Linked List: December 13, 2016

Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Michael Tsai on the Battery Time Remaining Estimate ★

Michael Tsai:

I tend to think that an inaccurate (but constantly updating) estimate is better than none. Otherwise, people will have to make their own estimates, which takes attention and is likely to be even less accurate. I never liked how the estimate claimed to be accurate down to the minute. I would like to see an estimate with fewer significant digits, both to hide the erratic changes and to avoid over-representing the accuracy.

My earlier “This is like being late for work and fixing it by breaking your watch” analogy was a little unfair. It’s more like having a watch that doesn’t keep accurate time and fixing the problem by no longer wearing any watch, rather than fixing or replacing the broken one. That’s not as funny though.

I know iOS has never had a time remaining estimate. That’s fine for iOS. I think it’s useful on MacBooks, especially just as a loose estimate.

(And the code that estimates battery life is definitely way off on the new MacBook Pros. With a 100 percent charge on the 13-inch MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar), MacOS 10.12.1 was estimating I only had 4:50 of battery life. I used the machine for web browsing, email, and Slack for 45 straight minutes, at a high display brightness, and the estimate was at 5:09.)

MacOS Sierra 10.12.2 Release Notes ★

Joking about the removal of the “time remaining” estimate for the battery aside, there’s actually a lot of good stuff in this update. They’ve addressed a lot of the biggest complaints about Sierra in this update.

Remember the problem where people who turned on iCloud Desktop and Documents syncing thought their existing files in those folders disappeared? They didn’t, but it looked like they did. Now Sierra explains to you what’s going on.

Apple Fixes MacBook Pro Battery Life Issues by Removing ‘Time Remaining’ Estimate From the Battery Menu ★

Jim Dalrymple, on the just-released MacOS 10.12.2 update:

However, to help users better determine the battery life, Apple has removed the “time remaining” indicator from the battery icon in the menu bar with the latest update. You can still see the image on the top of the screen, and you can see the percentage, but you will no longer be able to see how much time is remaining before your battery dies.

The reason for removing it is very simple: it wasn’t accurate.

Apple said the percentage is accurate, but because of the dynamic ways we use the computer, the time remaining indicator couldn’t accurately keep up with what users were doing. Everything we do on the MacBook affects battery life in different ways and not having an accurate indicator is confusing.

This is like being late for work and fixing it by breaking your watch.

Apple Delays Beats X Release Until February ★

Ashley Carman, writing for The Verge:

Apple is delaying the release of its Beat X wireless earbuds until February, a full five months after the company first announced them. Apple confirmed the timeline on its website listing for the $149.95 earbuds, but even with this update we still don’t have a specific release date. At least we know the Beats X will eventually be released?

We figured this delay was coming after retailer B&H Photo sent an email to customers that stated the earbuds wouldn’t be available for two to three months. Apple was originally targeting a “fall 2016” release for the Beats X.

The big on-ear Beats Solo3 wireless headphones shipped right on time and remain in stock. It makes sense that the small earphones — the AirPods and the BeatsX — were the ones where manufacturing/assembly problems cropped up.

AirPods Are Now Available, Backordered Into January Already ★

Apple Newsroom:

Available today from Apple.com and will start delivering to customers and arriving at Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers next week.

AirPods will be shipping in limited quantities at launch and customers are encouraged to check online for updates on availability and estimated delivery dates. Stores will receive regular AirPod shipments.

They were briefly available with arrival dates before Christmas, but only briefly. As I type this, they’re at “4 weeks”. Better late than never, but it’s a huge miss for Apple not to have them in wide availability for the holidays. AirPods are the most natural sub-$200 gift in Apple’s entire product lineup, and they blew it.

“Stores will receive regular AirPod shipments” is interesting, though. Good way to drive foot traffic into the stores these last two weeks of the season.