shownotes_20210926

Pre-roll
  Postie
    This episode is sponsored by Postie a little more on them later in the show.
Opening
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News
  iPhone 13 seems to be a hit
    Katy Huberty from Morgan Stanley seems to be positive about the early sales of Apple’s new iPhones
    She commented that pre-orders were are "off to a promising start" with "strong early demand."
    This was based on delievery estimates after the phone went on sale a little over a week ago
    The average lead time for iPhones delievries slipped to around 27 days and Huberty says that is the second longest lead time on the first day of pre-orders in the past five years. The 2017 iPhone X had the longest.
    While longer lead times could be a sign of demand it could also just be that Apple has supply issues, but Huberty doesn’t think so based on Morgan Stanley's supply chain checks.
    Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also seesm to agree with Huberty telling investors in a note that pre-orders for the iPhone 13 series “are higher than those for the iPhone 12 series,”
    Battery life seems to be the big winner among early reviewers
      Tom’s Guide did their battery tests and found that the iPhone 13 saw 10 hours and 33 minutes of battery live vs the 8 hours and 25 minutes for the iPhone 12
        Their test is done by continuously web surfing over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness.
        The new mini lasted for 8 hours and 41 vs 7:28 for the 12 mini
        The iPhone 13 Pro lasted 2.5-hours longer the the iPhone 12 Prro clocking in at 11:41 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max lasted a whopping 12 hours and 13 minutes vs the 10:53 from the iPhone 12 Pro Max
      They are also generally happy with the new camera performance
      Though some have noted that the new “cinematic” mode could use some refinement.
  A few launch glitches
    Apple says some of their new devices suffer from a bug that can cause widgets revert to their default settings after restoring from a backup
      Impacted some iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models, iPad 9, and iPad mini 6
    There was also a bug that impacted Music on new devices restored from backup.
      New ‌iPad‌ and ‌iPad‌ owners may not be able to access the ‌Apple Music‌ catalog, ‌Apple Music‌ settings, or use Sync Library after restoring from a backup.
    Apple released a day one update for iPadOS and iOS that addressed both this issue along with deleivering new security updates.
    The latest updates also seemed to have broken the "Unlock with Apple Watch" feature on iPhones
      Some users are reporting on Reddit getting an “Unable to Communicate with Apple Watch” errorwhen trying to use the feature after upgrading
      Apple has acknowledged the issue and promised a fix. In the meantime they recommend disabling the feature.
    Some developers noticed that it did not seem like 3rd party apps could use the iPhone 13 Pros new 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates
      Apple has since clarified that they can, but that developers will need to declare that their apps use higher frame rates by adding an entry to their app's plist.
      Apple will be providing documentation for developers on how to do that “soon”
    Some iPad mini 6 owners are reporting “jelly” scrolling in portrait mode
      Very hard to notice but the right side seems scroll first followed by the left
      Goes away in landsape mode.
      Not clear at this point if it’s a hardware or software issue
  Ted Lasso wins big at Emmys
    The series was nominated for 20 Emmy awards, a record for a comedy series in it’s first season
    Of the twenty the show won seven, including some technical achievement awards
    The show won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series, first time that a streaming shows has taken that honor. Jason Sudeikis took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
    Brett Goldstein also won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and Hannah Waddingham won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
    Overall Apple TV+ shows pulled in 11 11 Primetime Emmys
    This past week Apple TV+ also picked up a new 10-episode dark comedy series from Sharon Horgan
      The series is currently untitled but reportedly based on the Flemish Series Clan which follows the lives of the Garvey sisters, who make a promise to always protect one another after the premature death of their parents.
      Back in 2019 Apple signed a first-look deal with Horgan and this is the first project to come out of that relationship.
      Horgan co-wrote and starred in both the comedy series Pulling and Catastrophe. She also also created the HBO comedy series Divorce.
    It would have been Jim Henson's 85th birthday last week and Apple TV+ commemorated the occasion by releasing three classic "Fraggle Rock" specials: "Down at Fraggle Rock," "Fraggle Songs," and "Doozer Music.”
      Apple TV+ already carries the 96 episodes of the original series that aired from 1983 to 1987 and has ordered a reboot of the show but there is no known release date for the new episodes.
    Apple doesn’t publicly state Apple TV+ subscriber numbers but the numbers as of July 1st seem to have been leaked thanks to a spokesman for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
      The number for the US and Canada appears to be at least less than 20 million
      That’s because existing contracts with the organization allow streaming productions to pay workers a reduced rate if their subscriber numbers are under a threshold of 20 million people something the spokesman claimed Apple TV+ productions qualified for.
      Back in May Statista estimated the worldwide subscriber numbers for Apple TV+ were around 40 million at the end of 2020 with about half of those subscribers being on a free plan
  Apple’s first headset in 2022
    Supply chain reports are saying that Apple’s VR/AR headset has completed it’s second rounds of prototype testing and that Apple could ship something by the second half of 2022
    Now it’ll go into EVT (Engineering Verification Testing) before moving into mass production
    According to reports this first version will be a “high-end” model targeting developers and commercial applications
      It will have cameras with optical laser sensors
      Weigh about 100-110 grams
      Have it’s own 5nm process chip, but still need to be connected to an iPhone
      At this stage it seems like Apple is focusing on dialing in the heat dissipation, weight, and battery life
    This first version could come with a hefty price tag of around USD $2000
    Apple is expected to follow the headset with a more consumer friendly set of AR “glasses” sometime in 2023.
  The next iPhone
    It’s the 14 and the 13 is barely in the hands of consumers yet analysts feel the need to discuss what’s next (feels too early right?)
    Ming-Chi Kuo has his predictions and it’s new sizes for the non-Pros, updated wide camera, and a front camera change
      He says we’ll see a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch version of the iPhone 14
      The wide camera could get upgraded to 48MP, though the image output might be the same
        That’s because Apple might use a technology called ‘four-cell merge output mode’.
        It would capture raw 48-megapixel data, but distill that down to a 12-megapixel image with more detail and less noise
      And that he Pro models will ditch the notch and move to a new hole-punch design for the front facing camera.
      He’s also predicting a price drop with the iPhone 14 Max priced starting at under USD $900
      Says Apple has delayed the launch of an iPhone with under-display Touch ID to the second half of 2023
      Also claims Apple will have a foldable in 2024
    There’s also a new iPad rumor claiming that Apple wants to make “landscape” the default orientation on future iPads
      They would accomplish this by moving the camera layout to a horizontal placement and by making the back Apple logo landscape
  Apple tripling down on security
    I guess since the already doubled down years ago, but that didn’t seem to stem the tide.
    Ironically, details from a private all-hands town hall meeting and an email were leaked
    In the email, regarding Apple’s California Streaming event, Tim Cook told employees that “most of the details of our announcements were (also) leaked to the press.” and that Apple was “doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked”
    He also said, “people who leak confidential information do not belong here.”
    Not clear if it is directly related, but Cook’s comments came not long after a report that Apple supplier TSMC fired seven employees for “violate(ing) the company’s core values.”
      The value violated according to local news reports was leaking information about the company’s customers
      Now it didn’t specifically mention Apple, but it seems likely it would be Apple since Apple is TSMCs biggest customer
  EU wants to make USB-C “standard” port
    The European Commission put forth a draft report to require USB-C to be the standard port on smartphones, tablets, headphones and more.
    They say this is an effort to reduce electronic waste and provide convenience for users
    If adopted manufacturers would then have 24 months to adapt their products to use USB-C
    The proposal also says chargers should be sold separately from electronic devices (something Apple and others have already started doing)
    The fact that it’s two years out and we’ve already had rumors that Apple wants to drop the port all together means that even if this goes forward and passes it might not be much of an issue for Apple.
      It could also force their hand in the EU which would be less choice for consumers
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
  iPhone 13 Pro first impressions
    The new packaging, sans plastic wrap, is great
    The Sierra Blue color was a lot more grey then it seems like in the online images. More like silver with a tint of blue? Still a great color
    The camera lenses are huge and tall. The glass sticks up quite a bit further above the stainless steel rings
      As a result there is also a big plastic “bump” on the Apple leather case that I’m not a huge fan of.
      Still the color on the “Dark Cherry” one I got is great though I think “Plum” would be a more accurate color.
    The camera features are a really nice upgrade. 3x Zoom is great and Macros are amazing.
    Cinematic mode seems to work pretty well in my opinion but I agree it’s not perfect. The masking does “wobble” a little bit. Still I’d says it’s pretty dang impressive
    People seem to be raving about ProMotion, though I have to admit I’m not sure I can perceive a large difference. Not that it’s not better, just that my iPhone 12 still seems pretty darn smooth in most animations.
    Set-up process going from an iCloud back-up was amazing. I’ve heard it’s less so if you choose the direct device to device transfer over wi-fi.
  New System updates bring cool features
    The updates to HomePod OS allows you to use a single or pair of HomePod mini as the default speakers for your Apple TV 4K
      You can now set a lower bass level
      Control your Apple TV with Siri. Turn on the TV, start playing a movie, and control playback.
      The latest HomePod OS beta has Lossless and Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio support
    Apple says it improved Face ID anti-spoofing models.
    Advanced Fraud Protection for Apple Card
      This, when enabled, will continuously change the three-digit security code (CVV2) when it is viewed in the Wallet app or when it has been auto-filled for a transaction in Safari
      It will not affect any past or recurring payments
      Enable from your Apple Card setting in the Wallet app. Tap on the new “number” icon when viewing your card to see the current code.
    One feature that is unfortunately missing from the release of iOS 15 was SharePlay
      This feature will let you use FaceTime to watch movies and listen to music together with friends and family.
      It also finally enables screen sharing on iOS
      Good news is it seems to be back in the iOS 15.1 betas
  Turn off new Safari Features
    In iOS Apple has moved the URL bar and icons to the bottom. It’s a pretty drastic change and one not all people are happy with
      Settings > Safari and change the tabs from ‘Tab Bar’ to ‘Single Tab’
      I’m trying to adapt and I think the lower position is growing on me. More easily accessible with one hand. Also seems more out of the way of the content
    The other thing is the title bar “tinting” in Safari on the Mac and iOS
      On Mac… Safari > Preferences and then uncheck the “Show color in tab bar” option
      On iOS… Settings > Safari and toggle off “Allow Website Tinting”
Closing
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