Talking Point: The Apple Event - It's Worth Looking Out for Nintendo and Pokémon GO

New iPhone now connects to the switch pretending to be a new controller which hacks in and destroys the CPU - Leaked

This event started When i was sleeping...

@PhantomSwitch it's not for another 6 hours

I really wish nintendo wouldn’t make games for mobile. I wish they would just keep their IPs on their own console but I’m still going to download them

Apple should just buy Nintendo, we will get high quality console hardware from Apple and high quality games from Nintendo. Win-win for everyone, except Microsoft of course.

@Nincompoop Um... No.

Maybe the new Animal Crossing mobile game will only be playable on the leaked/rumoured iPhone X and be called "iPhone Xing".

Yeah, I'm not quite awake yet.

When Smartphones were first getting started, and before the current cancerous, toxic standard for "mobile gaming" developed, one of the first things I thought of would be how cool it would be for a Nintendo-Apple partnership to make a gaming cell phone. But today I have really come to hate tablet/smartphone games. The touch screen restricted, free to play, mountains of clones, pay to win, super low quality production standards... Smartphone gaming is awash with trash tier games. Every game that sees minor sales success gets 12,000 clones and rip offs, and all of them try to milk you for micro-transactions.

I regret ever spending any money on Pokemon Go or Fire Emblem Heroes, but at least those games are from major franchises and at least so-so quality. But the majority of crap on the andriod/and iOS stores are trash.

@rjejr

That's ok, wasn't bad. Have another cup of coffee and let the caffeine get the old brain going.

@Nincompoop Oh good lord no. A partnership or a collab sounded cool back in the day but not a buy out! If Apple bought out Nintendo, that would be the end of Nintendo forever. They'd shut down all of Nintendo's studios, lay off dozens and dozens of talented people, and turn off tons of 3rd party developers.

@Heavyarms55 Well, If Apple owns Nintendo you can be sure Nintendo won't go down the drain like Sega if they go bankrupt. Therefore, Nintendo won't have to waste time pitching 3rd parties, they just need to make their own games. They will have enough people to make as many games as they want.

Apple and Nintendo are very much alike, they are aloof, don't really care what others think, they do things their own way. I'm sure Apple appreciate creativity and innovation, they won't lay off talented staff (but Reggie will definitely be fired on day one). These 2 companies know the secret of what make things special, they are passionate about what they create. They both know that it's the software driving the hardware, they always rely on software innovation rather than hardware brute-force.

With an alliance like that, Sony and Microsoft will need to join forces as well... 😝

@phantomswitch I think the article meant to say 1pm eastern; not 1am. Must be a typo.

@Nincompoop I'm not how the marriage between one company who's hardware is cutting edge yet overpriced and another company who traditionally favours creative use of older technology at an affordable price would work to be honest.

Nintendo has no interest in being bought out either.

@Folkloner If Nintendo was owned by Apple they wouldn't be so cheap-skate, they will start using cutting-edge hardware. But Apple is not really a hardware company, Steve Jobs in his biography said that Apple is actually a software company. The iPhone is basically a screen emulating the phone's button. It's using software to emulate hardware. Look at the Mac, they are expensive and use outdated CPU/GPU when compared to the PC, but they are fast because of software optimisation like Metal and OpenCL.

If Switch failed, Nintendo will be looking for a buyer. Twice a failure, no longer a player. (It probably won't failed but hey anything is possible) 🤞

@k8sMum I need a 2 hour nap before the caffeine, school started, so I'm back to waking up every day at 6 to get the kids off to school rather than 8 to get then out of bed just b/c. I need a couple of weeks to adjust. Or maybe months, after DST ends, we get an extra our of sleep and the sun comes up earlier.

@Folkloner "I'm not how the marriage between one company who's hardware is cutting edge yet overpriced and another company who traditionally favours creative use of older technology at an affordable price would work to be honest."

Which is which?

Seriously there are a lot of parallels between Nintendo and Apple - they're the two "tech companies" that could (and frequently do) give presentations for new products without mentioning clock speeds or power. They both focus on the experience of their products and emphasise what seem like deceptively simple "innovations" in the software.

A marriage between the companies would make sense on many levels and I doubt Apple would gut them. There are differences though and it's not something I ever see happening.

If Nintendo were "up for sale" or buyable then there are a few other possible suitors. Microsoft perhaps but certainly Amazon and Google (those two would both be disasters). I'd say Disney too - there would be a lot of synergy there.

Nintendo's position today - their IP, their strong and clear brand positioning - and the changing media market all makes them a more attractive proposition to buyers than Sega ever was.

This is Apples big show to reveal the new iPhone , Apple Watch, iPad and maybe more into on iOS 11

I doubt they talk about 3rd party apps and games today

Not gonna happen. Guaranteed not gonna happen at all. You see if it doesn't.

As I couldn't care less about mobile, I won't be following it. I hope Nintendo does make an appearance, though. I want this Apple partnership to become a tradition so that no precious Direct time is ever dedicated to mobile games.

Never crossed my mind they could talk about Nintendo until I read this Talking Point. Thinking back they have announced Super Mario Run and Pokemon GO for the Apple Watch, so it is a possibility. I do enjoy the mobile Nintendo games for its pick up and play for short burst and quality more so than my other mobile games.

Funny thing, I was watching GMA this morning and most of the time when they were talking about the new iPhone, they were showing off Pokemon GO, even talked about the gameplay and success for a bit.

Live stream if anyone cares - requires MS Edge browser on Win 10 on PC or any "i" devices or Macs.

https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2017/

I could see Ntinedo making an appearance today as the new iWatch3 is supposed to be able to run on it's own - no phone - so since Super Mario Run needs a constant web connection and 1 finger to jump, maybe they'll show it?

@rjejr Who uses Edge? I didn't think it was possible to make a browser worse than IE, but they somehow managed. By using Google's contaminated datamining code base and then adding their own limitations on top for good measure.

Wow, a watch that runs without a phone? Does it have it's own unlimited data plan for only $80/mo along with the phone's unlimited data plan for $80/mo? Can I talk into it like Dick Tracy via the synergy of Bluetooth? Funny, I've had a watch that ran without a phone for decades.... I don't even need to recharge it or pay a subscription for it.

I don't think there will be anything Nintendo this year. Last year they needed filler because they were holding back all the iPhone upgrades for the 10 year model. This year they'll have enough to talk about. Never know though.

@NEStalgia I did think the Edge thing was a little bit weird myself. Maybe MS paid them $10m or something? Of course Apple doesn't need the money, they're sitting on more zeroes than I can count.

As for the "i" devices, it's a thing. I don't own any or what any but I always like to see what they're stealing from Android and making popular. They are relevant.

@NEStalgia Peter Cook just said Apple Watch is the #1 watch in the world. I have no idea what that #1 refers - "#1 smartwatch made by Apple" maybe? Guess you need to get with the times before people start referring to you as old and out of touch. Or a non-conformist. Or something. Gotta be a sheeple. iSheeple? Is iSheeple a thing? Urban Dictionary said ti was way back in 2010. Guess I'm old and out of touch.

BTW my kid bought a Timex w/ indiglo the other day. Indiglo will be the best thing to ever happen to watches ever. It even goes with bad pron music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNUEKY2W7L0

@rjejr I still don't know how Apple made so much money. They make popular products, but they're less popular than their competitors in every sphere. It's all in the markup. And there's enough people buying at what's clearly insane markup to make fortunes buying what amounts to obsolete tech in a really really sexy shell.

Nintendo should try that. Make a 100% glass and aluminum WiiU, promote it with a Dyson imitation commercial, and charge like $700 for it. It worked for Apple. They're the richest company in the world by selling outdated products that are prettier on the outside than their cheaper, more capable competitors (Actually these days, an iPhone is very capable, but it's also not particularly special other than the OS...but Mac is just pure gouging. It's a $900 computer for $1500.) Buy One for the Price of Two!

#1 watch in the world? Who wears an iWatch? I've seen ONE AndroidWear watch ever. I've never seen an iWatch. Maybe it's the #1 Smartwatch. They sold 10, Google sold 8? I think Japanese XBox One sales make Smartwatches look like a low growth market.

I actually almost bought a Galaxy Watch....and then I realized I don't want to charge a watch every day and there's nothing that the watch can do that the phone in my pocket doesn't already do much much better. Other than talking into my wrist like Dick Tracy. Gotta' admit, that would be really swell! But it needs a part the flips up. No flip-top, no sale. Free fedora and trenchcoat is a plus. Because otherwise I'd just look like a total dork talking into my wrist.

