Posts in Linked

Connected, Episode 237: All the Different Flavors of iCloud→

AirPower is dead, Powerbeats Pro are here, Federico is having a good week on Twitter and iCloud Drive deserves some attention from Apple.

A good episode of Connected this week – we talk about wireless chargers, new Beats headphones, and a whole list of suggestions on how to improve iCloud Drive. You can listen here.

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AppStories, Episode 105 – Pro iPad Apps and Where iOS Holds Them Back→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we cover pro iOS audio, photography, video, and art apps that stretch the platform and discuss where the OS is holding them back.

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https://staging.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/episodes/105/embed/

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Matthew Panzarino Explains How the Apple Card Will Work→

The Apple Card has been the subject of a lot of attention and speculation since it was announced at Monday’s Apple event. The US-only card won’t be out until this summer, but Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch’s Editor-in-Chief, has details on exactly how the card will work that weren’t covered during the keynote.

Panzarino sums up the card’s benefits nicely:

Overall the Apple Card has some relatively unique and interesting takes on data transparency for users, who are getting what appears to be an information rich but easy to interpret interface that rivals the best apps (like the AMEX app) out there for consumer cards. It’s also got a solid set of security features that are missing only a couple of small improvements like per-merchant or per-transaction numbers that would make them the best offering in the industry.

The security and financial tracking the card will enable is attractive and the cash benefits are competitive, but there are limitations that may be an issue for some potential customers. For instance, the Apple Card is a single-user card, which means multiple family members cannot use the same account.

Panzarino’s piece clears up misinformation that has spread since the keynote and uncovers other tidbits that make it easier to compare the new card side-by-side with competing offerings. If what you’ve heard about the Apple Card interests you, Panzarino’s article is an excellent one-stop destination to learn more.

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Connected, Episode 236: Rosencrantz Says→

After announcing tickets for their live WWDC show and judging their predictions for Apple’s media event and breaking a score between Stephen and Myke, the guys share their impressions of the new AirPods, Apple News+ and more.

On this week’s episode of Connected, we grade our predictions for Apple’s media event and discuss some of the news related to services and AirPods. You can listen here.

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WWDC 2019: Connected Live at Hammer Theatre Center→

I’ll be in San Jose for the week of WWDC, and for the second year we will be hosting a live recording of Connected at Hammer Theatre Center on Wednesday, June 5.

Last year’s live show was amazing, and we promise this year’s edition will be the most entertaining live show of the entire week of WWDC. There will be surprises involved.

You should act fast though: tickets for the orchestra level are already sold out, but you can still get one for the parterre and balcony levels. The Hammer Theatre is a beautiful venue; even on the balcony level, you won’t be far from the stage.

https://twitter.com/imyke/status/1111311052241809408

You can get your ticket here. It’s going to be fun, and I hope you’ll join us.

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Apple Watch’s ECG App and Irregular Rhythm Notification Expand Across the Globe→

Yesterday Apple released watchOS 5.2, lagging just a couple days behind iOS 12.2. For users in the United States, there isn’t much worth noting about this latest Watch update, but it’s a different story around the world. Apple’s press release highlights the health-related features it brings support for:

The ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4, a direct-to-consumer product that enables customers to take an electrocardiogram right from their wrist, is available in Hong Kong and 19 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. In addition to receiving De Novo clearance in the US from the FDA, the ECG app and irregular rhythm notification are now CE marked and cleared in the European Economic Area.

The ECG app is limited to Apple Watch Series 4, while users of the Series 1 or later will benefit from the irregular rhythm notification, a feature that requires first opening the iPhone’s Health app to enable it.

Countries that now support the ECG app: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, US and US Virgin Islands.

Apple can often launch a feature or service in the US, then be extremely slow to roll it out elsewhere (see: Apple News). For health features like these though, I think it’s particularly important for Apple to prioritize global expansion, despite the huge amount of red tape that must be worked through. Access to a new media service like Apple News or TV is nice, but the work being done with Apple Watch has the potential to be life-changing. I hope we continue to see these features spread as far and wide as possible.

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AppStories, Episode 104 – OS Wish List Part 2 - HomeKit and Shortcuts→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we continue our discussion of iOS 13 wishes, this time focussing on HomeKit and Shortcuts.

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https://staging.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/episodes/104/embed/

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The Wall Street Journal Details Terms of Partnership with Apple for Apple News+ Service→

Lukas I. Alpert, writing for The Wall Street Journal about the terms between The Wall Street Journal and Apple for the newspaper’s presence on the Apple News+ service:

The Apple app will surface stories thought to be of interest to a general reader—that could be national news, politics, sports and leisure news, but also some business news, people familiar with the situation said. The paper’s entire slate of business and financial news will also be searchable within the app, but the thinking is that most users won’t consume much beyond what is actively presented to them.

Apple users will have access to only three days’ worth of the Journal’s archive, the people said. The Journal also negotiated terms that would allow it to drop out of the service, they said.

“I have not entered into this deal lightly,” Mr. Lewis said in his newsroom talk. “It was never worth doing a bad deal.”

The whole story, despite being about the WSJ and on the WSJ, is reported as a rumor based on what “people said” about a newsroom staff meeting with William Lewis, chief executive of Dow Jones & Co. and publisher of the Journal. It is, effectively, a case of The Wall Street Journal reporting news about itself as a rumor.

Fortunately, William Lewis himself published an official memo on the Dow Jones press website:

WSJ members will continue to have exclusive access to the rich business reporting and analysis about which they are so passionate. Apple News+ introduces an entirely new category of readers who will have the opportunity to experience a specially curated collection of general interest news from The Wall Street Journal. As a result, our newsroom will grow. This is an investment in quality journalism.

While today’s announcement focuses on Apple News+, our collaboration with Apple will also extend to areas like video, voice, market data and AI. I will have more to share on those plans in the coming weeks and months.

“A specially curated collection of general interest news from The Wall Street Journal” sounds like a smaller selection of what you’d otherwise get with a “real” subscription to the WSJ through the web.

Earlier today I tweeted that with Apple News+ I might be able to stop paying my more expensive subscription to the WSJ and just use the Apple News+ channel instead. Now I’m not so sure I should cancel the subscription after all: I don’t like the idea of having three days to catch up on stories I want to read, and it sounds like certain stories will only be available through search. I’m going to keep my standalone WSJ subscription active for now until I fully figure out what the experience in Apple News+ is like.

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Apple Publishes March 25 Keynote Video→

Today at the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple held an event like no other in highlighting its new services in a variety of areas like TV, news, games, and even personal finance. There were no hardware announcements, but it was a fun event in its own right.

If you didn’t manage to catch the livestream of the keynote, Apple has now published the video in its entirety on its website.

You can follow all of our Apple event coverage through our March 25 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated March 25 RSS feed.

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