iPhone 15 Pro Max Photography: A Game-Changer with Some Caveats

The iPhone 15 Pro Max continues Apple’s legacy of pushing mobile photography into new territory. With a powerful triple-lens system and a 5x telephoto zoom exclusive to the Pro Max model, it’s clear Apple had photographers in mind. The 48MP main sensor produces crisp, detailed images in bright conditions, while Smart HDR 5 balances highlights and shadows for a natural look. Computational photography remains a standout feature, making everyday snapshots look expertly composed with minimal effort.

Low-light performance sees further improvement, thanks to a larger sensor and faster aperture. Night mode activates automatically, capturing more detail with less noise, even in challenging conditions. Apple’s Deep Fusion tech ensures fine textures are preserved, and with the option to shoot in ProRAW, advanced users can take full control in post-processing. The iPhone 15 Pro Max also supports Log video recording, turning the phone into a mini cinema camera for creators who want maximum dynamic range.

However, despite its strengths, the iPhone 15 Pro Max isn’t without flaws. The new 5x telephoto lens is limited in its versatility due to its fixed focal length; shots in the mid-zoom range (between 2x and 4x) rely on digital cropping or lower-quality sensors. Additionally, while ProRAW and Log video are powerful tools, they require significant storage space — something that could quickly become an issue, especially with the base 256GB model.

Ergonomically, the titanium build is lighter, but the phone remains bulky, which can make handheld shooting over extended periods tiring. The user interface of the native Camera app, while polished, still lacks full manual controls unless third-party apps are used — a downside for photographers wanting granular settings like shutter speed, ISO, and white balance adjustments.

In summary, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is one of the best smartphones for photography on the market, combining powerful hardware with intelligent software. It’s ideal for travel, social media content, and even semi-professional work. Still, limitations in zoom flexibility and manual control remind us that it’s not a full replacement for a dedicated camera setup — yet. For many, though, it hits the sweet spot between convenience and creative potential.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a game-changer for photographers. Its camera system is nothing short of exceptional, with a large sensor, improved low-light performance, and enhanced computational photography capabilities. The ProRAW and ProRes video features provide unprecedented control and quality for both photo and video enthusiasts.

The Pro Max’s ultra-wide and telephoto lenses offer versatility, while the enhanced ProRAW format allows for extensive post-processing flexibility. The improved Night mode ensures stunning results in challenging lighting conditions.

The A15 Bionic chip’s processing power and machine learning capabilities enable faster photo editing and seamless multitasking. The Pro Max’s ProMotion display with a high refresh rate ensures smooth scrolling and precise touch response.

However, the hefty price tag might be a deterrent, and professional photographers may still rely on dedicated DSLRs or mirrorless cameras for certain scenarios. Overall, the iPhone 15 Pro Max sets a new benchmark for mobile photography, making it a compelling choice for photographers seeking convenience without sacrificing quality.

Costco + Social Distancing = Not gonna happen

Went to pick up some meds at Costco yesterday.  Small business’ are closed due to Covid.  But pack a Costco with a 1000+ people and it’s fine.  What could possibly go wrong?  

Oh yeah, the photo was shot with the iPhone camera app.  ProRaw was used of course.  Not much was edited.  Just used Pixelmator Photo on it 2018 iPad Pro.

It has started

 

So yesterday I grabbed my tripod and my newly acquired Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max with the 512GB of internal storage and went out for a short photo walk.  I photographed the Parliament buildings, the Supreme Court of Canada building and the National Arts Centre.  On my way back to the parking garage, I caught the above shot.  The building is part of the World Exchange Plaza located in downtown Ottawa.  Yesterday was a cool and brisk day.  I think the high was around -4 degrees Celsius with some wind.  I am totally impressed with the quality of the camera on the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max.  The HDR photos and video are simply stunning.  This photo was taken at about 3:30pm with a setting sun in the west.  I think today is supposed to be the same in the afternoon so I’ll just go around the Ottawa downtown core and just do some handheld photography with the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

