooner than they should.

00:15:16   I'm like, just because you can do something, does it mean you should do it?

00:15:21   Like, just because they maybe can make this work, like, should they though?

00:15:27   Like, I don't know if this is going to result in like a long term success for you.

00:15:32   I don't know.

00:15:33   Yeah, well, I don't know what to tell you.

00:15:36   But if the browser company, you know, they have money, they have funding,

00:15:41   and they got, you know, time and resources, I guess, and they want to do it.

00:15:46   There's a long video where they actually explain the thinking.

00:15:50   I found it.

00:15:51   Please link that because it's much more, you know, I'm sure the decision is much more nuanced

00:15:57   than what we just said, like, "Oh, they're doing it with Windows.

00:15:59   Hey, that's weird." I'm sure they had the reasons.

00:16:02   I mean, I'm sure one of the big reasons is they want to build in one language

00:16:07   and they figured they could make this work somehow, but it just seems quite complicated.

00:16:14   I'm actually very intrigued to see how that project moves forward, to be honest.

00:16:20   Me too.

00:16:20   That would be really interesting.

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00:18:11   Tony in the live chat remarks that Swift on Windows

00:18:16   is a thing that was announced in 2020.

00:18:19   I have no doubt that it like works in a way, right?

00:18:22   But like, I still feel like you're a pioneer

00:18:25   no matter what you're doing, right?

00:18:27   - Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

00:18:29   Okay, it was announced in 2020.

00:18:31   Do we know other apps that are using Zwift on Windows?

00:18:34   - I feel like the fact that it was made a thing,

00:18:37   like in the press by people like Tom Warren,

00:18:39   would seem to suggest that maybe this might be

00:18:41   one of the more complicated projects.

00:18:43   - And I have a follow-up question.

00:18:44   The three apps that Apple recently made for Windows,

00:18:48   were they made with Zwift?

00:18:50   Or, I don't think they were.

00:18:53   I'm pretty sure they weren't.

00:18:54   - Interesting.

00:18:56   - Yeah.

00:18:57   - Do you know what Apple did just make though?

00:19:01   The one thing we've all been waiting for, a yellow iPhone.

00:19:04   - Yellow.

00:19:07   Look at the stars.

00:19:08   Okay, we're shining for you.

00:19:10   - Indeed.

00:19:12   And it was all yellow, Federica.

00:19:15   I mean, it's like this is the mid-seat,

00:19:17   like the mid-cycle color.

00:19:20   They chose yellow this time,

00:19:21   what we've had purple in the past.

00:19:23   I think that maybe it was the first one.

00:19:25   It was green, right?

00:19:27   I think.

00:19:29   But didn't the green one also have a green pro phone as well?

00:19:34   - Yeah, there's no pro yellow. - Can't do pro yellow.

00:19:38   - Yellow isn't for pros. - Pro yellow is gold.

00:19:40   And they already have that.

00:19:43   - Is it?

00:19:44   Is pro yellow gold?

00:19:46   No. - I feel like it.

00:19:47   Well, what would pro yellow be?

00:19:49   - Well, basic Apple guy on Mastodon.

00:19:52   They also moved to Mastodon.

00:19:54   They showed off exactly the kind of yellow that I wanted to have.

00:19:58   That doesn't feel like pro to me though.

00:20:00   Like in Apple's definition of like pro, which is like barely no color.

00:20:05   What basic Apple guy did was like, this is a good yellow.

00:20:09   Pro doesn't mean good.

00:20:10   I forgot because pro means bad color.

00:20:13   Yeah.

00:20:14   Oh yeah.

00:20:15   Well, still check out that mock-up.

00:20:17   That's exactly the kind of yellow I would have very much preferred to have

00:20:22   instead of this... how do we call this? Like, lime yellow? Like, bright yellow?

00:20:29   What kind of yellow is this?

00:20:30   To me, this is a very, like, Easter yellow. Like, a spring yellow.

00:20:36   Spring yellow. And the other one is what? Saturated yellow?

00:20:40   Yes.

00:20:41   This is the problem with...

00:20:44   The thing about saturation is, like, this is what we always want from Apple.

00:20:47   We want the colors to be more saturated, like, always.

00:20:50   They do a decent job with some of the regular iPhone colors, but not always.

00:20:54   There's always like, more saturation is good, right?

00:20:57   Like you just want the colors to actually really tell you they're the colors.

00:21:00   I think like typically what people are more looking for is primary colors, right?

00:21:05   Like I think the things that the phone...

00:21:08   It's human nature to gravitate towards those colors.

00:21:10   Right? Like I think the phone colors that people tend to like most,

00:21:14   that Apple make are the ones that are more primary, red.

00:21:19   You know what's a good yellow? You know what's a good yellow?

00:21:21   I'm gonna call it Playdate Yellow. Now that's a good yellow.

00:21:25   That's a good yellow. That's the yellow we want.

00:21:27   Yeah.

00:21:28   I mean, there's not really anything to say about this, right?

00:21:30   But like it's just a thing that happens.

00:21:31   They have a press release for a yellow iPhone.

00:21:35   It's like it's still the same iPhone.

00:21:37   Although there are some details, some interesting details in the press release.

00:21:41   One of them being, emergency SOS is expanding to six more countries later this month,

00:21:47   month, which I don't know, does it imply that 16.4 is launching later this month? Maybe,

00:21:53   I don't know. Still, it's coming to Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal

00:21:58   and Italy. And I will probably activate this depending on...

00:22:02   - I'm trying.

00:22:03   - I'm gonna try it. I mean, see, that's the thing. I hope I never get to use this because

00:22:07   that means I'm in a bad situation. But I wanna test it. I wanna do the fancy thing that all

00:22:15   my friends in America did like pointing at the sky like find the satellite like

00:22:19   I wanna do that on my balcony you know okay let me find the satellite yeah and

00:22:23   you too will get the benefit of the really ugly satellite icon that now

00:22:28   appears whenever you don't have service yes I want I want I want I want the

00:22:32   ugly icon it's real bad man I don't know I don't need it like it's is it one of

00:22:36   those things that it's so bad it's kind of cute no hmm to me I don't like it

00:22:41   It's just like a big SOS and then there's this little like satellite.

00:22:45   So it's not like ugly dogs that are so ugly they are actually adorable.

00:22:50   You know, you all enjoy this. I love those kinds of dogs.

00:22:55   Yes, me too.

00:22:56   But like, no but me, right? I'm no dog guy.

00:23:00   But ugly dogs, I'm an ugly dog guy.

00:23:03   Maybe you should get an ugly dog. You should get an ugly dog.

00:23:05   If we ever get a dog, then I want an unconventional looking dog.

00:23:10   They're my favorite kind of dogs.

00:23:12   This is good information to have.

00:23:14   I mean, okay, why not revisit the dog topic now that you have a new home, more space.

00:23:23   Well, I mean, I have mentally revisited this in the sense of like I now imagine having a dog in my life at some point.

00:23:31   Okay, that's good.

00:23:32   So my stance has changed.

00:23:34   Okay, that's good.

00:23:35   But it's just soon but not yet, you know what I mean?

00:23:38   That's kind of how I feel about it.

00:23:39   you at least entertained the idea.

00:23:42   - Yeah, I now imagine I will have a dog

00:23:44   at some point in my life.

00:23:45   But now it's just a case of like, when?

00:23:49   But this isn't an immediate thing.

00:23:50   I don't imagine it happening within the next five years.

00:23:54   But I do now imagine myself as a dog owner at some point.

00:23:59   You know?

00:24:00   - An ugly retirement dog.

00:24:03   - Well, you see, it's like quote unquote ugly, right?

00:24:06   'Cause I find dogs that are unconventional,

00:24:09   the most adorable.

00:24:10   - Yes.

00:24:11   - So, that might like, that's the sort of--

00:24:13   - I mean, no dog is ugly.

00:24:15   - Correct.

00:24:16   - But it's a shorthand to imply a certain type of dog.

00:24:20   Yeah, that's what we mean.

00:24:22   Okay, interesting.

00:24:23   - I still don't stand by your all dogs are good.

00:24:26   - Oh no, you are mistaken.

00:24:28   - I still don't stand by that.

00:24:29   - I can guarantee you that all dogs are good,

00:24:30   people are bad.

00:24:31   Owners are bad.

00:24:32   The context of a dog is bad.

