Apple

“Maybe it’s a piece of dust”

Written by

Over the past few days, there was a wave of discussion, back and forth across the net, about the MacBook Pro keyboard. Head to the main Loop post for all the gory detail. […]

Apple Watch cellular feature cut off in China

Written by

Wall Street Journal:

For the first time, the Apple Watch can have an independent cellular connection, allowing people to use it to make voice calls, send and receive text and data even if the watch isn’t wirelessly connected to an iPhone.

But in China, the feature was abruptly cut off for new subscribers, without explanation, after a brief availability with one telecom company.

Industry analysts say the suspension likely stemmed from Chinese government security concerns to do with tracking users of the device, which uses different technology than standard mobile phones.

This is a stunning development. After all the approvals were in place, prototypes no doubt submitted for inspection, deals signed with all players, manufacturing process completed, product packaged and distributed, and cash laid on the table as promised product was delivered and paid for, the rug was pulled out from under.

Here’s hoping this is a temporary setback.

Selling your MacBook Pro with Touch Bar? Apple recommends this step

Written by

Zac Hall, 9to5Mac:

If you’re selling (or generously handing down) your MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Apple recommends an extra step when erasing your data before parting ways with your machine. This step requires an obscure Terminal command that you wouldn’t assume and isn’t required on Macs without the Touch Bar.

Here’s the Apple Support document titled What to do before you sell or give away your Mac.

Check out step 6, “If you have a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, clear its data”.

Begs the question, what is specifically stored in the Touch Bar that requires cleaning? Good to know that this step is necessary, but a bit of a mystery. Anyone know the specifics? Please do ping me.

Nice find, Zac.

UPDATE: And the answer is, this script removes your Touch ID data from your Mac, as proved by Stephen Hackett, written up on this 512 Pixels post.

Pixel 2 reviews — disappointing screens, bad color tuning

Written by

Rene Ritchie, iMore:

I’ve owned almost every Nexus and the original Pixel, but problems with the Pixel 2 display may force me to look elsewhere for my yearly Android fix.

I bought most of Google’s Nexus phones, starting with the Nexus One. I bought the original Pixel. I pre-ordered the Pixel 2 XL right after the event. Now I’m thinking of canceling that order. The reason? It seems like Google chose to ship bad displays on their flagship phones.

Rene follows up with a host of quotes from other reviewers, almost all from traditional Android bloggers. This was really surprising to me. I expected a best-in-class display at this price point.

Read the post, and dig into the other quoted reviews. I’m not sensing Google-bashing here, more disappointment at the screen performance from people who want to love their new Google phone.

Reuters: U.S. buyers favor iPhone 7 over 8

Written by

Reuters:

Apple Inc’s older iPhone 7 models are outselling the recently launched iPhone 8 ahead of the early November debut of the premium iPhone X, broker KeyBanc Capital Markets said, citing carrier store surveys.

Traditionally, new editions of the iPhone have sold quickly as fans queue for the latest upgrade, but early surveys have added to chatter that the iPhone 8 is not proving as popular as its predecessors.

  1. Not clear if this is true. These are not Apple’s numbers.
  2. If true, not clear if the motivation is demand for the iPhone X dimming demand for the iPhone 8, or a statement about the relative perceived values of the iPhone 7 vs iPhone 8.

No matter, this is the first time Apple has created this type of choice for the iPhone consumer, pitching a next generation product at the same time (give or take a month) as a new product that extends an existing line.

Apple still offering free delayed battery repairs for some 2012 and early 2013 MacBook Pros

Written by

Joe Rossignol, MacRumors:

If you own a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display released in Mid 2012 or Early 2013, and your notebook qualifies for battery service, the repair should be free if you are willing to wait for around one month.

To check if your MacBook Pro battery needs service:

Click on the Apple logo in the menu bar. Then, click on About This Mac > System Report > Power. In the Health Information section, the condition should say “Service Battery.”

Good stuff. Pass this along.

iPhone, Apple Pencil, and the need to double the refresh rate

Written by

UPDATE: Feedback is, this is just point-by-point wrong. We try never to delete posts, or I would delete this one, but at the very least, file this one under, here’s a source I’ll not post from again.