Meanwhile I'll keep wearing my watch that doesn't need to charge, doesn't need to change the screen dimming and doesn't require a fedora which continues to tell me the time (and day of month!) while my phone handles the web browsing and playlists on something more than a 1" screen.

A non-conformist? iSheeple? But, but, but.....Steve Jobs told me to Think Different back in the 90's! I think different, just like everybody else! (You know, back when "Apple" was a punchline rather than a fashion statement.)

Wow, they still make Indiglo? Wonder what they're like now. I had one of those a million years ago! They're great watches. And they're like $40 or less. (How is iWatch the #1 watch exactly? )

@NEStalgia My kids Timex was $40, nice guess, got it on clearance at Target for $8 or $18, I wasn't really paying attention, my wife took him shopping. But yes, it still has the indiglo, I checked. Makes me want to go on a high school date to the movies.

Apple is hysterically funny with all the stuff they "invent". Some guy spent a good 20 minutes talking up how Apple has revolutionized the best TV picture ever in 4k, like being in the theater at home. 4k and HDR, best thing Apple ever invented. For $179. Non 4k Apple TV is $149. Guy NEVER EVER ONCE mentioned that you would need to go out and BUY a 4k tv in order to see 4k TV. Losers.

The eiry dead silence when they announced iPhone X would be $999 was pretty funny too.

But yeah, $260 billion with a B $, they're doing something right.

If you're in Chicago on Oct 20th they are opening a new store. They spent the first 10 minutes talking up their stores. W/ Amazon putting every B&M store out of business, the fact that Apple stores print money is pretty impressive as well.

Nintedo could sell an aluminum Switch for $700, but they are all about conserving money, not making money. Apple has $260B but they spend $2B per year on R&D. Nintneod bought the Nvidia Shield ecosystem and wrote Switch on it. They make stuff, but not nearly enough of it. Apple is all about making money. One very American vs one very Japanese company culture. Nintneod makes a few amiibo for $12, Apple makes $350 watches.

@NEStalgia I guess it could be the top selling watch brand, maybe people just don't buy watches anymore since we all have phones?

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/apple-watch-is-now-the-number-one-watch-in-the-world.html

@rjejr iPhone X: "will set the path of technology for the next decade”. How? It looks like a Note 8 with a smaller screen, no digitizer+stylus, no SD slot, and a $60 higher price tag than the already outrageously priced Note 8? Which is worse because the Note 8 is just a Note 7 with a slightly bigger screen, more ram, and no detonator. (FWIW I'll actually get a Note 8, obscene price and all, as the Note series has replaced a laptop for about 80% of my needs more times than not. iPhone X doesn't seem quite so capable...for even MORE money...) The price is bad on BOTH phones, but that the X does less, with less screen and less storage for even MORE money.....I can see why the room was silent, even though that price point was known in rumors for ages. Everyone knew the price, but thought the machine would be a lot more for that price. Like the people that thought the Switch would be a Scorpio

"doing something right".....mostly selling technology as fashion items to tech neophytes....which is a surprisingly lucrative business Ever price a Macbook? "I have my $1200 MacBook Pro!" It's a $800 Asus in a fancy shell. It's not even a high end machine, it's a budget machine paraded around as high end. I actually went shopping for one once because Apple REQUIRES you to buy a Mac to build iOS apps. I looked at the laguable pricing and decided not to build iOS apps

I think I live on the wrong continent I much more align with Nintendo's thinking. Specifically though, I don't have a problem with Apple being about making money. I have a bigger problem with a public that actually pays what they're asking for what they sell. People complain about Nintendo gouging. But what Nintendo sells, you can only get from Nintendo. Whole content unavailable elsewhere in configurations unavailable elsewhere. Apple sells things available everywhere, in configurations available everywhere, but with some slick Dyson marketing applied to it to make everyone want it.

Back in the 90's when Apple was unpopular they actually made better stuff. They were using SCSI while PC was on IDE. They were using RISC while PC was x86. They were using DIMMS when PC was still using SIMMS. Now that Apple just sells repackaged overpriced x86 PCs, they're suddenly popular. It's unreal.

