iOS 11: Let Me Set Permanent Low Power Mode

Power.  Power. Power.  That is a mobile issue that has yet to be resolved since the beginning of time.  Well, sure, right?  And it is the most important issue that mobile warriors are plagued with. At times, we ration our power uses or, at worst, we end up with a device that we cannot use.  With iOS 10, Apple introduced the Low Power Mode that gives users the ability to toggle between regular power use by the iPhone and a lower power setting that temporarily turn some features.

Well, I'm an user of the Low Power Mode - and I toggle it on whenever I can.  But it's a daily exercise.  Sometimes, I go into the app to do it. Sometimes, I ask Siri to do it for me.  Instead of having to do it on such a regular basis, why don't Apple give us the option to keep it at the low power mode longer.

Of course, one work around is to go through settings and turn off these features that are turned off when you're in the low power mode. 

• Background app refresh
  
• Fetching mail
  
• Hey, Siri
  
• Automatic downloads
  
• Visual effects
  

I've gone ahead and done most of that already.  I do have Hey, Siri on but I almost never use it unless my hands are tied and I needed Siri to do or look up something for me. 

So, in addition to be able to turn on low power mode on a more permanent basis, I would like to see further battery saving options in iOS 11.  I'm able to live with the battery life my iPhone provides but I still find myself compromising my experiences.  I'm still waiting for the day when power issue is no longer a concern but until that day comes, I like to save every last  ounce of power to make my iPhone last longer. 

Tablets Equal Today's Netbooks?

For many years after Apple introdued the iPad, sales were increasing at a rate that eclipsed even some of the best selling smartphones during their early days.  It was thought that the PC market would die of a quick death after the failure of the netbooks and there was no answer from the PC guys for tablets like the Galaxy.  Microsoft's own misguided attempt with the Windows RT versions seemed to have put to bed the dominance of the Android and iOS in the tablet market.  Windows was in trouble as PC sales slowed.

Well, not so fast.  The PC market did continue to decline for years but lately has shown some resilience and growth in some market even as the general world-wide sale has dropped.  It was mainly due to Asus (Gartner).

However, it doesn't seem like people who stopped buying PCs are replacing them with tablets either.  Hence, this is likely why the smartphone market continue to experience robust sales with annual upgrades. 

Now, the question is whether the tablet market is experiencing a netbook effect, albeit at a much slower place and likely won't go away entirely.  Tablets today a much cheaper than when they first came out and with better mobile and touch experiences.  And they are generally used for consuming media.  So, it is not as if upgrading tablets annually or even every 2-3 years is absolutely necessary. 

One could look it it this way:  either tablets are built to last longer than most companies expect or that there generally has been a lack of innovation in that market.  For instance, there is no reason why tablets with bigger form factors should not have just as good as cameras as their smartphone counter parts.  Go ahead, just charge more for it, Apple and Samsung.  And while Apple spent the last couple of years playing catch up with the pencil support with the iPad Pro, there has not been any notable innovation in the Android market either.  If anything, it's the integration of Google Play into Chrome OS that is most exciting but that had been anticipated for years. (Google)

So, there is still a chance that the tablet market can return to some growth but expericene has shown that it'll be overshadowed by smartphones and possibly gears that support augmented reality or virtual reality (unless tablet markers find a way to support AR/VR) and a PC market that just won't go away.  Growth will could come but slowly and the prominence of tablets of yesteryear will never return.  But hey, what company does not want to sell a few tens of millions of tablet each year?

Social: Fake News Ads Still Being Fed?

With the influence fake news had in the 2016 US election and now in places like France, one has to assume that social media and ad giants will  done more to prevent fake knees from seeping onto the We and search engines.

Unfortunately, this is what I saw this morning when I went onto the Yahoo new site.



Now, I don't know what bombshell Mark Zuckerberg's wife might have dropped or what those rumors are but you would think this is an issue for Zuckerberg should a similar ad appear on Facebook or if such ads about Google's CEO or founders ended up on Google's search results.

This is why while I think fake news are a concern to Silicon Valley, it is overshadowed by the profit they bring in for them.

You only have to look to the EU elections and pending elections and see what a concern they have for fake news.