Sunday Morning Reading

Reading to aid recovery is sometimes recommended.

This hasn’t been much of a week for reading because I’ve been down with a bout of pneumonia. Not fun. Consequently moments of clarity have been few and far between. When awake a few pieces caught my eye, so here’s links to share for  this week’s Sunday Morning Reading. Thermometer reading. Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg have put together one heckuva piece on the goings on in the Rupert Murdoch succession drama. It’s long, it’s full of gory details. It could have been a book. Of course most think it already was a streaming series. Check out ‘You’ve Blown a Hole in the Family’’: Inside The Murdoch’s Succession Drama.  McKay Coppins has published Growing Up Murdoch, which is essentially another shot in this rich folks’ war, this time from the point of view of James Murdoch, the supposedly better son. It’s surprising how totally unsurprising this is. Lots of things are being broken at the moment yielding anger, disappointment, and dismay. No sector of life or business is immune. Dominic Patten takes a look at how Dissent Grows At Disney Over Perceived “Capitulation” To Trump As DEI Initiatives Diminished.  It’s sometimes difficult to find good information in this dangerous moment we’re living through, because you never know what marching orders reporters and analysts are operating under, or what boots they’ve been licking in anticipation of a kick or kick back. Anne Applebaum is one writer you can always count on to nail not only the frame, but the stakes. Please check out Trump and Musk Are Pushing For Regime Change.  Matt Gemmell wrote a terrific piece about going Back To Mac after spending eight years using an iPad as his primary computing platform. This isn’t your typical preference piece of this type as Matt shows the attractions and flaws of both platforms and how they align with his way of working as it and he have changed. Here’s hoping someone at Apple reads this. A pot of coffee is a good start to any morning. But did you know How A Pot of Coffee Started An Imaging Revolution? Check out Alex Cooke’s excellent piece to find out. And to wrap things up this week check out NatashaMH’s A Walk Through Changing Times. We’re all doing that walk right now one way or another, even if laying in bed. If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.  You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. *images used in Sunday Morning Reading are often generated via AI.

Vietnam: The War That Changed America. A Review of Then and Now

Looking back to look forward.

The recently released Apple TV+ documentary Vietnam: The War That Changed America left me with a lot of mixed emotions. Not about the documentary itself. It’s well done and deserves attention. Both as a reflection of our past history and also how it projects forward into our present moment. Apple TV Vietnam The War That Changed America key art graphic header 4 1 show home.jpg.og. The documentary itself is excellent work. The six episodes splice together historical footage-some already famous, some new-with interviews from those who were actually there, on all sides of the conflict. We’ve seen similar story telling techniques in other historical documentaries. This time around we get to hear not just from Americans, but also from North Vietnamese and Viet Cong voices. These moments are certainly compelling, as are some of the stories of the journalists and other non-combatants involved. Add to that what I’ll call the reunion factor. Each episode features a couple of individuals who served together to tell their stories, often with completely different views on the war and its aims. In the episode’s conclusion they are then reunited. It’s effective and at times emotional and effectively reveals the folly and tragedy of division. As good as the series is at chronicling an inflection point in American and world history, what got me thinking was again witnessing scenes of anti-war protests. While I’ve seen many such scenes before, watching them through the prism of this contemporary moment of peril we’re trying to find our way through in the U.S left me curious and unsettled. There’s no doubt that those anti-war protests had an impact on America culturally and politically. That tumultuous era created new alliances and divisions over root causes that we are still fighting over today. But as I watch those surging crowds of protesters, knowing how history often repeats and/or rhymes, I remind myself that was a different age. One without the organizing tools like social media and mobile communications that we have at our disposal now. As I and many others anguish over the lack of leadership defying what is happening currently in Washington DC, I’m left wondering, given the tools we have at our disposal today, what it will take to effectively take advantage of those tools and galvanize, as was done then, to meet the challenges of today. Certainly the forces we’re now in contest with have bought and pillaged some of those services and learned how to use them more effectively than those in the reluctant opposition. Perhaps we lost this round when most of us left Twitter to avoid the cesspool of Elon Musk’s making, instead of sticking around and forcing them to toss us off. It took time in that era for anti-government pressure to come together and coalesce with enough momentum to bring change. And yes, it also took events like the murders of student protestors at Kent State, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy, not to mention the too many casualties of war. Let’s hope we don’t need the time, or that type of violence, for leaders to emerge and spark enough outrage to bring a stop to the evil we now face. I’m not talking about leaders emerging from conventional political party structures. I’m talking about from the ground up. The tools are there. It should be easier to organize and get the word out with less effort than it was during the age of the War in Vietnam. Here’s also hoping we have the courage, conviction, and most importantly the desire to do what is necessary when the time comes. Because it’s coming. You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Picking Your Tech Poison

