on Monday, Microsoft announced a new Xbox app that lets you stream games from your own Xbox to your own Android phone over your local network for free. There’s an iOS version coming too — and while my colleague Tom Warren originally suggested the console streaming feature probably wouldn’t come to iOS, I’m now willing to bet it will.
And:
Microsoft now tells me the goal is actually to have full parity between the iOS and Android apps, and that Apple is already reviewing the iOS version now.
And:
Sony’s PS4 Remote Play is already on iOS, and it works almost exactly the same as Microsoft’s Xbox console streaming. It similarly mirrors the entire PS4 interface, including access to the PlayStation Store. And though Microsoft’s Android app does include the ability to play over the internet, and a few more creature comforts like remote management of your console, I would think the “generic mirror” rule would keep it from getting kicked out.
That last is the precedent that makes this case. I’d be shocked if Apple blocked the Xbox streaming app.
One of the most exciting trends I’ve seen is the emergence of a new category of apps entirely centered around widgets. While most widgets will come built in to the apps you already know and love, some developers have built brand new apps for the sole purpose of enabling users to create and customize widgets in a hyper-personalized way.
And:
Leading the pack in this regard is Widgetsmith from David Smith, which not only covers one of the widest array of different widget types, but also features a power user-friendly scheduling option that sets it apart. The App Store hosts a growing number of other widget creation tools too, such as Widgeridoo, Widget Wizard, Glimpse, and Health Auto Export.
I’m planning on spending some quality time this week creating my own Widgets, seeing if I can craft a home screen experience that delivers the info I’m looking for.
If rolling your own is not your cup of tea, spend some time looking through Steve Streza’s curated list of widgets he’s encountered, both built in and custom.
If Widgets are new to you, follow the link in the previous paragraph, scroll down and read the section titled How to use Widgets. Great, short explainer.
Customers who chose a Solo Loop or a Braided Solo Loop along with an Apple Watch Series 6 or SE and have a poor fit can’t just return the band for a new size — the entire Apple Watch has to be returned since it’s considered a set.
Unfortunately, there are limited supplies of the new Apple Watch Series 6 models and the new bands, so customers forced to make a return are now having to wait from late October to late November for a new Apple Watch, depending on the model chosen.
I can’t imagine this is what Apple intended when they envisioned the Loop Apple Watch band. This is a headache, both for Apple and for folks who faithfully use the wrist-measuring tool and get a Loop band that just doesn’t fit.
Seems to me, Apple should either replace the band, without requiring the watch itself to be returned, or just send out replacement bands at their cost. This is a situation of Apple’s making. I hate the thought that people have to go to the back of the queue when they wait for their Series 6 and find that the Loop band doesn’t fit.
This situation is still evolving, so my hope is that Apple tweaks the process to address this inequity.
In the meantime, my Apple Watch with Loop band order is in, awaiting my entry in the Loop band sweepstakes. Hoping I get lucky.
Back in March, Dan Moren wrote an excellent post on macOS Safari, and switching tab behavior, so new tabs open at the end, instead of immediately after the current tab.
This involves enabling the Debug menu (not to be confused with the Develop menu, which is exposed in Safari Settings > Advanced).
In a nutshell, to enable the Debug menu, hop into Terminal and type:
A tech CEO is onstage helpfully explaining that the Mac’s expiration date is imminent. More important, he’s about to introduce us to a new computer designed for the next decade. I am in a distant seat among his audience of more than 2,000 at Boston’s Symphony Hall, where the anticipation in the air is thick enough to induce a contact high.
After all, we are among the lucky few who will hear about the NeXT computer directly from Steve Jobs himself.
The article is a great read, lots of embedded audio and video nuggets from the past. Terrific collection.
Repair-wise, we’re happy to see the fussy Force Touch gasket gone, and only two fragile cables tethering the display.
So Force Touch is gone, but the physical gasket goes with it, opens up just a bit of space.
Despite the almost imperceptibly thinner design, Apple packed in brand-new sensors in addition to the larger-capacity battery and beefier Taptic Engine.
Every new Apple Watch generation bringing stepwise refinement. This is far from a watch as the iPhone is from a phone. Apple really upping their game.
