iPhone J.D.

A new look for Microsoft apps

Yesterday, when I went to go use the Microsoft Word app on my iPad Pro, I stumbled a bit when I couldn't find the icon for the app in my Dock.  After a few seconds, I realized the cause of my confusion:  Microsoft has introduced new icons for its apps, the first icon refresh for the Office apps in five years.  Jon Friedman, the head of Microsoft Office design, wrote a post on Medium almost five months ago describing the new app icons, but I wasn't aware of that article until I started to do some research yesterday.  According to Friedman, Microsoft decided to "decouple the letter and the symbol in the icons, essentially creating two panels (one for the letter and one for the symbol) that we can pair or separate."  Here is what the new icons look like for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for iOS (click for larger version):

Friedman says that the new design "allows us to maintain familiarity while still emphasizing simplicity inside the app.  Separating these into two panels also adds depth, which sparks opportunities in 3D contexts. Through this flexible system, we keep tradition alive while gently pushing the envelope."

Another change is that the new icons no longer have an outline on them indicating a document.  "Whereas prior Office icons had a document outline for Microsoft Word and a spreadsheet outline for Excel, we now show lines of text for Word and individual cells for Excel. By focusing on the content rather than any specific format, these icons embody the collaborative nature of the apps they represent."

The one change that, at least for now, I'm not a big fan of is reducing the size of the letter.  I liked seeing a big W for Word, a big X for Excel, etc.  Friedman explains the change this way:  "Traditionally, the letter occupied two-thirds of the icon, and the symbol took up one-third. We’ve changed this ratio to now emphasize the symbol because while the letter represents the tool itself, the symbol speaks more to people’s creations."  I'm not sure that I agree with this, but hopefully I'll get used to it.

The new icons were introduced first in Microsoft's mobile apps.  Eventually the changes will come to the desktop apps.  For a company like Microsoft that has been so synonymous with the PC for so many years, it is interesting to see the latest-and-greatest on an iPad before it is on a computer.

In the news

I take lots of photographs, both with my iPhone and with my Nikon DSLR camera.  It used to be that I edited all of my photos using the Photos app (and before that iPhoto) or Photoshop Elements on my Mac.  However, in recent years I've started to do more photo editing on my iPad.  This week, an app called Pixelmator Photo was released, and it does a very nice job of improving photographs.  There are lots of things that you can tweak for fine control, plus there are buttons with an "ML" on them, indicating that the app will use Machine Learning to try to make intelligent choices about the best edits for your photo, allowing you to try to improve your photo with just one tap.  Illinois attorney John Voorhees wrote a helpful review of Pixelmator Photo for MacStories.  The app is fairly powerful and only costs $4.99.  If you are looking for a good way to use your iPad to improve your photos you should check out Pixelmator Photo.  And now, the news of note from this past week:

• Lit Software, maker of TrialPad, TranscriptPad, and DocReviewPad, posted an update on its website about its progress on the next generation of its apps.  One of the new features will be better collaboration between users and between the apps themselves. 
• New York attorney Nicole Black discusses a State Bar of Texas ethics opinion from September 2018, Opinion 680, which concludes that lawyers can store confidential information on cloud services in most situations.  You can read Opinion 680 at this link, and the conclusion of the opinion is:  "Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer may use a cloud-based electronic data storage system or cloud-based software document preparation system to store client confidential information or prepare legal documents. However, lawyers must remain alert to the possibility of data breaches, unauthorized access, or disclosure of client confidential information and undertake reasonable precautions in using those cloud-based systems."
• Rene Ritchie of iMore reviews the second-generation AirPods, which I reviewed earlier this month.
• David Pogue of the New York Times has tips for being more efficient with your iPhone by reducing the number of taps it takes to get things done.
• Josh Ginter of The Sweet Setup discusses all of the ways to add tasks to the Things app.
• Leif Johnson of Macworld offers tips for using an Apple HomePod.
• Christopher Null of TechHive has recommendations for selecting smart plugs, including devices compatible with Apple's HomeKit technology.
• And finally, here is an amusing video released on April 1, 2019, by Funny Or Die called The Sound Gardner, which purports to show where AirPods come from:

Amazon Go -- shopping without a checkout or a line

Yesterday, I saw a notification on my Apple Watch alerting me that starting at 4pm, I could get a discount on sandwiches, wraps, and sushi at the Amazon Go store.  That notification wasn't very helpful to me considering that I'm in New Orleans and the closest Amazon Go store is in Chicago, almost 1,000 miles away.  Nevertheless, it did remind me that I had checked out this interesting store when I was in Chicago for ABA TECHSHOW last month.  It is a fascinating concept for a store:  grab what you want and then just walk right out; the store knows you are because of your smartphone and just sends you your receipt.

