1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,490 (notification bell dings) - [Jonathan] Do you remember what you were doing in 2014? 2 00:00:06,490 --> 00:00:10,863 I was 25 and bored. 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,000 God, that was seven years ago. Man, how time flies. 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,420 But there is a milestone from 2014 worth noting 5 00:00:18,420 --> 00:00:21,730 because it's when this came out. It's the iPad Air 2. 6 00:00:21,730 --> 00:00:27,270 And despite its age, it will be getting the latest iOS 15 update in the fall. 7 00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:31,470 That makes it the longest supported iOS device in Apple's history. 8 00:00:31,470 --> 00:00:35,150 So that's through eight generations. 9 00:00:35,150 --> 00:00:38,490 And on the iPhone, the six-year-old 6s and SE 10 00:00:38,490 --> 00:00:43,200 will get the update as well. That's frankly, unprecedented in this segment. 11 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:48,260 It shows how Apple's tight integration of software and hardware really stretches the longevity 12 00:00:48,260 --> 00:00:53,550 of their products. And I thought it might be a neat way to get a taste of what's to come in iOS 15, 13 00:00:53,550 --> 00:00:58,563 before it gets released in the fall. So let's see how these devices run with the latest beta. 14 00:01:02,203 --> 00:01:06,400 (drawer slides) (objects rattling) 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,380 There it is. For comparison's sake, let's look at Android. 16 00:01:11,380 --> 00:01:16,650 Google announced their latest version, version 12 of their mobile software this summer too. 17 00:01:16,650 --> 00:01:20,410 And when it gets released in the fall, the oldest supported device that I knew of 18 00:01:20,410 --> 00:01:24,200 will probably be this, the Pixel 3. 19 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:29,010 It came out three years ago in 2018. Now, that year, I can remember a little bit better 20 00:01:29,010 --> 00:01:31,923 because I moved to Winnipeg. 21 00:01:34,180 --> 00:01:38,700 Nevertheless, Pixel phones have been reliably getting updates for three years now, 22 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:42,880 because Google committed to it. Get any other Android phone and chances are, 23 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,963 you'll get one update, if you're lucky. 24 00:01:47,140 --> 00:01:50,550 With the iPhone, only the original got three years of updates, 25 00:01:50,550 --> 00:01:55,290 everything released after got more, but that didn't mean they got all the fancy new features 26 00:01:55,290 --> 00:01:59,280 included in their updates. And so, there are a few things admitted 27 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,680 from the iOS 15 update for these devices too. 28 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:08,000 Fancy 3d maps and turn-by-turn navigation, no live text recognition and no spatial audio 29 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,623 in FaceTime calls among other things. That's fine. 30 00:02:11,623 --> 00:02:16,520 And we'll dig into those when the software gets released, make sure to stay subscribed for that. 31 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:22,120 The question is how does the iOS 15 update run on these aging devices? 32 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,970 Rather well, I must say. These are both old devices though. 33 00:02:25,970 --> 00:02:30,210 So there are slightly slower loading times here and occasional stutters there, 34 00:02:30,210 --> 00:02:33,660 but it's not unusable like an iPad 2 with iOS 9. 35 00:02:33,660 --> 00:02:37,280 I'm still waiting for that picture of the dress to load. Apparently, it's white and gold? 36 00:02:38,590 --> 00:02:44,570 If you're worried about any of the update slowdowns we remember from the past, (coughs) battery gate, (coughs) 37 00:02:44,570 --> 00:02:50,510 I wouldn't worry too much about it with this one. After over a week running both of these devices, 38 00:02:50,510 --> 00:02:54,410 they don't seem to run all that much slower than equivalents running iOS 14. 39 00:02:54,410 --> 00:02:58,370 Appearance-wise, the operating system is still as flat and plain as ever. 40 00:02:58,370 --> 00:03:02,310 On the iPad, one can now add large widgets to the home screen, which is nice, 41 00:03:02,310 --> 00:03:07,150 and multitasking is a little bit more discoverable. There are three dots on the top of open apps 42 00:03:07,150 --> 00:03:10,330 that allow you to move Windows to split view or slide over. 43 00:03:10,330 --> 00:03:15,080 Generally speaking, it works well on this iPad Air 2, but if you do try to web browse, 44 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,600 while watching a YouTube video, you'll hear some stutters. 45 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,920 The most annoying thing happens regardless of what iPad you're using, 46 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:24,783 because look what happens when you miss the button. 