Vidit Bhargava - Pixel Posts (Page 2)

Things I learnt from the coverage on the performance downgrade issue on older iPhones

Vidit Bhargava These last couple of weeks have been riddled with angst and reactions over the internet about iPhone’s being throttled to avoid power surge issues that need to be mitigated in order to avoid unexpected shut downs and other battery related issues. There have been interesting arguments both

pixelquiz

Pixel Quiz: November 2017

Q1. In early 1993, Charlie Jackson and Jonathan Gay, founded FutureWave Software. The intention was to create a graphic design tool that would enable pen-input for users. And so, they released SmartSketch. However, SmartSketch was a little ahead of its time and just as pen-computing didn’t take off. However,

iphone x

(no title)

iPhone X First Impressions I had the opportunity to goto an Apple Reseller Store (Sadly no Apple Stores in India yet) this week and I played around with the new iPhone X. Here are a few things that I got answers answers for: 1. The Top of the Screen isn’

cricketgames

Don Bradman Cricket 17

The quality of a sports game can be determined by its ability to create realistically tense scenarios which provide thrilling experiences. For cricket games, winning in nail biting run chases, forming crucial partnerships by rotating the strike, successfully defending matches by picking the right fields and bowling strategies, these are

design

Michael Tsai - Blog - Unreliable MacBook Pro Keyboards

Michael Tsai – Blog – Unreliable MacBook Pro Keyboards This is a lesson in Design for Repairability. While Repairability isn’t a term often associated with modern day consumer electronics, over here repairable keyboards would have done a good deal of good to the users who would otherwise need to

apple

Designing for iPhone X

Vidit Bhargava Over the ten years of iPhone’s existence, Apple’s star product has gone through many iterations and has changed it’s screen size and aspect ratio at least of couple of times. Each time the iPhone’s screen changed, it opened up possibilities for newer interactions and

iOS11

Temporarily disconnect WiFi and Bluetooth from iOS 11 Control Centre

Over this week, I’ve been constantly asked by a couple of friends over why the iOS 11 Control Centre doesn’t “turn off the radios”. So here’s the thing: iOS 11 puts WiFi and Bluetooth to sleep mode when the little blue dots turn grey on the control

hardware

Pi wants to extend the reach of wireless charging | TechCrunch

Pi wants to extend the reach of wireless charging | TechCrunch I’ve been hoping for a truly ‘wireless’ charging experience to surface, and Pi looks like an exciting product. I’m concerned about a couple of things though: Charging the device requires plugging it into a case first. This is

apple

Apple’s needless cult of secrecy

Apple’s needless cult of secrecy This is a very shallow argument. It’s not just about ‘surprise and delight’. It’s also about keeping new products under the wraps until the last moment. If it’s Apple who is controlling the narrative about the expectations for future products, they’

smartwatches

Here’s the Ionic, Fitbit’s long-awaited answer to the Apple Watch

Here’s the Ionic, Fitbit’s long-awaited answer to the Apple Watch 4 days of Battery Life is impressive and much better than Apple Watch’s double day battery life. But ‘smartwatches’ aren’t just about battery life alone. Much like any other wearable, there’s a strong influence on

apple

WSJ: ‘Apple Readies $1 Billion War Chest for Hollywood Programming’

WSJ: ‘Apple Readies $1 Billion War Chest for Hollywood Programming’ It’s an interesting route that Apple’s taking with its purported movie streaming service. I’m not sure the world needs another “Originals” service, there are already too many of them. I’d like Apple to instead be the

design

How Venice Beach influences Snapchat’s design

Vidit Bhargava On a recent vacation to Venice, California, I had stumbled upon Snapchat’s old headquarters on Venice Beach. It was a white house with a blue rooftop that just blended in with the rest of the neighbourhood’s building. Also, I found the unique vibe and culture of

