Maccast 2016.12.24 - Show #597
Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V News
V Odd rumor of plastic iPhone display
* A reportĀ from the Korea Herald claims the OLED display in Apple's next iPhone will be plastic
* The report re-confirms the three phone design theory with a top of the line curved OLED display model
* Contradicts earlier reports of an "all-glass" OLED display
* The rumor also claims the orders are for Samsung Display and that could only supply fewer than 100 million units.
* The "other" iPhone 8 models are supposed to retain the existing design of the iPhone 7's but with upgraded specs and components.
V Leaked design specs supposedly claim the high-end variant is code named "Ferrari" (who let Eddie into the code name meeting?)
* Also, "confirms" the three phone strategy
* Mentions an "edge-to-edge" experience.
* Split logic board. One with processor and storage the other with wi-fi and communications package.
V Still rumors and indications Apple might be working on "true" wireless charging
* Supposedly partnering with Energous
* They are expected to have a mid-range transmitter ready sometime in the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2017.
V DigiTimes says yield rates on A10X chips for next iPads are low
* The problem seems to be issues with the 10nm process.
V Apple still has 'great desktops' coming
* Tim Cook said some things on their internal Apple Web that were leaked to TechCrunch
* Hey says that "we have great desktops in our roadmap" and that we have nothing to worry about.
V More on Apple's MacBook Pro and batteries
* Bloomberg piece with interviews with "people familiar with Apple's inner workings"
* Mac team at odds with Ive's design team and the software team
* Loss of directions from senior management, key people departing the company, and technical challenges delaying Mac releases
* Claim that Apple was working on new higher-capacity longer lasting battery technology for the MacBook Pro that failed a key test.
* Had to pull in engineering from other Mac teams and revert to existing tech to get the MacBook Pro out in time for the holidays.
* Software team is not longer divided to iOS and macOS and most engineers are iOS first.
* Despite Tim Cook's comments the Bloomberg piece says don't expect radical redesigns in 2017
* Updates to the iMac with USB-C and new AMD processors, speed and spec bulbs to MacBook and MacBook Pros.
* Does mention TouchBar keyboards in 2017.
V Consumer Reports doesn't recommend the new MacBook Pro because of battery test inconsistencies
* They had units get as low as 3.75 hours and as high as 19.5 hours
* Apple's senior VP of Marketing, Phil Schiller, said they are working with Consumer Reports (via Twitter) to understand their battery tests.
* Phil also said that Apple's extensive lab tests and field data doesn't support the publications findings.
* I would argue that many have reported from the "field" that they are getting less than stellar battery results.
V What AirPod teardowns reveal
* They are almost impossible to destroy. 0/10 reparability score
* Packed with high-tech goodness
* Battery is in the stem and is 93 milliwatt hour battery
* The stem also houses the antenna which might explain the length.
* The metal around the mic is also the contact point for charging
* The battery case houses a 1.52 watt hour battery. Should give 8 full charges for each or 16 for one.
* iFixit found "quality issues" called "voiding" on the solder joints in the battery case. Led they to theorize that the delay may have been the battery case (seems like a stretch to me).
* AirPods still selling out quickly at retail
* Also orders started shipping VERY early to consumers. More on that in a bit.
V Sponsor: Smile
V The Gift of Smile
* Give the gift of Smile, and give someone the most precious gift of all: more time.
* Help friends, colleagues, and loved ones save time by giving them a TextExpander subscription. Get them up to speed quickly by sharing some of your snippet groups.
* Help those you know wrangle PDFs with ease using PDFpen on the Mac. With PDFpen, they can scan, OCR, edit, and even export in Word format. It's the Swiss Army knife for PDFs.
* For folks on the go, give PDFpen for iPad & iPhone or PDFpen Scan+ using Gift This App on the App Store.
V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V My AirPod adventure
* Discuss my quest to get AirPods
* Play conversation with Michael
V Share my early impressions
* More bass then I was expecting
* Volume seems some what low to me.
* Siri "double tap" gesture is tricky some times.
* One incident of "pops and crackles", but range is generally pretty good.
* Switching better than other BT, but far from perfect. No way to know which device it connected to without looking at the device.
* Battery and charging case is brilliant.
* Fit is very good for me. Have not had one fall out at all.
* Pausing works with other Apps and programs.
* You do look "dorky" wearing them, no way around that.
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Smile
V Gazelle
* Gazelle. The fast and simple way to sell your used gadgets! Find out what your used iPhone, iPad and other Apple products are worth at Gazelle.com.
V Supporters
* Bandwidth for the Maccast provided by CacheFly at cachefly.com
* Advertising is handled by Backbeat Media at backbeatmedia.com
V Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
V 281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
* PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
* MacCast Forum
* Follow me on Twitter
* Checkout the page on Facebook