Tag: iPhone

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advice and tips Life Tips

eSIM app for travel

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I am aware of two right now. They provide cellular data for travel. I haven’t personally used them yet, but may try out later on as I see fit.

MobiMatter (official website; reddit)

Sally (Reddit; heard it from Teacher Mike YT video 1st)

And one to avoid: I bumped into this junk 易博通 eSender last summer, when we were traveling in China mainland and HK. We were hoping to get a mainland mobile phone number for 网约车 rider share car services. After spending some money and back and forth with the customer service, we realized it’s a scam. We found it because they advertised heavily on WeChat.

Other choices:

International roaming

T-Mobile roaming: heard good things about them. Quite a few friends used their international roaming in CHN.

MintMobile International Roaming (minternational pass): their price is quite competitive. Last year I used their pass for my summer trip. This year I may not need it as I am not going to Canada and HK this time. (Update 06/02/25) I still bought the 10 day pass with data due to technical difficulties of connecting to gmail via other means. One thing to note: it cannot be used as hotspot for the MacBook. So in other words, I still need to find other ways if I need to use Gmail on my MacBook (not super critical if I have Gmail on my iPhone).

And I already got a China SIM card. Btw, MintMobile made Canada roaming free since summer/fall of last year.

Side note: from iPhone 14 on, the iPhones sold in the USA no longer have physical SIM card slot (they have eSIM instead). Meanwhile in CHN, a physical SIM card is still needed for a mobile phone – that’s one reason you may consider bring an iPhone 13 or older if you travel to CHN. The reason you may need a mobile phone number is it’s required if you plan to get a Uber 网约车 in CHN. Taxis sometimes are not available and many taxi drivers drive for 网约车平台 too. In that case the two eSIM apps may not be sufficient for you. Because all you have is a mobile phone number outside of CHN which will not work for 网约车。

Note: I still receive spam calls on mint mobile when I travel – and they call during the night, the carrier could not mark them as “spam likely”. This is true for China Unicom SIM card too (the spammers call during the day).

Verizon TravelPass: much more expensive than MintMobile

Note for all the options above, you can get to Google etc. without doing anything special, just like you are in HK.

VPN: obviously you still need your own internet, usually it means Wi-Fi. This may be handy if you need to get to YT or Netflix, because you would likely burn through whatever your data plan fairly quickly if you stream.

Categories
401k and Personal Finance advice and tips gadgets

Cheaper iPhone deals

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I’m talking about the unlocked iPhones. Because I don’t think the carrier promotions are “cheap” in the sense they usually make the money back from the monthly fees, and then more.

I can think of a few places, some are probably cheaper, but I am not 100% sure about the quality (especially the battery life for the refurbished iPhones). Below are the two places that I trust.

New iPhones at Apple, SE and 14 are two cheaper choices. Personally I think 15 or 16 are probably the better deals.

If one has the Chase sapphire or freedom credit cards and has some Ultimate Rewards (UR) points to spare, from time to time they have promotions for Apple products in the redemption center. It’s another way to get brand new iPhone. Note this may not be the most cost effective way to burn the UR points. But if they do promotion: it means 1 point is worth 1.25 cent during the redemption. If you travel, and could use the UR points, try to use the points there as 1 point is usually worth 2 cents or more there.

Personally I have used UR points for a few iPhones in last few years.

Refurbished

In the order of quality guarantee (top to bottom).

Refurbished iPhone at Apple: it seems they don’t have a lot of iPhones in stock now. Most are the larger or pro models (which are usually more expensive).

Other two places I am aware of refurbished iPhone: eBay and Amazon.

This somewhat reminds me of the preowned certified Toyotas I bought in year 2013 and year 2022.

Insurance

Do we need insurance? I usually insure it by myself (you may read this post if you have some time). Personally if I need insurance: I would buy from Apple instead of the carrier.

But this again reminds me of the one time I bought the “extended warranty” for my 2012 Toyota Sienna (preowned certified) from the dealer. Most of those are not necessary. In the case of iPhone, no pun intended, buy a good case from Amazon is probably the only insurance you need.

Comparing iPad Air and regular iPad – Update 01-04-2025

deals (dealsea iPad) – I end up bought the 11-inch iPad Air from Amazon. It should come in about 10 days and I plan to use it for Kindle, Apple Intelligence etc.

Reddit – iPad Air vs iPad

Google – iPad Air vs iPad

Apple – Compare iPad Models

Categories
gadgets Life Tips

Mobile phone carriers I have used in recent years and couple I am considering

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T-Mobile

I think I started using T-Mobile probably from year 2012, ever since my 2-year contract with AT&T ended. I got the 2-year contract when I bought iPhone 4 at the Apple Store in fall 2010.

