shownotes_20211212

Opening
News
  Apple expecting 2022 iPhone bounce
    Remember how we just talked about reports from Bloomberg that Apple was telling suppliers to reduce production of iPhone 13 series components due to lower demand…
      The issue was that consumers were becoming frustrated with low availability caused by chip shortages and supply chain issues.
      Speculation was that some consumers might just decide to wait for the iPhone 14 instead.
    Now according to DigitTimes Apple is looking at 2022 and may be thinking iPhone 13 should rebound early in the year and also that iPhone 14 could be an even bigger seller
    The report claims that Apple is now expecting up to a 30 percent increase in iPhone 13 sales in the first half of 2022 and setting an even bigger goal of shipping a total of 300 million iPhones in 2022.
  M1 helps Mac growth in enterprise
    Data coming from Jamf, who makes software for helping IT departments mange computers and devices, shows that business are liking the new Apple Silicon macs.
    They say their customers have already deployed more than 1 million M1 based Macs
    They also say that 74 percent of their customers have deployed at least one M1 based Mac in their environments.
  Apple invested $275 million in China
    Details came out this past week on what some are call a “secret” $275 million dollar deal Apple made with China back in 2016 when iPhones were losing ground in China to local smartphone manufacturers.
    The site “The Information” made the report citing interviews and internal Apple documents
    The 5 year deal was put together by Apple’s government affairs team had about a dozen items that would prove favorable to China including promises by Apple to help Chinese manufacturers develop “the most advanced manufacturing technologies” and “support the training of high-quality Chinese talents.”
    Apple also agreed to “use more components from Chinese suppliers in its devices, sign deals with Chinese software firms, collaborate on technology with Chinese universities and directly invest in Chinese tech companies, and to strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations”.
    While the details of the “deal” may have been secret I think anyone paying attention at the time might have been able to put two and two together.
    Remember Apple (and the US for that matter) were facing increasing more and more difficult relations in China.
    Apple in particular was seeing regulators placing restrictions on iTunes books and movie sales and Chinese officials were threatening to impose limits on other devices and services.
    Tim Cook and other members of Apple’s senior management team, like COO Jeff Williams and Lisa Jackson who heads Apple’s government affairs trips to China to meet with Chinese officials.
    Not long after Apple made a $1 billion investment in the Chinese ride sharing company Didi Chuxing
    No matter what we think of the deal, it seemed to help. Apple over the past five years has done very well in China and they seem to have largely avoided additional restrictions on their products and services in China.
    China accounts for roughly 19 percent of Apple's total sales and according to data from Counterpoint Research Apple recently became China’s largest smartphone brand.
  Apple TV+ picks up Theranos biopic
    According to “Deadline” Apple has picked up the rights to a new biopic about the company Theranos and it’s founder Elizabeth Holmes
    The film titled “Bad Blood” will follow the story of the blood testing startup founded by Holmes and is based on the book, “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start Up.” authored by John Carreyrou the WSJ reporter who exposed the company showing that many of their claims to investors about their technology were allegedly fraudulent.
    The film is set to star Jennifer Lawrence as Holmes and will be written and directed by Adam McKay who is well known for the film “The Big Short”
    The film will be produced by Apple and Legendary along with Jennifer Lawrence’s own Excellent Cadaver production company.
    There is currently no information on a release date nor on when production might begin.
    Variety is also reporting that Apple will be picking up a new comedy TV series from the producer of Schitt’s Creek, David West Read.
      The 10-episode series will be based on the novel, “The Big Door Prize” written by M.O. Walsh and is set to star Chris O’Dowd who you may know from the British comedy series IT Crowd.
      The story is about a small town and one day a mysterious machine appears in the grocery store that promises to reveal each resident’s true life potential.
      The series will be the second one on Apple TV+ from Skydance TV after “Foundation”
    Apple has also reportedly picked up another new family friendly series called “Surfside Girls"
      The 10-episode live-action kids series is based on a graphic novel of the same name written by Kim Dwinell
      The show will star YaYa Gosselin and Miya Cech who play best friends in a town called Surfside.
      They meet a ghost and learn about pirate ship and the cursed treasure and the adventure ensues
      The show will be run by May Chan who will act as a writer and executive producer.
