If you are wearing an Apple Watch and get into an accident, you can hold down the large button on the side of the watch for a few seconds and your watch will call 911 emergency services. Apple explains how this feature works on its website. You can do the same thing with an iPhone by holding the buttons on both sides, as Apple explains on this page. Kylie Gilbert of Shape magazine reports that a woman in Pennsylvania used the feature after getting into a car accident, and she credits her Apple Watch for the saving her life and her son’s life. That’s amazing. Less amazing is that an Apple iPhone repair facility in Sacramento has been making around 20 accidental 911 calls a day, and — as you would expect — Apple is trying to fix that. Hopefully you will never need to use this feature on your own Apple Watch or iPhone, but I encourage you to read the Apple pages on how these features work so that if the need arises, you can get emergency help. And now, the recent news of note:
California attorney David Sparks compares and contrasts Overcast and the Apple Podcasts app, the two best ways to listen to podcasts on an iPhone. As he notes, the Siri integration is the killer advantage of Apple’s app, but I still prefer using Overcast.
Sparks also discusses Apple’s new Close Your Rings page on its website, which encourages folks to get all of the activity circles on an Apple Watch every day. Like David, I try to get all of my circles every day. I was bummed to break a 183-day green circle streak during a recent vacation, but my red and blue circle streaks are still going strong, and keep me motivated to stay much more active than I would be otherwise.
The Lit Software blog explains how California attorney Tom Vidal uses TrialPad, TranscriptPad and DocReviewPad.
David Lumb of Engadget reports that Apple updated iOS and other platforms this week to fix a bug which could cause crashes if you received a single Indian-language character via a text message or some other apps.
I’ve read lots of interviews of Apple CEO Tim Cook over the years, but this week Fast Company published an interview of Cook by Ben Lovejoy, and it is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time, with lots of detail and insight on how Cook sees Apple.
The iPad lacks native support for getting files on or off of a USB thumb drive, but Charlie Sorrel of Cult of Mac describes a workaround using Apple’s Files app and a Sandisk iXpand Drive.
Michelle Martin of Reuters reports that director Steven Soderbergh used an iPhone to create a movie called Unsane, which will premiere at the Berlin film festival.
And finally, here is a fun video on YouTube showing what Siri might have looked like if it was introduced in the 1980s. There are so many things I love about this video. It was produced to look like the tech shows in the 1980s, and the content reminds me of using so many computers I used in the 1980s — an IBM-PC, a Mac, my Commodore 64, and even my Sinclair ZX81 which I equipped with a speech synthesizer. Very clever.
Back in 2012, we threw a big party at my house and put some lights on the fence in my backyard — the small lights on a string that you would put on a Christmas tree. Over five years later, the lights are still out there because they are fun to have, not only when we are in the backyard and it is nighttime, but also when we are in our living room looking out the windows into the backyard. The only problem is that the outdoor outlet at my house is under a porch and behind some plants, so it is a little bit of a pain to access. In early December of 2017, I thought that it might be useful to use a HomeKit-compatible device so that the lights could stay plugged in all the time and I could control them with my iPhone, Apple Watch, etc.
There are two major manufacturers offering such devices. iDevices sells an Outdoor Switch, which has two outlets (controlled simultaneously, not independently) for $80 (currently $53 on Amazon), and iHome sells the iSP100 Outdoor Smart Plug with one outlet for $40 (currently $37.80 on Amazon). There are also some lesser-known manufacturers selling similar devices, but I decided to go with a more trusted brand. I decided to buy the iHome product because at the time it was half the price of the iDevices product, and I only needed one outlet. I’ve now been using the product for over two months. I normally don’t wait that long to write a product review, but because this is something that stays outside and is exposed to the elements, I wanted to give it a longer stretch of time to make sure that it continued to work.
The iHome iSP100 Outdoor Smart Plug works very well. It has worked for me almost 100% of the time, and it gives new life to my outdoor lights because it is now so easy to turn the lights on or off, vastly increasing the number of times that I use and enjoy those lights.
Features
Here is a picture of the iHome iSP100 from the iHome website, to show you what it looks like in pristine condition:
Here is what mine looks like after being outside for a few months, exposed to dirt and the elements:
You download the iHome Control app from the App Store to set up the device. It is quick and easy because you just plug in the outlet and then scan (or type) the code printed on the bottom of the unit. Here is a tip: plug in the device inside of your house, such as into an outlet next to a kitchen counter, when you first set it up. That way it is easy to scan the code on the bottom of the unit. Then unplug it and move it outside and when you plug it in it will already be configured.
There is a mounting tab at the top which you can opt to use if you want to screw the device onto a wall. In my backyard, I just let the device hang from my outlet:
One end of the device has the plug that connects to an outlet. iHome says that you should use a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet, which is hopefully what you already have on any outdoor outlet at your house. That is one of those outlets with buttons in the middle which can sense if there is an imbalance in the amount of current flowing from hot to neutral and can trip the circuit when necessary to prevent a fire.
The other end of the iSP100 has a female plug where you plug in your lights, heater, fan, or other small appliance up to 1800 Watts. For my use, I plugged in an extension cord which was connected to a few strings of lights. You tell the iHome app what kind of device is plugged in so that it uses the correct icon and so that HomeKit knows what it is, and the list of devices included in the iHome Control app gives you some idea of what you can use this device to control: light, fan, heater, air conditioner, dehumidifier, audio, video, router, coffee maker, kettle, toaster, microwave, iron, hair dryer, curling iron, Christmas tree, decoration, power strip, video game. I cannot imagine why you would want to use the iSP100 with some of those devices — such as a toaster or microwave — but maybe I’m just not being creative enough.
The side of the device has two lights and one button:
The WiFi status indicator flashes green when searching for a WiFi network, is solid green when connected, and flashes red when it is disconnected. The power indicator light is illuminated when electricity is flowing through (e.g. your lights are on) and is off when electricity is not flowing.
The button below the two lights can be pressed to manually turn your lights (or whatever else is plugged in) on or off.
My experiences
Like any other HomeKit device, you need to name your device and your room. I called this one my Fence light and made it part of the room Back Yard. Once you use the iHome Control app to initially set up the device, you don’t need to use that app again because the built-in Home app on the iPhone (or iPad, Apple Watch, HomePod, etc.) can control the lights. Having said that, the iHome Control app does give you a way to see a historical log of the power state of the device (when you turned it on and off) and also gives you a way to update the firmware.
Because this device works with HomeKit, I can just tell Siri “turn on my fence light” or “turn off the backyard lights” and within about a second or two, the lights respond. You can also use HomeKit to make the lights go on or off automatically at a certain time of day, such as come on at sunset and then turn off at 11pm. (If you are looking for more information on HomeKit, the latest episode 54 of the Canvas podcast has a good overview.)
Note that the iSP100 is strictly an on-and-off switch. You cannot use this device to dim lights.
Using Siri to control lights inside of the house is nice; you save yourself from getting up off of the couch. But using Siri to control lights in the backyard is VERY nice, saving yourself from putting on shoes, going outside, braving the cold or hot weather, and reaching into an awkward spot. You can also use the Home app on an iPhone or Apple Watch to control the iSP100, and I especially like being able to tap a button on my Apple Watch to almost instantly make outdoor lights turn on or off. It is almost magical.
After using the iHome iSP100 for a few months, my experience has been that it works incredibly well and seems to hold up to the elements. We don’t have snow in New Orleans, but we did have a few days of below-freezing temperatures last month. We had many heavy rainstorms. We had hot and cold weather, and as you can see from the above pictures, some dirt ended up on my iSP100. And through all of that, the iSP100 continued to work fine.
I had one time in December that the device stopped responding. Upon inspection, I found that the circuit had been flipped on my outlet itself; I had to press that little button between the two outlets to reset the outlet. I don’t know if the iHome device had anything to do with that or if it was just my outlet, and it hasn’t happened for two months since then. I also had one time in January when the device stopped responding, and it was some sort of HomeKit issue. I unplugged the iSP100 from the outlet and waited a few seconds and plugged it back in, and it worked again. Unfortunately, HomeKit has hiccups with my other devices too, so I don’t blame the iSP100 for that. Other than those two instances, I’ve turned the lights on and off hundreds of times without any problems at all.
Conclusion
If you want a way to control lights or another appliance that is outside, and if you only need one outlet, the iHome iSP100 works very well. And although I haven’t tried this myself, I suspect that if you spend a few bucks on an outdoor 1-to-3 outlet or power strip, you could use the iSP100 to control multiple outlets simultaneously, which is the one feature additional offered by the more expensive iDevices Outdoor Switch.
