Business

Wired:

Some AT&T customers noticed a strange phenomenon earlier this year. The upper left corner of their smartphones began displaying “5GE,” ostensibly indicating their phones were using 5G technology.

As has been much discussed, this is a marketing ploy, since 5G is not rolled out publicly yet.

Even beyond 5GE, there’s a lot of confusion about what the letters, bars, and other symbols on your phone actually mean. Experts say interpreting them may only become more complicated as 5G rolls out in the coming years.

Interesting read. Especially the part about the difference between number of bars and signal-to-noise ratio. And the fact that cheaper phones frequently outperform more expensive phones in signal quality.

iFixit:

We’ve been bred to believe that only Geniuses and Geeks can fix our stuff, but it wasn’t always this way. During the Great Depression, when resources were scarce, repair was ingrained in our culture. During the second World War, ‘Make do and Mend’ was a rallying cry and point of pride. Every new device shipped with a repair manual. And when something broke, a replacement part could likely be purchased at your local store. Repair wasn’t seen as an inconvenience—it was an expectation.

And:

Thanks to repair advocates and brave netizens around the world, the tide is starting to change. This year, Right to Repair legislation has been successfully introduced in 18 states. The movement continues to spread—and for the first time, European repair allies have introduced their own version of repair legislation.

As long time Loop readers know, I am a big fan of repairing my own gear. I do appreciate a vendor wanting to ensure that a tinkerer does no harm by improperly repairing something. But often, EULAs are created to limit right to repair to protect a repair revenue stream.

Take a minute to read the linked iFixit blog post. There’s a satisfaction in fixing your own stuff, whether it be a computer, a cracked iPhone screen, or even a household appliance. You’ll save money, learn something you can pass along, and it’s a push back against a throwaway culture.

MacRumors:

Apple has confirmed it will begin surveying Alaska, South Carolina, and Tennessee between March and July, according to an update to its recently revamped Apple Maps image collection website. Data collection is also set to continue in seven other states over that time.

This is part of the Apple Maps rebuild effort.

Note that the Apple Maps image collection page is not a collection of images. Instead it’s a heads up on where the LIDAR vehicles and backpack-toting pedestrians will be in the coming months.

John Paczkowski, BuzzFeed:

Apple has settled on a date for its first big product announcement of 2019. Sources tell BuzzFeed News that the company plans to hold a special event on March 25 at the Steve Jobs Theater on its Apple Park campus. Headlining the gathering: that subscription news service that has been all over the news today. Unlikely to make an appearance: next-generation AirPods, or that rumored new iPad Mini.

Well this should be interesting.

A story from a Reddit user who brought their bent iPad Pro back to the Apple Store and asked for a replacement.

The story itself is interesting, and a useful guide if you get a bent iPad Pro from Apple and want to get it replaced.

But the comments that follow the story are also worth reading, comments from ex-Apple employees weighing in with their experiences over time, discussing what they were allowed to do for their customers.

The ability of an Apple Store employee to bend the rules to keep their customers happy is, to me, an incredibly important part of the Apple Store culture.

The Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc.’s plan to create a subscription service for news is running into resistance from major publishers over the tech giant’s proposed financial terms, according to people familiar with the situation, complicating an initiative that is part of the company’s efforts to offset slowing iPhone sales.

In its pitch to some news organizations, the Cupertino, Calif., company has said it would keep about half of the subscription revenue from the service, the people said. The service, described by industry executives as a “Netflix for news,” would allow users to read an unlimited amount of content from participating publishers for a monthly fee. It is expected to launch later this year as a paid tier of the Apple News app, the people said.

Me being picky, but I hate the tag “Netflix for news”. Movies have a long shelf life. The Netflix model works there. Music has a long shelf life. The Apple Music model works there.

News? The word “new” is right in there. Old news is like stale bread. Netflix works, in large part, because of the huge well of older content. New stuff is what draws you in, perhaps, but the older stuff keeps you engaged.

More from the story:

The New York Times and the Washington Post are among the major outlets that so far haven’t agreed to license their content to the service, in part because of concerns over the proposed terms, which haven’t been previously disclosed, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Part of the problem might be this:

Another concern for some publishers is that they likely wouldn’t get access to subscriber data, including credit-card information and email addresses, the people said. Credit-card information and email addresses are crucial for news organizations that seek to build their own customer databases and market their products to readers.

And this from The Verge’s Apple’s new deal for journalism should send publishers running (note that the URL ends with “LOL”):

Publishers, meanwhile, may need to hire new employees to manage the partnership, build the necessary product integrations, and address customer service issues. At a time when the industry is already laying off hundreds of journalists, asking them to build out their partnership and product teams in exchange for a potential revenue increase in the single digits appears laughable on its face.

I can’t imagine that this deal is going to work, at least not as is. Me? I’m going to keep my subscriptions to the new sources I value. I like sending my money directly to the organizations paying the reporters.

This is detective work, not an official announcement from Apple. But reading the logic, seems right on the nose.

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. assigned a longtime iPhone executive as its first head of marketing for augmented reality, demonstrating the importance of the technology to the company’s future.

Frank Casanova moved from leading iPhone marketing for wireless carriers into the new role this month.

And:

The decision by Apple to name its first head of product marketing for AR underscores the technology’s importance to the company’s quest for major new products.

Whether it arrives via special goggles, iPhone apps (see the post on Google’s AR Mapping effort that follows), or even automotive heads up displays, AR is a major wave coming.

Looking forward to seeing Frank on stage at a future Apple Event.

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:

As anyone who visits an Apple store knows, you’re first greeted by a friendly person with an iPad at the store’s entrance. I told the greeter that I had a Genius Bar appointment for my iPhone XS Max, and she asked for a brief description of my problem.

I explained that my device was randomly shutting down and wouldn’t come back on for several hours. As soon as I finished the explanation, the greeter said, “Have you considered upgrading to a new iPhone recently?”

I was holding my iPhone XS Max in my hand.

And:

A source tells 9to5Mac that this is a new policy at all Apple retail locations. Employees are being instructed to push for an upgrade instead of repairing an existing device. In some stores, the source says, an employee is tasked with pitching iPhone upgrades to Genius Bar customers as they wait for appointments. Other stores have the Geniuses themselves to pitch an upgrade.

This slide into upselling seems new. I’ve always found the Apple Store to be chill, there to help or give me the opportunity to learn about new product. I certainly hope this isn’t the new Apple Store. And I can’t help but wonder if this policy, if it is indeed the new policy, has anything to do with the change at the top.

From this post by Benjamin Mayo:

The Apple Store has never been defined by the hard sell. In fact, it boldly fought against it. Apple retail employees have never earned commission because the goal was to give shoppers the right advice, and match person to product based on need and wants, not which one gives the biggest kickback.

These new initiatives to juice iPhone XS and iPhone XR fly in the face of the principled stance Apple has established in the past. Staff advice is distorted by upper management marketing pressure, rather than monetary incentives, but the result is the same for the customer. The advice is currently biased towards hitting Apple’s targets, not what the person walking in the shop really wants.

Perfectly put. This is not the Apple I know. And love.