H2O

Note with T-Mobile, I did not sign up the data plan. And In year 2014, I started looking at prepaid data plans (with some call minutes, and text messages included), and found H2O.

Mint Mobile

I don’t recall how exactly I found Mint Mobile, probably because I realized it’s cheaper than H2O. and I decided to switch. That was probably in year 2019. I don’t have complaints with them with 3 exceptions:

1. Their coverage which is about same as T-Mobile (in some areas the coverage is not as good as AT&T or Verizon), also because T-Mobile recently bought Mint Mobile, so I don’t expect them to improve.

2. In one or two occasions, it seems their meter went wrong, because essentially my data was quickly used up as soon as I received the new pot of data for the month. Tried to chat with the customer service via the app, and it was not very helpful either.

3. They don’t support Apple Watch Cellular. And it sounds like they won’t support it in the future either because this is a prepaid plan – they want their profit margin and so on.

International Roaming

They have launched this product called Minternational Pass. And I used it recently in my recent China trip (to be precise, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Mainland China). It’s working for the most part, the nice thing is it’s about $2 or $3 per day, which is much cheaper than the Visible Global Pass or Verizon international roaming (which is $10 a day; $5 day in Canada and Mexico). Note Mint Mobile recently included Canada roaming for free. So if we only talk about the international roaming, Mint Mobile is cheaper. But we also keep in mind the length of the international travel, as well as the country.

Apple Watch Cellular

I found the below 2 carriers when I was doing research for my Apple Watch cellular, and potentially for my 10-year standalone Apple Watch Cellular. I think I may switch myself from Mint Mobile to one of the two below, so that I can travel or go out with my watch only, from time to time.

Visible

I found this one from the Apple discussion forum thread. It sounds like they are the only prepaid carrier supports Apple Watch Cellular.

C Spire

It seems we have to buy Apple Watch from them (as opposed to Visible we can bring our own watch). They do have a nice section about kids using watch or phone (around safety etc.).

Last but not least, Apple Watch for Your Kids (Apple website).

Update 05-05-2025: I heard from a friend that US Cellular offers standalone Apple Watch Cellular plan. Note it was mentioned in the Apple Website above too.

Categories
gadgets

Does iPhone make you happy?

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Dynamic Island on newer iPhones

I think this is true for my 13-year-old. Yesterday evening I gave my 2-year-old iPhone 12 to her after I migrated everything to my new iPhone 15. And she was happy to see the missed text messages (friend’s b-day party invitations), and the never-ending YT Shorts 🙂

Again I am thankful that she accidentally broke it so I can enjoy 15 a few months earlier. My original plan is to get it around Christmas. A tangible difference is the new phone has a new battery and it can last a bit longer 🙂

There are a lot of talks and a lot of worried parents on the endless scroll of TikTok and YT Shorts. Instagram and Snapchat. I think consume everything (or most everything) in moderation. Perhaps alcohol is something I should be more careful 🙂

This morning, after I did the Math Fact Scholars at my 9-year-old’s school, my phone started to play music, and it’s the “moments” in the iPhone photo app, featuring the families (kids) in the forest park over the years (goes back to 2016, or more). That’s also one reason I came back to my iPhone in year 2016. Btw, free career advice (or happiness advice): don’t switch smartphone when you start a new job 🙂 A side note: my 1st boss at the credit card co likes to use the word “career” for “career level”. Personally I felt I learned quite a bit while at the credit card co: one is to be myself (not to be someone else); another one is “career” is overrated. Personal health and family are much more important. I learned (or realized) that I was about to be laid off at about 15 minutes before my meeting with my 2nd boss and the HR people there: after I worked my tail off (or pull all the stops, take your pick) for them 🙁

Recently I hear something like this: engineers (and scientists) make things, artist (designers) sell things (think Steve Jobs and Job Ives, the designer of many things Apple over the years).

PS: think more about the “happiness” that was recently talked about by Lorna at the college application seminar. I think pleasant surprises (e.g., the moments in the iPhone photo app) or simple things (think the Amazon package box is a good example) are two sources. I do agree with what Lorna said: my 9-year-old won’t have long-term interest in toys such as the remote cars. She can play with it for a day or 2 before I can start thinking about selling it on eBay.

