AppStories, Episode 220 – Our iPadOS 15 Wishes→

This week on AppStories, we jump back into their pre-WWDC wishlist series with a look at iPadOS and the sorts of OS improvements that are needed for apps to take advantage of the iPad Pro’s new M1 chip.

Sponsored by:

  • Appfigures – Analytics, Intelligence, and App Store Optimization Tools. Use the code ‘AppStories3030’ at checkout for a 30% discount for the next 3 months.
  • Inoreader – Take Back Control of Your News Feed. Use the code ‘MACSTRY2’ for 20% off your first year of Inoreader Pro.
  • Pingdom – Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code ‘APPSTORIES’ to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2022, and can be used only once.

Permalink

Joe Rosensteel Reviews the New Apple TV 4K→

Joe Rosensteel has an in-depth look at the new Apple TV 4K on his website, Unauthoritative Pronouncements. Joe covers every step of the setup process, the new Siri Remote, and the new Apple TV 4K hardware. He concludes that although there have been substantial improvements in some areas, notably with the Siri Remote, there is a lot of room for improvement, especially for a device that is considerably more expensive than its competition.

One of my favorite critiques is of the setup process, which does a good job transferring your Apple TV apps to a new device, but leaves users to log into them one by one. It’s a frustrating experience that’s all too common on more than just the Apple TV. As Joe explains:

There is still this logical disconnect in this process where I have authorized the Apple TV to log into my Apple ID and access my iCloud data, including data from my existing devices, and iCloud KeyChain, but it can’t set up an Apple TV with all my apps and services logged in. I know someone might insist that this is for security, but it absolutely isn’t because all this data exists, in iCloud, accessible to anyone who has my unlocked iPhone and Apple TV - which is what is required to just populate empty apps on the screen.

My login state for these other services should really be stored in iCloud across all Apple devices I own, or with a token authorization system that uses the iPhone in my hand. At the very least, aggregate all of the services I need to log into in one spot for me to do it with Face ID, or Touch ID, opening up the saved password data for each of the entries I need to make.

The new jog wheel ring around the Siri Remote’s clickpad can be confusing to interact with too, especially because it doesn’t work with all third-party apps:

What about using it as a jog wheel? Well … it doesn’t work in all circumstances you will expect it to work in. You need to be in an app that supports the feature. YouTube, Hulu, and Disney+ don’t support it, for example. In some apps, the wheel moves the position on the timeline forward … and then backward, even though you’ve completed “a rotation” around the wheel because this isn’t really a wheel. It’s four directions mapped to a ring that doesn’t actually turn. It really breaks the rotation metaphor.

There’s a lot more to Joe’s review of the latest Apple TV, so be sure to check it out. As someone who consumes video exclusively through an Apple TV, many of these criticisms rang true. I haven’t tried the new Apple TV 4K myself, but I did replace my old Siri Remote with the new model, and despite taking a bit to get used to, that one change has been a substantial upgrade.

Permalink

Stephen Hackett Compares the Orange M1 iMac to Its Tangerine G3 Predecessor→

MacStories pal Stephen Hackett has published a video on the 512 Pixels YouTube channel comparing the M1 and G3 iMacs. If you follow Stephen’s work, you know that he knows a thing or two about Apple’s colorful G3 iMacs. In 2016, Stephen acquired all 13 colors of the iMac G3, donating them to The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan the following year.1 The project spawned several articles, podcast episodes, YouTube videos, and even a book.

Apple’s colorful M1 iMacs began arriving on customers’ doorsteps at the end of last week, and Stephen got an orange model that he compares to the Tangerine iMac G3. The competition is far from fair given the advances made since the iMac G3’s debut in 1998, but it makes for a fun setup to show just how far the iMac has come in the past 23 years.

I’m glad Stephen chose the Tangerine iMac G3 and Orange M1 iMac for his video. The two are my favorite colors from both eras and really show off the designs of each well.

  1. I tagged along with Stephen to see his iMac G3s in an exhibit at The Henry Ford Museum during Maker Faire that summer. It was terrific to see those landmark Macs end up in a good home, especially since it’s a museum I grew up visiting for grade school field trips. We even got to see the museum’s working Apple I as a bonus treat. ↩︎
Permalink

MindNode for iPad and iPhone Adds Editable Outline Mode

First seen in the mind mapping app’s Mac version earlier this year, MindNode has added an editable outline mode to its iPad and iPhone versions. I was impressed with MindNode’s editable outline mode on the Mac, and I’m happy to report that the iPad and iPhone versions are every bit as good. The app’s editable outline takes advantage of the iPad and iPhone’s unique features to provide the same useful alternative perspective on your mind map that the Mac version offers.

Read more

iOS and iPadOS 14.6 Released with Apple Card Family, Podcasts Subscriptions, Updates to AirTags and Find My, and More

Apple has released iOS and iPadOS 14.6 today with a handful of new features, including Apple Card Family and Podcasts Subscriptions, along with Updates to AirTags and the Find My app.

Announced during Apple’s spring event, Apple Card Family is now available in iOS 14.6. Up to five people over the age of 13 can share an Apple Card, allowing them to track expenses and manage spending. All family members on an Apple Card will build credit histories, and parents can set spending limits for their children too.

iOS and iPadOS 14.6 also includes Podcasts Subscriptions, which allows podcasters to offer paid versions of their shows. Shows can be offered as paid-only subscriptions or enhanced versions of free shows that add a combination of bonus features like extended, ad-free, and early-release episodes. The new subscription service is baked directly into the Podcasts app, allowing users to access paid subscriptions alongside free shows.