iPhone

Going home with the an edge to edge phone

Vidit Bhargava The home button offers a clear exit path for the user to exit an app. It’s a comforting experience, a case of clear of navigation, that the iPhone has always had. Last week’s accidental firmware leak all but confirms an edge to edge phone, with a

affinityphoto

Affinity Photo for iPad: Review

Vidit Bhargava Back in 2014, with the announcement of the iPad Air 2, Apple demoed Pixelmator, the photo editing app that wowed users with its retouch tools and an easy to use iOS-first interface, which made it an ideal prosumer application for photo editors and people looking to do more

pixelquiz

Pixel Quiz July 2017

Vidit Bhargava Q1. X is the official alias for Lockhead Martin’s Advanced Development Programs group. The name X originated back in the World War II days, when Lockhead Martin was first given a contract to build fighter jets. X is widely used to describe a group within an organization

pixelquiz

Pixel Quiz June 2017

Vidit Bhargava Q1. According to it’s creator Y, X was inspired from his own adventures around the hillsides of a village called “Sonobe”. In an interview Y explained, “When I was a child, I went hiking and found a lake. It was quite a surprise for me to stumble

software

“Autumn Creators Update” was “mistranslation”; “Fall Creators Update” for all | Ars Technica

“Autumn Creators Update” was “mistranslation”; “Fall Creators Update” for all | Ars Technica Looks like naming your latest release after a season is a poor idea. Some countries refer to Fall as Autumn, for some others the season isn’t fall at all! It’s spring. The only logical

apple

Face Authentication is a better design choice than Fingerprint Authentication

Today, When you pick-up your phone, and try to use its features, the phone asks whether it’s you or not? And you tell it that you are using the phone by providing your fingerprint. The phone then checks those fingerprints, makes sure its you and unlocks your phone. In

iPhone

Speculation Regarding the Pricing of and Strategy Behind This Year’s New iPhones

Speculation Regarding the Pricing of and Strategy Behind This Year’s New iPhones Interesting analysis over the iPhone pricing tier. But I’d like to disagree on a couple of points. Last year, when Apple introduced a Series 2 Apple Watch, they gave the first generation watch a speed bump

internet

San Jose's “Wickedly Fast Wi-Fi”

San Jose’s “Wickedly Fast Wi-Fi” This year at WWDC, Wickedly Fast WiFi was a life saver! T-Mobile LTE is spotty in San Jose Downtown and that can be a daunting scenario if you are new to the city, and have no idea where the nearest Starbucks is. It&

UIdesign

Touch Zones and Assumptions

Back in 2014, just before the release of the iPhone 6 and 6Plus, Scott Hurff made an interesting observation about the iPhone screen sizes. Hurff’s observation was that the natural touch zone for an iPhone has shrunk down after the introduction of larger screen sizes and that it’s

nokia

Withings is now Nokia

Withings is now Nokia Nokia is now an IOT health and fitness brand with some really cool weighing scales and watches. This is one of the finest transition from a has-been to a “fun-and upcoming devices’” brand. That analysis aside, I feel Withings will benefit a lot from Nokia’s

fonts

About the new SF Pro font

Vidit BhargavaWith iOS 11, Apple’s making updates to its system fonts. Previously called SF UI, the system font is available in two different options, SF Display and SF Text. Here’s a look at the difference between Display and Text fonts, and the changes made in the new SF

apple music

Thoughts on Planet of the Apps

Vidit BhargavaI watched the first episode of planet of the apps this week and wanted to write down some initial thoughts about the show: 1. This is very much a “Startup” reality show: Planet of the Apps is not about “making” an app. It’s about making a business around

macpro

Daring Fireball: The Mac Pro Lives

Daring Fireball: The Mac Pro Lives I’m really excited about the new Mac Pro from the perspective of Industrial design. When Apple updated the MacPro in 2013, it was literally the future of Industrial Design. The shiny aluminium, the cylindrical unit with a unique way of accessing the internals