Accessories I bought for my new iPhone 15

Note: below are Amazon links, but I am not receiving any commissions from them 🙂

Apple iPhone 15 Silicone Case with MagSafe – Black: I paid about $25 for this at Amazon.com ​​​​​​​ (this is Apple office accessory and is also available both at apple.com and store, at a bit higher price)

Apple EarPods Headphones with USB-C Plug, Wired Ear Buds with Built-in Remote to Control Music, Phone Calls, and Volume (same price at apple.com) – I know I know, some may question: why wired EarPods in todays’ post AirPods world? Good question. I think EarPods do have some advantages over AirPods: especially if we don’t need to run or jog, or walk around the room during a tele conference or a Zoom meeting. Plus it uses less battery from an iPhone (again it uses wire instead bluetooth), for that matter, sometimes the AirPods run out of battery too.

Anker USB C Charger Cable [2 Pack, 6ft], 310 Type C Charger Cable Fast Charging, Braided USB A to USB C Cable for Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Note 9/S10+ S10, LG V30 (USB 2.0, Black)

Btw, my 9 year old wasn’t too thrilled with the “dynamic island” feature on my new iPhone 15: I haven’t asked her why yet 🙂

Dynamic Island on newer iPhones

Categories
gadgets

Bought iPhone 15

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(Update 11-11-2023) I got the new iPhone 15. In the process of setting it up. So far fairly smooth, in terms of transferring the content over from my old iPhone 12. The only minor hiccup is the eSim (Wikipedia, Apple) on the new phone: I went inside the Mint Mobile app and did it. I was using the good old physical SIM (nano-SIM) on iPhone 12. I am aware of the eSIM, but I didn’t jump into it with the iPhone 12. Now iPhone 15 phased out the physical SIM completely: outside of China though. In China, the iPhone 15 sold there will still have physical SIM, from what I heard.

On Monday I am going to call the IT support at my company to get the Microsoft Authenticator and RSA SecurID work. Interestingly, the Google Authenticator allows me to export from old device, and import them into the new device – pretty slick.

(Update 11-10-2023) Now it seems the phone will arrive on Monday 11/13/2023 pm per Chase. This also means my 13-year-old will likely get her phone (meaning my current iPhone 12) on Tuesday. I asked her: does everybody (at LMS) have an iPhone? She said yes (maybe some exaggeration? I don’t know). She said she missed a few text messages 🙂 I told her I got my 1st cell phone when I was 29, a Nokia candy bar phone. It was the year 2000, it looks something like this, I think mine was bigger and not as sleek. I remember I bought it at the Best Buy store on St. Charles Rock Road, and with the Southwestern Bell wireless contract in the fall of 2000 after I started to work in St. Louis. Southwestern Bell Wireless is a part of AT&T after many mergers and acquisitions. This used to be their HQ here in STL.

My plan of iPhone migration as of now (I track it via a google doc)

======

iPhone 15 coming Monday 11-13-2023

  • Got the case (Apple MegSafe, Amazon, some discount)
  • Continue to clean up current iPhone 12; also back up to the iCloud (later restored the new phone from iCloud backup)
  • Make sure Microsoft Authenticator, Google Authenticator and SecurID continue to work on the new phone
  • Tested iPhone 15 out before giving the iPhone 12 to kid

======

(Original) Thread on X here:

https://twitter.com/stlplace/status/1720499944237232306

I was going to buy the iPhone 15 for a while: but my daughter’s iPhone XR accident accelerated it.

My iPhone history

2009: iPhone 3G in January 2009 (I gave it to my wife, for the most part, I started doing iPhone app dev at the time – “In July I signed up for the Apple iOS developer program, paid the $99 annual fee and became more seriously on iOS app development. I have thought about it and bought a Macbook and iPhone 3G back in Jan 2009…“). || Btw, today 11-10-2023 I came across this video on YT, I Spent $40,000 to Unbox a Sealed Original iPhone!, by famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee. This reminds me of all the things about the iPhone 3G including Jailbreak: maybe I should not sold it on eBay and should have kept it a collector item. Related note: the viewership and the revenue from Marques channel seem much bigger than I thought earlier, just by looking at how much he spent (bidding) for the unsealed original 2007 iPhone.

2010: I think my 1st iPhone is 4: bought at the Apple West County store and it included the AT&T 2-year plan in fall 2010.

Those two (iPhone 3g and iPhone 4) are the only 2 contract phone I bought. By contract phone I mean we as consumer signed up a 2 year contract with the carrier, and we pay a monthly fee (usually not cheap) for the plan (both call/text and data).

I briefly had an iPhone 4s for work (2012 to early 2013).

