I crashed Clockwise this week:
It’s WWDC week, so we talk Apple’s HomePod, the new iMac Pro, iPad improvements, and what was missing from the keynote.
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About that MacBook Air Update⇢
Apple briefly mentioned the MacBook Air was updated yesterday. Turns out, that update isn’t much to write home about, as Ryan Smith reports:
The updated laptop retains the use of Intel’s Broadwell processor, but the base configurations now uses a faster chip, Intel’s Core i5-5350U, instead of the slower i5-5250U. As hinted at by the minor model number change, this is not a massive difference – both the base and the boost clock are 200MHz faster, for 1.8GHz base and 2.9GHz boost – but it is none the less a tangible performance improvement for Apple’s entry-level laptop.
High Sierra Format⇢
I knew that name was familiar.
Liftoff #48: Hidden Figures⇢
This fortnight, Jason and I reviewed the 2016 film Hidden Figures.
My thanks to our sponsor:
- Storyworth: A new way to bring the family together.
What’s New in High Sierra⇢
As its name may suggest, Apple’s latest Mac operating system, macOS High Sierra, was billed today as a performance update for macOS. Packed deep with improvements to macOS apps and system-level functionality, High Sierra brings welcome changes to the Mac.
Additionally, Apple introduced important new technologies in macOS, including support for virtual reality, its new file system APFS, and Metal 2.
Not the most exciting macOS update, even in the era of smaller macOS updates, but I’m fine with it.
HomePod: More Sonos Than Alexa?
Just yesterday, I shared some thoughts on the timing of what has been announced as HomePod:
Apple could pre-announce it at WWDC, and ship it in the coming weeks or months. If it comes with SiriKit support, and if Apple expands that in iOS 11, does it make sense to launch it now with SiriKit being limited to such a small handful of app categories in iOS 10?
Apple did pre-announce the device. It will go on sale — for $349 — in December.
In the Year of iPad, Mac Not Forgotten
This WWDC has two big winners: iPad software and Mac hardware.
Yes, there’s that new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and yes, we’ll be running macOS High Sierra come this fall, but I think these two categories are the biggest stories to come out of the keynote.
iOS 11 is finally giving iPad users the tools they need to get work done more efficiently and with more power. It all looks amazing, and I cannot wait to try it out.
Yours Truly at AltConf⇢
If you’re in San Jose, you should drop by AltConf 9 AM on Wednesday. I’m speaking on my experience going independent back in 2015, and how thing have been going ever since.
AltConf is free, but tickets are required. The full schedule is available now.
RSS Sponsor: Working Copy, Powerful Git client for iOS⇢
Working Copy is a powerful Git client for iPhone & iPad. It lets you clone repositories, edit files, commit changes and resolve conflicts. Other applications can open files inside your cloned repositories, granting Git access to all of iOS.
Having Git on both your regular computers and your iOS device is the ideal bridge between traditional and post PC computing. Work with the latest tools on iOS to embrace the future without leaving the stability of your current setup behind.
WWDC Hardware
WWDC has been, for most of its run, a software show. Numerous new versions of macOS have first appeared there over the years, and summer iOS announcements settled into place once the iPhone 4S introduced the era of fall iPhone hardware releases.
That’s not to say Apple has not done hardware at WWDC since. However, hardware releases at the conference need to either serve the software story, or fit with the developer-heavy audience.
Balance for Mac⇢
My thanks to Balance for Mac for sponsoring 512 Pixels this week. Balance is a powerful menubar app for your money built by a team from Apple, Stripe and Ethereum. It was featured in the U.S. Mac App Store when it launched in February.
WWDC 1997⇢
Brendan Shanks has put together a wonderful look back at WWDC 1997.