Daring Fireball's John Gruber shared his first impressions of the new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2 this week, and he concluded that the price increases the devices received are "much more striking" than any of the new features introduced.


Prior to receiving price increases in late June, the previous Apple TV 4K started at $129 in the U.S., while the previous HomePod mini was priced at $99. The new Apple TV and the HomePod mini 2 are priced at $299 and $149, respectively, so both devices are now significantly more expensive than they were just four months ago.

Since the new Apple TV is only available in a single configuration with 128GB of storage and an Ethernet port, it is more fair to compare it to the equivalent previous-generation 128GB model, which was initially $149 and went up to $249 in late June. This means the new model is technically only $50 more expensive, but the reality is that the minimum you can spend on a new Apple TV 4K is now $299, up significantly from $129.

The price increases stack up if you want to use a pair of HomePod mini speakers as the default audio output on an Apple TV 4K. As noted by Gruber, it now costs nearly $600 to buy all of those devices, up from nearly $350 before late June.

"At the old pre-June prices, you could buy a 128 GB Apple TV and a pair of HomePod Minis for $350 ($150 + $100 + $100)," said Gruber. "Four short months later, with today's new models, that combination would cost $600 ($300 + $150 + $150). That price difference is much more striking than any of the new and improved features in the products."

To be clear, Gruber said he still thinks the new Apple TV 4K is "worth it" to him at its current price, and he believes the HomePod mini 2's price is "reasonable." However, he acknowledges that the "general consumer market thought the old prices were too high," and now Apple has made even more price increases on top.
This article, "Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini Price Increases 'Much More Striking' Than New Features" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

A 47-minute video of the Q&A session from Apple's 2010 iPhone 4 "antennagate" press conference has surfaced on YouTube, showing Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and Bob Mansfield answering reporters' questions.


The recording was highlighted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber, who attended the event. Apple called the July 16, 2010 press conference amid complaints that holding the iPhone 4 in a particular way could reduce its cellular signal.

Jobs used his prepared presentation to announce free cases for eligible customers and a 30-day return option. Apple later posted video of that presentation, but left out the Q&A, which was documented at the time through written reports and photographs.

Among the exchanges now visible is a question from Gruber at about 18:45 asking whether the three executives used cases on their own iPhone 4s. Jobs, Cook, and Mansfield each hold up an uncased phone. Jobs later gives a lengthy answer about what Apple learned from the controversy, including why the company waited to gather more data before holding the press conference.

Near the end of the recording, Jobs explains Apple's strategy of owning or controlling the core technology behind its products, and why the growing importance of software made that approach valuable for consumer electronics. Gruber says he does not know where the recording came from or why it has surfaced only now.
This article, "Full iPhone 4 'Antennagate' Q&A Video Surfaces After 16 Years" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Bereits im Juni formulierten John Gruber und Jason Snell ein sehr treffendes Outro für Tim Cook sowie ein Intro für John Ternus, der seinen neuen Job offiziell morgen antritt.

All that being said, Tim is a lifelong computer industry operations man. Whereas, John Ternus has been building hardware at Apple for 25 years, right? And so I don’t want to overstate this, but John Ternus is one of us and Tim Cook isn’t.

And I feel like we need to remember that Tim was spotted by Steve and brought in and brings a level of competence and all of those things to the table. And he professes being a true believer in Apple’s mission and understanding what it is. And I think, to the degree that Tim Cook can be a true believer, he is.

But somebody like John Ternus, who has been working at Apple since basically the turn of the century and building products at a low level, is more — I don’t think it’s outrageous to say — he gets what Apple is about and what Apple customers want and what makes Apple products special at a level that Tim Cook has never and can never.

Which is not to say that Tim Cook sucks. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that Tim Cook was the right guy for that time.

But one of the things that excites me about Ternus is that he understands Apple at a level that Steve Jobs did and that Tim Cook didn’t. And that’s why I think we have a better vibe with somebody like John Ternus, because John Ternus was in the trenches at Apple, whereas Tim has, like, been optimizing at Apple at a high level.

The Talk Show