Yeah, really, what does die size have to do with me as an end user? This kind of comment is why I don't expect the new AMD graphics cards to be competitive with a GTX 780 version of GK110. Like. "we're going to have a chip that is 30% smaller but will give more performance per die size". What does that even mean? Don't tell me that. tell me it's going to be "30% faster than a GTX 780", or 10% faster, whatever.
The only reason die size would make a difference to me is if it means lower power and less heat. AMD has traditionally made smaller GPU chips than Nvidia, but they often aren't any better in those terms - they can be just as power-hungry and have even louder cooling solutions.
Fast follower or leader; this is what I was thinking before you guys said it and were discussing whether they should move to a release cadence of more than 1/year. I think Apple is neither, they seem to wait for processes to mature to minimize compromises (main compromise usually being battery life and size). We saw it with RF feature adoption (3G, LTE), we're seeing it with screen size now too. Everyone else takes the Chevy approach (more torque, more power, meatier tires, stiffer suspension) resulting in a cascade of compromises. Then there's also the engineering drain of a faster cadence, the lower psychological impact of new features, and the additional economic and engineering pressures on third party accessory makers.
Small tangent, I don't think the casing of the iPhone needs to be made very much larger than what it already is if Apple waits for LCD displays with a more compact periphery. If you look at the current iPhone LCD, there's a millimeter from the outermost pixels to the part where the glossy black starts, which is another 2.5 to 3mm on each side. This is the area I would think Apple would exploit to make a larger screen, they're probably waiting for the tech (on the LCD side) and construction methods (and maybe materials / methodology / experience) to evolve to the point where that is possible, along with the other factors I listed above.
I own both an iPhone 5 and an LG G2 and I have to say the thin bezels on the G2 make the iPhone 5 (and by extension the 5S) look dated. If LG figured out how to make the bezels that thin with current tech, then it seems Apple could have figured it out too. Just my own thoughts though.
Apple doesn't make or engineer displays from the ground you know... They buy them from the Sharps and LGs of the world. I'm not saying LG would develop something and have thebballs to not sell out to Apple if it'd prove profitable, but like munim said, Apple's probably biding their time and waiting for the economies of scale to tip in their favor.
The software changes inherent to another aspect ratio change are probably more complicated than the display tech issuesanyway. I'm totally intrigued by the G2 tho, and the Moto X... Those are the first two phones with software buttons that finally delivered on the promise of more/equal display space as phones with equal/larger chassis with capacitive buttons. I'm totally on board with on screen buttons now... First and second gen phones with on screen buttons were just as large and just had more empty bezel...
I agree, my experience with the general consumer is that bigger phones tend to scare them away. For instance the HTC one is too large in my opinion. Keeping a chassis that is a bit smaller than the moto x I think is the sweet spot. Personally I like the size of the iphone but I would be willing to tradeoff a little in dimensions to go to a 4.3 - 4.5 inch screen. The issue that they have to resolve is how are they going to handle a new resolution for that larger size, would they have to announce the phone earlier so that developers would be able to prep their apps?
Sales figures don't seem to back up the theory that big phones scare the general consumer away... As for anecdotal evidence, I actually see way more average joes with Samsung Notes than enthusiasts and geeks, it's kinda bizarre (tho somewhat unscramble when it comes to older people). What you're describing is basically a Moto X which I do find a bit more friendly than my EVO LTE (One/One X size).
Apple would deal with the aspect ratio change just like they did it the last time, duh... A few devs get early access but the vast majority just have to rush to update and users get to deal with black bars in the meantime, nothing new. The whole home screen button/finger scanner taking up a hunk of the bottom bezel probably presents more of a challenge. They could move the sensor elsewhere (behind) but breaking the physical home screen button paradigm would be a huge change.
iPhone 5S might actually make fingerprint as a forensic tool completely redundant. As when a insidious thief steals your iphone 5S wearing a glove. He also steals your fingerprints as well as they are on the iPhone 5S. (As you are holding the phone) Not only he can steal your fingerprint, he can also verify it using the iPhone 5S (Its only a matter of trial and errors), lifting it from the phone. You can change a password, but you cannot change your fingerprint. He or she could implicate you in crimes even or can give one a false alibi.. Seriously I am never using a iPhone 5S...
You do realize it's probably easier to lift your print off the average phone's display or case than it is to crack it out of secured storage no? Lifting your prints covertly isn't exactly hard.
Ah, yes, they're both encoded at 64 kbps. I can't tell if it's cbr right now but I'm assuming it's vbr. AAC would be a much better choice for these bitrates and content. It's 2013: I think everyone has the capability of aac playback so it'd be nice to see the embedded audio player be that instead.
new to the AT podcast... Brian is remarkably knowledgeable and insightful, and kinda hilarious.
There was something you guys mentioned that didn't make any sense to me, and now I can't remember what it was. BAH. I'm going to be thinking about this all day now...