There are currently Amazon Go stores located in Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco.  The store I visited is located at 111 E Wacker Drive, and it had opened just a few weeks before I visited.

Before you enter the store, you need to download the Amazon Go app.  There is a QR code on that app (which I smudged out in this picture) that you use to enter the store.

After you enter the store, just look at the shelves and pick up what you want.  As you do so, the store senses that you have taken the item and adds it to your virtual cart.  (I wasn't able to figure out how to see a list of the items in my virtual cart while in the store.) 

After you have picked up whatever you want, you just walk out of the store.  There are no cashiers, and perhaps more importantly, no line.

I have to admit, it sort of felt like I was stealing items to just walk out of the store without talking to anyone.  But helpful signs reminded me as I left that I had done the right thing.

The fact that there are no cashiers doesn't mean that there are no employees.  To the contrary, it seemed like I saw more Amazon employees in that store than I would see in a typical convenience store of the same size.  But some of the employees told me that there were more employees than normal just because the store was so new. 

I expected the app to tell me right after I left the store that it knew that I purchased something.  Instead, I had to wait several minutes before the app told me about my purchase.  But it was correct.  I picked up a large, fancy Rice Krispie treat, and the app knew about it.

Later on, I received an email confirming that Amazon had charged the credit card I keep on file with Amazon for my purchase.

I see that the app tells me that I was in the store for over four minutes, but most of that time was just me figuring out how it worked and talking to employees.  If I had not been a newbie and I knew what I wanted to purchase, I could easily see myself going in the store, getting some items, and leaving in like 20 seconds.  Suffice it to say that shopping at Amazon Go can be much faster than a traditional store.

Here is a video from Amazon describing the Amazon Go stores:

I don't know what the future is for the Amazon Go stores, and I'm not expecting one to show up in New Orleans any time soon.  But it was a very interesting shopping experience, and I suspect that folks who live or work near one of these stores find them convenient.

Review: Catalyst Waterproof Case for iPhone Xs -- protection from the elements, plus underwater photography

A few weeks ago when my kids had a week off of school for Mardi Gras, my family took a trip to Hawaii, visiting the islands of O'ahu and Kaua'i.  We had fabulous time seeing amazing sights such as beautiful waterfalls, enjoyed the food, and saw lots of rainbows.  But some of the best parts of the trip involved being near and in the water.  Hawaii has some truly spectacular beaches.  My kids and I went snorkeling with turtles just off of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu on the island of O'ahu, and we also went snorkeling at Poipu Beach on the island of Kaua'i.

In preparation for the trip, I thought it would be fun to take some underwater pictures and videos when we were snorkeling.  Thus, I researched the options, and ultimately selected the Catalyst Waterproof Case for iPhone XS, which costs $89.99 on Amazon.  It worked great.

The case

The case is a perfect, snug fit on the iPhone.  It takes less than a 15 seconds to open the case, fit the iPhone inside, and then ensure a tight lock on all of the sides. 

A port flips open on the bottom of the case so that you can charge it with a Lightning cable, but then closes securely when you are not charging so that no water can get it.

There is a dial on the side which you can turn to flip the mute switch on and off.  And there are buttons you can press to increase and decrease the volume — or, more importantly, take a picture when the camera is underwater.  You can't tap an iPhone's screen when it is underwater, so having access to the volume up button, which you can press to take a photo, is critical for underwater photography.

The case comes with a lanyard which you can wrap around your wrist.  That way, even if your iPhone were to slip out of your hand (which never happened to me), the lanyard would stop it from sinking in the water.

