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iphone [2024/06/17 16:17] – ui qlyoungiphone [2024/08/24 22:09] (current) – [iphone] add pixel breakage date qlyoung
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 Bit of a pace change here, I don't particularly care about consumer electronics but mobile computers aka phones are an exception since for better or worse they're inextricably tied up with much of my life. Bit of a pace change here, I don't particularly care about consumer electronics but mobile computers aka phones are an exception since for better or worse they're inextricably tied up with much of my life.
  
-After being a longtime user of Pixel devices (which pairly nicely with Google Fi cell service), the screen on my Pixel 4a broke recently (originally written: 01 July 2022). At the same time I went to Yosemite with some friends and noticed that the pictures they took with their iPhones looked a lot better than the pictures I've taken with any Android phones. I was always skeptical of iPhone's ostensibly restrictive user experience (relative to Android), but being rather bored with technology and not finding any really good Android phones on the market (where are the microsd slots?) decided to pick up an iPhone. Apple has a decent 14 day return policy, so I figured I'd try it out and if the device annoyed me I'd just return it and get whatever the current number pixel is. In short, I've been pleasantly surprised by iPhone and am keeping it. I bought the iPhone 13 Mini with 512gb of storage.+After being a longtime user of Pixel devices (which pairly nicely with Google Fi cell service), the screen on my Pixel 4a broke in June 2022. At the same time I went to Yosemite with some friends and noticed that the pictures they took with their iPhones looked a lot better than the pictures I've taken with any Android phones. I was always skeptical of iPhone's ostensibly restrictive user experience (relative to Android), but being rather bored with technology and not finding any really good Android phones on the market (where are the microsd slots?) decided to pick up an iPhone. Apple has a decent 14 day return policy, so I figured I'd try it out and if the device annoyed me I'd just return it and get whatever the current number pixel is. In short, I've been pleasantly surprised by iPhone and am keeping it. I bought the iPhone 13 Mini with 512gb of storage.
  
 ===== Preconceptions ===== ===== Preconceptions =====
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 ===== Positives ===== ===== Positives =====
  
-So, there are legitimate grips with iPhone. But goodness gracious, the positives.+Things I like.
  
 ==== UX ==== ==== UX ====
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 When I first wrote this section after getting the phone, I wrote: When I first wrote this section after getting the phone, I wrote:
  
-> It is just a fact that the iPhone takes amazing pictures. Through whatever combination of camera and software, pictures on the iPhone turn out consistently better than any picture I ever took with any Android flagship - and I have owned a lot, from the Nexus 5 through the Pixel 4a. Having a wide angle camera is also awesome, I use that thing all the time.+<blockquote> 
 +It is just a fact that the iPhone takes amazing pictures. Through whatever combination of camera and software, pictures on the iPhone turn out consistently better than any picture I ever took with any Android flagship - and I have owned a lot, from the Nexus 5 through the Pixel 4a. Having a wide angle camera is also awesome, I use that thing all the time. 
 +</blockquote>
  
-After two years of using the phone, I now hate the iPhone "look". I think it's because in that time I purchased a mirrorless camera and started doing enthusiast photography, prompting me to be much more conscious of colors, sharpening, contrast, noise and noise reduction, and all the other things you notice when you start grading your own photography. Now when I see photos produced by the stock iOS pipeline, I'm left wondering why they frequently look *so awful*. In high contrast scenes iOS will consistently+After two years of using the phone, I now hate the iPhone "look". I think it's because in that time I purchased a mirrorless camera and started doing enthusiast photography, prompting me to be much more conscious of colors, sharpening, contrast, noise and noise reduction, and all the other things you notice when you start grading your own photography. Now when I see photos produced by the stock iOS pipeline, I'm left wondering why they frequently look *so awful*. In some scenes the photos look good, but in many cases iOS will consistently
  
   * oversharpen   * oversharpen
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 It is possible to shoot in raw on my iPhone, but doing so doesn't match the type of photography I use my phone for. My phone camera is for quick snaps to capture a moment or preserve a memory when I don't have my real camera, or don't want to use it. Oftentimes I want to share the photos I take soon after shooting. Shooting in raw means I need to demosaic, grade, and export that photo. When I take 30 pictures in a day that is too much effort for each photo. I need the computational pipeline to produce something that looks at least OK. The extreme amount of oversharping and local contrast that the iOS pipeline produces just looks terrible. It is possible to shoot in raw on my iPhone, but doing so doesn't match the type of photography I use my phone for. My phone camera is for quick snaps to capture a moment or preserve a memory when I don't have my real camera, or don't want to use it. Oftentimes I want to share the photos I take soon after shooting. Shooting in raw means I need to demosaic, grade, and export that photo. When I take 30 pictures in a day that is too much effort for each photo. I need the computational pipeline to produce something that looks at least OK. The extreme amount of oversharping and local contrast that the iOS pipeline produces just looks terrible.
  
-Here's two versions of the same photo I took of a rock wall in Colorado. I shot this using Halide, which produces both a raw and a HEIC that goes through the usual iOS image pipeline. I applied a neutral grade to the raw, only correcting for exposure, a little bit of chroma and a touch of contrast. Can you tell which one is the iOS photo and which is the raw? Hint: the iOS one looks like nothing that exists on planet Earth.+Here's two versions of the same photo I took of a rock wall in Colorado. I shot this using [[https://halide.cam/|Halide]], which produces both a raw and a HEIC that goes through the usual iOS image pipeline. I applied a neutral grade to the raw, only correcting for exposure, a little bit of chroma and a touch of contrast. Can you tell which one is the iOS photo and which is the raw? Hint: the iOS one looks like nothing that exists on planet Earth.
  
