One of the highlights of April’s M1-revealing Apple event was the Mission Impossible scene, with an Apple exec running on the roof of Apple Park, then breaking into HQ (for a refresher, watch the first video embedded below).
For a reveal on how the stunt was done (yup, there was actual running on the roof of Apple Park), watch the second video. Pretty great.
Another great iPhone 13 Pro camera review, filled with images to give you a sense of the reach of the newest high end iPhone lenses/modes.
If the camera is driving you to consider an iPhone 13 Pro, this is a great review to make your way through.
The only caveat:
But there’s been one thing that has been bothering me in the week I’ve been testing the iPhone 13 Pros’ cameras. Something so frustrating that, for the first time in a decade, I’m not upgrading to the best iPhone camera that Apple has to offer… at launch. Not until Apple fixes it, at least. And a fix is coming, Apple confirmed to Input.
Here’s the issue:
If you have your iPhone 13 Pro camera set to the 1x wide camera and place an object or a subject within 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) of it, the viewfinder will maintain the 1x framing/composition but use the ultrawide’s close-range autofocusing in tandem. You can literally see the viewfinder flicker/pop and “switch” to this hybrid viewfinder.
Here’s a pair of videos (here and here) showing this flicker/pop effect in action. I get the annoyance, and I appreciate knowing the cause.
Apple’s response:
A new setting will be added in a software update this fall to turn off automatic camera switching when shooting at close distances for macro photography and video.
Perfect.
Kudos to Apple Support for its recent run of “How To” videos. This video is full of useful information, perfect for folks relatively new to Apple Watch.
But even if you are a seasoned Apple Watch veteran, give it a look, if only for the run through of all the various features that you might have forgotten how to access, or whose mechanics might have changed/expanded in the last few releases.
One tiny thing I found interesting is at 18 seconds in. If you press the bottom of the Apple Watch, preparing to drag up to bring up Control Center, a translucent shutter pops into view (the top of Control Center). I am so used to pressing and dragging up in a single motion, I had never noticed that particular animation before. A mild detail, but I appreciate the value of having it pop up, perfect for accidental discovery.
This is some breathtaking footage. Make sure you watch in full screen, at the highest resolution your setup will support.
Follow the headline link for an updating list of links.
One video that was missed (at least as of this posting) was this excellent, detailed, video review by Rene Ritchie, which I’ve embedded below. It covers all the iPhone 13 series, including the mini, and touched on a few points I personally found very interesting. A fire hose of detail.
If you’ve only got a quick sec, check out the trailer below. It’ll give you a sense of the new show, which premieres a week from tomorrow.
If you have a bit more time, follow the headline link for an interview with Jon Stewart, specifically focused on the new show, from The Hollywood Reporter.
If you are considering an iPhone 13 series phone, this video is worth watching. If nothing else, don’t miss the demonstration of Cinematic Mode and, especially, that bit at 2:37 in showing editing the focus points after the video was shot.
The whole interview is fun, worth watching. But my favorite bit is right at 2:47 in, where Tim holds up the iPad mini. It’s the purple one, the model I just ordered and hope to have in my hands sometime next week.
Here’s a still frame of Tim and the mini. I think this gives an excellent sense of the size of this iPad. Clearly well bigger than the biggest iPhone, but small and light enough to manage in one hand. Yet with the same power as the brand new iPhone 13 Pro. A beast!
So many videos. Here’s the Apple Event itself, if you’d like to rewatch it. The YouTube page has a table of contents, which will make it easier to find specifics in the video. It also includes a detailed list of all the music featured in the event.
Embedded below:
Here ya go…
So many videos in yesterday’s event. Here are the main “Introducing…” product videos shared by Apple.
One note on that first video. Jump to about 1:25 in, note the iPhone 13 mounted to the handlebars of the motorbike, something Apple warns you not to do. To be fair, this isn’t exactly a “high-power or high-volume motorcycle engine”, but an interesting choice nonetheless.
Apple TV+ is revving up their release schedule. Here’s the slate of shows dropping over the next few months:
Watch the trailer, embedded below.
The first video dropped Friday, offering a brief recap of Season One and scenes and actor discussions on what’s coming in Season Two.
The second video focuses more on the new characters, new faces coming in Season Two.
Interesting to me how much the focus on this show has shifted from the days leading up to the original launch of Apple TV+, when The Morning Show was the central focus, the tentpole show on which Apple pinned their hopes and dreams, to now, where The Morning Show has been eclipsed by Ted Lasso as the tentpole show, and is not one show among many.
Side note, as I mentioned here, Apple TV+ is poised, in its infancy, to do something Netflix has never done. The Emmy awards are this weekend. Rooting for Ted Lasso to bring home the Outstanding Comedy Series win, something no Netflix show has ever done.
The danger in a simple question as headline is Betteridge’s law.
In this case, the headline is a fair question and the video embedded below an interesting exploration of the topic.
In a nutshell, while the M1 chip brought incredible performance to Apple’s laptops, the built-in GPU does not compete with desktop machines with high end external GPUs. Here’s a still frame from the video I posted this morning that gives you a sense of how big that performance difference is.
The Intel Mac Pro (as discussed in the video) is incredibly modular, let’s you plug in various high-end GPU cards for high-end performance. The M1 chip has a built-in GPU which inherently caps the graphics performance. So the headline question is a fair one.
If any of the above tweaks your interest, watch the video below.
Two well known media figures talk about how big tech companies, including Apple, manage the media narrative using devices like split embargoes to control what features are allowed to be included in reviews.
Very interesting.
Joanna Stern, Wall Street Journal, on her water damaged MacBook Pro:
See, with no AppleCare+ to cover accidental damage, Apple said it would repair the machine in five to seven days…for $999. Nearly its original price! The Apple Genius said buying a new laptop would probably make more sense. Then I brought it to an independent repair shop. It was fixed within a day…for $325.
It’s exactly what Apple and various tech companies don’t want you to do. It’s exactly what proponents of the “Right to Repair” want to make it easier to do.
Watch the video, embedded below.
Paul Rudd refuses to age.
When Apple TV+ launched on November 1, 2019, The Morning Show was the big bet, got a ton of marketing push from Apple. Since then, we’ve seen a wide array of shows, including the first blockbuster hit, Ted Lasso.
The second season of The Morning Show, premiering September 17th (three weeks from Friday), will arrive in a different world. There’s the pandemic, of course, and a change of administrations. But this new season will not arrive as the unquestioned tentpole of Apple TV+. Apple TV+ is now a somewhat crowded space, the competition for eyeballs is now stiffer.
All that said, the trailer below does make the new season look every bit as compelling as the first season. Take a look.
Apple:
Seventeen-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the sole hearing member of a deaf family – a CODA, child of deaf adults. Her life revolves around acting as interpreter for her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) and working on the family’s struggling fishing boat every day before school with her father and older brother (Daniel Durant). But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for singing and soon finds herself drawn to her duet partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Encouraged by her enthusiastic, tough-love choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between the obligations she feels to her family and the pursuit of her own dreams.
The writeup above does a solid job setting up the plot for this new Apple TV+ movie. But the devil is in the details, and those details delivered. If emotional family drama is your bag, take a look at both videos embedded below. Or just head over to Apple TV and start watching.
The writing was tight, the performances, well, extraordinary. Top notch cast, led by Best Actor Oscar winner Marlee Matlin. For me, right up there with Ted Lasso for escapist, feel-good viewing.
To get a sense of the goal here, the dream, jump to 25 seconds in and check out the looped videos posted by French video artist Romain Laurent. They are both whimsical and seamless.
Better yet, take a look at this page, where you can see them all in full motion.
With that in mind, watch the video below, where Romain shares some hints with Today at Apple.
I do realize that most of you know how to do this, but thought this was worth passing along for the folks who don’t, and for you to pass along to the folks who you tech support.
Don’t miss that bit about turning the mic on and off.
Starlight!
Yeah, the rewritten version is much better, especially once you’ve seen the video.
Juli Clover, MacRumors:
According to Apple’s developer website, the second AirPods Pro firmware update adds support for Conversation Boost, a feature that was missing from the first beta.
Conversation Boost is an iOS 15 feature that uses the beamforming microphones in the AirPods Pro to boost the volume level of conversations, which is ideal for those with mild to moderate hearing challenges.
Think about being in a crowded, noisy restaurant, with a lot of bouncy surfaces and multiple people talking at once. Conversation Boost uses computational audio to focus on and amplify the sounds coming from the direction in which you are facing.
The video embedded below (from back in June) does a nice job showing this.
If you like mysteries and have not yet checked out season one of Truth Be Told, do so. It’s a great show.
If you are a fan of Season One, check out the Season Two trailer, embedded below. First new episode drops August 20th, two weeks from Friday.
I love watching someone who has mastered their craft. In this case, check out Alexandr Misko’s take on Careless Whisper, with beautiful finger work, hammering and, above all, those incredibly precise tuning peg changes.
Landon, a creative at Apple Grand Central in New York City, joins up with Maria Lax in London to do a nighttime photo expedition, exploring techniques to up your Night Mode photo technique.
This was a lot of fun to watch.
I found this whole thing fascinating. The pandemic truly was the mother of invention here, forcing the Barnstorm VFX team to think outside the box.
[H/T Kirk McElhearn]
Some great technique insights, in this short commissioned by Apple.
There’s forced perspective (little kid as giant monster), a cool low-budget crane shot, and a spooky lighting effect. All of these are shots you can recreate at home, and a good starting point for other shots you might be inspired to create with your own materials/equipment.
The teardown itself starts at about 3 minutes in. I found the whole video fascinating, but one inescapable conclusion: Apple knows how to make stuff that no one is ever getting into without destruction.
This ad will definitely get your heart racing. Or, at least, raise your blood pressure. Jarring juxtaposition with Apple’s recent tagline, Relax, it’s iPhone.
Alyona Vargasova, showing off some incredible guitar chops.
As you watch, check out the hammering done by both hands. This is some great precision finger work and Alyona makes it look easy, effortless.