shownotes_20210902

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
News
  M1X will just be an M1X
    A twitter leaker, Dylan, who has had accurate predictions about the M1 iMac and 2020 iPad Pros, say the 14-inch and 16-inch Macbook Pro updates will cary exactly the same processors
    This is different than the days of Intel
    The key differentiators then will be screen size, possibly GPUs, and maybe mac RAM options
    I don’t find this too “leak” too surprising considering the fact that every M1 machine, including all the M1 Macs and the M1 iPad Pro use exactly the same processor
    One bad bit of news is that Dylan claims the 14-inch will, because of the same CPU, have starting level price bump up from the 13-inch Intel MacBook Pro it’s replacing. The current Intel i5 model it’s expected to replace starts at USD $1799.
      And yes there still is, and will be the entry level M1 13-inch MacBook Pro starting at USD $1299
    We’re expecting them this Fall, around October or November
    Canalys is out with it’s latest report on US PC shipments and while the industry saw a 17 percent year over year rise in shipments they say Apple was the only major PC maker to see a decline, 3 percent to be exact.
      And if you’re wondering how? I was. It’s the dang iPad. See Canalys counts tablets and PCs together
      They reported that Mac sales were actually up 24 percent year over year thanks to Apple’s new M1 machines.
      Plus even with the overall decline Apple held on to its second place position for overall US PC marketshare behind HP.
  Apple Watch gets bigger, again
    According to info shared on the Chinese site Weibo the 7th gen Apple Watch will be offered in two new sizes 41mm and 45mm (current models are 40mm and 44mm and originally Apple Watch was 38mm and 42mm)
    A new “flat edge” design that will mimic the current design language of iPhone and iPad is also expected and could mean a larger display, up to 16% more screen, in a casing that has similar dimensions to the existing series.
    There have also been rumors of a new green color, though that’s disputed in the Weibo leak, and possibly a more rugged “G-shock” like version.
    There are reports from Nikkei Asia that Apple Watch manufactures have had issues with “production performance” and have had to temporarily halt production while they work it out.
      The reports say it’s because the watch has a “complex design”
      The report claims Apple Watch Series 7 comes with blood pressure measurement capabilities and that could be the troublesome tech.
      This could result in shortages at launch
      FWIW Mark Gurman said on Twitter there is “no chance” Apple Watch Series 7 has a blood pressure sensor
    Outside of timelines there have been many reports on the health tech Apple hopes to bring to Apple Watch
      A cuff less blood-pressure device
      More advanced sleep tracking
      Blood glucose measurement and monitoring
      Body temperature
    It’ll be interesting to see how many folks go for a new Series 7 as it seems like a ton already bought a new Series 6
      Latest Strategy Analytics data shows that global smartwatch shipments rose 47% annually to reach 18 million units in Q2 of 2021
      And Apple had 52% of the global smartwatch marketshare.
      They estimate that Apple Watch shipped shipped 9.5 million units worldwide in Q2 2021 up 46% from the same quarter the previous year.
      They also claimed that the Apple Watch Series 6 was “by far the world’s most popular smartwatch model”
  Focus on iPhone 13 authentication
    As we closer to a possible event and announcement of the iPhone 13 there seems to be a lot of discussion surrounding what Apple is doing around authentication
      Mark Gurman say Apple had been continuing to explore under display TouchID technology, but rules it out for this years models
        Doesn’t say why
      The only reason I could see for Apple possibly wanting to move away from FaceID back to TouchID would be to lose the notch
        There are rumors that what they really want is under display FaceID
        FaceID tech is WAY more accurate and harder to fool than the fingerprint tech
      A “Front Page Tech” report claims that Apple is using iPhone 12 with “Attachments” to in the wild test technology that could be coming to iPhone 13 that would allow FaceID to work with with face masks and "foggy glasses."
        May not be ready at launch but could be enabled via a software update in the future.
      Alleged images of Apple packaging confirming, dun dun daaa… the iPhone 13 name.
      Your iPhone 13 may cost more and you can thank increased costs of chip production (and Apple for not wanted to eat any profit margin)
        This is according to DigiTimes
          What’s interesting, if true, it seems like Apple would be “pro-actively” collecting on the rate increase.
        The report claims TSMC plans to raise rates on "advanced and mature process technologies” by as much as 20 percent starting January 2022, but would also apply to orders scheduled to be fulfilled starting December.
        Apple’s expected to get a 3-5% price hike
    Perhaps the most out of this world rumor for the week was from Ming-Chi Kuo
      Claiming this years iPhone 13 models may come with a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite communication mode to allow sending texts and make calls outside cell range
        Seems unlikely or at least impractical
        Generally need a massive antenna (will there be an accessory?)
        Sat calls are VERY expensive.
        Could also be confusion and bad translation / interpretation of the rumored Qualcomm chip.
          The chip has “Globalstar” which is a new ground-based LTE/LAA 2.4GHz band
      Still Bloomberg confirms the tech in the iPhone, but says it’s not coming before next year and the focus would be mostly on “emergency” communication. At least at first
        emergency satellite messaging into the Messages app (Grey bubble)
    Right now reports are seeming to steer us to a September 14th iPhone / Apple Watch event, with pre-orders staring on the 17th and a release date of September 24th.
      All four models are expected to be available on the same day (iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max)
    Apple has a new repair program for iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro owners
      Users “may experience sound issues due to a component that might fail on the receiver module.”
      Apple says this issue affects “a very small percentage” of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices manufactured between October 2020 and April 2021
      If your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro does not emit sound from the receiver when you make or receive calls, it may be eligible for service.
      The program covers affected devices for two years after the first retail sale of the unit.
  “Fairytale for grown ups” coming to AppleTV+
    Apple announced it has ordered a new series called “The Changeling” based on a novel of the same name by Victor LaValle.
    The series is described as a “Fairytale for grown ups” and will star actor LaKeith Stanfield who is know for his role in “Judas and the Black Messiah”
    Kelly Marcel, who wrote the script for the Disney movie Cruella, will write and serve as show-runner.
    According to Deadline actors Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke have a new film project coming to Apple TV+
      The film called Raymond and Ray is about two half brothers who have lived in the under the shadow of a “terrible father” and reconnect after the fathers funeral
      The project is still in the very early stages so no word on production or when we’ll set it hit Apple TV+
    And Hawke and McGregor aren’t the only Hollywood power Duo with a new Apple TV+ film project
      Deadline also says that Marvel Cinematic Universe and Avenger co-stars Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson will star in a romantic action adventure story film titled “Ghosted”
      The film will be directed by Dexter Fletcher and produced by Skydance studios for Apple
      Evens already stared in the Apple TV+ Series Defending Jacob and Johansson is also signed on with Apple TV+ for another A24 film called “Bride”
  Apple Music Classical
    Apple has acquired classical music streaming service Primephonic and will be rolling it’s service into Apple Music
    Apple says they’ll be using the service to bring “great new classical features to Apple Music”
    Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app next year combining Primephonic’s classical user interface that fans have grown to love with more added features.
    The current Primephonic service is not taking new subscribers and will be taken offline on September 7. Current Primephonic subscribers will receive six months of Apple Music for free.
  First states to get Apple Wallet IDs
    Apple has announced the first US state that will offer the ability to add your State ID to your Apple Wallet
    This feature is coming to supported states in iOS 15
    Arizona and Georgia will be launching first with
    Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah following
    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will enable select airport security checkpoints and lanes in participating airports as the first locations customers can use their driver’s license or state ID in Wallet
Sponsor: DraftKings
  DraftKings
    Football is almost here, and there is no better place to get in on the action than with DraftKings – The Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the NFL.
    As the season is quickly approaching – DraftKings is your one stop shop to make it reign all season long. To bring you even closer to the action, DraftKings is giving all new players a FREE shot at a MILLION DOLLARS during week one.
    If you haven't tried DraftKings yet, pre- season is the perfect time to test your strategy.
    It’s simple - just pick your lineup, stay under the salary cap and see how your team stacks up against the competition!
    Nothing adds to the excitement of watching a game quite like having a FREE shot at HUGE cash prizes.
    And while you’re perfecting your daily fantasy skills, don’t forget to check out DraftKings Free to Play Pools where there is even more cash up for grabs! Head to the app NOW!
    Download the DraftKings app NOW and use code MACCAST. For a limited time, new players can get a FREE shot at a MILLION DOLLARS during week one! Don’t miss out on the action! Enter code MACCAST to get a FREE shot at MILLIONS of DOLLARS in prizes with your first deposit! That’s code MACCAST - only at DraftKings – The Official Daily Fantasy Partner of the NFL.
    Minimum $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See DraftKings dot com for details.
Sponsor: SimpliSafe
  SimpliSafe
    When SimpliSafe Home Security’s founders, Chad and Eleanor Laurens, designed their first security system in their kitchen, they did it for a very personal reason: Their friends had just had their home broken into. They were struggling to find a security system that was simple to set up and would make them feel safe again.
    Making people feel safe is what SimpliSafe has been doing ever since that moment 15 years ago.
    Feeling safe in your own home is important and what I love about SimpliSafe, besides the cool technology, is that your in control.
    You can build the system that suits your needs because they have so many options.
      In nice because you can start small and build as you go or go all in and cover your entire home in one fail swoop.

      It takes about two minutes to customize a system on their website, SIMPLISAFE dot
      ￼
      com slash maccast.

    A passion to protect people not only drives every engineering detail SimpliSafe puts into its products, but it also motivates every interaction with its customers.
    SimpliSafe has highly trained security experts ready whenever you need them. Whether that’s during a fire, a burglary, a medical emergency or even just when you’re setting up the system.
    There’s always someone there who has your back to keep you safe. And make sure you feel safe.
    As my listener, you can save 20% on your SimpliSafe security system AND get your first month free when you sign up for Interactive Monitoring service.
    Just visit SIMPLISAFE dot com slash maccast to customize your system and start protecting your home and family. That’s SIMPLISAFE dot com slash maccast.
Feedback, commentary, opinions
  Apple’s Proposed App Store Settlement
    This changes nothing really
    Apple’s payout only goes to those in the lawsuit and ironically 30% of the settlement money goes to the lawyers
    Apple said it was "clarifying that developers can use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app."
      “Clarifying”, because there was confusion that developers were not allowed to do this before. They were and weren’t. They could as long as the contact data didn’t come from within the app, not they can use data gained from in the app.
    More price points
      Not sure how much this helps, maybe when it comes to subscriptions?
    A promise to keep the App Store Small Business Program (lower 15% rate for devs under 1M in annual revenue), in place for at least the next 3 years
    Apple is committing to keeping the current App Store Search system in place “for at least the next three years.
      Maybe NOT. Good thing?
    Help clarify the appeals process and issue an annual “transparency” report
      Report will have “meaningful statistics about the app review process, including the number of apps rejected for different reasons, the number of customer and developer accounts deactivated, objective data regarding search queries and results, and the number of apps removed from the App Store.”
    Outside of these couple small changes it’s App Store business as usual
    South Korea passed a bill that bans Apple and Google from requiring developers to use their own respective in-app purchasing systems
      The law is an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act
      Failure to comply caries a fine of up to 3% of the company's total revenue in the country (not just App Store revenue).
    Apple reached an agreement in a lawsuit with Japan Fair Trade Commission to allow ‘reader’ apps to link to websites to set up and manage an account with the app’s provider beginning in early 2022
      Reeder apps include apps that offer content subscriptions for digital magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music, and video.
      But notably NOT subscription game services which Apple does not consider “reader” apps.
      Can only be a single link and must ONLY go a page to help the customer “set up or manage an account”. Seems. to preclude linking to a specific product for example.
  Your system has run out of application memory?
    Kim wrote in to say that he’s been experiencing a frustrating issue on a new M1 Mac.
    There is a dialog that keeps popping up saying “Your system has run out of application memory?” and then asking to close apps to free up memory
    Searching online points out that the browser, lots of tabs, and poorly behaving websites are often a culprit for this issue
      Kim says YouTube and Amazon are the “main offenders” for him
    Still he sys it’s frustrating because he has an M1 mac with 16GB of RAM and his old iMac with 16GB of RAM never had this issue even when running “1-2 dozen apps open with dozens of Safari tabs open”
    So what’s going on and is it an issue with the M1 systems?
    I really don’t think it is, but the baffling item here is why the iMac had no issues and why the M1 Mac does?
    I ask… does the M1 have a smaller drive than the old iMac did and if so how much “free disk space” is on the M1? And here’s why…
    macOS stores data used for active processes in RAM. You probably knew that.
    But if you start to run out of RAM your machine kicks in “virtual memory”
      It swaps out items you’re not actively using in RAM and moves then to your hard drive.
    So if your hard drive is really full… there isn’t space to do this and this is typically when you’ll see this message.
      Even still this message should be rare as macOS has pretty darn good memory management these days.
    It’s generally recommended that you keep about 10% of your (boot) hard drive free.
    So possible things that could cause you to see this message?
      Running low on disk space on your boot drive
      Having lots of apps open simultaneously
      Having lots of browser tabs open
      An application “hogging” memory
    Ways to deal with it
      Keep your boot hard drive as clean as possible
        Archive old files off your boot drive
        Clean and remove stuff you don’t need.
          Old downloads
          Cache files
          Old attachments
          Blurry or bad photos
          Old podcasts? (Just not the Maccast ;) )
      Quit your unused apps.
        Look for the dots
      Close your tabs
        Use bookmarks if you need to
        If you put groups in a folder in Safari when you use the Bookmarks menu you can choose “Open in New Tabs” and all the items in that folder will open in tabs
  Manually manage podcasts. How?
    Play question from Justin
    My first thought was to use the Finder and the Podcast App
      It used to be possible to drag Podcast files from the “Downloaded” section of the podcast app to the Finder to save out the MP3 files.
      Apparently that is no longer possible
      If you could get the audio files out you could drag the to a Playlist in Music and then sync them to an iPod
      In the Finder they are in a “cache” folder ~/Library/Group Containers/243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts
      All the file names are cryptic hashes
    Second idea… use “Stations”
      In the Mac Podcast app go to stations and set up the settings (right click the station)
      You can choose which podcasts to include and how many recent episodes from each.
      Set the play setting to “Manual”
      You can drag episodes in the list now to set the order manually
      Now in the Finder select your iPod
      Go to the “Podcast” tab and enable syncing and click on the “Playlist” tab and choose your “station”
      Sync the device. I think for iPhones they would still go to the . I’m not sure what happens on an iPod as I don’t have one to test anymore. I assume on an iPod Touch it’s still the podcast app.
    There is an app called [Waltr Pro](https://softorino.com/waltr/)
      Lets you transfer any file direct from a Mac to a device, but you’d still need to have the audio files for the podcast.
    Other ideas?
Closing
  Supporters
    maccast@gmail.com
    Bandwidth for the Maccast provided by CacheFly at cachefly.com
    Advertising is handled by Backbeat Media at backbeatmedia.com
  Keep emails coming. Audio comments.
    281-622-4269 or 281-Mac-I-Am-9
      PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
    Follow me on Twitter
    Checkout the page on Facebook