iPhone J.D.

Three dots and a shelf

Multitasking on the iPad is very useful, but in the past, it has been somewhat confusing.  Apple improved this in iPadOS 15 by making two changes.  First, at the top of the screen, Apple added a new button with three dots.  Tap the three dots to activate multitasking.  Second, Apple added the new Shelf to the bottom of the screen, which appears when you launch an app to remind you of other windows associated with that same app.  These are both great improvements that make it easier to work with multiple windows and apps on an iPad.

The three dots

Open just about any app on an iPad running iPadOS 15 and you will see three dots at the top.  Apple calls the dots the multitasking button. 

When you tap the three dots, you will see the different multitasking modes:  full screen, Split View, or Slide Over.  The mode that the window is currently using is indicated by a gray circle around its corresponding icon.

If you tap the Split View or Slide Over buttons, the active window will move to the side so that you can select another app.  If you pressed the Split View button, the app you select will be placed side-by-side with the app that you were previously in. If you pressed the Slide Over button, the app you select will fill the screen, and the app that you were previously using will appear on the right side of the screen on top of the app you selected. 

Some apps, such as the Mail app, will show a fourth mode:  Center window.  That mode places a window in the center of your iPad screen on top of the other window in the app.

You don't have to use the three dots to do multitasking on the iPad.  For example, the iPad continues to support the previous method:  open the Dock at the bottom of the screen and then drag an app from the Dock to the side of the app you are currently using for Split View mode, or drag an app from the Dock to the top of the app you are currently using for Slide Over mode.  But with the new three dots system, you can put an app in a multitasking mode even if it is not in the Dock.

The Shelf

For a while now, an iPad app could have multiple windows open.  For example, you might have one window of Safari open with three tabs, then another window of Safari open with only a single tab.  Or you might have different Microsoft Word documents open in different windows.  Before iPadOS 15, it could be difficult to know how many windows were open for an app.  You might tap the Microsoft Word icon in your Dock thinking that it was going to open a contract that you are drafting only to discover that Microsoft Word instead opened a different document, a brief that you are also drafting. 

In iPadOS 15, whenever you open an app that has more than one window open, a Shelf appears at the bottom of the screen with thumbnail images of the different windows associated with that app.  One of those windows will be the active window, but if that isn't the window that you intended to use, you can tap one of the other thumbnail images in the Shelf.  And if the thumbnail images are too small for you to tell what each window is, you can just keep tapping on different thumbnail images until you find the one that you want. 

Once you start to act on the active window, the Shelf goes away. 

If you are working in an app and want to see the Shelf associated with that app again, there are many ways that you can bring back the Shelf.  First, you can exit the app (swipe up to go to your Home Screen) and start the app again.  Second, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen — just a little — to bring up the Dock, then tap the icon for the active app and you will see the Shelf again.  Third, you can tap the three dots at the top of the screen — not only does that show you the multitasking modes at the top of the screen, but it also shows you the Shelf at the bottom of the screen if you are using an app that currently has two or more windows open.  Fourth, if you use an Apple external keyboard that has a Globe key on it, you can tap the Globe key and the down arrow key to activate the Shelf.  (Keyboards without a Globe key may be able to do this as well.  For example, on my older Apple Magic Keyboard, the FN key works like the Globe key.)

When you are already in an app and you use one of these methods to reactivate the Shelf, you will see another option at the end of the Shelf:  a blank thumbnail image with a plus sign on it.  Tap that one to create an additional window in the app. 

Conclusion

Anyone who uses a computer knows that the ability to switch between different windows, either in the same program or in different programs, allows you to be much more productive with the computer.  The same is true for the iPad.  Switching between different apps, or different windows within the same app, makes it much easier to do much more with an iPad.  And thanks to the three dots and the Shelf, iPadOS 15 makes it easier than ever to multitask on an iPad.

Podcast episode 24: Hello. I’m a Max. And I’m an M1 Pro. (And Happy 600 to Jeff!)

Episode 24 of the In the News podcast is now available.  Apple announced lots of new products and services this week, so that is where Brett Burney and I begin this episode.  We then talk about the Apple Watch Series 7 and the iPhone 13 Pro.

