Dynamic iPhone phone call interface

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Think about handling a phone call on your iPhone. Imagine the process of changing audio sources (switch from your car or AirPods to the speaker or handset, for example). Imagine switching to some other app to look something up while you are on the call, with that call status bar taking up the top of the screen.

Now take a look at this tweet, watch the embedded video:

https://twitter.com/limneos/status/1102672002748502017

I love this concept. I believe it is a jailbreak app, not something a third party could ship on mainstream iOS. But there’s a tremendous amount of flexibility being shown here.

The future of foldables is glass, not plastic

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Follow the headline link and scroll down about halfway to that animated GIF showing a piece of glass, folded over and being repeatedly squished and released. To me, that is the future of foldables.

That is super-thin glass, 75µm thin. That’s ballpark the thickness of a human hair. And that curve gets down to a 5mm radius.

Fold it over and over again, and there’s no crease. Plastics crease when folded, glass like this doesn’t.

My instinct is that Apple will hold out for glass like this if and when they ever release any sort of foldable iPhone. Details are all in the article.

Benjamin Mayo on Siri Shortcuts: No intelligence and puts the burden on the user

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Benjamin Mayo, on the promise of Siri Shortcuts:

This means Siri can now be smarter by drawing on the capabilities of many more apps. You can order coffee. Control third party audio apps like Overcast or Pandora. Plan travel itineraries with Kayak. All with your voice talking to your intelligent personal assistant.

Except that’s not really true. That is how Apple likes to market the feature but it’s a twisted form of reality. Shortcuts are not making Siri smarter, in fact they are dumber than pretty much anything Siri has done to date. Shortcuts put the burden on the user to do the legwork of synthesising data sources and integrating the apps into the voice service.

That’s the “puts the burden on the user” part. Benjamin continues:

Shortcuts require registration and administration to do anything at all with Siri. The user has to pre-emptively search out every command available in a certain app and then add each in turn to Siri. Registration requires the user to think up the phrase they want to use to trigger the command on the spot. Siri can then trigger these actions when that same phrase is said back to it at a later date.

There is no intelligence here. Siri transcribes the user’s voice and looks for an exact text match of that phrase in the database of voice shortcut phrases that the user has generated off their own back. If a match is found, it proceeds. Otherwise, failure.

And that’s the “no intelligence” part. If I trigger Siri, I can say “what’s today’s weather” or “what’s it like out today” and get the same response. Siri maps lots of things to “tell me the weather”. But with shortcuts, the user does the core creation. There’s no way for Siri to suss out other phrases that mean the same thing.

I think this is an excellent essay, worth reading.

I would add this though. Lots of apps ship with useful shortcuts, and there is a vibrant community building and sharing shortcuts with the world. Spend some time browsing those shortcuts, find one you like, and it’s pretty easy to bring the shortcut onto your own iPhone, even customize it. Definitely a power user move, but one with tremendous value.

Also, take a minute, fire up Siri and say:

“Open Siri Settings”

Siri will jump to the Siri Settings page and, there at the top, you’ll see a list of shortcuts that were created for you, based on recent behavior. To me, those shortcuts are a sign of intelligence at work. And easy to use, too. Press the plus sign to the right of a shortcut, give it a name, and you’re off to the races.

Apple says iPhones with third-party batteries now eligible for repairs

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MacRumors:

iPhones with aftermarket batteries installed by third-party repair shops are now eligible for service at Genius Bars and Apple Authorized Service Providers, according to an internal Apple document obtained by MacRumors from three reliable sources.

And:

The updated guidelines went into effect Thursday and should apply worldwide. Apple will still decline service for iPhones with third-party logic boards, enclosures, microphones, Lightning connectors, headphone jacks, volume and sleep/wake buttons, TrueDepth sensor arrays, and certain other components.

Good news and a small step towards right to repair.

Samsung’s AirPods equivalent

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SlashGear:

Arriving alongside the Samsung Galaxy S10, the Galaxy Buds promise the convenience of AirPods but with the sort of customization Android fans love. With a $129 price tag, though, is this all too good to be true?

