I don't like Apple anymore than the next person... but out of the 30+ articles Anandtech has published on smartphones in the past month, only five of them have been about Apple.
Only five articles total... during the month Apple announced their new phones. I know you gotta keep your Apple hate level high to make it possible to sleep at night... but gotta be rational about it.
7 of 33 "Smartphone" tagged articles have been about Apple products or related features: 1. SwitfKey First Look, 2. SwiftKey Announce, 3. Dual Domain Pixels, 4. Hands on iPhone 6/6+, 5. Announce iPhone 6/6+, 6. Bioshock for iOS, 7. A month with the iPhone 5S.
Of the remainder, 6 are platform agnostic: 1. USB Type C, 2. TMobile Uncarrier 7.0, 3. Nvidia Patent Lawsuit, 4. Broadcom BCM4358, 5. Intel XMM6255, 6. State of the Art SoC.
Compare that to 17 Android (4 Samsung), and 3 Windows Phone.
Considering Samsung controls double the marketshare Apple does, and equivalent revenue, Samsung should have equivalent or more articles than Apple.
Except that LOTS of Samsung stuff is covered in general Android articles (and the stuff that's not is generally Samsung making their phones worse by not sticking to the normal Android implementation of things).
There has been a fair bit of Apple stuff lately, it's not like Anandtech is turning into Applewatch.com or something (I have no idea if that's a real website).
More times than you can read about a set of devices from the same manufacturer with the same OS and the same SOC designer... seriously, I don't entirely agree with the anti-Apple whining here but there's no logic to your statement.
1) If you're going to say something is platform agnostic because it could be added, like USB Type C, but won't, then Swiftkey falls under that. These animate gif demos work the same on Android.
2) Samsung controls more marketshare from crap devices which is like expecting food critics to only write about McDonalds due to the number of meals they sell. Even most of their smartphones should really be classified as feature phones. Sure, they make some high-end devices but they don't sell nearly as many as Apple will. Do you really want a 10 page review on every shitty sub-$100 device that Samsung makes? Of course you don't so stop complaining. AT does excellent reviews on the Samsung devices that matter to their readers
3) If you don't like reading reviews technology that may include an Apple product from time to time then don't read those fucking articles. Pretty damn simple solution.
Because they want to go back to waiting 2-4 years (if ever) for Apple to grudgingly get around to copying what Android delivers NOW? While it's nice that you're doing volunteer work at the mental hospitals, people in straitjackets aren't really a reliable cadre to make predictions with.
Widgets that you have to look at the notification screen (something else Apple copied) to check? Finally having a third-party keyboard like SwiftKey which I've used since 2010 on my Android devices? Wow. So progress. Much copy. Apple has sorta copied (in their typical half-arsed manner) a few of the things Android has done for years and now iOS mavens will lemming charge back home because the iPhone Galaxy and Galaxy Note have screens the same size as what they've had for years already? That's cuckoo nuts totes cray cray.
I picked up a cheap used iPad to see what the big deal was and "BIG DEAL!" was my reaction at the rigid, inflexible, screw-the-user-and-think-the-way-Apple-commands constraints of the OS. From a usability and aesthetic perspective, it was a great leap backward. I was honestly stunned how anyone can consider iOS to be anything but inferior in every way. (I've even had hardcore Apple fanboys reluctantly admit that my observations were correct. One whimpered, "Yeah, getting anything on or off my iPad is a chore because of the lack of a file structure.")
Add on the proprietary chargers and only fools with more dollars than sense would flock away from the openness and and advanced environment that is Android for the pale pastel pastiche which is iOS. And when Android L hits, the gap will only widen farther, but buck up lil' iChumps, perhaps iOS 11 will rip-off, I mean copy, er, adopt a few of its features.
Tbh, I'd rather come here to read an unbiased review of any Apple article than go somewhere like TheVerge where there have been 30+ articles *just about Apple* over the past week, and several of them about little things that should have been included in the initial announcement article or review, too.
