Business

Apple to loosen reins on outside messaging, phone apps via Siri

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Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

Right now, when iPhone users ask Siri to call or message a friend, the system defaults to Apple’s Phone or iMessage apps. If you want to use WhatsApp or Skype, you have to specifically say that.

When the software refresh kicks in, Siri will default to the apps that people use frequently to communicate with their contacts. For example, if an iPhone user always messages another person via WhatsApp, Siri will automatically launch WhatsApp, rather than iMessage.

The article also contains a response from Apple on accusations that App Store search is tilted to prefer Apple apps. As the article says, feels like Apple is slowly loosening the reins.

Haptic Touch vs 3D Touch: What’s the difference?

Written by

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

With the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, Apple did away with 3D Touch across its entire iPhone lineup, replacing the former 3D Touch feature with Haptic Touch.

In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to know about Haptic Touch and how it differs from the 3D Touch feature that’s been available since the iPhone 6s.

If you are confused about Haptic Touch, or want to learn about the settings, read the article. Well done.

And personally, I am very happy with this change. 3D Touch and Haptic Touch had too much overlap, confusing discoverability.

Amazon and Apple are quietly building networks that know the location of everything

Written by

Sophie Charara, Wired:

Amazon’s new Sidewalk protocol and Apple’s experiments with ultra-wideband signal a new battleground that gets Amazon out of the house and Apple inside it

Apple is strong outside the house, weakest inside. The U1 Wideband chip hopes to give Apple very precise location information inside your house.

Amazon’s problem is the opposite. They have great reach inside the house, via Echo devices, but without a phone of their own, they depend on Android and iPhone to go where you are outside the house.

One core point:

For Amazon, in fact, that work has already begun as Sidewalk originally came out of the Ring team’s ambition to extend its connected security devices out into gardens.

There are already efforts by Amazon to share Ring doorbell footage with police departments to help fight crime. Clearly, privacy is a major issue here.

Interesting to watch these opposing solution sets unfold.

Real world iPhone 11 Pro Max video test

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[VIDEO] This video (from Ben Miller) is shot in 4K and gives a real sense of the clarity of iPhone 11 Pro video, and the real world problem of trying to share that video.

I’ve seen the original, raw footage of the video (embedded in the main Loop post), and the same video posted on YouTube. YouTube compresses the original 4K footage enough that you can easily see the difference. Add to that the fact that you can’t watch 4K YouTube footage in Safari (it’s a codec licensing issue), but even in Chrome, the difference between raw 4K and YouTube 4K is apparent to the naked eye.

To my eye, the Vimeo 4K experience is much closer to the original. Watch the video in the main Loop post, and compare to this YouTube version, see what you think.

Two suspects break into control room, put porn on highway digital billboard

Written by

MLive:

Two hoodie-wearing suspect scaled a 6-foot fence and forced their way into a building housing computer equipment in order to run a pornographic video on a digital billboard along I-75 late Saturday night, police said.

Another Saturday night in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

A short time after the suspects entered the building, Auburn Hills police began to receive calls from motorists saying the billboard on the east side of I-75, south of M-59, was showing pornographic images on both its north and south sides. Officers arrived to find the video still playing, and reached out to the billboard company’s emergency contact to shut down the board.

This feels like the plot to a movie, with blackmail video shown of some candidate, but it turns out to be fake at the end.

Koss commercial, shot entirely on the iPhone 11 Pro Max

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[VIDEO] Martin Moore show this Koss commercial entirely on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, using FiLMiC Pro and the Zhiyun Smooth 4 3-Axis Gimbal. The video output from the iPhone 11 Pro is truly ready for prime time.

Watch the video, embedded in the main Loop post.

iOS 13 Apple Maps “Look Around” feature adds LA and New York City

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Apple Maps continues to get better and better. On my last few road trips, Apple Maps was spot on, no bad traffic or road info, and continued to more accurately predict arrival times than Google Maps, which I find to be too optimistic.

Props to the Apple Maps team.

Taking pics of the stars with iPhone 11 Night mode

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[VIDEO] One of the things I am most looking forward to doing, once I have my iPhone 11 Pro (in Boba Fett Midnight Green, of course) in hand is heading down to the water, where it gets really dark, and taking pics of the stars at night.

The video embedded in the main Loop post does a nice job of both showing off the results you can achieve with just the iPhone and a tripod, as well as giving a good sense of the Night mode interface.

There’s a lot of background noise, but bear with it.

Amazon brings Alexa to your glasses

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[VIDEO] Amazon introduced a lot of new product yesterday, including Echo Ring and Echo Buds. But, to me, the most significant product they announced was a pair of glasses under the name Echo Frames.

Echo Frames brings Alexa to your ears, with new speaker designs that allow you to hear Alexa and listen to music, even in a noisy environment. Most significantly, Echo Frames are designed to take prescription lenses, so they’ll actually replace your own glasses, along with their treated lenses (my glasses are also my sunglasses, so this is important to me).

Apple does not have a solution like this. Yet. True, there’s Siri on your wrist, and in your pocket. And in your ears, at least some of the time.

Echo Frames is Alexa within whispering distance, every minute you are awake.

Watch the video (embedded in the main Loop post) to get a sense of this. Follow the headline link to see the Echo Frames product page, and to sign up for the chance to be one of the testers when the product starts its rollout later this year.

iFixit: Apple Watch Series 5 teardown

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Tiny nugget I found interesting:

We got around to opening up the 40 mm model and noticed a significantly different battery. This one has a snazzy new metal casing, as well as 10% more battery capacity than the Series 4 40 mm model. We’re going to spend some time researching and trying to figure it out. If nothing else, it seems to provide a tougher outer shell that is more resistant to pry damage. We doubt that’s its primary purpose, but we’re rummaging through patent filings for clues.

Always amazed at how much tech can fit in such a tiny enclosure. Even more so with AirPods.

iPhone 11 and 11 Pro will show warning if non-genuine Apple display is used for repairs

Written by

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Apple’s iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max will offer up a new warning if a repair technician ever uses a non-genuine Apple display when repairing a broken device.

“Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple display” will show up in the General > About section of the Settings app if a repair shop uses an unverified display component.

Good to be aware of this if you:

  • do your own repair,
  • get your screen replaced by a 3rd party shop or service,
  • buy a used iPhone

Per that last, if you do buy a used iPhone, that’s the first thing I’d check.

Apple is working to restore African grasslands to curb climate change (and save the elephants)

Written by

Adele Peters, FastCompany:

Sitting between two national parks in Kenya, the Chyulu Hills are home to large populations of elephants and other wildlife. The area is also the site of Apple’s latest donation, as the tech company looks for new solutions to climate change that can be replicated at scale.

And:

“By restoring tens of thousands of hectares in the Chyulu Hills, we can remove carbon from the air, protect a critical wildlife corridor for elephants, and support the livelihoods of the Maasai people,” says Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environmental, social, and policy initiatives, who formerly served as head of the EPA.

Love this. And props to Lisa Jackson for her work guiding Apple down this path.

From January 9th, 2007: Apple iPhone now real!!!

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On January 9th, 2007, Steve Jobs took to the Macworld stage and showed off the iPhone to the world.

The linked article is the Reddit page reacting to that reveal. It’s an amazing slice of history. There’s this Engadget review, worth reading all by itself, but then, best of all, are the comments below the Reddit post.

Enjoy.

[VIDEO] Disney CEO Bob Iger talks about his deep friendship with Steve Jobs

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[VIDEO] Disney CEO Bob Iger was a guest on Mad Money. It’s a long segment, well worth the watch (video embedded in main Loop post), but towards the beginning, Iger digs into his friendship with Steve Jobs.

There’s one moment in particular, where Bob talks about the pending purchase of Pixar, when Steve takes him for a walk, puts his arm around him, and tells him his cancer has returned. It’s poignant, and telling, an anecdote about integrity. Watch it.

New seventh-generation iPad shipping today

Written by

Apple:

The new seventh-generation iPad starts shipping on Wednesday, September 25 and will arrive in stores beginning later this week. Starting at just $329, the new iPad brings more screen area and support for the full-sized Smart Keyboard, as well as a new iPad experience with iPadOS. The upgrade packs even more value into the most popular and affordable iPad, featuring a stunning 10.2-inch Retina display and the latest innovations including Apple Pencil support, the fast A10 Fusion chip, advanced cameras and sensors, unmatched portability and connectivity, ease of use and great all-day battery life.

Note this footnote attached to that Apple Pencil mention:

The first-generation Apple Pencil sold separately.

Just in case you were thinking this iPad worked with the newer Apple Pencil.

Apple Arcade invests in developers while ensuring studios retain rights to their games

Written by

Amanda Farough, GameDaily:

As it turns out, Apple is fronting development costs. This makes the relationship closer to a traditional publisher/developer deal. And Apple stepping in means these weird, interesting, oddball mobile games that might not have had a chance anywhere else have been given a platform that has the potential to house almost half of the world’s mobile market.

And:

We’ve surmised that a game like Simogo’s Sayonara Wild Hearts, which will simultaneously launch on Apple Arcade and Nintendo Switch on September 19, may be considered an exclusive for mobile devices. Based on what we’ve learned about Arcade’s exclusivity, other games fall into total exclusivity (they may only ever exist on Apple Arcade) and subscription exclusivity (where the game may also be included in other subscription services).

And:

The submission process for Apple Arcade isn’t relegated to someone scouting for the shiniest new game. In fact, there have been a few developers that Apple’s worked with for Arcade that came to them with nothing more than a concept and some wireframes.

This is a fantastic article (note that it came out last week, but I came across it last night). If you have any interest in the business side of Apple Arcade, do take a look.

[UPDATE 2, new statement from Avid and Google] Avid releases statement on widespread issues affecting Mac Pros and Avid software

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Earlier this morning, we linked to a Variety article detailing a mysterious issue knocking out Mac Pros across Hollywood.

Avid emailed us the following statement:

Avid is aware of the reboot issue affecting Apple Mac Pro devices running some Avid products, which arose late yesterday. This issue is top priority for our engineering and support teams, who have been working diligently to determine and resolve the root cause. As we learn more, we will immediately publish information—directly to our customers and via our community forums and social media platforms—in order to resolve this issue for all affected customers and prevent any further issues.

More as we hear it.

UPDATE: Avid shared a video with us this evening, with the latest updates on the situation. The video is embedded in the main Loop post.

UPDATE 2: Avid sent us this update this morning:

Today, Avid is confirming that the root cause for a reboot issue encountered by some of our customers has been identified and is unrelated to Avid and its creative tools. Google confirmed that a Chrome update “may have shipped with a bug that damages the file system on macOS machines.” Google has paused its release and provided instructions for affected users.

Avid is also pleased to share that it has received no reports of data loss by affected customers. From the beginning when this issue was made known to Avid, our teams actively worked with customers, Apple and partners to identify solutions and communicate them to customers. At this time, most affected Avid customers have recovered from this issue by reinstalling their macOS. Avid received no reports of incidents from customers running on non-Mac operating systems. To reiterate, this was not an Avid issue, as was reported in some early media coverage.

And from the Google Chrome support team:

We recently discovered that a Chrome update may have shipped with a bug that damages the file system on macOS machines with System Integrity Protection (SIP) disabled, including machines that do not support SIP. We’ve paused the release while we finalize a new update that addresses the problem.

If you have not taken steps to disable System Integrity Protection and your computer is on OS X 10.9 or later, this issue cannot affect you.

If this bug affected you, follow this link to the Google Chrome support article for details on the fix.

Mysterious AVID issue knocks out Mac Pros across Hollywood

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This one is still unfolding, but wow.

Variety:

Film and TV editors across Los Angeles were sweating Monday evening as their workstations were refusing to reboot, resulting in speculations about a possible computer virus attack. Social media reports suggested that the issue was widespread among users of Mac Pro computers running older versions of Apple’s operating system as well as AVID’s Media Composer software.

This is astonishing. Not just one or two Mac Pros, but a bunch of them, all refusing to reboot.

Some analysis by affected users seemed to suggest that the outage may not have been caused by a virus, but by a recent software update that may have corrupted some data, with some suggesting a OS X reinstall that keeps the existing data to restart the machine. Either way, it’s a good idea for anyone running AVID software on a Mac to back up all data right away.

Note that these are the trash can Mac Pros, not a secret rollout of the not yet released Mac Pros announced at WWDC.

Massive iPhone battery drain test

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[VIDEO] This battery test includes all the iPhones 11, and selections from previous generations, back to the iPhone 8 Plus.

Start off by jumping to 1:32 in, to see all the phones labeled with name and battery capacity. Then jump to 8:37 for the first victim.

Scientific? Rigorous? No, but scientific enough for me to find this worth watching. Video embedded in main Loop post.

Google Play Pass: Sort of like Apple Arcade, but only in pricing

Written by

Google:

Play Pass is a new subscription service that gives you access to more than 350 apps and games that are completely unlocked—all free of ads, in-app purchases and upfront payments. Play Pass offers a high-quality, curated collection of titles from Stardew Valley to AccuWeather, with new apps and games added every month.

This feels like Google recognizing Apple’s move into services and the Apple Arcade model. It’s apps and games, not just games.

But it’s not new content. And the titles (like Monument Valley, for example) are not unique to Android or the Google Play Pass.

Is this worth $4.99 a month? Could be, if you find enough useful content. But don’t think of this as an Apple Arcade competitor. I’ve been playing a lot of Apple Arcade games, and I’ve yet to find a weak one in the bunch. And you won’t find a single Apple Arcade title on Android.

Apple Arcade, trailer of the day

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[VIDEO] Not sure how long Apple can keep this up, but they’ve now dropped their 4th Apple Arcade trailer in as many days. This one is for Shinsekai into the Depths. It does not disappoint.The trailer is embedded in the main Loop post.

Apple drops three new Apple Arcade trailers

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[VIDEO] Apple Arcade really lives up to the hype. Especially if you add a controller into the mix.

Three new game trailers. They look great, but this is just a drop in the bucket. Videos embedded in main Loop post.

iFixit iPhone 11 Pro Max teardown

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Lots of pictures, and, most importantly, on that possible bilateral charging board (so your phone can act as a Qi charger for other phones):

Apple did post a new support document today, stating that iPhone 11 Pro contains new hardware for monitoring and managing battery performance. So maybe that’s all this is, and it just looks suspiciously like bilateral charging hardware.