Apple

Microsoft 365 and Office 2019 support for Apple Silicon

Written by

Microsoft:

The latest release of apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive can be installed on devices that are based on the Apple Silicon architecture. For the best experience, install the November 2020 release (build 16.43), or later. This release of Office includes the latest optimizations for macOS Big Sur, which is the first operating system to support Apple Silicon.

And:

As demonstrated at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June 2020, we’ve already started the process of moving Mac apps to universal binaries. In the future we will natively support both Apple Silicon and Intel chipsets within the same executable.

In a nutshell, the apps noted above will run in Rosetta 2 emulation or, as they get rebuilt for M1, as native apps. But the features won’t change. They’ll just speed up as they go native. At least, that’s the idea.

How unified memory blows the SoCs off the M1 Macs

Written by

Howard Oakley:

One of the major new hardware features of Apple Silicon Macs, including those launched on 10 November, is that they use “unified memory”. This article looks briefly at what this means, its consequences, and where the M1 and its successors are taking hardware design.

And:

GPUs are now being used for a lot more than just driving the display, and their computing potential for specific types of numeric and other processing is in demand. So long as CPUs and GPUs continue to use their own local memory, simply moving data between their memory has become an unwanted overhead.

And:

In this new model, CPU cores and GPUs access the same memory. When data being processed by the CPU needs to be manipulated by the GPU, it stays where it is. That unified memory is as fast to access as dedicated GPU memory, and completely flexible. When you want to connect a high-resolution display, that’s not limited by the memory tied to the GPU, but by total memory available. Imagine the graphics capability of 64 or even 128 GB of unified memory.

And:

Apple’s first M1 Macs are its first convergence of these features: sophisticated SoCs which tightly integrate CPU cores and GPUs, fast access to unified memory, and tightly-integrated storage on an SSD. Together they offer unrivalled versatility, what Apple sees as relatively low-end systems which can turn their hand and speed to some of the most demanding tasks while remaining cool, consuming little power, and being relatively inexpensive to manufacture in volume.

A great read, helps explain some of the speed increases in the M1 chip, and why 16GB of M1 RAM is not the same as 16GB of Intel Mac RAM.

Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage on June 1st, 2021

Written by

Dieter Bohn, The Verge:

After five years of offering unlimited free photo backups at “high quality,” Google Photos will start charging for storage once more than 15 gigs on the account have been used. The change will happen on June 1st, 2021, and it comes with other Google Drive policy changes like counting Google Workspace documents and spreadsheets against the same cap. Google is also introducing a new policy of deleting data from inactive accounts that haven’t been logged in to for at least two years.

And:

Google already counts “original quality” photo uploads against a storage cap in Google Photos. However, taking away unlimited backup for “high quality” photos and video (which are automatically compressed for more efficient storage) also takes away one of the service’s biggest selling points. It was the photo service where you just didn’t have to worry about how much storage you had.

This is certainly a major change to Google’s longstanding policy, but it does give you plenty of time to move your photos to other options if you don’t want to pony up for a monthly payment.

Apple only offers 5GB free before you start paying. Though Apple’s policy has never gone from offering free storage to charging you for same.

Status of M1 native Parallels Desktop for Mac

Written by

Parallels blog:

It is important to note that currently available versions of Parallels® Desktop for Mac cannot run virtual machines on Mac with Apple M1 chip. Good news: A new version of Parallels Desktop for Mac that can run on Mac with Apple M1 chip is already in active development.

If you care about running Windows emulation on your Mac, this is worth reading. Worth noting, also, that Parallels is actively seeking M1 Mac owners to try out their Parallels M1 technical preview.

Video from yesterday’s event: Behind the Mac — Greatness

Written by

[VIDEO] Apple:

This film celebrates the brilliant minds making greatness behind the Mac — Kendrick Lamar, Gloria Steinem, Billie Eilish, RuPaul, Tarana Burke, Spike Lee, Stephen Colbert, Takashi Murakami, and Saul Perlmutter, whose participation honors SMASH.org http://smash.org/, which is developing the next generation of scientists by providing equal access to STEM for students of color.

That VoiceOver (video embedded in main Loop post) sounds an awful lot like Billie Eilish. She’s acknowledged above, but she’s in the video itself. Anyone know for sure?

Apple launches extended holiday return policy, returns accepted until January 8 in U.S.