"during the month Apple announced their new phones." Coincidentally this is also a month when Samsung announced two new flagship phones (Note 4 and Edge - not to mention many other phones) and Galaxy Gear S "smart watch" which happens to be at least 3x smarter than Apple Watch (with built-in GPS and 3G)
Anandtech has not published any reviews for new Apple products either (and I am not sure Apple provided them with samples). So up to this point they were just able to see demo samples of products from both companies during product announcement events.
Oh come on. Two of those products are more or less a joke... the Note Edge and Gear S. Just Samsung throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks as usual. They will see extremely limited sales compared to the Note 4, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and even the Apple Watch.
Swiftkey is not a part of iOS. It's an app you install that then installs a protected (hopefully) extension that will replace iOS' default keyboard, except for typing fields that contain sensitive data at which point the default keyboard will slide in until you're done with that field.
Oh don't worry there will be another dozen or so articles about apple in the next few weeks. Once the two phones come out that'll be at least 4 more reviews.
And yes lets be honest appletech... ahem anandtech... ahem ryantech has been like this for years :)
Testing Bioshock, which is a PC game to see the port quality to iOS is news. It is news because iOS has Metal coming. If Android had something like Metal coming it would be news. I specifically remember Android tablet coverage for - I believe Nvidia Shield - that went over game apps in it.
Coverage is coverage. I think the 2% out there would like to see coverage of Windows Phone game apps if there was a point to that. Stop trolling and make a request. If there is something on Android worth going over in an article, make a suggestion. So quick to call for someone's head. Go click a link to Dailytech and ask for a head there.
Is there an option to long press the keys and have them insert punctuation etc. like in Android? I'm switching back to iOS from Android next week and would love if that functionality was available.
Does giving keyboards "full access" also mean that the 3rd party keyboard is available in password fields? When I first heard about this restriction I thought it was a nice feature to protect users.
The apple way, selling over expensive crap to stupid consumers that like to get robbed.
This has been a disastrous launch in every respect. The iwatch is such an ugly piece of crap, it is truly unbelievable how a company, formerly known for its remarkable design, dares to put out such a crap ton of shit. Some characteristics are glaringly obvious and inherent to it: over expensive, hardly innovative, limited functionality and usability (need of an iPhone to make it work), looks exactly like a toy watch and so on.
There are of course way better smart watches out there, especially form the likes of Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Asus, LG, simply put, there is no need for another piece of over expensive junk.
The iPhone 6 is technologically stuck in pre-2011 times, a base model witch a capacity of 16GB without the possibility to use SD cards isn't even funny anymore. The screen resolution is horrendous, it isn't water proof, shock and dust resistant, it offers nothing innovative, just some incremental updates over its predecessor, both lacking severely behind their competitors at their respective launch dates.
Now the Iphone 6 Plus offers a „Retina HD“ screen, full 1920x1080p, oh wow, where have you been for the past 4 years apple, talk about trailing behind. That’s pathetic. The interesting thing about that is the fact that apple always manages to sell backwards oriented, outdated crap to its user base, all while pretending to be an innovative technology leader. The similarities regarding any form of sectarian cult are striking.
You gotta love how Apple always comes up with new marketing bullshit terms, aka "Retina HD", with the intention to manipulate its users while preventing easy comparisons with its competitors by withholding the actual specs. Apparently it’s not enough to have an 1080p screen, you have to call it "Retina HD" to make those suckers buy it, otherwise someone could look at the 4K Amoled and Oled screens form LG and Samsung devices and get outright disappointed. Same goes for everything else. Every outdated „feature“ needs to get its own marketing label to persuade buyers with crappy „experience“ and „usability“ ads, while covering the truth with marketing gibberish, knowing full well that only a fraction of aforementioned buyers cares to look at the facts and dares to compare them.
Car engines come to mind. For comparisons shake let’s look at a 1.0 liter, turbo charged petrol engine and a V8 compressor. What’s better should be obvious, but by calling the former an „ecobooster“, thus giving it a special marketing label, this joke becomes a „feature“, something positive that can be added tot the list of features of a car.
By doing so a negative aspect is transformed into a positive one, the reality is distorted, non tech savvy buyers are manipulated and comparisons are made more difficult (another layer of marketing bullshit to overcome), well done marketing department. You see , if something is seriously lacking (of course for profit, what else), don’t bother explaining, just give it a nice marketing term, distort reality, make it a feature and call it a day. Fuck that!!
The Apple Iphone 1 and Ipad 1 might have been innovative at their time, but since then, the bitten apple has been continuously rotting from the inside outwards, always swarmed by millions of Iworms which regale themselves with its rotten flesh, not forgetting all other Americans who support apple by means of their tax dollars to finance its bought US Treasury/Government bond interest rates.
Last but not least, every Apple product includes a direct hotlink to the nsa, free of charge, something that might make it a good value, after all.
really? no long-press the keys for extra characters like in android? or number row that can be turned on like in android? hope this is fixed in new versions!!!! I jumped to the iPhone ship.
I actually managed to answer my own question. They charge for the Android version, and get licensing revenue from phone manufacturers to be the pack-in keyboard.
If the iOS version is free for now, it's likely so that they can build mindshare amongst iOS users.
SwiftKey has been free for a few months, actually. They made it free, but charge users if they want to use or apply keyboard themes, which are usually around a dollar or two.
Swype is available for the iPad for US$0.99, and its main feature is what SwiftKey calls "Flow." I'll be going with Swype for both iPad and iPhone whether it utilizes Cloud or not. I've used it on my S III for 2+ years, and I'm very happy with the way it works. IF one is using Swype (or if SwiftKey adds Flow for iPad), the larger keyboard mentioned here is actually a DISadvantage. This method of keyboarding works better with the keys closer together since it does NOT depend on hitting the exact key accurately.
the problem with swiftkey is that you lose the manner of recording your voice and having it show as text. that was a hugely beneficial feature. it has the record and send recording as a text....and thats fine and dandy, but it is missing the most used portion of a keyboard for me...the ability to use speech to text. and now unfortunately when i remove Swiftkey from as my default keyboard, i have lost the apple predictive text showing thing. argggg. when does the note 4 get released? im on an iphone 5 currently.
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45 Comments
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jjj - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Don't think you guys have ever tested an Android app but this is the second iOS app (after Bioshock) in less than a month.Weird.....
RagnarKon - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Alright gotta call this one out.I don't like Apple anymore than the next person... but out of the 30+ articles Anandtech has published on smartphones in the past month, only five of them have been about Apple.
Only five articles total... during the month Apple announced their new phones. I know you gotta keep your Apple hate level high to make it possible to sleep at night... but gotta be rational about it.
krutou - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
7 of 33 "Smartphone" tagged articles have been about Apple products or related features: 1. SwitfKey First Look, 2. SwiftKey Announce, 3. Dual Domain Pixels, 4. Hands on iPhone 6/6+, 5. Announce iPhone 6/6+, 6. Bioshock for iOS, 7. A month with the iPhone 5S.Of the remainder, 6 are platform agnostic: 1. USB Type C, 2. TMobile Uncarrier 7.0, 3. Nvidia Patent Lawsuit, 4. Broadcom BCM4358, 5. Intel XMM6255, 6. State of the Art SoC.
Compare that to 17 Android (4 Samsung), and 3 Windows Phone.
Considering Samsung controls double the marketshare Apple does, and equivalent revenue, Samsung should have equivalent or more articles than Apple.
batongxue - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Speaking of high level of Apple hate, you amazed me.althaz - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Except that LOTS of Samsung stuff is covered in general Android articles (and the stuff that's not is generally Samsung making their phones worse by not sticking to the normal Android implementation of things).There has been a fair bit of Apple stuff lately, it's not like Anandtech is turning into Applewatch.com or something (I have no idea if that's a real website).
