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Posts tagged with "featured"

Sofa Debuts Modern iPad App, Rich Themes Experience, and More

I suspect I’m not alone in saying that 2020 has been a big year for personal media consumption. The absence of normal social events has meant more time for reading, watching shows and movies, and other forms of relaxation.

At the end of last year I wrote about how I was using Sofa, a media list app, to track the TV and films I’d watched in 2019. I’ve used the same approach throughout 2020, and it continues to work well for me. The only change is that I’ve been testing a big update to Sofa for the last few weeks that’s available now. Previously exclusive to the iPhone, Sofa now offers a rich iPad experience complete with Split View, Slide Over, and multiwindowing, keyboard shortcuts, and mouse and trackpad support. Additionally, today’s update adds a robust theming system to the app and seamless iCloud syncing. It’s a strong step forward for the app, making it more versatile than ever before.

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Introducing MacStories Perspective Icons: 20,000 Custom Perspective Icons for OmniFocus Pro

Today, I’m thrilled to announce MacStories Perspective Icons, a set of 20,000 icons for custom perspectives in OmniFocus Pro.

Here’s the short version of this story: our brand new Perspective Icons offer 400 unique glyphs with two distinct icon shapes available in 25 different colors, for a total of 20,000 icons included in the set. Yes, you read that number right. The icons can be easily installed in OmniFocus Pro for Mac, iPad, and iPhone using Finder or the Files app; all the icons and colors have been optimized for OmniFocus and designed to look like native additions to the app.

For a limited time, you can get the set at $17.99, down from the regular price of $24.99.


All sales are final. Read our terms of use here.

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Keep Review: The Read-Later App I’ve Been Looking For

After years of happily using Safari’s Reading List and Apple News’ Saved Stories for all my read-later needs, recently I found myself facing a conundrum: there were too many articles saved in each place, and thus I needed a categorization system that neither Safari nor News provide. This problem is of course partly my fault, since I’m clearly not adequately working through my reading queue.1 But I’m not at all willing to nuke these interesting stories and start fresh with zero saved links. Thus, I’ve been on the hunt for a read-later app that better meets my new needs.

If there’s one lesson this journey has taught me, it’s that read-later apps are just like task managers and email clients: there’s no perfect one-size-fits-all approach. Developers and users all have their own ideas about how such an app should best function, so there’s no perfect option out there. After a long search, however, I’ve found the app that comes as close to ideal for me as possible: Keep by developer Michael Zsigmond, which is available for iPhone, iPad, and also offers a web client.

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Apple Releases iOS 13.5 with COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, Face ID Bypass for Masks, FaceTime Setting, and Apple Music Stories Sharing

Today Apple released what is essentially a COVID-19 update for iPhones. iOS 13.5 includes several features specifically designed for our current global pandemic, including exposure notifications, mask detection for bypassing Face ID, and a new prominence setting for FaceTime, along with a nice new Apple Music sharing feature optimized for Instagram Stories. With WWDC and iOS 14’s reveal only a month away, this is likely the last major update to the current OS release cycle.

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MusicSmart Puts the Spotlight on Music Credits

MusicSmart's extension inside Apple Music.

MusicSmart’s extension inside Apple Music.

For as long as I can remember being interested in music as more than a mere source of background audio, but as an art form, I’ve been interested in the people who make music – the artists and their craft. Back when I used to buy CDs at my favorite record store in Viterbo, my hometown, I would peruse each album’s liner notes to not only read official lyrics and check out the artwork and/or exclusive photographs contained inside the booklet, but also to read the credits so I could know more about who arranged or mixed a particular track. Beyond the feeling of owning a tangible piece of music, there was something about reading through an album’s credits that served as a simple, yet effective reminder: that people – engineers, instrumentalists, vocalists, producers – created the art I enjoyed.

In today’s world of endless, a la carte streaming catalogs, we’ve reduced all of this to a cold technological term: metadata. Our music listening behaviors have shifted and evolved with time; when we browse Apple Music or Spotify, we’re inclined to simply search for a song or an album and hit play before we return to another app or game on our phones. A streaming service isn’t necessarily a place where we want to spend time learning more about music: it’s just a convenient, neatly designed delivery mechanism. The intentionality of sitting down to enjoy an artist’s creation has been lost to the allure of content and effortless consumption. Don’t get me wrong: I love the comfort of music streaming services, and I’m a happy Apple Music subscriber; but this is also why, for well over a year now, I’ve been rebuilding a personal music collection I can enjoy with a completely offline high-res music player.

Whether by design or as a byproduct of our new habits, metadata and credits don’t play a big role in modern music streaming services. We’re frustrated when a service gets the title of a song wrong or reports the incorrect track sequence in an album, but we don’t consider the fact that there’s a world of context and additional information hidden behind the songs and albums we listen to every day. That context is entirely invisible to us because it’s not mass-market enough for a music streaming service. There have been small updates on this front lately1, but by and large, credits and additional track information are still very much ignored by the streaming industry. And if you ask me, that’s a shame.

This is why I instantly fell in love with MusicSmart, the latest utility by Marcos Antonio Tanaka, developer of MusicHarbor (another favorite music app of mine). MusicSmart, which is a $1.99 paid upfront utility, revolves around a single feature: showing you credits and additional details for albums and songs available in your local music library or Apple Music’s online catalog.

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My 11-inch iPad Pro Experiment

If you’re in the market for an iPad Pro, choosing the ideal model size is not easy. It used to be simpler, back when the big option was made bigger by its bezels, and the small option had a significantly smaller display. I’ve used a 12.9-inch iPad Pro as my primary computer for five years, and have been very happy with it, but as the smaller iPad Pro’s display has grown, I’ve become more intrigued by it.

2017’s 10.5-inch iPad Pro was the first smaller model that tempted me. 2016’s 9.7-inch simply wasn’t enough; as an iPad user since 2010, I knew what a 9.7-inch display was like, and it wasn’t suited for my needs as a primary computer. But the screen bump in 2017 was intriguing, so I gave it a test run for a couple weeks. My takeaways: it was a fine device, but Split View was a bit too cramped, and since I mainly used my iPad at home rather than lugging it around regularly, sticking with the larger model made more sense for my needs.

Recently, however, I embarked on another test of the smaller iPad Pro. On the latest episode of Adapt, the iPad-focused podcast I do with Federico, I challenged us both to try doing our work on the 11-inch iPad Pro rather than our usual 12.9-inch setups. In my mind, it was the perfect time to try the smaller size again because a lot has changed since my 2017 experiment.

First, the smaller iPad Pro’s display has gotten larger yet again. The gap between 11 and 12.9 inches is relatively narrow. Also, while the current pandemic has forced me to work from home more than ever, prior to this global crisis I was taking my iPad on the go more regularly. In 2017 I lived in the suburbs of Dallas, whereas now I call Manhattan home, so it’s much easier to just walk out my front door and visit a local coffee shop, park, or some other public space to get work done.

Finally, the concept of the iPad as a modular computer has been another motivator to try the 11-inch model. I normally use my 12.9-inch iPad Pro exclusively in “laptop mode” with a hardware keyboard attached. But lately I’ve been wondering if that approach is too limited, causing me to miss out on the full potential of the device’s versatility. Using my iPad Pro not just as a laptop, but also as a tablet or in a desktop configuration sounds intriguing, and for several reasons I’ll detail later, I think the 11-inch model is better suited to these alternate setups.

My Apple Store haul.

My Apple Store haul.

So a few weeks ago I ordered an 11-inch iPad Pro alongside the Magic Keyboards for both the 11- and 12.9-inch models; I also bought a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter so I could connect my iPads to an external display. All of these purchases made possible a comprehensive comparison of the two iPad Pro sizes, spanning tablet, laptop, and desktop configurations, for the purpose of determining which iPad was best for me. As I mentioned, I was already pretty happy with my 12.9-inch model, so my focus was especially on trying the 11-inch and evaluating its unique strengths.

Here is what I learned from my experiment, and my decision on the iPad I’ll be using moving forward.

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iPadOS and Pointer Support with Craig Federighi

It has been quite a couple of months for the iPad and iPadOS. It started with the new iPad Pros and the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad, which were announced on March 18th. That was promptly followed by iPadOS 13.4, which wasn’t your typical late-cycle OS release. Along with modifier key remapping, key up/down events for developers, iCloud Drive shared folders, Mail toolbar adjustments, and new Memoji sticker reactions, Apple surprised everyone by revealing mouse and trackpad support.

