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MacStories Unwind: Adobe Fresco, a New Portable Sonos Speaker, The Fitness+ Studio, and Podcast News

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

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This week on MacStories Unwind:

MacStories

Club MacStories

  • MacStories Weekly
    • Federico shares three Taio automations
    • John on how to incorporate Twitter into your RSS reader
    • IINA Mac media player
  • MacStories Unplugged
    • Breaking dishes and other pandemic phenomena
    • Apple Arcade check-in

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Sonos Announces the AirPlay 2-Compatible Roam Portable Speaker

Sonos has officially announced the Sonos Roam, a battery-powered, portable speaker that supports AirPlay 2 and several other interesting features. The speaker, which comes in white and black, doesn’t ship until April 20th, but you can preorder it now.

It remains to be seen how the Roam sounds, but the specs are interesting. The $169 speaker is a small, portable speaker at 6.61 x 2.44 x 2.36 inches and weighs in at just under one pound. The Roam is also designed for outdoor listening with its IP67 water resistance rating and can be paired with a second Roam speaker for stereo sound when connected over WiFi.

Sonos is claiming 10 hours of playback on one charge and 10 days of standby time. The speaker can be charged wirelessly with an optional Qi charging accessory or any other Qi charger that is large enough to accommodate it. The speaker can also be charged using a USB-C cable.

The Roam supports both WiFi and Bluetooth, switching automatically between the two depending on the type of connection available. Using a technique similar to Apple’s original HomePod, the Roam uses Sonos’ Trueplay technology to adjust audio output depending on the acoustics of its surroundings. The speaker also supports AirPlay 2 and Sonos’ Sound Swap, a feature that uses inaudible, high-frequency sound to pass the music off to another nearby Sonos speaker. The Roam also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as Siri if you’re using AirPlay 2.

I’ve used Libratone’s Zipp 2 portable speaker in the past, which also supports AirPlay 2, and I loved using it outdoors last summer. If Sonos can deliver the quality of sound that it’s known for at a reasonable volume, the Roam could play a similar role in a smaller package than the Zipp.

Apple Launches Kid-Friendly Podcast Collections

Apple has partnered with Common Sense Media to curate collections of podcasts for kids in the US. The shows are picked by Common Sense Media, an organization whose editors have a long history of helping parents and educators find age-appropriate media for children.

The shows currently highlighted in Apple Podcasts’ new collections are from a wide variety of creators like Tinkercast, American Public Media, Gen-Z Media, Pinna, Tumble, Highlights, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon. The collections will be updated monthly and will feature podcasts organized by age groups and themes. Currently, there are four themed collections available:

  • Common Sense Media Picks, a collection of some of the organization’s all-time favorite podcasts
  • One More!, a collection of mysteries and action-packed stories
  • Kids Know Best, shows picked by kids themselves
  • Story Time, which includes stories designed to spark kids’ imaginations
Some of the shows spotlighted in the One More! collection in Apple Podcasts.

Some of the shows spotlighted in the One More! collection in Apple Podcasts.

With the large number of podcasts available today, the guidance provided by these new collections is a terrific resource for families. There are a lot of shows here that I know my kids would have enjoyed when they were younger.

Apple Has Apparently Pulled the Plug on the iMac Pro

Apple hasn’t made an official announcement the iMac Pro’s future, but the Mac’s product page speaks volumes. As first reported by MacRumors, the configurable models of the iMac Pro are no longer available for purchase. The only remaining iMac Pro on Apple’s online store is the $4,999 base configuration, which Apple notes prominently at the top of the page will only remain available ‘While supplies last.’

Available 'While supplies last.'

Available ‘While supplies last.’

The iMac Pro was introduced by Apple at the end of 2017. The model has received minor updates over the past three years, but the hardware configuration has remained mostly unchanged. With the advent of the new Mac Pro and Apple’s M1 SoC Macs, speculation has been widespread that the iMac Pro might not survive the transition, which now appears to be the case.

With the iMac Pro gone, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the rest of Apple’s desktop Mac lineup. Will a more powerful M1-based iMac take its place, or will Apple introduce something entirely new like a smaller G4 Cube-inspired Mac Pro that Mark Gurman has said is coming? If Apple’s spring event schedule of the past few years is any indication, we could find out as early as the end of this month.

Update: Since this story’s original publication, Apple has confirmed to MacRumors that the iMac Pro has indeed been discontinued.

MacStories Unwind: A New Note-Taking Research App for the Mac, Spotify’s List of New and Upcoming Features Continues to Grow, and It’s Now Easier to Move Your iCloud Photo Library to Google Photos

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

Sponsored by: SaneBox – Organize Your Inbox and Never Waste Time on Email Again

This week on MacStories Unwind:

MacStories

Club MacStories

  • MacStories Weekly
    • Federico’s Home Screens
    • Alex on MagSafe chargers
    • John with GoodTask Tips and a shortcut for extracting URLs from long Craft documents

AppStories

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Eve Systems Announces That Its New Eve Energy Smart Plug and Eve Weather HomeKit Devices Will Support Thread

Source: Eve Systems.

Source: Eve Systems.

Ever since I got a glimpse of what Thread could mean to home automation by pairing a Nanoleaf A19 bulb with a HomePod mini, I’ve been excited about the technology’s future. We’re still in the early days of adoption by device manufacturers. However, today, Eve Systems announced a significant expansion of its Thread-compatible lineup of HomeKit products, giving the technology a substantial boost.

Eve had already added Thread to its window and door sensors and EU-compatible smart plugs. Today, however, the company said that US and UK-compatible versions of its Eve Energy smart plugs would be coming soon and that it will also release a weather sensor called Eve Weather. Eve is also updating its existing $99.95 Eve Aqua outdoor sprinkler controller to add Thread via a firmware update.

Thread, which I covered in-depth as part of my HomePod mini review is a wireless communication protocol that has the advantage of extended range, longer battery life, and security. Devices that implement it don’t require a separate hub either because devices like the HomePod mini act as a border router coordinating communications among devices and the Internet.

Source: Eve Systems.

Source: Eve Systems.

The new Eve Energy smart plug will be available in the US on April 6th and the UK on May 4th according to The Verge and will cost $39.95 in the US. In addition to working with Apple’s HomeKit technology, Eve Energy benefits from having a constant power source, which allows it to act as a border router like the HomePod mini, further extending the reach of Thread devices throughout your home.

Eve Weather, which has an IPX3 water resistance rating, tracks the outdoor temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. The device will cost $69.95 and be available in the US and Canada beginning on March 26th.

I’m glad to see more Thread-enabled products hitting the market. The promise of Thread has been difficult to test with so few devices available, but with the products announced by Eve Systems today and Nanoleaf’s existing lighting products, I expect that we’ll soon have a better idea of whether the promise lives up to the hype.

MacStories Unwind: Scanning and Budgeting iOS App Updates, Overcast’s New Watch App, a Brand New Mac Utility, and a Shortcuts Update

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

Sponsored by: MenuBar Stats – Advanced Mac System Monitoring

This week on MacStories Unwind:

MacStories

Club MacStories

  • MacStories Weekly
    * Broadcasts
    * Automating external drive ejection on the Mac with the press of a HomeKit button
    * Federico explores a new read later and RSS workflow

AppStories

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