00:24:36   The dog in itself is an excellent, good creature.

00:24:41   The context surrounding them is the problem.

00:24:45   - So maybe that's just where I need to get next, right?

00:24:48   Like this is in my dog journey,

00:24:49   is eventually agreeing like just naturally,

00:24:54   like all dogs are good.

00:24:55   Like I still haven't gotten to that yet.

00:24:57   - Oh yeah.

00:24:58   Like dogs are not like wolves.

00:25:00   Like they're not these wild creatures that-

00:25:04   - Wolves, not dogs?

00:25:05   No. Well, they're very similar, but they're not.

00:25:09   And dogs don't have, because of like how evolution has worked over millennia,

00:25:15   dogs just don't have the instinct to kill to survive like a wolf does, for example.

00:25:21   What about places where there are wild dogs, though?

00:25:24   But see, again, that goes back to the idea of the context of like a pack of dogs

00:25:32   that maybe were mistreated before, they're hungry, they were beaten before maybe, you know.

00:25:38   I think you're maybe associating dogs like, "Oh, that's a very bad dog, like,

00:25:46   like this is a wild creature who's gonna bite me." It's not like that. It's not like that. I guarantee you it's not like that.

00:25:53   They just need a little love and that's all.

00:25:57   Okay.

00:25:59   This is interesting though.

00:26:00   So there's a yellow iPhone.

00:26:02   - Okay, yes.

00:26:03   - There are also a bunch of new cases and bands.

00:26:07   This is like the spring refresh.

00:26:09   There are any colors of band that have caught your attention.

00:26:13   There's a bunch of new orange ones,

00:26:14   which I think look kind of cool.

00:26:16   And so, and obviously some yellow ones,

00:26:18   which look kind of cool.

00:26:20   My issue is they don't make,

00:26:22   they don't make the bands I want anymore.

00:26:24   Apple do not make them.

00:26:25   - Yep.

00:26:26   - All they want to do is the sport ones with,

00:26:31   and like the loop ones, they just want to make loops,

00:26:33   knowing that the actual like clasp ones.

00:26:36   And my favorite band, which is the magnetic one,

00:26:40   whatever it's called,

00:26:40   they don't make new colors of that very often.

00:26:43   - They make three types of bands now.

00:26:46   The rubber ones, the loop ones, and the Hermes ones.

00:26:52   - Yes.

00:26:53   - Like what happened to like when you were doing

00:26:55   the Milanese loop or the bracelet?

00:26:57   - I think they make refreshes there like once a year,

00:27:00   because I wanted to get the green version of the one I have

00:27:03   and they got rid of it and replaced it

00:27:04   with like a midnight one or something.

00:27:06   So like when they bring out new Apple Watches,

00:27:10   that's when they make some changes to those.

00:27:12   But I wished that they would have a little more variety

00:27:16   again in like what they're updating.

00:27:17   Like why did they only update the loop ones?

00:27:20   I still, I don't want the loop ones.

00:27:21   I just want to be able to take the watch off.

00:27:23   I don't want to like have to pull the watch off.

00:27:26   - Like we get it, you make loops.

00:27:28   that concept has been established.

00:27:29   - Everyone's so happy for you, we're so proud of you.

00:27:32   You worked out how to remove the car.

00:27:34   - You made your point, you can make loops.

00:27:37   - Everyone's so happy for you, you know, congratulations.

00:27:40   - Do you think they're overcompensating

00:27:41   for the fact that they don't have a campus at Infinite Loop

00:27:45   and now they just make loops for the watch?

00:27:47   - They just infinitely make loops for Apple Watches.

00:27:50   - Took that a bit too literally.

00:27:52   - It's like Hermes are the only,

00:27:54   They're the only company allowed to make regular straps on a frequent basis.

00:28:00   I mean it sounds like a joke but it's not.

00:28:03   Which is like, this is not a real laugh, it's a sad laugh.

00:28:08   It's very true, unfortunately.

00:28:10   Yes.

00:28:11   My favourite, one of my favourite things that I feel like, I don't mention enough but I

00:28:17   really appreciate.

00:28:18   So in the UK, on the UK store and everything, they are called straps not bands.

00:28:24   Straps?

00:28:25   Yeah.

00:28:26   Straps.

00:28:27   We call them watch straps, not watch bands.

00:28:29   Watch straps.

00:28:30   See to me a strap is like the one that I have on my shoes.

00:28:34   Like a velcro strap?

00:28:35   Yeah, but if you think about it, they're not dissimilar from each other, right?

00:28:39   Like on the website, like if you go to the UK website, it says straps, not bands.

00:28:45   And they're called watch straps, not watch bands.

00:28:47   And I just like that they did that because that does make more sense to us.

00:28:51   So I guess all this time I've been wrong and Oasis were a rock strap?

00:28:55   They were a rock strap, yeah.

00:28:59   Indie straps, you know.

00:29:01   We have loads of straps over here.

00:29:03   Okay, alright.

00:29:04   Well, this is good information to have.

00:29:07   Yep.

00:29:08   Google I/O has been announced.

00:29:14   It's going to be on May the 10th.

00:29:17   This is from Google broadcast in front of a limited live audience and is open to everyone

00:29:22   online.

00:29:25   Not dissimilar from the way they've done things in the last couple of years.

00:29:28   It's going to be at the Shoreline Amphitheatre again so that limited audience will be what

00:29:33   they can fit in the Shoreline Amphitheatre.

00:29:36   What they're saying here is similar to what they've done in the past is it doesn't then

00:29:40   go on to become a conference afterwards for the people that are attending or people that

00:29:46   that can attend.

00:29:47   And then from The Verge,

00:29:49   they say there are rumors that we'll get details

00:29:51   in the Pixel 7a and the long rumored Pixel Fold

00:29:54   during this keynote.

00:29:55   And it's possible we could hear more

00:29:57   about the company's upcoming tablet.

00:29:59   I mean, honestly, the fact that we heard about the tablet

00:30:02   at last at Google I/O,

00:30:03   I'm hoping we're gonna hear more about the tablet

00:30:06   because they still have yet to release that product,

00:30:08   which I continue to be interested in, right?

00:30:11   Because it's the tablet that you can put into the dock.

00:30:13   We spoke about it before.

00:30:14   - We love that tablet conceptually.

00:30:16   The big stands for the tablet here are connected.

00:30:18   You know, they are pixel stands over here.

00:30:21   The reason I bring all this up is like, obviously WWDC,

00:30:24   I feel like the announcement is imminent,

00:30:27   probably within the next week, right?

00:30:30   - It has to be, I think.

00:30:31   - Historically, except for that one year

00:30:34   that we don't talk about,

00:30:36   Apple make an announcement of WWDC's date

00:30:39   about three months in advance.

00:30:41   It's usually in March if they're gonna do it in June.

00:30:43   I was thinking it might have been this week, but I expect it will be this week or next week.

00:30:48   And I just wanted to take a temperature test for you, as we are here today. What do you think WWDC will be this year?

00:30:59   What I think it will be. I think you're going to expand on last year's concept.

00:31:07   I think if the headset, I think the wildcard this year is,

00:31:12   if, and it sure sounds like that,

00:31:16   if they're gonna use WWDC as a launch event for the headset,

00:31:21   as an introduction, official introduction for the headset,

00:31:24   I think we should look forward to something different

00:31:29   from last year, which is demo areas.

00:31:32   My only concern is, now a headset is something

00:31:37   that literally you got to put it on your face, on your head. So are they going to let, I

00:31:44   don't know, 2000 developers, so let's say 2000 people are there instead of 1000. Are

00:31:49   they going to let 2000 people try out headsets? No. Right?

00:31:55   So just as a quick note, Apple announced the, announced WWDC in April last year, but nevertheless

00:32:01   I'm still expecting within the next couple of weeks.

00:32:05   So I think there will be some kinds of hands-on area for the headset,

00:32:12   but either it's going to be staggered throughout the week,

00:32:15   because maybe they're going to have, I don't know, let's say that they have 50 headsets on campus, right?

00:32:22   Obviously you need to make sure that you're going to sanitize the headset and wipe it down and clean it before somebody else can try it.

00:32:30   Because even just, even before COVID,

00:32:34   before the current times,

00:32:36   it was really pretty gross to try somebody else's headset.

00:32:41   - So this is interesting.

00:32:42   I actually do not think they will do what you're suggesting.

00:32:45   - Oh, you don't think there will be a hands-on area?

00:32:47   A demo area?

00:32:48   - No, I think there will be a hands-on demo area.

00:32:50   - Just for the press, maybe?

00:32:51   - Just for, but here's my, what I, so to kind of echo you,

00:32:56   I'm in agreement with you.

00:32:57   I think it will be basically what last year was

00:32:59   of two changes, they might open things up a little bit more,

00:33:03   like to have maybe more stuff going on,

00:33:06   but also giving people more than a couple of weeks notice.

00:33:09   Right, which is where we had last time of like,

00:33:12   they opened things up a couple of weeks before they made,

00:33:15   right, they said like, "Oh, there'll be a limited thing."

00:33:18   And then a few weeks before they'll be at BC,

00:33:20   then lots more developers were asked to come

00:33:22   and press for us to come and the situation changed.

00:33:24   - Or maybe last year they did the thing

00:33:28   where they tested the campus and they showed off

00:33:31   the developer center, maybe they're just gonna be like,

00:33:33   you know what, we're just gonna go back to normal, whatever.

00:33:37   - No, they're not gonna do that.

00:33:39   I feel completely confident that Apple

00:33:42   will never return to 2019 to WWDC.

00:33:45   - Okay.

00:33:46   - But let me give you a couple of reasons why, right?

00:33:49   Cost, there is like money, but also people's time.

00:33:55   The presentations are better now.

00:33:58   They just are.

00:33:58   And more people can do them.

00:34:00   Not everyone's comfortable to stand in front of the stage.

00:34:02   But anyone inside of a team is able to talk to a camera

00:34:05   more easily.

00:34:06   So the presentations are better.

00:34:08   They don't have to fit to a schedule.

00:34:09   They can be short.

00:34:09   They can be long.

00:34:11   And Apple, I think, are very aware of how much nicer

00:34:14   it is to say how many people attend WWDC virtually.

00:34:18   I really don't think that that whole live thing's

00:34:22   going to come back.

00:34:22   That's just my feeling.

00:34:23   just

00:34:41   a cleaner way of doing things now.

00:34:43   But nevertheless, what I wanted to mention about the headset,

00:34:46   the way I reckon it will go is,

00:34:49   you will be able to,

00:34:50   all press will be able to look at one, right?

00:34:53   Hold it.

00:34:54   But I think you won't be able to put it on.

00:34:57   I think that they will be constrained briefing type things

00:35:02   where Apple can control the experience.

00:35:06   And I expect that developers will get to look at them

00:35:11   in a case, and that's it.

00:35:13   - First iPhone style, just look at it in a glass case.

00:35:16   - Yeah, and also similarly, there will be some developers

00:35:21   who will be invited to a thing,

00:35:24   and then maybe there'll be like an open thing

00:35:26   that you can apply for, maybe like a small amount of people

00:35:28   can get to go and try it on,

00:35:29   like I don't imagine them having like,

00:35:32   here's 20 Apple headsets and you just stand in a line

00:35:35   and get to try it, like I don't imagine that being the thing

00:35:40   I would love to be proven wrong there because I just think it would be super important to

00:35:43   let people try it but it's like how ready is it really going to be right to actually

00:35:48   use if it's not coming out until September or December right like I think the answer

00:35:54   is not that ready like I think good for a guided thing right but anyway but yeah I'm

00:36:02   intrigued to see what WWDC is going to be like this year me too

00:36:06   I mean I'm hopefully going.

00:36:10   No, you should not say it.

00:36:12   Hopefully actually doing it.

00:36:13   I'm hopefully going to this time around.

00:36:16   But my difference this year to last year is once they announce the dates, I will be booking

00:36:22   travel, which I didn't do last time.

00:36:24   Yep.

00:36:25   So that's going to be helpful at least.

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00:37:54   So, talking about that headset, I want to get a sense from you about the current state

00:38:05   of consumer VR headsets because you have all of them?

00:38:10   Well, so this topic is perfect topic with perfect timing from you.

00:38:16   Like when you texted me this morning, I was like, "This is perfect."

00:38:19   Because one of the things that have been on my mind for the past two weeks has been I

00:38:26   need to be better prepared, like I need to research the state of VR.

00:38:32   Because like one of the things we discussed is sort of my change in opinion regarding

00:38:40   the headset.

00:38:42   That has been also due to just how my personal life and schedule has evolved over the past

00:38:49   few months.

00:38:50   I now have plenty of time for me at home every week, like every weekday when Silvia is at

00:38:58   work and I just sit here by myself with my dogs.

00:39:03   And I'm like, "Huh, that's interesting."

00:39:05   it means like, you know, I now get, if I were to use headsets, I wouldn't feel so bad.

00:39:14   So I've been looking into this and I decided, well, I knew that I pre-ordered the PSVR2

00:39:21   in November, so I was like, okay, I'm gonna get the PSVR2 in late February.

00:39:27   I decided, you know, before the Apple One comes, I want to know what I'm talking about,

00:39:32   and if you know me, you know this is how I operate.

00:39:34   I want to know what I'm talking about in terms of like how does the competition stack up

00:39:38   when the Apple headset comes and I will have opinions.

00:39:41   I want those opinions to be also informed by what's the current state of VR so far.

00:39:46   So in addition to the PSVR 2, I got a Quest 2.

00:39:51   That's not the expensive Quest Pro one.

00:39:53   I got the Quest 2.

00:39:55   I got a really good deal and it's relatively cheap compared to the PSVR 2.

00:40:03   So I've been actually testing both of them.

00:40:07   Used the PSVR 2 a ton last weekend.

00:40:10   We actually did like, it kind of felt like an open house day.

00:40:14   I got a bunch of people over just to try PSVR.

00:40:18   And so the new one for the PlayStation 5.

00:40:21   And so we spent like an entire afternoon going into the evening as well.

00:40:25   In fact, we ended up hosting like a semi-informal dinner because we just went over playing video

00:40:32   games and so we use that and then I want to be using on my own the quest 2 and I

00:40:39   have thoughts you know having used both of them and you sort of you had

00:40:47   questions for me which you organized in sections I think maybe you wanted to

00:40:52   start from the hardware yeah yeah so yeah with what you've experienced I

00:40:58   I think they are actually two quite different pieces of equipment.

00:41:03   The Quest 2 is an all in one, right?

00:41:08   And I think they are trying their best to make it budget where they can.

00:41:14   The PSVR 2 is not all in one, right? Like it attaches to the PlayStation 5.

00:41:19   And I think Sony have tried to go more luxurious and high end and it's expensive,

00:41:26   especially considering it doesn't do the processing.

00:41:29   So having used both of these,

00:41:32   do you have a better sense

00:41:34   for what you think Apple should be doing

00:41:36   when it comes to comfort and weight and quality?

00:41:41   - I can tell you this.

00:41:43   Both of them are plastic.

00:41:45   Both of them are made of plastic.

00:41:46   You wouldn't tell that the PSVR is luxurious

00:41:49   based on the feeling of the material alone.

00:41:53   It's made of plastic.

00:41:54   The controllers are, of course, made of plastic.

00:41:55   You gotta keep it lightweight.

00:41:56   - Realistically, what else could you?

00:41:59   - Well, I don't know if Apple is exploring

00:42:02   actually using aluminum or titanium,

00:42:04   maybe like a very light metal instead of plastic.

00:42:08   I don't know if they're gonna do that,

00:42:09   but I do feel like Apple can maybe make something

00:42:13   that feels, when you're touching it, when you're using it,

00:42:17   something that feels a bit more premium.

00:42:18   Maybe cloth could be another option

00:42:20   instead of like the rubber that you have

00:42:23   all across these headsets.

00:42:25   And it's been rumored that Apple has been looking

00:42:27   into these materials, like maybe make the frame out of metal,

00:42:32   use glass, but glass is heavy, that's the problem.

00:42:35   Maybe use cloth instead of rubber.

00:42:37   So I definitely think that Apple could make something

00:42:41   that feels more premium.

00:42:43   But I think with these headsets, something that

00:42:46   is key to the experience is the comfort of it.

00:42:49   And I can tell you, without single shadow of doubt,

00:42:53   The PSVR2 is much more comfortable than the Quest 2.

00:42:56   And I think it's due to a couple of factors.

