That is the way Apple is with people who work for them. It's not the fault of Anand nor Brian at all. If they want to keep their positions there at Apple they have to keep quiet about what they do there.
Ian, Matt, and I are not responsible for GPU coverage here. The organization of AnandTech is such that each editor has their own area of coverage that they are responsible for. The recording and editing of this podcast does not have an impact on GPU coverage.
It would have been fine if they put USB-C and moved away from lightning entirely. At least it would have shown "courage" and would stop this walled garden proprietary nonsense.
Apple would not get third party royalties if they use the USB-C! Now, open up cable makers and headphone makers for lightning to USB-2.0 and tons of new licensing for Apple.
"Let's really, really hope" Does a statement like that not strike anyone as bizzare? coming from the actual writer himself? A podcast would have been an ideal place to explain why the review has been this late in the first place, as well as what is being done to expedite it. Instead we get the same vague messages of "cracking the whip" and "sleepless nights" that were made a month ago after the Note 7 review. This is exacerbated by the fact that Matt sent the same writer (with an "overdue" assignment) to cover two different press releases, further taking up his time that could have been used to complete the HTC 10 review. (which both of you are well aware people are still waiting for). Why add to Josh's sleepless nights?
On top of this, you intend to once again try the unsuccessful "two-part" approach? With a writer who will understandably be hard pressed to release either part 1 or 2 on time given his heavy loads at school? Would it not make sense to do what was done for the Note 7: a single, timely release?
Lastly, why not just head the Iphone review yourself Matt? After all it is the biggest phone story of this period, so it merits your direct efforts. Protect your writer from the constant badgering that comes with being assigned (virtually) ALL the smartphone flagships. Take Josh out of the line of fire, so to speak.
I know it is not the place of a (non-paying) reader to comment on your editorial decisions. But having observed your lack of urgent or even structural reaction to incredibly late reviews has truly boggled me. Whatever your work arrangements currently are, they do not appear geared towards predictable workflows and outcomes.
The constant reminders for the S7 and HTC 10 phones were seen as badgering. Consider that they were seldom responded to in any meaningful way ("soon") . Consider also that the people badgering put so much stock into an Anandtech review that they continue to pester you for it 4-5 months later. Consider, finally, that with every late review the pressure of reader expectation rachets up tremendously to unattainable levels. I simply cannot fathom why you let this state of affairs continue.
Josh is the senior smartphone editor, based in the Bay Are where most of the announcements are, but also still at school. Matt, while full time, is still new to the team, but getting up to speed. We've always said at anandtech that school comes first, but we are putting measures in place when that time is not available.
Be aware that one of the downsides of spreading the flagships around to multiple editors is in signal attenuation for LTE battery testing (poorer signal, different network, gives non comparable results) as well as camera testing (every review has a set of devices taking the same picture on the same day at practically the same time). If one editor does 3 flagships and another editor does three, and a third editor does one or two, sending it cross country/cross continent back and forth adds days to the testing, which when gunning for a day one review (like the Note7) isn't practically possible.
Also, on a two parter with the iPhone review. Testing that SoC takes TIME. Understanding how it works and deciphering it all in an unknown package is DIFFICULT. Some people don't care about the SoC, only about the device, so the review of the device as a user tool is first (as its easier than probing a black box). Ryan assists extensively with the second part, and we may have more than one device between us by then.
thank you for your reply. It has helped me better understand your review processes and how it adds to time.
If I hear you correctly, one reason why reviews take a long time is because of each writer having to mail your catalogue of phones around. e.g just the one iphone 6s being shared amongst 3 writers, each hoping to compare the iphone 6s to 3 different phones. Another reason there needs to be a merry-go-round of phones is that you want to compare the LTE signal fairly across different phones.
both of these make sense to me, and i thank you for the trouble involved. I also understand how the Iphone 7 two-parter will be different from the one done for the Samsung S7 earlier this year.
With that in mind, I do stand by my recommendation made here (and some months ago as well), that flagship phones be passed to the full-timers to review. This is in no way a slating of Josh's work. I can see why you let him do the flagships this year while Matt gets up to speed doing the "lesser" phones. However, offloading it to Matt soon will be one clear way towards avoiding the months-long wait. It will also provide a sense of variety in terms of tone and perspective to the phone reviews: i.e what may be boring or bad to one writer may not be to another.