Mayuyu - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Yeah but there's nothing to write about android devices. How many times can you read about another generic android device with a snapdragon soc?eanazag - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Exactly, there isn't that much that has changed.Spunjji - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
More times than you can read about a set of devices from the same manufacturer with the same OS and the same SOC designer... seriously, I don't entirely agree with the anti-Apple whining here but there's no logic to your statement.solipsism - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
1) If you're going to say something is platform agnostic because it could be added, like USB Type C, but won't, then Swiftkey falls under that. These animate gif demos work the same on Android.2) Samsung controls more marketshare from crap devices which is like expecting food critics to only write about McDonalds due to the number of meals they sell. Even most of their smartphones should really be classified as feature phones. Sure, they make some high-end devices but they don't sell nearly as many as Apple will. Do you really want a 10 page review on every shitty sub-$100 device that Samsung makes? Of course you don't so stop complaining. AT does excellent reviews on the Samsung devices that matter to their readers
3) If you don't like reading reviews technology that may include an Apple product from time to time then don't read those fucking articles. Pretty damn simple solution.
AppleCrappleHater2 - Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - link
Because they want to go back to waiting 2-4 years (if ever) for Apple to grudgingly get around to copying what Android delivers NOW? While it's nice that you're doing volunteer work at the mental hospitals, people in straitjackets aren't really a reliable cadre to make predictions with.Widgets that you have to look at the notification screen (something else Apple copied) to check? Finally having a third-party keyboard like SwiftKey which I've used since 2010 on my Android devices? Wow. So progress. Much copy. Apple has sorta copied (in their typical half-arsed manner) a few of the things Android has done for years and now iOS mavens will lemming charge back home because the iPhone Galaxy and Galaxy Note have screens the same size as what they've had for years already? That's cuckoo nuts totes cray cray.
I picked up a cheap used iPad to see what the big deal was and "BIG DEAL!" was my reaction at the rigid, inflexible, screw-the-user-and-think-the-way-Apple-commands constraints of the OS. From a usability and aesthetic perspective, it was a great leap backward. I was honestly stunned how anyone can consider iOS to be anything but inferior in every way. (I've even had hardcore Apple fanboys reluctantly admit that my observations were correct. One whimpered, "Yeah, getting anything on or off my iPad is a chore because of the lack of a file structure.")
Add on the proprietary chargers and only fools with more dollars than sense would flock away from the openness and and advanced environment that is Android for the pale pastel pastiche which is iOS. And when Android L hits, the gap will only widen farther, but buck up lil' iChumps, perhaps iOS 11 will rip-off, I mean copy, er, adopt a few of its features.
Murloc - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
remember of the difference between pipeline stories and traditional anandtech articles.Graag - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
"Considering Samsung controls double the marketshare Apple does"Not in the US, where AT is based. Samsung has 29% of the market and Apple has 42%.