00:43:01   The PSVR2, the original one,

00:43:05   was already a breakthrough design

00:43:07   in terms of like how Sony were able to make

00:43:09   a relatively lightweight headset

00:43:11   that also felt very nicely balanced on your head.

00:43:15   And they only made that better with the PSVR2.

00:43:20   It's much better balanced on your head

00:43:23   than the Quest 2.

00:43:24   For the Quest 2, to make it more,

00:43:27   to make you feel like my forehead was not falling

00:43:30   in front of my chest, I had to buy one of those

00:43:33   third-party sort of headbands

00:43:36   with an integrated battery pack

00:43:39   so that it could balance the weight in the back of my head.

00:43:42   Because otherwise, the Quest 2 only has a strap.

00:43:45   See, I used the term strap.

00:43:47   - Appreciate that.

00:43:48   - It's got a strap that you just tie around your head.

00:43:51   And I felt like, yeah, I basically felt that my face was too heavy, my forehead was too heavy.

00:43:57   So they make an aftermarket headband?

00:44:04   Yeah, I got it from another company.

00:44:06   You've got, yeah, I'm just saying, I'm not saying, but I'm just saying they make one as well.

00:44:09   They make one, because they are aware.

00:44:11   It does a better job of balancing.

00:44:13   I think it's also like the MantaQuest Pro, that's what they base that band on.

00:44:18   - Yeah, yeah.

00:44:20   But I can tell you that out of the box,

00:44:21   PSVR2 much more comfortable than the Quest 2.

00:44:24   Also, also because of how it fits for a person

00:44:29   who wears glasses, like I do.

00:44:32   Where whenever I put on the Quest 2

00:44:34   and when I remove the Quest 2,

00:44:36   the glasses get stuck when I remove the headset.

00:44:39   And so the glasses come off with the headset.

00:44:42   Hasn't happened once with the PSVR2.

00:44:46   It's much more optimized for people who wear eyeglasses,

00:44:51   which is something that I appreciated.

00:44:53   Feels more comfortable in the nose area,

00:44:58   like how it fits under your eyes and across the nose.

00:45:03   And I also felt like it had a better seal.

00:45:07   You know with these ad sets, if they don't fit perfectly,

00:45:12   you can always see a bit of the floor

00:45:15   - Yeah, that doesn't happen as much with the PSVR 2 for me,

00:45:20   for my face, as it happens with the Quest 2.

00:45:25   - Right.

00:45:26   - So overall, it felt better on my head, on my face,

00:45:30   on my nose, with the glasses,

00:45:32   it felt better than the Quest 2.

00:45:35   And the weight, of course, I mean,

00:45:36   it seems to me that it's like I didn't put them on a scale,

00:45:41   but it feels to me like the PSVR2 is lighter.

00:45:46   Well, it doesn't need a battery.

00:45:48   It doesn't need a battery.

00:45:49   That's the thing.

00:45:50   It doesn't have a battery.

00:45:51   And I also purchased an additional battery

00:45:54   to balance the thing on the back of my head.

00:45:57   So, you know, the Quest.

00:45:59   So I'm sure that also, you know,

00:46:02   doesn't play in favor of the Quest.

00:46:03   Now...

00:46:04   So with that in mind,

00:46:06   if we're comparing it to Apple,

00:46:08   The rumor that they are going to detach the battery from the headset.

00:46:12   Yes.

00:46:13   Good idea.

00:46:14   Do you think…

00:46:15   Good idea.

00:46:16   Yes.

00:46:17   You see?

00:46:18   This is what…

00:46:19   I mean, I've been saying this the whole time, right?

00:46:20   Like, this is a good idea.

00:46:22   I think people that think it's a bad idea maybe have limited experience with these headsets.

00:46:27   Anything you can do to remove weight is good for longer-term periods.

00:46:30   Which is why I wanted to buy both of them, to actually have an informed opinion.

00:46:35   see the thing that everybody's freaking out about, oh but you have a cable. Let me tell

00:46:40   you, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. At least for me, it doesn't matter.

00:46:43   Oh, but you're using one with the cable, right? So the PSVR2 has a cable, runs to the PlayStation.

00:46:50   Has a cable. Now, I have a much bigger living room than I used to. Well, before I didn't

00:46:56   really have a living room. Now I have a proper living room. It's not a huge living room.

00:47:00   It's not like, oh my God, look at this guy in his crazy house. No, it's not that kind

00:47:03   It's spacious, but it's a living room.

00:47:07   We just set the little coffee table

00:47:11   that we have in front of the couch,

00:47:12   we set it to the side, made some room,

00:47:14   because we were like six people trying it.

00:47:17   Let me tell you, the cable hasn't been a problem once.

00:47:19   We had this cable going from the headset.

00:47:22   It's not like, oh, what if you trip over?

00:47:25   Like, no, it just doesn't happen.

00:47:27   It's a pretty long cable.

00:47:29   You just run it on the floor,

00:47:31   Connected to the front of the PS5, which is a great idea to put some USB-C ports on the front of it.

00:47:37   Not an issue. And I can tell you, it hasn't been an issue with the Quest 2 either.

00:47:42   I've been using it... So the thing about the Quest 2, which we'll get to later,

00:47:46   the Quest 2, you can use it standalone or...

00:47:49   And this is going to be a whole discussion in a couple of minutes.

00:47:52   Or you can use it with your computer, with a Mac or PC for two things.

00:47:59   well, VR gaming, obviously, on Windows, but also to work with VR, which I've been doing.

00:48:08   Now you can do this wirelessly. We're going to talk about this in a minute. We can do

00:48:11   this wirelessly, but there's going to be some latency. Or you can just run a cable, a link

00:48:17   cable, I think it's called, from the Quest 2 to your computer. It hasn't been an issue.

00:48:22   Again, I work at my desk, and instead of looking at my physical monitor, I want to be surrounded

00:48:28   by virtual monitors in VR, there's gonna be a cable that goes from my headset to my Mac or from

00:48:33   my headset to my PC and it's not, it's a non-issue. Now of course obviously, it goes without saying,

00:48:41   obviously life is always better without cables. Life is always better without those. But

00:48:47   it's not this huge, oh it's a non-starter of an issue. No, no.

00:48:54   The thing is, this isn't like the PlayStation VR 1, this isn't like the Oculus Rift, where

00:49:01   they had lots of cables, right? The one cable is manageable. When they were big and there

00:49:07   was like multiple cables, that was really hard.

00:49:09   Oh, I remember. Oh, I remember. Let me tell you, the most annoying thing with the PSVR

00:49:14   2 hasn't been the cable, hasn't been, you know, the controllers. You know, the most

00:49:18   annoying thing has been, and maybe Sony can improve this in the future, it asks you to

00:49:26   re-scan your surroundings quite often. It was interrupting me a little more often than

00:49:33   I liked when I was like, "Hey, your environment changed." And no, it didn't really change.

00:49:40   But obviously, the great thing about this new generation of headsets is that you don't

00:49:45   have cameras pointing at you, like external cameras. I remember the first systems, like

00:49:52   the original PSVR, the original, what was it? The Rift. There was another one that like

00:49:59   the Vive. You had to put a bunch of cameras in your space pointing at you. No, these headsets,

00:50:06   they have integrated cameras. They can orient themselves because they have cameras looking

00:50:11   at their surroundings.

00:50:12   If you want to be super nerdy, it's called inside-out tracking.

00:50:15   Inside-out tracking, thank you for that.

00:50:18   So yeah, the cable, I was concerned with cable, hasn't been an issue and I agree.

00:50:24   If Apple is, well, we know they are, but they're looking into this, cable isn't not a problem

00:50:30   and I gotta tell you, putting an external battery in your pocket, if you have pockets,

00:50:36   or on a desk or on the sofa, if the sofa is behind you, good idea.

00:50:42   Because it means you're going to make the thing lighter and lighter is good.

00:50:45   And if they do it the way I want, like you could have multiple battery packs

00:50:49   and you could just switch between them if one gets lost to get low.

00:50:52   I have a whole stack of them. I have a whole rack of batteries.

00:50:56   Just duct tape them together.

00:50:57   The display quality.

00:51:00   Also in terms of the hardware, then maybe we can move on to the experience

00:51:03   and the controllers.