It’s not easy loving tech these days.

There are no good options when it comes to choosing your tech these days. Let me rephrase that slightly, if you’re hesitant or resistant to AI taking over your tech there are no good options these days. Whether it be mobile devices, laptops, or desktop rigs, the makers of the major operating systems have all jumped on the Artificial Intelligence band wagon and are doing really poor Harold Hill impersonations trying to sell us on it. Sure there are different flavors, but they’ve become or are becoming intrusively the default. We all know where this appears to be heading. Computing devices without AI will be the flip phones of tomorrow, If they are even available. Apple has turned on Apple Intelligence by default, (even though it is still in beta). Microsoft is forcing Copilot into Office 365 and its operating system and charging you more for it, wanted or not. (There are ways to ditch it.) Google is doing the same thing with Android. Even if you don’t use an Android device, but use Google services, Google’s AI now accompanies anything you do with those services. Of course other smartphone users that rely on Android are following along, but there’s really no choice. If Artificial Intelligence was a virus, we’ve all been infected and there’s no vaccine to argue over, nor will wearing a mask help, because it extends beyond our own computing lives to the interactions we have with our doctors, banks, any form of customer service, and other affiliations of our daily lives. Yes, there are still refuges where you can attempt to avoid AI, but that’s not the real world of daily commerce and daily personal interaction. Now, it sounds like I’m 100% in the anti-AI camp. I’m not. I think there are legitimate uses. Some are even quite good. Some offer promise. I actually experiment with some of that. But I also think that there’s too much that isn’t useful, too much that just doesn’t work as advertised (beta or not), and too much that’s more than potentially harmful, especially in greedy hands. I can get excited about the technology, especially on some of the exciting hardware we now see. I just consider it a shame that all of that computing power is going to be put to the uses it appears we’re in for. We’ve been here before with new technology. First it’s a curious trickle then it becomes a tidal wave that sweeps us along in its path.  It’s tough to live daily life without a smartphone these days. That’s a more recent fact than many want to acknowledge. There’s another factor. Part of the hesitancy and resistance I know I’m feeling is that I don’t feel like I can trust the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft, much less the social networks and other applications that run on their hardware. I’ve always been skeptical, but that trust level took a knock with the recent knee-bending by these companies, trading cash for favors from the evil regime now in place in the U.S. I’m not sure how much more capitulation will be required, but I’m betting the folks trying stay in the game will find themselves laying prostrate before this is all over. I’ve used Apple products and have been a fan for quite some time. I imagine I will continue to be a user of those products going forward, given the investment I have in that ecosystem. But I also use Microsoft and Google products and support a coterie of folks who do as well. I also use services on my Apple devices by both Google and Microsoft. In order to support the folks I do, I keep up to speed with this increasing and haphazard pace we’re all forced into. The questions I deal with lately focus on how to remove or prevent these AI features more than they do about how to guide them through new features. When every day users are asking those questions there’s obviously a problem. As for me, tasting the poison in order to understand the which antidote is needed feels unhealthy, a bit dangerous, and just plain dirty. So, I’m starting to check out other hardware to become even more familiar, but also to look at my own options. Again, there’s no easy choice. I picked up a Pixel Pro 9 recently and am checking that out. Does that mean I’m thinking of changing horses in this stream we’re in? Probably not. As I said, there are no good choices. It really is a pick your poison era we’re in. I’m not happy about it. I’ve always been tech curious, it’s just sad my current curiosity is bred from such distaste, distrust, and disgust. You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Apple’s 2025 Black Unity Collection Announced Amidst An Age Of Disunity

Timing is everything in this political circus Apple fans find themselves in.