True about watches. They can boast about having the #1 watch in a world where nobody buys watches anymore. Meanwhile Google/Microsoft/Samsung/etc. are laughing having the #1 phones.... I'm thinking the smartwatches are more of an Asia thing where status=life, even moreso than the US. I mean iOS makes up, what 16%-20% of the phone market share, Android around 75%-80%, and Windows & Blackberry picking up the pieces. But Microsoft makes enough off just the residual royalties on Android sales to plug the entire debt hole that is XBox. I mean that's a lot of money! (Yet Apple makes more having less than 20% market share....that tells us just HOW high their markups are...)

@NEStalgia Just remembered I did see somebody wearing an Apple watch the other day. Can't recall who, it was at my godson's hipster 3rd birthday party in WIlliamsburg, Brooklyn brewery / bowling alley. Or my cousin's kid 1st birthday party at the indoor pool place. May have been my sister, she's been all in on Apple for years. Has my mom on her 3rd iPhone. My mom has a Fitbit though so I know the watch wasn't on her. NYC is where everybody is all in on Apple so I can't recall. iPhones and iPads are too prolific too count.

I do think it's funny you poo-poo Apple that much but are looking to buy an expensive Samsung phone. I know you have your reasons, but we have 4 smartphones in my house, none were over $100, they all work fine. Even better, we pay $30 per month total all 4 phones. That's very limited txts, calls and data, but we've never gone over, plenty of Wi-Fi here everywhere. So I follow the tech, I like to know what's out there, but we live on a budget. A very cheap budget. Whatever works I guess.

Rather keep my 200 dollar phone and buy 800 dollars of Switch games. I'll be better off.

Also, "Bionic Neural Processor" sounds like the kind of silly stuff I made up back when I was 12... Just saying.

@Nincompoop If Apple owned Nintendo, Nintendo would cease being Nintendo within a few years. And Nintendo would no longer be able to make their own products. They'd get shoved onto iPads and iPhones. Which suck for gaming. Imagine the Switch without a Joy Cons or a Pro controller.

@iammikegaines yea

@rjejr yeah I never really got on board with the wearable tech trend (fad?). It just seems too much, particularly since I've stopped wearing a watch ever since I got a Nokia 7110 before the turn of the millennium. Now I only ever wear a watch as bling for formal attire.

The sports angle is interesting, though, but that's what Samsung Health and similar apps are for.

@SomeWriter13 Wearable tech is certainly the future. Why carry around a phone when you can do almost everything on a watch? The tablet craze is dieing down because of smartphones. I can imagine smartphone sales leveling off and watches replacing them. Of course the screen isnt' really big enough for watching, so phones and tablets still have their place, but at the right price with the right battery life - neither are close to there yet - I think many adults would want a full time Dr. strapped to their wrist, monitoring their health. Life is stressful. Starbucks won't be big fans, all fo that caffine spiking heart rates, it may put them out of business.

But I certainly dont' see it as a fad, more as the future. Though I suppose a sensor chip implanted in your armpit w/ bluetooth to your phone would work just as well.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-chip-implanted-under-the-skin-allows-for-precise-real-time-medical-monitoring

@rjejr good points. I'm only middle-aged, so those things are probably still a few years away from being considerations for me. Not sure if it counts, but I pretty much consider my phone as a "wearable" as it's always on my person. XD The stylus and large screen are also quite relevant in my field, so the small screen of a watch is not so ideal.

I don't know how to feel about implanted tech yet. XD Been seeing those things on pets, and it seems useful. I can imagine jealous spouses demanding their partners to get those. XD

@SomeWriter13 Jealous spouses track the GPS in that phone you always carry around, they don't need implants.

There are people who need phones, and there are people who need laptops, and there are people in design who think they need Apple MacBook Pros b/c that's what field their in. So there will always be uses for different devices. I wasn't trying to rid the world of anything, just saying that I thought the watches had staying power and were more than just a fad. They do seem like a "fad" though. "The next big thing" always seems like a fad. Once we're all getting around on hoverboards the watches will be more useful than phones. Blame the millenials.