One of the features of AirTags at launch was the ability to add a phone number to call if a tagged item was lost somewhere. With iOS and iPadOS 14.6, users can add an email address. Also, Apple release notes say that when an AirTag is tapped with an NFC-compatible device, it will show a partially masked phone number.

Apple has also added the ability to unlock an iPhone for the first time after a restart using their voice, which is a Voice Control feature.

Not released with the update today is anything related to Spatial Audio or Lossless streaming of Apple Music content, which is not unexpected since Apple previously said the feature is coming in June.

Apple Announces WWDC 2021 Schedule

Apple has announced the schedule for WWDC. As we previously reported, the developer conference will run from Monday, June 7th, 2021 through Friday, June 11th. Today, the company said the conference’s opening keynote presentation at 10:00 am Pacific time on the 7th. The Platforms State of the Union will begin at 2:00 pm Pacific the same day. Apple also announced that the Apple Design Awards will be held at 2:00 pm Pacific on June 10th.

There will be over 200 sessions available for developers to learn about Apple’s latest APIs along with one-on-one online labs covered by ‘over 1000 experts.’ Apple engineers will also be available in the Apple Developer Forums to answer questions during the conference. The company will also offer special events like coding and design challenges and guest speakers too.

New this year are Pavilions, which Apple says:

provide an easy way for developers to explore relevant sessions, labs, and special activities for a given topic. Conference attendees can customize their WWDC experience and check out content organized around specific areas like SwiftUI, Developer Tools, Accessibility & Inclusion, and more — exclusively within the Apple Developer app.

Finally, the Swift Student Challenge winners will be announced by Apple on June first, six days before WWDC begins.

HabitMinder: Change Your Habits, Change Your Life [Sponsor]

It’s difficult to form a good habit, but if you do, it can change your life. Make it easy on yourself with HabitMinder the best way to get started and stick with new habits.

HabitMinder starts with its Today view, a comprehensive overview of all the habits you’re tracking, and access quick actions to log information with ease. With a tap of a habit, you can go straight to its dedicated Session screen to get more information on your progress. You can even personalize your habit by picking from dozens of colors and hundreds of icons. Also, to stay on track, set reminders for yourself, so you never forget about your new goal. There’s a dedicated statistics screen to track your progress too.

HabitMinder is built for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, which makes it easy to log and track your goals no matter which device you have with you. The app also works with Apple’s Health app, keeping your data private and secure. Everything syncs over iCloud and there’s a terrific pure black mode that looks great on OLED iPhone screens. There are even a bunch of pre-defined habits available to help you get started.

Habits are hard to form but whether it’s hydration, exercise, eating right, or something else, good habits can lead to meaningful change. So whatever your goal, download HabitMinder today to get started.

Our thanks got HabitMinder by Funn Media for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Apple Support Document Clarifies Lossless Streaming Details

In June, Apple Music will offer the option of streaming in CD-quality and high-resolution lossless formats. There was initial confusion about which Apple devices will support lossless streaming, but the company has clarified things with a support document.

The new support document confirms what was announced earlier this week. Lossless is supported by iPhones, iPads, and Macs using their built-in speakers and wired headphones, receivers, and powered speakers. Lossless audio will stream to AirPods, AirPods Max, and Beats wireless headphones, but it won’t be lossless because they rely on Bluetooth, which is inherently lossy.

Regarding the Lightning to 3.5 mm cable for the AirPods Max, Apple’s support document says:

The Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Cable was designed to allow AirPods Max to connect to analog sources for listening to movies and music. AirPods Max can be connected to devices playing Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless recordings with exceptional audio quality. However, given the analog to digital conversion in the cable, the playback will not be completely lossless.

It’s also worth noting that Apple’s Lightning to 3.5mm adapter that can be used to connect wired headphones to devices only supports up to 24-bit/48 kHz lossless audio. A digital-to-analog converter is necessary for 24-bit/192 kHz playback.

Apple says HomePods and HomePod minis will be updated and an unspecified date in the future to support lossless playback, but they don’t currently support it.

It wasn’t clear initially which Apple TVs will support lossless streaming. Apple’s support document suggests that it’s only the Apple TV 4K, connected to a receiver via HDMI, leaving Apple TV HD owners out of luck. Moreover, the Apple TV 4K only supports lossless playback at 24-bit/48 kHz. However, the wording of the support document leaves the possibility that a future update may make Hi-Res Lossless available.

Finally, only Apple Music content supports lossless streaming. iTunes Store content and Apple Music’s broadcast radio, Apple Music 1, other live radio content, and music videos will not stream losslessly.

MacStories Unwind: Federico’s iPad Pro Review, M1 iMacs, Spatial Audio and Lossless Streaming, Halide, and Pok Pok Playroom

0:00
23:49

Sponsored by: Bartender – Take Control of Your Menu Bar

This week, Federico and John recap the week’s Apple announcements and news including the new M1 iPad Pro that Federico reviewed, the new M1 iMac, Spatial Audio and Lossless coming to Apple Music, new watch bands and accessibility features, plus reviews of Halide for iPad, Pok Pok Playroom, and more.

MacStories

Club MacStories

  • MacStories Weekly
    • Wallpaper Collection
    • A Mac window management tip
    • Federico on using a DAC to listen to lossless music

AppStories

Unwind