If you are reading this, then I suspect that there is a 100% chance that you have purchased an iPhone. Back in 2016, that would have made you 1 in a billion. But according to estimates by Horace Dediu of Asymco, Apple has just sold its 2 billionth iPhone. Apple stopped releasing iPhone sales numbers in 2019 so we no longer know precisely how many iPhones have been sold since then, but I suspect that Dediu's estimate is accurate. (His article also reminds me that, back in 2009, I reported that Apple had sold its 1 billionth app, and I listed the top 20 paid apps and top 20 free apps. It is interesting to go back and look at those lists again now because the App Store has changed considerably since 2009.) Now that the new 2021 versions of the iPhone have been released, I'm sure that iPhone sales numbers are rapidly increasing again. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks wanted to show off all of the new video features of the iPhone 13 Pro, so he took his new device to Disneyland and put it through its paces. If you want to see what kind of video you can take, or if you just want to see Disneyland, check it out.
- Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories describes the latest update to CARROT Weather, including new XL widgets for iPadOS 15.
- Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac reviews the new iPhone 13 Pro and calls it the Goldilocks phone — not too big, not too small, just right.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors describes the new updates to Apple's iWork apps: Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. For example, you can now integrate live video into a Keynote presentation, and Numbers can now create pivot tables.
- Roman Loyola of Macworld also discusses the iWork apps updates.
- Juli Clover of MacRumors warns of a bug in the Messages app in iOS 15: if you delete a message thread, the iPhone will also delete any photo that you saved from that Messages thread. Until Apple fixes this, be cautious about which threads in Messages that you delete.
- Chance Miller of 9to5Mac explains new branding that is coming soon for USB-C cables to try to make it more clear which have which features. Currently, it is very confusing that different USB-C cables can do different things, and there is no easy way to determine what kind you are using.
- I'm a big fan of my Logitech MX Keys keyboard, which I reviewed last year. I use it at my office with my PC, and then I can simply tap one button to start using the same keyboard with my iPad. Tap another button and I'm typing on my iPhone. J. Fingas of Engadget reviews the MX Keys Mini, a smaller version that lacks a number pad.
- If you are interested in a side-by-side comparison of iOS 14 and iOS 15, John Gruber of Daring Fireball links to a helpful series of tweets from Ryan Burnett.
- I haven't had a reason to use Apple's new Center Stage feature yet, but Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac is a fan, and he explains why.
- Mike Fleming of Deadline reports that Apple TV+ secured the rights to an untitled movie staring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. I think that they could just use the title "The Movie With George Clooney and Brad Pitt" and that would get them more than enough viewers.
- The newest TV show in Apple TV+ is Foundation. I watched the first two episodes, and it looks like the story could be quite interesting. And the production is incredible; this show looks better than most movies. Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica reviews the first season of Foundation, without any real spoilers.
- Brendon Katz of Observer analyzes what Apple is trying to accomplish with its Apple TV+ streaming service and how it is doing so far.
- Christopher Close of iMore explains how to control HomeKit accessories using an Apple Watch, which is something that I do just about every day in my house.
- I've been very happy with my Eero Pro mesh Wi-Fi in my home, which I reviewed last year. Rachel Cericola of Wirecutter explains when it makes sense to try mesh Wi-Fi in a home.
- What do you think about getting some interesting aerial video shots by simply throwing your iPhone up in the air or off of a building? The idea sounds crazy, but there is a Kickstarter project called AER TYP for a cushioned iPhone holder with wings that supposedly lets you do exactly that.
- And finally, when Apple first introduced the four new phones in the iPhone 13 line, Apple created a video to show off the new Cinematic mode on all all four of these phones. The video is titled Whodunnit and it does an excellent job showing off the automatic rack focus feature of these new iPhones. Plus, it's a cute video that is worth watching: