shownotes_20210516

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  Preroll: Headspace
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  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
Sponsor: CacheFly
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News
  New iPad Mini Later this Year
    Kuo says Apple will release an updated iPad mini in the second half of 2021
      This was in the same report where he said Apple would have a foldable iPhone in 2023 saying it would have an 8-inch foldable OLED display from Samsung
    Beyond the date timing of the release not a lot of detail were provided
    Previous Kuo had said Apple would update the iPad mini with a larger 9-inch display.
    It’s also believed it would get a redesign taking queues from the current iPad Air with reduced bezels and the TouchID moved to the side button.
    A “dummy” iPhone 13 Pro Max unit reportedly from Apple leaker Ben Geskin showed up on the Unbox Therapy YouTube channel
      Supposedly shows the smaller notch and repositioned earpiece that has been previously rumored.
      Much narrower notch
      DigitTimes claims Apple is developing a significantly smaller Face ID sensor chip, about half the size of the existing one, as well
      Also has “huge” camera modules
        MacRumors also had schematics that seem to support this. Thicker camera bump.
        Better low light performance and Sensor-shift stabilization
      Most other aspects of the design seem to be unchanged. including still having a lightning port.
    Kuo says we likely won’t see iPhones’s with Apple 5G modems until 2023 "at the earliest."
      Apple is said to be working on offering faster speeds and improved latency
  Another Hanks film coming to Apple TV+
    Coming from Deadline. Apple has reportedly won the bidding for an upcoming sci-fi film starring Tom Hanks
    The Amblin Entertainment film, called "Finch," is about a man, a robot, and a dog that form an unlikely family.
    Hanks plays a robotics engineer who has created his own world with his dog while surviving in a bunker after a cataclysmic solar event has laid waste to the earth
    When he is unable to care for his do he creates a robot to watch over it.
    The story is about Hanks character’s desire to show the the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive.
    Oprah announced that she is brining a new show on mental health this month to Apple TV+.
      The series is a collaboration with Oprah, Dr. Bruce D Perry, and Prince Harry
    Apple also announced a "retro-future dramedy" coming to Apple TV+ called “Hello Tomorrow”
      It will star Billy Crudup (who also is in The Morning Show).
      The 10 episode series is about a group of traveling salesmen who are selling lunar timeshares.
      Crudup is also serving as an executive producer and the series is directed by Jonathan Entwistle.
    Apple also announced another upcoming film from A24.
      "The Tragedy of Macbeth" will be a black and white drama directed by Joel Coen and star Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand
      As you might guess the film is based on "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare.
      The film will be released in theaters later this year ahead of a launch on Apple TV+
    Analytics firm Statista has estimated that Apple TV+ had about 40 million subscribers at the end of 2020
      In 2019 it was estimated to have had 33.6 million
      It’s been estimated that about 62 percent of Apple’s subscribers are on their promotional “free” plans
      If accurate the numbers would mean Apple is just slightly above Paramount+ (36 million) and Hulu (39.4 million), but well below Disney+ at 100 million and Netflix at 207 million
  Colors coming to MacBook
    At least according to YouTuber and Apple leaker Jon Prosser
    Same source that reportedly told Prosser about the colored iMacs said he’d seen a MacBook prototype in blue
    Prosser later showed of renders of the product, noting that it was not clear if it was a new MacBook or MacBookAir
    Did not have the “wedge” shape of an Air. White bezels and a white keyboard
    Two USB-C ports
    Colors are closer to the lighter pastel colors of the iMac stand and not the brighter back colors
    Size of the bezels aren’t clear at this point.
    No other details or launch timeline were given, but rumors have suggested there could be a MacBook Air update later this year.
  Apple Music Hi-Fi
    Not the iPod HiFi, but an update to Apple’s Music service that is say to be bringing high quality “lossless” audio streams.
    Rumors claim the service will be offered as a “tier” that would cost the same as the existing $9.99/mo service
      Does that mean it’s the same or separate?
    References found in iOS 14.6 seems to also indicate HiFi streaming is coming
    And the Apple Music beta on Android mentioned support for 24-bit/48kHz and 24-bit/192kHz lossless music streaming and new references in the Apple Music web app for ‘Lossless’ and ‘Hi Res Lossless’
    There’s a “teaser” that showed up in the Music apps Browse section
      “Get Ready - music is about to change forever”
      3D spinning Apple Music logo. No sound.
      Titled “Tune-in Video”?
