Tag Archives: Apple

Land of the Rising Sun

7 Oct

Konnichiwa from the Land of the Rising Sun! We arrived at Kansai Airport this morning. The flight was not the best experience. There were three gate changes within an hour at the Satellite Building at KLIA. And although it was rescheduled to depart at 11:45 pm from 10:25 pm, the flight eventually took off at 12:12 am.

Twenty minutes after airborne, there was turbulence, but not too bad. However, my entertainment console sucked. The touchscreen had issues returning to the home icon, and the headphones worked only on one side. Sigh, how much worse can it get? Honestly, the start of this trip by MH is not Malaysian Hospitality at its best. Not living up to their tagline.

After the meal, I could feel a headache coming, ugh. I tried to sleep it off, and it was a restless phase. An hour before touchdown, I was awake. It wasn’t beauty or comfy sleep. Nonetheless, time flew by, and I must have slept, or did I?

My AppleWatch showed some unusual Vitals stats! I had only two hours of sleep and my blood oxygen level dropped to 91.6 %. It concluded that elevation could have caused such numbers to be recorded because I had set my watch to Airplane mode upon boarding. Such an amazing and clever device to be able to detect this.

After the delayed arrival, and like typical tour packages where Day One starts at the airport, our self-planned itinerary is no different, our adventure finally begins. Hahaha.

We made our way slowly from Kansai to Kyoto, and it was supposed to be effortless, yet we faced a bit of a challenge in terms of language. Google Translate was a savior when we needed it!

What a long day to kick off our October adventure!

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Apple, You’re Kidding Me?

4 Mar

New Year, new resolutions, new purchases! In January, I treated myself and bought the new Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) version.

Initially, I was using a hand-me-down first-generation AirPods from M2. After some months of usage and getting used to it, I felt it was time to get my own. The old AirPods were having battery health issues, being five years old already.

And when we were in Bangkok, I found the perfect casing to protect my AirPods. By the way, the ANC worked exceptionally well in blocking out the loud hum of the aircraft engines.

I love my Snoopy case for my AirPods4 ANC version

Recently, I noticed a peculiar issue with my new AirPods. Despite using both pods equally, their battery levels tend to differ significantly. I hardly use the microphone or use only one side. In short, I use the AirPods evenly.

Whenever I place the AirPods back in the casing, the battery level differs, sometimes by 15 to 20 percent! The right side would be lesser than the left. What is going on? I checked online for solutions and followed the suggested measures, but it did not help. So, I scheduled an appointment with Machines, the Apple Premium Reseller in Malaysia, to diagnose the AirPods.

Two different occasions, uneven battery levels

During the diagnosis, the AirPods are okay, with good battery health. But, the feedback was that this battery imbalance is a characteristic of the AirPods. Unbelievable! For such a premium-priced device, it has such an issue despite equal usage. Why Apple why? I feel so let down.

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The Perfect Solution!

20 Sep

Soon after my old iPhone 5S kaput, I contemplated using my current phone as my Spotify music center. The house feels too quiet without music. But having my phone blast music all day may hurt the battery’s health, and my phone is for communication purposes rather than music. So what do I do? How do I resolve this loud quietness?

It occurred to me then that I had another old phone lying around. Would you believe it when I say it’s the iPhone 5C, another dinosaur model? The phone used to be M2’s before she had further upgrades, and I just kept it alive all these years. It still works and is now handy in my current predicament.

I was excited because the iPhone 5C–despite it being such an oldie– would resolve the music void. The setup was with minimal synching because of space issues. After all, the phone has only 8 GB capacity! It’s so minuscule compared to the storage sizes of the newer phone models.

With Spotify added, albeit an older version, the iPhone 5C is now my music center! The thing to ensure the phone does not meet an early death is not to keep it connected while the music is playing. Yay, I’m a happy camper because I found the perfect solution.

A reliable dinosaur, the iPhone 5C

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An Unexpected End

13 Sep

Yesterday was the end of my old Apple iPhone 5S. It ‘died’ the most unfortunate death when the battery expanded unexpectedly. In other words, the battery–which had required service– finally bloated up and caused the phone to become distended. The front panel was separated from the body, rendering the end of my iPhone 5S. Boo hoo hoo.

The end of my old iPhone 5S

I have been using the iPhone 5S as my Spotify music center, playing music all day daily. As a result of this constant use, I achieved thousands of minutes on Spotify annually. Hehehe.

However, the phone could not keep up with the constant usage and needed external power support. And this was the death of it. With power plugged in and music playing non-stop, my iPhone 5S eventually met its untimely demise.

But I shouldn’t be upset, as the phone is ten years old and has served me well for five years before I upgraded to the iPhone XR. Then the phone had a new lease of life to be my music center.

RIP, my iPhone 5S – a much loved and appreciated device, and it’s most unfortunate it met an unexpected end.

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Goodbye for Good

10 Sep

Last week, a golfer friend asked me if I was still using the TomTom Golfer watch, and I said no. Goodness, it has been years since I stopped using it. After the watch kaput, I decided to move to an AppleWatch that does more things than just being a golf watch.

