A Weekend In Mammoth Mountains Made Me Really Wish I Had the Apple Watch Ultra But I'll Wait for the Next Upgrade

The Gist: I was charging my Apple Watch on and off during my three days to Mammoth, California. With the Apple Watch Ultra, I think I would not have been so worried about running out of battery. Plus, there are other Ultra features that could have come in handy. But I'll wait for the next Ultra upgrade.

In a hurry to beat the rush hour out of Los Angeles on Memorial Weekend, I had not paid attention to how much battery I had left on my Apple Watch 6 which currently is running at 80% capacity. That means, I charge my Apple Watch intermittently on any given day. Any given "normal" day. I can afford to do that because I have a charge at home, in the car, and at work to juice up my Apple Watch whenever I feel the need to do it or when it is running near empty. 

Friday was obviously not a normal day. I had expected to leave work early to begin the six hour drive to our lodge but unforeseen issues came up, which is a fact of life, you know? I rushed hone, put the stuff in the car and off we went (I didn't forget my wife and dog). During that time, I was so concentrated on getting underway that I had not checked to see how much my battery life remained on my watch.

By the time we got there, it was past midnight. After checking in and unloading everything, we were in bed by 1:30 after a quick shower. And then up again around 6 for breakfast, walking the dog, and checking out the record breaking snow. It was awesome and finally there. 

And I had probably charged my watch for around 15 minutes. 

By the time we set off for a trailhead, I think my Apple watch was only around 30% charged. I had used it to check my oxygen blood level and breathing/heart rate. Interestingly, my blood level had dropped to around 87% and heart rate was elevated. I suppose this was due to the 9,000-foot elevation. Boy, it was hard walking around. Both my wife and I felt light headed the first few times we bent down and stood up. Quite an interesting experience. 

Back to the watch - I charged 5 minutes here and there whenever we drove from one location to another. And we did drive a lot while we were there because we were constantly in search of trails that had not been snowed in. 

By the time dinner came around, I still had only managed to keep my Apple Watch charged around 30%. I thought to myself that if I had the Apple Watch Ultra with nearly double the battery life was the regular ones, I don't think I would have to worry at all about the battery life. 

So why not get the current Ultra? I would if I felt I need it right away or soon. I don't know where our next trip will be or when. Perhaps if it is only months away, I would likely get it whenever the next $50 off deal I see on Amazon rolls around. Given how little vacation time we have in the US, the next vacation is either Thanksgiving but I want to stick around town for that with family (ones that I like) and friends. So, perhaps Christmas then. 

By then, Apple might have released the Apple Watch Ultra 2 - I imagine it will have improved sensors, a more efficient CPU, and, rumor has it, bigger screen. Around town, my Apple Watch will continue to serve my needs.

When the M3 Chip Comes Out, Will Apple Upgrade the Smaller MacBook Air To It Or Keep It At M2 and Lower The Price?

I'm waiting for the M3 chip to come out before I pull the trigger on a new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. I'm still secretly hoping for a 12" version but it looks more and more unlikely. So, I'm focused on the MacBook Air instead. Watching Youtube videos on the newly released MacBook Air with a bigger 15.3" screen versus the regular Air with 13.6" (why isn't it called Mabook Air with 14" screen since you would round up?), I'm realizing the 15" Air is now the flagship MacBook for the consumer.

Eventually, the Air will get upgraded to the M3 chip. The prevailing assumption is both versions of the Air will get the M3 ship. I'm going to step a bit back and ask what if Apple keeps the 13" Air with the M2 chip and lower the price from it's currently $1099 to $999. It may even keep the M1 version around where an even low price point could widen Apple reach.

Will it happen? I'm betting it could depend on one main factor: Apple's chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, aka TSMC. It will depend on the M3 yield. The M3 chip from Apple will be manufactured using the latest 3-nanometer process versus the M2 chip using an older 5nm process. 

Months ago, the speculation/rumors was that Apple was going to refresh the Air including introducing the 15" Air running on the M3 chip at this year's WWDC event. It makes sense since the MacBook Air with M2 was released at last year's WWDC event. Well, Apple did introduce the 15' Air but still using the M2 chip. 

Speculations and rumors aside, no one really knows except Apple what its chip roadmap is. Still, if TSMC is having yield issues, Apple had no choice but to release the 15" MacBook Air using the M2 if TMSC cannot produce enough M3 chips or have yet to ramp up.

Apple likely decided to make lemonade with the lemon of a situation it had on its hands. When M3 yield does improve but not the point that Apple needs, Apple may have no choice but to use whatever M3 chips it can get its hands on to upgrade 15" MacBook Air and keep the 13" Air at M2. There are advantages to Apple using different chip. It looks like the newer Air is going to be wildly popular judging by the response. Apple will sell tons of it and it will be  even more popular when it is upgraded with the M3 chip.

Meanwhile, the 13" Air with M2 will still have its own segment of the market at $1099 - I am sure it is yielding even better profit margin than ever before. And what if Apple lowers the price down to $999? The 13" Air at $999 will be flying off the shelves.

We will not know for sure next we get to the next MacBook Air upgrade cycle and when the M3 will be ready to be used in volume. Whatever Apple does, I am sure most Mac users will be quite happy. If Apple does keep the 13" Air using the M2 ship, some might disappointed. But hey, join the club. I'm still sore the 12" MacBook went the way of the dodo.

Apple Watch Helped Me Lose Weight And Kept It Off So Far

I've lost about 15 pounds in the last twelve months and have managed to keep it off all thanks to my Apple Watch. It is not much but for someone who has struggled with weight on and off, it's great to have such a device that is so capable of helping me through this journey to become fit and, more importantly, stay fit. Let me stress this important point: Apple Watch is helping me keep the pounds from coming back.

I could have rushed headlong into losing 20-25 pounds in months but that had not yielded the results that I wanted which was to keep it off. Because the few times that I have managed to do that, the pounds slowly came back. Lose five here, gain six back. Lose fifteen and see ten or twelve come back weeks laster. 

Apple Watch is a great companion that allowed me to keep track of my movements, calorie counts, and reminders to get moving. I work in an office environment. I think many folks who work in offices also know how easy it is to just want to sit there and get lost into the work. So, I make sure that I able to get a walk or run out before work and a few steps during work before my evening walk after dinner. 

During this past winter, California received much relief in terms of rainfall and record snowpack through out most of the of state but alleviated an ongoing multi-year drought. From about December through March, we received 80% more than we normally get here in Los Angeles. Thank goodness for those atmospheric rivers. Personally, I hope more will come.

This does come at a cost to my weight loss scheme - I definitely cannot run as much as I like. It meant that I'm not able to be as active outdoors. I still have to take my dog out for her walks but she is not a fan of the rain so our walks are brief. That means I have to do more indoor exercises. More steps indoor.  A lot of walking in circles. I'm able to achieve my goals and close the rings on most days.

Before the Apple Watch, I would not known exactly how I was doing through the day to help me achieve my fitness goals. I suppose this is why weights came back. I simply did not know what it would take. When the iPhone gained a pedometer feature through apps using the accelerometer, it was very useful. On the larger iPhones like the Max, it becomes a bit cumbersome carry such a big piece of glass and metal in your pocket the whole day. It was easier on the smaller iPhones like the iPhone SE for instance. With the bigger iPhones, I left it on my desk most of the time.

In the past years with more wet weathers, I probably would have gained back the ten pounds I lost over the previous months. However, this winter, with the aid of the Apple Watch, I was happy that I did not gain one single pound. I did not lose any either. I supposed I just had to be more active to continue to lose weight but closing the rings was enough to help me keep the gains at bay.

While I was entirely shocked by the lack of weight gain, I am happy to know that I have achieved a level of activity that allows me to maintain a healthy level of physical activity and health. 

I am not beholden to my Apple Watch. I suppose I can get a $5 pedometer and try to achieve the thirteen thousand steps I have been averaging a day for 2023. And it is not all about the Apple Watch. It's what I consume that is just as important and how much I eat. 

As with an weight loss programs or weight training regimen, it is important that we continue to put in the work. The Apple Watch can only do so much. It cannot make lose the pounds for me. That was all me. It can only help me prepare ahead of time my meals and how much I should consume. Whether I overeat or still to my portion controls is entirely up to me.

Still, having the data from the Apple Watch and recording them daily on my Numbers sheet has given me a good idea of just how I am doing overall. 

Apple’s Car Venture Begins with CarPlay And Will End With Innovation and Quality

The question though is when will Apple unveil its own car effort and what that will do to the market. We recently bought a Nissan Ariya and offered to give our Fisker Ocean reservation to a friend. I think we are are done with getting a new car for a while. Only Apple Car will get me trade in my current car sooner than I normally would. 

Prior to the Ariya, I was driving a 2014 Lexus RX330 - its transmission finally gave out. It did not have a lot of mileage (less than 180,000 miles) but it is what it is. The timing on the Ariya was fortuitious. I had made the reservation more than a year ago. The RX330 gave out and the Nissan dealership in Glendale, California called me a month later to let me know my Ariya is here. 