@rjejr Yeah well you're in NYC which is an odd little microcosm that has nothing at all to do with anything else going on on Earth

I don't have a terribly interesting phone plan...limited minutes and limited data, though I use the data since unlike New Yawk there's no wifi basically anywhere but restaurants. With the expensive Samsung, I was horrified and floored when they unveiled the price is basically double what it used to be. I was going to get the Note 7 (almost ordered the day before the recall happened!) and ended up waiting all year. They know everyone is, and they need to make up the money from scrapping an entire phone gen next to the E.T. 2600 carts. But the thing with the Note is, as the saying of Note owners goes "Only a Note can replace a Note." an iPhone may have a funky OS, but the machine does everything every other smartphone does. But if you want a fine tip active digitizer there is literally only a single device series that offers that hardware feature. So you either have to pay it or you don't get that hardware. Which is why they can charge a kilobuck for a $700 phone. I had a bunch of cheaper devices before that, but once I got that stylus...there's just no going back. It replaced the tablet category for me entirely and I only use the laptop when I need a full keyboard away from the desk or when I need Windows software.

The stylus isn't just for drawing (which I'm incapable of) or handwriting (which most that have tried to read mine would tell you I'm also incapable of.) For me it's precision navigation. Web forms, and configuration consoles, remote management, text selection, etc. Those stupid little checkboxes you'll never ever hit with a fingertip....the stylus handles. And swipe typing. Thumb typing is fine for limited things. But when I need to write more, like replying to you here , swiping with the stylus doubles text speed and accuracy versus finger. To use any phone without the digitizer, would cut the utility of the phone in half for me. Or, rather the digitizer doubled the utility of my phone. I would have little use for a regular "phone" now. I've heard there's two kinds of Note users. Those who use the stylus every day, and those that have never used it. The latter is probably the majority, the ones that buy for bragging rights and would be just has happy with a Pixel or Oppo. I'm the former. I use it like 5 times a day minimum. According to Samsung's metrics tracking (they're amazingly open that they're tracking everything we do!.........) Note owners engage with their phone significantly more than any of their other phones. So it's a phone for people who use the device a lot. Not for people that use it as a phone. It's a PC in your pocket more than it is "a smartphone" mainly due to the big screen and the precision input. I wouldn't buy a really high end premium "phone" but in this case it's not really a "phone" but its own class of device. It's a tablet but smaller (and with more precise input), it's a phone, but bigger and with more precise input. Closest thing I can think of is the Wacom Cintiq, which is bigger, more expensive, and requires a PC, all while doing less (but being better for artwork.) And in fact it has the same Wacom digitizer as the Cintiq. So ultimately a Note's not "an expensive phone", so much as it is "a Note". And now that they know that they just build it around the current Galaxy S and charge twice as much. They've learned from Apple.

So I'm stuck with their grotesque gouging from now on until some other company comes up with a digitizer which for some reason hasn't happened. (Granted, Wacom digitizers ARE expensive in any format.)

LOL, though I did just notice that the iPhone X comes with a clean HALF the RAM the Note 8 comes with. It has less RAM than my 2.5 year old Note 5 comes with. Or my 4 year old tablet. So half the ram, smaller screen, lower quality screen, no digitizer & stylus (which is a pricy addition), no SD slot, no headphone jack & opamp, and if I'm not mistaken, no IP68 waterproofing (which was rumored to be on the X but they made no mention of it.)

So I take it all back, Samsung may be exorbitantly gouging but Apple has yet again cranked that up to 11, offering 35% less hardware, for %6 more money. I don't really want to defend ANY $1k price point on a phone. Notes were just fine at $700. That was reasonable for the hardware. But Apple's making it a lot harder to demonize Samsung.

As for wearable tech. I don't know that I'd overlook the "wearable tech" category as a category, but watches aint it. I think wearable tech will ultimately manifest in things thin and flexible you can attach to clothing like it's an ace bandage. A 1" screen is never going to do it. And anything bigger restricts the wrist. Watches aren't the future, they're the past. The glasses thing may happen, but it looks too odd and is too intrusive. Success of the S8+, Note, iPhone 7+ 8+ etc shows bigger screens with more data are more popular than Jobs ever thought should be. The watch is Jobs era thinking. "Nobody wants big." Now, with the Notes we have displays that are technically bigger than WiiU/Switch (via a cheat method of making them elongated.) and it's still not big enough. "Wearable" will be a problem and will have to main relegated to "fun info readout widgets" but ultimately useless for productivity outside Siri/Alexa/Bixby/Cortana/Now enabled features which are, themselves, not very productive.

@NEStalgia I don't know, I'm not giving up on the watch, they'll figure it out. Either people will start wearing them w/ 2x3" screens like Wonder Woman, or the display will project out into mid-air like a R2D2 hologram, or it will fold out, doubling or tripling the size. Or beam to glasses. Still a few years out, but i don't see them ever going away. Won't replace your Note, but how many people can even afford a $1,000 phone, much less want one? $249 isn't a bad starting price, Switch is $300.

