Apple VP Kaiann Drance Interview Addresses Battery Life, MagSafe, and Power Adapter Concerns

[canesalato]

But can they really stand on the roof talking about saving the environment by producing and shipping a cable that many people won’t use? Seems a tad wasteful, no?

It is, but in past years they sold cables and BRICKS that many people did not use. And they needed more space on planes and boats to ship the same number of phones. So, the act of removing the charger and making the box smaller, at the scale at which they operate, might have an actual positive impact.

Now let me rephrase it:
Removing the charger and making the box smaller, at the scale at which they operate, might have lead to a marginal but measureble reduction in the MASSIVE environmental impact of their business.

Of course them stand on the roof, talking about saving the environment is corporate hypocrisy.
The whole concept of selling hard to repair smartphones with an enclosed battery that we cannot replace ouserselves by simply removing a back cover is total madness, from an environmental point of view. But that didn't stop us from buying them. So...a part of guilt is on us.

 

[Deinocheirus]

Absolutely.
How about removing the charger citing environmental reasons while at the same time pushing IN THE SAME YEAR an entirely new charging method (energetically/environmentally wasteful) that people will buy and that might eventually replace lightning in future models, leading to the affirmation of new proprietary charging solution? All this while the word was finally converging on USB-C. For the planet eh? シ

Well that doesn't make any sense at all, sorry.

They didn't introduce Qi charging this year. So, you're wrong. They introduced MagSafe which is a better Qi charger than the other options available. Oh, and given the way it works is probably far less wasteful than any other Qi charger (assuming I even believed in the first place that any of it was meaningfully wasteful).

The rest of the "world" you're talking about had nothing else to speak of. What? Micro-USB? The worst connector ever invented by human beings? The entire rest of industry ran away from that and toward USB-C as fast as they could for good reason. Lightning on the other hand is in a completely different world, and doesn't really need to be replaced when most users are happy with wireless accessories, or using the same cable they've had for years. Changing that at this point accomplishes nothing except pissing off most of the iPhone market, and making a few tech geeks happy.

 

[I7guy]

....um.

iPhone 11 to iPhone 12 is a $130 price increase, not counting the $60 worth of accessories now removed from the box ($40 now that they lowered the prices).

iphone 11 to iphone 12 mini - same price point, while the iphone 12 mini has more tech then the iphone 11. So the price range at the end points are the same.

 

[canesalato]

Well that doesn't make any sense at all, sorry.

They didn't introduce Qi charging this year. So, you're wrong. They introduced MagSafe which is a better Qi charger than the other options available. Oh, and given the way it works is probably far less wasteful than any other Qi charger (assuming I even believed in the first place that any of it was meaningfully wasteful).

The rest of the "world" you're talking about had nothing else to speak of. What? Micro-USB? The worst connector ever invented by human beings? The entire rest of industry ran away from that and toward USB-C as fast as they could for good reason. Lightning on the other hand is in a completely different world, and doesn't really need to be replaced when most users are happy with wireless accessories, or using the same cable they've had for years.

I am sorry, but my point was not being wrong or right. I was enjoying talking with you as you seem a reasonable and smart person. But now let's just agree to disagree. Or if you prefer, I am wrong.

 

[AlumaMac]

They just need to keep releasing fast phones with minor camera improvements, that sometimes (like this year) look very pretty and other times are just a little different from the previous model. Inertia and ecosystem lock do the rest. Just raise the temperature slowly and the frog will boil peacefully.

Yep, the smartphone marketplace has fully matured and there is little upside in trying to innovate or disrupt. Corporate playbook says to release minor (i.e. safe) updates and focus on marketing fluff, margin efficiencies, and selling add-on services. Rinse and repeat. They are just selling widgets now.

 

[Deinocheirus]

iphone 11 to iphone 12 mini - same price point, while the iphone 12 mini has more tech then the iphone 11. So the price range at the end points are the same.

Nope, not a reasonable comparison, and you know it.