00:51:05   much better on PSVR2. It's awesome. The image quality on PSVR2, and I mean, look, you're looking at two OLED displays,

00:51:13   one per eye, and the resolution of

00:51:16   2,000 per

00:51:19   2040

00:51:21   pixels per eye. It looks fantastic. It's much,

00:51:26   much better than the Quest 2. Quest 2 isn't even OLED. Here you have these two beautiful displays, one in front of each eye,

00:51:35   It looks fantastic. You play Horizon, whatever it's called, the VR one.

00:51:40   - Call of the Mountain. - Yeah, Call of the Mountain.

00:51:42   It looks incredible. The colors are so vivid, so vibrant.

00:51:46   And obviously there's always, at least short term,

00:51:51   there's always going to be some pixelation going on,

00:51:55   but it's much, much more acceptable on the PSVR2 than it is on the Quest 2.

00:52:00   The Quest 2 can get kind of, you know, the image can get blurry on the Quest 2.

00:52:04   Yeah, so very curious, very curious to see what Apple does in terms of displays,

00:52:11   because Apple, they have, you know, got us used to pretty good displays in their devices.

00:52:16   Yeah, I want better, personally.

00:52:18   And of course the PSVR2 also has the foveated rendering,

00:52:22   which is, you know, another wild piece of tech that we can talk about that later.

00:52:28   So tell me what the experience has been like using them.

00:52:32   So obviously, PSVR 2, unfortunately, has the big downside of being incapable of being used as a PC headset.

00:52:40   Lots of modern VR headsets, they support multiple modes, like you can use it for games or you can plug it into a PC,

00:52:47   and you can use it as a virtual display for your computer.

00:52:51   PSVR 2 is only for PlayStation 5.

00:52:54   Now, I am very positive that Sony will eventually make this also compatible with PC and Mac VR,

00:53:04   but it's not right now.

00:53:05   It's a gaming-only affair at the moment.

00:53:09   The controllers.

00:53:11   Kind of similar, obviously, Sony learned a lot from Meta in this regard.

00:53:16   Very similarly shaped controllers.

00:53:19   I prefer the PSVR ones.

00:53:23   The circular part around them is bigger.

00:53:27   I think it fits my hands better than the Quest controllers.

00:53:30   And obviously the big draw for me of the PSVR2 controllers was the haptic feedback.

00:53:37   And it's not...

00:53:38   Obviously the haptic feedback in the controllers is awesome.

00:53:42   Haptic feedback in the headset is wild.

00:53:46   Like feeling that your head vibrates when you're doing something that involves movement,

00:53:53   playing Horizon and climbing a mountain and feeling the feedback on your hands and on your face.

00:54:00   That was one of those moments where I was like "Oh man, this is something that I never felt before."

00:54:06   I like how both the PSVR2 and the Quest can identify the position of the controllers in

00:54:14   in the physical space and show you in the VR space where they are.

00:54:21   It's like that location tracking for the controllers.

00:54:25   So like even if I'm in VR, I can see where the floor is and I can see where the controllers

00:54:31   are.

00:54:32   It's very nice.

00:54:33   That's something that obviously was not the case before and it's very cool.

00:54:39   A big… there were two moments for me when I was like, "Yeah, this is…" Well, three

00:54:46   moments. Not two, three moments. And we're going to get into this. Three moments that

00:54:51   were like, "Yeah, this is the future." First, eye tracking. PSVR 2 has this. It can

00:54:59   track the movement of your eyes. And I can tell you, we know that Apple is doing this.

00:55:05   It is incredible and it's one of those, oh yeah, this is the future moments.

00:55:12   You can select UI elements just by looking at them.

00:55:16   Yeah, that's cool, man.

00:55:17   That's really cool.

00:55:18   It's so cool.

00:55:19   And the first time you try, you're like, no, this can't be real.

00:55:23   And then you do it again and you switch back and forth.

00:55:27   Like imagine items in a list and you scroll through the list by actually just looking

00:55:33   at the list with your eyes.

00:55:34   It's like, yeah.

00:55:35   I just don't understand how that works.

00:55:37   I just don't know how you can get,

00:55:38   I mean, I know it does, right?

00:55:40   But to me, how you get precision from that,

00:55:42   like I have no idea, but that's some super cool stuff.

00:55:45   - It's incredible, like just selecting from two options,

00:55:48   left and right, or scrolling a list, like it totally works.

00:55:51   And it's like, yeah, in the future,

00:55:54   this is totally how I wanna select things.

00:55:57   And now you can use the controllers or you can,

00:55:59   you know, you can, but no, it's immediate, it's real time.

00:56:04   just move your eyes and the item, the selection changes. And so, Apple is doing this. Yeah,

00:56:12   it's I mean, like imagine scrolling widgets like this or lists or playing games with this

00:56:19   technology. Incredible. The second moment. It's kind of wonky right now. It's not fully

00:56:24   optimized. It's an optional sort of beta that you can enable on the Quest 2, hand tracking,

00:56:33   gestures. This is optional, but it's also one of those moments where like, yeah, like

00:56:39   I can use this without controllers.

00:56:42   Not great, but when it works, it's awesome, right?

00:56:45   It's not great, but when it works, it's totally awesome. You're going to see a digital representation

00:56:50   of your hands. And I mentioned it's kind of janky right now because there's a bit of a

00:56:53   delay. It's not as immediate as having the controllers, but when it works, you're like,

00:57:01   Yeah, like I can scroll items with a gesture.

00:57:05   I can pinch to select.

00:57:06   I can pinch to open.

00:57:08   It's something that like if Apple can make

00:57:13   a polished version of this,

00:57:15   then maybe it's based on tons of data that they have.

00:57:19   Or I don't know, but if Apple can apply their knowledge

00:57:22   and all the time they've been working on this product

00:57:26   and make a polished version of eye tracking,

00:57:29   but mostly hand tracking.

00:57:31   Man, that's, it totally,

00:57:33   like there was a moment when I totally felt

00:57:34   like minority repulsed style,

00:57:36   like I was moving my hands to select things.

00:57:39   Incredible.

00:57:41   And the third moment was when I tried

00:57:44   to use my computer in VR.

00:57:47   Now this is only possible with the Quest 2.

00:57:49   PSVR, like I mentioned, is only for gaming,

00:57:52   for the PlayStation 5.

00:57:53   There's a couple of ways to do this.

00:57:56   The Quest 2 supports this natively on Mac and PC with a system called AirLink.

00:58:02   And AirLink can be used wirelessly or with a cable.

00:58:05   Obviously, even though I have a Wi-Fi 6 network at home, I guessed and doing some googling

00:58:12   confirmed my suspicion that there's going to be latency issues and all of that.

00:58:17   So I said, "Okay, I'm just going to run.

00:58:19   I'm just going to use the cable."

00:58:20   It's an awful lot of data to be transported.

00:58:23   It's a lot of data.

00:58:24   So you can use the AirLink system made by Meta, or, and this is actually the one I prefer,

00:58:30   there's an app, there's a piece of software for Mac and PC called Immersed, Immersed VR.

00:58:36   And this is much more polished and much more intuitive, because Immersed, what it basically

00:58:42   does is it's gonna... imagine, think of it this way, it's like a VNC client for your

00:58:50   computer but in VR. And you can turn your computer, so your desktop, your apps, your

00:58:59   windows, but you can turn that into a virtual environment. And I was very skeptical of this,

00:59:06   like I was on the record as being a person who said, "Yeah, this is ridiculous. Why

00:59:11   would you want to do this?" And now that I did this, and I actually worked, like I

00:59:16   I did some regular work, like Max Stories and Club Max Stories work in VR.

00:59:23   I'm sold, man.

00:59:25   The idea of...

00:59:28   I don't have space for three monitors in my office, but in the right conditions, if I'm

00:59:35   alone and I can always switch to a mixed reality environment to check on my dogs or something,

00:59:44   or drink a glass of water, whatever.

00:59:48   So if I have an easy way out, if I want to, the benefit of, well, now you are still sitting

00:59:56   at your desk, but you are maybe at the beach, because it's one of the things you can do,

01:00:03   and you have a giant monitor in front of you, and then three more monitors to the side with

01:00:11   apps and you can just, you know, now suddenly you have the space because the space is not

01:00:18   physical, the space is virtual. And that was truly like a big moment for me. I was like,

01:00:25   this is so nice, even though the Quest 2 doesn't have the best resolution, right? And it's

01:00:31   not the most comfortable headset I have. But this idea of, it's my computer, it's all my

01:00:39   stuff, but now I have the space for more monitors in front of me, including one, and you can

01:00:45   play with different layouts.

