The 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the Embedded Apple SIM→

Matthew Panzarino, after explaining how the embedded Apple SIM in the new iPad Pro works:

That might not sound like great news, but there is one very bright spot for anyone who wants to switch carriers later. All iPad Pro 9.7″ devices have a SIM slot right on the exterior and you can put another carrier’s SIM in that slot even if the iPad Pro itself has been locked to AT&T. In other words, the internal SIM may be locked, but you can “switch” carriers by using another physical SIM that you buy.

I was wondering how this worked. Good to know.

Permalink

Connected: It Looked Like a Liam→

In the aftermath of Apple’s iPhone SE and iPad Pro event, the boys assemble to talk the news, Stephen’s growing army of iMac G3s and Apple’s naming struggles.

A long episode of Connected this week, discussing the announcements from Apple’s March 21 event and lots more. You can listen here.

Sponsored by:

  • Memberful: receive a $50 credit towards a paid plan.
  • Squarespace: Enter offer code WORLD at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.
Permalink

Inside Liam→

Liam completes an iPhone disassembly process every 11 seconds, with dozens running through the system at all times.

About 350 units are turned around each hour, equivalent to 1.2 million iPhones each year. Apple wouldn’t say when Liam started its work, but emphasized the project is still in the research and development stages.

As of right now, the company puts Liam to work Monday through Friday — it gets the weekend off.

Apple granted Mashable’s Samantha Murphy Kelly early access to a warehouse where Liam, the company’s new recycling robot, was operating. Fascinating story (alas, with no actual photos of the full robot).

Permalink

Streaming Music Edged Out Digital Downloads in 2015→

Micah Singleton, writing for The Verge:

Streaming is now the biggest revenue stream for the music industry in the US, generating $2.4 billion in 2015. The RIAA has released its report on the state of the US music industry in 2015, and streaming music has edged out digital downloads in revenue for the first time. After declining last year, the music industry as a whole grew once again in 2015, selling $7 billion worth of music, a 0.9 percent increase from the year prior. Despite declines in digital downloads and physical sales, streaming music has managed to keep the industry on an upward trajectory.

“In 2015, digital music subscription services reached new all-time highs, generating more than $1 billion in revenues for the first time, and averaging nearly 11 million paid subscriptions for the year,” RIAA CEO Cary Sherman said in a memo sent out with the report. “Heading into 2016, the number of subscriptions swelled even higher — more than 13 million by the end of December — holding great promise for this year.”

The writing has been on the wall for a while, though streaming has edged out digital downloads only by a small portion (0.3%) in the US in 2015.

Count this as another instance of Apple cannibalizing one of its businesses to keep up with the times – we could argue that Apple Music was launched just in time amid a declining trend, without an ad-supported model that the RIAA clearly doesn’t like.

(I wonder if YouTube will accelerate the international expansion of YouTube Red anytime soon.)

Permalink

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the Missing USB 3 Speed→

Speaking of technical differences between the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the 12.9-inch model, here’s Jeff Carlson on USB 3 transfer speeds:

If we were talking about laptops or desktops, this would be a bigger deal, because there are more occasions when you transfer data over USB. Looking at broader iPad usage, really not a lot of data passes through the Lightning connector other than if you sync to a computer using iTunes. Most people don’t need it.

But for photographers who want to transfer photos for review or editing from a camera to the iPad, this is almost crippling.

When I reviewed the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, I made a short comparison video showing import speeds using the old SD card adapter and the new USB 3-capable one. Transferring 1.5 GB of image files took 30 seconds via USB 3 and 2 minutes 20 seconds via USB 2. That’s the actual data transfer; just moving image thumbnails so I could preview the photos before importing took 23 seconds via USB 3 and 1 minute 16 seconds via USB 2.

He also mentions fast charging with the 29W USB-C Adapter. As soon as I took a break from our coverage yesterday, that’s the first thing I bought from the Apple Store.

Permalink

Igloo: An Intranet You’ll Actually Like [Sponsor]

We all struggle with productivity. We are constantly pressured to accomplish more, and to do it quicker. There is no one definitive way to accomplish that, and we have all devised our own little method to make things work.

At Igloo, they think your way is the best way, they just want to support you, and make your way better.

Work has evolved and your tools should too. Never email yourself a file again. Bring your company into the 21st century - send your IT guy to try Igloo Software for free.

Igloo is an intranet you’ll actually like.

Our thanks to Igloo for sponsoring MacStories this week.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro Has 2 GB of RAM→

Matthew Panzarino ran some Geekbench tests on a 9.7-inch iPad Pro, which shows 2 GB of RAM as well as a slightly underclocked CPU compared to the bigger iPad Pro, which has 4 GB of RAM.

2 GB of RAM was one of the first things I heard about the new device yesterday, and part of the reason why I’m going to stick with the 12.9-inch Pro. In addition to a more comfortable iOS experience, I like knowing that I’m using the most powerful iPad hardware currently available (I don’t count the camera as essential to what I need to do on an iPad).

Permalink

DeskConnect Brings Fast File Transfers Between iOS and OS X

Before he co-founded Workflow, Ari Weinstein was the creator of DeskConnect. Originally born out of a hackathon, DeskConnect was a Mac and iOS utility to speed up the process of transferring bits of text and files between devices. Based on a cloud service and built with speed in mind, DeskConnect predated Apple’s Continuity efforts with AirDrop in iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite; when it launched in the summer of 2013, DeskConnect was featured by Apple on the Mac App Store and it ranked in the top charts for several consecutive days.

However, after Weinstein and Workflow co-founders Conrad Kramer and Nick Frey began working on the app that would later win an Apple Design Award, DeskConnect was put on the shelf so the team could focus on their powerful take on iOS automation. They never forgot about DeskConnect, though. With a major redesign and adoption of modern iOS technologies, DeskConnect’s comeback, launching today on the App Store, brings an even faster way to share documents, photos, and just about anything across multiple devices. After testing the new DeskConnect for the past couple of weeks, it’s impossible not to be impressed with its simplicity and speed.

Read more

YouTube Adds Support for Split View, Slide Over

After causing many fans to lose hope, YouTube today released Version 11.10 with support for Slide Over and Split View.

By selecting YouTube from the slide over menu, YouTube will now play videos in a small window in Slide Over, while increasing in size when used in Split View.

All in all, it works about as expected – you can browse, visit channels, and watch videos from either option. Although it may have taken too long to get here, YouTube’s latest update is finally updated to support iOS 9’s features.