Tag Archives: iPhone XR

Sarcastic Siri

26 Mar

I must say it’s fun to play with Siri. Silly mundane tasks to set the alarm, check the headlines or deep thought provoking questions about life which she cannot help me.

Siri can be downright sarcastic too at times. After asking Siri to set my alarm one night, I politely said “goodnight”, and she had to remind me of the time, implying it’s way too early to go to bed. Ish… Ish…

Not wanting to give her the satisfaction, I asked some other questions which I was certain she could not answer. But Siri, being Siri questioned me instead. The exchanges were priceless I must say.

All in good fun and very entertaining.

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Creepy Siri No More

7 Mar

I have Siri activated again on my iPhone XR and am so glad that it’s not creepy anymore. Previously on the now-retired iPhone5S, it activated itself without any prompt and at odd hours, it was creepy so I disabled the feature.

The only problem for now though is Siri not understanding my Asian voice command. Am I not pronouncing words right? They sound pretty distinct to me…

I was experimenting and Siri listed ‘ate’ instead of ‘eggs’ and ‘Martin’ instead of ‘mutton’ when I prompted it to write my grocery list. Hahaha… I guess both Siri and I have to get used to each other.

For now, Siri is useful to set my alarm as I don’t have to hold the phone to do so especially when I am horizontal in bed. Mundane but practical. In time, I am sure I can assign it to do more.

Daily Bonus Mess Up, Part 2

5 Mar

The Candy Crush Soda Daily Bonus is messing up again. After that episode where both my iPad Mini and my iPhone XR showed the same figure, the next few days it went weird again.

First occurrence, the phone captured the Daily Bonus because I picked up the phone first. Then it didn’t show on the iPad, just like the first scare I had. Then the next day, I decided to launch both together and the iPad captured the Bonus but the phone didn’t. By the third morning, both captured the Bonus!

It’s like both devices are playing tag team to record the Daily Bonus – today my turn, tomorrow your turn and together in unison! I’d never know which devices’ turn to have the honor every morning.

I don’t know what’s going on but I figured if at least one of them is still on track to reach 1000 Days, it should be okay. Then I will stop this addiction after the record is achieved.

A Lovely Surprise, Part 2

28 Feb

I am really loving my new iPhone XR. Why didn’t I change earlier and subjected myself to such aggravation with the battery issue of the old phone?

The best feature so far for me is the Face ID and swiping upwards to unlock the phone without having to fuss keying in the password. And I don’t miss the Home button, something I once dreaded I couldn’t do without.

Oh… and I don’t have to carry a power bank anymore! No more worrying about the phone dying on me as it can last almost three days after a full charge with my usage pattern. Three days! So cool.

As for the size of the phone, hmm… I am still adjusting to get used to it because this is a like/don’t like issue.

I like it for the big screen size because it makes reading easier. But being bigger, it’s cumbersome to hold. And bigger means heavier, it is not comfortable to keep in the pocket of the pants. And if I wear my Uniqlo jeans, it sits in the most awkward position in the front pocket, poking me in all positions. So most times I put the phone in the handbag but this then adds weight to the handbag. Sigh…

Also being bigger, the phone is now a two-hand operation device. I find myself preferring to use both hands instead of having the keyboard moved to one side to type. Seriously, some adjustments to get used to with this giant.

But generally, there’s more positives––the interface, the battery lifespan and other cool stuff––to this upgrade and I have embraced them well enough. In time, I will forget my old once-reliable iPhone5S which is now retired to the bedside.

I must admit though, there are some nights I find myself holding it out of nostalgia and wonder in amazement how did I managed with this minuscule thing and its screen for the past five years?

Daily Bonus Mess Up

25 Feb

It was a usual morning must-do routine upon waking up yesterday. I would reach for my devices to launch Candy Crush Soda. The phone was picked up, the game launched and it showed ‘915 Days’ instead of ‘17 Days’!

Strange… Why is it showing this figure on the phone? Typically, not including the gold bar tally, all devices (the iPad Mini, iPhone XR and iPhone5S) are independent of each other for the Daily Bonus trek and rewards garnered.

Then I picked up the iPad to launch the app. There was no Daily Bonus showing! Oh no… It got messed up. Would it break the next day? I got worried even though there were many occasions I wanted to stop this silly addiction.

This morning, with a slight dread, I reached for the iPad first.

‘916 Days’ when I launched. Phew.

And the phone… ‘916 Days’ too! What a weird mess up.

A Lovely Surprise

15 Feb

It was supposed to be my birthday present this year from hubby but my iPhone5S had other plans. It just didn’t want to cooperate and be good. The battery issue…

When we went back to hubby’s hometown for Chinese New Year, my internet connection was with the phone and data. There was no wifi at the in-laws’ place so this rendered the iPad useless without connection unless I sync it to the phone which was unnecessary.

So using just my phone, the battery problem spiked; I could feel the heat at the back of the phone if I use it too long. So much so, in a day I had to charge several times. I literally had to live with the lightning cable and power bank if I don’t stay put and have the power socket nearby.

My problem started when I updated to iOS12 last year. Prior to the update, when the phone was still on iOS10.3, it was fine. The battery could last a day without any issues or even longer with minimal usage. But after the update, the phone just couldn’t support the newer iOS. Even without usage, left idle after a full charge, the battery would drain to half. When things are not right, it escalates the problem. Sigh…

After holding out for so long, I finally replaced my once-reliable Apple iPhone5S. I must say, it was good while it lasted. Thanks for being such a wonderful device the past five years. But I have to retire it and move on because I cannot take the battery aggravation anymore. And it’s pointless to change the battery because the cost to do so is not worth it.

It’s been a week with me now joining the legion of oversized smart phone users with my spanking brand new iPhone XR. A lovely surprise indeed.

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