New Apple Watch ‘Pride’ bands

Apple released two new “Pride” edition Apple Watch Sports bands

Actually one Sport Band and one Nike Sport band

Available in 40mm and 44mm sizes

The Sport band is a rainbow design that goes all the around the band parallel to the bend edges

The Nike version is a white band with rainbow various rainbow coloring inside the distinctive Nike Sport Band holes

Both versions are available now for $49.00 USD

Apple also released new matching Pride watch faces in watchOS 6.2.5

HomePods seem to be clearing out

This is sometimes a sign of updates on the horizon

BestBuy is offering the HomePod on sale this week for USD $199.99

The limit for Apple employees to purchase HomePods at 50 percent off has been raised from limit 2 to 10 according to Bloomberg.

I also notes last week that HomePods appeared to be “Sold Out” on Apple’s site though they are back in stock

We’ve heard rumors that Apple is planning a new “smaller” and “lower” priced version could be coming this year

It’s expected that the new model would come with new improvements to Siri functionality. Something that Apple’s smart speaker is often criticized for.

I’m still a big fan though honestly I use mine almost exclusively for Music

I’m considering a second one for the living room for HomeKit though.

It’s thought that the smaller version could reduce the number of tweeter from seven down to just two.

I would think also possibly few mics in the microphone array?

Apple’s seven figure McMillions creator deal

According to Deadline Apple has spent “seven figures” on a straight-to-series order for an untitled four-part docuseries from the directors of the popular HBO series McMillions

The new untitled docuseries tells the unbelievable true story of one of the largest scams in government history.

According to the report bidding was “highly competitive” but it appears Apple won out.

Not sure if Apple is trying to hedges it’s bets in light of their season 2 shows being delayed by the pandemic or if they are just trying to be more competitive, but…

Bloomberg is saying that Apple is purchasing older movies and shows for its TV+ streaming service

They claim Apple has taken pitches from studios for back catalog content and that they’ve even bought some shows and movies

Of course no details on which studios or what properties Apple might have picked up. The report does mention that, so far, none of the content is from blockbusters or huge franchises

They also claim that Apple will remain focused on their own original content but recognize the need for other content and shows that can anchor viewers to the service.

The Bloomberg reports notes that while 10 million had signed up for Apple TV+ service by February only about half seem to be actively using the service.

A new Tom Hanks movie that was set for theaters in June will now premiere on Apple TV+

“Greyhound” is a WWII drama written by Hanks who is also starring in the film

It was going to be released by Sony Picture in June around Father’s day, but with the pandemic they shopped it around for streaming release and Apple picked it up

According to the report by Deadline it’s believed Apple paid as much as $70 million to get the rights to release the film on Apple TV+

The reports also claim that Apple secured the streaming rights to the film for 15 years.

Apple hasn’t announced a release date, but it’s expected to be “soon”. I might imagine that they stick to the original date.

Apple announced a new short-form sports docuseries called “Greatness Code” that will launch on Apple TV+ on July 10th

The series will consist of seven mini episodes featuring athletes like LeBron James, Tom Brady, Shaun White, and Usain Bolt and focusing a pivotal moment that defined that athlete's career

If you missed Mythic Quest: Quarantine you have to check it out.

I thought it was great and timely.

When they pitched it to Apple the series co-creators didn’t think Apple would pick it up, but they loved it so they got iPhones and equipment to actors and staff the same afternoon

The episode was shot on 40 iPhones and 20 sets of AirPods

Apple plans to submit the episode for an Emmy

It focuses on the staff for the fictional game studio struggling with working remotely. There’s a lot of great uniquely funny moments and also wonderfully poignant and heartfelt moment.

In the fictional story they donate $300,000 dollars and that part also became reality with the cast and crew of the show raising $300,000 and the star and co-creator Rob McElhenney and his wife, Kaitlin Olson matching with another $300,000 and the money going to NGO Mercy Corps.

Ready for Apple Glass?

