The way that example was given was unfair. The IPA is a flexible instrument that can be fine-tuned for minute distinctions of sound or used just as well for the much more elementary phonemes. In fact, such fine-tuning for closely rendered phonetics is a highly specialized sub-discipline in phonology, but is not normally required for anyone else. Whenever we hold discussions about pronunciation here—or you learn pronunciation of a new language from a textbook—the IPA will be set to the phonemic level, which is not scary to the uninitiated like that close phonetic transcription [tʰə̥ˈmɐːtʰɐʉ] is. It’ll be /təˈmeɪtoʊ/, using plain English phonemes. You’ve all seen the schwa symbol; it’s no mystery. You’ve all been introduced to diphthongs in grade school. That’s part of the beauty of the IPA: how you can zoom in for phonetics or zoom out for phonemes, as needed. There are various power of magnification available, you might say, like on a microscope.