Motley Fool:

One of the sources said that Apple will need to significantly improve the performance of its mobile processor technology to support a digital pen. The source also added that Apple “had to compromise on some touch performance of the latest iPhone X largely due to the less advanced chipset.”

And:

With the latest iPad Pro tablets, according to the company, when a user writes on the screen using the Apple Pencil, the screen begins to scan for input at a rate of 240Hz, or cycles per second. This is twice the peak refresh rate of the display (which is 120Hz).

And:

Apple reportedly tested a high-refresh rate display on the iPhone X (Apple calls such displays ProMotion displays) but ultimately chose not to ship the device with such a display. Instead, the iPhone X shipped with a display that could only refresh its contents at 60Hz — half that of the current iPad Pros.

In effect, the article makes the case that the current lineup of iPhones has too slow a refresh rate to support the Apple Pencil.

Apple HomePod: 3 lingering questions

Written by

Dan Moren, Macworld:

Smart speakers are here, and they’re not going away anytime soon. In the last month or so alone, Amazon has rolled out an entirely new lineup of its Echo devices while Google has supplemented its standard Google Home with both a smaller and larger version. Even Microsoft has gotten into the game, with a Cortana-based smart speaker from Harman Kardon, and multiroom audio purveyor Sonos has announced an Alexa-based model of one of its speakers shipping later this month.

And in all that time, Apple has sat quietly, saying nothing more about its upcoming HomePod than was announced at this summer’s Worldwide Developers Conference. The company didn’t so much as mention its smart speaker during its event last month, though to be fair it had little time with the occasion packed full of iPhones as it was.

That means that with only a couple months left before the HomePod is out on the market, there are still more than a few questions about Apple’s smart speaker play.

A bit eerie how little has said about the HomePod. All is quiet. Holiday buying season is easing into view and there’s zero buildup so far.

Dan raises some interesting questions. It’ll be interesting to see if anything changes now that the Amazon Echo and Google Home product lines have matured/evolved.

The impossible dream of USB-C

Written by

Marco Arment:

I love the idea of USB-C: one port and one cable that can replace all other ports and cables. It sounds so simple, straightforward, and unified.

In practice, it’s not even close.

And:

USB-C normally transfers data by the USB protocol, but it also supports Thunderbolt… sometimes. The 12-inch MacBook has a USB-C port, but it doesn’t support Thunderbolt at all.

And:

If you bought a USB-C cable, it might support Thunderbolt, or it might not. There’s no way to tell by looking at it. There’s usually no way to tell whether a given USB-C device requires Thunderbolt, either — you just need to plug it in and see if it works.

This goes on and on. The most frustrating part of all this is the opacity of it all. All the details hidden. True for both ports and cables.

Be sure to scroll down to the end for conclusion. Marco nails this.

iPhone X makers still struggling to perfect Face ID 3-D sensors, dot projectors

Written by

Nikkei Asian Review:

A tech executive familiar with iPhone X production told Nikkei Asian Review on Thursday that manufacturers are still struggling to perfect 3-D sensors and in particular dot projectors in Apple premium handset’s TrueDepth camera system, though the person could not pinpoint exactly the problem.

And:

The executive’s comments were confirmed by Jeff Pu, an analyst with Taipei-based Yuanta Investment Consulting, who also identified the dot projector as the troublesome component holding back mass production of iPhone X.

Nonetheless, Pu stuck to his view voiced late September that iPhone X will enter mass production in mid-October and begin to be shipped from China in the third week of this month. He is, however, cutting his forecast of the volume of iPhone X that will be produced this year, from 40 million units to 36 million.

Is this much ado about nothing? If this is an actual problem and the issue is not resolved, will Apple push back the current preorder schedule (set for October 27th, just after midnight PDT)? That’s two weeks from today.

Keep your eye on this one.

KGI: All 2018 iPhones to adopt Face ID as Apple abandons Touch ID

Written by

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is out tonight with a new investor note. Kuo explains that, despite initially believing Apple might readopt fingerprint technology, it’s now likely that all 2018 iPhone models will move to Face ID and leave Touch ID in the past.

I get it. The iPhone X is the future, charting the path of the next generations of iOS devices. But there is some value in being able to unlock my iPhone without looking at it.

With Touch ID, I can extend my arm to tap my iPhone on an awkwardly placed Apple Pay terminal, use my finger to verify my identity. The angle of my phone doesn’t matter.

That said, I’ll wait for the iPhone X and Face ID experience. After all, Apple product folks have been living with Face ID. I can’t imagine they’d abandon Touch ID if it still had value.

As always, take these sorts of rumors with a grain of salt.

iFixit CEO on the death of the repair culture

Written by

Bloomberg:

Late in the evening of Sept. 21, X-rays of the innards of the iPhone 8 appeared on Twitter. The images didn’t come from Apple. They were posted by a team from iFixit Inc., a repair-parts, tool and software company in San Luis Obispo, California, that had flown to Australia to take advantage of the 18-hour time difference to buy the new model before it became available in the U.S. When U.S.-based Apple fans woke on iPhone 8 release day, iFixit had a step-by-step guide posted for taking apart the new phone.

Wow! That is commitment.

Over the last decade, the repair culture that spawned generations of driveway mechanics, vacuum-cleaner shops and itinerant TV-fixers has been eroded by manufacturers keen to claim service contracts and revenues. They’ve used intellectual-property laws to restrict access to repair manuals and repair software for products ranging from iPhones to John Deere tractors.

This makes me crazy. I want to be able to fix something that breaks, rather than be forced to buy a new one. To me, the ability to repair my own gear should be a right.

From the interview with iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens:

If you take an iPhone, it’s around $5 in labor that Apple pays Foxconn to assemble an iPhone. It’s far more labor when you take your phone into a repair shop – it might be $50 in labor. And if your phone needs two or three battery swaps over its lifetime, that’s $150 in labor in the U.S. over its lifetime compared to $5 on the manufacturing side.

Making products repairable is better for the environment (less waste, more reusability) and better for consumers (cost and time savings on repairs). This might sound like “get off my lawn” griping, but read the interview, judge for yourself.

BBEdit 12 — A powerful new upgrade

Written by

BBEdit 12 is now live. It’s a powerful update, with tons of new features.

I had a chance to see a pre-release of this new version and I have to say, it’s incredible how much work Rich and the team did here. My two favorite features? Canonize and Columns.

Canonize is a search and replace supercharger, letting you build a master transformation file filled with all sorts of search and replace commands. You can even Canonize a proper case spelling of a word. So you could ask Canonize to replace all instances of noerr, NOERR, NoErr with noErr by just including noErr in your list.

Columns lets you select, copy, and rearrange columns of text or data. If you ever spend your time mucking around with datasets or delimited text, you’ll love this feature.

These are but two of many new features, the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s a summary of the high points, and a deep dive set of release notes.

On pricing:

BBEdit 12 has a suggested retail price of US$49.99. Owners of BBEdit 11 can upgrade for US$29.99. Owners of BBEdit 10 or earlier (including customers who purchased BBEdit in the Mac App Store) can upgrade for US$39.99.

Anyone who purchased BBEdit on or after March 1, 2017 is eligible to receive a free upgrade.

BBEdit is one of two of my must-have Mac utilities (Keyboard Maestro being the other). A no-brainer upgrade.

Latest Piper Jaffray teen survey shows iPhone and Apple Watch continue to dominate

Written by

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:

As it does towards the end of every year, Piper Jaffray today has released its Fall 2017 edition of “Taking Stock with Teens.” This survey aims to analyze what companies teen shoppers are most interested in, and every time, Apple is one of the top performers.

And:

This time around, 78 percent of teens surveyed claimed to own an iPhone, up from 76 percent during the last survey earlier this year, and 74 percent last year.

And:

The Apple Watch isn’t nearly as popular as the iPhone among teens, but it’s growing. Just 12 percent of respondents claimed to have an Apple Watch, with 17 percent saying they plan to purchase one within the next six months. Last time around, 13 percent of teens had purchase intent while 10 percent already owned an Apple Watch.

