This is very cool, but shooting something like this requires a lot more than just an iPhone, at least in terms of lighting and sound. While some people are poking fun of this, I’d rather be excited about far the cameras in our pockets have come.
Category: Apple
Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Event Brings the M3 to Life
Rumors about the M3 have been all over the map, but in this evening’s “Scary Fast” stream,1 Apple unveiled not one, but three new Apple silicon chips: the M3, the M3 Pro and the M3 Max, all built on a 3 nanometer process.
M3
This marks the first time since transitioning away from Intel that Apple has unveiled both the entry-level and upper-end options of a new generation of chips at the same time. Here’s a recap of how things have been rolled out so far:
Apple Increasing Services Prices in U.S. and Beyond⇢
Apple is rolling out increased pricing for several services today, as reported by Joe Rossignol:
In the U.S., these are the first-ever price increases for Apple Arcade and Apple News+ since the services launched in November 2019, while Apple TV+ had its first price increase from $4.99 per month to $6.99 per month in October 2022.
Here are the increases customers in the United States will see:
- Apple TV+: $6.99/month → $9.99/month
- Apple Arcade: $4.99/month → $6.99/month
- Apple News+: $9.99/month → $12.99/month
As a result, the costs of Apple One bundles are also increasing:
Apple Announces Online Event for Monday, October 30
Inside Apple’s Thunderbolt Cables⇢
Kevin Purdy at Ars shares what you get for $130.
Apple Announces Apple Pencil (USB-C), joining the Apple Pencil (1st generation) and Apple Pencil (2nd generation)⇢
Jokes about the name — and this chart — aside, I think this new $79 Pencil is a nice addition to Apple’s lineup.
This pencil is clearly designed for use with the tenth-generation iPad: while it attaches magnetically to the long edge of the iPad for storage, it still charges via a physical port. Unlike the old Lightning model, which had a removable (and easily lost) cap hiding its charging and pairing connector, the new Apple Pencil features an innovative sliding design that reveals a USB-C port into which you can plug a cable (which, naturally, is not included). Its design is otherwise very similar to the second-generation Pencil.
How Sonoma’s Web Apps Work⇢
Howard Oakley, writing at The Eclectic Light Company:
Safari’s new Web Apps in macOS Sonoma are a convenient way of gaining ready access to your most-used websites in the Dock. They’re deceptively simple to make, and apparently work without all the fuss and overhead of Safari itself.
I love the details behind this feature.
The Six Colors iPhone 15 Pro Review⇢
Jason Snell, writing on Six Colors:
iPhone designs change at a glacial pace. It’s rare that a new iPhone looks completely unlike the previous model. They’ve all looked more or less the same since the iPhone X ditched the home button back in 2017. Careful observation indicates that the iPhone 15 Pro design is different from the iPhone 14 Pro, which is different from the iPhone 13 Pro—but the external differences are extremely subtle.
In a CEO Popularity Contest, Tim Cook Does Well⇢
X CEO Linda Yaccarino’s rating is shockingly bad.
It’s macOS Sonoma Day!
Today, Apple is rolling out macOS Sonoma. Here are the system requirements:
- iMac Pro: 2017 (RIP)
- MacBook Air: 2018 and later
- MacBook Pro: 2018 and later
- Mac mini: 2018 and later
- iMac: 2019 and later
- Mac Pro: 2019 and later
- Mac Studio: All models
If your machine can run it, and the third-party apps you depend on are ready, Sonoma has been pretty solid in my testing over the summer.
Apple’s FineWoven iPhone Cases Just Aren’t That Good
A lot of folks’ initial impressions of Apple’s new FineWoven iPhone cases have been pretty bad. The new fabric back doesn’t feel premium enough for the price Apple is charging, and is already failing to hold up to real-world use, as Federico Viticci has discovered.
I immediately discovered that the hole cut out in the bottom of the case isn’t big enough to accommodate any of my third-party USB-C cables. Upon closer inspection, I realized one reason why:
Updated iCloud+ Plans Launched
With iOS 17 out, Apple has released its revised iCloud+ plans:
- 5 GB: Free
- 50 GB: $0.99/month
- 200 GB: $2.99/month
- 2 TB: $9.99/month
- 6 TB: $29.99/month
- 12 TB: $59.99/month
Of course, these prices are all in dollars, and earlier this year, Apple raised prices on plans in many parts of the world.
That free tier is still criminal, despite Apple temporarily giving folks space when transferring their data to a new phone.