Aug
16
Download today’s show here! 
MC20170816.mp3 [63.4 01:42:58 64kbps]
A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Episode 624. Apple’s #1 leaker, the HomePod. Slim details on Apple’s AR glasses. Next Apple Watch may go LTE. 4K and the Apple Television. Apple Pay retail experience. New iOS 11 icons, can we talk? Another option for overseas data. Not all Thunderbolt 3 cables are equal.
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Adam,
I’d see if there is a way you could try out T-mobile before fully switching. I switched to them a little over a year ago as I’d also heard from friends and coworkers that their coverage was good in my area. I also checked their coverage maps and it showed great coverage. However we ended up switching to Verizon because T-mobile dropped calls constantly. I live in a decent sized city and right in the middle of town it would constantly drop calls. I even checked their coverage maps a second time and the areas I kept losing calls showed on their maps as a verified coverage area for LTE. So hopefully your mileage will be better with them than mine. I really like their pricing and included services such as streaming not counting towards data usage but when it couldn’t keep a call connection it just wasn’t acceptable.
Ian
Love T-Mobile for the following reasons, but first: The dropped calls referenced above are likely due to the fact that the iOS default setting at the time was to enable wifi-calling and calls would drop if wifi coverage was so-so from either a signal perspective or (more likely) a bandwidth perspective, or the phone switched from wifi to cell tower,…all of which in my world has been resolved.
(A). T-mobile’s coverage maps are the only ones that are crowsourced- they know when I have 4 bars or 1, whether I am on just 4g or LTE data connection, etc. Updated bi-weekly if I remember correctly.
(B) Every consumer benefit has come from T-mobile first, with the other carriers being dragpged into doing the same (but usually with restrictions and gotchas). Two yrs ago I had 5 devices on 3 carriers (att, Verizon and sprint) so I am familiar with their products. All except my work ipad (att,, company managed) have T-mobile now.
– No roaming fees. Calls from anywhere in the world .20¢ a minute. Not pennies but means a 5- minute call costs you a buck. Big deal…
– Free unlimited international data. Throttled to 3G speeds but more than enough to use even with maps and directions. Never rent a gps again overseas.
– For a time had a program where you could go to the Apple Store and check out an iPhone feee!…for a week!…to prove the T-mobile coverage map was real data via crowdsourcing and not the theoretical maximum transmission of the towers which is what the others use. I proved this because my wife’s horse is in a micro-dead zone. Shows coverage on everyone else but drill down to the smallest pixel on the T-Mobile map and it’s white(no coverage).
(C) Not to mention the cost savings.
(D) At earnings release meetings, CEO John Legere takes questions from customers via twitter. FROM CUSTOMERS as well as financial analysts. How novel. Speaks volumes of the corporate attitude there IMHO.
It’s easy to not make change. I think you’ll be happy when you do. I’ve not had issues on my SAN layovers.
Regards & thanks for the podcast. Great job on the USB-c/Thunderbolt 3 cable explanation. How many takes did THAT part take?… ;-)
Adam,
The problem with Apple pay in US is not reflected in the UK. Here retailers are embarrassed if they don’t support contact less payment, and I find I can use my watch in most places. The only restriction is the value limit for non apple partners which seems lame if you use a watch (which requires you to enter a PIN when you put it on).
I think the problem is retailers and PoS vendors not updating. It would be unreasonable to expect Apple to buy everyone a new PoS. You will have to wait for upgrade cycles. It happened here, and VISA and Mastercard will require contact less in your market by 2020. Apple can, and I’m sure they are, lobby the card brands for faster adoption, but we will not see that.
Note, I never ask for apple pay in the UK … just contact less. That’s enough.
Hey Adam,
I am replying regarding your recent episode about you considering a switch to T mobile. I switched from AT&T about 4 years ago, and I have had a great experience. I have unlimited data with 3 sim cards, my cell, ipad and car, and still much cheaper than what I was paying before. I pay only $ 10 a month for each sim card. I live in Montgomery , Alabama and travel frequently, and don’t really have any problem with coverage, except for very rural areas. Another extra is when I travel internationally to Europe, I don’t pay any extra for data at all, and just get a welcome txt when I enter a new country. It works seamlessly. I believe this is because they started as a German company.. I do however have to pay more to make voice calls there. I highly recommend T Mobile, and I doubt you would regret your decision! Love your show, and I have been a long time listener! Thanks for what you do!