In our In the News segment, Brett and I talk about my post from earlier this week recommending that you put only widgets on your iPad home screen.  I share some tips for getting the most out of the Notes widget, and Brett does the same for the Files widget.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast.  Or you can watch the episode on YouTube:

In the News

On April 22, 2009, Tim Cook (who at the time was Apple's COO and acting CEO) announced that Apple had sold its 21st million iPhone, was happy with its exclusive relationship with AT&T, and looked forward to the competition from the Palm Pre.  Just two days later, I published the first edition of In the News.  Fast forward to today, and analyst Horace Dediu concluded that Apple recently sold its 2 billionth iPhone, and this is the 600th edition of In the News.  That is a lot of Fridays.  Well, TGIF once again, and here is the news of note from the past week:

• One of the new announcements made by Apple this week was a new plan for Apple Music.  The Apple Music plan options were $9.99/month for an individual, $14.99/month for up to 6 people in a family, or $4.99/month if you are a college student.  This week, Apple added a fourth plan:  $4.99/month for the Apple Music Voice plan.  With this plan, you have to ask Siri to play music — such as individual songs, albums, Apple Music playlists, or new mood and activity playlists (such as "Play the dinner party playlist") — and you cannot use the traditional Apple Music app to search for songs.  You also don't get Spatial Audio, and because you are not using the Apple Music app, you cannot see lyrics or watch music videos.  California attorney David Sparks points out another drawback:  Siri often does not understand you when you ask it to play one song and it plays a different one instead.  Perhaps this new plan will be attractive to some folks, but I share David's concerns.  On the other hand, I think that the family plan is a tremendous value.  Apple Music integrates incredibly well with all of our Apple products, and it is great that I, my wife, and both of my teenagers can play virtually any song that we want, whenever we want, for about the same price that I paid for a single cassette tape when I was a teenager.  And I don't even need to flip the iPhone over to play the second half of that Journey album.
• Speaking of David Sparks, he and Stephen Hackett released a great episode of the Mac Power Users podcast with tips on getting work done using an iPad.  I learned a lot from that one.
• Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories shares some of the small things that you may have missed associated with Apple's new product announcement from this past Monday.
• How do you decide between the AirPods (second generation), the new AirPods (third generation), and the AirPods Pro?  Chance Miller of 9to5Mac compares the three products and created an especially useful chart comparing the key features.
• Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels (and the Mac Power Users podcast) shows all the details on how the new Apple Music Voice plan compares to the other plans.
• Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac notes another new announcement from Apple this week:  you can now buy the HomePod mini in the original colors (space gray and white) or three new colors:  yellow, orange, and blue.  I reviewed the HomePod mini earlier this year, and I'm still a big fan.
• Juli Clover of MacStories notes a new Apple product that Apple did not mention at its event this past Monday:  a new $19 Polishing Cloth that is safe to use to clean any Apple device.  And I see as I type this that it is currently sold out for the next 10-12 weeks, so I hope that you were not counting on getting one from Santa Claus this year.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors reviews the iPhone 13 Pro.
• One feature of the iPhone 13 Pro is 120hz ProMotion.  What exactly does that mean?  This two-minute YouTube video from "The Slow Mo Guys" uses slow motion to show exactly how it works.  Very informative.
• Federico Viticci of MacStories writes about an app called Yoink, a clipboard manager on the iPad that and iPhone that manages to run all the time in the background by telling the operating system that it is in picture-in-picture mode.  I'm curious if Apple will let the app continue to exploit this loophole.
• One of the new watch faces that Apple created to take advantage of the larger face on the Apple Watch Series 7 is called Contour.  Parker Ortolani of 9to5Mac shares all the details on how the Contour watch face works.
• Mark Sullivan of Fast Company reviews the Apple Watch Series 7 as a smartwatch for runners.
• Jason Cipriani and Lisa Eadicicco of CNet recommend some Apple Watch settings that you might want to change.
• You can usually get 3% cash back when you use an Apple Card to purchase products from Apple.  But Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that you can now get 6% cash back.
• Clive Thompson writes on Medium about reading War and Peace on an iPhone.  The. Whole. Book.  It's a fascinating article written by a great writer, and it addresses far more topics than you might expect.
• And finally, if you missed the first two minutes of Apple's announcements on Monday, then you missed a great video called Start Up: 45 Years of Apple Sounds.  I love so much about this video:  the homage to creating something in a garage — the place that Apple itself started, the vintage Apple products, and the song that A.G. Cook created.  Worth watching:

Only widgets on the iPad

A year ago in iOS 14, Apple first provided the ability to add widgets to the iPhone home screen.  It’s a nice feature that I use every day, but I am only willing to devote a limited portion of my first iPhone home screen to widgets because I want to also have space for my frequently-used apps.  On the other hand, screen real estate is a completely different story on the iPad.  Now that iPadOS 15 allows the placement of widgets on the iPad, I find myself using a different approach to widgets:  only widgets on the home screen.

There are two reasons that this works so well for me.  First, and most obviously, there is a lot more space on the iPad screen.  Thus, when you are deciding where to place your widgets, you have a larger canvas to work with.

Second, you can devote more – and perhaps all — of that larger canvas on an iPad to widgets because the Dock on the iPad is considerably longer that the iPhone.  The iPhone’s dock only has space for four apps.  The iPad dock has space for up to 20 apps — although, depending upon your your setup, you may pick just 17 of those.  In the Settings app, you can turn on the option to show up to three suggested and recent apps in the Dock, which leaves you room for 17 apps in the Dock that you select, plus three recent ones.  But whether you pick all 20 or just 17 of the 20, the iPad dock unquestionably holds far more apps that the iPhone dock.

There’s actually room for one more thing in the Dock.  Another option in the Settings app is to add one more space at the far right end for the App Library, which means 21 different slots in the Dock, if you turn that on.

The upshot of all of this is that I don't need to place apps on my iPad's first home screen.  The 17 most important apps are in the Dock, the last three apps that I used other than those 17 are also in the Dock, and the App Library at the end of my Dock makes it easy to find other apps.  With no need for apps on the first home screen, I get to devote all of that space to widgets.

Having only widgets on a home screen changes the home screen from an app launcher to a mission control, displaying the key information that I need for getting my work done and other valuable information. Indeed, a good widget is so useful at displaying information that you may not need to even launch the app to learn more.  And everything is visible with just a quick glance.

Here are the widgets that I currently find the most useful on my iPad.

I'm going to start with my center column because it is probably the most useful.  At the top, I have the time displayed — using big, bold numbers that are obvious at a quick glance.  The app that I'm using to display the time is Widgetsmith because it allows almost infinite customization.  I'm using a medium size widget, and I've customized that widget to display only the time, using large white numbers on a blue background that matches the color of the iPad background.  Thus, instead of looking like a rectangular widget, it looks like the time is being displayed directly on the iPad's background.

Just below the time, I have a medium size widget from PDF Expert, the app that I use to work with PDF files, displaying my four most recent files.  When I want to launch PDF Expert, there is a good chance that I'm going to want to look at one of those recent files, and by tapping one of those four buttons in the widget I can jump directly to that file.  It's a great shortcut.

At the bottom of the middle column I have the large widget from Things, the app that I use to keep track of my to do list.  In the above image, I've pixelated the widget to redact confidential information.  But on my iPad, it displays the top 12 items that I need to be working on.  Thus, without even launching the Things app, I can see the most important items for me to be working on today.  When I'm ready to mark an item as completed, I just tap on the widget to launch the Things app.  As a result, I don't even have the Things app on my Dock (unless it shows up as one of the three most recently-used apps) because the widget itself launches the app.

So in short, the middle column shows me what I need to be working on, gives me a link to documents that are often relevant to that work, and reminds me of how much time I have to complete that work because of the clock.  It's a column of productivity.

At the top of my left column I have a medium widget from Fantastical.  The left side of the widget tells me the day and date.  Yes, that information is also at the very top of my iPad, but it is in a small font size.  The Fantastical app makes it much easier to see today's date at a glance.  The right side of the Fantastical widget displays the next two or three items on my calendar, reminding me of upcoming meetings. 

The next two medium widgets in my left column are from CARROT Weather.  One displays a radar so that I can quickly see rain in the area (a premium feature of the app that I get by paying for a subscription), and the one below it displays the hourly and daily forecast.  if CARROT Weather had a single large widget that included all of that information, I would use that instead, but using two medium widgets also works fine and give me the weather that I find most useful.

At the bottom of my left column is the Siri Suggestion widget with eight app suggestions.  If I want to launch an app and it isn't in my Dock, I will often see it there.  If not, I can swipe to my second home screen, which displays my top apps that were not placed in my Dock, or I can tap the App Library at the end of my Dock, or I can swipe down on the screen to search for an app.  To be honest, though, I'm not sure if I will stick with the Siri Suggestion widget because I only use it occasionally.  I previously had the Notes widget in that location, giving me quick access to my three most recent notes, and I may return to that.

