EdwinG
Ambassador
Time for me to post my thoughts… this is a long one!
While sad about iMore's finality joining the digital graveyard in the sky, I can't say that I am surprised. I have seen this coming for the last 4 years.
And when the Mobile Nations podcasts (iMore Show, Windows Central Podcast) became irregular in late 2023, the future became gloom; the site didn't get the 2024 refresh removing the country selector that Windows Central had. Also, the Forums never received an iPhone 16 category after they were announced this month; something that normally happened for previous devices.
So yeah, I'm not surprised. And I can't blame Future plc for trying to make money.
I still remember buying my first Apple device, a iPod Touch (2nd generation) in January 2009, and I searched how to access its internal SSD so that I could use it as a flash drive. This led me to The iPhone Blog at the time; I don't remember the article or who wrote it (spoiler alert: you couldn't do that natively). Then I went my merry way, until I got back somehow into the TiPB days.
From there, I have listened to the Debug, TiPB Live (iPhone live when there were two podcasts?), iMore Show, Vector podcasts and I forget some (I changed podcatchers since).
I vividly remember spending a day outdoors listening to René Ritchie and Leanna Lofte talking about iPhone photography, or iPhoneography. I might have my years wrong, but I think that was the same day I snapped these two pictures in April 2012.
Then, there was the terrific duo of Georgia Dow and René Ritchie that gave two perspectives on Apple and technology, and how it has a direct impact on people's lives. Georgia refusing to update her phone and having hundreds of outdated apps. Something I now observe with my own friends and - through her telling her perspective - makes me appreciate that they might not want to update their devices ASAP. I do gently nudge them from time to time for good reason.
Finally, Mikah Sargeant that became a podcaster at TWiT and Serenity Caldwell's famous Apple Pencil review using an Apple Pencil:
I sincerely hope that we will hear some day a podcast that will reunite iMore's alumni once again. I really miss hearing them on a regular schedule. I think the only two alumni that still record podcasts are Mikah Sargeant (TWiT) and Stephen Hackett (Relay).
On a personal note, I have not yet decided what I am going to do. Do I want to continue discussing Apple with people in the current state of thigs, I don't know. Until the forums close on 2024-11-01, I will continue to visit here.
After that, I think I will only have an idea right after Thanksgiving (by mid-October) of where I'm heading.
So stay tuna!
While sad about iMore's finality joining the digital graveyard in the sky, I can't say that I am surprised. I have seen this coming for the last 4 years.
The sad bit
The quality of iMore's content has progressively reduced since Mobile Nation's acquisition in 2020. I'm not firing any arrows at the iMore's staff, but at the higher-ups. And it makes sense, because they want to make back the money they had just spent.And when the Mobile Nations podcasts (iMore Show, Windows Central Podcast) became irregular in late 2023, the future became gloom; the site didn't get the 2024 refresh removing the country selector that Windows Central had. Also, the Forums never received an iPhone 16 category after they were announced this month; something that normally happened for previous devices.
So yeah, I'm not surprised. And I can't blame Future plc for trying to make money.
My highlights
This is the most pleasant part to write But I know I'm forgetting a ton of people that made this place what it was.I still remember buying my first Apple device, a iPod Touch (2nd generation) in January 2009, and I searched how to access its internal SSD so that I could use it as a flash drive. This led me to The iPhone Blog at the time; I don't remember the article or who wrote it (spoiler alert: you couldn't do that natively). Then I went my merry way, until I got back somehow into the TiPB days.
From there, I have listened to the Debug, TiPB Live (iPhone live when there were two podcasts?), iMore Show, Vector podcasts and I forget some (I changed podcatchers since).
I vividly remember spending a day outdoors listening to René Ritchie and Leanna Lofte talking about iPhone photography, or iPhoneography. I might have my years wrong, but I think that was the same day I snapped these two pictures in April 2012.
Then, there was the terrific duo of Georgia Dow and René Ritchie that gave two perspectives on Apple and technology, and how it has a direct impact on people's lives. Georgia refusing to update her phone and having hundreds of outdated apps. Something I now observe with my own friends and - through her telling her perspective - makes me appreciate that they might not want to update their devices ASAP. I do gently nudge them from time to time for good reason.
Finally, Mikah Sargeant that became a podcaster at TWiT and Serenity Caldwell's famous Apple Pencil review using an Apple Pencil:
In drawn form, here's what we think about the first-gen Apple Pencil
Here's Serenity's review of the Apple Pencil — drawn entirely on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil.
www.imore.com
The Community
I really miss and will miss the days when iMore - and Mobile Nations - was just that fun and quirky website and organisation. It was just such a (mostly) fun community to be a part of, with a pre-2020 Apple whose corporate greed had not yet fully set in.I sincerely hope that we will hear some day a podcast that will reunite iMore's alumni once again. I really miss hearing them on a regular schedule. I think the only two alumni that still record podcasts are Mikah Sargeant (TWiT) and Stephen Hackett (Relay).
On a personal note, I have not yet decided what I am going to do. Do I want to continue discussing Apple with people in the current state of thigs, I don't know. Until the forums close on 2024-11-01, I will continue to visit here.
After that, I think I will only have an idea right after Thanksgiving (by mid-October) of where I'm heading.
So stay tuna!