So maybe you and I will never wear one, we're not meant to, but kids, toddlers, babies growing up w/ smartphones in their hands, they'll all have one. Or a chip in the brain. That beamed straight to the brain stuff kind of scares me though, so I try not to think about it.

Man, I 'd laid low all summer, now I remember why. I like talking to you and some of the other guys but my inbox has been non-stop the past few days w/ people telling me I'm 12 years old. I need to go food shopping, catch ya in the live chat later. Animal Crossing mobile, only on iPhone X.

@rjejr I think the big problem with watches, though is, what can it do? How can you interact with it? it certainly can have all the compute power in the world either directly or via "the cloud" (I hate that word so much.) But what can you DO with it? The most the size factor allows is verbal communication which is limited in a world driven by visual information readout and media. It can use tiny indicators but only so much human readable text actually fits. Ironically the watch could be the real replacement for a telephone than a smartphone (which is more of a palm computer than a telephone, it just happens to be capable of phoning.) But who uses telephony anymore other than 30 minute CSR calls? And a fold-out watch would be ungainly with little support strapped to your wrist when a fold-out "phone" could be a 24" monitor. I can see a large-display "forearm strapped" device happening more easily than that. Watches just can't happen. They have a niche, but they're too nichey for limited audiences. Most people that seem to use them use them to stay up on text and voice messages while driving and using the voice to text/text to voice mechanisms. I'd argue that's an absurdly stupid thing to do no matter what.... but they "think" they're safe (so does the guy that's "only had a few" before he slams a school bus...)

If you're using it for that, great, it's a tool that can help. But that's a pretty niche tool. Most people are working with more data than that. Whether you're a tween hovering over facebook, or going through remote management consoles like me, it just wont work.

Wearable tech will certainly be a thing, but I think the push for watches is just a short term misguided thing. It's one of those things that sounds like a cool idea until you really try to use it. The Gear watch with the rotating dial si the coolest most input-driven one I've seen so far, but I'm still not sold.

Hehe the brain chips are the most terrifying thing on so many levels. If you wanted to watch civilization end like the worst sci-fi you've ever seen....that's the ticket!

Haha I hear you...I keep trying to behave But I can't keep away. Probably won't be on the live chat....it's a nice time of day for once (unlike E3) so I'll probably throw it on the big screen....wonder if my Note 5 can handle the chat interface? It's old, but it's a super capable machine still. I'm only changing because I really need that SD slot....I haven't been able to use it as much of a camera with the built in 32GB, and the additional ram never hurts when I have 100+ tabs open in Firefox Android (did you know it displays an infinity symbol after 99? Wonder how many people know that? )

@NEStalgia I guess I see so many people walking around the supermarket talking to themselves - via bluetooth headset earpieces and their phones - watches just makes the most sense to me. Screen real estate is a big issue though that needs to be sorted out. Maybe your right, watches become phones and phones become Pocket PCs. Then anybody talking into their PC will look like an idiot, and everybody talking to themselves will just look normal. Can't wait.

I'll be watching the ND on my Wii U - still need to check the size of the Lego Dimensions download, that thing is getting huge, auto downloads whenever new sets release - and chatting on my Samgsung tablet. Or at least trying to, it really doesn't work well. Marginally better than the Gamepad though. Dont' tell anyone but I'm really looking forward to it.

@rjejr I still get freaked out when I see someone walking around talking to themselves and assume they're unhinged. Though when they're talking on the phone in the bathrooms, I make sure to flush all surrounding toilets so whoever they're talking to is aware they're talking from the bathroom

Hah, I had to disconnect the WiiU to plug the Switch in. I usually either watch it on a laptop or if I put it on the big screen I stream from the phone over WiDi to a receiver, because for some reason the little phone can do this well while the laptop struggles and strains to not stutter like crazy when streaming wirelessly......I don't know why. Laptop WiDi just sucks apparently.

Haha, a 45 minute direct....that's E3 size! And it's perfect that it's in prime time for a change and I can actually watch it

@NEStalgia "I think the big problem with watches, though is, what can it do?"

