This is a great explainer on how Apple Private Relay works and, just as importantly, what it will and will not do.
If the whole 9 minutes is more than you have to spend, jump to 3:10 in and watch from there, a real sweet spot in the explanation, where Rene lays out some differences between Apple Private Relay and a VPN. Great stuff.
Juli Clover, MacRumors:
Our FaceTime guide outlines everything that’s new in the FaceTime app in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, and many of these features are also in macOS Monterey and can even be used in tvOS 15. We’ve also included detailed how tos and tutorials so you can dive right into FaceTime after upgrading.
Another useful post, one that yields fruit with just a scan. I appreciate posts like this with a narrow scope, simpler slices through the river of new features introduced in the WWDC keynote.
Josh Centers, TidBITS:
We’re all eagerly awaiting iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, and watchOS 8, but will they run on the devices you have now? Apple continues to do an excellent job of supporting old devices, but many iPhone and iPad features will require at least an A12 Bionic chip. On the Mac side, some of the new features require an M1 processor.
Dig into the lists, see if your current hardware will support the features that interest you.
For example, here’s a list of features that require an A12 Bionic or later processor:
This is what I’d call “feature coaxing”, the addition of new features coaxing you to upgrade your hardware. Apple has this down to a science.
Great, useful, post.
Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac:
The iPhone 13 name would be off-putting to some 18% of iPhone and iPad users, who would describe themselves as triskaidekaphobic – that is, having a fear of the number 13.
The preferred alternative name would be iPhone (2021).
Famously, most tall buildings have no 13th floor. Because triskaidekaphobia, a superstitious fear of the number 13. There’s even a “thirteenth floor” Wikipedia page.
Will Apple push on with the name iPhone 13, despite the widespread (at least in the US) superstition? As Mike Glass points out, Apple didn’t have this issue with iOS 13, so my bet is on iPhone 13 and business as usual.
Josef Adalian, Vulture:
Earlier this week, Apple quietly confirmed it was changing the terms of its free trial. On its website, the company is now telling consumers that as of July 1, buying a new Apple device will only entitle them to three months of TV+ gratis, rather than a whole year.
This came up last week, I stumbled on it last night while making my way through another rabbit hole of reading. But the point is, Apple has announced an official policy change, giving you 3 free months of Apple TV+ when you buy a new Apple device, as opposed to the free year we’ve had up to this point.
To see this for yourself, jump to Apple’s Apple TV+ page, scroll all the way to the bottom, and check out footnote 1:
Eligible devices activated July 1, 2021 or later will qualify for offers of 3 months free Apple TV+. Eligible devices activated on June 30, 2021 or earlier will qualify for offers of 12 months free Apple TV+. $4.99/month after free trial.
As Josef says, Apple TV+ is about to take off the training wheels. Perfectly put.
After just 18 months or so in existence, TV+ currently offers more than 55 scripted, unscripted, and kids shows. And based on the regular press releases it sends out, it will be home to a couple dozen more big projects, including some big movies, by the end of 2022. Five or ten years ago, that sort of output would have given TV+ one of the biggest slates in television. As one top agent told me a few weeks ago as I was doing research for another story, “They have all the money in the world, and they spend it to make good stuff. They’re fulfilling their side of the bargain.”
In my mind, Apple TV+ is an amazing business success story. As season 2 starts rolling out, perfect time to take off those training wheels, see how the audience reacts with the smaller incentive.
Sami Fathi, MacRumors:
Despite previous attempts to put the situation at rest, some iCloud users continue to experience spam calendar invitations, causing their calendars to be filled with random events.
And:
Victims are targeted in various ways. The most common method is by receiving a normal iCloud calendar invitation through their calendar app.
Interacting with the invitation, including declining, accepting, or choosing “Maybe,” lets the spammer know that the email is valid, so it can continue to be targeted.
Other users are targeted through web pop-ups on potentially malicious or adult websites.
If you find yourself subscribed to a spam calendar event, check out the video below, which Apple Support posted a few weeks ago. Also, check out this Apple support document, which basically says the same thing as the video.
The Peabody Award winner announcements are rolling out today and Ted Lasso was just named one of the winners. Watch below as Will Ferrell strolls through his backyard (such a 2021 moment) to make the announcement, offer his congratulations to Apple and the Ted Lasso team.
Don’t miss the Ted Lasso scene that follows, followed by Jason Sudeikis accepting the award. Nice.
Malcolm Owen, AppleInsider, on optimizing your Mac storage space:
Is it worth keeping a collection of 500 photos from that trip to Paris a decade ago when you only look at one or two? Do you need gigabytes of videos of your cat?
While there are many ways to cut down the collection, you may want to take a few minutes to look at Apple’s built-in options for managing data stored on your Mac, under what Apple refers to as the Optimized Storage menu.
If you’ve not spent time with macOS Optimize Storage (Apple menu, About this Mac…, Storage tab, Manage… button, then click Optimize), take a few minutes to go through Malcolm’s walkthrough. There are a lot of options here, worth understanding the tree of possibilities.
Tim Hardwick, MacRumors, points out the new, enriched Info pane in the iOS and iPadOS Photos app.
This new version of the Info pane is a huge improvement, makes a photo’s EXIF data much easier to access, and also allows you to change things like a photo’s date and time, and add a location to your photo.
Huge improvement.
This is not simply a “here’s what’s new” video. This is more of a “here’s what’s fixed and incredibly useful”. Well presented, only 8 minutes long, and worth watching.
Ted Lasso has become the unexpected flagpole for Apple TV+, rising above all the other shows on pure likability. Can Season 2 carry the banner for another season?
Watch the trailer below, then mark your calendar for July 23rd when Season 2 officially begins.
You know doubt remember that historic, original 1984 Macintosh commercial. If not, you can watch it here.
With that as fuel for your memory, take a look at the video below, where designer Thibaut Crepelle pulled together an amazing, high res reimagining of an ad for that very first Macintosh.
From Rene’s description:
Apple’s Kevin Lynch, VP of Technology, and Deidre Caldbeck, Product Marketing, chat with us about their histories with Apple Watch and Health, new features like ID cards and keys, how they decide on new features, how they made Assistive Touch for Watch, bringing Mobility to iPhone, the visual representation and security of Health information, security vs sharing, and the future of Apple Health!
This was a fun video to watch. Fascinating to hear Kevin talk about his onboarding to the Apple Watch product, basically, the day he arrived at Apple. This is Rene at his best, a terrific interview.
The proposed legislation was originally reported by Bloomberg this way (original article quoted by Nick Heer):
Apple Inc. would be prohibited from pre-installing its own apps on Apple devices under antitrust reform legislation introduced last week, said Democratic Representative David Cicilline, who is leading a push to pass new regulations for U.S. technology companies.
After some back and forth with the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Representative David Cicilline, the Bloomberg article was changed to:
Cicilline told reporters Wednesday that a proposal prohibiting tech platforms from giving an advantage to their own products over those of competitors would mean Apple must let consumers decide which apps to use or remove.
That’s certainly a very different read.
So what does the proposed bill actually say? Here’s a link to a photo of the relevant language. Go ahead read it, it’s not long. But in my reading, it is vague and it is not hard to come up with some pretty significant implications. Like the originally take above, where Apple is banned from pre-installing its own apps (see Benedict Evans’ take).
At the very least, it’d be worth cleaning up the bill’s language to make the intent clear, remove any ambiguity. Then the premise can be debated on its intended merits. But a reminder, the phone part of your iPhone is an app from Apple. Gonna force Apple to make that removable?
Samuel Axon, Ars Technica:
Apple has been under a mountain of scrutiny lately from legislators, developers, judges, and users. Amidst all that, CEO Tim Cook sat with publication Brut. to discuss Apple’s strategy and policies. The short but wide-ranging interview offered some insight into where Apple plans to go in the future.
Tim Cook:
You can think of a world where privacy is not important, and the surveillance economy takes over and it becomes a world where everyone is worried that somebody else is watching them, and so they begin to do less, they begin to think less, and nobody wants to live in a world where that freedom of expression narrows.
And:
The current DMA language that is being discussed would force sideloading on the iPhone.
That would destroy the security of the iPhone and a lot of the privacy initiatives that we’ve built into the App Store, where we have privacy nutrition labels and App Tracking Transparency… these things would not exist anymore.
DMA refers to the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act.
Read the Ads Technica article for more detail/callouts, watch the video below for Tim’s actual interview.
This was a fascinating nugget from a deep dive into the very early reviews of the very first iPhone. The world has changed so very much since the iPhone release. This review brought back waves of nostalgia, back when it was not clear if the iPhone would catch on.
Juli Clover, MacRumors:
With macOS Monterey, Apple has introduced expanded AirPlay 2 support, so you can AirPlay content from an iPhone, iPad, or even another Mac to your main Mac. We thought we’d do a quick demo of this handy new feature in our latest YouTube video.
The video is embedded below. Still thinking about use cases here. Throw some video from my iPhone onto my Mac? Whole house audio (mentioned toward the end of the video)? Note the mention of AirPlay’ed video being compressed to a lower quality.
Kirk McElhearn:
I’ve written about high-resolution music plenty over the years, and it’s clear that, for the vast majority of listeners, it’s just marketing and won’t make a difference.
But Apple has added music formats that can’t even be played back on Macs, without changing a hidden setting. Here’s why.
If you are interested in Lossless on your Mac, this is a must read, especially if you are new to the Audio Midi Setup application (you’ll find it in Applications/Utilities).
Lots of detail here, per usual with Justin O’Beirne’s Apple Maps posts. Don’t miss the animated screenshots, showing side-by-side and zoomed in comparisons of the old and new.
Chris Welch, The Verge:
The new Studio Buds are Beats’ second pair of true wireless earbuds and follow the Powerbeats Pro, which remain my pick for the best all-around earbuds for fitness purposes like running or hitting the gym. With its latest pair, Beats is hoping to attract a much wider audience. That starts with the price, which is $149.99 — a full $100 less than the AirPods Pro.
And:
Beats says it has put an incredible amount of work into how the Studio Buds sound. That’s where they’re supposed to exceed expectations for the price. But you don’t get everything under the sun for $150; the most obvious missing piece is wireless charging. And their noise cancellation and transparency modes don’t keep pace with some pricier earbuds, including the AirPods Pro.
And:
If you go looking for them, you’ll notice MIA features that would’ve been present if the Studio Buds contained a proper Apple chip. Pairing them with your iPhone does not sync them across your other iCloud devices. Audio sharing is nowhere to be found. And the Studio Buds lack the ability to automatically hop between an iPhone, iPad, and Mac based on whichever one you’re actively using.
Good review. These are $100 cheaper than AirPods Pro, have their own niche in the market. If you don’t care about all the stuff addressed above, these might be right for you.
Two videos below. The first details the design behind the Studio Buds, and the second is an ad that just dropped.
Apple:
Apple is continuing its leadership in privacy, expanding our commitment and encouraging positive change across the industry. WWDC 2021 included the announcement of a number of new privacy features across iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, watchOS 8 and iCloud. These new features are designed to help users across Europe and around the world better control and manage access to their data.
Watch the WWDC 2021 privacy presentation for some highlights of what’s new, and a special message from Tim to European users, directly from the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park.
This popped up on the AppleUK YouTube channel, but not on the US channel. Clearly targeted at the European market.
Apple:
Apple today announced Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, the global marketplace for premium podcast subscriptions, is now available. Starting today, listeners in more than 170 countries and regions can purchase subscriptions for individual shows and groups of shows through channels, making it easy to support their favorite creators, enjoy new content, and unlock additional benefits such as ad-free listening and early access, directly on Apple Podcasts.
And:
With Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, listeners can experience never-before-heard stories on Luminary’s “The Midnight Miracle” with Talib Kweli, Yasiin Bey, and Dave Chappelle, and Pushkin Industries’ “Revisionist History” with Malcolm Gladwell; the next chapters of QCODE’s apocalyptic thriller “Blackout,” starring Rami Malek and Aja Naomi King, and Realm’s “Orphan Black,” featuring Tatiana Maslany; the unrivaled chemistry and insightful commentary driving CNN’s “The Handoff,” and Politico’s “Playbook: Deep Dive”; and many more.
To get a sense of this, launch the Podcasts app, then tap the Browse tab. Tap on a featured show, like The Midnight Miracle, and you’ll see a TRY FREE ad with accompanying text “7 days free, then $4.99/month”.
This is a new experiment for Apple, and a path for podcasters to dip their toes into the monthly subscription model.
One of Apple TV+’s highest profile shows, The Morning Show will return with a 10-episode second season starting on September 17th. New episodes will drop every Friday.
Here’s the trailer…
This just popped up on the Apple Music YouTube channel. Also available in the Music app.
José Adorno, 9to5Mac:
In an unlisted video, Apple is promoting the new iPad Pro with the series “Your next computer is not a computer.” This time, the company creates a parody of The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World” song.
The ad was found by a Twitter user early this morning. Apparently, it was uploaded on June 3, before WWDC21 and the iPadOS 15 announcement.
Fascinating that this is unlisted (actually says “unlisted” on the YouTube page). Wonder if this was supposed to be part of the keynote. Interesting that Apple is parodying a well-known Disney song. Makes me wonder about the licensing issues involved there.
This is audio only, about 30 minutes long, but a fascinating look at the history of Apple and China. Lots of key moments in the relationship highlighted, starting with Steve Jobs and the birth of the relationship as China pitches Apple for the chance to manufacture the iPhone.
From last week, watch as AppleInsider’s Stephen Robles takes Live Text for a spin (demo starts at 1:18 in).
Note that Live Text requires an A12 Bionic processor or later, so if you want to try it yourself, you’ll need iOS/iPadOS 15 and the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR or later, the 2019 versions of the iPad Air and iPad Mini or later, the 2020 iPad, or the 2018 (3rd gen) iPad Pro or later.
Live Text is fun, and feels like just a taste of what I imagine might be coming to Apple Glass. Complete speculation here, but imagine if all the text you looked at was a gesture away from being copied to the pasteboard. Or, in a similar vein, if a gesture could transcribe live audio and copy it to the pasteboard, or gather it into a Note. Again, pure speculation on my part, but feels so doable.
It wouldn’t feel like WWDC without that annual tradition, usually on couches and in person, where John Gruber interviews key folks at Apple.
One again, WWDC is remote, but the tradition continues, with Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak joining Gruber via FaceTime. A great video, wonderful camaraderie, all the things you’d expect given the WWDC context. The action starts at about 6:22 in.
Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac:
FaceTime on the web is not like iCloud web apps that anyone can sign up for and use as they like. Instead, Apple is just letting iOS and macOS users invite others to a call through a public link that can be opened on any web browser.
In other words, you still need an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to start a FaceTime call, but now your friends with Android devices or Windows PCs can also join the call.
And:
For people receiving the public link, they only need to enter their names to join the call — there’s no need to have an Apple ID to use FaceTime on the web when you’re invited by someone else. The interface is almost the same as using FaceTime on an Apple device, but there are no extra options available such as filters and other effects.
Follow the headline link for some images that show web-based FaceTime in action.
Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. plans to drop its mask requirement for vaccinated customers at many U.S. stores beginning next week, a move that will mark yet another major retailer moving away from the Covid-19 safety protocol as states ease restrictions.
And:
The change will go into effect as early as Tuesday, and employees have been told that they won’t be required to ask customers for verification of vaccination.
Obviously, this is not yet a publicly announced policy and may vary depending on a specific Apple Store’s location. And Gurman points out that Apple Store staff will still be wearing masks.