The video sizes are simply immense coming from the iPhone 12 Pro Max.  On Saturday, the fiancee and I went up for drive up to the Ottawa Valley.  I decided to use the Filmic Pro app on my iPhone and do a whole video of driving from Arnprior to Ottawa.  The 50 or so minute drive was about a 50GB file.  This is the reason I got the 512GB storage option on the iPhone.  It also took a while to Airdrop the file from the iPhone to my iPad Pro.  The iPad Pro handled the 50GB HDR video file a champ.  It’s on my YouTube channel if you want to check it out.  Here is the link.

iPhone photography. Just iPhone photography

 

I am thinking of selling off all my photography gear like my Sony a7R Mark II, my Sony FDR AX-53B, Canon Vixia G50 and my Canon Powershot G7X Mark III.  I haven't touched any of them in weeks since I don't like to carry so much equipment with me.

When Apple release iOS 14.3, all Apple iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max shooters will be able to shoot in Raw mode.  That is a huge improvement for iPhone photography.  I do mainly landscape photography right now along with cityscapes.  I hardly do any night time photography or early morning photography.  The iPhone 12 Pro Max has excellent lenses on the phone and they're only to get better.  I have enough storage on the phone and the iPad Pro that it won't be a hinderance at all.  I have the phone with me all the time.  I don't carry around the big cameras.  

I don't do photography people or animals.  I don't do any studio work.  Mostly I am outside in nature.  It will also help with the minimalism type of life style I'm developing.  By spring of next year I want to be out in western Canada and away from the miserable and bleak landscape of Ottawa and eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

I've noticed with the iPhone 12 Pro Max I hardly use the battery.   I use maybe 30% of the battery with all day use listening to music, checking emails and watching YouTube videos.  I am so engrained in the Apple eco-system, it's hard for me to leave.  My current 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 512GH internal hard drive and the 12.9" screen is a fantastic complement to the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

I want to start creating more and more YouTube videos to sell my existing photography on the various micro stock sites and my own site.  The iPhone 12 Pro Max will definitely be useful for that.

Finally got everything I need

 So I got the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max with the 512GB of internal storage which is more than enough to shoot 4K/60FPS video.  It's also more than enough to do a lot of photography with the phone.  Yesterday I bought the Apple 12 Pro Max Clear case with Magsafe.  This case allows me to connect my external Shure MV88 microphone without any obstruction.  

The bad thing over the last couple of weeks is that the weather here in Ottawa has been a total crapshoot.  It's either raining or snowing.  It's been cloudy for pretty much everyday for the past month or so.  I think we've had maybe one or two somewhat sunny days here since October.  Up until 2 weeks ago, we had what's called a Bermuda warm front come through Ottawa so we had several nice warm days.  Now, not so much.  It's been just above 32 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and below freezing at night.  

When I leave for work at 7am, it's dark and when I go home at 4pm it's dark.  I hardly take breaks and my lunch is short.  So getting out do do any photography during the day is pretty much non existent.    I am not making any excuses but I've been off work since April 1st till the end of October.  So I kinda value my job for the income.  I'm going to do more photography now and I'll be doing YouTube videos as well.

iOS 14.2 is pretty solid and stable.  Just waiting for iOS 14.3 to come out as the native camera app will be able to support proRAW natively on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.  Currently I am using Camera+ 2 as my main photography app.  For video, I'm using the Filmic app.  All are pretty easy and functional apps to use on the iPhone.

Everything is edited on my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 12.9" screen and 512GB worth of storage.  Plus I have 4TB of iCloud storage which is pretty sweet.  This is the whole reason I cannot or will not leave the Apple eco-system.  I'm just too far ingrained and used to the Apple eco-system.  I just want to go out and shoot with the iPhone.  

I really want to go shooting with the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

really want to go do some photography and capture some footage with the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max.  I ordered the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max on November 15, 2020 and got it on November 28, 2020.  It was supposed to take 3-4 weeks to get to me.  Luckily I got it in 2 weeks as I was able to pick it up at the FedEx depot near the Ottawa International Airport.  Didn’t get a chance to go yesterday as I was at my parents place for dinner as they are flying into Florida this coming Wednesday.  Today is Monday and I’m stuck inside a boardroom all day at work.  From the looks of the weather radar, it’s raining pretty hard outside.  I usually get out of work between 2 and 4.  The weather is gonna suck for the rest of the day as it’s supposed to rain pretty much all day.  I have plans to use the iPhone 12 Pro Max as my primary device for photos and videos.