Bare Bones Software, makers of BBEdit, is one of my favorite software companies — in fact, I’ve been using BBEdit for more than 20 years. BBEdit has been updated to version 13, and is available in the Mac App Store as a subscription! Same great features. Same user experience. You can subscribe in the Mac App Store or purchase perpetual licenses directly from Bare Bones Software. Also, you can still get great merch, including Classic and Rebus T-shirts, enamel pins, and more in their merch store!
> Since the earliest Apple Watch, you have been able to change your move goal (the red ring), but there was no way to change the exercise goal (the green ring) or the stand goal (the blue ring). Now, in watchOS 7, this is possible.
Follow the headline link for Kirk’s walkthrough. Really good to know this exists.
The one ring I might change is the number of Stand hours. I hate the stress it introduces when I miss an hour, either because I was standing and my Apple Watch missed it, or because I got sucked into writing and an hour flew by.
I do appreciate the value of a Stand reminder (good for my health), but I don’t need the anxiety, I’m already always visiting the Stiiizy cannabis dispensaries for my own personal anxiety, I don’t need more of that.
Even if you know most of these, worth making your way through the list for that hidden gem you didn’t know about.
A few comments:
Open Settings > Home Screen and select App Library Only in the top section. You can easily find recently downloaded apps in the App Library’s Recently Added category, which should be the top-right folder when you view it.
I’m wrestling with this one. Do I want new apps on my curated home screen? Or do I want them in my App Library, where I can find the app in Recently Added?
My problem with App Library is that it’s at the back of the book, behind the last page of apps. There’s a quick gesture to jump to my first page, but no gesture to get to my last page, or to the App Library (please ping me if such a gesture exists). So if I leave new apps in the App Library, I’ve got to scroll, scroll, scroll to get to it, then wiggle mode drag, drag, drag to get it to my home page if I do want it there.
UPDATE: Courtesy of @nibsuk, a faster way to get to the App Library from the Home page is to scrub through the page dots at the bottom of the page, left to right. When you get to the last page, drag right to left to bring the App Library page into view.
Faster, but a drag down from Home page brings up the search mechanism. No one is using the drag up gesture. Maybe tie that to App Library functionality, add a button to jump to App Library? Maybe add in App Library search?
I do like the premise of the App Library. I just think we need a bit more infrastructure to make it easier to use.
A new accessibility feature called Back Tap makes it possible to trigger system features, like multitasking or Control Center, or launch a Shortcut just by tapping on the back of your iPhone two or three times.
Find the feature in Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. Pick the number of taps you want to use, and then you’ll see a list of actions you can initiate.
This is my favorite hidden gem. I currently have back tap set to bring up Control Center, purely as an experiment. But there are a lot of options here, and this feels like a “tip of the iceberg” feature, that has massive potential.
One thing I’d love to see is a back tap option to move the text cursor. Imagine if you could double-tap to move the cursor back one space. I find myself off having to micro-adjust the text cursor all the time. Fat finger dragging the cursor can be very frustrating. A double tap to go back or forward a single space would be wonderful.
Shortcuts folks, is there a way to add a backspace character (^h) to a text shortcut so I can shortcut this problem? Just a thought.
Great walkthrough by Christian Zibreg, iDownloadBlog.
By far, my favorite tweak is moving the audio controls:
Before iOS 14, you had to press the Home button on the remote to get to the tvOS Home screen, then you would press and hold the Play/Pause button to bring up the audio interface. In tvOS 14, you can get to these controls through the Control Center, which can be swooshed into view by holding the Menu button (you don’t need to exit to the Home screen).
I do this all the time, when I pop my AirPods in and want to connect to my Apple TV from listening on my iPhone. Having to jump to the home screen, then press and hold the pause button to bring up the sources list, then navigate back to what I was watching is a bit of a pain point.
This new approach is so much better.
Also, props Christian for “swooshed into view”. Gonna steal that.
UPDATE: Played around with tvOS 13 and 14, seems like the Control Center shortcut was there in tvOS 13. They just got rid of the pause button shortcut in tvOS 14. Interesting.
It was a big week for Apple. The release of two new Apple Watches and two iPads were the highlights of the event on Tuesday, but there was more. Apple also announced Apple One, Apple Fitness+, and Family setup services for its users.
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When enabled, Optimized Battery Charging learns from your personal device habits and waits to finish charging all the way up until you need your Apple Watch.
For example, if you regularly charge up your watch at night while you’re asleep, the device may opt to limit its charging to the 80 percent mark, and then wait for an hour or so before you wake up to charge the remaining 20 percent.
Read the post to find this setting. Worth knowing about.
UPDATE: I’ve been told that the linked site is infested with malware, so I’ve taken down the link. I replaced it with a link to Apple’s “compare all models” page. Follow the headline link, click “Compare all models” link. Not quite as easy to glean, but better than just deleting the post, which was my first instinct. [H/T @longleaps]
OK, technically, the Series 0 is not on here, but that’s a quibble.
This is a great chart, showing what watch models support what features.
For example, Family Setup only works on Series 4 or later, and only on cellular models.
Find your model, make your way down the chart to see what you’re missing. Time for an upgrade?
Butch Walker’s production and songwriting resumé is not only impressive, it’s extensive. A quick snapshot of the Georgia native’s work over the last 15 years include producing and co-writing with Taylor Swift (on perhaps her most rocking record, 2012’s Red), in addition to Pink, Gavin DeGraw, Harry Connick, Jr., Fall Out Boy, Weezer, The Struts, and Train.
But Walker is an equally prolific artist in his own right, with nearly a dozen albums since 2002’s deft Left of Self-Centered, all of which display Walker’s fierce guitar playing, power-pop writing gifts, and broad production palette. More recently, he has been busy on new albums by Jewel, The Wallflowers, and Green Day’s latest LP, Father of All…, which sees Walker escorting Billie Joe and the boys through some of the garage-y, glam-approved territory. Here Walker details how Apollo, UAD, and OX Amp Top Box helped deliver one of Green Day’s most ambitious records yet.
I use Universal Audio gear every time I plug in a mic to do a podcast or plug in a guitar to record a song. It’s fascinating to see how the pros are using the same gear I am to record their music.
Apple today announced Apple One, the easiest way to get all of Apple’s subscription services in one simple plan, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud. With a single subscription, customers in over 100 countries and regions can enjoy their favorite Apple services across their favorite devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac.
This announcement almost got lost in the noise of all the other announcements. Been looking forward to learning more about the Apple One bundles.
Here are the pricing details:
Individual includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for $14.95 per month.
Family includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage for $19.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members.
Premier, where available, includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for $29.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members.
The Premier is a no-brainer for me. I already spend $15/month for Apple Music, $10/month for iCloud storage. So $5/month adds in Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+. That’s an incredible deal. I’m in!
Coming this Fall. And don’t forget: 3% cash back if you pay with Apple Card.
Here’s a set of videos that made an appearance in yesterday’s event.
My favorite (and it truly is hard to choose) is the second one, with that voiceover who goes everywhere (even outer space) trying to find things the new Apple Watch doesn’t already do.
The new iPad Air is in a weird place though, or rather, it muddies the iPad lineup a bit. It can use the Magic Keyboard originally made for the 11” iPad Pro, but the Air’s screen is 10.9”, so the bezels must be a tiny bit bigger on the Air compared to the 11” iPad Pro. It also uses the second generation Apple Pencil, the magnetic one.
So far, not much different. But:
The iPad Air doesn’t have the full camera array, just the one 12 megapixel wide lens. The front facing camera isn’t the TrueDepth like on the Pro either, so while they’re both 7 megapixels, it can’t do Portrait mode or be used for Animojis or Memojis, nor does it work with Face ID. Instead, the iPad Air has Touch ID built into the top button. Furthermore, the Air has two speakers placed for landscape mode, whereas Pro models has four speakers. The Air screen doesn’t have ProMotion and is somewhat less bright (500 nits compared to the Pro’s 600 nits). It’s also a wee bit thicker, but weighs a little less. And, to wrap all the differences up, the Air comes with up to 256 GB storage, starting at the puny 64 GB, which will disqualify an otherwise truly capable machine for many users.
As I was watching yesterday’s event, I was wondering about the differences between the iPad Pro and the new iPad Air. Good to know the specifics.
Note that the new iPad Air has an A14 Bionic, while the iPad Pro is built on the A12Z Bionic.
In case you missed it, here’s the video of yesterday’s Apple event.
At the very least, jump to about 7:30 in and catch that fly through and the great comic timing of Craig Federighi. What’s that in his hands? An iPad Pro? The new iPad Air? I’m choosing to believe it’s the latter.
Read the whole thing. Very touching. But this bit stood out to me:
Dad wrote me a letter on my 50th birthday. It is one of my most prized possessions. In it, he encouraged me to stay curious. He said some very touching things about how much he loved being a father to my sisters and me. “Over time,” he wrote, “I have cautioned you and others about the overuse of the adjective ‘incredible’ to apply to facts that were short of meeting its high standard. This is a word with huge meaning to be used only in extraordinary settings. What I want to say, here, is simply that the experience of being your father has been… incredible.”
It’s hard for me to pick out a star of today’s Apple event. Usually, it’s pretty easy to choose one product, but with the new Apple Watch, iPad, and iPad Air, Apple delivered three products that will appeal equally to its users.
I use the iPad a lot, but the Apple Watch has been on my wrist from the time I wake up in the morning until I climb into bed at night. I use it all day long for everything, from music to directions, and I love it. I can’t imagine going a day without it.
When Apple Watch was first released, there was a focus on the watch’s overall technology and what it could do. When the company realized the interest in fitness, they dove headlong into providing some of the best fitness features it could.
However, along the way, the watch’s ability to help users with medical conditions became evident. Once again, Apple dove headlong into partnering with some of the world’s most significant medical organizations to make the watch better.
Apple Watch Series 6 seems to combine those two approaches into one more than any release before it. With the new Blood Oxygen sensor, Apple is once again breaking barriers for what tech can do to help the average user.
I know that it’s the very fit athletes that are highlighted using the Apple Watch, but it’s what the watch does for the average person that is more important to me. I’m not exactly the fittest person on earth, but Apple Watch still helps me every day—it prompts me to move, stand, and close my rings. Sometimes those little prompts are all it takes to get started doing something great.
I felt inspired by watching the Apple Watch presentation, especially Apple Fitness+. Okay, I’ll admit, I was a little scared too because there is no way I’ll keep up with most of those fitness routines. However, Apple did say they had “workouts that are suitable for all ability levels” and an “approachable program designed for beginners.”
I made some changes in my life with the original Apple Watch that helped me lose 50 pounds—now I think it’s time to make some more changes and give Apple Fitness+ a try.
Like many of Apple’s products, it’s not just the features but also the details in the features. They make things so easy for the user, like this:
When a workout is selected and started on iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, the correct workout type will automatically start on Apple Watch. During the session, the metrics from Apple Watch are shown on the screen and come to life for moments of inspiration. For example, when the trainer says to check heart rate or begins a countdown timer, those numbers will animate on the screen. And for customers who like to push themselves with a little healthy competition, the optional Burn Bar shows how their current effort stacks up against anyone who has done the same workout previously.
It just works.
Family Setup for Apple Watch almost got lost today, but it’s another important feature. Designed for kids and older adults, it’s something I think a lot of households will take advantage of when it’s released.
Family Setup in watchOS 7 extends Apple Watch to the entire family by allowing kids and older family members of the household who do not have an iPhone to benefit from the connectivity, safety, and fitness features of Apple Watch. Kids can take advantage of communication and personalization capabilities, access Emergency SOS at any time, enjoy an Activity rings experience that has been optimized just for them, and utilize a new mode called Schooltime, which can help them stay focused and attentive while learning at home or in the classroom.
watchOS 7 also offers optimized features for older adults, starting with a simplified onboarding and configuration process, along with a refreshed X-Large face that shows the time and a rich complication at a glance. Older adults can also benefit from a new Health Checklist in the Health app on iPhone, which offers the ability to track whether health features like fall detection have been enabled in one centralized view.
iPad and iPad Air
iPad Air is indeed a powerful machine. Using Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, the Air will undoubtedly be all the power that many people will ever need in an iPad.
With a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, upgrades to the camera and audio system, many will ask if they really need to buy an iPad Pro. While the Air is a fantastic device, there are a few advantages to having the iPad Pro like ProMotion, quad speakers, LiDAR, better cameras, and more cores, to name just a few.
As with any device, your particular uses will determine which iPad you should buy.
iPad Air comes with a 7MP front-facing FaceTime HD camera and a 12MP rear camera, the same one used in the iPad Pro. The Air also comes with a USB-C port allowing for 5Gbps data transfer.
I was also pleased to see that iPad Air was compatible with Magic Keyboard, my favorite iPad accessory. If someone I knew were buying an iPad Air, I would highly recommend getting the keyboard. It does change the way you use the device.
The last major update of the day was the eighth-generation iPad. It’s the entry-level iPad designed for those who want to communicate with family and friends, surf the web, email, and other similar tasks.
iPad is still a powerful device with an A12 Bionic chip, a 10.2-inch Retina display, and costs $329, making it the most affordable iPad. Using the A12 Bionic chip, iPad is “up to two times faster than the top-selling Windows laptop, up to three times faster than the top-selling Android tablet and up to six times faster than the top-selling Chromebook,” according to Apple.
There was a lot to like about Apple’s event today. They delivered everything from an affordable Apple Watch and iPad to mid-level iPads and high-end watches. Add to that the new services, and you have a lot to think about when making your next purchase.
Apple today introduced an all-new iPad Air — the most powerful, versatile, and colorful iPad Air ever. Now available in five gorgeous finishes, iPad Air features an all-screen design with a larger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, camera and audio upgrades, a new integrated Touch ID sensor in the top button, and the powerful A14 Bionic for a massive boost in performance, making this by far the most powerful and capable iPad Air ever made. The new iPad Air will be available starting next month.
First off, this one’s a screamer, performance-wise. The fastest chip Apple has put into any device. Presumably, this same chip will power the iPhone 12 and, maybe, the new Arm-based Mac. This is no small thing.
And that Touch ID sensor seems a huge move. Just imagine if Apple added that sensor to the iPhone 12. Best of both worlds, especially when you are wearing a mask. That’s pure speculation on my part, not even likely, but I think it’d be a great solution.
Apple today introduced the eighth-generation iPad, featuring the powerful A12 Bionic chip that brings the Neural Engine to the entry iPad for the first time. Starting at just $329, the upgrade packs even more value into the most popular and affordable iPad, featuring a stunning 10.2-inch Retina display, advanced cameras, and great all-day battery life.
And:
The eighth-generation iPad with the A12 Bionic chip delivers a huge leap in performance, with 40 percent faster CPU performance and twice the graphics capability. This makes the new iPad up to two times faster than the top-selling Windows laptop, up to three times faster than the top-selling Android tablet and up to six times faster than the top-selling Chromebook. For the first time on iPad, A12 Bionic introduces the Neural Engine for next-level machine learning capabilities, including people occlusion and motion tracking in augmented reality (AR) apps, enhanced photo editing, Siri performance, and more.
Available to order now, availability beginning Friday.
Apple today announced Apple Watch Series 6, introducing a revolutionary Blood Oxygen feature that offers users even more insight into their overall wellness. Apple Watch Series 6 delivers many notable hardware improvements, including a faster S6 System in Package (SiP) and next-generation always-on altimeter, along with its most colorful lineup yet, featuring a beautiful palette of new case finishes and bands. watchOS 7 brings Family Setup, sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, new workout types, and the ability to curate and share watch faces, encouraging customers to be more active, stay connected, and better manage their health in new ways.
There was a ton packed into this part of the keynote. All the hardware mentioned above, plus Family Setup and Apple Fitness+.
Along with the hardware additions to Apple Watch, Apple has made some significant additions to the ecosystem, bringing in kids (think Apple Watch SE combined with Family Setup) and expanding their fitness base with Apple Fitness+.
As I mentioned in this tweet, I think Apple has just taken on Peloton, offering a range of moderated fitness classes, but instead of tying them to a bike or treadmill (Peloton’s model), they’ve tied the classes to the Apple Watch and Apple’s other hardware.
I think this rollout is significant. And the Apple bundle pricing seems very attractive. I am bullish here.
Apple today announced Apple Watch SE, packing the essential features of Apple Watch into a modern design customers love — all at a more affordable price. The largest and most advanced Retina display allows customers to easily see more details and the information that matters most, right on their wrist. Apple Watch SE features the same accelerometer, gyroscope, and always-on altimeter as Apple Watch Series 6, and with the latest motion sensors and microphone, it offers robust health and safety capabilities including fall detection, Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, and the Noise app.
With the introduction of Family Setup, this is a perfect watch for kids.
Apple Watch SE (GPS) starts at $279 and Apple Watch SE (GPS + Cellular) starts at $329.
It’ll be available to order later today, with availability this Friday.