jt122333221 - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Tbh, I'd rather come here to read an unbiased review of any Apple article than go somewhere like TheVerge where there have been 30+ articles *just about Apple* over the past week, and several of them about little things that should have been included in the initial announcement article or review, too.Bob Todd - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Truth. The gadget blogs that have started posting individual articles about single features during product reveals are the height of click whoring.Spunjji - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
100% agreed.melgross - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Well, it's true that most posters on this site don't like Apple. But do t extrapolate that to everyone.lilo777 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
"during the month Apple announced their new phones." Coincidentally this is also a month when Samsung announced two new flagship phones (Note 4 and Edge - not to mention many other phones) and Galaxy Gear S "smart watch" which happens to be at least 3x smarter than Apple Watch (with built-in GPS and 3G)Devo2007 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Announced, yes. Provided release dates or review samples? Probably not.lilo777 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Anandtech has not published any reviews for new Apple products either (and I am not sure Apple provided them with samples). So up to this point they were just able to see demo samples of products from both companies during product announcement events.grayson_carr - Thursday, September 18, 2014 - link
Oh come on. Two of those products are more or less a joke... the Note Edge and Gear S. Just Samsung throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks as usual. They will see extremely limited sales compared to the Note 4, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and even the Apple Watch.hpglow - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
This is not an app it is integrated with the OS.solipsism - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Swiftkey is not a part of iOS. It's an app you install that then installs a protected (hopefully) extension that will replace iOS' default keyboard, except for typing fields that contain sensitive data at which point the default keyboard will slide in until you're done with that field.webmastir - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
LolAlexey291 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Oh don't worry there will be another dozen or so articles about apple in the next few weeks. Once the two phones come out that'll be at least 4 more reviews.And yes lets be honest appletech... ahem anandtech... ahem ryantech has been like this for years :)
eanazag - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Testing Bioshock, which is a PC game to see the port quality to iOS is news. It is news because iOS has Metal coming. If Android had something like Metal coming it would be news. I specifically remember Android tablet coverage for - I believe Nvidia Shield - that went over game apps in it.Coverage is coverage. I think the 2% out there would like to see coverage of Windows Phone game apps if there was a point to that. Stop trolling and make a request. If there is something on Android worth going over in an article, make a suggestion. So quick to call for someone's head. Go click a link to Dailytech and ask for a head there.
webmastir - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Agreed. It needs to go both ways.bathotropic - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
I'm not giving all my data to Swiftkey! If I wanted to do something like that I'd get an Android phone and give Google all my data.imaheadcase - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
huh? You do realize the permission popup for installing stuff is mostly for one time usage.Alexey291 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
its ok you already gave it all away to apple/nsa anyway. What does it matter anymore?whoismattj - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Is there an option to long press the keys and have them insert punctuation etc. like in Android? I'm switching back to iOS from Android next week and would love if that functionality was available.xGengarx - Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - link
Does giving keyboards "full access" also mean that the 3rd party keyboard is available in password fields? When I first heard about this restriction I thought it was a nice feature to protect users.Infy2 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Those animated GIFs made trying to read this article impossible for me. I had to turn off images and then reload the page to able to read it.solipsism - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Making them simple videos that you can control works much better, IMO. Hell, even a Vine would work better here… and I dislike Vines.AppleCrappleHater2 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Worship the holy apple.The apple way, selling over expensive crap to stupid consumers that like to
get robbed.
This has been a disastrous launch in every respect. The iwatch is such an
ugly piece of crap, it is truly unbelievable how a company, formerly known for
its remarkable design, dares to put out such a crap ton of shit. Some
characteristics are glaringly obvious and inherent to it: over expensive,
hardly innovative, limited functionality and usability (need of an iPhone to
make it work), looks exactly like a toy watch and so on.
There are of course way better smart watches out there, especially form the
likes of Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Asus, LG, simply put, there is no need for
another piece of over expensive junk.
The iPhone 6 is technologically stuck in pre-2011 times, a base model witch
a capacity of 16GB without the possibility to use SD cards isn't even funny
anymore. The screen resolution is horrendous, it isn't water proof, shock and
dust resistant, it offers nothing innovative, just some incremental
updates over its predecessor, both lacking severely behind their competitors at
their respective launch dates.
Now the Iphone 6 Plus offers a „Retina HD“ screen, full 1920x1080p, oh wow,
where have you been for the past 4 years apple, talk about trailing behind.
That’s pathetic. The interesting thing about that is the fact that apple
always manages to sell backwards oriented, outdated crap to its user base, all
while pretending to be an innovative technology leader. The similarities
regarding any form of sectarian cult are striking.
