Tag: apple

Cupertino’s Axe Man

One of the most frustrating things to see in tech over the past few years are the massive layoffs. Meta, Google, Amazon, and many more had over-hired during COVID and decided reversing course was a good idea. Mixed into this reporting (and in my writing here too) was the fact that Apple was not one of those companies. Sadly, the current market caught up to them too as the company announced 600 people have been let go. The AP has more. The iPhone maker notified 614 workers in multiple offices on March 28 that they were losing their jobs, with…

Vision Sorta Pro

Read to the end for a post about inconsistent music. This past weekend I got my hands on an Apple Vision Pro. Now, I’m far from any YouTuber who gets press products nor wannabe ‘influencers’ who buy products, review them, then return them within Apple’s 14-day return window. And I certainly don’t have a spare $3,400 laying around. On Saturday I had some free time and saw on Apple’s website that I could schedule a 30-minute demo at a local Apple Store. It’s free and requires no promise to purchase or anything else. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but…

Apple’s Big Baby Moments

It’s weird to see companies having public temper tantrums. The year is not even two months old and Apple has been on a tear with taking its ball and going home. First it was Apple’s legal loss resulting in it being forced to allow outside payments from the App Store. On the surface this ruling looks like a big win for the likes of Spotify, Netflix, and any other company that doesn’t want to pay a 30% cut to Apple for all purchases. Fair enough. But Apple, always one to want total control, is going the Full-Greed route wherein it…

The Touchscreen iMac

On the 40th anniversary of the Macintosh computer, I thought it would be interesting to look back on an oddity in the history of this machine: a touch screen version. In the late 90s Apple was close to going out of business and with the acquisition of NeXT brought Steve Jobs back into the fold. The iMac was the first piece of saving the company. Then a different company was buying them and installing touch technology into them for niche use. The coolest part of these machines was that the company ELO was an Apple Authorized seller and apparently had…

Apple Adopts RCS

Color me more than surprised about this out-of-nowhere announcement from Apple. Let’s cut to the chase: late next year Apple will replace SMS with RCS on iPhone later next year. I have thoughts. Firstly, this is not replacing iMessage. There will still be green bubbles. iMessage will still be the default when messaging another person with an Apple ID. However, the fallback messaging with Android phones will now be via RCS. Back in August I declared “I would never bet Apple adopts RCS. They won’t. The only way is if SMS becomes deprecated and no longer supported by carriers in a few…

The WhyMac

Apple’s transition to their own in-house chips, Apple Silicon, has been a humongous boon for the Mac. For years the Intel-powered computers were good but Apple was at the mercy of Intel’s roadmap. And many times it was underwhelming. The first M1 computers were stellar in every way, none more striking than the redesigned iMac. But lost in all the excitement was a simple observation: Apple seems disinterested in the iMac altogether. The M-series iMac was released in May of 2021. Apple redesigned the whole thing. They went back to a set of colors, invoking the whimsy of the original.…

Apple’s Problem With Jon Stewart

It’s no secret I’m an Apple fan and generally support what the company does. Today is certainly not that day. Buried in the plethora of Apple TV+ content is the fantastic show The Problem With Jon Stewart. It’s a topical half-hour show that’s a cross between the Daily Show and Last Week Tonight. Stewart doesn’t pull any punches, as is his personality. But it seems there’s a line that was crossed… by Apple. Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge has more. Along with concerns about some of the guests booked to be on The Problem With Jon Stewart, Stewart’s intended discussions…

Eroding the iMessage Moat

RCS has long been the battle cry for Google and Android in the “messaging wars”. The better way to text has had an uphill battle, but Google has stuck with it and continues to push to make it a standard. Unsatisfied with carriers’ dragging its feet, Google made RCS the default way to message on Android and now has turned on end-to-end encryption by default. That is a big deal. Abner Li at 9to5Google has more on why. Google is making this big move to “ensure more people benefit from this added security.” E2E encryption for 1:1 conversations fully launched…

Before and After Reality

I’m doing something a bit different and writing my thoughts on Apple’s headset both before and after their WWDC conference, which took place yesterday. I’m no prognosticator but I have a lot of questions. Let’s dive in. Before It’s Friday, June 2 and I am completely intrigued by all this “Apple VR / AR / headset” news. Is it bunk? Maybe. But there are a few things going on leading me to believe, now more than ever, that Apple is announcing its next hardware platform on Monday. It comes down to a simple observation: Where there’s Apple smoke, there’s Apple…

The Lisa That Started It All

Every time Apple talks about its history during a keynote, they focus on the Macintosh. Its 1984 debut was industry-shifting. However, nearly every groundbreaking idea it embodied stood on the shoulders of its lesser-known predecessor. The Apple Lisa was a much-chunkier computer released 40 years ago. It was a complete flop. Apple poured boatloads of resources into its list of firsts: GUI, a mouse, menus, file systems, multiple apps, usability, and friendly computing. The Lisa was also incredibly expensive. The machine started at $9,995 (equivalent to $27,190 in 2021). But, without the Lisa, the Macintosh would never have been the success…

A Brydge Too Far

In late-breaking news last week, I was stunned to find out that iPad accessory maker Brydge had closed up shop, ceasing operations immediately. On its own, this is a sad story because I’ve held their products in high regard. However, the out-of-nowhere aspect looks to be due to the co-CEOs hiding how bad things really were. Chance Miller at 9to5Mac has more. One red flag that multiple former employees cited was a notable period during which Brydge did not have a chief financial officer… Instead, Brydge internally promoted someone from their head of finance role to act as CFO. Multiple…

Cupertino Savings

It’s no secret that Apple is making many inroads in the financial sector. I would guess it’s a lucrative place for them to focus now that services are fully established for the company. Apple Card allows Apple to save money in transaction fees. Now they’re able to provide another service to let people keep money with them: savings accounts. And the draw to entice people? A killer interest rate. More from Ashley Capoot at CNBC: Apple on Monday launched its Apple Card savings account with a 4.15% annual percentage yield. It requires no minimum deposit or balance, Apple said, and…

A New Era for Sonos

Sonos has always been known for its high-quality audio products. Now they are set to release its newest flagship speaker, the Sonos Era 300. According to a recent report by Scharon Harding at Ars Technica, the Era 300 will focus on spatial audio, offering users a 3D sound experience without the need for additional speakers. Compared to other Sonos speakers like the Sonos One and the Sonos Five, the Era 300 will stand out in key ways. It will reportedly use a combination of sensors and software to create a more immersive audio experience. This looks to be their flavor…

It Took Me Two Years to Learn Siri Could Do This

I don’t mean to brag, but I consider myself an iPhone expert. 😉 Being a fan of Apple and a user of their computers from about 1986 until today, it’s rare for a useful feature to get past me. But, I can’t claim to know it all and in one of those “how did I not know about this?” moments, I’m happy to share a cool feature that’s been out since iOS 14: A personalized daily update by Siri. Since the early days of the Amazon Echo, there’s been a cool feature called the “Daily Briefing”. This was a series…

The HomePod Comes Home

In what is surely one of the most out-of-left-field announcements from Apple in a long time, they have done something I have never seen them do: They resurrected a product. Specifically, the HomePod smart speaker is back and in its Version 2 form, it is very much similar to the HomePod that was discontinued in 2021. A quick rewind. In 2017 Apple announced a rich-sounding speaker that had Siri built in. The HomePod was designed in the opposite way of Alexa / Amazon Echo where it was for music first and an assistant second. Most of the demo focused on…

iPhone Karaoke

Apple Music has been in fierce competition with Spotify since the launch of Cupertino’s service. Aside from Spotify Wrapped (which Apple greatly improved their version in ’22), there are few differences in services. It really comes down to personal taste and preference rather than which is ‘better’. Because both are damn good. Apple is looking to up its game with the rollout of its new Sing feature, which is essentially karaoke for your devices. The best part? It’s included with an Apple Music subscription and all you need is a supported device. Here’s more from Apple’s Newsroom announcement. What Apple…

Alexa, Go Away

With the massive proliferation of Amazon Echo / Alexa devices, Amazon found a gaping hole by which to get their hardware into people’s houses. For years Amazon has generally released shoddy, commodity (AKA crap) they sell at a loss in order to get you to use their services more. The Echo was a hit, mostly due to its incredible speech recognition and speed with which it could reply. When Amazon first introduced the Echo, the question was “what do you do with this thing?” but it quickly became a perfect Kitchen computer for setting timers and reminders. Alexa was the…

Finally, Apple Competes With Spotify Wrapped

You know we’re firmly in December when you begin seeing the plethora of people sharing their year-end Spotify Wrapped. This compilation of listening stats has been awesome to see but has always made me, an Apple Music subscriber, a bit sad that I haven’t had anything similar. Apple has finally fixed this egregious error by completely revamping its year-end Replay feature. And it’s awesome. Hartley Charlton at MacRumors has more. The overhauled experience puts the new highlight reel feature at the forefront of the Replay webpage, which users are encouraged to interact with before delving into more detailed information and…

A Silly Little SmartPhone

Over on “The Birdsite” there continues to be no end of apologists, seekers of Lord Manchild’s (as I’ve nicknamed Musk) attention, and defenders of Elon Musk’s every move. Twitter is Going Great chronicles so much, but this new nonsense takes the cake. Attention-Seeker Liz Wheeler jumped into the fray on Twitter basically challenging Musk to take action if the Twitter app is pulled from the App Store and Google Play. According to her, “Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone & Android. The man builds rockets to Mars, a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?” I…

The Muddled iPad

Last week Apple updated its iPad line, as rumors had suggested. It wasn’t a flashy prerecorded event or a live keynote. With some press releases and an update to their store, the “new hotness” was unleashed. But unlike many new products, this lineup is… confusing. For years Apple has gone with a Small, Regular, and Large iPad lineup. The mini was a niche item that dedicated people liked. The iPad without a suffix was for “normals” and the Pro was the one with the big screen. Then the waters were muddied by the iPad Air sticking around to float wherever…

Death to the SIM

For all the hullabaloo in Apple’s announcements last week, one key item was also announced: the iPhone 14 in the US will not come with a spot for a physical SIM card. eSIM, a software-only equivalent, will be the only way to go from now on. Is this a smart move on Apple’s part? Eli Blumenthal has some reporting from some carriers that say “absolutely”. “I think it’s transformational,” Ahmed Khattak, founder and CEO of US Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator that offers service on Verizon and T-Mobile’s respective networks. “I think the fact that it even happened ……

Camera Evolution

On the eve of the iPhone 14 announcement, I thought it would be good to pause and look back on this fantastic comparison the folks at Simple Ghar mocked up. The team over there went through and compared photos from Samsung, Apple, and other smartphones going back to 2000. To compare the capabilities of camera phones over the years, SimpleGhar’s experts gathered data on the tech specs of the best-selling devices and those that made a significant leap in image quality. Then, we created mock-up images of the effect each camera phone would have on a consistent set of sample…

Diversifying The Supply Chain

Apple, like most companies, has most, if not all manufacturing taking place in China. While this has been debated hotly in the US for decades if it’s good to do, COVID and the inability to make things have hit the tech sector hard. Apple is now doing something about it. Arnold Zafra at The Mac Observer has the ways Apple is working to make sure they can continue to build at scale. According to Nikkei Asia, Apple suppliers Luxshare Precision Industry and Foxconn started test production of the Apple Watch in northern Vietnam. With the level of sophistication that making…

RCS Shame and Blame

Google launched a new campaign two weeks ago that looks to do two things: The first is to tout how far RCS has come since Google began pushing it a few years ago. The second is to shame Apple into supporting it on iOS. Google will fail. That isn’t simply my opinion. While it is true I am an iOS user and I do prefer Apple’s products above Google’s, I also have seen this before. Let us hop in the Delorean and go back to 2004 when Real Networks (remember them!?!) waged a similar campaign against Apple, but that time…

Egg Freckles

One of the most infamous Apple products to hit the market in the first Non-Steve-Jobs Era was the Newton. This PDA (remember those!?!?) was Apple’s attempt to make a device that could be portable, useful, and have some amazing technology in it. The Newton was an absolute failure for Apple. Now, 30 years later, Jeremy Reimer at ArsTechnica looks back at this device with so much wasted potential. The Newton MessagePad 100 went on sale for $900 in 1993 dollars, or about $1,800 today. For that money, you received a device that was absolutely innovative and different but which still…

Lightning Thief

For the past two decades we’ve lived cable hell. It’s the place where everything we own has a different charger cable and one where there are so many “standards” that never make things easier. It has gotten a bit better in recent years, but now the US is working to push it even further. Jenny Zheng at GameSpot has more on how there is a big push for “the one plug to rule them all”. A group of US lawmakers are urging the Department of Commerce to establish a standardized common charger for all mobile devices. Spearheading the appeal are…

BlackBerry Meant Well

There is a fascinating time between January 2007 and January 2010 in the world of smartphones. This short 3-year span was one where Apple was blazing a trail with the iPhone and other manufacturers responding in kind. One standout is the BlackBerry Storm phone. It was a revolutionary failure. Rewinding to Steve Jobs’ unveiling of the iPhone, we were told something we’d never considered as consumers prior: the buttons on a phone were set forever. The iPhone could change or hide buttons whenever. At this time the BlackBerry line was THE smartphone to own. Many came for it and it…

Apple TV+ Comes Into Its Own

I’ve been saying it for many months: Apple TV+ is a bonafide hit of a streaming service. But what are the best shows on Apple TV+? Of course, we all know about Ted Lasso. Apple promotes it at every opportunity. However, Severance is the latest show to really knock it out of the park. I cannot state enough how great this show is. It combines great storytelling and visuals that drive the ideas home. There’s a lot more than this pair to watch. Keith Nelson, Evan Romaro, and Milan Polk at Men’s Health breakdown of the top 20 shows on…

iPod Saves The Office

For fans of The Office (a show I’m just now watching for the first time), there’s a great interview with Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Appearing on Seth Meyer’s talkshow, the duo from our favorite paper company talks about how the show was saved by an unsuspecting device. The episode from 2005 revolves around an iPod as a Secret Santa gift. Apple shortly thereafter announces its 5th generation iPod, which can now play video. Part of this enhancement was a new offering to sell individual episodes of TV shows on the iTunes Store. Sure enough, The Office was one of…

WWDC 2022

With little surprise, Apple held its annual developer conference. Everything we knew was coming was announced: iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS9, and macOS 13 (Ventura). There’s a bunch to break down, including some hardware. I have thoughts. Let’s dive in. If I were to distill iOS 16 to core updates, this version brings improvements to the lock screen and Messages. Basically you get to “un-send” and edit a sent message. You get a 15-minute window to do those things. To me, that’s too long. The other cool thing is the ability to hold on the subject of an image and…