Ryan Christoffel

984 posts on MacStories since November 2016

Ryan is an editor for MacStories and co-hosts the [Adapt](https://www.relay.fm/adapt) podcast on Relay FM. He most commonly works and plays on his iPad Pro and bears no regrets about moving on from the Mac. He and his wife live in New York City.
ryan@macstories.net

iPhone XS and XS Max Cases Join a New Lineup of Apple Watch Bands

The new iPhone XS line and Apple Watch Series 4 are not available for pre-order until this Friday, and unlike in past years, when new device accessories became available immediately after Apple’s keynote event, this time the new cases and watch bands will also not go on sale until later this week. But eager purchasers can get a head start on scoping out exactly which accessories they’ll order by browsing Apple’s website. iPhone XS and XS Max cases and new Apple Watch bands are available to view, but you can’t order them until Friday.

One important note is that all Apple Watch bands are now designated 40mm or 44mm, to match the new Series 4 Watch, but they are all fully compatible with prior Apple Watch models which were sized 38mm and 42mm.

Here’s the full list of accessories you’ll be able to order starting this Friday.

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HomePod 12.0 Coming Next Week with Support for Multiple Timers, Phone Calls, and More

In closing its event at the Steve Jobs Theater today, Apple announced that next Monday it will launch the latest software update to HomePod, version 12.0. The headline feature is multiple timers, a missing function often derided at HomePod’s launch, and it’s joined by the ability to make and receive phone calls, perform Siri song requests with lyrics alone, and rounding things out, support for Find My iPhone and new languages.

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Getting Behind the Mac as a Productivity-First Platform

Apple’s recent Behind the Mac series is one of my favorite marketing campaigns of late. I find the visual of people sitting behind their Macs so romantic and nostalgic. It’s a sight that’s ever-present whenever I spend time in a coffee shop, and the series’ tagline, “Make something wonderful behind the Mac,” causes me to now wonder in public: what are these people making as they sit behind the iconic Apple logo’s glow?

Following WWDC earlier this year, I shared that one of the things I least expected from the conference was that it would get me excited about the Mac. I’ve been iOS-first for three years now, with no regrets whatsoever. During that time, while the Mac has received incremental improvements, its growth has lagged significantly behind iOS and the iPad. While I never expected the same level of innovation on macOS that iOS received – since the Mac didn’t need as much work, frankly – it was frustrating to constantly see iOS score new apps and technologies before the Mac.

It has long seemed to me like the Mac was on its way to an eventual death. But WWDC breathed new life into the platform, with Apple doubling down on the Mac’s strengths as a productivity tool, and the prospect of ported iOS apps starting next year. Each of these changes will bring, I believe, genuine excitement back to the platform.

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