She asked because she’s still using her TomTom Golfer 2 watch. But recently, she received notification that their services would be shutting down soon. In other words, the watch will be useless once the support ends. Oh dear, how unfortunate.

I subscribe to the Hole 19 app on my AppleWatch for my golf games to give me all the necessary information and track my performances. So far, I am happy with the app. At one point, I tried GolfShot, SwingU, and Hello Birdie, and I like Hole 19 best.

While she won’t buy an AppleWatch, at least she’s getting a Garmin watch soon as a replacement. Goodbye, TomTom. You were good while you lasted.

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Giving Up Homescapes?

6 Sep

I’m wondering whether I should give up Homescapes. Every week, I catch up with the end of the game, and it irks me that I have to wait until Friday for the new levels to open up.

If I play the game daily, starting over the weekend, I will hit a roadblock by Tuesday. Then, I have to wait until Friday for the new levels. It has become cumbersome. Should I continue with the game or not? Sigh.

Maybe I’m too dependent on my iPad Mini, which is very unhealthy, Homescapes aside. On days when I’m not golfing, I spend hours and hours on it. So bad! It could be a small step, giving up Homescapes to be less device-dependent. We shall see.

Level 15701 has opened but after completing 50 levels, the wait starts again.

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Stalled at Homescapes

19 Jul

My three-year-old iPad Mini5 has always been my go-to device at home instead of my iPhone for games, news, and movies. The game I have been playing a lot is Homescapes, having downloaded the game a year later after getting the iPad and playing daily.

But yesterday, I found I could not progress further! I have completed Level 15350, and Level 15351, in black and white, is not ready. Wow. Perhaps the timing is right with this pause because I find myself staring at my device too much if I am at home.

What do I do now that my favorite game has stalled? Hmm, I should revert to crafting my miniatures! That’s what I should do – something to consider and rethink my dependency on the iPad at home.

Waiting for Level 15351 to release!

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Slow-play Angst, Part 2

10 May

Last weekend, when I participated in the Monthly Medal tournament at my golf club, it was not just slow-play angst that got to us. My AppleWatch Series 5 did not survive the round! A first for me.

I subscribe to the Hole 19 app to track all my golf game statistics. So whenever I play, I use the app on my AppleWatch but turn off the GPS function, relying more on the iPhone’s GPS. And all this while, upon completing 18 holes, I’d still have 40 to 50% battery left on my AppleWatch.

However, during Sunday’s game, my battery died with three holes left to play! Very unusual. Already angst from the lengthy outing, ten minutes shy of six hours, my AppleWatch’s unexpected death added to the angst. Argh.

I wouldn’t say I was upset but more surprised. I did notice something amiss that morning but brushed it aside. Within five minutes of wearing it upon waking up, the battery level dropped five percent. And by tee-off, I had 90 percent of battery, which I thought would be enough. But little did I know, the lengthy time out on the golf course did my watch in.

I’m wondering, slow-play aside, is it time for me to change the battery of my AppleWatch? After all, the watch is almost five years old, and the battery’s health is now at 80%. I still love my AppleWatch Series 5, and extending its life and usage would be most practical over upgrading to a newer model. Hmm. We shall see.

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A Clever Hack?

29 Mar

Nowadays, we see people staying connected with their devices all the time, regardless of location. It’s so bad being so attached and dependent on our devices 24/7. If it wasn’t for staying updated with news or social media, it is for games, music, or movies. It is as if a minute of not being connected, one will be so out of touch. Isn’t this terrible?

I confess I am just as guilty, but only at home, with my attachment to my devices. The iPad Mini is mostly for games and movies, and the old iPhone 5S or iPhone XR is for my Spotify music on loop. I leave my iPhone 14Plus for communication and occasional news updates. Separately, I have a Kobo eReader for reading my novels, sparing my eyes from the glare of the iPad.

However, when I travel, I abide by the airline rules and don’t fuss with my devices, keeping them in the bag and turning on the flight mode. After all, the airline does offer some entertainment as an alternative, especially the long hauls. And anything less than a three-hour flight, I have learned and can live without my devices for that few hours being airborne.

On my recent return journey from Hanoi, the passenger in front did not put away his iPhone as he was deeply engrossed in watching the sitcom “Friends.” I couldn’t help but admire his clever hack of using the Air Sickness Bag to feed his sitcom fixation.

The tray table had to be closed, so he used the bag to hold his phone in place to watch hands-free! So clever. But clever as it seems, you won’t catch me doing this for my trips on a flight and leaving the bag intact for its actual usage.

Hand-free using the Air Sickness Bag

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A New Game, Part 2

6 Mar

I am still playing the new game, Brick Out, that I downloaded. It’s addictive and frustrating at the same time. I don’t know why I subject myself to such emotions.

There were a couple of occasions I wanted to delete the game because I had super hard levels that were impossible to pass. But when I prevailed, the deleting idea was squashed. Hahaha.

This week I am out of town, and my iPad is with me. And certain games are playable offline, which I do in the car. However, a handful of them needs a connection to work better, so I manage. Not every game needs my attention constantly, and I have to learn to accept this.

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