What a planet we’ve landed on. It’s certainly a different one than a few months ago. Or is it? Apple Watch Black Unity Collection hero_big.jpg.large_2x. Today Apple announced its 2025 Black Unity collection including a new Apple Watch Band and watch face in addition to wallpapers to honor Black History Month. This has become an annual Apple tradition since 2021, and is typically met with some, but not large, fanfare given that it can be classified as an appeal to a specific segment of the market. That said, it has historically been one of Apple’s signature signals about where it’s cultural (some say woke) heart lies. But that landscape has changed a bit with the election of the new oligarchic, nakedly racist regime in the United States, and with Tim Cook’s decision to donate $1 million dollars to the inauguration and attend that knee bending ceremony. Cook’s decisions will cast shadows on any Apple announcements going forward, certainly those that historically Apple has painted as a part of its civic and human consciousness. Many Apple fans, I count myself among them, are asking tough questions of themselves and Apple. The questions are tough, everyone is touchy, and feelings are raw. As an example, The MacRumors article announcing Apple’s announcement this morning illustrates just how touchy an issue is. Take a look at the footnote to their article below. CleanShot 2025-01-27 at 08.19.33@2x.I’m not judging anyone for what had to be a tough editorial decision, but the decision to move the discussion thread to the Political News section of the MacRumors forum speaks to the moment. Timing is everything in life, with or without punch lines. Black History Month  is always in February and for those counting the bruises on Apple, unfortunately February follows an ugly inauguration month. In order for there to be a punch line though, you first need to have a joke, and sadly, we’re not in joking territory as we muddle our way through this. You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Perhaps Tim Cook’s Severance Trailer Explains More Than Anyone Wants To Believe

You Can’t Sever This Away

A few months ago the Severance trailer featuring Tim Cook might have been received as an average, yet cute, piece of fluff marketing. Today it feels almost like a possible explanation for how some things have changed. 

 The entire premise behind Severance, being able to separate your work life from your real life, is indeed a fun bit of sci-fi story telling that I increasingly imagine the storytellers are going to have a hard time wrapping up into a successful conclusion.

Tim Cook’s recent decision to donate to the Trump inauguration certainly feels like he’s severed a part of himself from the carefully crafted persona he’s built for himself, and the reputation he built for Apple. Even, unlike some of his other tech company CEO compatriots, he made the donation out of his personal account, the understandable transactional decision has bruised Apple more than I think we might realize in this chaotic moment.

I say “understandable” because we’re in that world now. These transactional business/government relationships are no different than paying protection money to the guy who runs the neighborhood in order to keep the fruit stand open. It’s tough to bend the knee if both are broken.

Perhaps severing one’s self might make real life decisions with real life consequences easier to swallow or hide from. Or make work life more palatable. But that’s where the science fiction part of the story trails off. This is real life, and these are real people making these choices in the bright light of day. I’d say the markets will eventually give us a hint of an answer, but that’s not real life anymore either.

Time will tell how much of a blight Tim Cook infected Apple’s carefully cultivated orchard with. While many are disappointed and upset and rail about it online and in podcasts, the real question, and perhaps the cover Cook calculated upon, is that with every other tech CEO bending the knee, where else do Apple customers have to turn? And don’t say Linux. It still needs chips and hardware to run the software on. 

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Apple’s 1984 Commercial Strikes A Different Chord 41 Years Later

Who is marching in lockstep now?

The legendary Apple 1984 commercial turns 41 today.

 The commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, has become as iconic as the computer and the company it advertised. Given everything going on in the world currently as we watch Tim Cook and other so-called leaders of the tech industry fall into lockstep with the new U.S. administration, the message has a much deeper and darker resonance than it did when it was just advertising a new computer. 

