Jonny Evans, writing for Computerworld, weighs in with his predictions for the future of Apple Pay. One in particular struck me:
Banks are developing cash machines with NFC support. I imagine these will demand both a biometric element and passcode in order to protect against theft, but one day you will inevitably be able to withdraw cash from any ATM anywhere just by waggling your Apple Watch above the machine.
Interested in learning how to program? Have some dead time, perhaps during a commute or visit to the DMV? Check out TapCoding, an iOS app that teaches you the fundamentals of Swift, all via taps on your iPhone.
Since its inception, podcasting has largely been an indie game. Though there are larger players in this space, almost all are independent companies. Ben Thompson digs into the current model, and the difficulties of making money with this model. He details a major threat to the independent podcast universe and offers some thoughts on alternatives.
Good read.
Times of India:
The government is expected to allow Apple to open its own retail outlets in the country without any sourcing requirement for two-to-three years
Think this price cut is purely a Best Buy loss leader, or is this a sign of new Apple Watch hardware in the short term?
A solid tip from Kirk McElhearn.
Jason Snell explores the current incarnation of Siri, pointing to the cracks and potential. One thing in particular struck me, added my thoughts.
A collection of WWDC wish lists from around the web.
My fantasy of a first step to making Siri much more powerful, a wish for WWDC.
Chock full of examples, quotes, images and anecdotes, this is another great read, worth making time for.
DJ Khaled and Ray Liotta. An unlikely pairing, but it works.
If you’ve never set up a custom keyboard shortcut on your Mac, this post from Kirk McElhearn is a double dose of good.
A top 25 list of conversational bots, including Siri and Alexa. Lots to read, almost every example with a link so you can learn more or, in some cases, give the bot a try.
Ken Segall knew Steve Jobs well. Segall was a former TBWA\Chiat\Day creative director, he worked on a long range of advertising projects for both Apple and NeXT, and he was and is a fierce advocate for simplicity.
He did an interview for The Guardian, weighing in with his thoughts on simplicity.
Sounds like no new MacBook Pro announcement, too. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for both.
This back and forth between Motley Fool analysts Dylan Lewis and Evan Niu digs into the steps it takes to get an iPhone from the factory to your hand. A terrific read (or listen, if you prefer).
We’ve now got a battery I can put in my pocket that will give my MacBook a boost and multiple charges for my tablet and iPhone. The future!
Lots of pros balanced with one con, especially when deciding between the 9.7″ and 12.9″ iPad Pros.
This is just one part of a long series of Apple analyses John Kirk is writing for Tech.pinions. The series is great, but this one is just chock full of goodies, a fun read. Take a minute to dig in, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
If true, this is great news. Props to Marc A. Morissette, who wrote about this exact solution back in February.
[VIDEO] Lots of progress. The footage production gets better and better each month. Great job.
From Apple developer Equinux’s blog:
Apple now hides an app in the charts once you’ve installed it. Give it a try: Go install TV Pro Mediathek (VOD for German TV content) from the App Store (currently #3 Top Grossing in Germany) and then go back in to the App Store: boom – it’s gone from the charts and the next-placed app has moved up.
Here’s why.
Great how-to from Kirk McElhearn.
This is a rumor, not reality, but a good number of people are buying into it. If the image is correct and Apple does roll out a new MacBook Pro at WWDC, it will have 4 USB-C ports and a headphone jack. That is all.
WWDC brings with it the prospect of a MacBook Pro refresh (likely) as well as a 5K external display refresh (less likely, but possible). Rene Ritchie explores the tree of possibilities for driving a 5K display.
iClarified:
Larry Ellison, co-founder, chairman and CTO of Oracle, recently gave the Commencement Speech at USC. In his speech, Ellison recounts forming a plan to save Apple with his best friend, Steve Jobs.
Absolutely fantastic story.
Rumors are circulating that Apple’s next-generation iPhone will drop the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, with new iPhone headsets relying on the lightning port or Bluetooth instead.
Whether or not this is true, there is another report of a Chinese accessory maker advertising a series of Lightning-to-headphone adapters with separate volume controls.
Interesting.
Assma Maad, writing for BuzzFeed:
But looking at the various versions of the video published worldwide, it’s clear that several adaptations are not completely faithful to the original. The lesbian couple present in the English version does not appear in the French version
This really surprised me.
Business Insider ran the headline: “The Apple Watch is being shunned by Apple’s most important community”.
The implication being that developers have lost interest in building Apple Watch apps. I think this is way off base.