According to Apple Leaker Jon Prosser he’s seen Apple Glass and he claims to know what it is and what it isn’t

Most surprising is the price $499.00 USD is the targeted price point and you will be able to get prescription lens at additional cost. $499.00 is the “frame” with nonprescription glass price

Frames have been rumored to look like “standard” frames. Sleek and not overly bulky.

Says the prototype design is similar to classic Ray-Ban Wayfarers

Prosser mentions the possibility of a few designs including a high end (think gold Apple Watch) Steve Jobs Heritage Edition

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman calls the Steve Jobs Heritage Edition pure fiction

Prosser claims the prototypes he saw were plastic, but notes the material likely could change for release

Could possibly be metal

These would be augmented reality / mixed reality glasses with images displayed in each lens

Only the wearer can see the images and not others.

They will be an iPhone accessory, just like Apple Watch was when it first released. With the iPhone processing and relying much of the data and information to the Apple Glass

There will be a LiDAR sensor in the frames, but no actual camera for privacy reasons

The user interface is reportedly codenamed “Starboard”. The UI can be controlled with gestures made on the frame or in front of the glasses

The Glass will charge wirelessly using an included charging stand. The glass sit in it upside down with the lenses pointing up.

The Apple Glass will asl use and scan proprietary QR codes.

Recently QR codes were spotted in builds of iOS 14

Prosser believes Apple intends the Apple Glass to be a “one more thing” style announcement at the Fall iPhone event, though that is already possibly pushed back to October. The Apple Glass announcement could also be pushed to an announcement at an event in early 2021

Even if announced availability is not expected until late 2021 or early 2022.

No EarPods with iPhone 12?

Ming-Chi Kuo thinks Apple might not include any lightning EarPods in the box with iPhone 12s this year

He thinks the move might be made by Apple to help drive more Air Pods sales.

The expectation is that Apple could heavily discount AirPods around the release of the iPhone and in time for the Holidays. By not including headphones in the box consumers might be more likely to add-on a new set of AirPods.

Apple currently sells EarPods at USD $29.00, but maybe they could also bring that price down?

Base model AirPods are still USD $159.00

There is also some speculation that Apple could offer and iPhone Air Pods “bundle” though that seems unlikely to me.

PDFpen

PDFpen and PDFpenPro is your ultimate PDF viewing and editing app for the Mac.

You can add headers and footers, along with watermarks to your documents.

It also includes a precision edit tool, plus you can OCR documents and edit content in table cells.

PDFpen 12 is the ultimate tool for editing PDFs on the Mac. The new version adds in several useful features such as:

Optimize your PDFs for smaller file sizes with customizable image compression settings.

Built-in DocuSign support for digitally signing PDFs.

Magnifier Window: Magnify any part of a document independently of the document's Zoom level.

PDFpen for Mac supports macOS Catalina, and PDFpen for iPad & iPhone supports iOS 13 and Apple Pencil.

If you want help getting the most out of PDFpen and PDFpen Pro the Smile website is a great resource

They have tons of great how-tos and info

Tips and tricks for beginners and well as seasoned veterans

Learn more about PDFpen and PDFpenPro at: smilesoftware.com/podcast

USB-C power tip

For the TouchBar there are some controls under “Keyboard” settings

You can choose Application, Expanded Control Strip, Function keys, Quick Action and Spaces.

You can pick the “default” state and the sate when you press the “fn” key.

Unfortunately choosing Expanded Control Strip kills all the App specific functions, so I feel like Application and the “Function keys” for the secondary “fn” option is really the best way to go.

Play comment from Eric

Quite a few questions about which Thunderbolt 3 Docking stations I was considering

For me t would probably be the [OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock](https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/docks/owc-thunderbolt-3-dock) or the [Cal Digit TS3Plus](https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/)

Bummer is no docks seem to supply 96W of power.