I might actually just go home and shoot a talking head type video.  I do not like doing the talking head videos.  I’d rather be behind the camera.  Actually after work, I have to go to one of the two Apple stores here in Ottawa and see what I can get for my old Apple iPhone 8+.  Probably not gonna get a whole lot for it from Apple.  Probably about $210 or so.  That should get me a few things on an Apple gift card.  I need a new case where the bezel is free so I can connect my mic properly.

I've been only shooting with the iPhone 11 Pro Max (64GB)

 The weather has been miserable here in Ottawa for the past 2 weeks or so.  We've gotten another dump of snow this week. I haven't touched my Sony a7R Mark II or any of my camcorders in about 2 weeks.  I've been using my Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (64GB) for all of my photography in the past two weeks.  I carry my iPhone with me everywhere I go.  I use to obviously keep contact with my family, my fiancee and work.  I'm currently listening to some music via my phone and my brand new AirPods Pro earphones.  That is another story for another day.  I don't know yet how I feel about the AirPods Pro.  They sound great in the ear.  The noise cancellation is fantastically amazing.  But back to photography.

There are multiple reasons why I upgraded to the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max with the 512GB of internal storage.  First, is the storage.  My current phone has on 64GB of internal storage.  For a Pro designated phone, it should come with a minimum of 256GB of storage and have the options of 512GB and 1TB of storage.  My new phone will have 512GB of storage which is enough storage to store all my music, documents, photos and videos that I plan on shooting.  Eventually I will run out of space on my phone, iPad and iCloud.  But not if I manage the storage with some logical thought.  For vlogs, I'm going to be deleting whatever footage I get after the vlog is updated to YouTube.  I will also be uploading the B roll to Pond5 or Adobe Stock for sale, if they get accepted.  

The phone will shoot 4K/60fps video.  On my current phone, I'd shoot for 30 minutes and I'd run out of storage.  Yes 30 minutes is a long time for video but when you don't have access to Wi-Fi or external storage, 30 minutes is not a long time.  512GB should be good enough to get the shot or video.  I'll be editing everything on my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with 512GB of storage.

I've been looking at videos of Apples own M1 based laptops and computers.  They seem to be very impressive.  Even the Macbook Air.  I want portability and all day battery life.  I get that with my current iPad Pro and I'll get it with the new iPhone 12 Pro Max.  

I think within the next 2-3 iterations of the iPhone, most DSLR and Point and Shoot cameras will be obsolete.  Most Point and Shoot cameras are obsolete now.  Along with P&S cameras, most camcorders are obsolete for public consumption.  99% of kids and adults have either an iPhone or an Android phone.  The phone operating system and hardware will just keep getting better and better.  As a photographer myself, I keep changing equipment every couple of years.  My current equipment will stay with me for quite a while I think just because it's so capable to meet my needs as a photographer and videographer.  

The iPhone 12 Pro Max with iOS 14.3 will give me the ability to shoot in ProRaw which will give me 25MB files.  That's more than enough information in the photo to play around with.  I just wish the phone came with a 70-200MM type lens for those close up shots.  Eventually I think Apple will be able to do that through software and hardware.  By then, mirrorless and DSLR cameras will not be needed and everyone will just carry around a phone with them.  

You can pretty much do 99% of stuff you need to do on a phone and a tablet.  Soon you'll be able to properly code on an iPad.  Laptops and desktops will eventually not be needed and everyone will be walking around with just a phone and iPad type tablet.  With 5G added to all new devices, we won't even need Wi-FI.  That's if the data plans increase and prices continue to fall.  Unless you're in Canada where cell phone plans continue to increase in price.

The most popular iPhone in history

I have gone to two Rogers stores and a few Best Buy stores and they cannot keep the new 2020 Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max with the 512GB internal storage on their shelves.  This phone cost $1949 before taxes here in Canada.  It is the most expensive phone you can get off the shelf in the Apple line.  I ordered mine from the Rogers online store this past weekend and it said it would take 3 to 4 weeks for the phone to be delivered.  Since I don’t have any patience to wait 3-4 weeks, I thought I’d go take a look around the various Rogers and Best Buy stores to see if I could get one earlier.  Even during the epidemic, you cannot get a $1949 iPhone.  So I guess I’m going to have to wait for a bit for the phone.

I’ve been looking at YouTube videos of folks walking around making videos with the HDR and Dolby video turned on and it looks simply fantastic.  Just amazing quality of video that you can get out of a phone.  I’ll be patiently waiting for the ProRaw update in iOS 14.3.  Than the phone will be a literal photo and video beast.

More and more I’m using the iPhone Pro Max for some of my photography

Some time ago.  Maybe a few months back in 2019 I was reading a blog about photography.  The entry was basically about how the equipment we use affects photography as hardly anyone is buying “Pro” gear anymore.  You can check online how the big camera companies are losing market share to the smart phone market and how the computer market is losing sales to either smart phones and devices like the iPad.  I kind of had to laugh as I started out just using a Canon 2MP Point and Shoot camera and using the desktop to edit said photography.  This was maybe 20 years ago.  Since then I’ve went through the point and shoot and upgraded my equipment to DSLR cameras.  First it was a Canon EOS 350D which had an 8MP sensor.  Then I upgraded to the Canon EOS T1i series of cameras.  Then the full frame Canon EOS 6D camera with the Canon EOS 7D cropped sensor lodged in between there.  Then I went to the Sony line of bridge cameras along with Sony RX100 line of cameras.  

In that time I had an assortment of phones as well.  I never really used those phones for photography until my trip to Arizona back in 2016.  I took my Samsung s7 Edge to Arizona with me.  I shot a few photos on that phone and uploaded them to Shutterstock. I haven’t sold one yet selling a few photos and videos shot on my Canon EOS 6D and a few videos shot with my Canon Vixia G40 camcorder.  I later sold all that stuff while in Calgary for a Sony RX100 Mark V and a Sony RX10 Mark II as lugging all that equipment around the Rockies was a little much.  I bought and sold my Sony a7II full frame camera and ended up with a Sony RX100 Mark VII as my primary photo camera.  I’ve sold a few hundred shots with that camera.  I also use a Canon Vixia HF R800 right now as my primary camcorder.  

Recently, and I mean recently, I’ve been using my Sony RX100 Mark VII and my Apple iPhone Max Pro (64GB) as my photo and video devices.  I have sold photos taken with the Samsung s7 Edge phone and my Apple iPhone 8 Plus and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Plus.  Honestly, if you are reading this blog on an iPad or iPhone type device, you cannot tell what the photos or videos have been shot with.  The equipment is getting much, much better along with the software.  I bet you in 5 years, point and shoots will be all but gone and DSLR cameras are one photo in the grave and going down quick.

The DSLR will always have it’s place with a very niche market.  Most people will just use their phone or iPad type device to stay connected and take their pictures.  Advanced photographers like myself with use various type of equipment.  I shoot mainly for stock agencies.  I can shoot with my iPhone Pro Plus for my photos and footage.  For quick snaps I’ll use the iPhone Pro Plus for quick shots.  I’ll use my Sony RX100 Mark VII for the more advanced photography I upload to the various stock agencies.  I think now the iPhone Pro Plus will be my main go to for footage clips as it shoots in 4K/60.

I will also be using my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen with the 512GB hard drive.  It’s just so easy to use for photography and footage editing.

Night photography with the iPhone 11 Pro Max (64 GB model)

I got the 2019 Apple iPhone Pro Max (64GB model) earlier this month.  I got it just because of the 3 camera system.  It’s still a 12 megapixel sensor which is good enough for blogs, micro stock agencies and such.  I had my doubts as it is a small sensor on a phone regardless if it’s an Apple iPhone or an Android phone.  I honestly don’t get these 106 megapixel phones that are just coming out.  It’s still the same sized sensor.  No matter how many pixels you put on there, it’s going to be small.  Even full frame cameras shoot up to 61 megapixels.  The Sony A7R IV is such one camera.  Yes there are 100 megapixel full frame sensors but you’re paying up to $100,000 for those cameras.

