Apple. Where the wild things are now.

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Apple:

In a move that will add more globally beloved children’s stories and characters exclusively to Apple TV+, Apple today announced a first-of-its-kind, multi-year deal with The Maurice Sendak Foundation. Through the deal, Apple and The Maurice Sendak Foundation will reimagine new children’s series and specials based on the books and illustrations by Maurice Sendak, which will premiere all over the world exclusively on Apple TV+.

Talk about a treasure trove of rich source material. Just like Goodnight Moon, Corduroy, and Charlotte’s Web, generations of kids grew up with Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. This is seminal stuff.

Side note: There have been some great, animated treatments of Sendak material over the years. One of the best was called Really Rosie, a collection of shorts with music by Carole King. If that rings a bell, fire up the album on Apple Music

Is anyone watching Quibi? The $1.75 billion question

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Vulture:

“I can honestly say I’ve never been in such a cocky pitch environment,” Gairdner recalls. “I would describe the atmosphere as almost Wolf of Wall Street, not in terms of actual debauchery, but it’s an incredibly nice office that just goes and goes. They had two lobbies; you went in and checked in at a nice, big lobby, then you were moved to another lobby. There’s massive jars of expensive, nice-seeming candy everywhere. It’s sleek and modern, and you see hundreds of people passing by. And there’s this energy of people who really believe they’ve got the next big thing.”

And:

Drawing on his deep well of relationships earned after more than four decades in Hollywood, Katzenberg recruited an amazing array of talent: Sam Raimi would produce a horror anthology; Idris Elba would star in a car-stunts show; Chrissy Teigen would put on judge’s robes and comically preside over a courtroom; Lena Waithe would make a show about sneakerheads; Anna Kendrick would anchor a comedy in which her character befriends her boyfriend’s sex doll; and the Kardashians would do a mock reality show featuring a mythical fraternal twin brother named Kirby Jenner.

And:

Most subscribers have signed on with a 90-day free trial. This month, as that period expires, Quibi will learn how many of those people will stick around once they’re asked to pay. If they don’t, Quibi will be left to reckon with how it miscalculated so badly, and for Katzenberg and Whitman, it could be a deflating capstone to two storied careers.

This is an amazing read. An almost infinite well of money to throw at the problem, some great talent, and solid design chops. What went wrong here? And is the story over? Is there enough money left to pivot, to correct mistakes?

I think part of the issue here is the content itself. Having a star attached is never enough. The content needs to be compelling. And it’s hard to compete with free, crowd-sourced content (YouTube, TikTok, etc.)

Another hurdle for Quibi is the lack of an existing ecosystem or tentpole content. Disney has that deep back catalog. Apple has the ecosystem. Quibi does have a partnership with T-Mobile, but that’s mostly an advertising partnership.

And, of course, there’s the pandemic. Will Quibi survive? Or will it be a lesson in hubris?

macOS Big Sur: 85+ Top Features/Changes!

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[VIDEO] Jeff Benjamin, 9to5Mac, returns with another massive video (embedded in the main Loop post), this time focusing on the changes from macOS Catalina and the first beta of Big Sur.

Settle in, grab a snack, enjoy.

iPadOS 14, Apple Pencil, and Scribble in action

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[VIDEO] I’ve been playing with Apple Pencil and Scribble since the first iPadOS 14 beta dropped. One thing I’d love to find is an exhaustive list of Scribble gestures.

The video (embedded in the main Loop post), from iDownloadBlog is an excellent starting point. But I’m convinced there are more gestures than this.

At the very least, there are subtleties, like double-tap and triple-tap (to select a word and paragraph), as well as machine learning elements at work to detect addresses, phone numbers, etc. that we’ve always seen in typed text.

I find Scribble fun and fascinating. If you’ve got a non-critical iPad and an Apple Pencil (even first gen), consider diving in to the public beta when it drops, purely to play with this amazing tech.

macOS Catalina and Big Sur screenshots, side-by-side

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Great way to get a sense of the visual change coming with macOS Big Sur. Scroll through the images, keep in mind that’s Catalina on the left, Big Sur on the right (mostly).

Also keep in mind that Big Sur is a first beta. Some details may (and likely will) change.

Apple’s amazing privacy animations

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Follow the headline link, then drink in that subtle padlock animation on the load page. Reload the page if you missed it.

Now start scrolling. Every panel has its own detailed animation. Amazing how much effort Apple put into this page. Curious what tool they used.