Oh and even if you wanted to, it's still $30 more + $40 of missing accessories.

 

[MidwestMacGuy]

I think that's a lot of engineering contortions to save battery life for 5G. I wonder if Apple would better allocate their engineering skills to find a way to make a replaceable battery? So then if your battery runs low, you can switch it out for a fully charges spare, or when the battery no longer can hold a charge, you don't have to bring it in to an Apple store to have them replace the battery.

I think the reason they don't put their engineering efforts there is because a replaceable battery might encourage people to hold on to their phones for much longer hurting their sales of new phones.

 

[gplusplus]

I will have to admit, I cannot stand listening to people such as this lady.
She is paid a LOT of money to promote the products of the company.
I'm not going to say she is deliberately lying about anything, she is just very skilled in focusing, saying and putting a positive spin on every aspect of the product she is being paid to say nice things about.

Basically a used car salesman, saying onto the good points.
When you really want to speak to the mechanic out the back who will tell you everything accurately.

Nice lady I'm sure, but it's almost not worth listening to anything she says.

That said, I know this is the job of these people, so nothing against her whatsoever.

You’re absolutely right, but I’m sure the fanboys will flame you anyway. Used car salesman vibe, indeed.

Next interview about random cracks on the screen: “At Apple, we like to think of our products as works of art. Where you see a crack, we see character. So in iOS 14.2, we are now introducing Crack Shot, where you’ll be able to take screenshots of your cracks to share on social media.”

 

[canesalato]

Next interview about random cracks on the screen: “At Apple, we like to think of our products as works of art. Where you see a crack, we see character. So in iOS 14.2, we are now introducing Crack Shot, where you’ll be able to take screenshots of your cracks to share on social media.”

Introducing "Crack Shot". And we think costumers are gonna love it!

 

[mi7chy]

Battery life is a major downgrade.

I'll wait for next year's iPhone 14 with bigger battery, notchless, mask friendly Touch ID, etc.

 

[ani4ani]

This would be an objectively correct statement if 100% of Apple Customers bought a new usb charger and/or cable. If even one of the customers does not, it makes the statement no better than an uninformed opinion.

sigh....

 

[johannnn]

Wow, Apple is going all out with the PR and marketing this time. I mean when's the last time we have Apple people going into podcasts? Is this part of the contract with Verizon, for Apple to help them market 5G?

One interview is “all in”?

Also, they did numerous interviews last year in various podcasts.

 

[johannnn]

Battery life is a major downgrade.

I'll wait for next year's iPhone 14 with bigger battery, notchless, mask friendly Touch ID, etc.

It’s only a downgrade if you notice the difference. I assume that for the large majority, both 11, 12 Pro, 12 and 12 Pro handles a day of use just fine. And then just charge it in the night.

I don’t care if my phone has 10% or 40% when I’m going to bed. Regardless, I didn’t need to go around with a battery pack.

 

[mcdawg]

Why trot her out to rehash already known talking points, when the glaring unanswered question following the produced reveal video was: are her adult diapers 4x absorbent in the front, and 2x in the back?

 

[8ght]

This is probably a stupid question but how safe is it to have the MagSafe charger close to an iMac screen? Can the magnets have a negative effect on the iPhone screen?

 

[canesalato]

I wonder if Apple would better allocate their engineering skills to find a way to make a replaceable battery? So then if your battery runs low, you can switch it out for a fully charges spare, or when the battery no longer can hold a charge, you don't have to bring it in to an Apple store to have them replace the battery.

I think the reason they don't put their engineering efforts there is because a replaceable battery might encourage people to hold on to their phones for much longer hurting their sales of new phones.