The top half of my right column is the large Photos widget displaying For You photographs.  This is one of my favorite widgets because it changes frequently throughout the day.  I never know what I am going to see there, but it is often a picture that makes me smile.  It reminds me of having a traditional framed photograph on my desk, but it is much better because the picture changes all of the time.  If I tap the widget, it starts a short movie using the Memories feature in Photos so that I can see that photo and related ones.  I have a large number of pictures in the Photos app, and the Memories feature in general, and this widget in particular, do a great job of resurfacing pictures.  I love it.

The bottom half of my right column is the large Apple News widget set to Today, which means that it shows me two news headlines.  I'm often too busy during the day at work to pay much attention to the news, but any big story of the day is going to be in the Apple News widget.  Thus, just by glancing at my home screen, I have some sense of what is going on in the world, and I can tap on the headline if I want to read more.  (As an Apple One subscriber, I get access to Apple News+, but even without a News+ subscription you can read much of the top news in the Apple News app.)

iPadOS 15 also supports a new XL size widget, the size of two large widgets.  It is impressive that so much information can be displayed in this widget size.  So far, I don't consider any one widget valuable enough to occupy this much space on my first home screen, but I do have some of these on my subsequent home screens.  To be honest, though, they are really just there for fun.  You have to really love a widget to let it take up that much screen space.

As more apps release better widgets for the iPad, I may replace some of the widgets mentioned above with other widgets that work better for me.  But at this point, I see no reason to ever go back to having app icons on my iPads's first home screen.  A screen with all widgets is just so better for me thanks to the additional information it displays.  I encourage you to try it yourself so that you can see if you find it to be as much of an improvement as I do.

Apple introduces 3rd generation AirPods

Yesterday, Apple introduced the new third generation model of the AirPods.  Before discussing the new features, let's take a quick look at how we got here.

A brief history of AirPods

Apple announced the first generation AirPods on September 7, 2016.  They hit the market at the end of that year, and although supply of that $159 product was very limited at first, I loved them right away, as did many others.  AirPods are one of my all-time favorite Apple products.  At the office, I use them all the time for phone calls and video conferences.  Out of the office, I use them all the time for music, podcasts, and videos.  They weigh virtually nothing, and they work great. 

A little more than two years later, Apple introduced the second generation AirPods with faster pairing and improved Siri support.  And if you paid an additional $40, you could get a case that charges using wireless Qi charging.  It was a nice upgrade, albeit an incremental one.

On October 28, 2019, Apple introduced the AirPods Pro.  They added active noise cancellation, flexible silicone tips, and a force sensor button that you squeeze instead of tapping.  They also introduced a new case design, making the AirPods Pro easily distinguishable from the second generation AirPods:

The AirPods Pro also supports spatial audio, a really nice technology that simulates surround sound.  When music supports it, the sound is much richer.  And spatial audio can make videos seem much more immersive.  Some videos even support a directional version of spatial audio so that if you turn your head away from the screen, the audio seems to be coming from the screen — a neat effect that tricks you into forgetting that you are listening to audio from your AirPods Pro instead of from speakers that are built-in to the screen.

In late 2020, Apple introduced the AirPods Max, which are over-ear wireless headphones that cost $549.  Although they have "AirPods" in the name, this has always seemed like a different product to me.  I associate "AirPods" with small earphones, not large over-the-head headphones.

The new AirPods (3rd generation)

That brings us to yesterday.  The new third generation AirPods occupy a middle ground between the second generation AirPods and the AirPods Pro.

The new AirPods look similar to the prior model, but the stem is shorter and they add a force sensor button. 

The original AirPods design is fantastic, so the newest AirPods should feel quite good in your ears.

The new AirPods come in a case that looks similar to the AirPods Pro case, although it is not quite as wide — 2.14 inches wide versus the 2.39 inches AirPods Pro case. 

This new case supports MagSafe wireless charging.  Wireless charging is not a new feature — as noted above, it was added in early 2019 with the second generation AirPods and is also supported by the AirPods Pro.  But the "MagSafe" part of this is new.  What it means is that if you put the case on a MagSafe charger, not only will it charge (which is not new) but it will also attach magnetically to the charger so that you can be positive that there is a good connection and it is less likely to slide off of the charger by accident.  This is a nice new feature that makes wireless charging even better.  (Apple also updated the case on AirPods Pro yesterday to add support for MagSafe.)

The new AirPods don't have noise-cancellation; you still need to get the AirPods Pro for that.  But they do include many of the other audio improvements of the AirPods Pro including spatial audio.  Also, like the AirPods Pro — and unlike the second generation AirPods — the newest AirPods are advertised as sweat and water resistant.