 {{:ooc.jpg?600|}} {{:graded.jpg?600|}} {{:ooc.jpg?600|}} {{:graded.jpg?600|}}
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 I've also noticed that iOS takes pictures of sunsets that in real life have delicate and beautiful shades of pink and maps all of the pink tones into...orange? It's so egregious I genuinely believe that the pipeline detects sunset photos and applies a specific grade that crushes pinks and produces a very generic looking [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrangeBlueContrast|orange and blue]] photo. I've also noticed that iOS takes pictures of sunsets that in real life have delicate and beautiful shades of pink and maps all of the pink tones into...orange? It's so egregious I genuinely believe that the pipeline detects sunset photos and applies a specific grade that crushes pinks and produces a very generic looking [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrangeBlueContrast|orange and blue]] photo.
 +
 ==== Security ==== ==== Security ====
  
-I said most of what I wanted to say in the filesystem section, but yeah. The iOS security model is clearly much more mature than that of Android. I attend certain conferences and at those conferences there's always a talk or two about breaking iOS application sandboxing. No one gives talks like that for Android. Draw your own conclusions there.+I said most of what I wanted to say in the filesystem section, but yeah. The iOS security model is clearly much more mature than that of Android. At security conferences there's always a talk or two about breaking iOS application sandboxing. No one gives talks like that for Android. I think that's because breaking iOS is actually impressive. Nobody is surprised that Android is broken.
  
 ==== MagSafe ==== ==== MagSafe ====
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 ==== General build quality ==== ==== General build quality ====
  
-Apple's build quality is legendary, iPhone is no exception. Hardware silent mode switch is GOAT.+Apple's build quality is legendary and it's on full display in the iPhone. Hardware silent mode switch is great. 
 + 
 +==== Standard support ==== 
 + 
 +This one actually surprised me. iOS has deeply integrated support for standard protocols and technologies into the OS, including: 
 + 
 +  * CardDAV. Completely and seamlessly integrated into the OS. Configured my CardDAV server in the OS settings, contacts sync both ways. It just works. Notably it works better than the Google Contacts mess on Android. 
 +  * CalDAV. Again, configured in the OS, and it just works. Calendar events sync both ways. 
 +  * Samba. Yep. Go into the Files app, dots menu, "Connect to server", put in a ''smb:%%//%%'' URL. Login prompt, done. Mounted. 
 +  * FTP, SFTP and I believe WebDAV work same as above. 
 + 
 +Overall the situation here is far better than what I experienced on Android.
  
 ===== Negatives ===== ===== Negatives =====
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 ==== Blue bubble ==== ==== Blue bubble ====
  
-Ok, this is more of an anthropology piece than anything, but it's kind of interesting to write about anyway. Many people are very preoccupied with status symbols. Apple has created a genius status symbol in iMessage. If two iPhone users text each other, Apple automatically upgrades the conversation to use iMessage, their encrypted messaging solution. In this case the text bubbles are blue. But if an iPhone user texts a non-iPhone user, iMessage is unavailable and the connection falls back to SMS. In this case, the iPhone user sees the messages as green.+Ok, this is more of an anthropology piece than anything, but it's kind of interesting to write about anyway. Apple has created a genius status symbol in iMessage. If two iPhone users text each other, Apple automatically upgrades the conversation to use iMessage, their encrypted messaging solution. In this case the text bubbles are blue. But if an iPhone user texts a non-iPhone user, iMessage is unavailable and the connection falls back to SMS. In this case, the iPhone user sees the messages as green.
  
-Because iPhones are seen as the premium choice of phone among Millenials and later generations, being a "green bubble" is tantamount to failing a status symbol check. Youth refer to non-iPhone using youth as "green bubbles". It's like showing up to home room wearing gap instead of bape. Dumb as it is, some people retain social aspects of their adolescence into adult life, so having an iPhone can be social grease when texting such people. I don't condone it but pretending it isn't real is just being naïve.+Because iPhones are seen as the premium choice of phone among millenials and later generations, being a "green bubble" is tantamount to failing a status symbol check. Youth refer to non-iPhone using youth as "green bubbles". It's like showing up to home room wearing gap instead of bape. Since many people retain this particular kind of lizard brain into adult life, having an iPhone can be social grease when texting such people. I don't condone it but pretending it isn't real is just being naïve.
  
 ===== Conclusions ===== ===== Conclusions =====
  
-I'm keeping iPhone. Overall it is MUCH more enjoyable to use than flagship Android devices, and while I have gripes with it, I've solved all of them one way or another (except for ad-free YouTube). Security is clearly much better. It's a pleasure to use because of the buttery smooth UX. Filesystem access is surprisingly good while also maintaining strong application sandboxing. The camera is by far the best mobile camera I have ever used.+I'm keeping iPhone. Overall it is MUCH more enjoyable to use than flagship Android devices, and while I have gripes with it, I've solved all of them one way or another (except for ad-free YouTube (edit: solved with [[https://invidious.io/|Invidious]] + [[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yattee/id1595136629|Yattee]]). Security is clearly much better. It's a pleasure to use because of the buttery smooth UX. Filesystem access is surprisingly good while also maintaining strong application sandboxing.
  
 Lack of sideloading sucks and the phone is overpriced. I wish there was a company that made a good phone. Lack of sideloading sucks and the phone is overpriced. I wish there was a company that made a good phone.
  
 {{tag>from_blog technology products}} {{tag>from_blog technology products}}
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iphone.1718641060.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/06/17 16:17 by qlyoung
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