[UPDATE 4/24/2020: For about six months, I have been using a slightly different congratulation than what I described in this post. I now have a 50′ outdoor extension cord going from the iHome iSP100 to my fence. I have a very short 1-to-2 extension cord at the end of that. One end of that split goes to the same fence lights I described in the original post. The other end of that split goes to two strands of G40 globe patio lights, which I have hanging from the “ceiling” of a mostly covered area of my backyard to provide light to that area. The iHome iSP100 continues to work great. Sometimes I use Siri to turn the lights on/off. More frequently, I use the HomeRun app on my Apple Watch so that I can easily turn the lights on/off from my watch.]
I’m happy that I purchased the iHome iSP100 and I can recommend it.
I suspect that most readers of this website know that I live in New Orleans, a city that I love. Today is Mardi Gras day in New Orleans, the culmination of many weeks of parades, parties, and other fun events. If you are not down here enjoying the festivities this year, hopefully you have done so in the past or will have a chance to do so in the future. Many folks outside of New Orleans associate Mardi Gras with drinking and debauchery, and I won't deny that you can find that. But Mardi Gras is also a great time for friends and families, including children, to come together, watch parades, and have a good time. That's the Mardi Gras that I love.
Speaking of New Orleans, I should note that this is a a great time to come visit because all throughout 2018, the city is celebrating its tricentennial. The city was founded in the Spring of 1718.
New Orleans started as a French colony (La Nouvelle-Orleans), was then under Spanish rule from 1763 to 1802, was then briefly under French rule again in 1803, and was then sold by Napoleon to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The city survived a huge fire in 1788 (which is why most of the oldest buildings in the city reflect Spanish architecture, not French architecture), a British invasion during the War of 1812, pirates, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans is famous for its fascinating architecture, amazing music (including the birthplace of Jazz), delicious restaurants, and incredible cocktails. My favorite way to celebrate a Sunday is to enjoy all four of those at once — Jazz Brunch at Commander's Palace in the historic Garden District. The National World War II Museum is frequently ranked as one of the best museums in the country. Jazz Fest in late April / early May is one of my favorite events of the year, with great music and even better food — or vice versa, just depending upon your point of view. Kids and adults love the amazing Aquarium, Insectarium and Zoo. On a sunny day, we have refreshing snowballs at places like Hansen's Sno-Bliz, where you can spend only $1.50 to savor something worthy of a James Beard Foundation award. On a breezy day, riding a streetcar down St. Charles Avenue with the window open is a great way to relax and see some beautiful old houses. And because this year is the tricentennial, there are special events planned all year long.
New Orleans is unlike any other city, and the New York Times recently named New Orleans the #1 place to visit in 2018. If you missed coming here for Mardi Gras this year, I encourage you to make plans to visit the Big Easy at some point before 2018 comes to a close.
The big iOS-related news of the week is that Apple starts selling the HomePod today. A number of reviewers have had the chance to try out the product for the last week. The consensus seems to be that the speaker sounds amazing, much better than any of the other smart speakers on the market such as the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Sonos. If you use Apple products like the iPhone and want an external speaker to fill your living room, kitchen, etc. with fantastic sound, the $350 HomePod is perfect for you. The HomePod has Siri built-in, so you can tell it what to do, and reviewers noted that, thanks to some pretty amazing technology, the HomePod does a great job of hearing your voice even when loud music is playing. The main critique of the HomePod is that while Siri works well for controlling music and some other items like your HomeKit-enabled devices such as lights, you cannot ask Siri as many things as you can ask a Google Home or an Amazon Echo. Attorney John Voorhees of MacStories has one of the better roundups of the HomePod reviews, so read that article for more information if you are trying to decide whether or not to buy one. And if you want to dig deep, Rene Ritchie of iMore has one of the most in-depth reviews. And now, the other news of note from the past week:
Jesse Hollington of iLounge reviews the Koogeek Wi-Fi Enabled Smart Outlet, a power strip that works with HomeKit so you can independently control the three outlets using Siri, an iPhone, your HomePod, your Apple Watch, etc. This is the first HomeKit power strip that I’ve seen.
If you backup your iPhone or iPad using iTunes on a computer instead of using iCloud, Glenn Fleishman of Macworld explains what is not made a part of the backup.
And finally, there are two video reviews of the HomePod that are worth watching. Attorney Nilay Patel of The Verge created a very polished video review of the HomePod. And Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal, who has a knack from coming up with an amusing way to approach a video review of tech products, took the HomePod to a theater for this funny and informative video review:
[UPDATE: GoodReader 5 was finally released on January 28, 2019. I’m testing the app now and will post a review soon.]