I think it is unfortunate but true that Josh's reputation at a reviewer has suffered this year given the high-profile nature of his assignments. It is also true that the lateness of the S7/ HTC 10 reviews have led readers to question the impartiality of Anandtech itself. I am hopeful that your team will eventually find remedies to these problems of punctuality. it is Josh's name that goes on those reviews and he has had to take the heat for what may not be in his control. Solving these problems is important for his and Anandtech's reputation.
We hear you, don't worry. It's being discussed, particularly for H1 2017.
For full disclosure, AnandTech has always been a thin operation. We've actually increased full time staff under Purch. We have three full time staff (Ryan, Matt and I) plus the 7-10 freelancers. None of our freelancers are '24/7' Anandtech, with other duties outside the site. We will be looking to boost writer numbers in due course, especially as we have more review units available from mobile manufacturers we can handle. Same goes for the PC side.
A side note too, we do understand timeliness as a concept, contrary to what some readers think :) We've hit all major CPU launches on day one over the last two years, with every processor available at launch tested (Haswell x2, Devil's Canyon x3, Broadwell x2, Skylake x2, Haswell-E x3, Broadwell-E x4, the majority of AMD's one per month Godavari). Only one other site comes to mind who have matched the big launches in terms of CPU quantity, and our testing goes to many more degrees of freedom along with ranges of results from more previous generations for comparison than anyone. A small personal achievement of mine, which will be continued, and permeated into other PC/mobile areas :)
Word seems to be that it's a hard switchover between the cores, not HMP/allowing all cores on at once. Apple themselves said only two cores on at any one time, so like earlier big.LITTLE versions
There are waterproof, bigger battery (smaller size) phones with 3.5mm jack. You could already plugin lightning connecting headphone with earlier (3.5mm containing phones). Now you lose: ability to lose 3.5mm headphone easily. Ability to listen and charge the phone. Have to drag the dongle that will break/get lost/reduce sound quality. Or buy an external battery pack that has 3.5mm output and lightning connector (Mophie, do you hear this?).
The decision was stupid and I hope that it comes and bites Apple in the arse. All they are trying to do is to monetize their overpaid $3bn Beats purchase instead of writing down all the goodwill.
When I heard "maybe they're both wrong" he lost me completely. It's pretty clear that there is no benefit to removing the 3.5mm jack and is honestly a pretty draconian move. Yeah it's brave in the same way Trump encouraging people to exercise the 2nd ammendment on Hillary is brave.
Apple has a history of forcing the issue when they make this sort of change.
For instance, Intel's USB standard existed before the iMac, but when Apple released the iMac with USB ports the earlier Apple Desktop Bus ports as well as serial ports were removed.
Yeah but apple doesn't have a say in this issue. They aren't the entirety of all consumer electronic industries and the rest of the world isnn't going to drop a cheaper and by all metrics better solution. This is an apple only solution.
From a marketing standpoint - the term "retina" save Apple iPhone bacon time and time again! Who would of thought 750p in today's technology could triumph QHD resolution? Credit Apple marketing on this success. I think iPhone 4S had 720p and continued to the present! Still selling like crazy!
It would be very nice if Apple could bring the smaller size models to 1080p too! The 5 and 6 screens already have that capability, but they are limited by Apple to 720-750ppi.
I have some general feedback on this podcast. A number of times statements were made without adequate explanation to me, the listener. As if they were self-evident. A couple of examples I would have liked further explanation: why has Apple gone proper big.LITTLE now in A10?, why is Apple looking at OLED displays and what does that have to do with QHD?
Ian was pretty good about going back and explaining things but there were a few times I went "wait, what?".
I hope you guys go deeper in a further podcast, I'd enjoy an episode dedicated to iPhone 7.
I love the podcast. Just a minor suggestion. Is it possible to increase the audio level of the podcast?