You gotta love how Apple always comes up with new marketing bullshit terms,
aka "Retina HD", with the intention to manipulate its users while preventing easy
comparisons with its competitors by withholding the actual specs. Apparently it’s
not enough to have an 1080p screen, you have to call it "Retina HD" to make those
suckers buy it, otherwise someone could look at the 4K Amoled and Oled screens
form LG and Samsung devices and get outright disappointed. Same goes for
everything else. Every outdated „feature“ needs to get its own marketing label
to persuade buyers with crappy „experience“ and „usability“ ads, while covering
the truth with marketing gibberish, knowing full well that only a fraction of
aforementioned buyers cares to look at the facts and dares to compare them.
Car engines come to mind. For comparisons shake let’s look at a 1.0 liter, turbo
charged petrol engine and a V8 compressor. What’s better should be obvious, but
by calling the former an „ecobooster“, thus giving it a special marketing label,
this joke becomes a „feature“, something positive that can be added tot the list
of features of a car.
By doing so a negative aspect is transformed into a positive one, the
reality is distorted, non tech savvy buyers are manipulated and comparisons are
made more difficult (another layer of marketing bullshit to overcome), well done
marketing department. You see , if something is seriously lacking (of course for
profit, what else), don’t bother explaining, just give it a nice marketing term, distort
reality, make it a feature and call it a day. Fuck that!!
The Apple Iphone 1 and Ipad 1 might have been innovative at their time,
but since then, the bitten apple has been continuously rotting from the inside
outwards, always swarmed by millions of Iworms which regale themselves with its
rotten flesh, not forgetting all other Americans who support apple by means of
their tax dollars to finance its bought US Treasury/Government bond interest rates.
Last but not least, every Apple product includes a direct hotlink to the nsa,
free of charge, something that might make it a good value, after all.
Ceterum censeo Applem esse delendam.
cynic783 - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
The Apple haters are ridiculous enough without needing to parody them. LOLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law
colinstu - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
really? no long-press the keys for extra characters like in android? or number row that can be turned on like in android? hope this is fixed in new versions!!!! I jumped to the iPhone ship.madwolfa - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Indeed. Why clone an Apple standard keyboard, removing all features that made Swiftkey popular to start with?Guspaz - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
What's the business model here? How is SwiftKey making money if they're releasing their product for free and don't have any advertising?solipsism - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
That's a good question.Guspaz - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
I actually managed to answer my own question. They charge for the Android version, and get licensing revenue from phone manufacturers to be the pack-in keyboard.If the iOS version is free for now, it's likely so that they can build mindshare amongst iOS users.
Beausym - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
SwiftKey has been free for a few months, actually. They made it free, but charge users if they want to use or apply keyboard themes, which are usually around a dollar or two.milleron - Wednesday, September 17, 2014 - link
Swype is available for the iPad for US$0.99, and its main feature is what SwiftKey calls "Flow." I'll be going with Swype for both iPad and iPhone whether it utilizes Cloud or not. I've used it on my S III for 2+ years, and I'm very happy with the way it works.IF one is using Swype (or if SwiftKey adds Flow for iPad), the larger keyboard mentioned here is actually a DISadvantage. This method of keyboarding works better with the keys closer together since it does NOT depend on hitting the exact key accurately.
eudaman - Thursday, September 18, 2014 - link
the problem with swiftkey is that you lose the manner of recording your voice and having it show as text. that was a hugely beneficial feature. it has the record and send recording as a text....and thats fine and dandy, but it is missing the most used portion of a keyboard for me...the ability to use speech to text. and now unfortunately when i remove Swiftkey from as my default keyboard, i have lost the apple predictive text showing thing. argggg. when does the note 4 get released? im on an iphone 5 currently.joshua305 - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link
How does swift key make money? Their products seem to be free. They don't (i assume) push adds. What are they doing with all of those keystrokes?ex2bot - Friday, September 19, 2014 - link
My vote:I want MOAR Apple articles.
P.S. I'm kind of a big deal around here, so my vote is more heavily weighted.*
* Probably an exaggeration