Something no one seems to mention about the A7, above the GPU blocks, there appears to be an sRAM block to my eyes. That's interesting, as the Wii U GPU also has that on the GPU die in addition to its larger slower eDRAM. I wonder what the performance implications are, and how big that is. I wonder if it could be used for the framebuffer for the GPU, or if it serves another function? It's too far from the CPU to seemingly be related to that. Too much latency for no reason.
I hope Microsoft is getting the message by listening to your comments on this podcast. Maybe put a bug in Aicha Evans' ear? Make your whole phone as good as the camera is on the Nokia 1020, and people will more than notice, they will sing praises about Microsoft phones. At least the hardware side, anyway. Of course, they also need to make sure no one is giving anything up in terms of usability by choosing an MS phone over an Android phone (or iOS phone, I think there is potentially more chance of some people moving away from Apple - if and only if they are certian they will get a better experience by buying something besides an iPhone).
I'm hoping one of the main reasons MS bought Nokia's mobile division is because they really want to have more say over the hardware, and intend to turn their smart phones into the innovations they should be - lead instead of follow . I guess will find out in the next year or so - but it needs to happen asap.
big problem is shipping Windows 8.1. I know I'm not alone in saying Windows 8 is just entirely unusable. I can't stand it. I simply won't use anything that has it. Furthermore i think enough people feel this way that another OS is going to become mainstream out of a refusal to use Windows 8. If someone could make a Linux based distro with solid driver support there'd be no reason to ever use Windows again. Once people start using it developers will have no choice but to start supporting it.
Hrel: "another OS is going to become mainstream out of a refusal to use Windows 8" I declare your comment joke of the year :-D
Seriously, if that did not happen with Vista, at all, it will not happen with Windows 8. I find W8.1 a very good and usable OS, even in a laptop without touchsecreen. You can like it more or like it less, but if you really think it is "unusable" and you "hate" it, maybe the problem is not Windows...
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Peanutsrevenge - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
AMD By chance trying to convince about die size?Looking forward to the article later in the week :)
Sabresiberian - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Yeah, really, what does die size have to do with me as an end user? This kind of comment is why I don't expect the new AMD graphics cards to be competitive with a GTX 780 version of GK110. Like. "we're going to have a chip that is 30% smaller but will give more performance per die size". What does that even mean? Don't tell me that. tell me it's going to be "30% faster than a GTX 780", or 10% faster, whatever.The only reason die size would make a difference to me is if it means lower power and less heat. AMD has traditionally made smaller GPU chips than Nvidia, but they often aren't any better in those terms - they can be just as power-hungry and have even louder cooling solutions.
speconomist - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Would be nice if list of topics mentioned in the podcast also included link to the relevant article in the site.munim - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Fast follower or leader; this is what I was thinking before you guys said it and were discussing whether they should move to a release cadence of more than 1/year. I think Apple is neither, they seem to wait for processes to mature to minimize compromises (main compromise usually being battery life and size). We saw it with RF feature adoption (3G, LTE), we're seeing it with screen size now too. Everyone else takes the Chevy approach (more torque, more power, meatier tires, stiffer suspension) resulting in a cascade of compromises. Then there's also the engineering drain of a faster cadence, the lower psychological impact of new features, and the additional economic and engineering pressures on third party accessory makers.munim - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Small tangent, I don't think the casing of the iPhone needs to be made very much larger than what it already is if Apple waits for LCD displays with a more compact periphery. If you look at the current iPhone LCD, there's a millimeter from the outermost pixels to the part where the glossy black starts, which is another 2.5 to 3mm on each side. This is the area I would think Apple would exploit to make a larger screen, they're probably waiting for the tech (on the LCD side) and construction methods (and maybe materials / methodology / experience) to evolve to the point where that is possible, along with the other factors I listed above.stringstream - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
I own both an iPhone 5 and an LG G2 and I have to say the thin bezels on the G2 make the iPhone 5 (and by extension the 5S) look dated. If LG figured out how to make the bezels that thin with current tech, then it seems Apple could have figured it out too. Just my own thoughts though.Impulses - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Apple doesn't make or engineer displays from the ground you know... They buy them from the Sharps and LGs of the world. I'm not saying LG would develop something and have thebballs to not sell out to Apple if it'd prove profitable, but like munim said, Apple's probably biding their time and waiting for the economies of scale to tip in their favor.The software changes inherent to another aspect ratio change are probably more complicated than the display tech issuesanyway. I'm totally intrigued by the G2 tho, and the Moto X... Those are the first two phones with software buttons that finally delivered on the promise of more/equal display space as phones with equal/larger chassis with capacitive buttons. I'm totally on board with on screen buttons now... First and second gen phones with on screen buttons were just as large and just had more empty bezel...