I listen to it while driving. It is annoying to turn up the volume in order to hear the podcast and the GPS direction is blasting at the same time. Thanks :)
I donno why Anandtech licks Apple's b***s. And it is licking balls and nothing else. Every year Apple produces 2x faster chips.. yet being miserly with screen resolution. This has got to stop. If you ask the question 'So, What?' to every 2x upgrade you'll find it is basically meaningless except for high end games. IOS does not need these CPU increases. Better Battery life? Who cares. Fast charging? Nada. Apple is so out of touch with their customers.. except for ball lickers.. who never seem to let go. '2x' is Apple's favorite sales trap and Anandtech will predictably go into fits of nerdgasms in excitement. Take your podcast and shove it down. 2x as fast.
pav1 why are you so mean? The staff explained they are doing their best and go to great efforts to be fair and consistent. It has been explained many many times that OLED requires more pixels and therefore more powerful gpu and power consumption to get the same frame rates as a lesser resolution display. I think most people above the age of 40 cannot see the resolution improvement except perhaps in the case of asian character sets. iPhones can fast charge with the use of a larger iPad charger. As we all know the down side is less long term battery longevity and maybe fire in a defective or marginal battery. So perhaps before you spew off crude remarks you might instead attempt civility and a balanced nuanced and thoughtful comment.
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xTRICKYxx - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Always glad to see a new podcast episode!witeken - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
CMON guys. If you mention Anand, then why not tell us what he's doing up there. Is he the mastermind behind A10? Did the ditch the 3.5 mm audio jack?Ryan Smith - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
In all seriousness, whatever Anand is doing is top secret. I don't know, and no one else seems to know either.tipoo - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
I really hope Apple throws us nerds a bone one day and gets him on stage to explain something about a new chip :PWinterCharm - Sunday, October 2, 2016 - link
That would be amazing. :DJoshHo - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
I have never been told his position at Apple. I do not know any of this information. The same applies for Brian Klug.Dennis Travis - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
That is the way Apple is with people who work for them. It's not the fault of Anand nor Brian at all. If they want to keep their positions there at Apple they have to keep quiet about what they do there.powerarmour - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Yes, let's ditch all the indepth GPU reviews and do multiple Apple articles instead, our readers will love that eh?JoshHo - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Ian, Matt, and I are not responsible for GPU coverage here. The organization of AnandTech is such that each editor has their own area of coverage that they are responsible for. The recording and editing of this podcast does not have an impact on GPU coverage.quiksilvr - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
It would have been fine if they put USB-C and moved away from lightning entirely. At least it would have shown "courage" and would stop this walled garden proprietary nonsense.shabby - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Apple wouldn't be able to charge $30 for a usb-c cable then, think of the shareholders you commie!halcyon - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
"Tie all of our products together, so we further lock customers into our ecosystem."- Steve Jobs, 2011
It's about money, control and avoiding direct competition. Not free markets or giving users what they want.
Ranger1065 - Monday, September 19, 2016 - link
Well spoken halcyon...Apple fools take note of Conan O'Briens take on the classic CRAPple iPod advert.
Harry_Wild - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
Apple would not get third party royalties if they use the USB-C! Now, open up cable makers and headphone makers for lightning to USB-2.0 and tons of new licensing for Apple.Lau_Tech - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
"Let's really, really hope" Does a statement like that not strike anyone as bizzare? coming from the actual writer himself? A podcast would have been an ideal place to explain why the review has been this late in the first place, as well as what is being done to expedite it. Instead we get the same vague messages of "cracking the whip" and "sleepless nights" that were made a month ago after the Note 7 review. This is exacerbated by the fact that Matt sent the same writer (with an "overdue" assignment) to cover two different press releases, further taking up his time that could have been used to complete the HTC 10 review. (which both of you are well aware people are still waiting for). Why add to Josh's sleepless nights?On top of this, you intend to once again try the unsuccessful "two-part" approach? With a writer who will understandably be hard pressed to release either part 1 or 2 on time given his heavy loads at school? Would it not make sense to do what was done for the Note 7: a single, timely release?
Lastly, why not just head the Iphone review yourself Matt? After all it is the biggest phone story of this period, so it merits your direct efforts. Protect your writer from the constant badgering that comes with being assigned (virtually) ALL the smartphone flagships. Take Josh out of the line of fire, so to speak.
I know it is not the place of a (non-paying) reader to comment on your editorial decisions. But having observed your lack of urgent or even structural reaction to incredibly late reviews has truly boggled me. Whatever your work arrangements currently are, they do not appear geared towards predictable workflows and outcomes.