The edges of this case have rubber on them, giving you some protection if you drop your iPhone.  This is smart because there is probably a higher risk of dropping an iPhone when it is wet.

The back of the case is designed so that the two cameras can take pictures and videos.

With the iPhone in this case, I had no trouble touching the screen of my iPhone.  Just touch the plastic cover and the iPhone's screen registers everything.  You can also talk on the iPhone as a phone even when it is in the case; both the microphone and the speaker still work.

If you are going to be using your iPhone in an environment in which it could be exposed to the elements — water, snow, dust, sand — this case seems to provide great protection.

Pictures and videos

The main reason I purchased this case was to use the camera underwater.  And for this purpose it worked very well, as you can see for yourself.  I was able to get some great pictures and fantastic video using this case.  Here are some sample pictures:

Note that I reduced the size of all of those pictures to make this page load more quickly.  For an example of a higher quality photo, you can click here to download a 3.6 MB version of the fourth picture.

Most of the pictures I took in this case were underwater pictures, but sometimes I would take an above-water picture and those came out well too with the case on.  For example, there was a monk seal resting on the beach next to where we were snorkeling, so I took this picture with my iPhone in the case:

Pictures in this case came out nicely, but I especially enjoyed using this case to take video.  As good as the iPhone is as a camera, I think that it is an even better video camera.  And that is definitely true when underwater.  Here is a two minute video, in 4K, showing some of the great results that you can get when filming underwater video.  I also included some above-water clips so that you can see that, even with the case covering the iPhone, it did a great job of picking up colors such as the blue sky and the orange-and-yellow sail on the catamaran:

Conclusion

At $89, this is not a cheap case.  I always have reservations about purchasing a more expensive case because whenever I upgrade to a new iPhone, the case won't work with the new phone.  But if you are going to be using your iPhone in an environment in which you want to protect it from the elements, this case works really well.  And even when you are in less extreme environments, you could use this as a "normal" case to give the iPhone additional protection against bumps and scratches.

If, like me, you want to take underwater photos and videos, this case is great fun.  I have some amazing videos of my son and daughter underwater playing with fish and checking out turtles, and these videos will be fun for my family to watch for many decades.  I look forward to using this waterproof case again when my family takes a beach trip this summer.  When I'm on the beach, I won't need to worry about sand, and when I'm in the Gulf of Mexico, I won't need to worry about the saltwater, and I can even take pictures and videos.

If you are looking for a waterproof case, I can definitely recommend the cases sold by Catalyst, including this  model for the iPhone XS.

Click here to get the Catalyst Waterproof Case for iPhone XS ($89.99 on Amazon)

Click here to get the Catalyst Waterproof Case for other iPhone models

In the news

This week, many reviews were posted of the new iPad Air 3.  Here is a good one from Rene Ritchie of iMore.  Nathan Ingraham of Engadget. calls it "just right."  And Jason Cross of Macworld calls it The Sweet Spot.  If you want to get a lot done with your iPad in a law practice, the iPad Pro is fantastic, and I wouldn't want to live without the 12.9" screen on the larger version.  But if you don't want to spend that much money, the iPad Air 3 looks like a fantastic product for many attorneys.  I've already recommended it to multiple people at my law firm who were looking to upgrade from an older iPad but couldn't justify the cost of an iPad Pro.  And now, the other news of note from this week:

• Brett Burney of the Apps in Law website and podcast reviews Terminology, a sophisticated dictionary / thesaurus that appears to be especially useful on an iPad.
• Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reviews Lutron's new HomeKit-compatible Fan Speed Control.
• Christine Chan of iMore shows off some fun stickers that you can use to customize your AirPods Charging Case.
• Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac discusses the new Anker PowerCore Fusion, a USB-C wall charger that you can also take with you and use as a portable battery.
• Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac reports that Apple's Clips app was updated this week. It now includes a fun camcorder filter, plus blue background title cards similar to what camcorders used to produce, so that you can use the latest technology to make something that looks like it was made in the 1980s.
• And finally, this week Apple released on YouTube a three-minute short movie called The Underdogs.  It tells the story of a scrappy team of office workers with a chance to sell their great idea.  The point of the video is to show off how the iPad and other Apple products can be used to get work done, but the video itself is funny and nicely done.  Worth watching:

Fixing "This app is no longer shared with you"

One of the nice features of the App Store and the Family Sharing feature is that any app that you purchase can also be used, at no additional charge, by other family members.  It won't surprise you to learn that I purchase more apps than the other members of my family, but I don't purchase every app.  For example, my wife is very organized and has made good use of apps that help you to stay organized.  Her current app is choice is the Things app, and after watching her use the app, I decided to start using it to keep track of my own tasks.