The new AirPods also provide an extra hour of battery life — up to six hours of listening and up to four hours of talking.  And if they run low on power, you can charge them for just five minutes to get about an hour of battery life.  The battery in the case can charge the AirPods four more times, so you get up to 30 hours of total listening time.

Another new feature that doesn't even exist on the AirPods Pro is a new skin-detection sensor.  Apple says that it does a better job of determining when the AirPods are no longer in your ear (which causes music to pause).  Prior AirPods models and the AirPods Pro use an optical sensor, which can get confused and think that they are in your ear when they are instead in a dark pocket.

Pricing

Ever since AirPods were introduced in 2016, the price was $159 (although you could often find them on sale).  But Apple also announced yesterday the they are going to continue to sell the second generation AirPods for only $129.  That makes me think that those will eventually go on sale for under $100.  It is now much cheaper to start using AirPods.

The new third generation AirPods take over the $159 slot.  And they are an even better bargain than in the past because the case comes with wireless charging; you don't have to pay extra for that feature.

AirPods Pro also remain available for $249, for those who want noise cancellation and/or the flexible tips that come in different sizes.  Noise cancellation is a feature that I really like, but it is nice that you can get almost all of the other advantages of AirPods Pro for almost $100 less.  And the new AirPods offer one very nice advantage over AirPods Pro:  longer battery life (up to 6 hours instead of up to 4.5 hours).

Conclusion

The new AirPods seem like a great product.  The support for spatial audio and the longer battery life make them a very nice improvement over the prior model.  And the prior model sticks around at a lower price, making it easier for folks to justify purchasing the entry-level AirPods over other wireless earphones.  The new AirPods even include some new features that have not (yet) shown up on the AirPods Pro.

You can pre-order the new AirPods now, and they go on sale next week.

Podcast episode 23: Unleashing ALL THE TIPS! Along with Live Text and Apple Watch 7

Episode 23 of the In the News podcast is now available.  Brett and I begin discussing the initial reviews of the Apple Watch Series 7.  We then talk about using the FindMy app to locate an item that has been lost or stolen, discussing the Chicago man who located his stolen car thanks to the AirTag he had placed in it.  Then we talk about Apple's "Unleashed" announcement coming on Monday, using the Live Text feature in Photos, and using live video in a Keynote presentation.

Finally, in our In the Know segment, Brett shares a tip for putting a call in hold on the iPhone, and I share a tip for changing the text size in a specific app.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast.  Or you can watch the episode on YouTube:

In the News

Today is the day that the new Apple Watch Series 7 goes on sale.  And this week, the first set of reviews were released by folks who got early access to Apple's newest product.  If you are interested in learning more about the newest watch, the reviews that I found most interesting are listed below.  Another news item from this past week is that Apple said that it will have a product announcement on Monday, October 18, 2021.  My guess is that Apple will announce new Macs on Monday, and if I'm correct, then Apple won't be announcing the type of product that I discuss on iPhone J.D.  But who knows, maybe Apple will also announce new AirPods or some other product that works with an iPhone or iPad.  We'll see.  And now, the rest of the news of note from the past week:

• The fantastic Keynote app for the iPad recently added the ability to include live video in a Keynote presentation.  Brett Burney, my co-host on the In the News podcast, created a great video for his Apps in Law website that shows exactly how this feature works (including how easy it is to use) and explains when you might want to take advantage of this feature.
• Mobile attorney Carter Hale wrote a really good article in the Fall 2021 issue of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Journal with tips for using technology in the courtroom.  Click here to download a PDF version of the magazine, and the article starts on page 10.
• California attorney David Sparks explains on his MacSparky website why he decided to purchase an Apple Watch Series 7, upgrading from his Apple Watch Series 5. 
• Speaking of David Sparks, he recently released a DEVONthink Field Guide and I've heard great things about it.  I don't use DEVONthink myself, but if you do, you should check it out.  And even if you don't, David has lots of other useful field guides that can help with topics such as going paperless, using Shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro, the Photos app, Fantastical, and more.
• I enjoyed the Apple Watch Series 7 review written by John Gruber of Daring Fireball.  He explains why the larger display is a very nice improvement this year.
• Justine "iJustine" Ezarik has a great video review of the Apple Watch Series 7.
• Dieter Bohn of The Verge consistently does a great job with his product reviews, especially the videos that are at the top of many of his review, and that remains true for his review of the Apple Watch Series 7.
• Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac shares the story of a person in Chicago whose car was stolen, and he recovered it (with the aid of the police) because of an AirTag that he had hidden in the vehicle.
• Tim Hardwick of MacRumors explains the new iOS 15 feature of being notified if you leave your AirPods Pro behind.
• Hardwick also shares iOS 15 tips and tricks that you may not know.
• John Gruber of Daring Fireball links to a survey finding that 87% of teens have an iPhone and 30% have an Apple Watch. 
• Chance Miller of 9to5Mac shares thoughts on the iPhone 13 Pro Max after using it for a few weeks.
• The iPhone's new Live Text feature makes it easy to take a picture of words and turn it into text.  Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac shares a video showing that students can use Live Text to "steal" notes from other students in a classroom.  The video does a good job of demonstrating how Live Text can capture text that is around you in everyday life.
• Hardy also reviews the Kingston DataTraveler Max, a flash drive that stores up to 1 TB of data and uses USB-C with USB 3.2 Gen 2 to transfer data at up to 1,000MBps.  You can use it with anything that has USB-C, like an iPad or a computer.  It's currently sold out on Amazon and many other stores, but this looks like an incredibly useful device if you need to move around a lot of data.
• And finally, here is a useful video from Apple with 10 helpful Apple Watch tips.  There were some in here that were new to me and/or that I had forgotten about.