The constant reminders for the S7 and HTC 10 phones were seen as badgering. Consider that they were seldom responded to in any meaningful way ("soon") . Consider also that the people badgering put so much stock into an Anandtech review that they continue to pester you for it 4-5 months later. Consider, finally, that with every late review the pressure of reader expectation rachets up tremendously to unattainable levels. I simply cannot fathom why you let this state of affairs continue.
fanta666 - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
on April 12,2016 Josh promised HTC 10 in-depth review will be out soon. Its been 5 months now, clearly shows how this site has degenerated post Anand.Ranger1065 - Monday, September 19, 2016 - link
Rust in peace anandtech.Ian Cutress - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Josh is the senior smartphone editor, based in the Bay Are where most of the announcements are, but also still at school. Matt, while full time, is still new to the team, but getting up to speed. We've always said at anandtech that school comes first, but we are putting measures in place when that time is not available.Be aware that one of the downsides of spreading the flagships around to multiple editors is in signal attenuation for LTE battery testing (poorer signal, different network, gives non comparable results) as well as camera testing (every review has a set of devices taking the same picture on the same day at practically the same time). If one editor does 3 flagships and another editor does three, and a third editor does one or two, sending it cross country/cross continent back and forth adds days to the testing, which when gunning for a day one review (like the Note7) isn't practically possible.
Also, on a two parter with the iPhone review. Testing that SoC takes TIME. Understanding how it works and deciphering it all in an unknown package is DIFFICULT. Some people don't care about the SoC, only about the device, so the review of the device as a user tool is first (as its easier than probing a black box). Ryan assists extensively with the second part, and we may have more than one device between us by then.
Lau_Tech - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Hi Ian,thank you for your reply. It has helped me better understand your review processes and how it adds to time.
If I hear you correctly, one reason why reviews take a long time is because of each writer having to mail your catalogue of phones around. e.g just the one iphone 6s being shared amongst 3 writers, each hoping to compare the iphone 6s to 3 different phones. Another reason there needs to be a merry-go-round of phones is that you want to compare the LTE signal fairly across different phones.
both of these make sense to me, and i thank you for the trouble involved. I also understand how the Iphone 7 two-parter will be different from the one done for the Samsung S7 earlier this year.
With that in mind, I do stand by my recommendation made here (and some months ago as well), that flagship phones be passed to the full-timers to review. This is in no way a slating of Josh's work. I can see why you let him do the flagships this year while Matt gets up to speed doing the "lesser" phones. However, offloading it to Matt soon will be one clear way towards avoiding the months-long wait. It will also provide a sense of variety in terms of tone and perspective to the phone reviews: i.e what may be boring or bad to one writer may not be to another.
I think it is unfortunate but true that Josh's reputation at a reviewer has suffered this year given the high-profile nature of his assignments. It is also true that the lateness of the S7/ HTC 10 reviews have led readers to question the impartiality of Anandtech itself. I am hopeful that your team will eventually find remedies to these problems of punctuality. it is Josh's name that goes on those reviews and he has had to take the heat for what may not be in his control. Solving these problems is important for his and Anandtech's reputation.
Ian Cutress - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
We hear you, don't worry. It's being discussed, particularly for H1 2017.For full disclosure, AnandTech has always been a thin operation. We've actually increased full time staff under Purch. We have three full time staff (Ryan, Matt and I) plus the 7-10 freelancers. None of our freelancers are '24/7' Anandtech, with other duties outside the site. We will be looking to boost writer numbers in due course, especially as we have more review units available from mobile manufacturers we can handle. Same goes for the PC side.
A side note too, we do understand timeliness as a concept, contrary to what some readers think :) We've hit all major CPU launches on day one over the last two years, with every processor available at launch tested (Haswell x2, Devil's Canyon x3, Broadwell x2, Skylake x2, Haswell-E x3, Broadwell-E x4, the majority of AMD's one per month Godavari). Only one other site comes to mind who have matched the big launches in terms of CPU quantity, and our testing goes to many more degrees of freedom along with ranges of results from more previous generations for comparison than anyone. A small personal achievement of mine, which will be continued, and permeated into other PC/mobile areas :)
Pissedoffyouth - Monday, September 19, 2016 - link
Now that Andrei has left, do you still plan on doing a Snapdragon 820 deep dive?tipoo - Friday, September 16, 2016 - link
Word seems to be that it's a hard switchover between the cores, not HMP/allowing all cores on at once. Apple themselves said only two cores on at any one time, so like earlier big.LITTLE versionshalcyon - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
> 33:09 - Benefits of no jack,There are no benefits.
