Thanks! So about what I thought I knew. Shocker, that newer formats have better compression yet worse support. Who‘d have thunk?

Any thoughts on AAC compared to mp3 and Opus?

The cops will still take you with them to the station when you don’t have an ID to show if they ask for it. You are by law required to identify yourself with a physical ID.

So yes, while it’s not illegal to not carry your ID on you, it’s still to your own detriment if you cannot produce it.

In Germany it‘s similar. You are required to have an ID with you. It’s not strictly illegal though to not have it on you but if you happen to have business with police (be it an accident, random traffic stop or you having part in illegal activities), when you don’t have it on you, they can make you come to the police station with them to confirm your identity, even if they wouldn’t otherwise.

Well, depends on the price point but below 500-600€, yea, Apple has nothing to offer. At or above that price point, there obviously are counterparts to Apple devices and vice versa.

Yea, I wouldn’t personally get a Samsung, even if I was in the market for a cheap Android…

I was just backing you up with an approximate exchange rate.

I’m well aware of apple’s strategy and I myself am typing this on an iPhone 13 mini I bought refurbished.

However, for public perception of a brand as being expensive, used/refurbished models don’t really count. The cheapest phone Apple currently sells new (16e) is about 600€; 700€ directly from Apple. That’s not a cheap phone.
Samsung, as one of the most expensive android brands, still sells a variety of phones well below that, as low as 80€ for a brand new phone.

That obviously skews the perception towards Samsung being more affordable than Apple. Which they are. I cannot possibly get a new iPhone at 80€ or even a decent refurbished one.

But of course that still doesn’t mean iPhones are overpriced. You usually get what you pay for and similar devices by other manufacturers are usually just as expensive.

You perfectly defended my prior comment. Much obliged, nothing to add.

It very much isn’t. At least here in Germany, you can get a brand new Galaxy A06 for 80€ (incl. tax). The phone released end of November '24.

I can’t speak to the quality of the phone but it does exist.

They then fixed the issue and are now more transparent about the health of your battery than many Android manufacturers. While “battery gate” had been a problem for a little while around 2017, it hasn’t been in more than 7 years. Old iPhones last a very long time these days and warn you if your battery is degraded to a point where it’ll affect the usability of your iPhone.

The exchange rate is pretty close to 1:1 these days. It is significantly more.

Apple devices mostly aren‘t significantly more expensive than their counterparts by other manufacturers.

However, most of those offer cheaper alternatives that Apple doesn’t. While the most expensive Samsung S25 is more expensive than the equivalent iPhone, Samsung also sells models under 100€. That does skew the perception towards Samsung being more affordable.

Which it is, of course, if you don’t care about the extra amenities of more expensive phones.

Not even that. I’m logged in. I watch a lot of YouTube in English and my mother tongue. YouTube knows this. YouTube also knows I turn off subtitles/translation when they auto turn them on. Why the fuck can’t they just see what I’m doing and serve me shit untranslated in the two languages they definitely know I speak? They can’t tell me they don’t have that data. They’re fucking YouTube/Google

HDR actually works fairly well on Linux these days. Been using nobara for the better part of a year now and almost every game I’ve tried, that has HDR support, just worked out of the box.

I beg to differ. It’s not a „putting up with“. I don’t hate modern flat designs but if I was putting up with anything it’s that.

Loved the translucent look back then, still love it now. Am very looking forward to the design update. Especially since the new design is not just some standard windows aero like transparency but actually has glass like refractions.

I’m very glad we’re getting something with a little more depth again, without going full 180 to the clutter of peak skeumorphic iOS <7.

I’m a little bit concerned about readability of text on the translucent backgrounds but on the other hand, it feels unlikely that Apple didn’t think of that…

Edit: typo

That way I won’t get DolbyVision metadata though and getting surround sound workin is a chore, also. Not to speak about comfortable control from my couch without a keyboard/mouse.

Instead, I use an appleTV. It’s ad free, supports all streaming services I need (including my jellyfin) and almost all common video, audio and HDR formats. Even supports VPNs for getting around geofencing.

Besides the initial purchase price (which is steep but there aren’t many comparable devices), not having adblock working in YouTube is really the only actual downside. And for that a few friends and I share a YT family subscription. Has the benefit of my views actually paying the creators for the content they provide me and us not having to pay the ridiculous amounts of solo subscriptions.

Would never use the integrated SmartTV feature of the vast majority of TV manufacturers (LG used to be so good before they put ads everywhere). My TV hasn’t seen an Internet connection even once.

There are people out there Who don’t watch YouTube on their PC. Can’t install a browser plugin on my TV.

DEUTSCH

Alternatively, I’ve had something similar on holiday in South Tyrol.