Maccast 2016.08.12 - Show #581

Links

Opening

Opening Music

Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles

Sponsor: Hover

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News

Will Apple Watch 2 have more autonomy?

KGI analyst Ming Chi Kuo thinks so and told his investors in a recent note.

Thinks there will be a small update later this year with a similar design.

Updated 16nm processor (System in a Package) from TSMC along with a higher capacity battery life and improved water proofing (I assume swimming rated).

He also thinks this upgrade might bing price cuts of up to maybe even $100 on the Sport bringing that under USD $200 in the 38mm model.

Kuo sees an LTE upgrade and a GPS/barometer upgrade sometime in 2017, but still not any major form factor changes

Seem to think Apple will roll out continutious feature upgrade each year

radical form- factor changes

More health functionality, he notes that only 50-60% of the current Apple Watch's total functions are enabled due to FDA regulations.

Better cellular access when 5G rolls out.

I think I'd prefer to not see a 2016 roll out and have Apple wait until they can do GPS and LTE connectivity (seem more likely 3G?).

A report from Economic Daily News that Apple is working on a stand alone health device for monitoring heart-rate and blood sugar.

At first this seems unlikely as you might assume Apple would want to build more functionality into the watch, but if you believe Tim Cook it makes more sense.

In a results call when asked about more health functionality in Apple Watch he said: "We don’t want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process. I wouldn’t mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long."

Apple has not enabled O2 saturation for example which is possible with the current sensor.

More iPhone case leaks and fakes

We're are now weeks away from a possible iPhone 7 event in early September and the foreign sites are out trolling for clicks in droves.

More and more "Space black" component parts, a black chassis, SIM tray and mute button.

Bloomberg betting on a flush pressure-sensitive home button in place of the physical one.

This seems highly debated, but I'm thinking the rumors is likely correct.

Would use the force touch and taptic feedback to simulate physical presses.

Weibo reportedly has images of the new main logic board

Shows the mounting location for the 10-nanometer A10 processor

I've wondered how small that is: Virus (30-50 nm), DNA (2.5 nm).

Also, what's after nanometer? Seems to be ångstrom (1 x 10-10 m) though picometer (1 x 10-12 m) sounds better.

A10 does seems to be mounted higher on the logic board with some other chip placed between it and the SIM card lot

On Weibo there were also purported images of a front display assembly matched to a front panel

The display sees to be mounted upside down with the flex cable and connectors near the bottom of the front panel (the image is upside down home button on top).

Unclear if that's an internal design change or if the poster of the image just placed the front panel upside down

Because of that same reason some concluded there was no Home button cutout (confirming a non mechanical button), but clearly at the top there is a home button cutout.

That said, the front panel used may or may not be an iPhone 7 panel.

More and more images of back panels including high res ones

These show colors including Space Black and with or without Smart Connectors

The high res ones from the Czech site are for sure mockups as they have a model number on them of A1549 which is an iPhone 6 model number and the image of the iPhone 7 even has a A1429 model number (iPhone 5).

They also have the FCC badging which Apple removed in the iPhone 6s line and I don't think would add back in.

The reported Geekbench scores for the A10 at 2.37GHz with 3GB RAM and performance scores of 3,548 for single- and 6,430 for multi-core, (higher than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro BTW) have been confirmed fake by 9to5Mac.

More supposed details on the dual lens system

Both sensors, which each capture color differently, simultaneously take a picture, and the device produces a single, merged photograph

More clarity in zoomed images and sharper low light photos

A Nikkei report says competitor pressure forced Apple to kill a single lens version of the iPhone 7 Plus.n

Apple finally dropping 16GB and going with 32/128/256 GB (likely)

Oh and there will not be a 3.5mm headphone jack, but you knew that already, right?

Tenth Anniversary iPhone

A report claims Foxconn, now that it owns Sharp Display, is developing glass casings and OLED displays for smartphones in an attempt to secure orders for the tenth-anniversary iPhone next year.

Our favorite Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple will switch to a non-aluminum casing in 2017 and thinks glass is the likely material.

The OLED switch has been rumored for a while, as you may know.

The advantage of OLED is that they tend to be thinner, brighter, have richer blacks, and are more energy efficient than LCDs

I'm split on the move back to all glass, the original iPhone had a metal back and seems more true to the original for a 10th anniversary edition.

New Macbook Pros soon, no really this time.

I know we've been here before but there is a still a Macbook Pro update coming, see I can say that because there is ALWAYS a new Macbook Pro update coming (eventually)

Yeah, we said this before WWDC, but seriously now there's strong indication it will happen sometime before the end of the year.

The latest is that the previously reported OLED touchbar that replaces the function keys will also incorporate a power button with TouchID support.

It's my thought that TouchID will be coming to all future Macs in some way

Resources files in macOS Sierra have hinted as such.

Said to be, " the most significant overhaul of [the] MacBook Pro lineup in over four years".

Will be thinner and supposedly have a smaller footprint, but will continue the non-wedge shaped design.

It's also said the update will have more powerful and efficient graphics processors, reportedly using AMD's "Polaris" graphics chips.

The notebooks will also likely only come with one type of port, USB-C, but there is said to be 4 of them and they will be compatible with Thunderbolt 3.

Apple has ‘considered bringing gray, gold, and silver colors to the new line’

Big question I have is, will it have a 3.5mm jack?

For it's notebook event the belief now is that Apple will set up the MacBook Air as the entry-level machine, offer a new 13-inch MacBook in the mid-range and the two MacBook Pro models for the top end.

Timing is "before the end of the year", but probably NOT at the same time as the iPhone 7 announcement.

TrendForce says that Apple may have seen a small uptick in notebook sales in the June quarter

They think Apple sold 3.3 million notebooks in June, that should be up about 30 percent from March.

The believe most of that increase is from the updated 12-inch Macbook models which added Skylake processors, improved Intel HD 515 graphics, faster PCIe-based flash storage, an additional hour of battery life, and faster 1866 MHz memory.

Feedback, commentary, opinions

Buttons for smart switches

Robert sent in a solution for using plug-in home automation switches and still giving manual controls that are convenient to access

Insteon, what I use, sells [remote switches]( https://www.amazon.com/INSTEON-2444A3WH-Mini-Remote-Switch/dp/B005LIH41O) and [scene remote controllers]( https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Remote-Control-Keypad-4-Scene/dp/B005LIH2QG/), [wall mounts]( https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Remote-Control-Wall-Bracket/dp/B005LIH496) and [tabletop stands]( https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control-Visor-Tabletop-Stand/dp/B005LIH4HI)

There are also third party products like [Flic]( http://flic.io) and the new [Logitech Pop]( http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/pop-home-switch)

It does solve the problem. Also gives access to control lights for kids or guests who don' t have smart phone access.

The downside is they are pricey, about $50 or in sets of 3-4 for around $100. Add that to the $50 plug-in unit and you're spending about $100 to be able to home automate a $20 lamp.

Apple Watch emergency info

Play comment from Gary

Actually you can access the Medical ID information while the Apple Watch is NOT connected to an iPhone

Press and Hold the Side Button

Swipe the 'Medical ID' slider

It will show your Name, Birthdate, weight, height, emergency contacts, and any other info you've entered into your Medical ID, like medicine allergies, etc.

Lock Screen as a phishing attack vector

Read a story about a reporter who was in Italy, I think, and had his iPhone stollen

He immediately tried tracking it and enabling lost mode

Got an email and a text a few days latter saying the device had shown up.

Luckily the link was exposed in the text, because the email looked like an Apple email and the link, while not to an Apple domain, looked exactly like the iCloud.com login.

They had apparently used his Medical ID info, unique last name, and some googling to find his email address and we're phishing for his iPhone login.

Good news is enabling "Lost mode" will give you some extra protection, but may be too late

Depending how much time thieves have had with your device already.

"Your device doesn’t display alerts or make noise when you receive phone calls, messages, or notifications, or if any alarms go off."

Also suspends transactions on credit cards attached to Apple Pay

The point is that depending on your settings and preferences you may be giving a thief a lot of data even if you are using Find My iPhone and a strong passcode.

There is data in your notification center and widgets

Calendar and reminder data

Messages, and possibly some text

3rd party app data

Fantastical revealed my family member names

Times for medical and dental appointments, etc.

Even the podcasts I listen to revealed some of my interests

Siri suggestions, reveal what apps you use, Hints to social media accounts.

Weather widgets for location.

If you use Apple Pay, payment notification reveal banks and credit cards you use (not the data, but recent charge amounts).

This is potentially seed data that hackers and thieves could use to search online for other info or use for social engineering attacks.

This is not an Apple issue with privacy as Apple does provide all the controls you need to protect yourself

It's the classic balance between convenience and privacy and it's up to you to decide your comfort level

Review your notifications and turn off ones you don't want on the lock screen

Settings > Notifications

Tap the notification and turn it off or change the "Show on Lock Screen" option

Consider auditing this regularly as you add new apps. Maybe set a reminder.

For widgets

Pull down notification center and go to the Today view

scroll to the bottom and click 'Edit'

Swipe to remove the widgets you don't want.

I think some widget do have options for controlling which data they show.

Siri on the lock screen used to give access to people in your contacts

"What's my address or phone number"

What's my Wife's phone number, etc.

There is also your Medical ID

Enabled in the Health App and there is a "Show when locked option"

If on this is accessed from the Lock screen > tap the 'Emergency' button and then the 'Medical ID'

It will show the names, relationships, and phone numbers of your emergency contacts.

Does Apple have a problem with focus?

On TWiT GigaOM founder, Om Malik, was very critical of Apple in support of the popular belief that Apple's product quality and release cycles are suffering from a lack of focus.

"They should be building better products and not stupid TV shows around those products"

Reaffirming to Apple's involvement in developing the upcoming "Planet of the Apps" show for Apple Music.

While I don't disagree that Planet of the Apps seems like an odd side project that won;t bring much value to the bottom line I'm not sure that I buy that Apple is spread too think and lost focus.

All the things that Apple is into have been very compartmentalized. What's happening with Apple Music has nothing to do with what's happening in the Mac or iPhone divisions.

Yes there is integrations points and some cross over with some lines, but in general they have hired dedicated teams for each project

And hiring, Apple has massive and growing staff, so yes they are doing more things, but they are staffing their teams to support that. Why do you think they are building a massive new campus and investing in more office space in and around Cupertino and across the globe.

They idea that we don't have a new Macbook Pro because Eddie Cue is doing deals in Hollywood is preposterous.

Apple is fully aware of how long it has been between release cycles of every product in the line up

Geeks and nerds want new products every six months, but the reality is that most consumers don't buy on those kinds of cycles.

They also don't go into a store when they need a new Mac and then walk out when the only one offered has a 1 year old CPU. Geeks, MIGHT? But others just buy and love the new machine because it's new.

Advances in processors have slowed along with consumer buying cycles. Apple is adjusting to buying patterns and that's good business

Are they losing customers in some areas, YES.

Funny thing is Pros are not going to Windows, their building Hackintoshes. Still "Apple customers"

By revenue Macs are the second smallest portion of Apple's business, only the "Other" category is smaller. (well, to be fair iPads and Macs are tied).

Plus, Mac sales on a quarter by quarter basis are relatively consistent and that has not changed with Apple lengthening product release cycles.

Why drive up component costs and reduce profit margins doing an incremental update if there is not a dramatic impact on sales? Better to take bigger leaps on longer cycles. Nerds will wait and consumers don't care (and before you email me, you're a nerd).

And on the quality diminishing thing here's a quote from Eddie Cue in the Fast Company interview

"When we were the Mac company, if we impacted one percent of our customers, it was measured in thousands," said Cue "now if we impact one percent of our customers, it's measured in tens of millions."

Meaning there is just a hell of a lot more customers these days so when there is a small issue with one product it's amplified.

Point is there have always been issues, Apple is not perfect, it's just in the past fewer people noticed and there wasn't a social media stream, blogs, podcasts and the like to broadcast on.

I'm not denying issues exist, but in the past it was only my Mac. Now I might have an issue on my Mac, or my iPhone, or iPad, or Watch, or iCloud, iTunes, Apple TV, you get the point.

Finally on lack of innovation, hindsight is 20/20.

People point to the iPhone or iPod as Apple innovations, but they weren't at launch. Neither was the Mac for that matter.

Details on my backup strategies

Keith has asked me to talk about my backup strategy a bit more and I realize it's probably been about a year since I covered it, so it's a good time for review.

The core

On each Mac in my house I have a 3-tier local strategy

Time-Machine. This is standard and easy to set up and if you do no other backup you should do this.

Attach an external HDD drive at least 2x larger than your main internal HDD. It can be any type or speed.

Turn on Time Machine. Done.

I also like to manage this a bit in System Preferences -> Time Machine and exclude things like other back-up drives, and other folders I already backup using different methods. You could also choose to exclude things like your Applications folder, etc. to save space.

Cloned backup up using [SuperDuper]( http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html) or [Carbon Copy Cloner]( https://bombich.com)

Attach an external HDD drive the same size as your main internal HDD. It can be any type or speed.

Run the app and configure

I put mine on a schedule to pull a new clone each day at a specific time. Schedule for a time when you know your Mac will be powered on, it can be in sleep mode.

If you have data that is not on your main drive you might also want to set up separate clones for that data. Use a separate backup drive for that. I handle this in a different way though that I'll cover later.

Online backup using a service like [CrashPlan]( https://www.crashplan.com/), what I use. There are other services like [Carbonite]( https://www.carbonite.com) and [Backblaze]( https://www.backblaze.com)

Second line of defense

I use a Drobo and other connected drives with [ChronoSync]( http://www.econtechnologies.com)

Here I'm redundantly creating local backups of critical files. All my podcast files, iTunes purchases, iTunes Library, Photo Library, email backups (more on this later), etc.

I also use ChronoSync to backup from my locally connected Drobo to a networked one.

Chronosync tasks are scheduled depending upon the need.

One feature I love is to NOT synchronize deletions. This way I can keep my local folders "cleaned", but now I still have backups. That's also why I chronosync some folders between two Drobos (local and network), you could also use a Synology Disk Station or any other RAID/NAS solution for this.

Finally, [MailSteward]( http://www.mailsteward.com)

Separate email backup to a MySQLite file.

This is backed up in all my other strategies because it's just a file in my Documents folder.

Allows me to keep my local email folders cleaned out. If I need access to an older email I can get it from MailSteward which can also import and export Mbox files.

Each year I start a new MailSteward database and I only keep one year of email history on my IMAP servers. The rest is in my MailSteward backup files.

That's pretty much it.

Thing of the Moment: Clockwork Synergy Bands

On a previous show I mentioned I liked the classic Apple logo look of the woven nylon bands that Apple gave out exclusively to Employees at a recent Pride day festival.

Thanks to the many of you who wrote in to tell me about Clockwork Synergy's [PRIDE Rainbow Classic NATO Bands for Apple Watch]( http://www.clockworksynergy.com/shop/tech-straps/straps-for-apple-watch/2-piece-classic-nato/pride-rainbow-nato-apple/)

They are on pre-order (email list) for USD $24.95 and will ship in August.

The company offers a number of other NATO styles and styles in leather, etc.

Closing

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