WEEKLY WHEATIES #2438
Email, Apple, Huawei, PlayStation, Food
In this newsletter:
Post:
📝 Post: Why You Should Consider Paying for Your Email
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Apple Event
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Huawei Mate XT Ultimate
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: PlayStation 5 Pro
😎 Pick of the Week: Odd Food Picks
📦 Featured Product: Andar Cases
📝 Why You Should Consider Paying for Your Email
There’s a common saying in software, “If the product is free to use, you’re the product.” While this isn’t necessarily always the case, it is more often than not. Most users may be aware of this and aren’t bothered by that. And that’s okay! Some cases may be completely fine for that model (apps and games for example) based on what they actually have access to. However, I would like to ask you to consider one area it may be more of an issue that not - email.
We’ve grown up with free email… and I can say that because I did grow up ‘as email grew up’ to know the learning pains that followed. I started with an AOL disk when email became popular. So yes, I have seen email grow and change (and the lack of change) over the last 25 years or so.
Believe it or not, the amount of “Fwd: Fwd: Fwd:” in email titles has drastically diminished recently, so thank yourselves for that! Not to mention - social media and group texts have taken the place of many of the gossipy type emails, memes, and personal stories, pictures and more. So, what is email even used for anymore then? I’m glad you asked!
While Statistica reports over 90% of people use email (a number that has only grew and stayed steady over the last 10 years), it’s no secret businesses run on email. Meaning, you use email for your business, but you are also contacted from other businesses via email - whether for business to business (B2B) relations, or personally as a customer to that business. This allows a huge opportunity for spam to infiltrate your inboxes. With that in mind, there’s another saying that’s also true in this case - “You get what you pay for.”
Typically, the larger of an organization you work for, the better-quality email service they pay for - keeping more and more spam and other junk mail out of your inbox. I have an email or manage an email inbox of multiple accounts on various businesses, all with varying levels of email security in place. I have a couple that I rarely get any junk mail - and I mean if I receive one a month that’s a lot. I have other where I receive 5-20 a day - but at least they go to my Junk folder. While many of the free email services also have a “Junk” filter - I think we can all agree the extent to which they work well is arguable. Proof by some of the spam that made it to my inbox just today.
Hence my argument to you - find an email service you prefer to use and pay for the premium version of their email service. I promise you the filter for spam and junk mail will typically work better, you won’t have ads in your inbox, typically the security and privacy features are more robust, and more. They sometimes also come with other features not included in the free version. But there is other non-email perks based on the service you choose, too! Typically, they will include more storage, access to other apps, and may offer a family plan where you can share.
Another perk for premium email services is the ability to use custom domains. This means that if you purchase a domain (www.[insert purchased domain].com), you can convert one of your emails to that domain. For example, I pay for and use the family version of Office 365, and one of the 6 accounts it allows me to use houses my email for this newsletter - garrett@weeklywheaties.com. I also use Porkbun.com to purchase my domains, and they offer up to 20 email forwards for each domain. Meaning, I can have 19 other [email name]@weeklywheaties.com emails and have them all forward to my main inbox.
While there are many other email services you can subscribe to, I would like to share 5 of the top ones available. They all have free versions too, so if you’re not sure which one you’d like, try them out first.
What perk of premium email subscription do you like most?
🗞️ ICYMI: Apple Event
This year’s updates from Apple appear incremental in years past with maybe one exception to their phones. You can watch everything announced in 13 minutes, or watch the full Event Replay. In short, there were updates to the Apple Watch, the AirPods, and the iPhones.
The Apple Watch Series 10 sports a larger display, thinner and lighter body, new colors, a new chip, water temperature sensoring, and new software updates. Titanium replaces stainless steel, along with some new colors - including black to the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
There are 4 headphones to choose from. The original AirPods 4 have a new smaller redesign, improved sound, and USB-C charging. A second version of the AirPods 4 include active noise cancellation and transparency mode, wireless charging, and a speaker on the case to utilize for the Find My network should they get lost. They cost $129 and $179.
AirPods Pro 2 has similar updates to the AirPods 4 but now includes extra hearing features. This includes a Hearing Protection mode to act more as earplugs for hearing loss protection, as well as a Hearing Aid mode. However, this comes as a clinical-grade-level hearing aid. Meaning that they can replace hearing aids for anyone who may be hearing impaired. Except it gets better. By taking a hearing test through their app, the AirPods will modify all sounds to your hearing profile. All sound coming from your phone, including music and phone calls, will now use your hearing profile. These still cost $249 and will have a software update later this year for the hearing aid mode.
AirPods Max now have new colors and USB-C for the same price, $549.
With the iPhone 16, it gets your usual updates: faster performance, longer battery life, and a better camera. However, it has new colors and now has the action button from the iPhone 15 Pro. Prices start at $799. The iPhone 16 Pros have a larger display, new colors, and a ton of new camera hardware and software features. They start at $999.
Both models have the new Camera Control button on the side of the phone. Fully pressing this button will launch the camera app. There is also a half-press and a slider on the same button that helps change camera features. This button can also be integrated to work with third-party apps like Instagram and Halide.
Everything is available to order now at Apple.com and available on September 20th.
🗞️ ICYMI: Huawei Mate XT Ultimate
Potentially after their CEO was spotted in the wild with a pre-production phone, Huawei waited until after Apple’s Event to announce their new Mate XT Ultimate. The first tri-fold smartphone on the market. Yes, three total screens that fold into one screen. Other foldable phones had 3 screens before, but they included one outside screen and two on the inside. This phone also has one on the outside and two on the inside, but all three line up for a much larger screen. Meaning, it shares the more landscape feel of a tablet or TV rather than the square look most foldable have. But with a $2,800 price tag, you could just about buy one of everything Apple announced instead (or at least the iPhone and iPad Pros). Available to purchase now and launches on September 19th.
🗞️ ICYMI: PlayStation 5 Pro
On the gaming side of things, PlayStation announced their new PS5 Pro with pre-orders starting on September 26th and launching on November 7th. In keeping with the Pro theme, this version comes with a bigger Graphics Processor (CPU), giving your games higher resolution and framerate. This allows better quality features (raytracing with shadowing and reflections) - as opposed to having to choose resolution over features. It also supports 8K video, the WiFi 7 protocol, comes with a 2 TB hard drive, and costs $699.
😎 POTW: Odd Food Picks
Call this one the odd week out, but I’ve been saving a few weird (or odd) food picks that I think are fun and worth sharing. Put simply, enjoy!
📦 Featured Product
With new phones comes new cases, right? Even if you’re not in the market for a new phone, maybe you’d like a new case! I’ve had luck with my Andar phone case over the last year, and it’s actually been wearing really well. They have many other leather products, but I like that their iPhone cases protect your phone while blending in well and not taking over with a lot of branding. They also come with a strong Magsafe connection and have buttons that feel really good on the sides.