[Sponsor] LIT SUITE -- the best litigation apps for the iPad

I'm thrilled to welcome back LIT SOFTWARE as a sponsor of iPhone J.D. this month.  LIT SUITE includes all of the apps that LIT SOFTWARE has been selling since 2010:  TrialPad, TranscriptPad, DocReviewPad, and the newest app, ExhibitsPad.  I have reviewed those apps numerous times over the years, most recently this past February when the apps received big updates when the LIT SUITE was announced.  My guess is that you already know something about these apps, such as the fact that TrialPad makes it easy to present evidence to a judge, jury, arbitrator, or other audience, and that TranscriptPad is the best way to read and annotate deposition transcripts.

Today, I want to focus on a great reason to subscribe to LIT SUITE:  updates.  Since LIT SOFTWARE began in 2010, the company has been famous for its numerous updates.  Sometimes that meant adding great new features to existing apps, such as issue code improvements to TranscriptPad in 2014 or the addition of impeachment slides in TranscriptPad and TrialPad in 2018.  Other times it meant coming out with new apps.

A quick note on that impeachment slide feature:  I made great use of it a few months ago in a Zoom mediation.  We were in the presentations portion of the beginning of the mediation when another attorney said something that I knew was inconsistent with a deposition transcript.  I quickly found the impeachment testimony in the transcript in TranscriptPad, created an impeachment slide, and then exported it to my PowerPoint.  When it was my time to speak and share my PowerPoint slides about 15 minutes later, there was a new, professional-looking slide in my deck that showed everyone that the representation that had just been just made about the witness testimony was incorrect.  Without this feature, it would have been difficult or impossible to create any slide, let alone a slide that looked that good so quickly, especially while I continued to pay attention to the ongoing mediation proceedings.  And the end result was that I had more credibility when I made my pitch about what the evidence in the case would really show and what the case was really worth, which helped to lead to a favorable settlement.

When you purchase a subscription to LIT SUITE, you get every update that LIT SOFTWARE releases.  And just this year, there have already been a bunch of those updates.  For example:

• A brand new app was introduced:  ExhibitsPad.
• You can now share individual transcripts with another TranscriptPad user for collaboration or second pass review.
• TrialPad and DocReviewPad now support Adobe PDF bookmarks when importing Adobe PDF files.
• You can now save bookmarks in documents, and those bookmarks are shared from one app to another.
• A new Speak Transcript feature reads your transcript to you.
• You can now add bookmarks to a transcript in TranscriptPad.
• The user interface was improved this year to make it even easier to view documents.  Not only does everything look better, but you can do more.  For example, the apps now have a document and folder count under the Document List to easily see how many folders or documents there are in a case, or in a section of a case.
• The apps now wrap text to a second line for documents with long names or descriptions.
• The apps have new keyboard shortcuts for power users who use their iPad with an external keyboard.

If you own an older, stand-alone version of one of more of the LIT SOFTWARE apps, those apps continue to work, but they don't include any of these new features that were added this year.  So that alone is a reason to upgrade to the subscription.