One of the most important apps for any attorney using an iPad is an app to organize, view and annotate PDF files. There are quite a few excellent choices out there, but for many years my app of choice has been GoodReader. The last major update was GoodReader 4, released in 2014. A lot has changed in the iPad and iOS world since then, so I’ve been eagerly looking forward to the next major update, GoodReader 5. For example, version 4 of the app doesn’t include advanced support for the Apple Pencil like some other apps, nor does the app support multitasking features such as split screen.
The developer of the app, Yuri Selukoff, teased the version 5 release in April 2017, when he said the following on Facebook: “It’s a huge update with a completely new design and new features, some you may not even know you’ll want until you’ve seen them! So fear not, and get ready (or for those of you who’ve been ready, stay ready) – GoodReader 5.0 is on the way!” Throughout 2017 and into early 2018, I saw similar comments from the developer in response to user reviews on the App Store. For example, the developer said: “We understand why the app appears to be abandoned. There have been no updates for quite a while! However, we assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. We’re working around the clock on our biggest update ever, GoodReader 5. It’s going to be huge, with features you didn’t even know you wanted until you’ve seen them. We appreciate your patience!”
In response to another app review noting the lack of support for the features of the iPhone X, the developer responded:
We want to assure you that GoodReader is definitely not abandoned. We guarantee, it is indeed being developed further. We’re still working hard on GoodReader 5 which will be a free, automatic update from GoodReader 4, but we admit it’s taking much longer to complete than we originally estimated. … We do regret that this update is running late, but we assure you it will be a free update from GoodReader 4 to GoodReader 5. Anyone considering purchasing GoodReader for the first time, should know that they can buy GoodReader 4 now and receive GoodReader 5 as a free update — but it’s also not a bad idea to wait until GoodReader 5 is released before deciding whether to buy it or not — that makes perfect sense to me! We hope this clears up any concerns you may have about GoodReader’s continued development into the future.
And in yet another response from the developer, he says: “Our main goal is to make sure it’s done right, and that it lives up to the high standards our users have come to expect from GoodReader.”
A few days ago, I saw that there was an update to GoodReader. At first, I thought that this was the major update we have been waiting for, but then I saw that the update was still part of version 4 — version 4.13.0 to be exact. The developer explained that this was just a minor bug fix and that “we’re finishing our huge GoodReader 5 upgrade … [s]tay tuned for the free major upgrade that is to follow soon!”
If the developer is “finishing” version 5, hopefully that means that we will see it in weeks or months, and won’t have to wait until 2019.
Speaking of the recent update to version 4.13.0, I actually had a problem with that update, and the developer helped me to fix it. While the release notes say that the recent update was apparently supposed to solve some sync issues, that update actually caused me to experience sync problems with Dropbox. After the update, the app crashed for me every time I pressed the button to sync to Dropbox. I reported the bug through the GoodReader website and within just a few hours, the developer gave me a fix. (In case you experience the problem I did: click the gear icon next to Dropbox in the Connect pane of GoodReader, then log out of Dropbox, then log back in again.) I understand that hiccups happen from time to time. I appreciate the developer’s quick response to me with a solution, and hopefully this is a good sign of the attention that the developer is giving to GoodReader as he finishes up the work on version 5.
Last week, Apple released the results for its 2018 fiscal first quarter (which ran from October 1, 2017 to December 30, 2017, and did not actually include any days from calendar year 2018) and held a call with analysts to discuss the results. This is typically Apple’s best quarter of the year because of holiday sales. It was actually Apple’s best quarter ever in terms of revenue, with revenue of $88.3 billion (compared to $78.4 billion a year ago, which was the previous all-time record). If you want to get all of the nitty gritty details, you can download the audio from the announcement conference call from iTunes, or you can read a rough transcript of the call prepared by Seeking Alpha. Jason Snell of Six Colors also prepared a transcript. Apple’s official press release is here.
It is interesting that Apple has, once again, had a record quarter in revenue. But as always, I’m not particularly interested in the financial aspects of this call. Instead, I’m interested in the statements of Apple executives that pertain to the use of the iPhone and iPad. Here are the items that stood out to me:
iPhone
Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones in the last fiscal quarter. That is slightly less than it sold in the 2016 calendar year holiday quarter one year earlier, when Apple sold 78.3 million iPhones. However, note that Apple’s fiscal quarters are usually 14 weeks long, but 2018 Q1 was only 13 weeks long. If there had been 14 weeks in this fiscal quarter like there was in 2017 Q1, I’m sure that Apple would have sold a record number of iPhones.