The Apple iPhone Pro Max actually quite surprised me as to how sharp the above night photo is.  No noise whatsoever and the colours are actually pretty nice to look at.  I haven’t had a chance to shoot long exposure night photography on the phone yet.  With the cold Canadian winters here in Ottawa, I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to do that.  Personally I hate the Ottawa winters.  They’re cold and miserable.

I edited the above photo in Apple Photo on my 2018 iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen and the 512GB SSD HD.  I read a comment on some forum a few weeks back which has kind of stuck with me. It basically stated that iPhones and iPads are going to be the future of photography.  I’m 90% sure that comment is correct or will be correct in a few years.  The Apple iPhone Max Pro is almost there.  The sweet point for me for a camera lens is the 24-200MM.  The Apple iPhone Pro Max already has the 13MM wide angle lens equivalent which is fantastic for wide angle photography.  Just need the lens to go up to 200MM or maybe even 240MM lens and no more DSLR or mirrorless cameras will be needed.

Consolidate and simplify your photography

I started doing photography seriously back in 2006 or so.  I bought my first DSLR that year with the kit lens.  I had no idea how to use the camera at all.  I never took a class.  YouTube was not a thing back then so I couldn’t learn off of what others did.  In 2010 I took classes at my local college.  In 2017, when I was in Calgary, I was using three Canon EOS 6D bodies with three different lenses.  I left Calgary with a Sony RX10 Mark II and a Sony RX100 Mark V.  Today I shoot with the Sony RX100 Mark VII and edit everything on a 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen and a 512GB hard drive.

I am consolidating and simplifying my photography setup along with the rest of my life.  In May 2020, my cellphone plan comes up.  I currently have an Apple iPhone 8 Plus which takes really good photos.  I’ve uploaded a few shots to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and some of those photos have sold.  I’m not saying I’m going to get rid of my Sony RX100 Mark VII because it’s really an excellent camera.  It’s portable.  It’s got an amazingly wide lens at 24MM and it can extend to 200MM.   I’ve always stated that the best camera is the one you carry with you.  I always carry my iPhone 8 Plus and my Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I always have my iPad Pro with me as well.  I am totally sucked into the Apple ecosystem.  I subscribe to Apple Music and Apple TV+.  I also have the 2TB iCloud subscription.  Basically I give Apple $25 a month for the services.  I don’t use my Windows 10 laptop and my 2013 MacBook Pro.  It’s too old and slow for me now.  And Windows 10 sucks.  I really enjoy the Apple ecosystem.  It’s really seamless and works really well.

Whatever equipment you have, I hope you use it and are happy with it.  Just keep using it.  Keep learning.  Keep supporting.  And all that fun stuff.  I’m still looking forward to moving to Calgary in the spring of 2020.  

IOS 13 is out and it’s...

...meh.  Dark mode is nice and all and that’s about it.  Couldn’t get my Apple Bluetooth mouse to connect.  It just kept searching and searching and searching.  I don’t know I’d need mouse support on an iPhone.  The App Store app kind of a step backward.  It’s got the Arcade button at the bottom right.  I’m 44 years old.  Haven’t played games since I was 14 or 15.  So that for me is a step backward.  My iPhone 8 Plus feels a bit sluggish compared to iOS 12.  Thankfully iOS 13.1 is coming out in a few days so hopefully it’ll speed up my iPhone 8 Plus.  The camera app has been upgraded to offer more options for shooting.  I use Camera+ 2 for 98% of my iPhone 8 Plus photography.  I barely use my iPhone for photography.  Instead I use my Sony RX100 Mark VI and VII for 99.999999% of any photography and videography that I do.  So far, iOS 13 seems like a meh update for the iPhone anyways.  I’m still waiting for iPadOS to be released in 4 days.  I hope that iPadOS 13.1 will be released.  I hope my Sony RX100 VII will be supported. At least the photos would be supported with the new RAW engine updates.  

I just want to access SD cards from my iPad Pro so I can import footage from my Sony RX100 Mark VII so I can import them into LumaTouch.  I hate using WiFi to import footage clips from my external hard drive that uses WiFi.  It’s so damn slow.  I am really looking forward to the iPadOS so I can ditch my laptops, both Windows and Apple.  I love shooting 4K and photos on my Sony RX100 Mark VI and VII.  