To be clear, that’s a move from 10% to 12% owning an Apple Watch, from 12% to 17% with intent to buy. Good growth.

VIDEO: Tim Cook on stage at the University of Oxford

Written by

[VIDEO] Tim Cook was a guest at the launch of the Oxford Foundry, an entrepreneurial venture founded by the University of Oxford to channel startup efforts by the student community.

Tim’s intro starts at about 28:56. I’d start watching there. The interview starts at about 30:52.

Lots of interesting topics, including Tim’s start in life, his decision to take a role at Apple, and lots about Steve Jobs.

Compelling, worth your time to watch. The video is embedded at the end of the main Loop post.

Tim Cook sits down with Vogue, talks AR, fashion and shopping

Written by

Vogue:

Imagine that you’re out to lunch, and in walks a woman wearing a terrific-looking coat. Who designed it? Did she buy it last season, or is it still on sale? Covertly, you give her coat a quick scan on your smartphone, find out it’s available on Farfetch, and moments later it’s on its way out for delivery.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, that future may not be far off. In a sit-down interview with Vogue, the leader of the world’s most valuable technology company said he is betting big on augmented reality (AR), which he believes will transform everything from runway shows to shopping. “I don’t think there is any sector or industry that will be untouched by AR,” he said.

And:

It will also take some time before we’ll be able to scan and identify other women’s coats on our phones. Cook says the company has no plans to build the giant database of clothes, shoes and other goods that would make it possible. But Apple does plan to support companies who might embark on such an endeavour, he said.

I do think the ability to point your phone at a product and have it identified, with a shopping link, will have a powerful impact on retail. I suspect that Amazon is perfectly placed to reap the benefits from that technology.

One issue I see is the idea of pointing your phone at someone to take a picture of their clothing or shoes. There’s a high level of creepiness potential there, not sure how that becomes normalized.

Woz on stage at Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh

Written by

From the Pittsburgh Tribune Review writeup:

New technologies are sometimes a selfish endeavor, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told a crowded Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

He built the Apple II, the computer that made Apple a household name , because he wanted color in arcade games.

And:

“Steve made the iPhone, not for you and me. He made it for himself,” Wozniak said of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. “It had to be elegant and simple, which were design flaws.”

And:

Wozniak didn’t hold back on criticisms of Jobs. He said a 2015 movie about Jobs nailed the man’s personality. He put blame for the failures of the Apple III, the Lisa and other products on Jobs.

Read the rest of the article for more on this. While I’ve heard Woz hint at these things before, I’ve never heard of an interview in which he gets so specific on his feelings about Steve Jobs. This article gets into one specific anecdote, but from what I’ve heard, he did relate others on stage.

The Secret History of Mac Gaming

Written by

From the Kickstarter page:

The Secret History of Mac Gaming is the story of those communities and the game developers who survived and thrived in an ecosystem that was serially ignored by the outside world. It’s a book about people who made games and people who played them — people who, on both counts, followed their hearts first and market trends second. How in spite of everything they had going against them, the people who carried the torch for Mac gaming in the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s showed how clever, quirky, and downright wonderful video games could be.

This looks amazing. I love the cover design. Gorgeous, and emblematic of that old school Mac look and feel. Check out the kickstarter. Hoping this meets its goals.

Steve Jobs, services, and the tail wagging the dog

Written by

Dana Blankenhorn, Yahoo! Finance:

Apple is expected to have revenue of $50.94 billion for the September quarter, which is the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, and earnings of $1.86 per share. Margins are expected to be 38%.

Without revenue from services that would not be possible.

Dana is making the case that Apple is morphing into a services company.

More from the article:

The man behind Apple’s retail stores, George Blankenship, says services are also the future of the shopping mall. In his opinion, easy shopping, fast WiFi, and delivery services will make shopping centers relevant for millennials and their Generation Z siblings, and I believe him.

Because Apple owns its own cloud data centers, it can earn maximum margins from this trend. Instead of renting the space it uses for services, it owns the space, with all the tax benefits. Steve Jobs dismissed services as the tail wagging the dog. For Tim Cook, this is the dog.