But that's just the beginning.  As I noted above, for over a decade, LIT SOFTWARE has continued to update its apps, and that track record shows you how committed the company is to frequent updates.  So you know that more features are coming in the future, and the subscription is the way to get them all.  Many features that are in development are still secret, but LIT SOFTWARE told me about a few things that are planned for the future and gave me permission to share them with you.  Here are some things that they are working on right now:

• The easiest and best video deposition editing available (currently in testing).
• Multitasking support, which will allow you to run a LIT SUITE app side-by-side with Word or another app. 
• The new ability to drag and drop files as a way to import file.  (LIT SOFTWARE tells me that there have been a huge number of requests for that one.)
• LIT SOFTWARE apps on the Mac.  These will be coming out as a public beta, exclusively for LIT SUITE users, this calendar quarter.

Finally, one of the things that I like about LIT SOFTWARE is that the folks behind it are incredibly responsive.  When a customer sends an email, it isn't answered by some bot or an inexperienced customer service representative.  The folks at LIT SOFTWARE answer the emails, and they do a great job of pointing you in the right direction.  They love what they do, and they love helping you do more with their apps.

Whether you are a longtime user of the prior, stand-alone versions of their apps or you are a new customer, I encourage you to give the LIT SUITE subscription a try.  When you download any of the LIT SUITE apps, you get a 7-day free trial so that you can see what you think.  LIT SUITE is an essential part of my law practice, and once you try it, you will see why.

Click here to get LIT SUITE: 

All of the tips so far from the In the News podcast

Every Friday, Brett Burney and I record a new episode of the In the News podcast.  Although most of the show is devoted to discussing the top iPhone and iPad news of the week, we always end the podcast with an "In the Know" segment, in which we share a tip of the week:  a useful feature of the iPhone or iPad, a cool feature in a specific app, an app that you might not know about yet, a useful service, etc.  Our In the Know segment started with our second episode, so now that we have recorded twenty-two episodes, we've shared 42 tips.  And as any fan of the writings of Douglas Adams knows, 42 is a pretty important number.

If you have missed one or more podcast episodes, then you may have missed out on a tip that you would find quite useful.  But fear not because today's post will make it easy catch up.  This post contains every one of our In the Know tips so far.  I have these broken down by episode, and I have provided the precise timestamp in the YouTube version of the episode so you can jump directly to the point where Brett or I explain the tip. 

What if you want to jump straight to the tips in the audio podcast?  That is even easier.  Use the Chapters feature of your podcast app (such as Apple's Podcasts app, Overcast, or Pocket Casts) and you can jump directly to each of the two In the Know segments of each podcast.

If you like the idea of learning tips for getting more out of an iPhone or iPad, then I encourage you to use your podcast player of choice to subscribe to our podcast and to subscribe in YouTube.  That way, you will get all of our tips where they are still fresh.

Episode 2

Brett:  Use The Microsoft Office app on your iPhone to convert a PDF file to a Word document, so that you can edit the document in Word.  23:26

Jeff:  Use the Metapho app on your iPad to change the location, date, or time associated with the photo.  Many months after I shared this tip, Apple added a similar function to the Photos app in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, but it isn't quite as powerful as Metapho.  25:00

Episode 3

Brett:  Using an iPhone 12 or newer device, you can use the Measure app to measure the size of a physical objection or the height of a person.  31:34

Jeff:  SongPop Party, a fun game to play with your family or friends if you have an Apple Arcade subscription.  After first discussing this game with Brett, I then wrote about it on iPhone J.D.  34:20

Episode 4

Brett:  Using the Walkie Talkie app on an Apple Watch.  26:47

Jeff:  The great apps included in the 2021 Apple Design Award finalists.  29:43

Episode 5

Brett:  Two tips this week.  First, in the built-in Notes app, instead of a blank canvas you can use a grid background, a lined background, etc.  Second, in the Messages app, you can forward a specific text message to another person.  28:53

Jeff:  Use the Deliveries app (my 2017 review) to track pages being sent to you (or that you have sent to others).  30:50

Episode 6

Brett:  All of the cool features of the AirPods Pro (which I reviewed in early 2020).  22:10

Jeff:  I explained how you can use the HyperDrive 6-in-1 USB-C Hub (my 2019 review) with the 2021 version of the iPad Pro, which is a little thicker than the prior models.  And if you have an iPad with Lightning instead of USB-C, I explained that you can use Apple Lightning-to-USB3 adapter to do some of the same things.  26:04

Episode 7

Brett:  Use an Apple Watch to locate your iPhone by making your iPhone play a ping sound.  20:20