But it's not just a watch, it's a fashion accessory. It's in our ancient civilized DNA. Jewelry ain't going away. Even if all women become men and men become women, somebody will keep the fashion industry going, and watches are historically part of that as long as we've been humans.

I likely timely news articles, I'm all about the serendipity.
http://www.cnn.com/style/article/golden-kingdoms-luxury-legacy-ancient-americas/index.html

@rjejr Well, that explains it. Apple's the #1 selling watch because it's a fashion accessory, not a piece of practical technology. So Apple's not #1 in phones, laptops, desktops, or servers because only a portion of the population wants one of those things as a fashion accessory. But since the watch is mostly an accessory and not a practical item anyway, Apple's really the only choice!

That's really the core problem isn't it? It doesn't really DO much of anything outside a few niche uses (which is fair that that niche is served by the product, but not TOO many people want to have text-to-speech with wrist mount controls for driving "barely legally." Most either safely wait, or just go whole hog, no hands on the wheel illegal

Maybe Apple can stop trying to pretend to make servers and workstations and just make jewelry? They'd be a true innovator in that field

Funny you'd write on this thread, speaking of serendipity, I was going to write to you on it today. I was thinking of the Note use case versus your $200 phones and what's different about them, i.e. what makes me not content with that type of device, since they run the same OS and the same apps. What is it I'm doing with mine that demands so much more? The stylus, yes. But why? It occurred to me, most people use their phones as CONSUMPTION devices. It's for looking at things, viewing video, playing games, making phone calls (do people still do that?) But not as a data INPUT device. Typing is limited to 255 character tweets, snapchat postings, and search entries. As I am currently sampling keyboards (Swype, GBoard, Swiftkey, Fleskey) to determine which one gives me the lowest error rate on swipe typing and the easiest access to edit errors, it occurred to me that's the difference. I use the keyboard. A lot. Most times when I pick it up, I'm interacting most of the time with they keyboard. Including posting here and discord servers, emails, or even the browser search box as I tend to have 50-100 tabs open in the browser (which dictates the vast memory requirement too.) I use it considerably as a text INPUT device, and it seems according to Samsung's metrics that's how many not users use their Notes, while most people don't use their phone in that way. I think that's probably the biggest difference in when you buy a $200 phone vs. a $700 phone (even when they artificially inflate it to being a $1000 phone.) For consumption any $200 phone works. But for heavy input, they show their limitations. And I hate software and input limitations. Otherwise I'd have a tablet instead of a Switch

@NEStalgia fashion accessory

Well Apple devices do seem to be the only device used by anybody in any tv show or movie ever. I dont 'watch that much TV, maybe a dozen shows here or there, but everybody uses Apple laptops. Well I haven't seen 1 in GoT yet but that's about the only one. And it always looks to me like they are using iPhones but I'm no expert, but they are always white and look like Apple phones. Don't think I've ever once seen someone use a stylus like you do.

And Apple certainly treats it's earbuds like fashion statements. If you ever visit NYC and have wired headphones, make sure it's a white wire. And white earbuds. And a white device.

I know why you need an expensive phone, it's all about the usage. I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't need to update her iPhone every other year though. But I have to admit she takes better photos on that than we do on any of our phones. Or our few years old $200 dedicated digital Samsung camera. I was all set to buy a new camera when we left it at my brrother-in-laws over Spring Break but he mailed it back to us at a cost to himself of $16, so I felt bad and have been using it. I'll leave it someplace else next time.

So maybe you're right, Apple Watch is too limited, but what about ... the Apple iBraclet?

Oh, and the other day when I was talking about ways to get around the small screen size on a watch, this is what I was referring too. Dotn' know if it will ever be a real thing or not, but I can see it happening in 5 or 10 years. Wouldn't be useful for a maker like you, but for the other 99% of us who are consumers it would probably suffice.

http://www.thecollectiveint.com/2014/12/cicret-bracelet-turns-your-skin-into.html

This vid has been the been 4 minutes of my day so far. No offense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw7g8ixbomU

3 reasons for Apple all over TV: 1) Paid product placement. It's part of the advertising. 2) Their designs are artistic and easily recognized, so they fit the aesthetics needed for the artistic output of a TV show. 3) The people who make TV shows only use Apple, because the art/media/audio industries standardized on Apple back in the 80s/90's when there was a reason to and refuses to let go of their notions that Apple is better for it.....plus the artistic styling of the cases appeals to their nature as artists.