01:00:47   You can like drag one and make it curved and make it like sit slightly above your face,

01:00:53   and so like you have a giant curved display above you and two off to the side.

01:00:59   It's like, yeah, this is so cool because normally I don't have the space.

01:01:02   Like if I did this in my physical office, Silvia would kill me.

01:01:07   Like if she came back home and she found like three monitors, including a giant curved one.

01:01:11   Like a stock trader.

01:01:13   You know, like a stock trader.

01:01:16   And you can do that.

01:01:18   And another thing that truly surprised me and sort of made me a believer for whatever

01:01:25   Apple must be working on was typing on a virtual keyboard with controllers.

01:01:36   my hands, because you can also do this with your hands. But actually the idea of a virtual

01:01:42   keyboard, like a software keyboard, is not so bad. Because like with the Quest controllers

01:01:47   you can just... it's a bit silly initially, but I got pretty fast after a couple of hours

01:01:55   and you have this... so you can place this virtual keyboard in front of you like floating

01:02:00   in space and then you just touch the keys with your controller and you feel the key

01:02:07   because of the vibration in the controller. It's like I was actually typing pretty fast

01:02:12   by the end of my session.

01:02:13   Let me tell you something super cool that I've tried, that Meta have done, and I hope

01:02:18   Apple do this, where you have your... they have like mapped a selection of keyboards,

01:02:25   one of them is the Magic Keyboard. You have an actual physical Magic Keyboard in front

01:02:29   you and you're in a virtual space but it recognizes as a magic keyboard and you

01:02:36   put your real fingers on your real keyboard and it does the pass-through of

01:02:40   just your fingers and you type on your physical keyboard and you can see your

01:02:47   fingers on a digital keyboard. It's very cool and I hope that they do

01:02:52   something like that too. Yeah or something you can do with immersed which

01:02:57   which is also very cool, is you can exclude an area in front of you,

01:03:02   like a physical space in front of you.

01:03:04   Yeah, they've done this too.

01:03:05   You can exclude it with the controllers.

01:03:07   You can say, "No, exclude this from VR.

01:03:10   Let me see my real keyboard, my physical keyboard in VR."

01:03:14   So you literally draw an area around your keyboard,

01:03:17   and you can say, "This needs to pass through to VR."

01:03:21   And so you can see your keyboard like that.

01:03:25   After doing all of this, so here's the takeaway.

01:03:28   If Apple can make a more premium feeling version of this, a more comfortable version of this,

01:03:37   that lets you use Mac OS, because at this point I kind of lost hope for iPad OS anyway,

01:03:42   that lets you use Mac OS with this, and maybe, you know, or you can use it standalone, maybe

01:03:50   you can switch between environments,

01:03:52   and it's got eye tracking, hand tracking, I'm sold.

01:03:55   At this point, I'm a believer.

01:03:58   Having tried two headsets in limited fashion with the,

01:04:02   you know, it's not like I love the Quest OS,

01:04:07   but if Apple can make an Apple version of it

01:04:09   with all the apps I like, and then the developers I like

01:04:12   are gonna make apps for it, man, I'm in.

01:04:17   - Welcome to the dark side Federico Vessigio.

01:04:20   - What is the dark side?

01:04:21   - Whether you're a believer man.

01:04:24   I was hoping that you would get to this point

01:04:26   like before the headset came out

01:04:28   'cause I know that like we've spoken on this show a bunch

01:04:30   and you've been really skeptical of it.

01:04:32   And I'm really happy that you've had these experiences

01:04:36   'cause I've been dipping my toe into some of this stuff

01:04:39   as well like over the last few months

01:04:41   and longer actually.

01:04:44   And I have also been encouraged by what I've seen companies like Meta do, right?

01:04:50   Like some of their Quest stuff, their Horizon work rooms type stuff.

01:04:55   And I think that there is something here, but I feel like a lot of it at the moment feels very,

01:05:01   especially when it comes to working stuff, still feels very proof of concept.

01:05:05   And you can feel it, you can experience it, be like, this is good, but it needs more.

01:05:11   Like it needs more polish, needs more attention.

01:05:13   - And it's polished, it does, yes.

01:05:14   - Our hope is that Apple will bring that

01:05:16   because that's what we have experienced them do

01:05:18   a bunch of times.

01:05:19   - Yes.

01:05:20   - So like one of the things that I've been talking about

01:05:22   is like my hope is that they can come out

01:05:25   and show off a thing that has an, not exact,

01:05:29   but close to like original iPhone-like presentation.

01:05:33   And my feeling on that is like what I'm trying to explain

01:05:36   and what I'm trying to get at is like

01:05:37   what the original iPhone presentation did

01:05:40   was like, took something that we knew and had experienced.

01:05:43   - There are a bunch of phones already.

01:05:45   - Pushed it to a level where you're like,

01:05:47   oh, that looks cool and I get it.

01:05:50   - Yes.

01:05:51   - That's what I'm hoping that they're able to show

01:05:55   when they eventually show this thing off.

01:05:59   - Yes, yes, I agree, I agree.

01:06:01   If they can make the Apple breakthrough polished,

01:06:06   more premium version of this with all the apps we love

01:06:10   And the third-party developers we love with the kind of, let's face it, Apple design still better than anything else.

01:06:17   Like the UI, the polish, like the Apple-flavored version of this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I cannot wait.

01:06:25   I'm really appreciative on this. Thank you for bringing your experiences.

01:06:28   I, ideally, I wish it was, I wish this experiment was not going to be this expensive.

01:06:37   Yeah.

01:06:38   But hey, at least now I am-

01:06:40   Robert, now you're prepared, right?

01:06:41   I am prepared and more knowledgeable than before.

01:06:44   I am a thousand euros more knowledgeable than before.

01:06:46   Well, now you're a thousand euros into being prepared to spend three thousand euros.

01:06:52   Yes.

01:06:53   Later on this year.

01:06:54   Yes.

01:06:55   Finally.

01:06:56   You know, knowledge has a price sometimes and this was the price to pay.

01:07:00   - Mm-hmm.

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01:08:59   So a couple of weeks ago, Jason Snow was on vacation

01:09:03   and I had a friend of the show

01:09:05   and noted email receiver Casey Liss on upgrade.

01:09:09   And I wanted to play a new game with Casey

01:09:14   that I don't have a good name for,

01:09:16   but I called it the Vibe Check Word Association.

01:09:19   - Yes, love it.

01:09:20   - Thinking of today's episode of the show,

01:09:23   we are in a period of time where we're needing to come up

01:09:27   with more topics of our own because there are no news.

01:09:31   Everybody, there's no news.

01:09:32   - There's a yellow iPhone, that was news.

01:09:34   - To be fair, there was a new iPhone this week, but--

01:09:37   - When you say it like that.

01:09:38   - Yeah, there was a new iPhone this week.

01:09:40   But do you want us to talk about yellow for an hour?

01:09:42   I mean, we could go back to it if you want,

01:09:43   but I'm not going to.

01:09:45   So I wanted to do the Vibe Check word association with you.

01:09:48   And the reason I wanted to do this is I think listeners of this show,

01:09:51   keen listeners of the extended Max Stories universe,

01:09:55   is aware of the fact that you are going through some kind of quest right now

01:09:59   to some kind of like vision experience.

01:10:03   And so I wanted to try and use this as a time

01:10:06   to get your vibe check word association and selection of things.

01:10:10   So I'm going to reuse the list I used of Casey Excluded.

01:10:12   It's pretty representative.

01:10:14   So what I want you to do is clear your mind.

01:10:17   - Okay. - All right?

01:10:18   You just clear your mind for me now.

01:10:19   Don't think about anything.

01:10:20   Just get that mind nice and clear.

01:10:23   I'm going to give you a word or a very short sentence,

01:10:27   you know, like maybe a product name or something like that.

01:10:30   And then I want you to tell me the first word

01:10:33   that jumps to mind, and then maybe we'll go back

01:10:36   and we'll dig into a couple of them.

01:10:38   - Okay. - All right?

01:10:40   - All right. - Is your mind clear?

01:10:42   - I think so, yeah.

01:10:46   Headset.

01:10:47   - Exciting.