So I’m just waiting on clearance for two contracts for my last I.T position in Ottawa.  In April 2020, I want to be in Calgary, Alberta.  I am so sick of Ottawa and Ontario.  I am so depressed right now just waiting for government security get my clearance processed.  It takes them so long.  What good a day or two a few years ago now takes weeks.  It’s not like I have a name that is so foreign.

Apple has become a joke

I’ve been using an assortment of Apple products for the past 15 years or so.  I started with a Mac Mini.  I upgraded the hard drive and RAM in that machine.  Now, you can’t upgrade anything since all the parts such as the RAM and hard drive are soldered onto the motherboard of every Apple computer from the iMac Pro to the new Mac Mini.  That’s just the computer hardware side of things.  The iPhone lineup is a joke as well.  Minimal upgrades every year it seems like.  This years new iPhone Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max is a joke.  If I want a real camera, I’ll grab my Sony RX100 Mark VI or Mark VII.  I don’t even consider using my iPhone 8 Plus as my main camera.  The Sony RX100 Mark VI is the perfect travel camera I don’t even use the iPhone for anything but making phone calls and watching the occasional YouTube video.  My iPhone is a phone and and iPod.

The thing that irks me the most now is the software upgrades.  The Apple software is buggy and unstable.  Almost unreliable.  I was hoping that iPadOS would come out when iOS 13 for the iPhone came out on September 19th, 2019.  Nope.  It’ll take an extra week and a half for iPad OS to come out.  More beta testing is needed for iPadOS 13.1.  iPadOS 13 is more than likely not going to come out.  Us iPad Pro users will likely get iPadOS 13.1 on September 30th, 2019.  Luckily I still have my Asus ROG gaming laptop to edit photos and videos on.

On another side note, I start a new job on September 16th, 2019.  It runs till the end of December 2019 with a good chance of extension.  I’m hoping I get extended until March 31, 2020.  Then we just move to Calgary, Alberta.  I am so sick of Ottawa.  It’s so depressing living here.  I want to pay off some credit card debt and then take a week or two to get to Calgary in April 2020.  I cannot stand Ottawa anymore.

I’m studying and learning how to use Affinity Photo for the Apple iPad Pro.  I have it on my laptop as well but I’m finding that I am using the iPad Pro more.  With Apple iPadOS coming out at the end of the month, I’ll be able to use the iPad Pro for 100% of my work.  Hopefully Apple will upgrade the RAW drivers to include the Sony RX100 Mark VII so I’ll be able to use the Sony RX100 VII with the Apple iPad Pro.

Become a Shutterstock contributor

Want to earn a passive income with your photography, sign up to be a Shutterstock photographer.  I signed up to Shutterstock back in May 2014.  I started off with 7 out of 10 photos being accepted.  Trying to get accepted was a lot harder back then, than it is now.  Currently you have have to have 1 out of 10 photos accepted.  I had to get 7 out of 10.  It took me a while to get accepted.  Back then I thought my photography was great.  In focus with no noise at all.  It took me a while to figure out what Shutterstock wanted.  Almost six years later, I have over 15,500 photos accepted and over 1,500 footage clips accepted.  I regularly make payout which is not hard to do.  Just sell $35 worth of photography or footage.  If you sell one clip a month, you'll make payout easily.  I think I haven't make payout once in the last 4 years or so.  You can sign up by clicking on this link https://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=1070795.  It will take you to the Shutterstock website and all you have to do is create an account, upload some ID and then start uploading.  I've submitted photos from various cameras including my old Samsung Galaxy s7 Edge, my current Apple iPhone 8 Plus.  I also have pictures taken with a Canon EOS 350D which is an old camera by todays standards.  Equipment does not matter anymore it seems.  Just start.

Wow Apple,that was really...

...underwhelming.  Arcade, Apple Watch, new bands, retail?  New Apple iPhone 11 and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro?  I don’t use my phone for the majority of my photography, let alone shoot my footage.  I was hoping for more information on new laptops, the Mac Pro, iPadOS, iOS13.  But nothing.  Just new phones and services I have no interest in.  I am so disappointed with Apple right now.  No information or updates on iPadOS.  Nothing.

