Since I posted my review of the Apple Watch Series 5 and the iPhone 11 Pro, I’ve seen lots of articles on the Internet talking about the battery life of both devices. Folks have been happy with battery life on the iPhone 11 Pro, and I have been too. I’ve had some long days out of the office this week with no good opportunity to recharge my iPhone 11 Pro during the day, but the better battery life on the iPhone 11 Pro has made this a non-issue. There was even a time this week when I could have plugged in my iPhone for a short while during the late afternoon but I didn’t bother doing so because it just wasn’t anywhere close to being necessary. On the other hand, I’ve seen some folks, such as Zac Hall of 9to5Mac, reporting that some folks are finding that it is difficult for their Apple Watch Series 5 devices to last all day. I’m certainly noticing less battery life than with my Series 4, but my Series 5 with cellular still lasts all day. I have seen it tell me that I was down to 10% battery life, but that was after midnight while I was about to go to bed anyway. I’ve also seen some speculation on the Internet that folks seeing limited battery life on a Series 5 are suffering from a software bug not a hardware problem, so maybe Apple will release a patch. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- To take full advantage of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, Apple improved its three iWork apps: Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Illinois attorney John Voorhees of Mactories explains what is new in the iWork apps. Because I use Microsoft Office in my law practice, the Pages and Numbers apps are not very important to me, but Keynote is a fantastic app that I use frequently to give presentations from my iPad. In fact, I’m giving one such presentation today.
- One of the new features of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 is the addition of a Download Manager in Safari, similar to a web browser on a computer. Sandy Writtenhouse of the iDownloadBlog explains the new Download Manager.
- Another new feature of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 is that the Files app is much improved. Jason Snell of Six Colors discusses the new Files app.
- This year, Apple introduced clear cases for all of the new iPhones. I haven’t had a chance to try one out yet, but Jeff Benjamin of 9to5Mac reviews the new Apple clear cases and is impressed, especially considering that the Apple clear case he bought last year for the iPhone XR has held up well.
- In August, I noted that the improved version of Apple Maps was available in Texas, Louisiana, and parts of Mississippi. Given the direction on a U.S. map that Apple seemed to be moving, I predicted that places like Atlanta and Mobile might be next. I was wrong; Apple instead added parts of the Northeast this week. Justin O’Breirne wrote a comprehensive post explaining what is new in the Maps app.
- Apple has released a large number of updates to iOS 13 since it first released iOS 13.0. Josh Centers of TidBITS explains that we are now up to iOS 13.1.2, and more updates are expected this year.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac shares the story of a British man whose life may have been saved thanks to his Apple Watch, which gave him advance notice of a possible heart attach.
- Michael Simon of Macworld reviews the Apple Watch Series 5.
- Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal reviews the Apple Watch Series 5.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reviews the ceramic version of the Apple Watch Series 5.
- Ryan Christoffel of MacStories reviews tvOS 13.
- Juli Clover of MacRumors explains the new Night Mode feature of the iPhone 11 and both models of the iPhone 11 Pro.
- And finally, Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal created a humorous video to show off Apple’s new Sign in With Apple feature, which allows you to use your Apple ID to authenticate yourself on another website or in an app. As she explains, Apple respects your privacy much more than similar options from Facebook and Google.