I find this fascinating. For Steve, the product is the dog, the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, collectively, is the dog. The services are the tail.

Is Apple truly becoming a services company? Is this inevitable, the only way Apple can maintain its momentum, size, and revenue stream?

The Siri hierarchy of needs

Written by

Thoughts on things that do not work on Siri, and the hierarchy of needs that has evolved leading from what works flawlessly to […]

Dow Jones technical error spreads fake news story of Google acquiring Apple

Written by

Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac:

The Dow Jones newswires had a ‘technical error’ which caused the portal to report several spurious stories including several headlines claiming Google was acquiring Apple for $9 billion, and that the deal was pre-arranged with Steve Jobs in his will.

I get that a technical error caused the stories to flow, but where did they come from in the first place? It’s not like someone accidentally wrote them.

From Dow Jones:

Please disregard the headlines that ran on Dow Jones Newswires between 9:34 a.m. ET and 9:36 a.m. ET. Due to a technical error, the headlines were published. All of those headlines are being removed from the wires. We apologize for the error.

Nope. An error is the release of the stories. But the creation of those stories is something else entirely. This should not be dismissed as a simple mistake.

2018 iPad Pro models may feature TrueDepth camera for Face ID

Written by

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

iPad Pro models set to be released in 2018 will come equipped with a TrueDepth Camera and will support Face ID, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors in a note this morning.

Kuo believes Apple will add TrueDepth cameras to the iPad Pro to introduce a user experience that’s consistent with the iPhone X and boost competitiveness. With all high-end iOS devices equipped with TrueDepth Cameras, “ecosystem development” will also benefit.

Here’s the quote from Ming-Chi Kuo:

We predict iOS devices to be equipped with TrueDepth Camera in 2018F will include iPhone X and 2018 new iPhone and iPad models. Because of this, we believe more developers will pay attention to TrueDepth Camera/ facial recognition related applications. We expect Apple’s (US) major promotion of facial recognition related applications will encourage the Android camp to also dedicate more resources to developing hardware and facial recognition applications.

Love the notch. Embrace the notch.

Deadline: Apple terminates deal for Weinstein Company Elvis series amid scandal

Written by

Nellie Andreeva, Deadline:

I have learned that Apple has pulled the plug on an Elvis Presley biopic series from The Weinstein Company in light of the controversy that has engulfed TWC since last week’s explosive exposé about its co-founder Harvey Weinstein.

The article has a gossipy tone, this falls under the category of “a little birdie told me”, but it is both interesting and believable. The Weinstein Company is doing everything they can to distance themselves from this scandal.

If this story is true, Apple is bailing early in the life of the series, and pulling the plug on something that predates their deal with Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg (the team they brought in to run the Apple video division).

Coming to Apple Music: Bang! The Bert Berns Story

Written by

[VIDEO] This looks to be a well crafted love letter to an unsung hero of the music industry. This could be a sweet spot for Apple Music, something I’d normally associate with HBO. A bit of a niche documentary, but foundational, something that adds value to my Apple Music subscription, something I can’t get on Spotify.

The film was produced by Bert Berns’ son and premiered at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival to great acclaim. Here’s a review.

Watch the trailer embedded in the main Loop post. Drops on October 24th. My calendar is marked.

China: Another iPhone 8 swollen battery, case opening

Written by

Reuters:

On its website on Thursday, China’s state-backed ThePaper.cn cited an iPhone buyer surnamed Liu as saying his newly purchased iPhone 8 Plus arrived cracked open on Oct. 5. There was no sign of scorching or an explosion.

Liu told ThePaper he bought the handset through online marketplace of JD.com Inc. He said he did not charge the new device and returned it to the seller.

Pictures taken by Liu and displayed on ThePaper’s website showed an iPhone 8 plus split open along the side featuring the sim card holding, with the phone’s internal parts visible.

Puzzling. Just enough cases to make this more than a one-off, but does not appear to be widespread. Should be easy enough to tell if this is an issue with a specific part of the supply chain.