One of the reasons I held onto the RX330 longer than I would have like is because I was hoping to that Apple would have at least announce that they were getting into the market. But now, it does not look like an electric vehicle from Apple will be coming any time soon. And Apple does not have to rush given the state of the market right now.

I had been using CarPlay when I drive my wife’s car and I did not think much of it. It was like using an earlier version of iPhone OS when iOS was called that and it was limited in the early days. That’s what CarPlay feels like to me. As I use it more and more, I started to enjoy it and prefer it over the infotainment systems of the cars we have. And I have yet to hear other iPhone users I know who opt for the default manufacturer’s system when CarPlay is available. 

In fact, having CarPlay support in cars is one of the most sought after features and a major factor for buyers in deciding what cars to get. This is why it is perplexing that GM recently announced that they would do away with CarPlay support in new EV offerings. Telsa and Rivian both do not offer CarPlay but then again, GM is no Tesla or Rivian and, as far as I know, does not have anything close to the brand loyalty both if it’s competitors or Apple have. While I do not now if people will shy away from GM EV because of it, I would not be surprise if GM later reverses this foolish decision when people opt to by EV from its competitors.

For Apple, CarPlay is their foot in the auto industry regardless of when its own car will come out. More importantly, hundreds of thousands if not millions of iPhone users are using CarPlay will slide easily into Apple Car experience.

Furthermore, it looks like Apple is going full steam ahead with the whole auto experience - in 2023 (more likely 2024), some new vehicles will support the new CarPlay experience - think of it as iOS taking over your 2024 cars. That will give us a better experience of what it would be like to be driving an Apple car.

More than the whole driving experience with the current or new CarPlay, Apple will have to release its own car to give its Apple drivers the whole experience. Just like people who buy high end models from Mercedes or BMW, it is not simply one factor or another that makes the driver experience different for someone who buys a cheapy EV (that’s me) and someone who buys a $100,000 EV. 

It’s how quiet the cabin in, who smooth the ride feels, the comfort (and other first world amenities), and the sounds. It’s how it handles on the road, acceleration, turning, etc. For Apple, it will attempt to offer all those at a reasonable price, reasonably higher price but certainly not out of this world high. Apple will be paying particular attention to the design of every aspect of the car and even innovate where it see areas that benefit drivers in ways that we did not know we wanted before. New safety features will be paramount in addition to making sure the handling feels like you are in a premium EV - not just because you pay top dollars for the Apple car. I would not be surprised if it only offers AWD. 

Sure, Apple can get may of its fans to fork over more than $100,000 for the Apple car. I am sure once you add in all the options, it could be well north of $100K but Apple will be sure to offer a range for the average Apple consumer as well. This will be done in such a way that the whole range of Apple car drivers will get to experience its innovation and quality.

I would love to speculate as to when Apple will release just such an EV. That’s for another time. I do think it’s coming and there is no need for Apple to rush to the market just yet. 

Bing Chat Told Me Why I Should Pick A MacBook Over An iPad for Coding and Content Development

I value portability in today's computing devices. It's why I have not owned a desktop since my college days. I'm pretty sure that most college bound students who need to get a computer probably went with a laptop. Maybe even a small number of them might have opt for an iPad. 

So out of the blue, I asked Bing Chat whether I should get a MacBook or iPad that I can use to code. Not surprisingly, Bing told me to go with a MacBook. Essentially, Bing found MacBooks to be more versatile when it came to the number of tools available for coding and development. It does think that the iPad has potential.

The other issue it brought up is cost. I specifically asked if I should get an iPad Pro but it seems to suggest that there is no difference between a regular iPad and an iPad Pro given that the apps that are available for coding on the iPad run on all current iPads. So, if cost was an issue, the iPad would be the way to go. 

On both accounts, I agree here just as I agree with another question I asked Bing if I should upgrade my MacBook now and it suggested that I did not have to do that unless I absolutely need a new one.

Although this is only two questions that I have posed to an AI chat, we an expect such AI to straddle both sides of the fence and provide us with a balanced recommendation and at the end leave the decision to us. I'm not going to tell you what to get but I will tell you which is better for certain conditions but you will have to made the decision based on what you know best. I suppose, we can be grateful in this sense: we still have the freedom to make choices ourselves. 

Based on both questions, I will get a MacBook once my current one dies or is unable to let me do whatever it is that I need it to do. 

One note about coding. There are online tools that lets you code online through the browser. For beginners, I think it perfect. I'll take a look at these tools and make the appropriate recommends. Maybe I'll even get Bing to provide some input as well.

The Case To Keep iPad Mini 6 On The Market When the iPad Mini 7 Goes On Sale

When Apple release the iPad mini 7, Apple should continue to keep the mini 6 on the market with a price drop. There are many reasons why Apple should make this move. I'll outline the reasons below. 

