Federico’s back, Stephen is the Mac mini Spokesperson and Myke needs to buy some stuff.
On this week’s Connected, we also had some interesting discussions about home automation (which Myke likes) and sleep tracking (which Myke doesn’t like – yet). You can listen here.
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Nice change to Apple.com currently propagating across various international versions. Here’s a comparison of the same webpage before and after the switch to San Francisco. I’ve never been a fan of the mixture of San Francisco and Myriad on the Apple website, and I dig the refreshed look. Looks like the transition to San Francisco is finally complete.
With today’s release of the first iOS 10.3 beta for developers, Apple announced two changes that have been highly requested by iOS users and the developer community. iOS 10.3 will offer a developer API to standardize how apps can ask users to rate an app or write a review on the App Store, and developers will get the ability to directly respond to customer reviews on both the iOS and Mac App Store.
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Apple seeded the first beta of its next major iOS update, iOS 10.3, to developers earlier today. Following updates that focused on photography and emoji, iOS 10.3 will bring a variety of enhancements and tweaks to system apps and services, although it appears to be lacking any meaningful (and highly anticipated) iPad improvements.
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Nice announcements from Gamevice today: the company is rolling out updated MFi controllers across the entire line-up that are lighter, add Lightning charging, and have better analog sticks. Jordan Kahn, writing for 9to5Mac:
Today the company is introducing a new version of the controller specifically designed for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with a built-in headphone jack and a Lightning port for charging. It also has second-generation controllers launching today and later this month for iPads.
While the new headphone jack and Lightning port for charging are the standout features of the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus controller, the company notes that it also upgraded the thumb sticks and made the controller lighter by removing the battery and using the iPhone to draw power.
I’ve been using my original Gamevice for the iPhone 6s Plus (which also works with the 7 Plus) to play the majority of console-type games I have on my iPhone (I’m about to start a new playthrough of Final Fantasy VII and I’ve played a few Super Nintendo games with Provenance). I like the device a lot and Lightning charging seems like a convenient addition. I’m going to consider the second-generation version for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro whenever it becomes available in Italy, too.
Dan M., writing on Medium about the state of Apple as a pre-mortem:
It is not easy to evaluate a company I love as if they have failed. I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on Apple products, and devoted countless hours studying, admiring and defending the company. However, I started noticing too many uncharacteristic cracks, and I realised turning a blind eye would not help Apple.
I don’t agree with all of the assumptions and conclusions taken for granted in this piece. For all its problems (above all, a slow rollout of third-party domains), I wouldn’t call Siri “souped-up Voice Control”. I don’t feel comfortable with any third-party narrative around Apple’s leadership and internal conflicts inferred from the outside. And, I’m not sure rethinking watchOS and iOS around “contextual triggers” would be the best idea for the majority of customers who, unlike techies, just want to open their 5 most-used apps quickly. In general, it feels like there’s a disconnect between some of the realities painted in this story and how I see people in real life use Apple devices and software.
But, there is also a lot I agree with: the Apple TV analysis is pretty much spot-on, and Dan raises solid questions about Apple’s approach to services and how their privacy stance may prove problematic in the future. Besides personal opinions and experiences, this article outlines potential problems with today’s Apple fairly, and it’s worth reading and discussing.
This week Fraser and Federico close out the Workflow programming series with some of the more advanced techniques in Workflow programming.
With today’s episode of Canvas, we finalize the Workflow series with one last round of advanced topics. You can listen here.
If you haven’t listened to the previous episodes of the Workflow series yet, now’s a good time to start.
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I was inspired by a recent discussion with CGP Grey to improve upon my original Toggl workflows and create an easier way to start specific timers. I previously argued how being able to seamlessly track time is key to commit yourself to monitoring your habits and how much time you spend on multiple projects....
Dan Moren joins Stephen and Myke to follow-up on microblogging, talk about home assistants, Apple’s television dreams and the Mac mini.
I skipped Connected this week, but Dan Moren and the rest of the crew did a great job with this episode. I particularly enjoyed the discussion on Apple getting into the video content business and what it might mean for Apple Music. You can listen here.
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