    May also include Dolby audio, Dolby Atmos with support for spatial audio
    There some in the community who are speculating on a Tuesday press release for the updated music service, but also maybe the announcement of Apple’s AirPod 3s
  Turns out people like privacy
    Flurry analytics has looked at how many people have taken advantage of the new App tracking transparency feature in iOS 14.5 and the numbers are overwhelming in favor of privacy
    They estimate that just 4 percent of customers in the US are opting in to allow their Apps to track them across devices
    International users seem to be a bit more willing at 11 percent
    AirTag has already been hacked
      By a German security researcher, Thomas Roth, aka Stack Smashing
      Was able to reprogram the NFC to have a different URL by dumping and modifying the firmware
      So when the NFC is read by an iPhone the URL can go to another site, say for phishing
      The research also notes that it could be possible to access the accelerometer and use it as a make-shift microphone
      It’s possible Apple could look to further lockdown the firmware in a future software update.
  And again M1 is fast
    Benchmarks are showing the M1 iPad Pro is over 50% faster than the previous-generation iPad Pro
      Not surprisingly it has virtually identical performance as the M1 Macs released last fall.
      Beats the single core and multi core benchmarks of a top of the line Intel Core i9 16-inch MacBook Pro
      The Metal graphics scores on the GPU are 71% faster than the previous-generation iPad Pro
    The M1 iMacs are also smoking the previous generation in benchmarks
      When compared against the 21.5-inch model it’s replacing it’s 56 percent faster when it comes to single-core performance and 24 percent faster when it comes to multi-core performance.
      That said, it’s still slower in multicore vs the current high-end 27-inch ‌iMac‌.
        The ‌M1‌ ‌iMac‌'s single-core performance is 38 percent faster, but the Intel ‌iMac‌'s multi-core performance is 25 percent faster.
    Apple’s Space Gray iMac accessories have gone to “while supplies last”
      Space gray Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse
      Likely just due to the fact that Apple discontinued the iMac Pro earlier this year.
      Maybe it’s a sign Apple will sell the new colored versions separately?
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
  PSA update your stuff
    The past couple of weeks there have been patches and updates to the latest versions of macOs and iOS
    Please update soon if you haven’t yet.
    The updates contain critical security patches for 0-day exploits found in WebKit that impact in both macOS and iOS
    Make sure your on at least iOS 14.5.1 and macOS 11.3.1
  Remove old podcasts in “bulk”
    Will decided to try Downcast after listening to the last Maccast
    Likely it enough to switch, but wanted to delete the downloaded episodes from the new Apple Podcast app to save storage space in his device
    Oddly, you seem to only be able to do it one at a time from the “Downloads” tab.
    There isn’t a way to do it in the Podcast app, but you can make it easier from settings
      Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage
      Find and tap on Podcasts
      Tap ‘Edit'
      Then you can tap the red “remove” icon to delete the data by podcast.
    FYI, if you use the Podcast app be aware that the new version will enable downloading of episodes on all “followed” shows by default.
      Disable it by going to Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
        Scroll down and tap on Podcasts.
        Scroll down a bit and tap the toggle for Enable When Following to OFF (gray).
      You’ll also need to go to each of your previously subscribed shows and tap ‘edit’ and then ‘settings’ to re-set how you want to receive, download, and order the shows.
  Migrating to a smaller Mac
    Like a lot of us Keith was inspired and excited by Apple’s new 24-inch M1 iMacs
    He’s planning to buy one to replace his 2017 1 TB Fusion Intel iMac, but has some questions
    Plans to “start from scratch” rather than restore from his Time Machine backup
      Mainly worried about apps and getting the “native” versions when available.
      You might still want to use migration assistant, but be selective about what you migrate
        Apps: Select the Applications checkbox.
        User accounts
        Other Files & Folders: Documents and files from apps
        System & Network: Computer settings
      So skip the apps and install those from scratch
        Have all your licenses and serial numbers handy, for the apps that need them. Or redownload from the App Store.
        But you might still want to migrate the “Other Files & Folders”
      Storage is the big issue. Moving from 1TB Fusion drive to a measly 256GB or 512GB might be tough. How to do it?
        Time for some “house cleaning” and archiving.
          About this Mac > Storage > Manage… to find large files
          Use a tool like Clean My Mac or Daisy Disk
        Move large libraries, like Photo Library or Media Library to an external drive
        Use “Optimize” options to have items stored in iCloud rather than locally
          Photos Photos > Preferences > iCloud
            Have a full back-up first
          macOS via the iCloud preference pane. Enable “Optimize Mac Storage”
      And of course the RAM question
        8 GB or 16 GB of unified RAM?
        My same “old” advice always applies. Buy as MUCH as you can afford at the time.
        16GB will allow more longevity and higher resale value in the future
        That said… most people are reporting getting along just fine with 8GB thanks to how Apple has engineered the memory architecture
      I think it’s important to remember that ALL the M1 Macs are “consumer” machines. Yes, they are “besting” some of the current pro systems in benchmarks, but they are priced and positioned as consumer models for a reason.
        If you are a Pro or Prosumer you should consider waiting for the Pro versions of Apple Silicon
    Using older displays
      I was asked about connecting an old 17-inch LED Cinema Display
      It has a Mini DisplayPort connector and the Thunderbolt/USB-4 port
      You can get display adapters for a display that uses DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, or VGA.
      Key is making sure you find one to match the specs and features you want and need.
      Glenn Fleishman has a great article that explains it all here: https://www.macworld.com/article/233993/connect-old-apple-display-to-a-new-mac-to-give-it-new-life.html
  Mask unlock on iPhone
    With the last iOS / watchOS updates Apple added a feature that allows you to unlock your iPhone (with FaceID) while wearing a mask if you are wearing an Apple Watch (Series 3 or later) [details](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212208)
    Your iPhone and Apple Watch need to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
      If you disable either on the iPhone for any reason the feature won’t work
      You don’t need to be connected to a wifi network
    Apple Watch needs to require a passcode and wrist detection must be turned on.
    You need to enable the feature
      1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
      2. Tap Face ID & Passcode, then type your passcode.
      3. Scroll down to Unlock with Apple Watch, then turn on the feature next to your watch's name.
    I find it a bit annoying, but EVERYTIME it unlocks your watch gives haptic feedback and shows an alert.
      There’s a button on the watch to “relock” the iPhone
  End of Apple’s Keyboard Service Program
    Dan wrote to express some concerns and frustration over his MacBook Pro and the butterfly keyboard which has plagued so many MacBook owners
    Apple introduced the design in 2015 on the 12-inch MacBook and was used on various models of MacBook and MacBook Pro until 2019
    Apple in 2018 introduced the [Keyboard Service Program for MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro](https://support.apple.com/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks)
      An extended program that covers 16 different models from keyboard issue for 4 year from the date of original purchase.
    That’s good, but what happens after those 4 years?
    Well, as Dan and many others are finding out. After that you are on the hook for Apple’s bad design choices.
    Dan had two keyboard replacements under the program, but now the keyboards gone bad again, but he’s past the 4 years.
    This will slowly happen to many more owners of these machines.
    I think 4 years is fairly generous, but at the same time many of us will use Macs for much longer. My 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro is still going strong.
    In this case it’s been fairly well established that Apple should have probably dumped the design a LOT sooner. They tried the “membrane” patch and wile that seemed to have helped later models a little. The older models still suffer.
    It’s also tough timing as I think a number of “Pro” Mac users are in a waiting game for the new Pro Apple Silicon machines.
    So I ask you… should Apple be doing more? Should they cover these systems longer and if so for how long?
    I think maybe until the machine is replaced by the original owner.
  Apple TV color calibration
    Play comment from Dean
    I played around with the feature on my Apple TV HD
      I had some trouble with the calibration “disconnecting” and had to make a few attempts
      I think I tended to hold it too close. I also have shaky hands, so that doesn’t help
      At first it kept reporting that my color didn’t need calibration
        I use the “movie” mode on my TV and apparently Apple’s tool thinks that is accurate enough
        Switching to “standard” mode which is much cooler let me use and test the tool
      I’m getting a new Apple TV 4K, so I’ll see how and if the experience is different with that model.
  Apps not appearing to update
    Kevin noticed that several of the Apps on his device were not showing up in the app updates in the App Store even though new versions were available
    Turns out it was because the apps were “offloaded” from his device.
    If you look at the app icon in from your home screen and see a cloud icon with an downward arrow that means the App is no longer on your device. You can tap it and it will download from the app store and open
    I don’t remember when, but a while back Apple added the ability to “offload” apps to save storage space on your device.
    This lets you remove the app, but not the apps files or data.
    You can offload apps manually or automatically.
      Kevin, in your case I’m guessing you have the “automatic” method enabled.
    To offload manually:
      Go to Settings > General > [Device] Storage
      Tap on the app name
      Tap “Offload App”
    To have it happen automatically:
      This is for “unused” apps
      Go to Settings > App Store
      Turn on the “Offload Unused Apps” option
  Quick Tip: Find an AirTag’s Serial Number
    This came from Bob
    Open the Find My App and tap Items
    Tap on the AirTag
    Tap on the battery icon
    This toggle to display the serial number and the firmware version on the AirTag
    There is also a hidden “debug” mode
      DO NOT change any of the settings if you don’t want to mess up your Airtag
      Open the Find My App
      Go to the Items tab and Tap on the Airtag
      Tap the ‘Find’ button to enable find mode
      Tap the name of the Airtag 4 times
      You get an overlay that shows active data and sliders to make adjustments
      Tap name 4 times again to exit the debug mode
Closing
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