TidBITS:

Do you have an aging iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch that you want to keep using—and keep covered by AppleCare? The good news is that if you previously bought AppleCare+ for your device, you can now extend that coverage indefinitely on a monthly basis when the plan ends. Here are two things to keep in mind:

You cannot extend your coverage until your existing AppleCare coverage ends. Once it ends, you have 60 days to renew your coverage.

Apple will not notify you when your AppleCare+ coverage ends, unless otherwise required by law.

Set yourself a reminder to do this once your AppleCare+ expires.

Om Malik, Wired:

About 72 minutes into the annual iPhone launch event, Apple senior vice president of marketing Phil Schiller invited Sri Santhanam to come onstage and talk about the brand new A13 Bionic chip found inside all three of the new phones.

And:

By the time Santhanam was done talking, all I could think of were the numbers. Apple’s new chip contains 8.5 billion transistors. Also, there are six CPU cores: Two high-performance cores running at 2.66 GHz (called Lightning), and four efficiency cores (called Thunder). It has a quad-core graphics processor, an LTE modem, an Apple-designed image processor, and an octa-core neural engine for machine intelligence functions that can run a trillion operations per second.

This new chip is smarter, faster, and beefier, and yet it somehow manages to consume less power than its predecessor. It’s about 30 percent more efficient than last year’s A12 chip, one of the factors that contributes to the extra five hours per day of battery life in the new iPhones.

And this on the competing chips from Qualcomm, Huawei, and Samsung:

Those chips have some faster components and more of them, so you may think those chips perform better than Apple’s. But the reality is that we hardly use the entire capacity of the chips that come in our mobile devices. One or two high-performance cores are enough for most of what we throw at our phones. Apple’s six-core design might seem lagging compared to the eight-core processors from the competitors, but really, the two big processors on its chip easily outperform its rivals’ designs.

This is a terrific read. No special hardware knowledge required.

Apple:

Apple today previewed the new Apple Fifth Avenue, an entirely reimagined space beneath one of New York City’s most recognized landmarks. With its distinctive, luminous glass cube rising above a newly designed public plaza, Apple Fifth Avenue is ready to resume its place at the heart of one of the world’s most vibrant creative communities.

Now nearly double the size of its original version with a higher ceiling and more natural light, Apple Fifth Avenue is a brighter, more expansive space, and the perfect stage for customers to discover and try Apple’s newest products. A new Forum will be home to free, daily Today at Apple programming, which kicks off Saturday with a special series that captures the creative spirit of New York. The area dedicated to Geniuses has also doubled, allowing the team to dramatically increase service capacity. It remains the only Apple retail location open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Follow the headline link, check out those images. Those circular stairs are a marvel.

Great food for thought from The Verge’s Dieter Bohn. Read it, it’s well written, not too long.

Bottom line, it does not seem an unreasonable conclusion that Apple Arcade will impact the App Store, at least in the Games section. The question is, will that impact be seismic?

Will Apple Arcade have a similar impact to music streaming, where all-you-can-eat replaced one-at-a-time song sales?

Will the Apple Arcade grow into the thousands, even tens of thousands? Or will Apple limit the number of games in the catalog?

One thing that is clear to me: For the consumer, Apple Arcade is a big win. Not only for value, but for the ability to live in a world free of scams and the pressure to make in-app purchases.

Interesting.

You might want to clear the decks around 10a PT, 1p ET, 6p London time. There’re a lot of games to be played.

As we shared yesterday, here’s a nice list of games to get you started, and a growing list of all the games on Apple Arcade so far.

While you wait, now might be a good time to dig out your Xbox One, PS4, or MFi game controllers and charge ’em up.

Once you dig in, ping me with your absolute favorite games.

T-Mobile:

Today, T-Mobile announced it is the only wireless provider to offer 3% Daily Cash on Apple Card. Starting Friday, September 20, all customers will receive 3% Daily Cash when they use Apple Card with Apple Pay at any T-Mobile store. Combine that with T-Mobile’s current offer — 50% off the latest iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max with 24 monthly bill credits and an eligible trade-in — and customers score serious savings on the latest and greatest.

First things first, if you’re considering a carrier switch, this might be worth considering. As I read it, you have to go to a T-Mobile store. Not clear if this works if you start service on-line or over the phone.

There’s also this:

And this is just the beginning, as T-Mobile will bring Apple Pay to the T-Mobile app and t-mobile.com.

“Will bring”. Not clear when this will happen, but once it does, you should get the 2% Apple Pay bonus when you pay your monthly bill, so add that to the equation.

One final thought on the 3% list. I wish there was an easy way to tell if a merchant I was about to pay offered the 3% bonus. Seems to me, there should be a way, on the Apple Card Wallet page, to tell me the bonus of the nearby terminal. That’s prompt me to use Apple Card in that situation. As is, I have to remember the list of 3% offerers.

Zac Hall, 9to5Mac:

Apple Watch is still a maturing product category for Apple, and that shows in the adoption data. According to CNBC, Apple says a whole 70% of Apple Watch customers are buying their very first model. That means that 30% of Apple Watch customers are actually upgrading from older models, but Apple hasn’t fully tapped into the upgrade pool yet.

Here’s a link to the CNBC article. Great catch by Zac.

70% of Apple Watch buyers are new to Apple Watch. That’s incredible growth. And it’s before Apple Watch Series 5 hits the street.

Doomed.

Vanity Fair:

As he exits Apple’s board, the Disney chief reminisces about his unlikely friendship with its mercurial founder—and how their radical visions aligned to save two companies.

If anyone else had said that Apple and Disney might have merged, I wouldn’t believe them.

The Verge:

Let’s just get this out of the way: if you’re at all interested in high-quality mobile games and you own an iOS device, Apple Arcade is a no-brainer. The subscription service launches tomorrow for $4.99 a month, and it’s making its debut with a huge range of excellent games from renowned studios like Ustwo, Simogo, and Capy Games. If there are even two titles that pique your interest, that’s worth the price of admission.

The biggest problem with the service right now, though, is that it can be overwhelming. There’s just so much. It can make figuring out where to start almost paralyzing. For the past few days I’ve been digging through the Apple Arcade lineup to pick out the 10 games I’d recommend most, spanning a number of genres and play styles.

Looks like there’s a little something for almost every kind of gamer. Can’t wait to try it out tomorrow.

Austin Mann:

The iPhone 11 Pro announcement was really about one thing: camera.

The big camera features I was most interested in testing were obviously the Ultra Wide (13 mm) lens, the new Night mode, Capture Outside the Frame, and things like iOS 13 photo management, editing tools, etc.

It’s been a blast to shoot with and test this strong camera upgrade and I’m excited to share the results.

As usual, Mann got an early review unit to take on his travels. As expected, the camera performed above and beyond his expectations.

“After 16 years at Apple, countless keynotes, product launches and the occasional PR crisis, I’ve decided that the time is right for me to step away from our remarkable company,” wrote Dowling. “This is something that has been on my mind for a while, and it came into sharp focus during the latest — and for me, last — launch cycle. Your plans are set and the team is executing brilliantly as ever. So, it’s time.”

In a statement, Apple said of Dowling’s departure: “Steve Dowling has been dedicated to Apple for more than 16 years and has contributed to the company at every level through many of its most significant moments. From the first iPhone and App Store to Apple Watch and AirPods, he has helped tell Apple’s story and share our values with the world. Following another successful product launch, he has decided to leave Apple to spend some much deserved time with his family. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy that will serve the company well into the future. We’re grateful to him for all that he’s given to Apple and wish him the best.”

The move comes right after Apple hosted its annual fall event last week at its Cupertino headquarters, launching the iPhone 11 and its latest iteration of the Apple Watch. Marketing head Phil Schiller will take over Dowling’s role in the interim, and sources said the company will be considering both internal and external candidates to take over the position.

This is an incredible bit of news. I will miss Dowling. I’ve known him for the entire time he was at Apple, and he’s always been very upfront, honest, and helpful. All the best.

It’s interesting that Apple is looking internally and externally for a replacement. With Apple the way it is, I think it would be very hard to find someone outside that could fill that role the way Apple expects it to be done. I honestly don’t know if that would work out for them.

Engadget:

You might have rolled your eyes when Apple mentioned that the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro could do “slofies,” but the company is taking things slightly more seriously. Apple has applied to the USPTO for a trademark on the term “Slofie” in terms of “downloadable computer software for use in capturing and recording video.” Don’t worry, it’s not trying to own the cultural landscape — rather, this is largely to prevent app developers and phone makers from ‘borrowing’ the term for their own features.

The word is silly and unlikely to catch on but Apple is CYAing just in case.

Great job. 62 games in the list so far. Trying them out, feels like infinity.

Of all the services, Apple Arcade feels like the most no-brainer of no-brainers.

Dieter Bohn really nailed this Apple Watch Series 5 review. Great production values, lots of detail, all clearly explained.

Hollywood Reporter:

The ad-supported, direct-to-consumer platform will be called Peacock and launch in April 2020 with a lineup of more than 15,000 hours of content, including exclusive library titles like Parks and Recreation and originals including reboots of Battlestar Galactica, Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster. Peacock will take center stage during NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics in 2020 when the entire NBCUniversal fold will get behind the platform with a massive marketing push promoting the service, with originals set to launch after the Games.

Ad supported. This like the Hulu model, with two pricing tiers, one with ads, and a premium version ad-free?

Peacock will be the exclusive streaming home for both The Office and Parks, with other library titles set to debut at launch on the service eventually becoming exclusive to the platform. Those titles — nearly all of which are from studio counterparts Universal TV and UCP — include 30 Rock, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Cheers, Chrisley Knows Best, Covert Affairs, Downton Abbey, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, Friday Night Lights, House, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, King of Queens, Married … With Children, Monk, Parenthood, Psych, Royal Pains, Saturday Night Live, Superstore, The Real Housewives, Top Chef and Will & Grace.

That’s a huge back catalog, with lots of movies as well. Going to be interesting to watch Apple TV+ build a service from scratch. Definitely a long game. I expect some consolidation over time, as the limits of consumer pocketbooks are reached.

Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica:

A municipal broadband service in Fort Collins, Colorado went live for new customers today, less than two years after the city’s voters approved the network despite a cable industry-led campaign against it.

And:

The Colorado Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA), of which Comcast is a member, donated $815,000 toward a campaign against the ballot initiative. The Chamber of Commerce also opposed the plan. Comcast didn’t participate in the campaign publicly, but the company would have been the main beneficiary of a vote against the municipal option.

In all, the industry-led opposition spent more than $900,000 fighting the ballot question, while the pro-broadband group led by residents spent about $15,000.

This is a huge win. What fair-minded person would vote against such a service, a service that levels the playing field for all people in the community, gives far more value than Comcast was offering.

More of the same, please.

Halide:

Every year, cameras including those in your iPhone become far more powerful thanks to both hardware changes and accompanying software processing. This is a machine learning camera.

It’s 2019, and your camera isn’t just a module that takes a photo anymore. Cameras compose images from dozens of exposures, mixing and matching pixels from various frames, changing the output creatively and intelligently to ensure you get an image that looks, ironically, more faithful to what we see. All of this means that with fairly modest changes in hardware (except for the new ISO ranges), the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro appear to deliver one of the biggest leaps in camera quality in iPhones yet.

If you’re a serious amateur or professional photographer, the 11 Pro will be of great interest to you. This technical readout goes into a lot of details of the cameras on the new devices.

Follow the headline link for the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max review. But watch the video embedded below for the visuals.

I especially appreciate Nilay Patel’s voiceover explanation of Smart HDR and the mention of Deep Fusion, a software update for low light that is said to be coming later this year.

All-in-all, a terrific video to watch if you are interested in the iPhone 11 Pro camera.

And don’t miss the pictures Matthew Panzarino took on his trip to Disney World with the iPhone 11 Pro, especially that Night mode pic of Winnie the Pooh, inside a dark ride, with no flash.

Follow the headline link, tap iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro, then pick a color. Tap the side arrows to step through the gallery for that model/color combination.

Next, tap the Compare models button to get to the compare page. Tap the tabs at the top to compare specs.

I found this useful. But check out the URL. “experience.apple”. I’ve not seen that one before.

Zac Hall, 9to5Mac:

Digital compasses like the one inside the new Apple Watch Series 5 and iPhone 3GS and later rely on a magnetoresistive permalloy sensor called a magnetometer to detect levels of magnetism.

And:

Apple warns that bands with magnetic clasps may cause interference with the built-in compass.

It’s an edge case, but if you prefer Apple Watch bands with magnetic clasps (such as Leather Loop, Milanese Loop, and Modern Buckle), be aware they might mess with the compass.

Solid move, Tim. The discount applies to:

• Current and Veteran members of the US Military, National Guard and Reserve
• Immediate family members who reside in the same household

Looks like the discount is across the board. Check this tweet, and this one.

TechCrunch:

Let’s get this out of the way right up front: iPhone 11’s Night Mode is great. It works, it compares extremely well to other low-light cameras and the exposure and color rendition is best in class, period.

Given the similarities in models, (more on that later) I mainly used the iPhone 11 Pro for my testing, with tests of the iPhone 11 where appropriate. I used the iPhone XS as a reference device.

There are going to be lots of iPhone 11 reviews in the coming days and weeks but I expect many of them will be similar to this one. Apple has another huge hit iPhone.

BoingBoing:

The Mr. Creosote sketch from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life went viral this weekend after director Quentin Tarantino was alleged to have said it’s the only scene in film he was ever disturbed by. Watching it, it struck me that I’d never actually seen the whole thing, and that you might not have, either.

I read somewhere, perhaps Michael Palin’s autobiography, that under the hot studio lights and the long, technical takes, the food matter on the set began to reek and one of the extras vomited for real.

I haven’t seen it since it originally came out and I have no intention of watching it ever again – that’s why I didn’t embed it in this post. But some of you might enjoy it. Fair warning: Tarantino is right.

One Zero:

Nerds have always been defined by their passion, and passion can be a wonderful thing. But passion seems to turn so bad so quickly. There’s an oft-used adage, “No one hates Star Wars like Star Wars fans,” which also happens to have been a line I used to hear verbatim about Star Trek fans, too. I mean, Game of Thrones’ final season wouldn’t be loathed by so many if they hadn’t adored the series first.

For the first time since high school, I have felt genuine shame in telling people I am a nerd. When I have had occasion to tell someone I’m a Star Wars fan, I immediately feel the need to qualify it by adding, “but I’m not one of those crazy assholes you hear about.” I love Game of Thrones, but I can’t think of the series at all without also remembering all the hate spewed about the final season. There are an increasing number of things I used to enjoy that feel tainted by the hate other so-called fans feel for them, and it’s getting harder and harder to separate the two.

It’s hard to argue with this. Maybe it’s because I’ve “aged out” of my former low-level nerdiness but while the article points out “…there is more nerdy love in this world than hate,” it also makes the point that, likely because of the internet, “love is quiet, and hate is loud.”