Written by

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

Items purchased from the Apple Online Store that are received between November 10 and December 25, 2020 can be returned to Apple until January 8, 2021, offering holiday shoppers more than two weeks to make returns.

These dates are applicable for the U.S. store, but Apple also extends return periods in other countries as well.

That’s an amazingly generous return window. You can buy a new M1 Mac today and have almost two months to return it.

AnandTech on Apple’s M1 chip

Written by

Andrei Frumusanu, AnandTech:

The new processor is called the Apple M1, the company’s first SoC designed with Macs in mind. With four large performance cores, four efficiency cores, and an 8-GPU core GPU, it features 16 billion transistors on a 5nm process node. Apple’s is starting a new SoC naming scheme for this new family of processors, but at least on paper it looks a lot like an A14X.

And:

Today, we’re going to be dissecting the new Apple M1 news, as well as doing a microarchitectural deep dive based on the already-released Apple A14 SoC.

There’s a lot to digest here, tons of detail, some of it picking apart the specifics that Apple shared yesterday, some of it extrapolating from what is known about the A14.

If you care about the hardware side of things, I think you’ll find this an interesting, dense read.

The biggest difference between the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is a fan

Written by

Sean Hollister, The Verge:

Apple’s new $999 and $1,299 laptops seem nearly identical if you look beyond the differently curved frames. They’ve got the same M1 processor, the same memory and storage options, the same ports, and very similar screens.

I’m not joking when I say: the biggest difference is a fan.

I actually prefer no fan, but there’s certainly value in a fan that lets a Mac run faster, longer:

A CPU’s thermal design power (TDP) in watts is a better predictor of performance than its gigahertz clock speed because some of the weakest laptop and phone chips can “boost” up to multiple gigahertz these days… until they heat up. In a small, fanless chassis, they have to throttle down quickly, but they can go for longer in a larger or better-cooled one.

Here’s a bullet list of the main differences between the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro:

  • At $999, the MacBook Air comes with seven GPU cores instead of eight, because Apple is salvaging some weaker chips (a common process known as binning) by disabling one core.

  • But at $1,249, the MacBook Air has the same eight CPU cores and eight GPU cores as the $1,299 13-inch MacBook Pro. The 13-inch MacBook Pro has a slightly larger battery (58.2Wh vs. 49.9Wh) and quotes two additional hours of battery life compared to the MacBook Air.

  • The 13-inch MacBook Pro’s screen is slightly brighter at maximum (500 nits vs 400 nits).

  • The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with the Touch Bar instead of physical function keys, though both have a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Good info. I went fanless.

New MacBook Air and MacBook Pro still have 720p camera, but Apple promises better quality from M1

Written by

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

During today’s event where Apple unveiled the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models, there was a mention of a new image signal processor for the camera, which brings some improvements to camera quality.

And:

Apple did not, however, add new camera hardware to the two machines, and the technical specifications pages continue to list the same 720p camera used in prior-generation models.

And:

Apple says the M1 chip improves MacBook camera quality with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, improved auto white balance, and ML-enhanced face detection

Apple leaning into machine learning to overcome hardware limitations. All you need to do is look at the newer generation iPhones to see this in practice. I’ve got a new MacBook Air on the way, looking forward to seeing this in a controlled environment, Intel MacBook Pro side-by-side with M1 MacBook Air.

Two takes worth reading on the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera

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First things first, there’s Austin Mann’s comprehensive review. Read the detailed comments, check out the images and videos. There’s a lot to process.

Don’t miss the wish list and low light shooting tips at the end of Austin’s post. And, most importantly, don’t miss the decision tree at the very end, which lays out the questions you should ask yourself before you plunk down your hard earned cash for the upgrade.

Next up, there’s Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max review: The best smartphone camera you can get, by The Verge’s Nilay Patel.

While it’s expensive, it’s not that much more expensive than the smaller iPhone 12 Pro: it’s just $100 more at every storage level, starting at $1,099 with 128GB of storage and going up to $1,399 for 512GB of storage. For that money, you get a larger display, a bigger battery, and a very different camera system. I’ll just cut to the chase and say it’s absolutely worth it over the standard 12 Pro if you can deal with the size — but it’s a lot of size. And the camera is worth exploring in depth, because there’s a lot going on.

And that says it all. Bigger sensor, better camera, more battery, bigger display, at $100 and some not insignificant pocket size/weight.

