The iPhone X has been for sale for eight months, so I thought it was time to check in and see how things were going:
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Instapaper Going Indie⇢
Today, we’re announcing that Pinterest has entered into an agreement to transfer ownership of Instapaper to Instant Paper, Inc., a new company owned and operated by the same people who’ve been working on Instapaper since it was sold to betaworks by Marco Arment in 2013. The ownership transfer will occur after a 21 day waiting period designed to give our users fair notice about the change of control with respect to their personal information.
2018 Keyboards Will Not Be Used to Repair 2016, 2017 Macbook Pros⇢
There has been some hopeful discussion that the silicone-covered keyswitches in the 2018 MacBook Pros could filter down to 2016 and 2017 models via repair.
There is some precedent for this; many customers with 2016 models have reported that Apple has replaced their keyboards with the 2017 variant. However, that does not seem to be the case this year, according to Joe Rossignol at MacRumors:
When asked if Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers will be permitted to replace second-generation keyboards on 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models with the new third-generation keyboards, if necessary, Apple said, no, the third-generation keyboards are exclusive to the 2018 MacBook Pro.
2018 MacBook Pro Keyboard Uses Silicone Membrane to Protect From Dust⇢
Here’s an inflammatory take for you: Apple’s new quieter keyboard is actually a conspiracy to fix their keyboard reliability issues. We’re in the middle of tearing down the newest MacBook Pro, but we’re too excited to hold this particular bit of news back:
Apple has cocooned their butterfly switches in a thin, silicone barrier.
This flexible enclosure is quite obviously an ingress-proofing measure to prevent the mechanism from seizing up under the brutal onslaught of microscopic dust. Not—to our eyes—a silencing measure. In fact, Apple has a patent for this exact tech designed to “prevent and/or alleviate contaminant ingress.”
Adobe Rumored to be Reworking Photoshop for Desktop, iPad⇢
Mark Gurman and Nico Grant at Bloomberg:
Adobe Systems Inc., the maker of popular digital design programs for creatives, is planning to launch the full version of its Photoshop app for Apple Inc.’s iPad as part of a new strategy to make its products compatible across multiple devices and boost subscription sales.
The software developer is planning to unveil the new app at its annual MAX creative conference in October, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The app is slated to hit the market in 2019, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private product plans. Engineering delays could still alter that timeline.
The World’s Largest Collection of Rare Apple Prototypes⇢
Hap Plain has amassed one of the largest private collections of rare and unreleased Apple prototypes. His collection of more than 250 prototypes includes iPhones, iPads, Macs and pretty much everything in between. He has even turned his hobby into a thriving eBay business, selling one of his rare prototypes for more than $16,000. But this isn’t about the money for Hap. He only sells prototypes if he owns multiple copies, and he uses the money to buy more rare pieces to add to his collection.
Apple Discontinues Photo Printing⇢
Apple is discontinuing its Photo Print Products service, which has been integrated into iPhoto since its launch in 2002. The service expanded from simple prints, to albums, photo books, and calendars. It stayed around on the Mac when iPhoto was replaced with the Photos app a couple of years ago, but the service never made the leap to iOS.
Later this year, Apple will stop offering the service altogether. A new message in macOS 10.13.6 Photos app says that final orders for Apple’s built-in service must be placed by September 30, 2018.
Apple Updates Touch Bar MacBook Pros
Apple has updated all models of the Touch Bar MacBook Pro. Here’s a bit from the company’s press release:
Apple today updated MacBook Pro with faster performance and new pro features, making it the most advanced Mac notebook ever. The new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar feature 8th-generation Intel Core processors, with 6-core on the 15-inch model for up to 70 percent faster performance and quad-core on the 13-inch model for up to two times faster performance — ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing.
Connected #200: An Occupational Hazard⇢
Stephen is joined by Casey Liss and John Voorhees to discuss the 10th anniversary of the App Store, MobileMe’s reputation and rumors of a busy fall for Apple’s hardware teams.
Episode 200! Without my regular co-hosts! MobileMe! EVERYTHING IS WEIRD THIS WEEK.
My thanks to our sponsors:
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10 Years of App Store Changes⇢
Yours truly, writing at MacStories:
The App Store, Steve Jobs said, would put large and small developers on an even playing field, and would put their apps in front of every iPhone user on the planet.
Ten years later, this idea has completely changed our world. To mark the occasion, I walked through every version of the iOS App Store over the last decade.
MobileMe’s Legacy
This week marks the 10th anniversary of MobileMe,1 Apple’s third attempt at a cloud service designed for consumers.2 The service has a pretty rough reputation, but to understand why, we need to talk about the product itself and what went wrong.
Exchange for the Rest of Us
At WWDC 2008, Phil Schiller showed MobileMe to the world for the first time.
The pitch was rather simple. MobileMe was “Exchange - for the rest of us.”
Apple Releases macOS 10.13.6⇢
The macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 update adds AirPlay 2 multi-room audio support for iTunes and improves the stability and security of your Mac. This update is recommended for all users.
AirPlay 2 for iTunes: - Control your home audio system and AirPlay 2-enabled speakers throughout your house - Play music at the same time on multiple AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in your house, all in sync
Other improvements and fixes: - Fixes an issue that may prevent Photos from recognizing AVCHD media from some cameras - Fixes an issue that may prevent Mail users from moving a message from Gmail to another account