01:10:48   - WWDC 2023.

01:10:51   - I wanna go back.

01:10:53   - Apple Watch Ultra.

01:10:56   - Surprising.

01:10:57   - Mac Pro.

01:11:00   - I don't care.

01:11:01   - You know, I thought you were gonna say boring,

01:11:04   but that works too.

01:11:05   All right, we need to re-clear the mind

01:11:07   'cause we're talking and re-clear the mind.

01:11:08   - Okay.

01:11:09   - 15 inch MacBook Air.

01:11:11   - Maybe.

01:11:12   - Periscope lens.

01:11:15   I'll take it.

01:11:16   Tim Cook.

01:11:17   Distant.

01:11:21   App Store.

01:11:24   Used to be better.

01:11:27   iPad.

01:11:28   Wait, forget it.

01:11:31   Clear your mind.

01:11:32   Different one.

01:11:32   Apple.

01:11:33   Changing.

01:11:36   iPad Pro.

01:11:38   Wasted potential.

01:11:42   Okay.

01:11:43   Let me take a look at my list here.

01:11:44   Tim Cook, you say distant.

01:11:49   - Yeah.

01:11:50   - Tell me about that.

01:11:51   - I feel like, and this is just my impression,

01:11:56   I feel like because we haven't seen him

01:12:00   do a lot of product introductions lately

01:12:06   in the recent years.

01:12:07   I mean, look, it's great that we've seen

01:12:12   more Apple executives on stage and different faces

01:12:14   and that's great.

01:12:16   Just feels like, I just get the vibe lately,

01:12:19   and maybe this is just me,

01:12:20   but hey, this is the point of this topic.

01:12:23   I just feel like it's getting more distant

01:12:27   from the product aspect of Apple,

01:12:31   and just more as the CEO type

01:12:33   who shows off on the earnings calls

01:12:35   and talks about like politics and the economics

01:12:38   and the financials.

01:12:39   Like, I just, it feels distant from a product perspective.

01:12:43   And maybe this is just my feel of him,

01:12:47   but that's what came to mind.

01:12:49   - Well, I think there's a few things in this.

01:12:50   I think one, he is not by any stretch,

01:12:53   the best person to do product introductions at Apple.

01:12:56   Like they have many people

01:12:57   that are vastly better at it, right?

01:12:59   And so I think it's good that they tried for a while,

01:13:03   I think to like Tim Cook needs to do what Steve Jobs did.

01:13:06   And it's just not his thing.

01:13:09   I think I mentioned this

01:13:10   because Casey had a somewhat similar take of like the idea of him not being the same.

01:13:16   Like, the idea of CEOs doing the product introductions is just because Steve Jobs did them.

01:13:22   Yeah, I know. I know.

01:13:24   But what I will say is, I would place a wager that he will be the lead of the headset part.

01:13:34   Interesting, okay, we'll see.

01:13:36   Because he was with the Apple Watch too, if I remember right.

01:13:40   You think it's going to do it again?

01:13:41   Yes, because there's two reasons for this.

01:13:43   One, AR has been his thing.

01:13:45   He's been talking about AR forever.

01:13:47   Two, like the Apple Watch,

01:13:51   he's looking for his legacy in product.

01:13:56   I hope you're right.

01:13:58   Right, now Tim Cook's legacy is much bigger.

01:14:01   But I think the thing that he is yet to,

01:14:05   in the eyes of the world, do is a Mac or an iPhone,

01:14:10   or an iPad. The Apple Watch is great but it is not viewed widely as like one of the world

01:14:17   changing products. Although I would argue that it has slowly done it but those other

01:14:24   three products like bang the world's different now right now that they exist. With the iPad

01:14:28   the lesser of those but I you know I my hope is that or that my feeling is that Tim Cook

01:14:35   hopes that he will come on stage, talk about the headset and how the world's different.

01:14:42   So I know what you mean though about Distant, we don't see him the same way. He is different,

01:14:48   he's very different, he's very reserved as an individual, right? So, um, what's surprising

01:14:54   to you about the Apple Watch Ultra?

01:14:56   That I'm liking it more than I thought and that I resisted this temptation for months

01:15:01   and I actually love this thing.

01:15:04   And not just because it's new,

01:15:07   because now that I have it on my wrist,

01:15:09   I mean sure it looks new, but it's still an Apple Watch.

01:15:12   But it's the battery life and the display,

01:15:15   it's brighter, the action button.

01:15:18   I am liking it, even though I'm not into extreme sports

01:15:21   and adventures, I am liking it more than I thought I would,

01:15:25   and so that's why it's surprising to me.

01:15:28   - That's cool.

01:15:29   Obviously WWDC wanna go back.

01:15:31   I mean, we all want to go back, right?

01:15:33   Yeah, I was moving last year, we were buying a house,

01:15:35   I didn't want to leave Sylvia and the dogs, you know, with the giant mess of boxes.

01:15:39   I mean, you know, it wasn't a good time for me.

01:15:41   It is wild, like, thinking about it, you know, it's 2023.

01:15:45   Neither of us have had that, like, return yet, you know,

01:15:49   that so many other people have done.

01:15:52   -Four years. -Yeah, it is wild.

01:15:59   What an app store used to be better.

01:16:02   Yeah, I don't know.

01:16:03   It's just, the front page is now dominated by either ads or content for like this free to play games.

01:16:15   It's no longer have that sort of feel of like a high quality curated magazines about apps,

01:16:26   which is kind of like what I think Apple wanted to go for years ago. And somewhere along this

01:16:34   evolution of these apps they decided to kind of pivot toward games and Apple arcades and all of

01:16:39   that. So there's that. Like the today page, I never never open the today page. And I tend to gravitate,

01:16:47   like I don't do mobile gaming honestly, like I tried, I'm just not into mobile games.

01:16:53   All of these mobile games eventually they all kind of blend together for me, like, you know, this,

01:16:58   like, running games or platformers, like, I've seen dozens of those games and just I prefer

01:17:04   other experiences, especially because of the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck.

01:17:07   And the apps page is just always the same content, there's very little refresh

01:17:17   going on in terms of like featured apps and sections and yeah it just it used to be better

01:17:23   because I feel like years ago Apple wanted to go in a different direction with it like actually

01:17:28   teach people about apps and not just Shazam and YouTube and TikTok look we get it those apps are

01:17:34   popular so yeah it's I mean it's a marketplace about free apps and free games and I preferred

01:17:45   it when it was more about like "oh let us tell you about this, you know, seven cool

01:17:49   weather apps" and you can still find those sections but they're usually just lists

01:17:55   you know just barely put together and they haven't been updated in years so

01:18:01   yeah it's it's kind of boring now yeah.

01:18:03   Do you feel like there's anything in there which is

01:18:08   along the lines of the kind of monopoly side like does that change your opinion

01:18:14   towards the App Store.

01:18:15   - Oh yeah, excellent point.

01:18:17   Yeah, yeah.

01:18:18   I mean, when you don't have any competition,

01:18:20   you're not driven to make it better

01:18:24   and to try different directions.

01:18:25   If it's not broke, don't fix it.

01:18:29   Like, you know, it's just what it is.

01:18:32   And I think it's gonna be lovely

01:18:34   to see some competition from,

01:18:37   whether it's gonna be Steam

01:18:39   or some version of the Play Store

01:18:42   or the Epic Game Store or the Microsoft Store or Game Pass,

01:18:46   like it's gonna be great to see competition.

01:18:48   Competition is good.

01:18:50   And I think Apple has sort of been in this mood of like,

01:18:53   yeah, we're getting billions of downloads

01:18:55   and making tons of money.

01:18:56   Why do we need to change it?

01:18:58   Competition is gonna be great on that front.

01:19:00   - And then Apple is changing?

01:19:02   - Yeah, I mean, they are changing.

01:19:04   And this is, you can, I picked this word

01:19:07   because I think you can, it's kind of like a Rorschach test.

01:19:12   you can see what you want to see in it.

01:19:13   They are changing as a company.

01:19:15   They're not the Apple that they used to be.

01:19:17   And I think for me personally, in 2023,

01:19:20   with the exception of one disappointment,

01:19:23   which I'm guessing you want to ask about next,

01:19:25   all the other changes are good.

01:19:29   The renewed interest in macOS is fantastic.

01:19:32   And you know, they're gonna do a headset now.

