From the PayPal blog, announcing the end of support for Windows Phone, Amazon Fire and BlackBerry.
Apple
Apple stock price up 9% since Warren Buffett revealed his stake
Buffett just made his shareholders about $108 million. Not a bad return for a few days work.
Lightning headphones as smart walkie-talkies
Walkie-talkies, cool! A fun gadget to play with, but with some real practical aspects as well.
A perfect example of the different approaches of Apple and Google
Seth Clifford looks at Apple and Google’s approaches to solving important health problems. Spot on.
Google creep
Google, don’t make it jarring to move from one app to another. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
Apple Car, Tesla, and the charging station problem
According to this Reuters article, Apple is talking with charging station companies:
Apple is now asking charging station companies about their underlying technology, one person with knowledge of the matter said. The talks, which have not been reported, do not concern charging for electric cars of Apple employees, a service the company already provides. They indicate that Apple is focused on a car, the person added.
If Apple is building a car, of course they’re going to be involved in the rollout of charging stations. And that’s where things become problematic.
Apple’s McDonald’s solution for India
Tim Culpan, writing for Bloomberg, homes in on India’s desire that Apple build all devices sold in India in India, and proposes and McDonald’s franchise approach as a possible compromise. Very interesting.
Where Google lags Apple badly
The FCC is stepping in to address the lag in user adoption by Google and Apple. But wait, look at the numbers. Apple is certainly holding up their end.
Echo vs Siri
M.G. Siegler, on using an Echo for three months, vs. his long-time Siri experience. Some good points, along with some counterpoints.
Apple granted a cellular MacBook patent
Yes, please.
Apple fails to get India’s 30% local sourcing waiver, but don’t count them out
Live Mint:
“There is nothing to show that Apple’s technology is cutting edge. DIPP has been asked to come out with a clear-cut guideline defining ‘cutting edge’ and ‘state-of-the-art’ technology for which such a waiver can be given. There are other companies also in the queue. It could create controversy if we waived the norms for only one without stated guidelines,” the official cited above said.
A second government official said the fact that Apple did not have a manufacturing facility in India went against it. This person also spoke on condition of anonymity.
This isn’t over.
Apple opening Siri, developing Echo rival
An echo-competitor and an evolving Siri. This is going to be a very interesting WWDC.
15 years ago yesterday, Steve Jobs introduced the first Apple Store
[VIDEO] It is amazing to see how well that design has aged. It’s really the products that show how long ago this was made.
How to make your iPhone charge faster
Short version: Turn on Airplane Mode, and then a joke follows, and a mention of the 2016 Beard Bash.
Apple Support teaches Siri how to pronounce a name
Apple Support walks you through the steps of how to pronounce names in your address book. Wish that feature was more comprehensive.
Apple encounters the pitfalls of doing business in China
Apple is walking a fine line here, opening an R&D center in India and not (at least yet) in China. Here’s why.
Tim Cook makes a real splash in Mumbai
Tim Cook is a CEO and an ambassador, doing all he can to open India and China’s doors to Apple.
The time Steve Jobs killed a Q&A with bluntness
[VIDEO] M.G. Siegler, writing about a closing keynote speech Steve Jobs gave at the 1997 WWDC conference (recalls that Steve Jobs was newly returned to Apple at the time):
It’s almost unbelievable how prescient nearly everything Steve Jobs says here actually is. If not all of it came to pass, nearly all of it did. And he spoke about things in great detail. As Rands notes, Jobs wasn’t underestimating the future, he was writing it, seemingly on the fly in that conversation.
Watch the video, embedded in the main post.
Tim Cook visiting India’s high profile Siddhivinayak temple
Unfortunate original headline, but interesting video of Tim paying his respects to an important Indian temple.
Screenshots of Siri running on the Mac
Interesting that there is a Siri menu bar icon as well as a dock icon.
Editing your Siri query
Some thoughts on Google’s I/O announcement and some specifics on editing your Siri query.
Google to announce its Amazon Echo competitor, Google Home, later today
The market’s been made. Every home will eventually have a similar device. Will we see one from Apple?
Apple sent two men to my house. No, they weren’t assassins.
A few weeks ago, James Pinkstone posted a story on his blog titled “Apple Stole My Music. No, Seriously.” This is the follow-on to that post, after Apple sent two engineers to dig more deeply. Great read.
The Apple Watch changing the life of someone with diabetes
A real life story of how a device attached to someone’s iPhone and Apple Watch changed their lives in a very positive way. Great read.
Apple announces iOS app design and development accelerator in Bengaluru, India
Apple is continuing their pattern of investing locally, both in iOS development accelerators, and in partnering with local businesses (see the accelerator announcements in Indonesia, Italy, Brazil, and the Didi investment in China).
On the ability to walk around a room while your iPhone charges wirelessly
Apple is clearly hiring folks with wireless charging expertise. Is it possible to wirelessly charge with no contact mat or other direct contact?
The best iOS apps for scanning documents
Andrew O’Hara did a nice job pulling together this list. More importantly, he did a nice job describing the features you should look for in a scanning app. I definitely learned something here.
The FM radio inside every smartphone
If one side (either Apple or Android) adopts and promotes FM, it’ll spread by necessity.
AnandTech’s iPhone SE review: “Clearly the best 4-inch smartphone on the market”
A remarkable review, a wealth of detail.
Tim Cook jams as Apple releases Chinese music-themed update to GarageBand
Quoted in Apple’s press release is JJ Lin, a Singaporean singer and songwriter:
“As a musician I’m always looking for ways to take my music in new directions and GarageBand has been such a great tool for me to experiment and add new elements to my songs on-the-go,” said award-winning music artist JJ Lin. “I love how the latest update to GarageBand adds traditional Chinese instruments along with brand new loops so I can play around with mixing traditional and modern sounds to create completely new styles.”
Lin is based in Taiwan. You can see him in action, GarageBand jamming with Tim Cook in the video embedded in the main post.