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Apple’s Latest Miscues Risk Damaging AI In The Same Way It Tarnished iCloud

Apple Intelligence Summaries Again Draw Fire

How many folks do you know who don’t trust iCloud? Or “The Cloud” in general? Quite a few, I would bet. When Apple rolled out iCloud in 2011, it offered, as all things do, a promise. Trying to move on from the problems associated with its previous troubled cloud service, MobileMe, it was a rebrand, a re-architecting, and a repeat of prior problems that missed the target and generated enough criticism to turn iCloud into a punch line for all jokes about “The Cloud.”

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Apple has steadily improved iCloud (it still has issues), but not enough to remove that tarnish. The recent flap over summaries generated by Apple Intelligence threatens to do the same to that new brand, and quite frankly to the concept of Artificial Intelligence in general. Some might see that as a good thing, but that’s another issue for another day.

The issues with Apple Intelligence are compounding, largely due to mistakes of Apple’s own making in its rush to correct its way-too-late entry into a game it is losing. Overhyping the beta release as if it were a finished product certainly didn’t help. That investment in dollars essentially removed the excuse that mistakes can happen in betas. The “New Siri” remains delayed. And, like every AI release I’ve seen from other makers, once the initial shine wears off, the rough edges begin to show and cracks are revealed. I can’t count the number of users who claimed they’ve turned off most of Apple Intelligence features.

This latest flap deals with Apple Intelligence summaries. There have been legions of screenshots posted of humorous and not-so-humorous, inaccurate, confusing, and downright misleading summaries. The BBC has now twice called out Apple for misleading and inaccurate summaries. The most recent one named a darts player the winner of a competition before the match had even been played.

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Apple has now responded, reminding everyone about the beta status and that a future update will further clarify when the text being displayed is summarized by Apple Intelligence. In essence, a warning label.

Quite a few big dogs in the Apple influencer game have already barked, weighing in with possible suggestions and warnings. (See these links from John Gruber and Jason Snell.) There’s somewhat of a debate as to who should have ultimate control over whether or not users see summaries. Should developers be able to opt out of having notifications summarized from their apps, or should users have control by opting out of the feature? Either way, in my opinion, it points to essentially a defeat and also a larger problem.

First impressions matter. Screwing the pooch in a first impression typically leaves a mark.

Given what we already knew about AI hallucinations, mistakes, and problems before Apple belatedly and hurriedly entered the game, I don’t think anyone thought Apple would have solved that problem. Thus, the shield of announcing it as a beta. But the dollars spent on promoting it certainly didn’t offer enough prominent caveats to cut through the glitzy messaging. Apple Intelligence, beta or not, was the tentpole marketing feature. Heck, Apple’s announcements moved markets as if gold had been discovered.

Summaries are just one of many features that AI offers, Apple’s version and others. Arguments can be made that summaries are a good thing in a busy world, and also that they are completely unnecessary given that there is a level of mistrust that already existed pre-Apple Intelligence, that requires, almost demands, users to check the work generated by the AI before relying on it.

However Apple chooses to work its way out of this latest problem of its own making, its misplaced marketing miscues have called enough attention to Artificial Intelligence to make it a problem for that entire segment of the tech industry. What was a key selling feature is quickly becoming the butt of another joke.

If this was a game of darts, Apple’s shot would have not only missed the target but also missed the board.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

My Year With Apple: A Mixed Fruit Basket

It’s been quite a year toiling in Apple’s orchard.

For those who know me, they are familiar with my use of Apple products. Typically when I pick up a new piece of Apple gear I’ll write a review after using it for a few weeks. I didn’t do that this year. Part of the reason for that is Apple’s possibly panicky piecemeal rollout of iOS and macOS, which in many ways also changes the game for some of the new hardware releases. So to lay out my thinking I’ll post my thoughts here on the new Apple hardware I picked up along the way this year, as well as the still unfinished operating system releases.