On the iPhone 12 with no charger/cable/earPods in the box

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[VIDEO] Great video by MKBHD on the rumor (grain of salt) that the next gen iPhones will ship without a charger, charging cable, and earPods in the box. Video embedded in main Loop post.

True, it’s just a rumor, and we typically avoid those on The Loop, but this isn’t simple mongering. Instead, it’s an interesting take on the pros and cons of including stuff in the box that we already likely have, the potential massive savings in packaging waste, and the question of how such a move might impact price.

Side note: I found this Reddit post to be an interesting detailed breakdown of that potential packaging impact.

The comeback of fun in visual design

Written by

Michael Flarup:

With the redesign of macOS 11 Big Sur, Apple has made many interface changes and updated the appearance of apps. Materials and dimensionality has made its way back into the interface —and every single app icon for every application and utility that Apple ships with macOS has been redesigned with depth, textures and lighting. This is a big deal. Probably bigger than what most people realise.

Scroll through the post, check out the images. You can’t help but see the emergence of realism in the design, as well as elements that bring macOS a bit closer to iOS (check out the squircles in the Big Sur icon image, about halfway down).

I do agree it’s a pendulum swing, from the full on felt, metal, and torn paper of skeuomorphism, to lossy flat design, to a gentle mix of the two. I’m enjoying the reemergence of fun.

Apple, the rise of services, and paying to keep your BMW seat warmers working

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Road Show:

BMW is raising the ante by making many car options into software services enabled whenever you want them. The disconcerting part? They can be disabled, too.

And:

In a VR presentation streamed from Germany today, BMW ran through a series of digital updates to its cars, including more details on the new BMW digital key service announced with Apple at last week’s WWDC and confirming that current model cars will be fully software upgradeable over the air, a la Tesla.

And:

The most notable part of the day’s presentation was the new plan to turn many options into software services. BMW mentioned everything from advanced safety systems like adaptive cruise and automatic high-beams to other, more discrete options like heated seats.

It’s a services world. Pay up.

Zuckerberg said to say of Facebook ad boycott: ‘All these advertisers will be back’ soon enough

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MarketWatch:

Zuckerberg said the boycott is more of a PR issue than one that will hurt the social-media giant’s bottom line, according to a report Wednesday by The Information, which cited a transcript of remarks Zuckerberg gave at an employees-only virtual town hall Friday.

“We’re not gonna change our policies or approach on anything because of a threat to a small percent of our revenue, or to any percent of our revenue,” he said, according to The Information.

Here’s a link to The Information article [paywall].

More from Zuckerberg’s town hall remarks:

“You know, we don’t technically set our policies because of any pressure that people apply to us,” he said, according to The Information. “And, in fact, usually I tend to think that if someone goes out there and threatens you to do something, that actually kind of puts you in a box where in some ways it’s even harder to do what they want because now it looks like you’re capitulating, and that sets up bad long-term incentives for others to do that [to you] as well.”

Two things: First, no. If you are wrong, get called on being wrong, then turn around and do what’s right, fixing what’s wrong is a double-win. You are doing the right thing, and you get your advertisers back.

And second, this provides even more incentive for advertisers to boycott Facebook and more incentive for people to delete their Facebook account.

Side note, I’d love to know of a Facebook alternative that is privacy respecting, truth valuing, easy for folks to use, and that provides an easy way for families to keep in touch. If you know of such a beast, please do share.

YouTube TV sharply increases monthly subscription to $64.99

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The Verge:

…the company starts to offer eight of ViacomCBS’s channels, which are available today: BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1.

And:

For comparison, Hulu’s Live TV plan costs $54.99 (a price that includes access to Hulu’s library of content, but lacks the unlimited DVR storage that YouTube TV offers), AT&T TV starts at $55 per month (with hefty increases after 12 months), and Sling TV’s full plan costs $45 per month. While there may be some concerns that YouTube TV is edging closer to the cost of actual cable, there are some advantages to Google’s over-the-top service, including easy access from nearly any device with an internet connection, a lower barrier to entry when it comes to additional hardware, and a much better UI than nearly any cable set-top box.

The cord cutter marketplace is still in flux, and likely will be for some time. Hard to see a clear winner in these piecemeal bundles. Seems like a disruption (to cable bundles) is coming, but still way over the horizon. I think things would move way faster if internet access and content delivery were two separate and untethered businesses.

Apple cancels some Arcade games in strategy shift to keep subscribers

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Bloomberg:

On calls in mid-April, an Apple Arcade creative producer told some developers that their upcoming games didn’t have the level of “engagement” Apple is seeking, the people said. Apple is increasingly interested in titles that will keep users hooked, so subscribers stay beyond the free trial of the service, according to the people.