While sales were slightly down, revenue was up. A year ago, iPhone revenue was $54.4 billion; this time it was $61.6 billion. Why did Apple make more money selling fewer iPhones? The explanation is that in the last fiscal quarter, Apple started selling the iPhone X, the most impressive — and most expensive — iPhone ever sold. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the iPhone was a “key driver” in Apple seeing the highest-ever revenue last quarter.
Apple said during the call that the iPhone X was the top selling iPhone every week that it was on sale. That makes it sound like there was more interest in the new iPhone X than the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but keep in mind that the two iPhone 8 models went on sale September 15, 2017 and the iPhone X didn’t go on sale until November 3, 2017. Thus, a lot of folks interested in buying an iPhone 8 had six weeks to get one when it was the only brand new iPhone, and this may be part of the reason that the iPhone X was the most in-demand iPhone during the weeks that it was on sale.
Tim Cook said that with the iPhone X, “[o]ur team has put the technology of tomorrow in our customers’ hands today, [and] set a standard for the next decade of smartphones.”
By my count, Apple has now sold over 1.3 billion iPhones.
iPad
Apple sold 13.2 million iPads in the last fiscal quarter. By my count, Apple has now sold over 394 million iPads.
Who bought those iPads last quarter? Apple says that just over half were sold to folks upgrading from another iPad, and just under half were sold to folks who were first-time tablet buyers or who were switching to an iPad from a different tablet.
Four years ago, in the 2014 fiscal first quarter, Apple sold almost twice as many iPads (26 million). But the 13.2 million number this quarter is good news for Apple in terms of iPad sales. For three and a half years, fewer iPads were sold every quarter. Apple started to reverse the trend in its 2017 fiscal third quarter, and sales went up again this quarter, marking three quarters in a row that Apple has seen a year-over-year increase in iPad sales. The easiest way to see this is to look at a chart that shows the average of four quarters of iPad sales over time. In the following chart, the blue line shows the actual iPad sales each quarter (in millions), and you can see the peaks every year in Apple’s fiscal first quarter — the holiday quarter, when folks buy lots of iPads as presents. The green bars show the average of the current quarter and the prior three quarters, which gives you a better sense of iPad sales over time. As this chart shows, the iPad was introduced in 2010 and saw a sharp rise in sales until the end of calendar year 2013 (the beginning of Apple’s fiscal year 2014), followed by a decrease in iPad sales over time, and then finally a slight increase in the past three quarters.
Other
Apple said that the App Store set a new all-time revenue record. During the week of Christmas, folks spent $890 million at the App Store. On New Year’s day, App Store revenue was $300 million.
Down here in New Orleans, we are preparing for the first of two big weekends of Mardi Gras, leading up to Mardi Gras day itself. I’m looking forward to enjoying the parades with my kids, friends, and family, and I’m sure that I’ll be using my iPhone X to take lots of photos and videos. Carey Rose of Digital Photograph Review takes photography very seriously, and wrote this review of the iPhone X as a still and video camera. It won’t surprise you that there is a lot to like. And now, the news of note from the past week:
Josh Ginter of The Sweet Setup says that Things 3 is the best task-management app for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. My wife uses this app to manage all of her tasks, and it works well for her.
In a stream of tweets, Bethany Bongiono, a former Apple employee who led software development as the iPad was developed, shares some interesting stories about Steve Jobs and the debut of the iPad.
Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reviews Outcast, an Apple Watch app that lets you play podcasts that are downloaded to the watch (and thus can be played even when your iPhone is not nearby).
Apple VP Phil Schiller discusses the HomePod in an interview with Bob Ankosko of Sound & Vision.
At this point, I’m not planning to get a HomePod for the reason illustrated in this comic by The Pixel Project. But I might change my mind in the future.
Rachel Cericola of Wirecutter explains why the Lutron Caséta in-wall dimmer is the best one on the market. I reviewed this product back in 2015 and it continues to work really well for me, as do other Lutron Caséta products. If you are looking to use HomeKit to maker your home a smart home, this is the route that I recommend.
Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reviews the Elgato Eve Button, a button that you can place anywhere in your house which people can press to cause HomeKit scenes to occur. This allows folks in your house to use a button, instead of an iPhone, to control HomeKit devices such as lights.
And finally, speaking of Mardi Gras, here is a fun video from Apple Brazil showing off the selfie feature of the iPhone X as used by folks enjoying Carnival in Brazil. The people in this video are very colorful, in every sense of the word:
