Federico
AppStories Episode 404 - macOS Sequoia: The MacStories Review
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This week, Federico and John cover the highlights of macOS Sequoia, a good update that feels unfinished.
Interesting Links
The anxiety of mailing in your U.S. passport for renewal and hoping it doesn’t get lost is becoming a thing of the past with a new online renewal process, according to Jay Peters at The Verge. (Link) Kyle Orland at Ars Technica has the whole sad backstory of the announcement that Flappy Bird will...
iOS and iPadOS 18: The Tips Collection
To wrap up our OS coverage this week we have a special issue of Weekly and a final perk. In today’s issue Federico shares his annual Making Of story about the role that Apple Notes played in this year’s iOS and iPadOS review. Also, I share a handful of my favorite macOS Sequoia tips, and...
Five Handy macOS Sequoia Tips
After diving into the major updates to macOS Sequoia in my review this week, I thought I’d share a handful of smaller tips, too. These will help you make sure you’re getting every bit out of the latest version of macOS. 1. iPhone Mirroring + AirDrop iPhone Mirroring is one of my favorite macOS Sequoia...
App Debuts
Glint Glint is a new iPhone and iPad app from Hidde van der Ploeg for capturing memories. It’s a little like Apple’s Journal app, but with a unique design and simple UI for capturing text, images, locations, links, and more. It’s also more than a journaling app because you can track goals over time...
The Latest from Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, and MacStories Unwind
Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:
Sigmund and Devon round up the new features in this week’s tvOS 18 update, discuss Devon’s review of visionOS 2 on MacStories, and recap Sunny.
Matt needs to praise the iPad, Chris drops some iPadOS knowledge, and Niléane is intrigued by window management on other tablets looks like.
This week, Federico and I unwind on air about how we’re doing post-review week, preview Federico’s Playstation Portal theory, and share family members’ reactions to iOS 18.
The European Commission Opens Two iOS Interoperability Proceedings Against Apple
The European Commission (EC) issued a press release today summarizing two specification proceedings that they have commenced against Apple:
The first proceeding focuses on several iOS connectivity features and functionalities, predominantly used for and by connected devices. Connected devices are a varied, large and commercially important group of products, including smartwatches, headphones and virtual reality headsets. Companies offering these products depend on effective interoperability with smartphones and their operating systems, such as iOS. The Commission intends to specify how Apple will provide effective interoperability with functionalities such as notifications, device pairing and connectivity.
The second proceeding focuses on the process Apple has set up to address interoperability requests submitted by developers and third parties for iOS and IPadOS. It is crucial that the request process is transparent, timely, and fair so that all developers have an effective and predictable path to interoperability and are enabled to innovate.
In a nutshell, the EC is unhappy with connectivity between iOS and third-party devices and plans to tell the company how to comply. The second part requires Apple to set up a process for third parties to request connectivity with iOS.
The EC has given Apple six months to comply with its latest proceedings, during which the commission will share its preliminary findings with Apple and publish a non-confidential summary of the findings publicly so third parties can offer comments.
Apple prides itself on its tight integration between hardware and software, and the EC is determined to open that up for the benefit of all hardware manufacturers. While I think that is a good goal, we’re getting very close to the EU editing APIs, which I find hard to imagine will lead to an optimal outcome for Apple, third-party manufacturers, or consumers. However, if you accept the goal as worthwhile, it’s just as hard to imagine accomplishing it any other way given Apple’s apparent unwillingness to open iOS up itself.
NPC’s Connected Takeover: I Got the RGB Going On→
Friday is Relay’s annual Podcastathon for St. Jude. They’re raising money during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the Podcastathon is a fun 12-hour live streamed show from your favorite Relay hosts that begins at Noon Eastern on Friday, September 20th. If you haven’t donated, yet, you can do so here. It’s a great cause that we’d love MacStories readers to get behind. For more details be sure to see my post from August.
As you can imagine, our pals Stephen and Myke are a little busy getting ready for their big show at the end of the week. So, they did something very trusting and handed over this week’s Connected episode to Federico who invited me and Brendon, his co-hosts on NPC: Next Portable Console, to join him.
The episode was a blast, covering topics like:
- Flappy Bird’s questionable upcoming return to the App Store that was announced recently;
- The devices we purchased in the aftermath of Apple’s Glowtime event and why;
- Federico’s different approach to this year’s iOS and iPadOS 18 review and what it means for MacStories more broadly; and
- How we’d fix Apple’s approach to videogames if we were in charge.
Plus, for the Connected Pro segment, subscribers got to hear all about our weird super powers.
Thanks to Myke, Stephen, and Federico for having Brendon and me on Connected today, so we could put a temporary NPC spin on the show.
Apple Opens Up About Language Support for Apple Intelligence→
Apple previously said Apple Intelligence will launch with support for U.S. English only, but other languages will be added over the next year. The company has gotten a little more specific than before with statements to The Verge and others that, over the next year, additional languages will include:
- German
- Italian
- Korean
- Portuguese
- Vietnamese
- and others
In addition, according to Allison Johnson at The Verge:
Apple’s AI feature set will expand to include localized English in the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand in December, with India and Singapore joining the mix next year. The company already announced plans to support Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish next year as well.
It’s good to see Apple becoming more open with information about its plans for Apple Intelligence language support. The iPhone 16 will be out this Friday, and Apple Intelligence’s language support will undoubtedly be a factor for many customers considering whether to upgrade to the latest model.