Stylii...well that's kind of limited exclusively to Note users because unfortunately that's still the only phone series that has one. Pixil+ had an accessory stylus sold separately, but it was useless because if you can't holster it in the device, what's the point? And those are the only two phones that have a digitizer (those chunky capacities stylii that simulate a finger aren't the same thing...it needs a real digitizer under the screen for an active stylus. So there won't be very many of those by percentage in the wild Plus Note 1 through Note 4 were monstrously huge, coining the "phablet" term that really no longer applies. Note 5 got smaller to be manageable, Note 7 got much smaller (and then exploded violently) and now Note 8 is getting bigger again, but really only taller. But 1-4 needed cargo pants to fit them in a pocket....not mass market friendly

NYC is still on the white apple earbud fettish? Sheesh, not only do they look cheap, they ARE cheap. I've never seen earbuds fall apart that fast since the last pair I bought at the dollar store. The wires just split at the insulation. It's depressing.

Haha, well dedicated phones, if it's a good one, still have a leg up on phone cameras. Phone cameras are good, but (putting on my dpreview forum hat for a moment), but there's only so much you can do with that little bit of glass. it may be a fast prime but it has such little light gathering ability, no control of DoF (the synthetic stuff, even on the Note 8/iPhone 8 dual cameras) just looks fake) and no stand alone cameras have optical zoom versus fixed focal length ("digital zoom" is just cropping and enlarging the already wayy too small for accuracy photosites on the sensor. The Note 8 at least has a genuine tele prime, iPhone 8 has the UWA prime so there's some FL options there but even then, a dual prime kit that's not THAT different in FL is still limiting compared to a dedicated camera. So don't write off dedicated just yet. Though the 1/2.3" sensors need to die. Even phones do a better job than most of those, sadly. Phone pictures look great, but when you crop further, you realize it's smearing a lot of details in the photo equivalent of gaming anti-aliasing. It limits what you can do in p/p, though with the higher end phones that now have RAW output, that buys you a lot of headroom even if the tiny glass still has massive limitations. But as the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you. I always have my phone. I rarely have my 10 pounds of DSLR gear. It's such a pleasure to use, but I rarely get around to using it. My very nice, very compact, point and shoot went with me much more often (that was the neatest little camera....great results, too!) But I haven't used it at all since I got the note 5 which has been "good enough" that laziness prevails The 8 improves on that a lot I hear. Still, don't write off real cameras...they're still better if you're not too lazy to use them! I should get back into taking the DSLR with me....The good/bad is I have a waterproof 16-55mm f/2.2 fixed lens for mine which kind of replaced my bag of primes (even though the primes are amazing.) But it's huge and heavy so I look like I'm press pool wherever I go with it At least it's not a white-barrel Canon L series.

The bracelet idea is really cool....though you'd need to straighten it to use anything around the bend. And then it would be one of those late 80's slap bracelets. With an explosive battery in the middle. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Everyone loves the flexible display idea while forgetting flexible displays doesn't mean flexible batteries and flexible PCBs

"Wouldn't be useful for a maker like you, but for the other 99% of us who are consumers it would probably suffice."

That's kind of a serious trouble with the "web 2.0" culture. Web 1.0 meant EVERYONE was a maker. If you were on the internet, it was to write something, contribute to something, submit something, evaluate something, critique something, or generally communicate. I came from web 1.0. 2.0 was introduced in the early 2000's and I cringed the MOMENT the internet started to be used for video. The consumption driven world. Even playing video games, you're interacting and engaging. You're producing the result. IT's not a consumption activity. The phone/tablet craze turning the "internet" into glorified cable TV for passive consumption....to the point that that's now the focus of our new portable devices....it's honestly terrifying. NL is full of makers. We all contribute to the story and conversation. The fact that most netizens aren't as actively contributing as even the visitors at a Nintendo game focused forum is a dreary thought indeed.

What. Did I. Just watch? And is it 1986 again?

@NEStalgia All my cameras all of my life have always fit in my pocket and have been point and shoot. Oh sure, they all have manual adjustment if you want it, but I don't. So I'm afraid pretty much all of that was list on me. If my wife can't fit it in her overly stuffed pocketbook we won't buy it.

Note 8 Vs iPhone X on CNBC. Better than the last vid, I promise.

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/heres-iphone-x-compares-galaxy-130000462.html