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I really enjoy Gruber's holistic reviews of Apple's new devices. He doesn't attempt to be Anandtech (whose reviews I found thoroughly engrossing and well writt

I really enjoy Gruber's holistic reviews of Apple's new devices. He doesn't attempt to be Anandtech (whose reviews I found thoroughly engrossing and well written), but rather he paints a picture of how the device feels and how it fits into Apple's larger strategy, which I find equally important. One interesting thing I've discovered about Gruber's columns is that you often have to read between the lines and get accustomed to how he presents his narrative. Praise for Apple is freely handed out, weaknesses are noted, and praise for other companies is guarded (when said company is in competition with Apple). For example, he notes the weaknesses of Siri in a generally positive sentence, and states that "Google Now is faster." I think he would agree that Google Now is not only faster, but also provides better results with better comprehension, and really the only downside is that you can't access it with a long-hold on the home button. That's not something I'd expect Gruber to say. However, once I recognized how he couches his concerns, I've found that he has some of the most insightful, nuanced and thoroughly processed views about Apple overall.

hop 13y ago
Yeah, he notably left out the elephant in the room that is the 4in screen.
- nwh 13y ago
  Elephant to you, not to him.
  - hop 13y ago
    It's the caveat in every other major review, like Anandtech's, and anecdotedly, it the main reason people I know are switching to android.
    - nwh 13y ago
      Anecdotedly, I interact with scores of iPhone users every week and not once have I ever heard a complaint about the screen size, even when prompted.
      - shurcooL 13y ago
        I use an iPad mini as my iPhone replacement because I wanted a bigger screen while staying with iOS and Apple hardware.
        nicholassmith 13y ago
        How's that worked out? Genuinely interested, I had some vague ideas about trying that last year but decided it seemed like there was always a series of workarounds that it would entail.
        shurcooL 13y ago
        I'm extremely happy with it. It's the best internet-connected pocket computer I've owned since my iPhone 3GS. It fits in my front jeans pocket (much to surprise of many people; just barely, but it does), and I can sit comfortably with it there (for more than a few hours, I do take it out). It can't be fully used with 1 hand (like when standing in a bus), although it can used partially (scrolling a web page, switching tabs in Chrome, scrolling twitter). I primarily use iMessages/SMS and email for communication, but I do have a VOIP that I can make and receive calls at. You can use a headset with it, so there's no need to bring it up to your head. FaceTime, Skype, etc. I'm a developer, so I don't talk on my phone 24/7, hence it's enough to get by. There are a few advantages over an iPhone. Infinite battery life, essentially. Much cheaper monthly plan. I pay $30 for 3 GB of data. No contracts (came in handy when I moved from Canada to US recently). No long distance, roaming... if you travel and get on wi-fi, you have the same (VOIP) number and everything. Huge screen, I use it for browsing all the time instead of a laptop. It's an iPad mini, enough said. One other limitation is it doesn't have a vibrating motor, unfortunately, so when you put it in silent mode, you'll have no way of knowing about incoming calls or text messages. So I either have sounds on, or leave it on a table so I can see the screen light up (instead of keeping it in pocket). It's still unusual enough for people to talk to me about it. I don't do this just to be different, I do it for the practical value. I wanted a bigger screen and I don't want 2 iOS devices (it'd be a hassle to keep them in sync). It's been around a year and I'm still extremely happy with it. It may not work for everyone, but it's a lot more viable than most people would expect.
    - Kurtz79 13y ago
      "The modern smartphone market has also evolved. When Apple introduced the original iPhone with its 3.5" display, Steve called it "giant" on stage. Today even HTC's One mini ships with a 4.3" display." http://anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review http://anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review
    - ZeroGravitas 13y ago
      Less anecdotally, screen size (along with "perceived value") was the main reason that Samsung phones were given higher user satisfaction ratings than any Apple device in the US earlier this year. http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2013/07/31/samsung-smartphones-edge-apples-iphones-in-customer-satisfaction-survey/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2013/07/31/samsung-sma...
- jvzr 13y ago
  To each his own. I'd pay an extra $100 to get a 3.5-inch screen. 4-inch is too much and forces me to move up my palm.
  - nicholassmith 13y ago
    I know plenty of people who agree with you, but Apple's damned if they do, damned if they don't.
    - brohee 13y ago
      Or they could get done with "one size to suit them all" and offer more screen sizes. People hands vary wildly in size, no one would make gloves in only one, but somehow Apple seems to think for a phone it's OK.
      - nicholassmith 13y ago
        Gloves frequently do come in one size only. Adding wider ranges of screen sizes increases developer testing requirements so I'm glad they haven't, and whilst Autolayout does abstract a lot of those headaches it doesn't resolve everything. Plus gloves do often come as one size only. Depends on the glove type, material and manufacturer.
        brohee 13y ago
        Given the way iOS UI are developed, the right choice would obviously be different screen size, same resolution...
  - devx 13y ago
    Only if you don't have a very compact phone, like the iPhone. Motorola has been making 4.3" phones the size of a 4" iPhone for a while, for example. Even the 4.7" Moto X isn't much bigger.
leoc 13y ago
Similarly I note that he emphasises how other people are going to like the new colours, but says little about what he thinks of them himself: "bright and friendly" is about the most of it. Does he actually not like them very much? Likewise, there's nothing much about the new iOS 7 aesthetic. Maybe that's because the OS is meant to be a topic for other posts, but you'd expect a holistic, design-centred review of the 5C to at least note that iOS 7 (especially the home screen icons, but not only them) and the 5C have been designed to match each other visually. (In a way that the iOS 7 and the 5S don't, significantly.) Gruber was one of the people who was holding out the hope of significant changes to the appearance of the beta iOS 7; now that (afaics) it's largely unchanged, is he biting his tongue?

