Adi Robertson has been following the Epic v. Apple case for The Verge, and has a great Twitter thread on what today’s ruling means.
Category: Apple
All M1 iMacs Headed to Apple Stores⇢
Finally, people will be able to walk in and buy an orange iMac. 2021 is looking up after all.
Inspiration4 Crew to Use Apple Hardware for Health Study in Orbit⇢
Zac Hall, writing at Space Explored:
SpaceX is flying four private citizens to orbit on a three-day mission called Inspiration4, and Apple hardware will be key in a first-of-its-kind research study happening during the flight. These products include Apple Watch Series 6, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPad mini 4, as selected by SpaceX.
Shift4 Payments founder Jared Isaacman is funding the private spaceflight for four through Elon Musk’s space exploration company. Inspiration4 is also the center of a fundraising campaign to raise $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the effort to cure childhood cancer.
Next Week is Going to be Fun
Follow-up Concerning the First Email Sent From Space
Last week, I wrote about the first email sent from space, and how there was a discrepancy in what date has been reported for the event:
So where’s the mystery in all of this? Well, according to NASA, Apple, and Guinness Book of World Records this message was sent on August 9, 1991. STS-43 took place from August 2 to 11 that year, so I feel confident the date the message was sent is indeed August 9.
Where to Start with Mac Collecting⇢
Steve at Mac84 has launched a new series talking about which Macs are good choices for burgeoning collectors. If you’re looking for a new pandemic hobby, this video is for you.
The Safari 15 Fight Isn’t Over Yet
Apple’s constant reworking of Safari 15 this summer has been one of the most interesting software stories to come out of the company in a long time. It’s not very often that we see Apple rework something so thoroughly in public.
I’m a fan of the changes Apple has made to Safari 15 so far. The iPhone version was a big mess, and the “compact” tab designed that debuted on the Mac and the iPad made little sense on devices with larger screens. As the time of this writing, we’re still in the beta cycle, but I suspect the options to move the iPhone’s browser UI to the top or bottom of the screen will ship, as will the ability to go back to the compact view on the iPad and Mac. Combined with the option to show color in the tab bar, it’s hard to believe these are all the same browser:
Apple Watch Series 7 Leaks Continue⇢
If the next Apple Watch really does pick up Apple’s modern flat side design language, I’m all for it. I think these renders look great.
Joanna Stern Interviews Craig Federighi About Child-Protection Changes⇢
I’ve held off writing about all of this because it’s so complex and honestly, more than a little confusing. Not only does Joanna get C-Fed to explain these new features in a more clear way than the company has up to this point, but he opens it by acknowledging that the rollout of these announcements was confusing and muddled. This is well worth a watch.
Mac Pro Gets GPU Upgrades⇢
Jason Snell, known mocker of my Mac Pro:
It’s not dead yet! On Tuesday, Apple rolled out three new graphics card modules for the Intel-based Mac Pro, all based on AMD’s Radeon Pro W6000 series GPU. (Apple posted a Mac Pro performance white paper to celebrate.) The new modules (in Apple’s MPX format) come in three variants, with a Radeon Pro W6800X, two W6800X GPUs, and the W6900X. Each module also adds four Thunderbolt 3 ports and an HDMI 2 port to the Mac Pro.
Charts!⇢
As usual, Jason Snell has a great breakdown of Apple’s quarterly results. These results are bonkers, even for Apple.
Monterey Beta 4 Brings Live Text Feature to Intel Macs⇢
Live Text is the feature that lets users copy text out of pictures was announced as an Apple silicon-only addition to macOS, but it seems that Apple has changed its tune:
macOS Monterey Beta 4 includes Live Text for Intel Macs ????
Sounds like Apple prioritized it based on demand, but it was made much easier by the lack of real-time requirements for a camera system
(So instead of kicking it to the ANE, it’ll just process opportunistically) pic.twitter.com/vM5Nd7TGh8