2013: I bought an unlocked iPhone 5s after iPhone 4: Back To iPhone. Also this: How I Unlocked T-Mobile iPhone 5s And Transfer To H2O Wireless.

Between fall 2015 and early 2019, I had an iPhone 6 from work.

2019: for my own use, finally I bought an iPhone XR (link to eBay) in Oct 2019 (I returned the work iPhone 6 in early 2019) from Apple. This is the phone my 13-year-old broke this week. I sold iPhone 5s before that. Also note I used Amazon Fire Phone between 2015 and 2016.

2021 and 2023: in June 2021, I bought a purple iPhone 12 (eBay link) using Chase Ultimate Rewards (Chase Sapphire) in June 2021. This evening (11-03-2023) I just ordered a green iPhone 15. Interestingly, the points number is the same: both are 72,447 points. The only difference is last time I used points only, this time I didn’t have that many points so it’s a combination of points and cash (credit card). One minor tip is I probably should conserve the Chase Sapphire ultimate rewards points: I used it for “lightning to HDMI cable” and AirPods 3 redemptions recently. Probably should use other means for those.

If we count the iPhone 3G (which my wife used primarily and I used it for dev purpose), I personally have bought 5 iPhones. The first two iPhones have contract (both AT&T). And the last 3 are unlocked iPhones. For data plans, I used AT&T, H2O and now I am using MintMobile (recently bought by T-Mobile).

Photos

I backed up most of my photos from iPhone to iCloud, especially the recent ones. For the old ones, I backed them up to an old hard drive. And it’s slow to get to. Ideally, I like to clean up the photos (deleting duplicates, etc.) and continue using iCloud.

Another Android phone I used

Also Nexus One (Google)

I didn’t use them for long. Went back to the iPhone eventually, just like the Amazon Fire Phone.

PS: Marques Brownlee (famous YouTuber) has a good review on YouTube for iPhone 15.

Categories
Economy

Apple is the good guy in terms of containing the inflation

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Yesterday, with the launch of Apple’s new iPhone 15, some people noticed that Apple released a new USB C to lightning adapter. And, it’s going to cost $29 dollars. Such a rip-off 🙂

USB C to Lightning adapter

However, few people touted that Apple kept the iPhone 15 price the same as iPhone 14, while at the same time slashing the iPhone 14 price. See the chart at the beginning of the post. And yours truly ran two survey on the interest in buying iPhone 15 last week too.

09-06-2023 Survey
09-07-2023 Survey

We all know the Fed is printing money like a drunk sailor, and with the pandemic relief in 2020, etc., there is much more money lying around. And it’s the major factor that’s responsible for the US inflation.

Money printing by the US Fed

In some sense, the soaring housing price can be attributed to that. Below is a house in my neighborhood that just hit the market.

Full disclosure: I own a few shares of Apple stock $AAPL as of now 09-13-2023

Categories
iPhone app Life Life Tips

Keep fit

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I am trying to keep fit and I have been doing this for a while (before pandemic). This includes both the physical fit, weight and most recently, the iPhone addiction. Also as the weather is getting colder, and I am thinking doing a bit more swimming. Last but not least, I am thinking slowly going back to office: my office is about 5 minutes away.

About 5 years ago, I started running (joggling), initially doing a few 5K races. I still remember I ran out of breath quickly after running probably a few hundred yards. I did better and ran longer over the time, until I ran a half marathon with about 2 hours 23 minutes before the pandemic shutdown. Did a few 10k and 5K, and trail runs too. But since pandemic and reopen, I did not do as well as I thought and hoped. Due to various reasons. This year I did two half marathon: the Creve Coeur (near CC lake and the bridge to St. Charles Katy trail and back), and the St. Charles (near research park at Weldon Spring). I finished but the time is not as good as 2020. I also signed one or two races last year and this year, and eventually bailed out at the last minute. Last March (year 2021) was due to the 2nd Covid Vaccine shot, this Oct (2022) I did not do the Inns Brook HM at the last minute as I felt my right leg is not perfect the day before. I do have a few frost bite series paid for but not sure if I will do it this winter eventually.

Back to swimming

At the same time, I decided to go back to swim a bit since Sunday (this past weekend). I used to do it for a few years from 2012 to 2017, at local JCC. My initial reason for running in 2017 was mainly to make sure I don’t gain more weight. From year 2004 I gained quite a bit weight, probably from 135 lbs to 155 lbs. I did quite a bit Tae Kwon Do back in 2002 to 2004 and lost some weight. The tough part is to keep it that way. One good thing about swimming this time: now I have Apple Watch (series 5) and it can track swimming (previously between 2012 to 2017 I didn’t have something like that). The other day I did the steam room, it’s probably the 1st time I went back since pandemic. Once I was interviewing for jobs in Seattle (in early fall / Sept 2014), I decided against it one Saturday morning when I was enjoying the outdoor pool with my family.

