Initially this appears to benefit DuckDuckGo more than #Apple, due to the fact that you already have to be using DDG in order to utilize this feature. It’s not the kind of earth-shattering news that Apple switching the search default in iOS from Google to DDG would be. However, I feel like this is simply the opening statement of a much deeper collaboration. The relationship between Google and Apple is strained to say the least, and after this announcement about Apple and DuckDuckGo working together on search functionality, I feel much more confident in postulating that Google’s days as iOS’ default search provider is numbered. #openweb#privacy
📺 2018 iPad Pro, Pencil 2, Mac mini // Hands-on Details
Some impressions on Apple’s October product lineup:
I’ve been following the news of odd performance glitches with the top-of-the-line (Intel i9-based) MacBook Pros from #Apple, and (like everyone) speculating what might be going on. I certainly hoped there was some kind of software issue at play here and not a faulty hardware design. But I assumed if that were the case, it would be at the OS level…maybe Apple would release an update to macOS to improve performance on these particular models. Instead, Apple released a firmware update to supply a “missing digital key” — the lack of which had a negative effect on “the thermal management system”. It’s definitely not good PR for Apple to have this sort of QA oversight result in a news cycle of pointed commentary on the slow performance of its flagship laptops. But I’m glad the fix appears to be a relatively simple one.
On my recent podcast episode, I talked about the importance of TrueTone on the new MacBook Pros from #Apple, but it’s hard to convey in words just what a difference this makes. It’s also hard to capture the subtlety of TrueTone with a camera because of the white balance auto-adjustment that occurs. But I managed to get a couple of shots that really show in a side-by-side camparison just how much of a big deal this is. With TrueTone, the computer display looks like it belongs in the environment around it, because the screen picks up the white balance of the ambient lighting in the room. Without TrueTone, it just looks like any old computer monitor (often with a blue-ish cast).
On paper these specs certainly look impressive, but we’ll have to wait and see how some of the details shake out such as the feel and reliability of the “third-generation quieter keyboard” in these new models. I’m cautiously optimistic that #Apple finally got it right this time. And seeing TrueTone arrive on the Mac for the first time makes me giddy with excitement — after using an iPad Pro for a while, it’s hard to get excited about a standard laptop display. I’m also happy I don’t have to hear complaints about a 16GB RAM ceiling anymore! Folks, if you have cash to burn on a 32GB model, knock yourselves out. 😜
Today’s the day! #Apple is kicking off their world-wide developer conference (WWDC), and along with everyone else I’ll be watching the keynote and digging into all the latest goodies that will set the tone for the next 12 months of Apple’s technology vision and software strategy. I plan to record an episode of The Jared White Show tonight to cover these announcements and more, and it will drop either tonight or first thing Tuesday morning. Exciting! 😃🙌
While I think Leonid Bershidsky is overblowing the “boring maturity” angle here, there’s a valid point to be made. #Apple is taking its role of being a primary purveyor of computing devices and online services seriously, and is doing its utmost to design products that provide top-of-the-line performance, usability, security, and #privacy — which is what users actually want. So much of what many other tech companies put their efforts into is not what users want…it’s what those companies and their investors want. It’s definitely time we as consumers stopped accepting whatever it is that Silicon Valley hands to us, and maintain a more critical eye towards whatever the Next Big Thing is that somebody’s peddling.
I’m recovering from a weeklong trip out of state, so it took me by surprise that #Apple just released its Q2 financial results. Not a whole lot of noteworthy items, but I was very glad to see that the iPad segment is doing quite well. Incremental growth in both units and revenue show that Apple’s bifurcated strategy of issuing low-cost iPads for the masses plus high-end iPad Pros for power users has been very successful. I think at this point we can safely put all “iPad is doomed” fears to rest.
A lot of people are commenting on recent statements made by #Apple CEO Tim Cook about the future of its two major platforms. I’ll be honest with you—I don’t think Cook is saying anything here that we don’t already know. While it’s a popular point of speculation that somehow #iOS and #macOS are going to be “merged” and eventually we’ll all just be using a unified range of Apple computers/devices from phones to large desktops, the fact is that nothing Apple is currently doing that we can directly observe and report on is trending in that direction.
I do think that once #WWDC rolls around again this June, we’ll hear a lot about new tools and techniques that make it easier to develop cross-platform apps that run on both iOS and macOS without a lot of fuss. But that doesn’t mean the environments are merging. It just means the developer story is being simplified. And that excites me because if more iOS developers can easily port their most popular apps over to the Mac platform, that’s a big win for everybody.
I’m still a huge fan of the iPhone 7/8 form factor, and oh wow that looks incredible. Remember how the previous RED edition fronts were white, and what everyone was actually drooling over were some mockups floating around that had a black front instead? I’m so glad #Apple listened to that feedback. As cool as the iPhone X is, this in my opinion is the most stunning #iPhone they’ve ever made.
I always appreciate hearing Jony Ive’s viewpoint when it comes to his craft and the “fragile” nature of ideas during the design process. It’s hard to remember now in the year 2018 that, a mere twenty years ago, the notion that computers could be both beautiful as well as functional was laughable. #Apple may have been the company that changed everything, and Steve Jobs may have been the captain of the ship, but that ship wouldn’t have even gotten out of the harbor without Ive’s keen design insights.
Apple has once again redefined the state of the art in the world of tablet computers. But is anyone paying attention in this smartphone-dominated culture? I am here to make the case that the iPad deserves another chance to shine.