47 00:03:28,850 --> 00:03:32,320 Mercifully, it's much easier now to add apps into slide over 48 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:37,890 because before, you could only add apps available in the dock, which was a royal pain to deal with. 49 00:03:37,890 --> 00:03:42,260 Here's what you had to do. Close the open app, then open the app you want to have in slide over 50 00:03:42,260 --> 00:03:46,840 to put it in the recent three on the dock, then close that up, then reopen the original app, 51 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,190 and then drag the new app into slide over. 52 00:03:50,190 --> 00:03:54,207 Now, though, all apps are available on an app library located on the dock. 53 00:03:54,207 --> 00:03:56,790 (upbeat music) 54 00:03:58,010 --> 00:04:04,410 Now how about old iPhones? In iOS 15, many inputs no longer span across the screen. 55 00:04:04,410 --> 00:04:10,040 The group together in rounded squares, like in the classic iOS days, only with less definition. 56 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:13,560 It's not so bad, except that borders take up so much space 57 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,220 on this SE. So that in-apps like calendar, 58 00:04:17,220 --> 00:04:20,510 critical information, like the date gets truncated. 59 00:04:20,510 --> 00:04:27,150 Why don't you prioritize the year? Now, there is a solution in iOS 15 to help with that. 60 00:04:27,150 --> 00:04:31,150 It's a feature that lets you adjust the text size on an app by app basis. 61 00:04:31,150 --> 00:04:36,530 So by adding this aA button in the control center, I can shrink the text in only the calendar app 62 00:04:36,530 --> 00:04:40,470 to 85% to fit the date. Great. 63 00:04:40,470 --> 00:04:45,880 But I'm not the only one who nitpicks Apple's design decisions to this degree. 64 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,810 One of the biggest changes with iOS 15 is with Safari. 65 00:04:49,810 --> 00:04:53,580 They've moved the address bar to the bottom, and now you can swipe between tabs. 66 00:04:53,580 --> 00:04:59,520 Yay! Another swipe gesture! But this final design came after many weeks of outrage 67 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:05,290 from the community. I'll explain what happened right after thanking this video's sponsor, Privacy. 68 00:05:05,290 --> 00:05:09,740 You know when you wanna try software or service and they're like, "Please give us your credit card." 69 00:05:09,740 --> 00:05:13,760 And you know you're gonna forget to cancel when the trial finishes and incur a charge. 70 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,840 Well, Privacy is a service that lets you set up virtual credit cards 71 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:20,010 with way more security and control than conventional cards. 72 00:05:20,010 --> 00:05:23,820 That means you can set up a single-use card with a $1 limit for trials, 73 00:05:23,820 --> 00:05:28,640 or just set up another to use when online shopping. Head to privacy.com/macaddress 74 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,010 to get $5 off your first purchase. Now, where was I? 75 00:05:32,010 --> 00:05:36,530 Ah, Safari. When it was unveiled at WWDC back in June, 76 00:05:36,530 --> 00:05:40,870 everything was to be compacted into one interface row on all platforms. 77 00:05:40,870 --> 00:05:46,810 What was problematic about this design was that it required too many buttons and options to be hidden in an all-encompassing submenu, 78 00:05:46,810 --> 00:05:50,460 like the junk drawer in your foyer. So things were hard to find. 79 00:05:50,460 --> 00:05:53,660 And when Apple tried reintroducing the buttons back into the floating orb, 80 00:05:53,660 --> 00:05:58,490 it got real crowded real quick. That and the fact that a floating pill shape 81 00:05:58,490 --> 00:06:01,940 flooded over many website's bottom interface buttons. 82 00:06:01,940 --> 00:06:05,820 Ultimately, the current interface is much like it was before all of this, 83 00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:10,660 but I'm still a little bothered by the way tabs look on iPad OS and macOS. 84 00:06:10,660 --> 00:06:16,410 They're contained in these weird and wide pill shapes that just waste space and make it hard to tell what's open. 85 00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:20,680 Tab groups are the big new feature in Safari and it lets tab fiends organize their tabs 86 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:25,570 better into groups with titles, et cetera. You can even turn your clusters of already open tabs 87 00:06:25,570 --> 00:06:30,690 into a group to get them out of the way. Now, they're supposed to be syncing across devices, 88 00:06:30,690 --> 00:06:36,480 but the tab groups that I've made on my iPad aren't showing up on my iPhone and vice versa. 89 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:40,200 So beta bugs? (notification bell dings) 90 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:47,320 Oh yeah, notifications. There are new focus and notification settings in iOS 15 91 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:51,180 that provide you an interesting way to better manage your notifications 92 00:06:51,180 --> 00:06:55,530 for the different states you might be in. So when you set up the work state, 93 00:06:55,530 --> 00:06:58,640 you could choose what apps and people can make your phone chime. 94 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,670 You can also set up custom pages on the home screen full of apps 95 00:07:01,670 --> 00:07:05,620 that you'd only use at work and make it visible only during work time. 96 00:07:05,620 --> 00:07:10,740 It appears to be a more customizable and robust version of Apple's Do Not Disturb feature. 97 00:07:10,740 --> 00:07:15,050 The default focus states are driving, sleep, personal and work. 98 00:07:15,050 --> 00:07:18,340 You can choose who disturbs you and when, or even where, 99 00:07:18,340 --> 00:07:22,240 and then label it for the times and states of your life when this would be handy. 