I was going to do a livestream of myself reacting to the September 10, 2019 event.  I’m glad I didn’t.

Just read on Macworld.com that iPadOS will be available September 19th.  A week from this Thursday.  IOS 13.1 will be available on September 30th, 2019 which is pretty specific for a dot one release.  Why couldn’t Apple say this in their presentation?  I want a fully functional 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  IOS 12 is a disaster.  IPadOS is much more feature rich and it’ll make the iPad Pro usable.

Edit:  iPad OS 13 will be available on September 30th of this year with iPad OS 13.1 being available the same day.  WTF Apple?  This is really confusing.  IOS 13 will be available on September 19th for the iPhones.  God!!!!! Another 20 days with iOS 12.4.1!!!!!!  I so wanted to only use my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with iPadOS 13 ASAP.

I will never, ever...

...wait in line for a stupid phone.  I just don't get the people who do wait in line.  Especially if you're paying $1999 pre tax for a maxed out Apple iPhone.  I will never pay that for a phone.  Regardless if it's, as Tim Cook says $30/monthly tab.  

I am always a generation or two behind on my phones.  iPhones are disposable products.  You get rid of them within 2 years once your contract is done.  I am currently sporting an Apple iPhone 8 Plus in a protective case.  My contract is up in May 2020.  Will I be getting another phone in May 2020.  Nope.  Why?  My contract will go down to $50 a month plus tax for 10GB of data.  I am not a zombie meaning I'm not stuck to my phone 24/7/365.  

My current phone does exactly what it's supposed to.  Make phone calls and take pictures.  I have the 64GB model which is enough storage for me to shoot 4k/60fps video and photos for the day or week if need be.  I also have iCloud storage of 50GB which I pay $1.49 a month for.

I honestly don't get why people wait for a freaking phone.  There is absolutely no reason.  A new phone is not relevant.  It does not make you look cool because a cell phone is so ubiquitous now.  Your grandmother has a phone.  Your friends have a phone. Everybody has a cell phone.  Need versus want is what I am saying.  You don't need a new phone.  You have more computing power in your current phone than what NASA had to put man on the moon.

iOS 12

iOS 12 was released yesterday (Sept. 17, 2018) by Apple.  When I got home I immediately installed it on my Apple iPhone 8 Plus.  I've had a day to play with my phone and I find iOS 12 really fast.  Faster than any previous iOS operating system.  Apps seem to open up way faster.  The phone seems more responsive.  iOS and Android are both really good operating systems.  I find Apple iOS just a bit better for photography and video apps.  I live in an Apple ecosystem so having an iPhone makes sense to me.  But I think after my 2015 iMac dies along with my 2013 MacBook Pro, I'll build my own computer and install Linux on it.  I will probably stick with the iPhone just because the apps work really well.  They are feature rich and they don't crash.  Footage and photos are much easier to import onto a computer from an Apple iPhone.  Android is a pain in the ass in that sense.

4 hours

4 hours to download the latest iOS operating system.  Wait.  Just wait a few days before you update any device.  The first 24 hours are going to nuts on the Apple servers with everyone wanting it.

Apple products

Don't even bother buying an Apple computer.  Any Apple computer.  They are overpriced and outdated.  Their phones are ok.  Their phones are the only product they're physically updating with new hardware.

 

I have a 2013 MacBook Pro and a 2015 iMac.  Those are the last Apple computers I will ever buy.  My next computer will be a Linux based laptop.  I cannot stand Windows 10.  It's slow and clunky on any hardware. 

 

Linux is the only way to go as an operating system.  Apple hardware is outdated and overpriced.  I like the Apple O/S but from the YouTube videos I've been watching with the Intel i9 processors over heat in such a slim device as the MacBook Pro.

 

The new MacBook Pros lack any viable ports unless you want to live the dongle life.  A dongle for your hard drives, Ethernet or SD cards.  No thanks.  Just stay away from Apple computers.  Apple is now solely an IOS hardware maker.

Edit:  If people buy this, they have more money than brains.  $1999 for a damn phone.  A phone!!!!!!  Something that is outdated the day you buy it and if you drop it and break the screen, you're out $2000 before taxes.