Don’t cancel your free Apple TV+

I was absolutely wrong about Apple’s free one year Apple TV+ trial

Listener Doug pointed out my mistake

If you start the free trial and cancel you will immediately lose access to the service and you can’t get back in on the free trial. Not even when you buy a new Apple product

If you’re worried about forgetting to cancel add a reminder to your calendar for a couple weeks before your one year is up.

And shame on Apple for doing it this way.

Siloing podcasts is bad for us all

As a veteran podcaster I’m troubled by the recent moves by large players like Spotify and Apple to make podcast content “exclusive”

Spotify started this worrying trend with it’s acquisition of Gimlet media

They vowed existing shows would not change distribution but didn’t comment on new shows

There is a new show from the Reply All creators that releases early on Spotify and then later everywhere else

Spotify just acquired the Joe Rogan show and that WILL be exclusive to Spotify

If it’s exclusive to one platform or service it is NOT a “Podcast”. Period.

Podcast is about having an RSS feed that is available to ANY player.

That doesn’t mean it has to be “free”. Pay for play podcasts are still podcasts in my mind.

Podcasts were created to counter big media’s control. To open the platforms for distribution not close them

What’s worrying is now it seems Apple feels threatened and it’s wanting to possibly get in the “exclusive” podcast game

Apple is said to be seeking a “leader for its original podcast work.”

In Apple’s case were hearing they are looking at t as a way to drive interest in Apple TV+ shows and also possibly to find content to turn into Apple TV+ original shows.

Apple funding original content podcast shows for Apple Podcasts exclusives that can tie into their series.

There is reportedly in the works an Apple podcast for the show Little America that dives deeper into each of the episodes.

iPhone tips I missed

And from Tik Tok no less. Tik Tok’er Jessica Wang

Lock out any app with a passcode

Set ScreenTime passcode

Use ScreenTime and set a 1-minute time limit on the App.

The App will lock after one minute. Have to use the passcode t undo the lockout.

Shift keyboard in Messages

tap and hold the “globe” (emoji) icon and you can push the keyboard left or right to make one-handed typing easier

Quick timers from Control Center

Tap and hold the timer icon in control center

slide up and down to set a quick timer

Works from the lock screen! (if you allow Control Center access)

Swipe multiselect in Messages and Mail

Tap in the list view with two fingers to enter select mode

Swipe down with two fingers to select items in a series.

Scan documents into Notes

Tap and hold the notes icon

Choose Scan Document

Scan in pages, or multiple pages and tap Done

Can tap the document in the note and then tap the share button to save the PDF to Files, send via email or text, etc.

Move groups of apps all together

Tap and hold until the icons “jiggle”

Tap and drag one icon

while still holding that icon, with your other finger, tap other icons you want to move.

this will group them together under your first finger.

Now you can move them all as a group.

Same technique can be used for dragging and dropping multiple files in the Files app.

iPad Board Games: The Pros

Listener John knows I’m a big fan of tabletop games and had a great question.

Many tabletop games have iPad versions and now that we are “distancing” he wanted to know which ones would be good for family and friends to play remotely together online.

I know many have online multiplayer modes, bit wasn’t sure which ones would be best for “private” groups

I reached out to my friend and fellow podcaster Dan Patriss and we’re going to share recommendation over the next three shows.

This week were going over some in-depth more intense games that are fun for more seasoned table-toppers.

Play segment with Dan.

5 - [Le Harve ](http://sageboardgames.com/le-havre-the-harbor.html)

[Agricola](https://www.asmodee-digital.com/en/agricola/)

4 - [ Terraforming Mars](https://www.asmodee-digital.com/en/terraforming-mars/)

3 - [Istanbul](http://istanbul.acram.eu/)

2 - [Through the Ages](https://throughtheages.com/)

1 - [Terra Mystica](https://digidiced.com/terra-mystica-factions/

Honorable mention:

[Charterstone](https://charterstone.acram.eu/)

Next time will get into titles for the folks who might be looking for games for one or two players

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