hop 13y ago

Yeah, he notably left out the elephant in the room that is the 4in screen.

nwh 13y ago
Elephant to you, not to him.
- hop 13y ago
  It's the caveat in every other major review, like Anandtech's, and anecdotedly, it the main reason people I know are switching to android.
  - nwh 13y ago
    Anecdotedly, I interact with scores of iPhone users every week and not once have I ever heard a complaint about the screen size, even when prompted.
    - shurcooL 13y ago
      I use an iPad mini as my iPhone replacement because I wanted a bigger screen while staying with iOS and Apple hardware.
      - nicholassmith 13y ago
        How's that worked out? Genuinely interested, I had some vague ideas about trying that last year but decided it seemed like there was always a series of workarounds that it would entail.
        shurcooL 13y ago
        I'm extremely happy with it. It's the best internet-connected pocket computer I've owned since my iPhone 3GS. It fits in my front jeans pocket (much to surprise of many people; just barely, but it does), and I can sit comfortably with it there (for more than a few hours, I do take it out). It can't be fully used with 1 hand (like when standing in a bus), although it can used partially (scrolling a web page, switching tabs in Chrome, scrolling twitter). I primarily use iMessages/SMS and email for communication, but I do have a VOIP that I can make and receive calls at. You can use a headset with it, so there's no need to bring it up to your head. FaceTime, Skype, etc. I'm a developer, so I don't talk on my phone 24/7, hence it's enough to get by. There are a few advantages over an iPhone. Infinite battery life, essentially. Much cheaper monthly plan. I pay $30 for 3 GB of data. No contracts (came in handy when I moved from Canada to US recently). No long distance, roaming... if you travel and get on wi-fi, you have the same (VOIP) number and everything. Huge screen, I use it for browsing all the time instead of a laptop. It's an iPad mini, enough said. One other limitation is it doesn't have a vibrating motor, unfortunately, so when you put it in silent mode, you'll have no way of knowing about incoming calls or text messages. So I either have sounds on, or leave it on a table so I can see the screen light up (instead of keeping it in pocket). It's still unusual enough for people to talk to me about it. I don't do this just to be different, I do it for the practical value. I wanted a bigger screen and I don't want 2 iOS devices (it'd be a hassle to keep them in sync). It's been around a year and I'm still extremely happy with it. It may not work for everyone, but it's a lot more viable than most people would expect.
  - Kurtz79 13y ago
    "The modern smartphone market has also evolved. When Apple introduced the original iPhone with its 3.5" display, Steve called it "giant" on stage. Today even HTC's One mini ships with a 4.3" display." http://anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review http://anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review
  - ZeroGravitas 13y ago
    Less anecdotally, screen size (along with "perceived value") was the main reason that Samsung phones were given higher user satisfaction ratings than any Apple device in the US earlier this year. http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2013/07/31/samsung-smartphones-edge-apples-iphones-in-customer-satisfaction-survey/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2013/07/31/samsung-sma...
jvzr 13y ago
To each his own. I'd pay an extra $100 to get a 3.5-inch screen. 4-inch is too much and forces me to move up my palm.
- nicholassmith 13y ago
  I know plenty of people who agree with you, but Apple's damned if they do, damned if they don't.
  - brohee 13y ago
    Or they could get done with "one size to suit them all" and offer more screen sizes. People hands vary wildly in size, no one would make gloves in only one, but somehow Apple seems to think for a phone it's OK.
    - nicholassmith 13y ago
      Gloves frequently do come in one size only. Adding wider ranges of screen sizes increases developer testing requirements so I'm glad they haven't, and whilst Autolayout does abstract a lot of those headaches it doesn't resolve everything. Plus gloves do often come as one size only. Depends on the glove type, material and manufacturer.
      - brohee 13y ago
        Given the way iOS UI are developed, the right choice would obviously be different screen size, same resolution...
- devx 13y ago
  Only if you don't have a very compact phone, like the iPhone. Motorola has been making 4.3" phones the size of a 4" iPhone for a while, for example. Even the 4.7" Moto X isn't much bigger.

leoc 13y ago

Similarly I note that he emphasises how other people are going to like the new colours, but says little about what he thinks of them himself: "bright and friendly" is about the most of it. Does he actually not like them very much? Likewise, there's nothing much about the new iOS 7 aesthetic. Maybe that's because the OS is meant to be a topic for other posts, but you'd expect a holistic, design-centred review of the 5C to at least note that iOS 7 (especially the home screen icons, but not only them) and the 5C have been designed to match each other visually. (In a way that the iOS 7 and the 5S don't, significantly.) Gruber was one of the people who was holding out the hope of significant changes to the appearance of the beta iOS 7; now that (afaics) it's largely unchanged, is he biting his tongue?