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The Hardware

I’ll tackle the hardware first as that’s the least complicated. This year I acquired an 11 inch iPad Pro M4, and iPad mini, and iPhone 16 Pro and an Apple Watch series 10. Unlike many in the tech and gadget geek community I’m personally in a place where the lack of significant form factor changes to each new hardware version isn’t a detriment, it’s a bonus.

Essentially, each of those devices I acquired required no new learning curve. Set them up out of the box and I was back and operating the way I was before trading in the previous versions.

Yes, each is snappier, but that’s always expected. The iPads sport newer M-series chips, but with an exception or two they are essentially the same as the previous models. Some find that boring. I do not. Quite honestly, I actually prefer it this way. I “upgrade” my hardware when there is a new release and I move on. In the case of the two iPads that cycle isn’t an annual one, so it works for me and my budget.

Here’s a rundown on what is actually new that I do and don’t appreciate. (Notice I’m leaving the iPhone 16 Pro until the end.)

iPad Pro M4 (11 inch)

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 The upgrade to the display to what Apple calls Ultra Retina XDR is a clear improvement that I notice daily and very much appreciate. Beyond that marketing moniker, Apple says the “groundbreaking tandem OLED technology” is, well, groundbreaking. In my use, I will say it’s simply gorgeous to look at.

The other big change is the iPad Pro is thinner. It’s noticeable, but when I’m using the device for work it’s in a case for protection so the benefit there is often negligible for me. I do notice it when I use it with the Magic Keyboard and lift it off of that accessory to read or watch while relaxing on the sofa or in bed.

Speaking of the Magic Keyboard, I will say the newer version feels like a more significant upgrade physically than does the iPad Pro it is meant as an accessory for. It is sleeker and lighter, and I much prefer the stability of the aluminum construction to the previous model.

iPad mini

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The iPad mini is my travel device on short trips and reading device at home. While I occasionally alternate it with the iPad Pro there is no discernible difference in how I use either device, other than viewing entertainment on the iPad Pro’s screen.

The newer version brings the M-series to the iPad mini for the first time with the A17 Pro chip, and the difference in performance is notable but not overwhelmingly so. Beyond that, there’s not much else new in the hardware to speak of. Apple updates the iPad mini lineup less frequently than its other iPads, so I’m sure this one will more than suffice until the next update a few years down the road.

Apple Watch Series 10

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The most significant upgrade to the Apple Watch hardware here is a slight increase in the size of the device that allows for an even slightly larger display, alongside of a size reduction in the depth of the body of the watch itself. Both are notable, but not really significant in how the series 10 feels on my wrist as compared to the Series 9.

I’m veering into software a bit here to say that upon release, the Series 10 had much less battery life than the Series 9. We’re now currently on watchOS 11.2 and the battery life seems to have improved, getting closer to expectations. But there are still mornings when I’m puzzled as battery life will drop significantly in the first few hours after I wake up.

I’m puzzled because when I’d see the battery life drop quickly in the morning, I’ll slap the Apple Watch on its charger for a bit and then I will see expected battery life throughout the day.

I don’t take advantage of the overnight sleep and health tracking features and my watch normally sits on a charger overnight, so I don’t know what effect that might or might not have. I do run a couple of third party apps that track medical data during daylight hours and that may be a part of the battery life discrepancies and my comparison to the previous version.

iPhone 16 Pro

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Apple’s cash cow, the iPhone, is also the prime example of the paradox Apple finds itself in. You can argue, and I have, that we reached peak smartphone design a while ago. That’s evident not only with Apple but also with other companies continuing to search for something, anything to make their smartphones appear new and fresh, in parallel with the search for the next big thing that might eventually replace the smartphone. Searches that have so far been fruitless.

With the exception of the annual chip evolution and newer camera technology nothing much of substance has changed in smartphone hardware recently. Yes, there have been attempts with folding smartphones and new buttons but the core value of the hardware remains the same.

I get it. Apple has to serve multiple masters: customers, the easily distracted tech press, shareholders and the markets. Sales numbers always go up when there is a major hardware change. The siren song for something new in hardware is real, loud, and I think ultimately somewhat defeating.