And:

On the calls with developers in April, the Apple Arcade representative cited a specific example of the type of game the company wants: Grindstone, an engaging puzzle-action game by Capybara Games that has many levels.

And, from Apple:

“Apple Arcade has redefined what a gaming service can be, putting unlimited play at the fingertips of subscribers and their families across all their Apple devices,” Apple said in a statement. “We are proud to have launched the first-ever mobile game subscription service that now features more than 120 games, many of which are award-winning and widely celebrated for their artistry and gameplay. The vision has always been to grow and evolve the Apple Arcade catalog, and we can’t wait for our users to try the games developers are working on now.”

This seems a sound business strategy. For Apple Arcade to work, it needs the revenue from users who pay to stay beyond their free trial. And games that pull users in are going to be the winners here, both for their studios and for Apple.

Apple not dominant in any market, plenty of rivals, senior executive says

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Foo Yun Chee, Reuters:

“We compete with a wide variety of companies, Google, Samsung, Huawei HWT.UL, Vivo, LG 066570.KS, Lenovo 0992.HK and many more,” Daniel Matray, head of Apple’s App Store and Apple Media Services, told a Forum Europe online event.

“In fact, Apple does not have a dominant position in any market, and we face strong competition in every category, in tablets, wearables, desktop and notebook computers, maps, music, payments, messaging, and more,” he said.

And:

Matray defended Apple’s App Store, saying the same rules apply to all developers, large and small, with 85% of apps not required to pay a 30% fee to the company which is only valid for those which use its in-app payment service.

Not sure what else one could expect Matray to say. Making the talking points to defend against the EU antitrust investigations into the App Store and Apple Pay.

iOS 14 beta: Top 250+ features

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[VIDEO] This is some magnificent work by 9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin (video embedded in the main Loop post).

Put your feet up, grab a snack, this one is long. But it’s really well done, and the music is excellent. Nice job, Jeff.

Safari can now stream 4K HDR and Dolby Vision content on Netflix with macOS Big Sur

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Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac:

Netflix has been offering 4K content for a long time, but Mac users have never been able to watch them due to hardware limitations, since the platform relies on the HEVC codec.

And:

With macOS Big Sur, which is currently available as a beta developer, Mac users can finally watch movies and TV shows on Netflix in 4K resolution. It also works with Dolby Vision and HDR10, which delivers more brilliant and vivid colors.

Unfortunately, according to Apple, the 4K High Dynamic Range stream requires a Mac introduced in 2018 or later.

The absence of 4K in Safari was a tiny sore point. Glad to see this evolution happening.

Apple, Big Sur, and the rise of Neumorphism

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From last week, InputMag with an interesting take on the move from skeuomorphism to flat design, followed by macOS Big Sur’s push into a new kind of design, dubbed neumorphism.

Take the discussion flying around Twitter about Big Sur’s icons with a grain of salt. This is a new design wave, and the rules are still being written, broken, and rewritten.

Some design elements break reality (shadows that are just wrong or that fight other shadows with inconsistent lighting patterns). Will Apple work on lining all those shadows up? Will they let icons be art, give designers a free hand?

I’ve always felt that the design pendulum swung too far to the flat side, offering fewer clues to users (Is the switch on or off? Hard to tell.) I’m looking forward to seeing what designers do with neumorphism, but hoping for a consistently lit, nuanced touch.

Google’s plan to pay the news industry

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Google blog:

Today, we are announcing a licensing program to pay publishers for high-quality content for a new news experience launching later this year. This program will help participating publishers monetize their content through an enhanced storytelling experience that lets people go deeper into more complex stories, stay informed and be exposed to a world of different issues and interests. We will start with publishers in a number of countries around the globe, with more to come soon.

With the news of The New York Times bowing out of Apple News+, this feels like Google easing in. Question is, will Google’s model be even somewhat lucrative for news organizations?

As is, news and journalism has been crushed by the race to the bottom that torpedoed the value of factual reporting and allowed the rise of fairy tale journalism.

Where available, Google will also offer to pay for free access for users to read paywalled articles on a publisher’s site. This will let paywalled publishers grow their audiences and open an opportunity for people to read content they might not ordinarily see.

Here’s hoping this is a turn in the right direction.

Arm-based Macs: Here’s what’s happening to Boot Camp

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Samuel Axon, Ars Technica:

When Apple announced its plans to transition the Mac to its own, ARM-based silicon and away from the x86 architecture used in Intel Macs, the company listed a plethora of tools for making sure as many applications survive the shift as possible. But while it’s helpful that Apple is providing developer tools for adapting Intel Mac apps and virtualization tools for running the apps that won’t make the move right away, there’s one scenario Apple didn’t talk about at all during its keynote: running Windows natively on a Mac.