      No current information on a release date for the new series.
  macOS 12.1 RC brings SharePlay
    Apple has released the release candidate for macOS Monterey 12.1 and while it has a number of nice updates there’s one big feature still missing
    12.1 will bring SharePlay and the Apple Music Voice Plan, but it is still missing Universal Control
    Universal Control is the feature Apple showed off at WWDC and will allow you to use a single Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard seamlessly across your Macs and iPads
    Apple had said Universal Control would be releasing “this Fall”, but that is looking less and less likely.
    12.1 also brings new safety features for children and parents in Messages, redesigned Memories in Photos, Digital Legacy for your AppleID, and additional features and bug fixes
    In iOS 15.2 you’ll be able to see your devices Parts and Service history under Settings > General > About
      That includes if your parts are genuine and if the service was performed by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.
      And that’s important because MacRumors got a look at a new internal memo to Apple’s service teams and they will soon be offering you a second chance at AppleCare if your device has been recently repaired.
      There are a couple strings… 1) You need to have purchased the device within the past year. 2) It must have been serviced by an Apple Authorized Service Provider and have all genuine Apple parts. 3) it needs to pass a physical inspection and diagnostics after repair.
      Do all that and you can buy AppleCare+ to cover any future potential repair costs.
    Hyatt announced support for room keys in Apple Wallet
      It will soon roll out support in six U.S. hotels in Hawaii, Key West, Chicago, Dallas, Silicon Valley, and Long Beach
      You can then access rooms and common areas like gyms, pools, and elevators with a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch as long as you running iOS 15 or watchOS 8
    Apple also this week rolled out it’s updated Apple Maps experience to Australia
      That means more detailed road coverage, improved navigation, three-dimensional landmarks, and improved views of parks, buildings, airports, shopping centers, and more.
      In Australia you can now get lane guidance, speed camera alerts, information about accidents and road hazards, accident reporting, and use the Share ETA feature
      You can also access Look Around (I assume in select cities?) and Sydney and Melbourne will have step-by-step walking navigation in augmented reality
  Apple plans for next headset
    We don’t even have the first Apple AR / VR headset yet, but of course that doesn’t mean Apple isn’t already working on the next one.
    Apple always plans products several years in advance and to that end we have a note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on what to expect
    According to Kuo Apple is hoping to follow up the 2022 edition in 2024 for a unit that has a lighter weight, a more refined design, better batteries, and an improved processor
    He also took a moment to give more details on this years rumored headset
      It will switch “seamlessly” between AR / VR
      The weight will be between 300 to 400 grams (not really new?)
    Kuo also claims the headset will have advanced hand gesture and object detection capabilities allowing the device to detect “micro-gestures”
      It’s believed Apple will include four sets of 3D sensors that are even higher quality than what’s found in todays iPhones
    Overall he expects the device to be able to handle gesture control, object detection, eye tracking, iris recognition, voice control, skin detection, expression detection, and spatial detection
    Kuo thinks Apple could sell up to 2.5 to 3.5 million of the first generation headsets in 2023 and about 10 million of the second generation units in 2024
Sponsor: Zocdoc
  Zocdoc
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News Continues
  More on next Apple products
    AirPods Pro 2
      Ming-Chi Kuo says they’re coming, but not until the last quarter of 2022
      He claims they will have an all new design and will be losing the stems completely
      They will also have new fitness tracking capabilities and new chips to help with connectivity
    Apple Watch
      Kuo also seems to be agreeing with reports from other sources on this years line up of Apple Watches
      He too thinks Apple will release three new models
        The Apple Watch Series 8
        An updated Apple Watch SE
        And the “rugged” sport version of Apple Watch
    iPhone SE 3
      Kuo has already given his predictions on a new iPhone SE coming this year. No real design changes, but 5G support and an updated processor
      But he now says Apple has “bigger” plans for the 2023 edition of the iPhone SE will a screen size bump
      The report doesn’t say what size Apple is planning (I’d guess 5.4-inches) but it does also mention a RAM bump from 3GB to 4GB.
      Reports from DigiTimes say the iPhone SE 2 release is still on track for the first half of 2022 as component suppliers are gearing up production
      Right now best guess is will see a lunch sometime around the end of March.
  Apps not linking to alternative payment options. Yet.
    The due date for Apple to start giving developers the ability to link to alternative payment methods in their apps came and went.
    As part of the ruling in their case with Epic Games Apple was ordered by Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers to allow apps to have “metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms”
    Apple appealed to have injunction on the original date for the changes to go into effect which was December 9th.
    After losing the request for the injunction with the court Apple went to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and won the injunction until that court can hear Apple’s full appeal of the ruling.
    Apple has claimed that the ruling could "upset the careful balance between developers and customers provided by the ‌‌‌App Store‌‌‌," and potentially harm consumers.
    They also say that the would need more time to work through the issues that the change would require them to make.
    So depending on the outcome of the appeal we may not ever see this change to the App store rules. Not that I can say this wasn’t expected.
    The other ruling that Apple must allow companies to be able to contact customers about alternative payment methods using mechanisms outside the app with information gathered from inside the app, like email, did remain in effect.
  Feel the classical music
    Remember when Apple acquired the classical music service Primephonic earlier this year?
    No, I don’t blame you. We’ve not heard much about it since
    At the time Apple said that they would enhance the Classical Music experience in Apple Music, which I think they have?
      Adding Primephonic playlists and audio content to the service
    But they also said that they were working on a new service dedicated to just Classical and that it would be coming in 2022
    Now it looks like they’re at least looking to add to the pool of people working on that project
    There was a new job posting spotted by MacRumors for a UX Designer on the classical music team for Primephonic
    Most interestingly the listing mentions creating human interactions that include, “visual, audial, and haptic” experiences
  A more open HomeKit
    Back in 2019 Apple announced they were joining “Matter” an alliance with Samsung, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance to make open and secure standards for smart home accessories.
    The launch of the standards was set to happen in 2021, but they have been delayed until 2022.
    If you’ve ever used HomeKit accessories they’re amazing and pretty reliable, but they are also limited. Matter is meant to change that and allow more devices to be available and potentially compatible with Apple devices
    Now the Verge has a report that details some of the cool stuff Matter offers
    One thing is “Matter TV” which is a set of standards for TV functions. It would let you control volume, channels, input and outputs, etc.
      But it also has a spec for “casting” which could possibly replace AirPlay 2
      Of course there’s a couple catches: 1) Apps would have to add support for Matter TV, so roll out could be slow or not come at all and 2) there’s no requirement that anyone in the alliance has to adopt or support any or all of the spec. Apple could simply opt out of Matter TV in favor of their own AirPlay technology.
    Good news is that support for Matter is in iOS 15 and developers can already start adopting it into their apps
Sponsor: Overland
  Overland
    Something I’ve been trying to do for myself recently is to make sure I’m taking the time to slow things down and make sure I enjoy even the small comforts in life.
      Like sitting with my wife at the end of the week and enjoying the latest episode of Ted Lasso or listening to the sound of the rain that we get so rarely here.
      Another comfort is getting to the end of a busy day and slipping on a pair of Overland sheepskin slippers.
        I have their Men's Ethan Classics and I love them.
        I have never really been a “slippers” person, but after having these I think it’s because I didn’t ever have the right slippers
    Overland is a family-owned American heritage brand that’s put comfort and quality first for nearly 50 years.
    They offer outerwear, accessories, and home décor made from sustainable natural fibers like sheepskin, leather, and wool.
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    Something that really sets Overland apart is that they’re one of the only brands in the world that use true double-faced sheepskin, so the suede you see outside is the same piece as the fluffy sheepskin you feel inside.
      It’s lighter, more breathable, and means there are no synthetic materials touching your feet.
      Plus, you know you’re getting top quality material because it has to look and feel great all over to meet their standards.
    If you want a pair of well-made, comfier-than-you-could-imagine slippers —these are the ones to get.
      With being at home a lot more now and having ones with a rubber sole they are my go to footwear for around the house
    With holidays upon us a pair of Overland slippers would also make an amazing gift for friend or loved one.
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Sponsor: Notion
  Notion
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      Having worked at companies were workspace apps were separate I can say Notion’s approach of combining everything in a single integrated tool is a huge advantage
      It also has a great clean interface that makes it easy to use, plus there’s a native Mac app for both Intel and M1 systems.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
  Apple VR events
    I had asked previously for your thoughts on Apple’s AR / VR headset.
    Play comment from Gary
    I think the company you’re thinking of is NextVR which Apple aquired in May fo 2020
    VR for events is an interesting idea and seems like one great use case, but Apple will need a lot more customer experiences to make a product that appeals to the masses
    I think you’re 100 percent correct about the first version being really a point “zero” product. Sort of in the same way as Apple Watch Series 0 was.
    It will come with just enough features and functionality to make it viable for a small group of early adopters and then I think they will continue to quickly iterate on that version.
    Games I think will also be a very early play.
    I’m also very curious about which AR experiences they might launch with.
      Seems like with the form factor they would be geared more to the idea of not being “in public” experiences.
      I doubt you’d use version zero for walking around town getting heads up turn by turn directions.
      More likely to be like some of the ARKit experiences we have on iOS now, but immersive.
  External recovery on an M1 Mac
    Last time we talked about the fact that with Apple M1 systems (and even really Intel systems with BigSur or later) it’s no longer easy or reliable to create an external bootable clone
    But that brought up a question from Brian who has a new MBP with the M1 ProMax chip coming next month.
    How can I get closest to the legacy bootable backup?
    The short answer is you can’t really. You need to adopt a new strategy and it’s basically a simple one:
      Boot your Mac into recovery mode
      Erase your drive with Disk Utility
      Install a fresh copy of Mac OS
      Use Migration assistant to restore from your cloned backup.
    Steps to restore using Migration Assistant
      Boot your Mac while holding down Command+R (Intel Macs) or the Power button (Apple Silicon Macs) to boot into Recovery Mode(link is external)
      Use Disk Utility to erase your Mac's (new) internal disk as APFS (see this Kbase article for additional guidance)
      Quit Disk Utility.
      Select the Reinstall macOS option and proceed to install macOS onto your new disk.
      When macOS boots for the first time on your new disk, you will be prompted to migrate data — accept the migration offer.
      When prompted to select a source for the migration, select your cloned backup volume and proceed as directed by Migration Assistant.
      Note: If your external clone is on an a volume that is encrypted and locked (not mounted) it won’t show up in the list for Migration assistant on boot.
        In this case proceed to create a temporary admin user on the Mac and login with that
        After logging in you should be prompted to unlock the volume
        You can open Migration Assistant (Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant) manually and proceed with the recovery.
    You might also want to create a bootable copy of your macOS onto a USB stick for emergencies. Just in case you run into trouble booting from the recovery partition
      MacOS Big Sur 11.4 and later should be able to boot from an external disk with a copy of macOS
      Apple has a great support article on [how to create a bootable macOS installer](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372)
    Finally… I’ll re-iterate what I said last time about Apple M1 Mac with a completely failed internal drive:
      You can't boot an Apple Silicon Mac if the internal storage has died. Period. This includes booting from an external drive.
      The OS on the internal boot volume (“iBoot”) is used to evaluate the integrity of the boot assets on external volumes. If iBoot isn’t accessible, then no boot for you.
  M1 doesn’t do Windows
    Susanna just got a shiny new M1 MacBook Pro and while it’s great at a lot of things she discovered on place where an older Intel mac has it beat.
    And that’s in the ability to run Windows. Either natively via Boot Camp or through virtualization using VMWare or Parallels
    The core issue is the processor on the Mac and the availability of a user licensed version of Windows 10
    As you likely know Apple’s M1 processors rely on the ARM instruction set and of course traditional Windows uses X86 instructions
    There is a version of Windows 10 or Windows 11 that runs on ARM but Microsoft doesn’t license it directly to consumers
    At the moment you CAN get Windows 10 for ARM through Microsoft’s “Insider” program, so you can run Parallels 17 Desktop for Mac, sign up for Windows Insider Preview to get Windows 10, and run it virtualized in Parallels on the Mac.
    Thing is at some point those Preview versions will no longer be an option.
    So bottom line is right now doing Windows on an M1 Mac is dodgy at best.
    There is also [Crossover for Mac](https://www.codeweavers.com)
      Crossover doesn’t need to run Windows and is not an emulator
      Basically it translates Windows commands into Mac commands so the Apps just run on your Mac
      Good news for M1 owners is Crossover apps run and work in Rosetta 2
      Bad news is that not all Windows apps will necessarily work in Crossover, but many do.
      Windows Software [compatibility list](https://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility)
  Thing of the Moment: Daylite
    Play review from Graeme
    [Daylite](https://www.marketcircle.com)
    Daylite is a great app and I never really thought about it for personal use, but it sounds amazing.
    I’ll add a plug for their other app [Billings Pro](https://www.marketcircle.com/billingspro/)
      For my freelance web development it’s been a great tool for me
      Allows me to set-up clients and is integrated with Apple contacts
      I can then set-up projects, create estimates, track my time, and then send out invoices.
        Has built in templates that you can customize.
      It allows me to also keep track of who has paid and when
      I can also run reports, which is really helpful at the end of the year.
      Plus there is an iOS app and it all syncs through their cloud so I can bill and invoice right on site.
Closing
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