Before I get into that, I want to note that I am currently on the iPad mini 5 and my wife got the iPad mini 6. While I always like having new things, I can't say that I am jealous of my wife's iPad mini. My mini 5 has worked so well for me since 2019 when it was first launched. I'm coding a bit on it and with the Apple Pencil, I'm drawing much better.

I eagerly want to see what the iPad mini 7 has in store for us. Will it be enough of an upgrade for me to make the jump? We will have to see. Meanwhile, I hope that when it is finally released, Apple will consider keeping the iPad mini 6 around.

Why it would be advantageous for Apple to having iPad mini 6 on saleon the iPad mini 7 is released? Here is why:

• Apple can lower the iPad mini 6 price by $100.
• It will help APPLE cover a greater segment of the market. Users who want a lower price iPad will have more choices.
• It is a good alternative as an iPad for school. The regular iPad is heavy. It means greater chance of the iPad being dropped and damaged by school children. The iPad mini may hold up better given how compact it is when it is also in a good case. Lighter to hold. I'm speaking from experience in this regard.
• This will improve APPLE‘s profit margin because they will be using technology and parts that they likely have recovered in terms of R&D, and the rest is pure profit other than the material used to build the iPad Mini together line
• The iPad mini 6 uses the first generation Apple Pencil. I don’t know what the cost to make an Apple Pencil. I only know that the cost of the first generation Apple Pencil is much lower to manufacture now than it has ever been. For anyone who wants a simple sketchpad, iPad mini 6 with the Apple Pencil is the perfect solution. I have tried various solutions to turn my iPhone Pro Max into a sketchpad, and let me tell you, nothing works. At least, nothing works, as well as the iPad and the Apple Pencil.
• Back to pricing a little bit. With iPad mini 6 haven’t been on the market for about two years now, you can kick this count on them for $100 off. That would be the same exact entry point for the current iPad mini six on the market from time to time you see it on cell phone $500 down to $400. Imagine it going even lower to $350 on Black Friday. Picking up one of these for your child or for yourself as a entertainment device is a no-brainer. Heck, I’ll pick one up myself $350 if I didn’t already have one. 
• Lower price iPads are the perfect entry into the Apple ecosystem for millions of potential lead new users. It will increase the number of people who would subscribe for Apple services like Apple TV and news.
• From a content consumption standpoint, I cannot see much difference between my mini 5 and my wife's mini 6. We use our iPads to watch videos, reading books and comics, and play games. I don't see the iPad mini 7 to be that great of a leap in these regards. However, the iPad mini 6 does support Apple Pencil 2 and many artists would be able to benefit from the upgrade. And from the content creation standpoint, the mini 6 will still hold its own for years to come. Unless the iPad mini 7 can run Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, the mini 6 would still be very powerful.

By the time Apple releases the iPad mini 7 next year, assuming it takes Apple about 30 months to date the mini like the last time so it likely will not happen in 2023, the iPad landscape will have change a lot. However, I believe this will be for the better from both the content consumption standpoint and being able to use the iPad mini 6 for work/productivity. The iPad mini 6 will continue to evolve with new features that allow it to continue to serve the needs of all users.

Bing Chat Told Me I Why I Should Not Upgrade My MacBook Just Yet

With an aging MacBook that still continue to serve me, I do long for a M-series MacBook. However, do I really need one right this moment or in the next month or two? The conclusion after much deliberation is no. And that deliberation took months. And during that time, I certainly managed to muddle long with the Macbook from 2016.

I will need one eventually. All good things come to an end and I think my MacBook is nearly that. 

• The keyboard was subpar to begin with. 
• The battery is about half what it was
• It does not support the latest OS anymore.

However, I use Bing's ChatGPT powered search and ask whether I should be upgrading to a new MacBook now. The answer, depending on how you feeling about these AI-powered chat queries, I found was quite reasonable. 

If my MacBook continues to serve my needs, including learning to code, well then by all means, keep it until it stops to serve that need or breaks down.

Bing's AI chat suggested that if my MacBook is slowing or is struggling to keep up with my coding needs, then it would be time to upgrade. At the same time, what I did find interesting was the hedge - it suggested that if my needs are specific and require a more powerful MacBook now and have the means, then go ahead and consider upgrading now.

Personally, I'm going with the first part of the suggestion and upgrade after I have gained enough coding experience and have outgrown my 2016 MacBook.

I just find it very interesting what Bing suggested to me. My next query is going to be more about web-based coding solutions that I can do with my iPad. But first, let's see what Bing suggest I do - go with an iPad or MacBook when I do decide to upgrade.