The AnandTech Podcast, Episode 38: Smartphones Anonymous (iPhone)

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• 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 :)