Every once in a while, there’s an idea so obvious once you read it that I honestly wonder what’s wrong with me that I didn’t think of it.
Anyway, Joe Rosensteel’s brain did it, and my goofy-ass brain appreciates his idea that Apple’s Shortcuts should be text.
Well, this is one way to get folks to use their smartphones less.
It seems selling my iPad (first time not having one since 2010) has cleared the way for Apple to make iPadOS extra awesome. And I don’t seem to be getting the thanks I deserve.
My buddy Tom was right when he said (to my stupid, disbelieving face) that CarPlay Next Gen wasn’t going to come out. And it didn’t. To be more precise, he said it didn’t exist. It was just an Apple fantasy.
And, look, it didn’t come out, so he was right. But now we have CarPlay Ultra and it is out, so there’s that.
I don’t know when or if I’ll ever get to use CarPlay Ultra as I don’t own a car and I’m not likely to ever buy one (being a citybilly). But it’s fun to see. I rent a lot of cars via ZipCar and I was so relieved once they started buying cars with CarPlay. All car interfaces suck. I want to say ‘I don’t totally blame the car makers,’ but I do because they make the cars and those crappy interfaces. I get that it’s not their area of expertise, but, sheesh, hire some people. But if the car maker makes it easy for me to use CarPlay, then I’m good.
I hope we get to find out more about how Apple and manufacturers work together. Does Apple only offer 10 information cluster templates and says to the manufacturer “pick your colors and fonts?” Maybe there aren’t even templates? Could Honda make their cluster look super-close to Aston Martin’s? Can the user change the typeface or is that all controlled by the automaker? I’m assuming you get to choose from a selected series of layouts and apparently tweak the color some. I’m surprised you can tweak the color as color is part of a brand’s identity (or so I thought?).
Props to Aston Martin for including real switches in the car. Changing the cabin’s temperature via a screen is dumb and dangerous. It requires eyes off the road and a far steadier than one (me, I guess) can provide in a moving/bumpy car ride. I have to brace my hand on the dashboard above the screen in order to steady my hand enough to press the right on-screen button(s). Blah.
Eddy Cue’s comments yesterday about users using Google less and also saying in 10 years you might not need an iPhone are both really smart takes.
Initially I was like “wut” but he seems to be saying, “AI corps, which one of you wants to write us a check to be default search?” and also, “Hey, DOJ, no reason to break up Apple as we might not even be here in 10 years.”
Feelin’ Good Friday, #13: The hammer falls on Apple’s malicious-compliance scheme. I love Apple’s products, but I do not love Apple’s business practices, so I’m feeling good that they are getting their comeuppance1. I also like it when Apple is pushed back to its heels, as that’s when they do their best work (it seems to me). You know, make a better App Store in order to compete and make a better use of AI2.
Apple Card business is good enough to attract Visa and maybe even American Express? And, maybe Mastercard is still fighting for the business?
I’m old enough to remember when the Apple Card was bad business.
Not being an expert about the tech industry, AI, or, in fact, anything, I think being a white guy gives me the privilege to weigh in on Apple’s AI debacle1.
Seeing as Apple is clearly behind in this AI nonsense, I suggest they punt to ChatGPT and focus on Swift Assist2. It’s something they should be experts in (Swift) and would directly help developers make apps. I hope Apple talks among itself and comes to a good solution.
My personal klaxon is my knees popping when I squat down.
Thumbs up to the teams at Apple who make the Notes and Weather apps.
I’m still seeing so many articles about how expensive all Apple products are. I’m not saying they’re wrong, but it really does feel overblown.
Yes, you can spec up a Mac Studio to $14,000. There is no question it is a lot of money. But when the Mac Pro (Intel version) first came out in 2019, you could spec it up to $56,000 (around $69,000 in Jan 2025 dollars). And the M4 Ultra Mac Studio is faster. Heck, even the $599 M4 Mac mini is faster for many tasks (graphics aside).
When the pandemic hit and we stopped spending money, I got it into my head that I needed a 16” MacBook Pro, so I bought a refurbished (from Apple): i9, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD. It was $3,339. Not brand new, mind you. It was refurbished. Today, an M4 MacBook Air with 32GB RAM and 2TB SSD is $2,400. About $1,000 cheaper. I’m aware the screen is likely better on the Pro.
So, yes, Macs can be very expensive. But these headlines about cost are just to have articles to throw ads around.
I see Apple has had some success with a new movie. I watched The Gorge when it debuted.
I am having a hard time understanding how anyone liked it and how it is even getting a 5.9 on Rotten Tomatoes. The acting is good, but overall, it was super meh to me. I imagine the only reason it’s getting the rating it is is because Anya Taylor-Joy is impossibly cute.
With the acquisition of Pixelmator, I wonder if Apple is going to make a Pro bundle software subscription to live under what it called Services. You’d have Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, and then this pro level photo editing package (maybe called Layers or Pixels?).
I have yet to see a single Apple Intelligence ad that isn’t 100% cringe. The ads are either super misleading or showing the worst people using them to be lazy. Basically, the ads are a really lousy depiction of the work done by folks at Apple.
I am glad to read the iPhone 16 now has the highest repairability rating of any iPhone ever. I wrote in 2019 that I hoped it would be easier to replace batteries, and I’m glad to see Apple has done it. Finally.
Let’s hope this is a better design trend not a one-off design.
I so wish Apple would abandon the Image Playground feature it’s working on for iOS 18. This kind of creation is what people are best at so let it alone. Have the machines do some analysis or whateverthehell, but leave image creation to people. It’s more likely to go poorly than not, anyway.
If Apple is going to make the Mac minier, now’s a good time to use that hydraulic press.
I’ve found that if you want to know how Apple works and what Steve Jobs thought about a topic, just listen to him. He really did explain it all very clearly. It’s also something to listen to Swisher’s dumb questions/comments.
It’s funny that Amazon is giving up on walking out when Apple stores have had it for years.
“This is some bullshit!,” Merrick Garland, presumably.
A lot of people (all smarter than me) are very perplexed by the Apple lawsuitt brought forth by the U.S. DOJ. I wonder if this office shutting down is the answer to this and many other confusing statements by members of Congress when it comes to technology.
“This is some bullshit!," Merrick Garland, presumably.
I listen to the Apple New Today podcast every day. I find it to be the best of the <10 min morning news summaries. I have noticed that in the last few months ANT has been adding more and more sound bites from ESPN. With all the talk about Apple buying Disney, I wonder if Apple in particular wants ESPN.
Tech sites: Man, traffic is down, ad sales are down… Maybe Apple will create something we can all have hot takes on.
Intern: Even without using the thing?
Tech sites: Yes.
Apple: Here’s our idea for a new kind of computing.
Intern: I wrote up 1,000 words about how this will make us all sad forever.
Tech sites: Without using the product?
Intern: Yes.
Tech sites: Attaboy!
Reading
I am currently reading The Angel on the Roof by Russell Banks. This American Life recently included an old segment featuring Banks. I got the book from the library and they had to dig it out of the archives. That made me a bit sad. It’s slow reading for me, but I am enjoying the stories.
I somehow had missed the book Revolution in the Valley by Andy Hertfeld. Many of the stories, if not all, are available on his site, Folklore, but I am glad to have the stories in one collection to hold. And the pictures are bigger and that’s fun for me.
Watching
We’ve been watching Bad Sisters and that’s been a blast. How I can really, really like this family is something else. But I really do.
And because I am weak, and will watch anything sci-fi, I started watching The Ark. It’s buttocks. I watched the three available episodes (I know, I know, I can’t help myself).
Finally, raise a glass to Leiji Matsumoto who helped create Space Battleship Yamato, known in the U.S. as Star Blazers.
Saturday, September 26, 2020 →
I don’t agree often with Marco Arment but I completely agree there are too many scams in the App Store.
Maybe it’s time for an App Store within the App Store. That’s where the curated apps would completely checked by Apple. The others are there, just with fewer checks.
🍎😷👎 This is terribly irresponsible. Apple shouldn’t do this until trusted health officials give the okay.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
🍎⌨️😶 It always struck me that Apple, simultaneously, makes a great keyboard and a terrible keyboard.
But Apple has seen the light and is now striving to make more customers happy with a new 16-inch MacBook Pro that has a redesigned keyboard. While it definitely took too long, it’s fixed and now we just have to wait for it to trickle down into the rest of the lineup. I would guess not too long into 2020.
🍎📺➕ I suppose even if folks are complaining about Apple’s TV shows, it’s a win for Apple because people are talking about them.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
📱🎧🎤 The moment I saw version one of the AirPods I knew I wanted them. I had already had enough of my EarPods getting caught in a fellow commuter’s tangle. The moment an earbud gets ripped out of ear is jarring enough (enough to induce insta-rage), but it’s another when you have to start following them lest you have no headphones for the rest of your commute. Also (and this was the deal breaker), I managed to get myself tangled up in the stupid cable and smashed my iPhone 6 Plus to the sidewalk with such force you likely felt it. You certainly heard my yell. Truth be told, it was 100% my fault and not the cable’s fault. I mean, how could it be the cable’s fault? Seriously, the amount of times the man-baby in me comes out is embarrasing enough… but to have to go to the Apple store on top of it? I didn’t mention the man-baby part.
Anyway, the moment I saw the AirPods I knew I had to have them. Of course, they were completely out of stock for weeks and weeks. (Insert more man-baby shenanigans here). Thanks to a lovely co-worker’s husband (who worked at Apple), I was tipped off as to when his store got a shipment (thanks, John!). I loved the AirPods from the moment I put them in. I used them nearly every single day since I got them.
So when I tell you I love the AirPods Pro even more… Well, I can’t explain it. I’ve never, ever owned anything with active noise cancellation before and I’ll tell you: If you have a commute that involves a loud subway, you must get these. I literally keep the volume lower because of ANC. That’s gotta be good for my ear health.
I’m not saying they are a bargain. I am saying they are great. If you can swing them, get them. If you can’t swing them, save up.
I know there’s a thing going around about how the AirPods Pro aren’t serviceable enough and so Apple doesn’t care about the environment. It’s a valid stance. But I don’t recall seeing this for the decade(s) before about the wired headphones constantly being crappy. No, the complaints only rise when it’s 1) Apple and 2) When it’s a hit product. When something is bad, sure, bitch about it. But do it equally. I, however, won’t be able to hear you because of my AirPods Pro are really quite good.