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Apple’s iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Models: The MacStories Overview

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple introduced four new iPhone models: the iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The new iPhones pack a wide array of new features to cover, so let’s dig in.

iPhone 15 and 15 Plus

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

As in the past, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus come in a greater array of colors than the iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max, with pink, yellow, green, blue, and black options this year. The design on the new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus is similar to last year’s models but with a new contoured edge and a glass back that embeds the iPhones’ color throughout the glass that’s etched for a matte finish.

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Apple Announces Availability Dates for New iPhones and Apple Watches

At this morning’s annual September Apple Event, Apple announced its latest lineup of iPhones and Apple Watches. Kicking things off with the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, both devices can be ordered starting today, with availability beginning September 22nd.

Despite rumors of a delayed launch date for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple will in fact be delivering the device at the same time as all other models. All of the new iPhones — the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max — are available for preorder starting this Friday, September 15th, at 5 AM PDT. Like the new Apple Watches, ship dates and availability for the iPhones will begin on September 22nd.

Apple is also releasing a lineup of new “FineWoven” accessories — a more environmentally friendly alternative to their previous leather accessory lineup. Most of these accessories are available for order here starting today, with the same ship date of September 22nd.

You can follow all of our September 2023 Apple event coverage through our September 2023 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated September 2023 Apple event RSS feed.

Apple’s September 2023 Wonderlust Event: Replay Today’s Keynote and Product Videos

If you didn’t follow the livestream or announcements as they unfolded today, you can replay it on Apple’s Events site or YouTube 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. An American Sign Language version of the event keynote is available on the Apple Events page too.

Product videos from today’s event are available after the break.

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Intel Announces Thunderbolt 5→

Source: Intel.

Source: Intel.

Today, Intel announced the next iteration of its Thunderbolt connectivity standard. According to a company press release:

Thunderbolt 5 will deliver 80 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bi-directional bandwidth, and with Bandwidth Boost it will provide up to 120 Gbps for the best display experience. These improvements will provide up to three times more bandwidth than the best existing connectivity solution, providing outstanding display and data connections. Thunderbolt 5 will meet the high bandwidth needs of content creators and gamers. Built on industry standards – including USB4 V2 – Thunderbolt 5 will be broadly compatible with previous versions of Thunderbolt and USB.

Thunderbolt 5 can also deliver 240W of power, a big jump from Thunderbolt 4’s 100W power delivery. Intel says computers and accessories that use Thunderbolt 5 are expected to ship in 2024.

It’s a safe bet that Thunderbolt 5 will find its way into Macs at some point, although perhaps not in the first M3 models. The new connector would allow Macs to drive more and higher-resolution displays and mean faster file transfers, but what I really want to see is a return of Mac eGPU support. Apple’s integrated graphics are great for many tasks, but it’s hard to imagine the Mac ever competing with Windows-based gaming without a boost from an eGPU, and Thunderbolt 5 looks like it would be perfect for that.

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MacStories Unwind: A Game Boy Webcam for iPad, Grits, and Plane

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico explains his UVC device journey that naturally ended with using a Game Boy Camera as an iPad webcam, and I embrace the South by cooking grits, and I recommend Plane, a 2023 action-thriller movie.

  • Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Federico’s Game Boy Webcam for iPad

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I Used a Game Boy Camera for FaceTime Video Calls in iPadOS 17 and It Was Glorious

A major change introduced by iPadOS 17 that is going to make video creators and gamers happy is support for UVC (USB Video Class) devices, which means an iPad can now recognize external webcams, cameras, video acquisition cards, and other devices connected over USB-C. I started testing iPadOS 17 thinking this would be a boring addition I’d never use; as it turns out, it’s where I had the most fun tinkering with different pieces of hardware this summer.

Most of all, however, I did not anticipate I’d end up doing FaceTime calls with a Game Boy Camera as my iPad Pro’s webcam.

I’m in the process of writing my annual iOS and iPadOS review, and in the story I’ll have plenty more details about the changes to iPadOS 17’s Stage Manager and how I’m taking advantage of UVC support to play Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck games on my iPad’s display. But in the meantime, I wanted to share this Game Boy Camera story because it’s wild, ridiculous, and I love it.

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AppStories, Episode 349 – Bookmarking Apps Revisited→

This week on AppStories, we look at the history of bookmarking apps, their relationship to read-later apps, how our use of bookmarking apps has changed, and our favorite modern bookmarking apps.

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On AppStories+, we discuss the benefits of tinkering to avoid burnout and for generating writing ideas.

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To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

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Michael Flarup Launches a Kickstarter Campaign for The macOS Icon Book→

Michael Flarup has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund an illustrated book about macOS iconography. The macOS App Icon Book, which has already been fully funded, is estimated to ship in January 2024.

This book is a follow-up to The iOS App Icon Book, which was also funded via Kickstarter and shipped last year, and I reviewed on MacStories. The new title includes full-color reproductions of hundreds of icons and profiles of the designers behind some of them.

Flarup’s iOS icon book was a wonderful bit of Apple history that preserved some of the best iconography produced on the platform. It’s great to see a macOS version is being added to preserve the history of iconography on the Mac, too. If you’re interested in pledging, there are multiple reward levels, including the hardback book, a PDF version, and a set of both the iOS and macOS icon books.

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