The perfect example is the big new thing on the iPhone 16 Pro: the Camera Control button.

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This looked enticing (shiny new things always do), but I just don’t find it useful. It’s too finicky and fiddly to be of use. I’ve worked hard to use it, but I find it distracting when the act of taking a photo should be instinctive. Beyond that fiiddliness, anything the functions of the camera control button offer I can do later with software and not miss the shot I’m trying to take.

Perhaps there are features to come for the Camera Control function. Apple actually added one with iOS 18.2, allowing users to press and hold on an object and then search for info on what the camera captures. But again, we’ve been able to do this through other software for some time now.

AirPods Pro 2

I didn’t purchase new AirPods this year, but the new Head Gestures feature of nodding or shaking your head to dismiss or respond to a notification is a winner. The rolling, gurgling, burbling sounds are a bit much at times, but I find I really like this feature.

Software

As I was writing most of the above about hardware I noticed myself veering into talking about software changes that impact the hardware. The obvious reason for that is that Apple makes the entire widget and functionally it’s becoming harder and harder to distinguish where success reigns and failure begins.

This year’s software releases of iOS and macOS do contain new features, but the big tent pole is Apple Intelligence. That’s a tent that is far from being fully erected and, in my opinion, not ready for the paying public.

Apple Intelligence

97686290 157a 4cf4 a2d1 e7c87303c1bc_1920x1080.In my use, Apple Intelligence so far is nothing more than a curiosity. On the one hand, advertised as the next big thing, on the other still labeled a beta. Yes, it’s well known Apple is playing catch up, but given how fast anything in the AI market evolves (or doesn’t), I’m not sure there will ever be a race with a destination, much less a finish line. That’s not just true for Apple, but for all the players in this game.

If I had to rate Apple Intelligence at this point I’d say it’s not worth all of the mis-placed marketing dollars Apple is spending. In fact, it is precariously close to feeling like a shell game. I’ve tried all of the currently offered features and don’t really see any at the moment that will be of continued use for me going forward.

Notification Summaries are sometimes worth a laugh, but currently not worth the candle when I try to decipher the mixed messages. I’ve stopped taking screenshots of them, because they are too numerous to collect. If I have to click a second time for understanding, what’s the point?

Summaries of web pages at the moment seems to be a feature not well implemented. I rarely see anything beyond the title when I do look.

Genmoji and Image Playground have no value to me whatsoever. (I’ve never been that big on the whole Emoji thing as I prefer language to hieroglyphics. That used to be a distinction demonstrating society was advancing.) If I want some generative AI to create an image there are much better tools around. Apple’s Writing Tools don’t have any real value for me either.

As for the changes with Siri, there’s no way to judge currently, because what’s there is not what I think we might see someday either in a galaxy far, far away or in a Kubrick film of the last century.

If the point of the Apple Intelligence rollout was to please the markets and shareholders, their “meh” reactions after this piecemeal rollout demonstrate they are even dumber than I thought, or care less than Apple thought they would. Apple seems to have successfully silenced the “Can Apple do AI?” doubters with its smoke and mirror show, but smoke eventually fades and just stinks up your clothes.

I can only base my thoughts on its usefulness on my own experiences, but I’d rate Apple Intelligence as less than “meh.”. If this is “AI For The Rest of Us,” it doesn’t feel much like Apple understands us or AI.

I guess the question becomes if we’re always on the cusp of something new and promising, then why not slow things down and focus on getting it accomplished instead of being slave to an annual release cycle? Certainly it seems that it is proving more and more burdensome. Rumors that iOS 19 might have problems meeting deadlines while Apple continues hammering on Apple Intelligence features for iOS 18 might just be rumors, but I would bet there are more than a few sparks smoldering under that smoke.

iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia Other Features

That said there are some other improvements in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia worth mentioning. I’m going to talk about those in combination, because new features increasingly blend across device platforms via Continuity. Speaking of, I’m glad I finally got my Continuity headaches solved in 2024. Though it took an intervention from Craig Federighi.

iPhone Mirroring

The new iOS and macOS feature I remain most pleased with is iPhone Mirroring. This looked cool when it was revealed. It has proven both cool and more useful than I ever thought it would be. It’s great not to always have to pick up my iPhone when I’m heads down working but need to check a notification.

macOS Notifications

In my column of new features I like and  tied with iPhone Mirroring is the ability to see iPhone notifications on a Mac. Again, this is more useful than I thought it would be, even though I think Apple still has work to do with this on a consistency level, I rate this a winner.

