2025-03-08 21:00:41
You can never do too much battery testing, but after a week with this phone I've got some impressions to share.
2025-03-07 21:06:04
A core tenet of A Better Computer is showing, not telling. I don’t use a lot of press kit material or talking points from companies in my videos because I don’t particularly care about those. My incentives are fully aligned with showing software (and sometimes hardware) as it actually is to use day to day. Oh, your app “revolutionizes email for busy people? That sounds fun, but let’s see what that actually means in detail.
Back in January I talked about Cursor on Comfort Zone and how it was enabling me to accelerate work on my upcoming app, and I followed that up with a video a few weeks later. I think those explanations were pretty good, but the more I talked to other people, and the more I did live demos at work showing it in action, the more I realized how much real time demos of this software was more effective at communicating to people just how much potential there is in this sort of code generation tool. I know when the word “potential” comes up with AI, people like to take that to mean that it’s not good yet, but that’s not what I’m saying – Cursor, and other apps like it, are amazing tools that can empower people who have never written software before to build things right now. It’s not a matter of entering a single prompt and getting something useable, but if you put in the work, you can make something genuinely useful.
That’s a long preamble to saying today’s video is a 30 minute live, unedited recording of me starting from zero code and creating a simple todo list app that runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro.
2025-03-07 07:31:20
Niléane has entered her keyboard era, Chris has a consumer warning as well as a really good macropad, and then we find the best games on the Mac.
2025-03-07 02:00:23
I've been a proponent of high-refresh rate displays for years now, and I think it's pretty ridiculous that Apple doesn't put these displays in their sub-$1,000 iPhones. I think if you're just keeping up with the Apple ecosystem then you probably don't realize how rare 60Hz displays are in the industry. I'm not talking flagships either, I'm talking budget phones. Last year's Pixel 8a costs $499 and has a 120Hz variable rate display, Samsung's Galaxy A35 sells for $399 and also has a 120Hz variable refresh display, and this week's Nothing Phone (3a) costs $379 and (say it with me) has a 120Hz variable rate display. Meanwhile, you can spend $1,199 on an iPhone 16 Plus with a 60Hz display.
My desire for a higher refresh rate display in all iPhones is nothing new, but I think I've said a few times that I'd be happy with 90Hz as the new baseline. Today I'm amending that to say no, 90Hz isn't sufficient, 120Hz should be the floor from now on.
Some will say that 120Hz is too much and they don't like it. No problem, turn it off and you can get that 60Hz you personally prefer. Others will say that they don't want to waste battery life on higher refresh rates. Also fine, one of the benefits of a variable rate display is that is scales up and down as you need it, your display is typically not refreshing at 120Hz because it doesn't need to, and is often refreshing slower than that when you're looking at static content, which saves battery. Still others will say that many people can't notice the difference for one reason or another. That's fine as well, they just won't be bothered. Literally all of these arguments were made when we moved up to retina displays, but I don't think anyone would argue that we should ship iPhones with non-retina screens just because some people can't tell the difference.
Media enthusiasts should also be a big fan of 120Hz screens, even without variable refresh taken into consideration. Most media is distributed at 24, 30, or 60 fps, all of which divide evenly into a 120Hz container so you get perfect frame pacing. 24 fps is the odd one out, which is used for movies and some TV shows and YouTube channels, so that video has variable frame pacing as 24 doesn't go into 60 evenly.
Tech marches on, and things that used to be cutting edge become commonplace. The baseline has risen so far for basically every other component in your iPhone, the display refresh rate should catch up, and you shouldn't have to spend $1,000 to get it. 120Hz displays are insanely commonplace in the smartphone market today, and I think every iPhone from the 16e on up should have one. Anything else is just artificial product segmentation to try to entice you to spend more money on a better phone. You may think that's fine, but let's call it what it is and not suggest it's the best choice for consumers.
2025-03-06 23:00:34
Here's a peek behind the scenes as I work on my iPhone 16e review.
2025-03-06 22:00:00
Mia McCarthy writing for Politico: No More in-Person Town Halls, NRCC Chief Tells House Republicans
The chair of the House GOP's campaign arm told Republican lawmakers Tuesday to stop holding in-person town halls amid a wave of angry backlash over the cuts undertaken by President Donald Trump's administration.
There’s only one way to describe this.
