On July 10, 2008, Apple opened the App Store, stocked with 500 apps. There are now over two million apps in the App Store. I wasn’t planning on talking about the 10th anniversary of the App Store until next week, but yesterday Apple released an interesting “feature” story about the ten years of the App Store, and it is a great read. This isn’t just a boring press release; it is a detailed story featuring quotes from lots of individuals who have had something to do with the App Store’s success. And now, the other news of note from the past week:
- Malcom Owen of AppleInsider explains why the 10.5″ iPad Pro is a great iPad to use when getting work done. For most attorneys, that probably is the best iPad to get, but I really like the 12.9″ size and I can’t imagine ever wanting to go back to a smaller size.
- British defense secretary Gavin Williamson was speaking to the House of Commons when Siri started talking too — probably triggered when he mentioned Syria. The resulting short video is amusing, posted by Malcolm Owen of AppleInsider.
- Apple is rebuilding the maps in its Maps app. Matthew Panzarino of Tech Crunch talked to a number of folks at Apple and has all of the details.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac reviews some of the best password managers for iOS and macOS.
- Andrew O’Hara of AppleInsider reviews the Olloclip for iPhone X, an external lens system.
- If you access Twitter using a third party app like Twitterific or Tweetbot, you are going to start losing some features next month. Peter Cao of 9to5Mac explains why.
- My favorite weather app, CARROT Weather, was updated this week to add new map layers. Ryan Christoffel of MacStories explains what is new.
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reports that the iPhone 8 is currently the best-selling smartphone in the world.
- In iOS 12, third party apps will be able to work with CarPlay. Sygic plans to offer offline maps, useful if you are traveling without a data signal, as reported by CarPlay Life.
- And finally, is it worth it to get an unlimited data plan from your cellphone carrier? I use the AT&T unlimited plan (which I described in this post), and I think that it makes sense for my family, but your situation may be different. Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal teamed up with competitive eater Carmen Cincotti to show to talk about when the plans do and don’t make sense (video link):