100 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:27,620 So a work focus is good to make sure only colleagues and apps that you use at work notify you. 101 00:07:27,620 --> 00:07:31,060 Though, it's a little tedious to have to go through one's contact list 102 00:07:31,060 --> 00:07:34,120 to choose the right people for that focus. 103 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:40,253 Like all your work colleagues in work, friends for personal and study buddies for study? 104 00:07:41,290 --> 00:07:44,683 A Select All toggle would also be really nice here. 105 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,650 My personal problem with this is FOMO. I always get the feeling that I'm missing out 106 00:07:49,650 --> 00:07:54,180 on something important when I'm in my work focus mode, which turns on automatically 107 00:07:54,180 --> 00:07:59,730 whenever I arrive at the office. But I guess, that's what this feature is all about anyway, 108 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:03,330 isn't it? You do get a while in focus notification 109 00:08:03,330 --> 00:08:07,310 in your Notification Center during those times. I think it'll be useful, 110 00:08:07,310 --> 00:08:12,140 even though it might be yet another thing to maintain as life flows. 111 00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:16,500 Now there are a lot of apps on iPhone that send you notifications right away 112 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:19,790 when you really don't care, but Apple's notification summary feature 113 00:08:19,790 --> 00:08:23,320 might be a good solution for that. There are a lot of apps 114 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:27,820 that you probably don't want bugging you every day. So you can put them in the notification summary, 115 00:08:27,820 --> 00:08:30,880 which can be scheduled to pop up once or more times a day 116 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:36,120 to show you what you missed. But this doesn't solve the most infamous notification problem. 117 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:40,130 The sharing economy. You know those apps where you require instant notifications, 118 00:08:40,130 --> 00:08:43,793 like when you're getting your meal delivered, but you don't need to know about the 5% off deal- 119 00:08:43,793 --> 00:08:46,960 (notification bell dings) Right now, really? 120 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,170 I tried notification summary by turning on all of the apps 121 00:08:50,170 --> 00:08:54,610 I previously had off to see what I'd get. And after a few days, I have to say, 122 00:08:54,610 --> 00:08:57,870 it's just as annoying as using notifications 123 00:08:57,870 --> 00:09:03,680 that would normally appear on the lock screen. Easier to clear perhaps, but I'm just turning this off. 124 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:07,310 Oh, and look here. I have two sub levels in notifications 125 00:09:07,310 --> 00:09:11,418 where my While in Work Focus contains my notification summary. 126 00:09:11,418 --> 00:09:15,900 (Jonathan laughs) I feel like notifications are somehow more complicated than ever. 127 00:09:15,900 --> 00:09:19,120 Perhaps, the defaults will lead you into a more manageable life. 128 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,710 And there are plenty of options for power users, but I don't know, 129 00:09:22,710 --> 00:09:25,410 I just feel like my mom's gonna avoid all this anyway. 130 00:09:26,968 --> 00:09:29,718 (tranquil music) 131 00:09:32,350 --> 00:09:36,950 The quick obsolescence of technology has been an ongoing discussion for a while now, 132 00:09:36,950 --> 00:09:41,630 but using these two seemingly ancient devices over the past week with a beta version 133 00:09:41,630 --> 00:09:46,200 of the latest software, it shows that Apple's mobile devices are being given longer lifespans 134 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:51,590 than I ever expected them to get. This iPad Air 2 is impressively competent, 135 00:09:51,590 --> 00:09:55,640 even after all these years, but there is however one fly in the ointment 136 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,870 worth mentioning. While Apple's software support is unparalleled in its longevity, 137 00:10:00,870 --> 00:10:06,280 the hardware still has batteries, which aren't accessible and wear out quickly. 138 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:12,320 It would be nice to see the devices last equally as long in hardware as it does in software. 139 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:17,890 Otherwise, if you own an iPad Air 2 that you bought new and still working, 140 00:10:17,890 --> 00:10:21,860 you made a extremely good long-term purchase, 141 00:10:21,860 --> 00:10:23,823 all thanks to iOS 15. 142 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,823 Thanks for updating to this Mac Address. And since you made it this far, 143 00:10:28,823 --> 00:10:32,310 I think it means the video is worthy of a like, or even a subscribe. 144 00:10:32,310 --> 00:10:36,660 Now, one thing to note is that Apple plans to provide bug fixes 145 00:10:36,660 --> 00:10:41,760 and security updates to users who choose not to update to iOS 15, 146 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:45,910 so that means that you can update this old phone, 147 00:10:45,910 --> 00:10:47,933 but you don't necessarily have to.