On this week’s Connected, we were joined by Fraser Speirs to talk about the iOS 9.3 preview.
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With the new Apple TV tvOS 9.2 beta, Apple has added a whole host of new features to the tvOS platform. This includes support for pairing Bluetooth keyboards, Folders organization for apps on the home screen, a new App Switcher UI and a native Apple Podcasts app.
There are also some enhancements to Siri and other improvements. Apple has added support for two new Siri languages: US Spanish and French Canadian.
Big iOS news today. Apple is previewing iOS 9.3 on its website. The update will bring some interesting goodies, such as a F.lux-like “Night Shift” feature:
Many studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep. Night Shift uses your iOS device’s clock and geolocation to determine when it’s sunset in your location. Then it automatically shifts the colors in your display to the warmer end of the spectrum, making it easier on your eyes. In the morning, it returns the display to its regular settings. Pleasant dreams.
There’s a new game coming to Steam and the Ouya tomorrow:
An immersive narrative video game that retells Joel Green’s 4-year fight against cancer through about two hours of poetic, imaginative gameplay that explores faith, hope and love.
Go pre-order this game and support a family that’s been through a life-shattering tragedy. It looks amazingly beautiful.
We’re excited to announce two new shows on Relay Fm today: Remaster and Canvas.
Remaster is replacing Virtual, and is a podcast about playing and making games. Federico Viticci and Myke Hurley are joined by Shahid Kamal Ahmad a veteran of the industry. Shahid has been wonderful to work with over the last few months planning this show, and we’re honored to have him as part of the network.
Canvas is an all-new podcast about working on iOS. Hosted by Viticci and Fraser Speirs, each episode of Canvas will be full of real-world examples of workflows and tips to making working from an iPad or iPhone an easier and more powerful experience.
If the rumors are true — and for the sake of this article, let’s roll with that — Apple will be releasing a new 4-inch iPhone sometime this spring.
Dubbed the iPhone 6C, this rumored device is said to have:
It’s fun to talk about rumors, and I think this one has two big categories of things to think about: the phone itself, and where it would land in Apple’s product line.
T-Mobile has taken some heat for its Binge On program, in which the company downsamples streaming video to 480p in exchange for not counting the data against customers’ data plans.
The program can be turned off, but is on by default for T-Mobile customers. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Watch EPSN and Sling Television are listed as partners, and the company says that video from other sources isn’t affected.
Two days ago, the Electronic Frontier Foundation voiced concern that all video is downsampled:
Graham Spencer at MacStories, in his nice look back at the Mac App Store:
Just how often do you open the Mac App Store?
The Mac App Store had such promise. The App Store is a huge deal, and there was excitement that it could breathe new life into the Mac ecosystem, but it hasn’t turned out that way. Many major developers have pulled out, and Apple’s had some pretty major issues on their end as well.
This week on Connected, we talk about how Apple could differentiate the next big iPhone and check back in on iOS 9 after several months of daily usage.
Oh, and we plan a trip to Vegas.
My thanks to these sponsors:
AppleWorks for Mac OS X does not use Unicode text encoding.
This is because it does not support the Unicode character set.
Thanks, Apple. Really glad we cleared that up.
Since buying the iPad Pro, I’ve been looking for a bag for carrying it and some select accessories to meetings. This little Tom Bihn bag is my solution, and I’m pretty happy with it.
Marco Arment, on an outlier in Apple’s product line:
Despite the low-resolution screen, slow hard drives, very little RAM, and CPUs that were middling even in 2012, it’s an open secret among Apple employees that the “101” still sells surprisingly well — to a nearly tragic degree, given its age and mediocrity.
Geeks like me often wonder why anyone would still buy such an outdated machine. I’ve heard from many people who buy it (or who’ve been unsuccessful in talking others out of it), and it’s surprisingly compelling, especially for volume-buying, price-conscious customers such as schools and big businesses.