This week, Federico surprises John with two new and unexpected tech purchases.
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MacStories Unwind: Federico’s Surprise
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What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Mac Studio and Studio Display Review Roundup
The reviews are out for the Mac Studio and Studio Display and a lot has been written about both. I’ve pulled some of the most interesting tidbits from the reviews, but if you’re considering buying a Mac Studio or Studio Display, be sure to read all of these reviews because they offer a wide range of perspectives on the kind of uses for which Apple’s new hardware is best.
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Last Week, on Club MacStories: A Special Apple Event Town Hall, ShareMenu 2.0, a Typefully Shortcut, and a Home Office with a View
Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:
Town Hall: Apple’s Peek Performance Event
- Last week, Federico, John, and Alex were joined by MacStories Discord moderator Lachlan Campbell for a live Town Hall event in the Club MacStories+ Discord community to recap and share first impressions of Apple’s Peek Performance keynote, which introduced a new iPhone SE, iPad Air, Mac Studio, and the Studio Display.
- The Town Hall was recorded and published as part of the Club MacStories+ Town Hall podcast feed, which members can access from the Club podcasts page.
MacStories Weekly: Issue 311
- ShareMenu 2.0: an update to Federico’s ShareMenu shortcut that’s designed to replicate the behavior of the old ‘Run Workflow’ extension. Version 2.0 includes improved macOS integration and support for more file types.
- Draft Tweet: A shortcut that John created for sharing articles using Typefully, a web app for scheduling tweets and managing multiple Twitter accounts.
- Club member Dan Stucke’s home office setup that has a beautiful view of the English countryside.
- Plus:
- App Debuts
- Highlights from the Club MacStories+ Discord
- Interesting links from around the web
- A sneak peek at what’s next on MacStories’ podcasts
- And more
Visit plus.club to learn more about Club MacStories.
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
MacStories Unwind: A.P. Bio and House by Shout Out Louds
This week, Federico updates us on the latest software changes to the Xbox Series X|S and recommends A.P. Bio, a TV comedy from Peacock and John discovers his favorite album of 2022 so far: House by Shout Out Louds.
Links and Show Notes
Follow-Up
Federico’s Pick:
John’s Pick:
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Apple’s ‘Peek Performance’ Event: All The Small Things
Today, Apple covered a lot of ground quickly, and as usual, more details have emerged in the aftermath of the event. We’ve been combing apple.com, Twitter, and other sources to learn more about its new services, iPhones, iPads, Mac Studio, and Studio Display, which we’ve collected below:
Services
- Apple is adding live baseball (when the lockout ends) to TV+. Two games will be broadcast every Friday. The games will be available in United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom initially, with more countries to come later.
- Apple will also be producing “MLB Big Inning,” a live show that will air every weeknight and include game highlights.
- Apple also said in its press release that fans in the US and Canada can enjoy a 24/7 livestream of game replays, news, and more.
iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max
- Apple introduced two new colors of iPhones.
- The iPhone 13 and 13 mini’s new color is simply green.
- iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max customers get a darker shade called alpine green.
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Apple’s New iPad Air Adds the M1 Chip, Center Stage Support, and 5G Connectivity
Today’s Peek Performance Apple event included a new iPad Air that replaces the model that was released in the fall of 2020 and features an M1 chip, 5G connectivity, and an Ultra Wide front-facing camera.
The new Air comes in five colors: Space Gray, Starlight, pink, purple, and blue. The chip has been upgraded from the A15 to the M1, bringing it in line with the chip used in the iPad Pro. Apple also upgraded the front-facing Ultra Wide 12MP camera, so it now supports Center Stage, allowing the camera to keep participants in the camera frame during FaceTime and other video calls. The Air adds 5G connectivity and a USB-C port that’s two times faster than before too.
Other than the new colors, the design of the iPad Air remains the same with a Touch ID top button, 10.9” diagonal Liquid Retina display that features 264 pixels per inch and Apple’s True Tone technology, but not ProMotion. The iPad Air comes in 64GB and 256GB storage configurations like the model it replaces too.
With the move to an M1 chip and support for Center Stage, the gap between the iPad Air and the 11” iPad Pro is smaller than ever. Perhaps the narrowing of the gap is temporary and we’ll see it widen again when the iPad Pro is next updated. However, the two iPads are so close in specs now that the new Air is probably the better choice for most users, especially if they can get by with 64GB of storage.
You can follow all of our ‘Peek Performance’ Apple event coverage through our event hub, or subscribe to the dedicated RSS feed.
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Apple’s ‘Peek Performance’ Event: By the Numbers
As usual, Apple sprinkled facts, figures, and statistics throughout its presentation today. Here are highlights of some of those metrics from the event that was held online from Apple Park in Cupertino, California.
iPhone SE
- 5G connectivity
- 64, 128, and 256GB storage capacities
- 4 grams lighter than the iPhone SE it replaces
- An A15 Bionic chip with a 6-core CPU consisting of 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
- A 4-core GPU
- A 16-core Neural Engine
- IP67 water resistance
- Up to 2 hours more battery life when watching video
- Support for Smart HDR 4 photography
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Apple Unveils the Latest Iteration of iPhone SE with an A15 Bionic Chip and 5G
Today, Apple updated its budget-model iPhone SE with a new A15 Bionic chip, 5G connectivity, better battery life, and other modern iPhone features.
As with the previous model, the new SE comes in three colors: Midnight, Starlight, and (Product)RED. With the new A15 Bionic chip, Apple says the new SE’s graphics are 1.2x faster than the 2nd generation model it replaces. The addition of the A15 Bionic means iPhone SE users can enjoy advanced features like Live Text too.
A combination of the new chip, different battery chemistry, and changes to the design also allows the SE to run for up to 2 hours longer on its battery in video playback tests. With a 20W charger, the SE can fast charge from 0-50% in 30 minutes too.
The iPhone SE has a 12MP camera with a sensor that is capable of Apple’s Deep Fusion technology. The update also supports Smart HDR 4 and photographic styles, which first appeared on the iPhone 13. Although the camera’s sensor and the hardware that drives it makes this a new camera system, the lens hardware itself appears to be unchanged.
The iPhone SE’s glass has received an upgrade too. It uses the same shatter-resistant type of glass as the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro lines.
Finally, the iPhone SE carries a $429 starting price tag. That’s $30 more than the prior generation.
Other features of the iPhone SE remain the same. The model uses Touch ID embedded in its Home button and has the same 4.7” display as the model it replaces. Like the previous model, the new SE is also IP67 rated for water resistance. The new SE offers 64, 128, and 256GB storage capacities too.
With an A15 Bionic chip, which powered the previous-generation iPad Air, the new iPhone SE is an excellent choice for anyone who wants a smaller iPhone. It would have been nice to see it adopt Touch ID in the power button, as the iPad Air did, but regardless, today’s announcement is a nice refresh of Apple’s most affordable iPhone.
You can follow all of our ‘Peek Performance’ Apple event coverage through our event hub, or subscribe to the dedicated RSS feed.p
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.
Replay Apple’s Peek Performance Keynote and Other Videos
If you didn’t follow the livestream or announcements as they unfolded today, you can replay it on Apple’s Events site and catch the product videos on Apple’s YouTube channel.
The keynote video can be streamed here and on the Apple TV using the TV app. A high-quality version will also be available through Apple Podcasts as a video and audio podcast. There is also an American Sign Language version of the event, which is available here.
More videos after the break.
Access Extra Content and Perks
Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.
What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed for every MacStories fan.
Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;
Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.