That rating is also bolstered because along with it finally comes the ability to dismiss all notifications on a Mac. This has been too long in coming, so I’m glad it’s here.

I am puzzled why it is a two step process though.

When you view notifications you have three options at the bottom of the list, one being an X. Clicking on that X reveals only a single option to Clear All Notifications. That seems like an unnecessary step to me, unless there’s something else planned for the X in the future.

Photos

Lots of noise was made about the changes in Photos, but frankly I don’t think it was a big deal. I base that on my own usage and from the bevy of family and friends who I support, none of who complained.

What would be a big deal is if Apple would allow users more control to reliably sync photos. Apple actually made things a bit worse with iOS 18 by further hiding where you can see if photos are syncing behind your avatar instead of at the bottom of your Photo library.

Searching for photos is also much better in both iOS and macOS Sequoia. If that’s an Apple Intelligence feature, then it’s one of the few pluses. It isn’t perfect, but it is much better. I do wish I could delete a photo when I’m viewing search results. Currently I can only remove it from the album it creates with those results, even though I’m not saving the search as an album. This would be a great way to help delete duplicates and declutter.

Control Center

The changes here almost feel like a bad April Fools prank in that you can make changes, but playing the game to move icons around on a screen or between the new screens is nigh on near impossible and ultimately user unfriendly for a theoretically user friendly UI experience. If you think chasing Apps around a screen is fun, this will cure you of that.

Math Notes

More useful on an iPad than I find it on an iPhone or Mac, Math Notes is a significant new feature, especially when used with the Apple Pencil. Speaking of the Apple Pencil, I’m glad that both the new iPad Pro and iPad mini can use the same Apple Pencil interchangeably.

Handwriting Smoothing

This might work for some, but it is a marginal and almost negligible benefit to me as my handwriting is so awful. That said, searching notes that include my handwriting has yielded surprisingly good results even with my lousy handwriting.

Bluetooth

There seems to be something good under the hood added with Bluetooth. I base this on connectivity with my car. My car isn’t equipped with CarPlay but I do connect my iPhone via Bluetooth. Previous issues I had with connectivity seem to have vanished with iOS 18. I have to give credit to Apple, because nothing in my car has changed.

There was some early jankiness using Bluetooth on my Mac with peripherals, but that seems to have disappeared in later point releases of macOS Sequoia.

Safari and Distraction Control

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I like the new Distraction Control feature in Safari and hope Apple continues improving it. It’s a bit clunky to use at times, but it does help quite a bit with the continued enshittifcation of the web.

RCS Messaging

This is a notable improvement in my case, because it does improve messaging back and forth with some family, friend, and work threads when images are shared.

Smart Stack on Apple Watch

I find myself blowing hot and cold on the Smart Stack feature. At times it does approach the magic it promises. At other times it’s just an annoyance. I’ve tied turning it off and that can solve the annoyance factor, but I find myself wanting this to work and be smarter.

There are plenty of other new features across Apple’s platforms, but these are the ones that I find myself using the most, outside of Apple Intelligence.

Summing Up

To sum all of this up, without using any Artificial Intelligence, Apple or otherwise, I’d say this year’s hardware and software releases from Apple are one of those years we’ll look back on as a transitional one. Note that the only M4 series device I acquired this year was an iPad Pro, so I can’t speak beyond that on that new M-series evolution. Given how I use my iPad Pro, I’d say it was a winner, but not a life-changing one.

And quite frankly, AI marketing and money grubbing pitches aside, I am extremely comfortable upgrading my hardware as new generations of mobile devices roll out, and equally comfortable sitting on my computer purchases for as long as they hold out.

I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable though with the pace of operating system releases that seem to keep us all in a perpetual beta state whether or not we opt-in to the actual betas themselves. I don’t have a problem with Apple rolling out features over a period of time. I’d rather they do that than release something unfinished and full of bugs. But, I do have a problem with the heavy marketing push that trumpets what’s to come, long before the music is even ready to be played.

I’m able to keep up with what’s real and what’s not or not yet in the hype cycle, but the family and friends I support feel confused, and then become uninterested. If the goal is for folks to actually want to buy new hardware and to use new features, that’s ultimately a self-defeating strategy.

The Vision

Further summing things up, I think Apple’s release of the Vision Pro encapsulates the challenges within Apple’s vision. No, I didn’t buy one of those devices, but I did do the demo several times. I do buy the long term vision behind Spatial Computing, but I think Apple overreached with its hardware and design ambitions. Apple was able to recover from a similar overreach with the original Apple Watch, but the ante wasn’t so high for the consumer. The Vision Pro comes with a steep price to get in on the ground floor, and as of this writing it feels like it was so steep that it will actually change the floor itself.

I think a similar thing is going to take place with Artificial Intelligence, Apple’s version, and that of others. So many have ambitiously bet so much on that being the next big driver in tech, but I’m guessing in the long run it’s going to just be another passenger, perhaps in a side-car, along for the ride in an increasingly slower pace in the smartphone and mobile device race.

I feel almost Luddite-like saying this, but I wish Apple and others would focus on making what we have better than trying to make it new.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

 

Apple Tugs at the HeartStrings with New Commercial

Clever and touching ad from Apple deserves a listen.

Apple hasn’t had the best of luck with commercials this year, but they pushed out one that carries an emotional punch heading into the holidays. Called HeartStrings it highlights new hearing health features users with AirPods Pro 2 can take advantage of to use them as hearing aids.

Users can run a hearing test that according to Apple provides “scientifically validated results within minutes and the ability to activate a clinical-grade Hearing Aid Feature on your AirPods Pro 2.” I took the test and my hearing rated just fine, but if you’d like to read how one user tested this out, I recommend checking out What It’s Like to Hear Better with AirPods Pro 2 by John Voorhees on MacStories. 

The commercial certainly belongs in the warm and fuzzy holiday genre and in my opinion is quite well done. It certainly is a better approach than crushing up some musical instruments.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. 

Check Out Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy

Worth a watch even without many surprises.

Here is the U.S we’re heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, already surrounded by the madness of Black Friday, coupled with anxiety brought about by the recent election. It feels like everyday has been Black Friday under dark cloudy political skies for too long already, and of course that will continue straight into Christmas and beyond. 

 Here’s a thought. If you gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving, instead of watching football or squabbling over politics, tune everybody into the Netflix documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy. The trailer is embedded above.

This somewhat entertaining documentary (it’s presentation conceit feels a bit too cutesy for my tastes), tackles the problems of rampant consumerism through a prism of what happens to all the stuff we buy this Black Friday, those previous, those to come, and any other day of the year.

The highlights of the series are the short cut interviews with former employees of Amazon, Adidas, Apple, folks from the fashion industry, and activists who are trying to address the issues of the large amount of waste created with all of our purchasing power.

If you’ve even remotely been paying attention to the world, there won’t be any grand surprises about the large amounts of unrecyclable waste we’re swimming in and adding to. That said, hearing some of the folks who feel responsible for their own decisions that led their company down that path of excess discuss their shifts in thinking makes the piece worthwhile.

There also aren’t any real surprises in the way the documentary lays out the tricks of the marketing trade to convince us to buy more stuff. Addressing the issue through a perspective of saying we could all buy less certainly makes sense, but given we all know that the game is rigged no differently than carnival games are, it makes one wonder why we do keep coming back each time the circus tents get pitched. 

Style points and lack of surprises aside, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is worth viewing, especially I would think if you have younger ones in your holiday household who might still be impressionable.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.