I think it's a mix of things.
There are three interests here:
1) Apple, 2) the costumer 3) the environment.
Apple operaters in this order: 1-> 2 -> 3
I like what you propose, but it goes 3 -> 2 -> 1

3) It's probably very good for the environment, especially if batteries are kept compatible across multiple phone generations. But who cares about the environment, really? I suspect Apple and its costumers are generally aligned in not caring very much. Or they care until they need to buy a shiny new phone. And I am not judging, this is just human nature.
2) It's good for the costumer, from an economical point of view and for certain uses. But it's a mixed bag. The phone would need to be larger or the burn time of an individual battery might be shorter. It would look a little less pretty. Water resistance might be harder (although not impossible, as other devices show). There are also legitimate safety issues with low quality third-party batteries. Are these problems unresolvable? Probably not. Would an investment in this direction drive more sales or increase margins? I don't think so. Not much at least.
1) It's bad for Apple, for the reason you stated and also because costumers would replace the battery themselves without paying good dollars ($$$) at the Apple Store for battery replacements.

And that's why it doesn't happen, unfortunately.

 

[Sam Nelson]

The only problem I have with the iPhone 12 is the “5G” portion of it. Yeah, that’s great to have, but to a consumer who hears that something has 5G well they’re going to automatically think that it comes with it when in reality only select cities have 5G and it differs from carrier to carrier. I mean personally, I am still going to get the iPhone 12 just because of the camera but if I were to get it because of the 5G well I would be out of luck because currently in my city we only have 5GE which is an upgraded 4G. It’s not a true 5G connection. So, if you have a carrier that supports 5G in your city and you’re on your carriers 5G rate plan, then great! You get to enjoy the iPhone 12 to the fullest. But if you live in a city where the carriers do not support 5G the unfortunately you are out of luck.

 

[I7guy]

Nope, not a reasonable comparison, and you know it.

Oh and even if you wanted to, it's still $30 more + $40 of missing accessories.

Sure it’s reasonable to me, to you it’s not. Balancing out a ton of new tech with a different form factor seems reasonable.

I don’t consider the accessories as part of the price because I have enough spares, and the new tech balances that out.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Remember people, she is not putting a gun at your head and telling you to buy the phone. There are also hundreds of YouTubers who can give you a third party opinion about the device; there is a thread from early buyers, you can also go Apple and Carrier stores and test the device for yourself; or save the money and don’t buy it all. But don’t blame her for doing her job. She got there through intelligence and hard work.
I sense from some of you it’s jealous seeing a Asian woman in a position of power working at a powerful company.

 

[I7guy]

sigh....

Yep...exactly.

 

[theluggage]

Funny, you actually think the cable is worth $1. More like 5ct

...in the absence of any specific data, I was giving Apple the benefit of the doubt, yes.

 

[canesalato]

I sense from some of you it’s jealous seeing a Asian woman in a position of power working at a powerful company.

Uhm...please....let's not start accusing people of racism without any real reason...
Most people here legitimally criticized her communication style. Yes, there are hundred of Youtubers and other sources, but this thread is about her interview as an official "Apple voice". The fact that she is smart and powerful does not put her above criticism, right?
Actually I don't even blame her, personally. She is just another Silicon Valley robot (during interviews, I don't know her in other context, I have no idea about the way she is really). Tim Cook is white and male and yet he communicates in the same cold, artificial way.

 

[I7guy]

You’re absolutely right, but I’m sure the fanboys will flame you anyway. Used car salesman vibe, indeed....

And the other end of the spectrum, is the critics will agree. I guess one persons’ used car salesman vibe is another persons fresh perspective vibe.

 

[I7guy]

...
Most people here legitimally criticized her communication style. The fact that she is smart and powerful does not put her above criticism, right?
Actually I don't even blame her, personally. She is just another Silicon Valley robot (during interviews, I don't know her in other context, I have no idea about the way she is really). Tim Cook is white and male and yet he communicates in the same cold, artificial way.

I personally liked her communication style. It’s a much better style than many that I’ve heard.

 

[canesalato]

I personally liked her communication style. It’s a much better style than many that I’ve heard.

Sure, I personally don't like that style, but I totally believe there's nothing wrong in you liking the interview. Neither of us is right or wrong. In the end these are just opinions.
I always struggle to understand why discussions get so heated when there is a disagreement.