In the News

The first Apple Store opened 20 years ago this week, and Charlotte Henry of The Mac Observer takes a walk down memory lane to note that anniversary.  The first store was located in the Tysons Corner mall in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C.  Twenty years later, it is obvious that the stores have been a huge success for Apple.  I was living in New York City for a while after Hurricane Katrina, so I was able to attend the opening of the iconic Apple Store on Fifth Avenue on May 19, 2006.  That store soon became the highest-grossing retailer on Fifth Avenue.  For those who live close to an Apple Store — whether it is one of the huge flagship stores or just a smaller store in a mall — it is nice to have a place where you can see and try out the latest products.  And on days like today when Apple introduces new products, the stores can be a great way to get a new product on Day 1 even when online orders won’t ship for weeks or months.  (Some models of the iPad Pro are currently not shipping until mid-July.)  Michael Steeber of 9to5Mac shows off what some of the window displays look like in Apple Stores today.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• Of the three major new products that Apple is releasing today, the one that I am most interested in is the new iPad Pro 12.9″.  The one that I pre-ordered should be delivered to me today:  12.9″, Wi-Fi only, 512GB, Space Gray.  As I look forward to using that new device, I’ve been reading reviews from members of the tech press to whom Apple provided early review units.  The consensus seems to be that the new screen is amazing and the device is very fast, but the hardware is now better than the iPad OS software.  I agree with a lot of what California attorney David Sparks wrote about this situation.  If you want more information on the new iPad Pro, here are the five reviews that I found the most valuable.
• Harry McCracken of Fast Company says that “this new iPad Pro is a good-size leap beyond its 2018 and 2020 predecessors,” and he says that the signature feature is the new display.  “But while the previous iPad Pro screen was illuminated by 72 LEDs, the new one increases that by almost 14,000%. Behind the screen, there are 10,000 tiny LEDs arranged in 2,500 zones, giving Apple the ability to boost or dim the brightness with pinpoint precision. That allows for blacker blacks and more accurate reproduction of a broader range of colors.”
• Daniel Bader of iMore says that thanks to the M1 chip in the new iPad Pro, the new iPad Pro “flies through whatever you need it to do,” although he also notes that the last two iPad Pro models were also quite fast.
• Dieter Bohn of The Verge wrote an excellent review, along with a great video review.  He says that the 2018 iPad Pro was so fast that he couldn’t perceive much of a speed increase in the apps that he used on the new iPad Pro.  However, he says that the new display is so good that it is “the best thing for watching movies that isn’t a high-end television,” adding (jokingly) that “the display is so good that Tenet actually makes sense when you watch it on this iPad Pro.”
• Jason Snell of Six Colors wrote that “watching HDR video is an eye-popping experience.  Live-action movies have some very bright explosions and very dark undertones, and they all looked great.”  He also ran lots of tests of the speed increase thanks to the M1 chip, and concluded that while the new hardware is fantastic, Apple desperately needs to update the iPad OS software to allow users to do more with this powerful hardware.  As Snell notes, Apple’s WWDC developer conference is just a few weeks away, and fingers are crossed that Apple will preview some notable iPad OS improvements coming in iOS 15 later this year.
• The most comprehensive review of the new iPad Pro 12.9″ comes from Federico Viticci of MacStories.  His review also does the best job of explaining and then showing off the new Center Stage feature, which makes it appear that a camera is following you as you move around during a videoconference on FaceTime, Zoom, or other platforms.
• Another new Apple product being released today is a new 24″ iMac.  I don’t really discuss Macs on iPhone J.D., but this does look like a really nice device, and it makes me look forward to later this year (or next year?) when Apple should announce the next high-end version of the iMac.  The new iMac released today looks like a big iPad on a stand, as you can see in this review by Jason Snell of Six Colors.
• Another new product that Apple is releasing today is the new Apple TV 4K.  The consensus seems to be that one of its best features is the new remote.  I have an Apple TV HD, which seems sufficient for me because I don’t even have a 4K television in my home theater room; I use a 1080p plasma television.  The review of the new Apple TV HD by Jacob Krol of CNN disagrees with me, concluding “If you have an Apple TV HD (yes, the one from 2014), now is a perfect time to upgrade.  You’ll see tvOS in a much more dynamic way, lock in support for 4K streaming and get improved internal hardware and a great new remote.”  But after reading his review, the only real advantage that I see if you have a 1080p TV is that apps and streaming services will work a little faster with a faster Apple TV.  I’m going to stick with my current Apple TV HD for now and wait to upgrade until I get a new TV — which I don’t see happening any time soon.
• John Gruber of Daring Fireball reviews the new Apple TV remote, which costs $59 if you purchase it on its own.  It works with the Apple TV 4K (2nd generation), Apple TV 4K (1st generation), and the Apple TV HD.
• This week, Apple previewed some upcoming software updates that are designed for people with disabilities.  There are some interesting announcements, such as SignTime, the ability to use sign language to communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care representatives.  But the coolest update looks to be AssistiveTouch for Apple Watch, which lets a person interact with an Apple Watch screen even if they only have the ability to use the arm/hand that the watch is on.  How?  Using a series of gestures such as pinch or clench.  Sarah (@sarahyuui), an intern currently working for the Apple Accessibility team, tweeted this short video to show how it works and the technology looks amazing.  Bravo to Apple.
• I wrote earlier this week about the upcoming updates to audio quality on Apple Music.  User mrsidnaik on Reddit posted this excellent explanation of lossless audio.
• If you are interested in using PopSockets with your iPhone but don’t want to use adhesive to make something stick to the iPhone or a case, there are now three products that you can use without adhesive, two of which use magnets to work with MagSafe on the newest iPhones.  Juli Clover of MacRumors reviews the new PopSockets devices.
• José Adorn of 9to5Mac notes that Microsoft Teams now lets users create a free personal account for 24-hour videoconferences with up to 300 people.  It’s not a new app; it’s the same Teams software that you may already be using on iOS, Mac, and Windows for your work, but now you can also have a personal account.
• Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac reviews the Chipolo ONE Spot, a tracker that works with Apple’s Find My system.  He says that it is a cheaper alternative to the AirTag — not so much for the price, which is virtually the same, but because it has a hole on it so you don’t need to purchase a separate adapter to put it on a keychain.  The Chipolo unit lacks the precision finding feature of the AirTag, but it can play a noise, and that might be all that you need to find it.
• In an article for Macworld UK, David Price argues that it is a good thing that the iPhone has a notch at the top.  He actually makes a pretty compelling argument.
• Apple’s AirPlay 2 technology is nice because you can have stream audio to multiple devices at the same time.  But what if the music in one of your rooms comes from an old stereo that doesn’t support this new technology?  Chance Miller of 9to5Mac notes that Belkin unveiled the Soundform Connect, a $99 product that adds AirPlay 2 to any speaker with a 3.5mm input.
• And finally, the latest version of the iOS operating system adds App Tracking Transparency to reduce the ability of one app to invade your privacy when you are using a different app.  Apple came up with a pretty clever video called Tracked that shows, in a humorous way, the privacy control that this new feature puts into your hands: