Maccast 2017.04.25 - Show #611
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
V Sponsor: Harry's
V Harry's
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V News
V Will your next iPhone come this year?
* Apple will certainly ship a new phone this year, but the when, how, and how many is really up to debate.
* Also your odds of getting the top end premium iPhone 8 before 2018 are looking more grim everyday.
V Still supply chain reports seem to indicate Apple wants to double iPhone units in the second half of the year.
* They're reportedly ordering enough to build 50 million (100 million total) in the third and 4th quarter
* Apple's putting the pressure on many of their suppliers including ADI, Broadcom, Cirrus Logic, Cypress, NXP, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics, TSMC, and TI.
V Still chips mean almost nothing with out screens and the OLED displays Apple needs are believed by many to be causing the bulk of their supply chain issues
V KGI Ming-Chi Kuo thinks it's bad enough o push back the launch to October/November. He still thinks the "S" models will be on-time.
* Kuo doesn't just blame the OLED panels, but all the ‘significant hardware upgrades’ including the A-Series chips, new 3D touch modules, and the 3D sensing cameras.
* He also expects the OLED shortage to plague Apple through the end of the year.
* Nikkei also says the wireless charging system is giving Apple's suppliers troubles with possible overheating issues.
* 7s LED designs may also be found undesirable in a sea of larger "bezel-free" OLED designs from Apple and others.
* There was a sketchy report out of China that claimed Apple was only developing two new "8" models of the iPhone
V The debate on the final design still rages as well
* We've seen a few compelling schematics and a "CNC"'d mock up iPhone 8 this week.
* Sonny Dickson showed off a very iPhone -esque design with a back Touch ID sensor hole and dual lens vertical camera
* The Dickson image looks very similar to a rendering based on schematic leaks by Benjamin Geskin
V Geskin also is the source of a "dummy" model that looks more like the "original" iPhone
* Glass and polished stainless steel back, like the Apple Watch. May also be a polished "Space" or "Jet" black.
* Edge to edge display and no Touch ID cut out on the back
* Vertical camera
* Elongated power button
* Same 7.1mm thinness and approximate physical size as the iPhone 7
V Geskin also leaked a "70% accurate" internal motherboard design.
* L-Shaped
* More room for battery
V If you saw the supposed Geekbench numbers claiming the iPhone 8 with single-core speed jumps of nearly 30%, and the multi-core of nearly 50% don't believe everything you see.
* 9to5 was able to confirm with the Geekbench developer that the screens were "doctored".
V Apple wants a "closed loop" supply chain.
* In latest environmental report has set goal to manufacture 100 percent of its devices out of recycled materials rather than mining new materials and throwing out used materials.
* The "Liam" dismantling robots shown off at WWDC are likely part of those plans. Currently capable of dismantling 2.4 million phones a year, they'll need a lot more (Apple makes 50 million phones a quarter).
* No details or timeline for the transition has been set.
V Lot's of Apple Store news this week
V Apple removing the NYC 5th Ave glass cube
* According to recently filed permits
* No word on if they will change or replace the structure
* Last time they did this they reduced the number of glass panes from 90 to just 15.
* The cost to remove it is $2 million
* Apple is doubling the size of the store from approximately 32,000 square feet to 77,000.
* Removal is likely so they can get equipment in for the expansion
* 9to5 found models said to have been made for Norman Foster – Apple’s architects, that show the staircase being replaced by a white ceramic one.
V Apple said it's going to be expanding its "Today at Apple" educational sessions to all of its 495 retail stores around the world in May.
* The free classes have been running at Apple's Union Square store in San Francisco
* They will offer more than 60 different hands-on sessions in creative skills including s photography, videography, music, coding, art, and design.
* Many classes will be run by Apple's Creative Pro (the creative Geniuses).
* Apple also plans to bring in world-class artists, photographers, and musicians to give some sessions in select locations
* There will be something for all skill levels and ages with Teacher Tuesday and Kids Hour.
* Stores will be getting updated seating and sound systems along with large displays created specifically for "Today at Apple" sessions to support the program.
V Apple has also been in the process of redesigning it's stores
* The 100 largest Apple Stores will be redesigned to include live trees, meeting spaces, and screens similar to the upgrades that were done Apple’s Union Square store.
* The Genius Bar will be renamed the Genius Grove.
* The concept is meant to create a "town square" kind of feel a place where people will come to meet, hangout, have conversations, and learn.
* The most recent Apple Store, featuring an curved glass wall and Apple's new design, will open at the Dubai Mall on April 27th.
V Carpool Karaoke stuck in traffic
* Apple has reportedly delayed the release of it's new Carpool Karaoke series, again.
* Originally a lunch party was set for March and then April, not we just know the show will air "later this year"
* Apple is working with CBS Television Studio on the project and they also issued a press release about the delay
* Neither company offered any explanation as to why.
* Apple’s version of the show will feature 16 half-hour episodes with rotating celebrity guests and hosts.
* The original host of the shorts, James Corden, is an executive producer and will likely appear in some, but not all of the shows.
V A different report earlier in the week called Apple's original video content efforts, "scattershot". It also noted there is no clear leader in charge.
* Remember hearing reports that many including Eddie Cue and Jimmy Iovine giving conflicting info to content partners and talent.
* Many have reported leaving meetings with Apple execs feeling confused at exactly what Apple's strategy in the space is (maybe by design?).
* Rumor went on to say that may change and Apple is looking at LA office space and possibly adding staff.
V Recent hires in AR and Satellites
V According to Bloomberg earlier this year Apple hired Jeff Norris, who founded the Mission Operations Innovation Office of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab to be a part of their AR and VR team
* His lab was developed to create new ways to control spacecraft and robots in space with virtual and augmented reality
* The piece says the team is working on a pair of AR glasses and related features for future versions of the iPhone
* The report claims Apple hopes to bring AR-related hardware to market as soon as 2018.
V Apple has recently hired Tim Dashwood, the developer of a Final Cut Pro X Plugin for creating VR videos, called VR360 Toolbox.
* Dashwood has made the app available to anyone as a free download, but it will likely see no further updates.
* It's not clear what Dashwood's role will be. He could be developing tools for FC, join Apple’s augmented reality team, or be used in some other role.
V Apple has also has apparently two Google satellite executives, John Fenwick and Michael Trela, according to Bloomberg
* The assumption is that they are being brought in to work on imaging systems for Apple's Mapping efforts
* Apple has applied for the ability to fly commercial drones
* In 2015, Apple acquired Aether Industries LLC, which develops near-space technology such as high bandwidth radio transceivers and high-altitude balloons.
* Bloomberg also thinks they could be working on satellites for image collection or satellites for communications.
* The satellites theory is also support by the belief that Apple has been talking with Boeing who has been working on sending more than 1,000 satellites into low-earth orbit for the purpose of providing broadband access.
V Gizmodo got their hands on report compiled by an Environment Health and Safety contractor working for Apple.
* In it there are details of two incidents prototype devices caused eye strain in testers.
* We've had rumors that prototype exist, but this seems to confirm it.
* The report also noted the poor Apple Watch tester who had a knee injury when skiing in the Tahoe area doing product "testing".
V More info on Apple's self-driving car testing
* One of the people listed as a tester is former NASA researcher who worked on developing an autonomous vehicle to explore one of Jupiter's moons.
* They also list three other engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory with experience working on system for detection of 3D objects and motion planning algorithms.
* The filing lists low speed driving, high speed driving, tight U-turns, sudden steering input, sudden acceleration, sudden braking and lane change as test Apple has filed to conduct.
* Apple will be using three modified 2015 Lexus RX450h SUVs, so it's still likely this is a platform vs an actual Apple designed car. Could be first phases.
V Apple looks to micro-LEDs
* We've talked about this in the past.
* The R&D lab in in Taiwan has been researching micro LED tech since 2015
* Now a report from Korea says Apple may be ready to put the technology into the next Apple Watch.
* micro-LED displays are thinner, lighter and more energy-efficient than OLED or LCD screens.
* Apple's move to the tech has likely been helped along by their acquisition of micro-LED specialists LuxVue whom they acquired in 2014.
* Eventually it's believed Apple may even move to put the tech in an iPhone and that could happen sooner than some think. Maybe as early as 2019.
V Sponsor: Smile
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V Feedback, commentary, opinions
V Some clarification about AAC and chapters
* I can safely say that nothing I have ever said on the show has garnered more feedback than this
* You love ACC files and chapters.
* Play feedback from Mark
* Chapters were never in any danger of going away here on the Maccast. As long as there are podcast apps that support them I will create shows that support them.
* My main point is that I want Apple to either fully support their format AAC, which it feels to me they've abandoned. Or, add support for MP3 chapters into iTunes and the iOS Podcast app.
* Most other player apps are adding support for MP3 chapters and many podcasters are adding MP3 chapter support to their shows.
V Photo at wrong GPS location
* OK, I need to share this on because it's a mystery that I have no idea how to solve and it has me really curious.
* Marty was in Indianapolis, Indiana for an NBA playoff game between the Indiana Pacers against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
* He was taking a photo with his iPhone 6S running iOS 10.3.1,
* When he looked at the GPS location data of the image it said the photo was taken at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
* That's the area for the away team and a location 320 miles away from where he actually was.
* What is going on?
* The first and most obvious guess I have is that his GPS was not working properly at the time. Very likely because of the structure he was in.
* It would fall back to using Wi-Fi and cell tower triangulation.
* But why would that pinpoint to the other teams home stadium?
* Could it be satellite uplinks for TV broadcasts interfering?
* Could Marty just be messing with me?
* For Marty's situation it's even stranger though because, as he told me, he's never ever even visited Cleveland.
V The only parallel I can draw is I did have a number of photos in my own photo library that all ended up with their GPS location being set to a single location where they were not taken at.
* I made corrections in the Photos app and for me the location was just a few miles away from my home
* Why and how those locations all got set to the one locations remains a mystery
V Does remind me about the story of a single house in Atlanta where "Find My iPhone" was tracking hundreds of "lost" phones to
* Turns out the issue was the couple lived in a "digital desert" with only a few wi-fi hotspots in their immediate area
* When a device can't get GPS or a cell tower, say when blocked inside a giant metal building, will look to back-up location databases, first, using its IP address and, second, by looking at the nearest Wifi networks it can detect.
* The IP addresses would be from the last locations those devices were connected to wi-fi and then looked up against a database maintained by companies like Neustar, Maxmind and Skyhook who's software is embedded in millions of apps and phones.
* So what about visiting fans and a high volume of "mobile hot spot" connections from devices that would normally be connected in Cleveland?
* So that's my theory, what do you think?
V iOS Screen Sharing
* Play comment from Gary
* I recently got to experience Apple Support using this feature and it was amazing.
* I also don't think they had to do anything but send me a link.
* Gary the "workaround" of using screen capture in Quicktime is a good one.
* You could also use an App like [Reflector]( http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/features/mac/) to Airplay mirror to the Mac.
* Then use a screen sharing app like Messages or Skype
* Reflector also has the ability to Live broadcast to YouTube.
V Apple Watch heart rate sensor trouble
* Share my story and troubleshooting.
* Beware manually adjusting the date & time on your devices.
V Closing
V Podcast Marketplace
V Thanks to my sponsors
* Smile
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