It’s hard to believe that we are now in the 2020s. Ten years ago, the iPhone was still fairly new (with far more attorneys using a BlackBerry) and the original iPad was introduced by Apple in January 2010. Now, almost 80% of all attorneys are using an iPhone (according to the ABA), and the iPad is a sophisticated tool for attorneys, especially the iPad Pro. California attorney David Sparks has decided that the iPad is the Apple device of the last decade. He makes a strong argument, and I’m now at the point where I cannot imagine practicing law without an iPad. Having said that, I also cannot imagine practicing law, communicating with friends and family, taking pictures, and a host of other activities without using my iPhone, which was substantially improved when the iPhone X was released in 2017 and is now even more powerful thanks to additional improvements. If I had to pick just one Apple device of the decade, I’d probably pick the iPhone, but the iPad would be an incredibly close second-place pick. And now, the recent news of note:
- Massachusetts attorney Bob Ambrogi wrote an interesting article on his LawSites blog discussing the ten most significant developments in legal technology over the past decade. #3 on the list is the untethering of law practice thanks to devices like the iPhone and iPad.
- Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories reports on tests conducted by Stephen Coyle showing that Bluetooth latency on AirPods Pro is greatly reduced.
- The New York Times Editorial Board discusses the dangers of surveillance possible as a result of modern technology. My hope, as we enter the 2020s, is that consumers will start to demand more privacy and will reward companies like Apple that do a better job of protecting it.
- Michael Simon of Macworld discusses some of the most impactful moments in the world of Apple products over the past decade.
- In an article for Macworld, Jason Snell predicts what we might see in the iPhone and iPad world in 2020.
- I’ve been impressed by the content on Apple TV+ so far, and it looks like it is only going to get better in the future. For example, John Koblin of the New York Times reports that Richard Piepler — who previously ran HBO and spent 27 years there — is now going to produce programs exclusively for Apple TV+ for the next five years.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac identifies some of the best CarPlay apps.
- Jason Cross of Macworld identifies some of the best Apple Watch apps.
- Christopher Close of iMore explains how you can add notes to HomeKit devices in the Home app and explains some of the reasons for doing so.
- Amos Chapple of PetaPixel went to Murmansk in Russia — the biggest city in the Arctic Circle — to take pictures in December (when the sun never rises) using Night Mode on the iPhone 11 Pro. The pictures and his article describing them are interesting.
- And finally, as the weather is getting colder, this is a good time to enjoy some magic from iPad magician Simon Pierro in a video he calls Olaf’s Magical Adventure: