Federico
AppStories Episode 313 - Imagining Apps for an Apple VR Headset
0:00
40:21
40:21
This week, Federico and John imagine the kinds of apps that may emerge for an Apple VR headset.
New HomePods and Read-Later Apps
...
Audio-to-Text Transcription with Whisper
...
Embracing the Chaos
...
Interesting Links
...
App Debuts
...
MacStories Unwind: The Menu and Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion
This week on MacStories Unwind, John suggests the dark comedy The Menu, and Federico recommends Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion.
Show Notes
John’s Pick:
Federico’s Pick:
Apple Celebrates Black History Month with a New Black Unity Collection and More
To celebrate Black History Month, Apple has released a new Black Unity Collection. The collection includes an iPhone wallpaper, an Apple Watch face, and a Sports Loop band.
According to Apple, the special-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop “features the word “Unity” woven abstractly into the band using red, green, and black yarns that pay homage to the Pan-African flag, while a unique layering of yarns lends a sense of three-dimensionality to the letters.” Both the iPhone wallpaper and watch face combine geometric shapes in green, black, red, and yellow. On the watch face, the numbers on the face change as the minutes pass, using parts of other numbers.
Apple is also marking Black History Month across many of its services, including the App Store, Apple Music, the TV app, Fitness+, News, Podcasts, Books, and Maps. Among the offerings will be Apple Maps Guides by the Smithsonian, curated TV and film collections by Dr. Jelani Cobb, apps and games, special playlists on Apple Music, and podcast spotlights.
Apple also announced that it:
is supporting Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), Ghetto Film School (New York, Los Angeles, London), Music Forward (Los Angeles), Shout Mouse Press (Washington, D.C.), and The National Museum of African American Music (Nashville, Tennessee). Apple’s support for these organizations is a continuation of REJI grants over the past two years that helped organizations committed to providing economic, educational, and creative opportunities in communities of color.
The Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop is available to order online today and will be in stores on January 24th for $49. The Unity 2023 watch face and iPhone will be available next week, presumably alongside OS updates.
Apple Announces Second-Generation HomePod
Over the weekend, Mark Gurman said that Apple would be releasing a new HomePod soon. As it turns out, he was correct because today, Apple released a new second-generation HomePod. According to Apple’s press release,
With convenient new ways to manage everyday tasks and control the smart home, users can now create smart home automations using Siri, get notified when a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm is detected in their home, and check temperature and humidity in a room — all hands-free.
The HomePod is powered by an S7 chip and appears to feature a sound system similar to the first-gen model.
The new HomePod also adds a temperature and humidity sensor, which can be used as a trigger for home automations, and supports the Matter home automation standard.
The second-generation HomePod is available to order today, with deliveries beginning Friday, February 3rd for $299, which is $50 less than the original HomePod’s price.
Update: Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I’ve gone back and checked the second-generation HomePod’s tech specs against the original model, and there are some interesting differences. The new model weighs less at 5.16 pounds (2.3 kg) versus 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg). The new model is a little shorter, too, at 6.6 inches (168 mm) compared to the original’s 6.8 inches (172 mm), but the same width.
The new HomePod has two fewer tweeters at five compared to the original’s seven. No mention is made of direct and ambient audio beamforming in the tech specs for the new HomePod, although it does support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, which is a nice addition. The latest HomePod has four far-field microphones compared to the original’s six too.
In addition to the temperature and humidity sensor, the new HomePod also features an accelerometer and will support Sound Recognition later this spring with a software update. It’s not clear whether that software update will work with the original HomePod or not.
The new HomePod is also getting a WiFi upgrade with 802.11n support. The new model also includes a Thread radio and Ultra Wideband chip, which the original did not.
Last but not least, the new HomePod’s tech specs appear to suggest that the power cable may be detachable, unlike the original model, because it’s listed as an item ‘in the box,’ whereas that wasn’t the case when the HomePod debuted.