And:

While virtualization via tools like Parallels or VMWare are usually sufficient for running most Windows apps under macOS, there are some edge cases when the Boot Camp approach is the only option. One of the most common: running Windows PC games, which tend to run more optimally under Windows than they do under macOS, no matter how well done the ports are.

And there’s the rub. Boot Camp allows Windows to run natively, currently as an Intel-targeted OS running natively on Intel platform.

But:

We’ve learned that Boot Camp will not work on Apple silicon-based Macs. This will surely be a surprise to almost no one, of course. You can’t expect to just run a game natively out of the box on a totally different architecture.

Yup. Boot Camp itself doesn’t allow an Intel-compiled OS to run natively on Arm. So will Microsoft allow a version of Windows to be built, targeted specifically at Apple’s Mac/Arm architecture?

Does Apple want Windows on the Mac? Is that an important part of the next generation of Macs?

WWDC Day 3 recap

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Serenity Caldwell continues to bring it. Great work.

As much as I miss the camaraderie, I am really enjoying this year’s experience. My hope is that all the changes Apple is bringing, especially the new production elements, will continue next year.

Android Authority marvels at iPhone 6s getting iOS 14 update

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C. Scott Brown, AndroidAuthority:

At this point, saying Android has a serious problem when it comes to phones receiving reliable Android upgrades is getting old. We’ve written about it a lot — even I, specifically, have written about it a lot. You’ve told us your thoughts. We all get it. Even with all that, though, the latest announcement of iOS 14 really sends the message home.

We do talk about this a lot. By its very nature, the Android market is fragmented. Extremely so.

Meanwhile, the flagship Android device from 2015 was the Samsung Galaxy S6. The most recent official version of Android that phone received was Android 7 Nougat, which dropped in 2016. Of course, it was well into 2017 before the Galaxy S6 actually got it. Since then: nothing.

I’ve seen this same message in a number of places, staunch Android supporters grumphing about their older phones reaching the practical end of Android update rollouts. And they are not wrong.

Come join us. You are more than welcome.

Apple TV+: Official Little Voice trailer

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[VIDEO] I’m intrigued by this show. Sara Bareilles is a terrific musician and songwriter, and J.J. Abrams has a great body of work behind him. But this trailer (embedded in the main Loop post) provides the first look at the show itself, a glimpse of the characters that inhabit Little Voice.

Check it out.

iOS 14 sends a notification when your Apple Watch is fully charged

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This is a nice to have feature, but especially useful here:

The new charged notification is a useful feature for the ‌Apple Watch‌’s Sleep app, which lets users wear the ‌Apple Watch‌ at night for sleep tracking purposes.

The ‌Apple Watch‌ can’t be charged while it’s worn at night, of course, so after waking up, it will need to be placed on the charger if the battery is getting low.

Wake up, throw your Apple Watch on the charge, do your morning Loop posts (OK, maybe you do you), then, when you get the notification, grab your watch and go.

Rene Ritchie: Apple dumps Intel — Explained!

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[VIDEO] This is an excellent explainer, soup to nuts, about Apple’s move from Intel to ARM (video embedded in main Loop post). Per usual for Rene, this is packed with detail, but is ultimately rewarding.

Absolutely worth your time. One question remains for me: Does Apple need a Windows story anymore?

You can listen to the music of WWDC

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Apple:

It wouldn’t be WWDC without a little music. Bring Khalid and The Killers into your living room and create your very own musical conference experience with the WWDC20 playlist collection, now available on Apple Music. The opening WWDC20 playlist features great artists like Glass Animals and Alicia Keys, and includes Aurora from this year’s opening video.

In addition, Apple Music is celebrating the powerful connection the development community has to music with a new “Music to Code to” series, which features several multi-hour playlists featuring different musical styles and genres.

If you are on an iOS device, follow this link to get to the official WWDC music playlist page.

Interestingly, if you follow the link on a Mac, you’ll get to an XML dump, but no musical joy.

iOS 14 beta: It’s complicated…finally

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[VIDEO] The Verge’s Dieter Bohn takes the iOS 14 beta through its paces. Pretty watchable, and he covers a lot of ground, with sections on widgets, jiggle mode, editing app pages, app libraries, and much more.

Good way to learn about the iOS 14 interface. Video embedded in main Loop post.