Business

Jessica Dolcourt, CNET:

One day, 5G will become the new standard for data speeds, but for now, growth is slow and the coverage sporadic and limited. While Samsung says it already sold 2 million 5G phones, roadblocks litter the way between early adoption and mass use.

5G isn’t even close to ready for prime time. The current rollouts require you to be physically near (within feet) of a transceiver to get the top speeds. Move away from the transceiver and your speed drops significantly. And, obviously, if you live in the suburbs or beyond, it’ll be years before those transceivers make it out to your neck of the woods.

As Apple has shown time and again, they are patient, waiting until they can deliver a superior experience before they release a new product. 5G is just not there yet.

Apple has time. And they’ve got plenty of work to do, both in absorbing Intel’s modem business (which they acquired in July) and in incorporating that technology into a carrier-agnostic 5G modem that won’t overheat in the hot summer sun.

Reddit:

I live about 15 minutes away and once I was home, I slid open the plastic seal, lift the box and immediately had a moment of shock. I’ve purchased many iPhones before so am quite familiar with Apple’s packaging and what not. There was a phone in the box that resembled the size and shape of an actual XS Max and had a decent weight to it. However, I immediately noticed something was wrong.

Grain of salt here. Personally, I’ve never bought an iPhone from an Apple Store and not opened it at the Apple Store.

That said, it could be true. If so, a pretty shocking experience.

Jason Snell:

Something strange happened at Apple’s iPhone 11 event on Tuesday: the Apple Watch stole the show.

And:

Before the Apple Watch first came out, I spent a couple of years wearing the Pebble, a proto-smartwatch. When people asked me how it was to use, I always responded by saying, “it tells the time.” Yes, that was me poking fun at the tiny feature set of the Pebble, but it was also highlighting what is fundamentally the most important part of a watch — displaying the current time on its face.

And:

Thanks to some clever redesigned display technology and a bunch of other upgrades, the Apple Watch Series 5 will show the current time on its face, no jiggling required.

I do get Jason’s point, and the always-on display is a welcome add-on, no doubt. But star of the show? For me, it was the camera.

Grain of salt, but from a reasonably reliable source:

https://twitter.com/sonnydickson/status/1172352571807191040

This is the number one thing I will look for in the forthcoming iFixit teardown. Second is the battery size, as compared to the last generation models.

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Apple today announced a new billing grace period for subscriptions, which will let subscribers who experience unsuccessful auto-renewals continue to use an app’s paid content while Apple attempts to collect payment.

This will be a useful feature for developers as customers who do not immediately update their billing when a subscription fee becomes due can currently lose access to premium features right away.

Excellent move.

Glad to see the 3% Daily Cash list growing for Apple Card.

As this list grows, it’d be nice to have some signal that a merchant I’m about to pay is part of the 3% club. That will definitely get me to use my Apple Card, instead of my default card that offers better benefits, at least for me.

My rule of thumb:

• 3%: Apple, Uber, Uber Eats, Walgreens, Duane Reed
• 2%: Any Apple Pay purchase
• 1%: Everywhere else

And it’s that last category that has me reach for my default credit card. 3% is compelling to me. As the list grows, I might be tempted to promote my Apple Card to the top spot in my Wallet.

The original list pulled together on Reddit (follow the headline link) included a monthly payment for an iPhone 11 Pro Max. I do like the premise, but my list is all about services, and what you’d see if you went all in.

• 2tb iCloud – 9.99
• Apple Music – 9.99
• Apple Arcade – 4.99
• Apple TV+ – 4.99
• Apple News – 9.99

That’s a total of $39.95 a month, or $44.95 if you’ve got the Apple Music family plan.

Ping me if I’ve missed anything.

Some nice shots of the hands-on area towards the end.

New York Times:

California legislators approved a landmark bill on Tuesday that requires companies like Uber and Lyft to treat contract workers as employees, a move that could reshape the gig economy and that adds fuel to a yearslong debate over whether the nature of work has become too insecure.

And:

In California, the legislation will affect at least one million workers who have been on the receiving end of a decades-long trend of outsourcing and franchising work, making employer-worker relationships more arm’s-length. Many people have been pushed into contractor status with no access to basic protections like a minimum wage and unemployment insurance. Ride-hailing drivers, food-delivery couriers, janitors, nail salon workers, construction workers and franchise owners could now all be reclassified as employees.

This might seem like a yawn, but this could bring seismic change to tech. Companies that have pushed work out to contractors have avoided having to provide benefits, even with some contractors working full time.

Those same companies have avoided paying for unemployment insurance. And that last bit is perhaps the most complicated part of this puzzle, since the program is a unique marriage of both state and federal laws and feels certain to be challenged.

Pay attention to this one.

Apple:

Apple today announced three unprecedented medical studies, in partnership with leading academic and research institutions, that will reach more participants than has ever been possible. The studies will be available on the new Research app.

The studies:

• Apple Women’s Health Study: In partnership with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Apple has created the first long-term study of this scale focused on menstrual cycles and gynecological conditions. This study will inform screening and risk assessment of conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), infertility, osteoporosis, pregnancy and menopausal transition.

• Apple Heart and Movement Study: Apple is partnering with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the American Heart Association on a comprehensive study of how heart rate and mobility signals — like walking pace and flights of stairs climbed — relate to hospitalizations, falls, heart health and quality of life in order to promote healthy movement and improved cardiovascular health.

• Apple Hearing Study: Alongside the University of Michigan, Apple is examining factors that impact hearing health. The Apple Hearing Health Study is the first of its kind to collect data over time in order to understand how everyday sound exposure can impact hearing. The study data will also be shared with the World Health Organization (WHO) as a contribution toward its Make Listening Safe initiative.

The Research app will be available as a free download in the App Store later this year.