This past Monday morning, I arrived at the office and tapped the Things app, expecting it to launch so that I could select a task to work on first.  Instead, I saw an error message:  "This app is no longer shared with you.  To use it you must buy it from the App Store."  After a split second of wondering if I had done something wrong to cause my wife to stop sharing an app with me, I decided that this must be some sort of error and researched how to fix it.  I found a solution, and I also picked up some additional knowledge that might be useful in other situations.

Here is the fix that worked for me.  Open the Settings app, tap General and then tap iPhone Storage.  You will see all of your apps listed, sorted by how much space each app takes.  Tap on the app at issue and then select Offload App.  This allows you to remove the app from your iPhone but it retains all of your documents and data associated with the app. 

After the app was gone, I could download a fresh copy from the App Store, and this time the app realized that I was part of a family in which one member had previously purchased the app.  I launched the app successfully, all of my data was there, and I could get about my work.

I've had times in the past when an app has caused me problems, and as a fix I have deleted the app and downloaded a new copy.  But I've never really focused before on this Offload App feature, which is a better way to remove an app because you retain your user data.  Hopefully it will be a while before I next need to remove an app causing problems, but when I do, I'll certainly take advantage of the Offload App feature.

And finally, if your iPhone or iPad is running short on space, you can always use the Offload App feature for its intended purpose — freeing some space while retaining the ability to restore a deleted app in the future.

Review: Apple AirPods (2nd generation) -- the best headphones for your iPhone get even better

Just over two years ago, I posted a review of the original version of Apple's AirPods.  My review was glowing because they instantly made the list of my all-time favorite products from Apple.  They feel like they weigh nothing in your ears and they don't fall out, they let you avoid the numerous frustrations associated with having a cord run from your ears to your iPhone, and the convenient charging case gives you an easy place to store them which also keeps them charged. 

I also like being able to double-tap on each AirPod to trigger a gesture.  In my original review, I noted having problems getting this gesture to work reliably, but Apple solved that with a software update.  In September 2017, Apple released iOS 11, adding the ability to assign a different gesture for each AirPod.  (For me, I'd tap my left AirPod to trigger Siri and my right AirPod to play/pause.)  

I used my AirPods every single day, sometimes for hours each day, since early 2017.  As I started to near two years of use, I noticed that the battery in each AirPod wasn't lasting as long, especially in my right AirPod — which makes sense, because sometimes I would use just one AirPod instead of both of them, and I virtually always used the right AirPod when I was using just one.  For listening to music or podcasts, my AirPods were only lasting about an hour, and for phone calls they would last about 20-30 minutes.  Each AirPod is very small, which means that the rechargeable battery inside of each AirPod is tiny, and apparently after two years of recharging, the ability of each battery to hold a charge had decreased substantially.  It was still fast and easy to charge the AirPods in the charging case, but having to do that much more often wasn't any fun.

Because the batteries were starting to wear out of this device that I use every day, I was in the market for a new pair of AirPods when Apple announced the second generation AirPods.  I purchased the model with the normal Charging Case (not the Wireless Charging Case — more on that below.)   I’ve been using them for almost a week now, and they work great.  

Much is the same

In most ways, the second generation AirPods are the same as before.  The AirPods and the charging case look the same.  The only real difference is that after carrying the original charging case every day for over two years, it is more scratched up and the white color is no longer quite as bright as a new pair.

Engraving

Although the case looks the same as before, you now have the option to add custom laser engraving.  This is especially nice when you have multiple people using AirPods in the same household because it can sometimes be confusing to tell which AirPods belong to which person.  There is no charge for the engraving.  You can fit around 15-20 characters depending upon the width of the characters you use.  I had no trouble fitting “iPhone J.D.” on my Charging Case.

More call time

Because the batteries in my original AirPods were starting to wear out, I knew that any new AirPods were going to last much longer for me, even new first generation AirPods.  But one unique advantage of the second generation AirPods is that Apple has improved battery life when you are on a call.  The original AirPods could be used for up to five hours of listening between charges or two hours of a phone call.  I have had quite a few long conferences calls when my AirPods started to run out of battery.  (To address this, I would take out one AirPod and charge it for a few minutes, and then replace it and charge the other AirPod, using only one ear to participate in the conference call during those times.)

The second generation AirPods can go up to three hours for a phone call.  I have no doubt that the 50% increase in talk time is going to be valuable to me when I am taking long calls out of the office on my iPhone.

Speaking of using the AirPods to talk on the phone, I see that Rene Ritchie of iMore has reported that the second generation AirPods improve microphone reception during windy weather.  I haven’t had a chance to test that myself, but those of you in Chicago and other windy cities will appreciate that.

Switch between devices more quickly

Although I usually use my AirPods with my iPhone, I frequently switch them to another device, such as my iPad, my Apple Watch, or the iMac I use at home.  Switching with the first generation AirPods would usually take 5 to 6 seconds.  Switching between devices is twice as fast with the new AirPods.  Saving 2-3 seconds doesn’t sound like a lot, but I notice it, and really appreciate it, every single time I switch devices.  This is a small change, but I really like it.

Hey Siri — without tapping a button

Talking to Siri with AirPods has always been useful, such as when I want to send someone a text message or initiate a phone call without having to reach for my iPhone.  Thus, I assigned a double-tap on my left AirPod to initiate Siri.  But with the second generation AirPods, you can just say “Hey Siri” out loud followed by your instruction.  

This makes it easier to use Siri because I don’t have to double-tap an AirPod first, but more importantly for me, it allows me to use the double-tap of my left AirPod to perform a different function.  I now have it assigned to Next Track, which is useful when I using the Overcast app to listen to a podcast because the Next Track function will skip the podcast forward by 30 seconds, useful for skipping a commercial that I’ve already heard and don’t need to hear again.  (In Overcast, you can adjust that to 7, 15, 30, 45, or 60 seconds.)

The hinge

This may sound silly if you have never used an AirPods Charging Case before, but there is something incredibly satisfying about opening and closing the case.  It just feels and sounds right, so much so that sometimes when I am fidgeting, I find myself just opening and closing the case.  And I know that I’m not alone in doing that.

I can’t see, feel, or hear any difference in the second generation Charging Case, but iFixIt took the new Charging Case apart and discovered:  “This machined metal hinge looks sturdier compared to the last generation's, and it definitely has the adhesive to match.”  iFixIt was reviewing the wireless version of the Charging Case so perhaps that accounts for the difference, but the hinge was such a nice feature of the first generation AirPods case that it would be great if Apple did find a way to make it more durable.

Wireless Charging Case

The second generation AirPods cost the same $159 as the prior model.  However, for an additional $40, you can purchase AirPods with a Wireless Charging Case.  Or you can purchase a Wireless Charging Case on its own for $79 to use them with your first generation AirPods.

I’ve now owned two iPhones that support wireless charging, and I’ve never found this feature to be all that important.  I don’t find it that cumbersome to use a Lightning cord to charge an iPhone, and you can charge an iPhone much faster with a cord than with a wireless Qi charger.  I understand why folks find them convenient, and I have used them from time to time, but it is just not a big deal to me.

Similarly, it has never been a problem for me to use a cord to charge an AirPods Charging Case, especially because they charge so quickly.  Even though my first generation AirPods were having issues with the battery, my charging case was doing fine and continued to last a long time before needing to be recharged.

In 2016, Apple announced that it was coming out with its own wireless charger called AirPower which would be better than all of the other Qi chargers on the market because it could charge up to three devices at once (such as an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods charging case).  However, Apple announced last week that it is canceling that long-overdue product because Apple couldn’t get the engineering to work.  If Apple had released the AirPower and I had purchased one, maybe I would have found a Wireless Charging Case to be more useful, but with Apple’s announcement, that will no longer be an issue for me.

If wireless charging matters to you, you may consider it worth the extra $40 when you are purchasing second generation AirPods, and I’m glad that this is now an option.  It didn’t seem worth it to me, and so far I haven’t regretted that decision at all.

Conclusion

All of the improvements I described above are minor.  But taken together, they make the already great AirPods even better.  If you are already using first generation AirPods and they are not (yet) having battery problems, then I do not recommend that you upgrade.  But if you are like me and you wore out your original AirPods, it is nice to have some new features when you get a new pair.  

If you are not yet using AirPods, and if you ever use your iPhone or iPad to make sound to watch a video, listen to music, listen to podcasts, etc., then I think that you will love the AirPods.  This is especially true if you own an Apple Watch because you can connect an Apple Watch to a pair of AirPods and then leave your iPhone and other devices at home, streaming music or podcasts directly from the watch to the AirPods.

Click here to get the second generation AirPods on Amazon ($159)

In the news

Apple started shipping some of its new products this week.  I'm typing this on my new iMac, the first iMac I've ever used without a hard drive (I have a 2 TB SSD).  Also, the second generation of Apple's AirPods are now available, and I received mine on Wednesday.  I'll post a review after I've used them for a little bit longer, but AirPods have always been one of my all-time favorite Apple products.  California attorney David Sparks has already decided that he is a big fan, and he pointed a video review of the new AirPods which you can watch on YouTube.  Federico Viticci of MacStories also posted an interviewing review.  In an article for GQ, Jon Wilde interviewed Jony Ive, Apple's chief design officer, to discuss what makes the AirPods special.  And now, the other news of note from the past week:

• California attorney David Sparks reviews Cardhop, an app that was previously available for the Mac and is now available for iOS.  The app was developed by the same team that created the great Fantastical app, and Cardhop aims to be a better version of the Contacts app.  Sparks created a series of video tutorials for the new iOS version, which you can watch at this location.  I purchased the $3.99 app and I'm still kicking the tires on it, but is looks like a nice app.  I like being able to see all upcoming birthdays just by tapping one button.
• Ryan Christoffel of MacStories also posted a useful review of Cardhop.
• In an article for ABA Journal, Kate Silver asks whether court bans on litigants using an iPhone impair access to justice.  Here in Louisiana, there are many courthouses which let attorneys use an iPhone but don't allow litigants bring a phone into the courthouse, which I've always thought was unfortunate.  There are certainly times when a litigant is in court all day and needs to stay in touch with the outside world.  I know that it is a complicated issue, with judges worried about improper use within a courtroom, but it seems to me that creating policies short of an outright ban makes more sense.
• Apple's new News+ service is now available, and you can try it for free for the first 30 days.  Federico Viticci of MacStories created a list of the 251 magazines currently available as a part of a News+ subscription.
• Apple's Keynote app was updated to version 5.0 yesterday, and Apple has a page on its website describing what is new.  One nice new feature is that you can use the Apple Pencil or your finger to draw a path to animate an object across a slide.  You can also now create a media placeholder, a defined area in a slide where you can quickly add an image or movie.  It looks like a nice update to an essential app for anyone who gives presentations from an iPad.
• Speaking of Keynote, while the iPad is perfect for creating a presentation, don't forget that you can give that presentation from your iPhone.  I gave a presentation at a partnership meeting a few weeks ago that was not taking place at my office.  Instead of taking my iPad, which I wasn't going to need after the presentation, I just brought my iPhone and put a Lightning-to-HDMI dongle in my pocket.  That was all that I needed to give the presentation from my iPhone, and I didn't have to worry about finding a secure place for my iPad or a computer after I was done.
• Apple updated its Shortcuts app to version 2.2 this week.  Federico Viticci of MacStories is an expert on using that app, and he posted a good review of the new features in Shortcuts.  One new feature I like the ability to append something to a note in the Notes app.  For example, this allows you to create a simple shortcut to add items to a list.
• And finally, Apple posted lots of videos from its presentation which took place on Monday this week.  For example, here is a teaser of some of the shows coming to Apple TV+ this Fall.  Other folks posted some interesting videos too; how bizarre to see Oprah Winfrey, Reese Withersppon, Jennifer Garner, and Rashida Jones standing on the Apple campus talking about being Apple Girls.  But my favorite video on Monday was the video which opened the presentation, a colorful throwback to movie openers of the 1960s with creative use of Apple's product lineup.  This is a fun video and is worth watching:

Apple releases iOS 12.2 -- Apple News+, better Safari search, Logitech Crayon support, etc.

Yesterday, Apple previewed its upcoming Apple TV+ service and Apple Arcade game service (coming out this Fall) and its Apple Card credit card (coming out this Summer).  Apple also released iOS 12.2, which adds immediate support for Apple's new Apple News+ service.  For a $9.99 monthly fee (free for the first month), you get access to articles from hundreds of magazines, articles from the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, and other sources.  There are virtually no ads (for some issues of some magazines you see a PDF version of the full issue which includes ads, but for most newer articles you don't see ads), your privacy is ensured (feel free to ready Us Weekly and Star while others assume you are reading The New Yorker), and the monthly fee covers your entire family (for up to six members).  I've just started to try it out, and it is fun to be able to read interesting articles from magazines that I would probably never go out and purchase, even if I had a long layover in an airport. 

Having said that, note that if you have a library card from your local library, you may already have free access to electronic versions of digital magazines on your iPad using an app such as Flipster.  Contact your local library for more details.

iOS 12.2 also adds a useful search enhancement to Safari.  In the past, as you started to type search terms in the search bar, Safari gave you suggestions of what you might be trying to find.  If you saw exactly what you are looking for, you could just tap it and go.  But what if the suggestion is just PART of what you are looking for?  For example, let's stay I was looking for the New Orleans Saints schedule from back in 2016.  If I type New Orleans Saints one of the suggested options is New Orleans Saints schedule:

In the past, tapping on that would give me the current schedule, which is not what I want.  But now, instead of tapping on "new orleans saints schedule" (which would immediately perform a search for those four words) I can tap on the arrow to the right of that entry.  That adds the words to my search bar without hitting Go so that I can continue to type, in this case adding 2016 at the end.  Now I can hit Go and run the search that I want.  I love this feature and I suspect that I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.

If you own an iPad Pro, iOS 12.2 also adds support for the Logitech Crayon, which was introduced in early 2018.  At only $69, the Crayon is much less expensive than the $129 Apple Pencil 2, and the Crayon includes much of the guts of an Apple Pencil inside of it.  If you aren't sure how much you want to use a stylus, the Crayon might be a good option for you.  Having said that, note that the Crayon can't attach to the iPad Pro using magnets, doesn't have inductive charging, doesn't support pressure sensitivity, and doesn't support double-tap on the side of the stylus to switch devices.

iOS 12.2 also improves support for AirPlay 2, adds new Animoji (shark, giraffe, owl, and warthog), adds greater customization to the Downtime feature (customize based on the day of the week).  There is now support for the second generation AirPods (which should be customers' hands starting this week), and lots of other smaller improvements.

And finally, like every iOS update, iOS 12.2 enhances security in numerous ways and patches bugs — and for this reason alone you should update all of your devices.

Apple to announce new video service and more today

Today at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern, Apple is holding an event at its Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, CA to announce its new video service, and perhaps other new services as well.  (A news service and a game service are both the subject of rumors.) 

You can watch a live stream of the event on this page on Apple's website. Normally, a page like that would start showing video about a minute or so before the event starts.  But this time, Apple actually turned on the camera yesterday — or perhaps, more likely, prepared something to stream so that it looks like that is what is going on.  When I checked it out last night, I just saw feeds from various cameras showing a dark, empty theater, such as these:

However, Joe Rossignol of MacRumors reports that Apple has done some fun things over the hours, including showing videos on the stage, a fake iMessage conversation, etc.

[UPDATE:  Apple finally ended the pre-event live stream at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern.  One of the last things I noticed in the stream this morning was a CarPlay screen showing someone driving to the Steve Jobs theater, arriving around 6:40 Pacific.]

For many years now, Apple has typically avoiding entering an existing market unless it could be a dominant player.  I'm fascinated to see the service that Apple proposes to bring to the streaming video market today, and it will be interesting to watch over the next few years how Apple does in this market.