The review is surprisingly good. Lots of customization, Qi-charging, ear-tips (to customize the fit, included) and equalizer controls.

I hope the next generation AirPods includes all these features.

Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros attempt to solve Flexgate

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iFixit:

In 2018, a number of MacBook Pro users—with models from 2016 onwards—discovered a serious design flaw that causes the screen to fail after repeated opening and closing of the laptop over the course of a few years. The ensuing scandal was, of course, dubbed flexgate, after the flex display cables causing the problem. Despite Apple’s refusal to acknowledge the issue, though, their latest MacBook Pros have a longer cable that may be attempting to make up for previous shortcomings.

The display cable is said to fail from too much opening and closing of the MacBook Pro hinge, past the 90-degree point. Since the display cable is soldered onto the board, when it fails, the entire display must be replaced, at a cost of $700.

My question is, if someone’s MacBook Pro fails after the warranty expires, and after the bonus Apple Care time, will Apple cover the failure? This is the crux of the issue.

Switched to Apple from Android all over the Apple Watch series 4

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Reddit:

The last iPhone i owned was a 4s and I’ve been an Android user since the Galaxy s4. That all changed when I saw the AW Series 4. Wanting to purchase an all around smart watch and activity tracker I found the Samsung Gear s3 disappointing. Also tried the Garmin Fenix 3 but it wasn’t for me. The AW series 4 hooked me for some reason, hooked me to the point where I decided to trade my Note 9 for a iPhoneX.

It’s been about 2 weeks now and honestly, I don’t regret the decision. There are a couple things I miss but nothing that makes me think I’ve done something stupid. I’m really impressed how the Apple ecosystem interacts with the devices. I also just purchased a 6th gen iPad this weekend to keep experimenting. Being a “newer” Apple user with multiple devices is there anything the community could recommend for tips or tricks, apps etc? Just looking for fun ways to experiment with the new gear I have. Thanks for your time.

This is one Android user, pulled into the Apple ecosystem by Apple Watch. Anecdotal but, to me, representative of the draw of Apple Watch and the ECG capability.

‘The risk paid off’: How Apple prevailed in the U.S.-China trade war

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Politico:

Under CEO Tim Cook, Apple has kept its China-manufactured iPhones off the list of Chinese imports that Trump has slapped with roughly $250 billion in tariffs. That puts the Cupertino, Calif.-based electronics giant in an enviable position compared with other sectors caught in the crossfire — thanks in part to efforts by the soft-spoken, 58-year-old Cook to cultivate leaders in both countries.

This is clearly a political issue, but the article is an interesting take on Tim Cook’s under-appreciated finesse.

A nice explainer on the new USB4 spec: Thunderbolt 3, 40Gbps, and less confusion

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PCWorld:

Meet USB4, which promises to simply the USB naming scheme and integrate the high-bandwidth Thunderbolt 3 specification. Just a week after the upcoming USB 3.2 specification’s branding scheme threatened to confuse PC buyers, the next USB spec is trying to resolve it all.

And:

From a technical standpoint, USB4 is good news, promising to take the small jumble of USB specifications, form factors, and branding and consolidate them into something more understandable for a general audience.

And this, from the USB4 announcement itself:

With over 50 companies actively participating in the final stages of review of the draft specification, the USB4 specification is on track to be published around the middle of 2019. Coincident with the release of the USB4 specification, the release of an updated USB Type-C Specification will be made to comprehend USB4 bus discovery, configuration and performance requirements.

This feels like the USB Promotor Group is really trying to wrap their hands around the spec, corral the confusion. What I’d really love to see is a labeling scheme that takes all the guesswork out of “will this cable work with this port?” kinds of issues.

Upgrading From an iPhone SE to an XR

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Michael Tsai writes up his experience moving from small form factor to the larger iPhone XR. Moving from Touch ID to Face ID.

Lots of detail, terrific read. One thing that did not come up is the move from a headphone jack to none. I suspect Michael already made the move to AirPods (or the like) and it just wasn’t an issue.

UPDATE: From Michael, via Twitter, on my question about the headphone jack:

The headphone jack is not an issue for me. I use AirPods and recently found a much better Bluetooth car adapter (will hopefully write about it soon).