01:19:35   They are changing as a company.

01:19:37   They're gonna do different products.

01:19:38   They have tons of new different types of accessories

01:19:42   that you can buy compared to when I started covering Apple,

01:19:46   gosh, 14 years ago.

01:19:49   We have Apple Watches and AirPods

01:19:52   and different types of Macs and now a headset.

01:19:55   And this is fantastic.

01:19:57   They are changing as a company.

01:19:59   Some changes are not so great.

01:20:01   But from my perspective is change,

01:20:05   This kind of change has had for me a few roadblocks

01:20:10   over the past year.

01:20:13   There's been a few problems, a few points of friction,

01:20:15   but looking at the horizon,

01:20:18   I think these changes are gonna be great

01:20:22   because I love my iPhone, I love my AirPods,

01:20:26   I love my Apple Watch,

01:20:27   and now with these headsets coming out,

01:20:30   I am very much optimistic about the future

01:20:34   from me as a person in the Apple ecosystem.

01:20:37   - What about iPad Pro, wasted potential?

01:20:42   - Yeah, that's the problem.

01:20:44   Yeah, this is the problem for me.

01:20:46   I am, I can simply, this is gonna be

01:20:51   a much longer conversation for hopefully later this month.

01:20:55   I'm tired of having to use two computers to do my work.

01:21:02   At the moment, look here's my simple intro to what is going to be a longer conversation.

01:21:11   At the moment, Apple doesn't make the computer I want.

01:21:17   It's just as simple as that.

01:21:19   They either make iPads, but iPads are not as functional as Macs, or they make portable

01:21:25   Macs, but Macs are not tablets.

01:21:29   So the computer I want from Apple does not exist at the moment.

01:21:35   And this has been something that has taken me months to accept.

01:21:45   Because the thing is, look, I love a touchscreen.

01:21:47   I love a tablet.

01:21:48   I love a modular computer.

01:21:49   I want something that I can touch, that I can hold, that I can move, that I can place

01:21:52   on a desk, that I can close, that I can open, you know, just who I am.

01:21:57   As a person I like this type of computer.

01:22:00   As a person I like red wine, I like pasta, I like pizza, I like going to the beach, and

01:22:04   I like a tablet.

01:22:06   You know?

01:22:07   Suomi, whatever.

01:22:08   That's the computer I like.

01:22:11   But they don't make the computer I want.

01:22:13   See they make the computer I like, but they don't make the computer I need.

01:22:16   And that's my issue.

01:22:18   But iPadOS and iPad Pro wasted potential because if I want to do my work, which recording podcasts,

01:22:30   for example, huge part of my life, spend several hours each week doing multiple shows, and

01:22:35   I just cannot do it the way I want to.

01:22:40   I know there are other solutions, please don't send me suggestions.

01:22:42   I've tried all of them.

01:22:43   I spent way too much money on all of those.

01:22:47   The way I want to record, the way that a Mac or the way that a PC lets me do it, it's just

01:22:54   not possible on an iPad.

01:22:56   And I think at this point, you know, 13 years into the iPad's existence, you know, coming

01:23:03   up on April 3rd, the iPad is going to turn 13, right?

01:23:10   13, at what point do you wanna, you know, keep hoping?

01:23:17   And instead maybe you're just like, "Okay, maybe it's time to look elsewhere."

01:23:20   But the thing is, now it's, you know, again, we're gonna talk about this again.

01:23:26   The thing is, there's an interesting change on the horizon, and it goes back to that idea

01:23:32   of, well, so far you've liked tablets and your life has been a certain way, but now

01:23:42   what if, you know, maybe you are gonna prefer when you are at home, finally you have a home,

01:23:49   finally I'm a homeowner, what if you're actually gonna prefer to work in VR? Like, hey, I've

01:23:56   gone through multiple changes in my life and in my career at Mac Stories. I started out

01:24:00   with the Mac and then I embraced the iPad and I fell in love with the iPad.

01:24:05   And you know, there are phases in life and maybe the next season of my life is I'm gonna

01:24:11   be a weird dude who likes to work in VR.

01:24:15   And so from that perspective, I mentioned 15-inch MacBook Air maybe, because maybe I'll

01:24:22   become a person who has a MacBook Air and when I wanna work in VR, I'm gonna, you know,

01:24:28   my headset with the MacBook Air because you know, or you just know it, then they're not

01:24:32   going to let you do the desktop simulation powered by iPadOS, even though they should,

01:24:38   but they're not going to do it. They're just going to make it MacOS only. So maybe I'm

01:24:43   going to become a person who likes to work in VR. And this kind of change is always scary,

01:24:49   but I've always, and I like to be, I like to be the kind of person who in my personal

01:24:53   life and in my work life, I go through seasons of my life. And maybe this is the next season

01:24:58   for me. But the reality is at the moment, Apple, at least based on who I've been and

01:25:04   who I am so far, they don't make it the computer I want. Who knows what it's gonna be like

01:25:10   in six months. I feel like that is a vibe checked. Yeah, so that's the vibe you're getting

01:25:17   from me. It's a good vibe. But seriously, I am thinking about the MacBook Air. The 15

01:25:24   - 16 inch though?

01:25:25   - Yeah, yeah.

01:25:26   - Why that over a 13?

01:25:28   - Yeah, just, you know, more windows, more space, you know,

01:25:33   but it's still gonna be lightweight.

01:25:35   - See, I would say, but so yeah, I agree with you, but--

01:25:38   - It's new.

01:25:39   - Aren't you more likely to plug it into your studio display?

01:25:42   - I mean, I got the space for it.

01:25:45   - Yeah, you see, I would, I understand what you're saying,

01:25:49   but I think the 13 is good 'cause it's the good balance

01:25:51   between power and portability.

01:25:53   and I think 15 is a little less portable.

01:25:55   - We'll see, we'll see.

01:25:56   I'm probably gonna go check it out

01:25:57   at an Apple store before I commit.

01:25:59   - Yeah.

01:26:00   I think the MacBook Air is the machine for you though,

01:26:03   whenever you do decide to buy a Mac.

01:26:04   Like whatever one you go with,

01:26:07   I think the MacBook Air is the perfect computer.

01:26:08   - Yeah.

01:26:09   And look, I've said it before,

01:26:11   the moment Apple is gonna make a true convertible computer,

01:26:18   boy, I'm in.

01:26:19   But they don't make it.

01:26:22   It could be the iPad Pro, but it's not.

01:26:27   So at this point, you know, I've tried what I needed to try.

01:26:32   I've done what I needed to do.

01:26:34   I proved my point.

01:26:35   I loved every single moment of proving my point

01:26:39   and using it, but the point has been proven.

01:26:42   And, you know.

01:26:43   - Well, I don't actually think it has been

01:26:45   in that sense, right?

01:26:46   - Well, at least with the tools I have so far.

01:26:48   - You've gone as far as you can go,

01:26:51   But Apple's not met you there.

01:26:53   Yeah.

01:26:54   Yeah.

01:26:55   It's just I reached the end of the line and it's just me.

01:26:57   You know, John Travolta style looking around by myself.

01:27:00   What's happening?

01:27:01   Come on, where has it gone?

01:27:03   Exactly.

01:27:04   So.

01:27:05   Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Connected.

01:27:07   Next week, Steven will be back, which will be fun and maybe there'll be like a good

01:27:10   intro and outro.

01:27:11   He's really good at those.

01:27:12   I'm not so good at them for this show.

01:27:14   But if you want to find Federico in the meantime, you go to maxstories.net.

01:27:18   You can also find Federico at mastodon.maxstories.net as @vittici.

01:27:23   You can find me on Mike.social as @imike.

01:27:28   You can also find me and many Relay FM shows that I'm on and the ones that I'm not on at

01:27:34   relay.fm.

01:27:35   So you can go find those there as well.

01:27:37   I also have other work over at cortexbrand.com and you can find Steven's work over at firetopexels.net

01:27:44   and he is on eWorld.social as @ismh.

01:27:50   Thank you so much to Hover and Indeed and ExpressVPN for the support of this show. Thank

01:27:55   you if you support the show by being a member go to getconnectedpro.co and you can sign

01:28:03   up and get longer ad free episodes every single week along with access to the Relay FM members

01:28:11   discord and tons of other benefits. Until next time Federico, say goodbye.

01:28:16   Arrivederci.