theCuriousTask - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
I agree, my experience with the general consumer is that bigger phones tend to scare them away. For instance the HTC one is too large in my opinion. Keeping a chassis that is a bit smaller than the moto x I think is the sweet spot. Personally I like the size of the iphone but I would be willing to tradeoff a little in dimensions to go to a 4.3 - 4.5 inch screen. The issue that they have to resolve is how are they going to handle a new resolution for that larger size, would they have to announce the phone earlier so that developers would be able to prep their apps?Impulses - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Sales figures don't seem to back up the theory that big phones scare the general consumer away... As for anecdotal evidence, I actually see way more average joes with Samsung Notes than enthusiasts and geeks, it's kinda bizarre (tho somewhat unscramble when it comes to older people). What you're describing is basically a Moto X which I do find a bit more friendly than my EVO LTE (One/One X size).Apple would deal with the aspect ratio change just like they did it the last time, duh... A few devs get early access but the vast majority just have to rush to update and users get to deal with black bars in the meantime, nothing new. The whole home screen button/finger scanner taking up a hunk of the bottom bezel probably presents more of a challenge. They could move the sensor elsewhere (behind) but breaking the physical home screen button paradigm would be a huge change.
Impulses - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
Blah, tho somewhat understandable, not unscramblehahmed330 - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
iPhone 5S might actually make fingerprint as a forensic tool completely redundant. As when a insidious thief steals your iphone 5S wearing a glove. He also steals your fingerprints as well as they are on the iPhone 5S. (As you are holding the phone) Not only he can steal your fingerprint, he can also verify it using the iPhone 5S (Its only a matter of trial and errors), lifting it from the phone. You can change a password, but you cannot change your fingerprint. He or she could implicate you in crimes even or can give one a false alibi.. Seriously I am never using a iPhone 5S...Impulses - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
You do realize it's probably easier to lift your print off the average phone's display or case than it is to crack it out of secured storage no? Lifting your prints covertly isn't exactly hard.dylan522p - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Well not display, that is impossible because it is oleophobic and messes up the prints.eanazag - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
The feature can be disabled.willis936 - Monday, September 23, 2013 - link
I noticed this encoding is pretty low bandwidth. It's nothing crucial but I could hear a lot of artifacts.dishayu - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
I didn't notice any artifacts in the m4a version. But given that the mp3 version is about the same size as the m4a, that one might have some.willis936 - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Ah, yes, they're both encoded at 64 kbps. I can't tell if it's cbr right now but I'm assuming it's vbr. AAC would be a much better choice for these bitrates and content. It's 2013: I think everyone has the capability of aac playback so it'd be nice to see the embedded audio player be that instead.jasonelmore - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
no mention of nvidia shield? but you promisedflashbacck - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
new to the AT podcast... Brian is remarkably knowledgeable and insightful, and kinda hilarious.There was something you guys mentioned that didn't make any sense to me, and now I can't remember what it was. BAH. I'm going to be thinking about this all day now...
tipoo - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
Something no one seems to mention about the A7, above the GPU blocks, there appears to be an sRAM block to my eyes. That's interesting, as the Wii U GPU also has that on the GPU die in addition to its larger slower eDRAM. I wonder what the performance implications are, and how big that is. I wonder if it could be used for the framebuffer for the GPU, or if it serves another function? It's too far from the CPU to seemingly be related to that. Too much latency for no reason.Sabresiberian - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
I hope Microsoft is getting the message by listening to your comments on this podcast. Maybe put a bug in Aicha Evans' ear? Make your whole phone as good as the camera is on the Nokia 1020, and people will more than notice, they will sing praises about Microsoft phones. At least the hardware side, anyway. Of course, they also need to make sure no one is giving anything up in terms of usability by choosing an MS phone over an Android phone (or iOS phone, I think there is potentially more chance of some people moving away from Apple - if and only if they are certian they will get a better experience by buying something besides an iPhone).I'm hoping one of the main reasons MS bought Nokia's mobile division is because they really want to have more say over the hardware, and intend to turn their smart phones into the innovations they should be - lead instead of follow . I guess will find out in the next year or so - but it needs to happen asap.
mike55 - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - link
The color gold has a bad reputation that makes people laugh at it, and this is why: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009...Montago - Wednesday, October 2, 2013 - link
please talk about Mantle in your next podcast !Hrel - Monday, October 7, 2013 - link
big problem is shipping Windows 8.1. I know I'm not alone in saying Windows 8 is just entirely unusable. I can't stand it. I simply won't use anything that has it. Furthermore i think enough people feel this way that another OS is going to become mainstream out of a refusal to use Windows 8. If someone could make a Linux based distro with solid driver support there'd be no reason to ever use Windows again. Once people start using it developers will have no choice but to start supporting it.MarcSP - Sunday, November 3, 2013 - link
Hrel: "another OS is going to become mainstream out of a refusal to use Windows 8"I declare your comment joke of the year :-D
Seriously, if that did not happen with Vista, at all, it will not happen with Windows 8. I find W8.1 a very good and usable OS, even in a laptop without touchsecreen. You can like it more or like it less, but if you really think it is "unusable" and you "hate" it, maybe the problem is not Windows...