Another cool Augmented Reality example

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This concept was built for Legoland Denmark. Watch the embedded video:

https://twitter.com/jachim_van_huut/status/1100348709991313408

I love the design, love the functionality here. This is a terrific model for theme parks.

NY Post: Apples’s Hollywood venture marred by ‘intrusive’ execs

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This story has been making its way around the blogosphere. I’d take it all with a grain of salt.

On one hand, hard to know how well sourced this is, whether this is simply the groans of a few, or truly representative.

On the other hand, Apple is a beginner here, brand spanking new to this space. If this is truly an issue, Apple will learn the lesson over time. Apple has deep pockets, can afford to make plenty of mistakes.

Side note on that headline: Apples’s? Really? Apple’s venture. Not Apples’s venture.

UPDATE: They fixed the headline.

Microsoft Excel lets you take pic of table, convert to editable spreadsheet

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Microsoft 365 blog:

With Insert Data from Picture, you can take a picture of a printed data table with your Android device and convert that analog information into an Excel spreadsheet with a single click. New image recognition functionality automatically converts the picture to a fully editable table in Excel, eliminating the need for you to manually enter data. Insert Data from Picture will be available in preview for the Excel Android app soon.

Rolling out for Android now, iOS support coming soon. If you use Excel, this is a great feature. It’ll be interesting to see if similar features emerge for Apple’s Numbers and/or Google Docs.

The Microsoft Band, Health Dashboard officially killed by Apple Watch

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Microsoft Band support page:

Microsoft has announced the end of support for the Microsoft Health Dashboard applications and services. This document contains important dates and information regarding the end of support.

On 5/31/2019, the Microsoft Health Dashboard site will be shut down and Microsoft Band applications will be removed from the Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Apple App store.

If you bought into the Microsoft ecosystem, you can get a refund. Follow the headline link for details.

The Apple Watch, at least currently, really owns this space. Another example of Apple’s strategy of entering a space when they know they have the right product and the product right.

[H/T Friend of the Loop Andrew Leavitt]

Put your AirPods under your MacBook, your MacBook falls asleep

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Encountered this on Reddit today. Crazy.

If you have an older MacBook or MacBook Pro, try this (make sure you have a current backup first):

  • Fire up your Mac
  • Take your AirPods case and place it under your MacBook, on the left side, about halfway down
  • Your Mac will go to sleep

Basically, this is how the Mac detects that the lid is closed. Which is why it goes to sleep and, when you remove the magnet, it wakes back up.

I verified this with my 2015 MacBook Pro. Did not work with my 2018 MacBook Pro, though I suspect I just haven’t hit the right sweet spot.

Of course, I wouldn’t do this experiment without making sure you have a current backup, just cause magnets and magnetic media.

The incredible value of Apple Watch and archived heart data

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MIT Technology Review:

One day, while I was testing my own Apple Watch, Tom was deconstructing a rack of network equipment. He suddenly noticed his heart was pounding. Then he began feeling dizzy. Next came tunnel vision. He needed to sit down.

First he checked the pulse on his neck, but he realized his watch could provide more data. It said 203 beats per minute, so he fired up an ECG.

And:

Tom was definitely not feeling well, so he had a coworker take him to the hospital, where triage got him to a nurse straight away.

His nurse set up an ECG, the traditional “gold standard” kind, but Tom could feel that his heart rate had dropped closer to normal. He worried that the hospital test wouldn’t find anything, so he unlocked his phone and passed the readings to the nurse, who showed them to the remote teledoctor on call.

“Oh, that’s an SVT,” the doctor said, immediately. A supraventricular tachycardia: an abnormally fast heartbeat caused by irregular electrical activity.

The Apple Watch already has incredible value. Just like the camera, the best ECG is the one you have with you. So many stories about Apple Watch saving people’s lives. And this still feels like early days.

US music fans throw more money at vinyl, CDs than iTunes downloads now

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Cnet:

Downloads represented just 11 percent of US labels’ revenue last year, a music industry trade group said Thursday. Physical sales — the term for music formats you can actually hold, which are mostly CDs and vinyl at this point — booked 12 percent.

Looking at my own habits: I haven’t bought music in months. Apple Music brings me an embarrassment of riches, gives me more than enough to listen to.

Streaming is clearly killing downloads. Without specific legislation, I can’t ever imagine 99 cents per single purchases rising back up.

5G tide to lift Apple

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Loup Ventures:

Apple has four initiatives that will materially benefit from 5G: iPhone, augmented reality, healthcare, and autonomous vehicles. In our view, Apple will be one of 5G’s biggest beneficiaries.

Interesting article. A lot of this clicks for me, especially the concept that 5G will greatly enhance connectivity/reduce latency with the cloud.

One piece of this I can’t get past: The idea that 5G will benefit autonomous vehicles:

Autonomy needs 5G. A vehicle can drive itself without the 5G network, but for things like V2V communication, teleoperations, and other enablers of mass adoption, full coverage and instantaneous data are required.

The problem for me? 5G range is about a city block. Which means lots of equipment/expense. Which means, we’ll see 5G roll out in densely populated urban areas, and possibly never in rural areas. As vehicles move in, say, suburban areas, or rural areas, dependence on 5G will mean degraded signals as you drive.

Apple files new folding iPhone patent to address the “hinge wrinkle” problem

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Apple is clearly working on solving one of the knottiest of problems with foldable phones, that of hinge wrinkle. When you have a screen that crosses the fold of the phone, the screen can show wear, like you might see on the spine of a well worn paperback book, or if you folded and unfolded a piece of paper.

From Patently Apple:

A new patent application from Apple published by the U.S. Patent Office shows that Apple is working on a method to keep the fold area warm as a cold display could cause problems when folding.

Specifically, Apple notes that a folding device may have a hinge that allows the device to be flexed about a bend axis. A display may span the bend axis. To facilitate bending about the bend axis without damage when the display is cold, a portion of the display that overlaps the bend axis may be selectively heated.

Interesting solution. I do think the hinge wrinkle problem is a must solve for Apple. If I unfold my phone, a wrinkle, however slight, in the middle of the display, will kill the illusion of a single unbroken screen.

How Disney built Star Wars, in real life

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If you are a Star Wars fan, or a Disney fan, bookmark this detailed take on Disney’s multi-billion dollar construction project, bringing the planet Batuu’s Black Spire outpost to life, both in Florida (Disney World) and California (Disneyland).

This is just a wonderful read. Matthew Panzarino really loves both Disney and Star Wars and it shows.

One tiny taste:

“We’re really being very ambitious with what we do with Star Wars,” says Disney Portfolio Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, Scott Trowbridge. “This location is over 14 acres. It is basically a small city in our parks. All the amazing architecture…the ships, the aliens, the droids, the creatures, everything that makes Star Wars Star Wars, all coming together so that our guests can have an opportunity to live that dream of living their Star Wars story.”

At risk of being too susceptible to marketing speak, I’d have to agree with this particular statement. What is being built here has little parallel in terms of immersion and ambition in an amusement park or out. And it’s going to blow Star Wars fans, casual and involved, away.

Can’t wait.

Apple and the NHL partner to turn candid player iPhone pics into giant ads

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Ad Week:

The Shot on iPhone campaign has long been known for highlighting the surprisingly artistic shots that can be captured by just about any caliber of photographer. Now the outdoor-focused effort is heading onto the ice and behind the scenes of the NHL to give fans a closer look at the game and its star players.

In new ads launching today on arenas across the U.S. and Canada, Apple features photos taken on the iPhone XS by some of today’s top hockey pros and featuring candid moments with their teammates.

These are some great photos. No way a fan photo can match a photo taken on the ice or in the locker room by a player.

This is a brilliant partnership. I hope it spreads to other sports.

Cellebrite iPhone hacking tool is selling on eBay for $100 — And it’s leaking data

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Forbes:

The U.S. federal government, from the FBI to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been handing millions to Cellebrite to break into Apple and Google smartphones. Mr. Balaj (Forbes agreed not to publish his first name at his request) and others on eBay are now acquiring and trading Cellebrite systems for between $100 and $1,000 a unit. Comparable, brand-new Cellebrite tools start at $6,000.

