macOS Sonoma 14.2 introduces an Enhanced AutoFill feature for PDFs, which Apple announced earlier this year. It automatically identifies common fields like name and address, allowing them to be autofilled similar to a website.
In the Messages app, stickers can be added directly to chat bubbles with a tapback reply feature, and the catch-up arrow now jumps to the first unread message in a conversation. There are new Weather and Clock widgets, and a favorite songs playlist in Apple Music.
Category: Apple
iOS 17.2 Released⇢
iOS and iPadOS 17.2 revolve around two kinds of enhancements: there are a series of updates to built-in apps (mostly Messages, Music, and Camera) and various tweaks to widgets; then, there’s the brand new Journal app for iPhone, which aims to reinvent the practice of journaling for iOS users with a built-in solution that’s deeply integrated with the OS and apps.
Apple Kills Beeper Mini⇢
It took less time than I expected, but Apple has responded to the recent news that part of iMessage had been reverse-engineered, opening the door to blue bubbles on Android. Here’s David Pierce:
A few days after the team at Beeper proudly announced a way for users to send blue-bubble iMessages directly from their Android devices without any weird relay servers, and about 24 hours after it became clear Apple had taken steps to shut that down, Apple has shared its take on the issue.
On Flashing 90s Mac ROMs⇢
After I wrote about the possibility of programmable Mac ROM SIMMs in Quadras a couple of months ago, I suspected that there had been a way for developers at Apple in the 68k Mac era to reflash the ROM in their Macs during development, just like BIOS updates on PCs. The reason I believed this is because the ROM SIMM socket in the Quadras brought out pins for 12V (VPP) and write enable (/WE). I had verified that the write enable pin was going into the memory controller chip in several Mac models, so I was pretty confident that in-system programming was possible.
Apple Looks Back at 2023 Across Podcasts, Books & Music
It’s been a busy morning for Apple’s content teams.
Up first, we have the top shows from Apple Podcasts. All I want is to see Ungeniused will crack these lists one day!1
Over in Apple Books, there’s a new Year in Review feature that I think is really pretty neat:
Today, Apple Books unveiled the top books and audiobooks of 2023 and launched Year in Review, a new in-app experience that helps readers to celebrate the titles, authors, and genres that defined their year. With Year in Review, users can view personalized reading highlights about the books and audiobooks they enjoyed in 2023, including their total time spent reading, the longest book or audiobook they read, the series they completed, their most-read author and genre, and their highest-rated book — all presented in a simple and engaging experience with visuals that are easy to share.
Apple Reportedly Pausing Advertising on X⇢
Apple is pausing all advertising on X, the Elon Musk-owned social network, sources tell Axios.
The move follows Musk’s endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories as well as Apple ads reportedly being placed alongside far-right content. Apple has been a major advertiser on the social media site and its pause follows a similar move by IBM.
Musk faced backlash for endorsing an antisemitic post Wednesday, as 164 Jewish rabbis and activists upped their call to Apple, Google, Amazon and Disney to stop advertising on X, and for Apple and Google to remove it from their platforms.
Apple Adopting RCS in 2024⇢
Chance Miller has some big news over on 9to5Mac:
In a surprising move, Apple has announced today that it will adopt the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging standard. The feature will launch via a software update “later next year” and bring a wide range of iMessage-style features to messaging between iPhone and Android users.
Here’s a statement Apple made to the publication:
Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association. We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS. This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.
Inside the GPU of the M3 and A17 Pro⇢
In a new developer video, Apple has shared a lot more about the GPU architecture used in these new chips.
‘A Swarm of Bees’⇢
You know that terrible story where a bunch of folks had eye damage after attending an NFT event? This screenshot from Jason Snell is like that, but for new Mac users.
Chamberlain Shuts the (Garage) Door on API Access⇢
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, writing at The Verge:
The Chamberlain Group — owners of the MyQ smart garage door controller tech — has announced it’s shut off all “unauthorized access” to its APIs. The move breaks the smart home integrations of thousands of users who relied on platforms such as Homebridge and Home Assistant to do things like shut the garage door when they lock their front door or flash a light if they leave their door open for 10 minutes, or whatever other control or automation they wanted to do with the device they bought and paid for.
The Great iMac Realignment
It’s the stuff of lore now, but Steve Jobs’ “Grid of Four” took a messy Mac lineup and made it simple enough for anyone to understand:
Trying to cram the Apple of today into something like the Grid of Four doesn’t make much sense. In fact, Apple only used it for a handful of years, but even when the Grid of Four was the product strategy at Apple, the iMac began to creep toward the professional column.
Apple Music Voice Plan Silenced⇢
The lower-cost Apple Music Voice Plan was discontinued today, with references to the plan removed from Apple’s website in all countries where it was available. Brazilian website MacMagazine was first to alert us to this news.
The $4.99/mo plan was introduced in October 2021, and I can’t imagine it gained much traction.