Pandemic

Working from home is probably not the best for me as I am not best at disciplined myself in terms of snacking. That’s one reason I decided to go to office, another reason is to be more focused.

iPhone

It seem the screen time for me is just way too much. I am using 2 apps to help me: Off Screen and MiiDii clock. I paid $20 total for both. I like the gentle reminder from Off Screen regarding “don’t use phone when walking”, as well as “pickup challenge” (default limit is 50 times a day). Basically I need to get off WeChat and other frequent used apps.

Categories
advice and tips Fun

How to set bluetooth on Toyota Sienna minivan

Reading Time: < 1 minute2012 LE, basic radio.

Set the language from Spanish to English
(it says Corolla, but it works for Sienna as well, as they have very similar audio equipments).

Setup bluetooth

My tip: so I followed the instruction 1 and set up bluetooth audio for my iPhone 5s with the minivan, and later on I tried to add the bluetooth phone, and I was not successful during the step where the phone tries to connect to the bluetooth audio (car multi-media). The fix is to forget the car multi-media in the iPhone, and set up again for both phone and audio (“device type” in the car audio prompt).

(update 03-12-15) I had to pair my iPhone 5s bluetooth again with sienna, after iOS 8.1.3 update. Forgot this “forgot the car multi-media” tip initially 🙂 Note again select “phone setup” and “interior bluetooth audio”, this way it will work both for phone and audio.

Categories
iPhone app

Top 10 questions asked by new iOS developers: I

Reading Time: 2 minutesTop 10 misconception or mysteries facing new iOS developers. Summarized from my observations and own experience. Part 1.

Free app or paid app?
This is a big question. Apple iTunes app store is not a freebie store (compared to many other app stores), that being said, most downloaded apps are either free or cost 99 cents. It’s hard to make a living on 99 cents apps and at the same time providing free upgrades. Apple does provide other revenue models such as Ads (iAd and other ads) and in-app purchase. I have not tried those, and I think ads are good for app with a lot of downloads (at least 10,000, or 50,000), and in-app purchase are good for certain app or features.

Ads or No Ads?
I remember Mike Lee, a pioneer in iOS app development, once said don’t annoy users by Ads. That being said, we all need the money to live, again I think if we can make some Ads money without really annoying users. That’s ok.

Universal App or separate iPhone/iPad apps?
Tough question. Again it depends. I remember Kirby Turner said a few things on this topic at VTM last fall. His suggestion is do it when “functionality is same or similar for iPhone/iPad apps”, and “enhanced user experience”, on the other hand not to do it when “Functionality differs greatly”, and “business justifications”.

Continue reading “Top 10 questions asked by new iOS developers: I”
Categories
Career Life

Felt blessed: looking back at 2010

Reading Time: 2 minutesIt’s Christmas eve 2010. Baby already fell asleep. Wife is tweaking her new Toshiba R705 laptop, and I was reading some Navigation controller stuff while watching TV (PBS Christmas program, KMOV news).

This year is obviously one of the most significant years in my 13 years stay in this country. In early March, we got a baby girl. Before that I changed job after 15 months stint at a decent size software company. Things did not work out as good as I thought in Oct/Nov 2008 (the middle of financial crisis). The good thing is, after some hard work and luck, I got a new job at local software company, and got to do what like to do.

In July I signed up the Apple iOS developer program, paid the $99 annual fee and became more seriously on iOS app development. I have thought about it and bought Macbook and iPhone 3G back in Jan 2009, but between my old job, our expectation of baby, and my shear inaction, I did not get to finish the Beginning iPhone Development book in 2009. I started fresh again in 2010 (got the new iPhone 3 dev book, for one). Since the birth of baby, I felt more and more the importance of spending time with family. I think iOS app dev gave me a decent shot at this desire. In middle Oct. I went to the city of brotherly love Philadelphia (again, I went there in May with my in-laws), for the Voice that Matter iPhone dev conference. I think I learned quite a few things there, besides technology, there is design and the business of going indie, which both are important to me (being from developer background).

Looking forward, baby is growing much faster than I thought, especially since she started to crawl and stand. She likes my gadgets (iPhone, iPad, and macbook), much more than her own vtech laptop. I hope I can spend more time with her before she grows up.