More importantly:

Rather than return the UFEDs to Cellebrite so they can be properly decommissioned, it appears police or other individuals who’ve acquired the machines are flogging them and failing to properly wipe them. Cybersecurity researchers are now warning that valuable case data and powerful police hacking tools could have leaked as a result.

This was one of the scenarios that emerged, back in late 2015, during the Congressional hearings that followed the San Bernardino shooting, asking Apple to build a golden key to allow law enforcement to unlock any iPhone on-demand. The concern then was that the golden key might get into the wrong hands, risking the data and privacy of the larger iPhone community.

Apple Watch accounts for more than half of all smartwatches sold last quarter

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Apple Watch is maintaining a large lead in a market that is growing more competitive.

To give a sense of this, Samsung and FitBit, fighting for second place, have 13.2% and 12.7% of the 2018Q4 marketshare, compared with Apple’s 50.7%.

It is estimated that Apple shipped more than 22 million Apple Watches last year, compared to FitBit (5.5M) and Samsung (5.3M). That’s some difference.

What 15 people did with a sudden financial windfall. What’s your life changing number?

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Topic Magazine (via Kottke):

Winning the lottery. Having a long-lost relative put you in their will. Selling your TV show. For our Money issue, we interviewed 15 people—and asked writer Ijeoma Oluo to contribute an essay—on the subject of windfalls. How they got their money, and what they did with it, was both as intensely personal, and shaped by cultural expectations, as anything else.

A fascinating set of stories, full of variety.

A few tastes:

There are different tiers to writing television shows: you start as a staff writer, and each time you move up the ladder—to story editor, executive story editor, coproducer, producer, supervision producer, executive producer—you get a minimum payment from the Writers Guild.

When I moved up from staff writer to story editor for Maniac, I got my first script fee, which was around $27,000. For most of my adult life, this was equivalent to an annual salary.

And:

My coach, Erik Seidel, is a legend, and one of the first things he taught me was that if I was going to do this right, I should approach it the way any professional poker player would. The number one rule is good bankroll management: Don’t play in any events that are above what you can afford to lose, and always have a lot of money in advance.

The first time I went out to Las Vegas, Erik wouldn’t let me play in any event that was more than $60, so the first game I won was a daily tournament at Planet Hollywood. I won close to a thousand dollars, and I was absolutely ecstatic.

The way Erik and I approached the project was my winnings would be put back into poker—that would now be my poker bankroll.

These are just tiny bits of much longer stories. The whole thing is a fascinating read.

How much is a life changing amount of money for you? Is it $1,000? $100,000? $1 million? If you got it, what would you do with it?

USB 3.2: An attempt to clear up some muddy branding

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The USB 3.2 rebranding has caused a lot of confusion. Here’s some language from the source, which hopefully will clarify what’s what here.

From the official USB 3.2 language usage guidelines:

When referring to a product that is based on and compliant with the USB 3.2 specification, it is critical for manufacturers to clearly identify the performance capabilities of that device separately from other product benefits and/or physical characteristics.

This gives us:

  • USB 3.2 Gen 1, up to 5 Gbps, AKA SuperSpeed USB
  • USB 3.2 Gen 2, up to 10 Gbps, AKA SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps
  • USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, up to 20 Gbps, AKA SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps

And:

SuperSpeed Plus, Enhanced SuperSpeed and SuperSpeed+ are defined in the USB specifications however these terms are not intended to be used in product names, messaging, packaging or any other consumer-facing content.

In a nutshell, think of USB 3.2 as SuperSpeed USB, with three flavors, Gen 1, Gen 2, and Gen 2×2, supporting 5, 10, and 20 Gbps respectively. And the 2×2 refers to Gen 2 over two 10 Gbps wires, for a total of 20 Gbps.

Would Apple be remarkably different if Steve Jobs were still alive?

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This Reddit thread is provocative, but thoughtful. Rare to see a discussion like this not devolve into opposing, trolling camps.

I value perspective on Steve because he made so many dents in the universe and had such strong vision. Lessons (both positive and negative) worth holding onto.