As you make your way through these reviews, think about the types of photos you take. On my end, I take a lot of photos of moving things, like cats, birds, and people. If that’s you, make sure you read the reviews with that in mind, keep your eye peeled for those sorts of examples.

If you hew more toward nature photography, I would definitely dive deep into Austin Mann’s immersive review. And if you are exploring the difference between different high-end smartphone cameras, spend some time on the slide-over shots in Nilay’s review.

PetaPixel interview: Apple reveals iPhone camera design philosophy

Written by

PetaPixel:

Since the Pro Max marks the first time in a while that Apple changed the size of its camera sensor, PetaPixel spoke to two Apple executives who outlined the company’s vision and design philosophy behind camera development.

In an interview with Apple’s Product Line Manager, iPhone Francesca Sweet and Vice President, Camera Software Engineering Jon McCormack, both made clear that the company thinks of camera development holistically: it’s not just the sensor and lenses, but also everything from Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, to the image signal processing, to the software behind its computational photography.

This is an interesting read, especially the discussion of the new, bigger sensor in the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Apple MagSafe Duo Charger Review: Useful, but expensive and underwhelming

Written by

Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch:

For context, you have to understand that this thing is $129 but feels like it should be $70. When you realize that it is a charger that doesn’t come with a power adapter, I would not be shocked if you mentally downgraded it to $40.

And (look at the pic of the hinge in the review):

The hinge and casing are coated in soft-touch rubber that is sort of press-molded on. While the hinge works fine, it is wobbly and immediately creases. The rubber is thick enough that it doesn’t give the impression that it will rip immediately or anything — but it’s not exactly confidence-inducing. This is an inexpensive hinge solution that you would expect to see from a price-conscious third-party accessory, not from Apple.

One of those takes where it’s all laid out in the headline.

iOS apps running on Apple Silicon Macs

Written by

Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac:

Since Apple Silicon Macs will have the same processors as iPhone and iPad, Apple will let users download and install iOS apps on these Macs even if the developer doesn’t offer a specific version of the app for macOS.

Key point is the idea that you might have a choice between an Intel-built app running in some form of emulation on an Apple Silicon Mac or an iOS app running natively.

Although by default all iOS apps are available on the Mac App Store for Apple Silicon, the company is allowing developers to opt their iOS apps out of the new unified store.

And there’s the rub. According to this post, not all iOS apps will be available on the new Macs.

If you were expecting to watch YouTube on your new Mac with a native app, you’re out of luck. Google has chosen not to offer most of its apps on the Apple Silicon platform, and this also includes Google Maps, Google Drive, and Gmail apps. On the other hand, the Netflix app for iOS is still on track to be available on new Macs, as well as the HBO Max app.

This is life on a new platform. But over time, older Mac apps will either fade away, or rebuild for the new hardware. Over time, you’ll have all native apps, one way or the other.

Same as it ever was.

Hands on video of Apple MagSafe Duo charger

Written by

[VIDEO] Looks pretty cool. I like the foldability and the popup Apple Watch feature that makes it work with the Solo Loop band. Video embedded in main Loop post.

Apple’s iPhone 12 Studio, a lot of fun to play with

Written by

Open the headline link on your iPhone or iPad (not your Mac) and start playing. This is a great way to get a sense of all the different colors and materials, cases and finishes.

Pick an iPhone, case, wallet, customize the colors, switch ’em up. Fun.

Sort of like Apple Watch Studio, but Apple Watch Studio works on the Mac. Wonder what’s different.

Apple freezes new business for Pegatron on China labor abuse

Written by

Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. suspended new business with iPhone assembler Pegatron Corp. after discovering labor violations at a student workers’ program, taking strong action to clean up a Chinese-based production chain long accused of worker abuse.

And:

[Apple] said it discovered several weeks ago that the Taiwanese manufacturer misclassified student workers and allowed some to work nights and overtime in violation of Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct.

And:

“The individuals at Pegatron responsible for the violations went to extraordinary lengths to evade our oversight mechanisms.”

Apple’s Francesca Sweet talks 5G with iJustine

Written by

[VIDEO] This starts a little slow, but it slowly builds. Two interesting subtopics are the discussion of tethering being potential faster than Wi-Fi and 5G in the enterprise space. Video embedded in the main Loop post.

I find it fascinating to think of tethering as a 5G Trojan horse, bringing 5G speeds to non-5G devices by tethering them to a 5G phone connected to mmWave.

What’s Behind MLB’s Fake Crowd Noise? Turns out it’s all iPads

Written by

Emma Baccellieri, Sports Illustrated:

When MLB settled on its structure for coronavirus gameplay—in home stadiums but without fans—it knew it would need to provide a remedy for the unnatural quiet of empty ballparks.

The league found its answer in the form of 30 iPads, one for each team, loaded with various crowd reactions so that a little tapping and scrolling was all it took to play the proper noises. But an artificial crowd is as an art as much as it is a science. And it’s harder than it looks (or sounds).

The linked SI article is from back in September. I had no idea how this was done. And, frankly, I’m glad. It does take away a bit of the mystery.

But, that said, this is pretty cool. Wondering if other sports use the same approach. The NFL has famously adopted Microsoft Surface (that first season, cameras caught a lot of coaches using iPads, NFL clamped down). Wonder how they do it? Well here ya go. Don’t miss that Mac screenshot at about 1:34.

iOS/iPadOS 14.2 brings Shazam to Control Center

Written by

Christian Zibreg, iDownloadMac:

Apple-owned Shazam is the most popular music-identification service in the world. Starting with iOS 14.2, your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch can identify music playing around you or in apps via Shazam-powered music recognition available from the Control Center.

In a nutshell, if you’ve got the iOS or iPadOS 14.2 beta installed:

  • Go to Settings > Control Center
  • Tap the green + to add Music Recognition to Included Controls

Do that, and you’ll see the Shazam icon in Control Center. Tap it, it’ll do its thing.

Me, I ask Siri:

“What song is this?”

Both seem to work equally well. I’m guessing they fire up the same exact bit of code. The Control Center approach is much more subtle if you’re in a room with others. Good to have both.

Apple’s coming Apple Silicon wave

Written by

Nikkei Asia:

Apple is asking suppliers to produce 2.5 million MacBook laptops powered by its in-house designed CPU by early 2021 as the California tech giant looks to rapidly cut its reliance on Intel chips, sources have told Nikkei Asia.

These initial production orders for the first MacBooks to use the Apple Silicon central processing unit are equivalent to nearly 20% of total MacBook shipments for 2019, which came in at 12.6 million units, sources briefed on the matter said.

And:

Apple has said it intends to completely cut the use of Intel’s standard CPUs, which rivals HP, Dell, Lenovo and Asustek also use for their computers, in its MacBook lineup within two years.

First bit shows that Apple expects a big wave of orders for the coming Apple Silicon Macs. Makes sense. This is a big change, and the first time in many years that we expect a truly significant performance upgrade in a new generation of Macs.

My favorite Apple product rollouts are brand new product categories (like the original iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch), significant feature introductions (like Night mode or Face ID), or significant construction changes (a modular, snap together Mac, the move to aluminum cases, or the first flat sided iPhone).

One last category that excites me is the move to an entirely new processor family. This wave has occurred twice, with the move from the Motorola 68K to PowerPC back in 1994, then the move to Intel in 2006.

To me, the coming Mac adoption of Apple Silicon will bring the biggest impact of these waves, with the unification of the product lines to Apple’s own chip designs, along with the incredible performance increase with on-chip machine learning, making highly performant AI available throughout the product line.

Like 5G, this stuff is in its infancy. Looking forward to what Apple’s got in the pipeline.

iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 let you use a private Wi-Fi address

Written by

Apple:

To communicate with a Wi-Fi network, a device must identify itself to the network using a unique network address called a media access control (MAC) address. If the device always uses the same Wi-Fi MAC address across all networks, network operators and other network observers can more easily relate that address to the device’s network activity and location over time. This allows a kind of user tracking or profiling, and it applies to all devices on all Wi-Fi networks.

So if you always use your device’s actual MAC address at, say, your local Starbucks, it becomes easy to uniquely identify that device and track you.

As Android did last year, Apple has given you the ability to randomize your MAC address. Follow the headline link to learn more but here’s how to turn this on/off:

  • Go to Settings > WiFi
  • Tap your WiFi network
  • Look for the Private Address toggle

Private Address is likely already on. If it is and you never noticed, perfect!

Since a randomized address is seen as a new network device, this might cause you to see a “new network device” alert each time you get on your home network (if you are set up to monitor such things). Apple lets you customize a network to turn private addresses on or off to address that issue.

How to delete Significant Locations on iPhone & iPad

Written by

OSXDaily:

Consider this feature to be Apple’s version of Google Maps Location History. Now, before you start worrying about your privacy, keep in mind that Apple doesn’t see or read this information, since all the data related to Significant Locations is encrypted. Plus, you have the option to remove these locations from your device and also turn this feature off, if you still have security concerns or you simply don’t want to share such information.

Significant Locations are enabled by default on iOS devices, but if you are reading this, you mighty want to turn it off and clear out that data. In this article, we’ll be discussing exactly how you can delete Significant Locations on both the iPhone and iPad.

Good to know you can delete your Significant Locations, but even if you don’t particularly care about that, worth following along just to explore this little-used branch of Settings.

Interview with Ted Lasso’s Jason Sudeikis

Written by

Liz Shannon Miller, Collider:

Sudeikis originated the character of Ted Lasso in ads for NBC Sports, but as he explains below, the idea to make it a series really came alive when Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence came on board. I previously wrote about how he and Lawrence worked together on this project, but please below find my full interview with Sudeikis (lightly edited for clarity), in which he explains how the show made the leap from a speculative pilot based on the commercials to an enduring beacon of nice-ness — and why that matters right now more than ever.

An enduring beacon of nice-ness. Perfect description of Ted Lasso. Great read.

Bloomberg lays out some leaks on the new Macs

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Follow the headline link if you want the details. Move on if you don’t want even the slightest hint of what’s said to be coming. Suffice it to say that Apple has promised new Apple-silicon Macs this year, and next week’s event is the last chance to fulfill that promise.

One particular bit that struck me (move along if you don’t want a potential spoiler):

Apple engineers are currently developing a new Mac Pro that looks like the current design at about half the size. It’s unclear if that Mac will replace the current Mac Pro or if it’s an additional model.

I have my eyes (and budget) on the highest end laptop that Apple announces next week. But if Apple goes Pro? It’d be delightful to hear about a desktop (non-iMac) in my price range. The machine I am replacing is a machine I do a lot of development on. A desktop screamer would be absolutely perfect, give me the chance to buy more power without taking out a mortgage on the house.

Excited for next week.

Apple VP Hankey on design: “An ethos of surprise and delight is baked into every single detail”

Written by

Wallpaper:

The 20-strong Industrial Design Group is at the core of Apple’s creative process and typically works at least two years out. This suite of products revealed in October were still at prototype stage back in 2018, long before Chief Design Officer Jony Ive stepped back from the company after 27 years. This level of foresight is essential, allowing time for the vast global mechanism of mass production, assembly and distribution to gear up for the next generation.

And:

As ever, the details go far beyond what you see on the surface — the iPhone team had to tweak the internal architecture — already a literal miracle of packaging – to accommodate the magnetic coil. The cardholder wallet is sprung so that a single card is still held as tightly as three. The passive NFC field ensures the iPhone detects when an accessory is docked, a feature demonstrated best by the sleeve which leaves a small slot for the time display. Putting away your phone will also change the display colour to match the sleeve’s.

If you appreciate design, this is a fun read. Apple and detail, partners.

Hands-on: iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe offers a compelling but tricky experience

Written by

Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac, digs into the new MagSafe iPhone Leather Wallet.

My biggest concern is the stickiness of the wallet. If I wedge my iPhone into a tight pocket, how hard would it be to accidentally dislodge the wallet, especially with a rear pocket?

It can definitely fall off easier than you’d hope. But I think once you get used to it, you’ll be aware of how to carefully put it in your pocket (especially with tight jeans/pants etc.) so you don’t knock it off.

So awareness is key here. No worries on demagnetizing your credit cards, but know that you’ll need to pay attention when you pick up and pocket your iPhone with wallet attached.

Apple TV will be available on new Xbox and PlayStation consoles for the first time

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Here’s the official Microsoft announcement.

And here’s the official Sony announcement (from a few weeks ago).

Gruber, from this Daring Fireball post:

Xbox users who aren’t already subscribed to Apple TV+ will be able to do so right on their Xbox. I’m curious if that’s a thing where Microsoft gets a cut of the subscription — I’m guessing no, because I can’t see why Netflix would go for that.

Giant towers of commerce, all built on exclusive ecosystems, with tendrils working their way across battle lines into opposing camps, all built on foundations of control and exclusion. If anti-trust breaks one of those foundational building blocks, watch out.