There are waterproof, bigger battery (smaller size) phones with 3.5mm jack. You could already plugin lightning connecting headphone with earlier (3.5mm containing phones). Now you lose: ability to lose 3.5mm headphone easily. Ability to listen and charge the phone. Have to drag the dongle that will break/get lost/reduce sound quality. Or buy an external battery pack that has 3.5mm output and lightning connector (Mophie, do you hear this?).
The decision was stupid and I hope that it comes and bites Apple in the arse. All they are trying to do is to monetize their overpaid $3bn Beats purchase instead of writing down all the goodwill.
willis936 - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
When I heard "maybe they're both wrong" he lost me completely. It's pretty clear that there is no benefit to removing the 3.5mm jack and is honestly a pretty draconian move. Yeah it's brave in the same way Trump encouraging people to exercise the 2nd ammendment on Hillary is brave.BillBear - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Apple has a history of forcing the issue when they make this sort of change.For instance, Intel's USB standard existed before the iMac, but when Apple released the iMac with USB ports the earlier Apple Desktop Bus ports as well as serial ports were removed.
willis936 - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
Yeah but apple doesn't have a say in this issue. They aren't the entirety of all consumer electronic industries and the rest of the world isnn't going to drop a cheaper and by all metrics better solution. This is an apple only solution.Kolmogoro - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
I am pretty sure that the additional ram in 7 plus is somehow related to Anand working there.BillBear - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
The rumor was that it was needed for the faux bokeh effect, when they combine images from both camera sensors.syxbit - Saturday, September 17, 2016 - link
Can you add your podcast to Google Play Music. It will be much easier to listen to on the goHarry_Wild - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
From a marketing standpoint - the term "retina" save Apple iPhone bacon time and time again! Who would of thought 750p in today's technology could triumph QHD resolution? Credit Apple marketing on this success. I think iPhone 4S had 720p and continued to the present! Still selling like crazy!MScrip - Sunday, September 18, 2016 - link
It still sells like crazy because it still looks great. I've never looked at an iPhone and thought it looked bad.Don't forget that the iPhone's screens are 326ppi and 401ppi.
That's still pretty darn good for a handheld device... even though other phones may have a higher number.
Harry_Wild - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
It would be very nice if Apple could bring the smaller size models to 1080p too! The 5 and 6 screens already have that capability, but they are limited by Apple to 720-750ppi.MrMaestro - Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - link
I have some general feedback on this podcast. A number of times statements were made without adequate explanation to me, the listener. As if they were self-evident. A couple of examples I would have liked further explanation: why has Apple gone proper big.LITTLE now in A10?, why is Apple looking at OLED displays and what does that have to do with QHD?Ian was pretty good about going back and explaining things but there were a few times I went "wait, what?".
I hope you guys go deeper in a further podcast, I'd enjoy an episode dedicated to iPhone 7.
Cliff34 - Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - link
I love the podcast. Just a minor suggestion. Is it possible to increase the audio level of the podcast?I listen to it while driving. It is annoying to turn up the volume in order to hear the podcast and the GPS direction is blasting at the same time. Thanks :)
pav1 - Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - link
I donno why Anandtech licks Apple's b***s. And it is licking balls and nothing else. Every year Apple produces 2x faster chips.. yet being miserly with screen resolution. This has got to stop. If you ask the question 'So, What?' to every 2x upgrade you'll find it is basically meaningless except for high end games. IOS does not need these CPU increases. Better Battery life? Who cares. Fast charging? Nada. Apple is so out of touch with their customers.. except for ball lickers.. who never seem to let go. '2x' is Apple's favorite sales trap and Anandtech will predictably go into fits of nerdgasms in excitement. Take your podcast and shove it down. 2x as fast.Featherinmycap - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
pav1 why are you so mean? The staff explained they are doing their best and go to great efforts to be fair and consistent. It has been explained many many times that OLED requires more pixels and therefore more powerful gpu and power consumption to get the same frame rates as a lesser resolution display. I think most people above the age of 40 cannot see the resolution improvement except perhaps in the case of asian character sets. iPhones can fast charge with the use of a larger iPad charger. As we all know the down side is less long term battery longevity and maybe fire in a defective or marginal battery. So perhaps before you spew off crude remarks you might instead attempt civility and a balanced nuanced and thoughtful comment.