The announcements came at a momentous juncture for the iPad, which turned 10 on April 3rd. As Federico explained on the anniversary, the iPad, and especially the iPad Pro, has become a modular computer that has stayed true to its tablet roots, while gaining the ability to transform to suit its users’ needs. Nowhere is the iPad’s modularity more evident than with the release of the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad.

Against that backdrop, Federico was fortunate to have the opportunity to once again chat with Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President for Software Engineering, for a special episode of AppStories about iPadOS and its new pointer support. Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the interview from being conducted in person as it was last year at WWDC, FaceTime facilitated a terrific conversation that delves deep into the latest changes to iPadOS and what they mean for users and developers alike.

Thank you to Craig Federighi for taking the time for the interview, everyone at Apple who helped arrange it, and as always, thank you for listening to AppStories. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Apple Announces WWDC Will Begin June 22

Apple has announced that its annual WWDC conference, which will be online-only this year, will be held beginning June 22, 2020. The company also announced the Swift Student Challenge, in which students can submit a Swift playground that creates an interactive scene between now and May 17th.

The online-only conference will be held through the Apple Developer app and Apple’s Developer website.

In Apple’s press release, Phil Schiller is quoted as saying:

“WWDC20 will be our biggest yet, bringing together our global developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented way for a week in June to learn about the future of Apple platforms,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We can’t wait to meet online in June with the global developer community and share with them all of the new tools we’ve been working on to help them create even more incredible apps and services. We look forward to sharing more details about WWDC20 with everyone as we get closer to this exciting event.”

Commenting on the Swift Student Challenge, Craig Federighi says:

“Students are an integral part of the Apple developer community, and last year WWDC saw attendance from more than 350 student developers spanning 37 different countries,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “As we look forward to WWDC20, although our gathering will be virtual this year, we want to recognize and celebrate the creative contributions of our young developers from around the world. We can’t wait to see this next generation of innovative thinkers turn their ideas into a reality through the Swift Student Challenge.”

Students can learn more at developer.apple.com/wwdc20/swift-student-challenge. Winners chosen from the entrants will win an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set.

Additional information about sessions and other programming announcements will be made through the Apple Developer app, on the Developer website, and by email.

Introducing MacStories Unwind: A Weekly Podcast Review of Everything MacStories and More

We’re excited to announce Unwind, a new MacStories podcast recapping everything happening at MacStories and more. Every Friday, the new show will run down the stories, reviews, and other posts published on MacStories, the topics covered on AppStories, and what’s new with Club MacStories, plus a couple of media picks for unwinding over the weekend.

You can subscribe to Unwind in all the usual places using the buttons below and listen to the trailer introducing the show right here:

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MacStories Unwind Trailer

Unwind

We publish a lot every week between the site, our podcasts, and the Club, and we know that sometimes it can be hard to keep up. With Unwind, you’ll get a short, fun guide to everything going on at MacStories, along with links, so it’s easy to jump to what interests you most.

Each week, we’ll also highlight the media we’re enjoying when we take time to unwind ourselves. Every episode will feature a couple of picks including the movies, TV shows, albums, books, articles, and video games we love. Especially with so many readers and listeners stuck at home, now felt like the perfect time to share more of how we spend our downtime.

Of course, we have a new page dedicated to Unwind on MacStories, and you can always access the full catalog of episodes at MacStories.net/tag/unwind.

Helping MacStories’ Sponsors During Uncertain Times

Sponsorships are a big part of what allows us to continue to produce MacStories and each of its properties. We’re fortunate to work with top-notch companies that make terrific products that we’re delighted to promote to readers and listeners.

We plan to offer Unwind as a separately-sponsored podcast like AppStories eventually. However, as we developed Unwind, it didn’t feel appropriate to ask companies already facing uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic to take a chance on a new show too. So, for the time being, Unwind will be part of the MacStories homepage sponsorship at no additional cost. Our hope is that including Unwind will help the companies that have been so good to MacStories over the years by providing them with additional exposure.

Working with sponsors to promote products to our readers and listeners in a manner that doesn’t ruin the reading or listening experience and allows us to continue to produce the content you love and the quality you expect has always been of utmost importance to us. To the sponsors with whom we’ve worked in the past and will work with in the future, we hope Unwind adds some value to a MacStories sponsorship that helps make these uncertain times a little less difficult. To our readers and listeners, we hope you enjoy the new show.

– Federico and John