Jeff:  Use the Camera Remote app on your Apple Watch to remotely control the camera shutter on your iPhone.  Prop up your iPhone on a surface, and then you can be in a picture with your friends of family.  22:30

Episode 8

Brett:  When you are on a road trip, use the iExit app to find out about the restaurants, gas stations, and other places at the upcoming exits on the Interstate.  I wrote a review of an earlier version of this app in 2014.  32:17

Jeff:  Use the Google Voice app to create a free phone number that you can give out to businesses or other third parties when you don't want them to have your real number.  And then you can adjust whether or not you are interrupted by notifications when people text or call that Google Voice number.  34:42

Episode 9

Jeff:  If you are creating a PowerPoint presentation that will contain graphics in it, start by creating the presentation in the Keynote app on an iPad where it is far easier to work with graphics.  Then you can export to PowerPoint and finish up the slides using the PowerPoint software on a PC or Mac.  28:40

Brett:  Use the iPhone as a remote when you are giving a presentation using Keynote on a Mac.  33:00

Episode 10

Brett:  Use the Calculator app on an Apple Watch to calculate the tip at a restaurant.  35:40

Jeff:  The "Honest Trailer" for Ted Lasso Season 1.  38:33

Episode 11

Brett:  In the Messages app, you can hide alerts from a specific group of text messages, also called a "conversation" in the Message app.  27:48

Jeff:  In the Messages app, if you are going to meet someone, here is a quick way to let them know how far away you are or let them track you until you get to them.  30:11

Episode 12

Brett:  Use the Thwip app on an Apple Watch to create funny sounds effects such as air horn, rim shot, sad trombone, crickets, and many more.  32:22

Jeff:  Use the Swipe Scoreboard app on an Apple Watch to track the score of a game that you attending, such as your child's soccer game.  35:43

Episode 13

Brett:  When you have the Live Photos feature turned on, you can add photo effects:  loop, bounce, and long exposure — an effect that is particularly interesting when you take a picture of a waterfall.  27:45

Jeff:  I provided about a dozen examples of things that you might want to keep track of using the built-in Notes app.  31:56

Episode 14

Brett:  Use two fingers to drag across a list of emails (or other items) to more quickly select and act upon multiple items.  31:08

Jeff:  Tips for taking a picture as quickly as possible with a locked iPhone.  33:15

Episode 15

Brett:  Share albums in your Photos app with other people.  27:00

Jeff:  Using the Studio Neat Glif and Hand Grip (my review) to more easily take long videos with your iPhone.  32:36

Episode 16

Brett:  Using the Shazam feature on the iPhone to identify a song.  33:04

Jeff:  How to secure your Wi-Fi router using Apple's HomeKit.  37:29

Episode 17

Brett:  Using the iCloud.com website to access notes in the Notes app — an especially useful tip for accessing your Notes on a PC.  34:47

Jeff:  The Midland ER310 weather radio, a great device to have in your possession if you encounter a natural disaster.  39:34

Episode 18

Brett:  How to reply to a specific text among many text messages in the Messages app.  27:20

Jeff:  Tips for using the Reader View mode on Safari on an iPhone.  30:26

Episode 19

Brett:  A quick way to determine which model of an Apple device you are using.  48:30

Jeff:  The advantages of using the Apple Store app on your iPhone to purchase new products from Apple.  52:44

Episode 20

Brett:  Using the Safari Tab Bar in iOS 15.  33:46

Jeff:  Using widgets on the iPad in iPadOS 15.  40:20

Episode 21

Brett:  Adjusting the Workout view on the Apple Watch.  33:02

Jeff:  Using drag-and-drop on an iPhone using iOS 15.  36:50

Episode 22

Brett:  Using the Group feature in the Files app on the iPad.  29:44

Jeff:  Using the Medical ID feature on the iPhone.  33:03

Now you know 42 tips.  There are more to come, every week!

Podcast episode 22: Siri, a Mini, and the Find My Shimmy

Episode 22 of the In the News podcast is now available.  Brett and I begin by talking about two things that happened 10 years ago, one happy and one sad:  Siri began, and Steve Jobs passed away.  Then we talk about the iPhone mini and the new, enhanced Find My support for AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro Max.  I then share my experiences pre-ordering a new Apple Watch Series 7, and we discuss a new iPad hub.

Finally, in our In the Know segment, Brett shares a great tip for using the Files app on the iPad.  I explain why this is a great time to start using the Medical ID feature on the iPhone — or update it if you did it long ago.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast.  Or you can watch the episode on YouTube: