Today is the day that the new Apple Watch Series 7 goes on sale. And this week, the first set of reviews were released by folks who got early access to Apple's newest product. If you are interested in learning more about the newest watch, the reviews that I found most interesting are listed below. Another news item from this past week is that Apple said that it will have a product announcement on Monday, October 18, 2021. My guess is that Apple will announce new Macs on Monday, and if I'm correct, then Apple won't be announcing the type of product that I discuss on iPhone J.D. But who knows, maybe Apple will also announce new AirPods or some other product that works with an iPhone or iPad. We'll see. And now, the rest of the news of note from the past week:
- The fantastic Keynote app for the iPad recently added the ability to include live video in a Keynote presentation. Brett Burney, my co-host on the In the News podcast, created a great video for his Apps in Law website that shows exactly how this feature works (including how easy it is to use) and explains when you might want to take advantage of this feature.
- Mobile attorney Carter Hale wrote a really good article in the Fall 2021 issue of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Journal with tips for using technology in the courtroom. Click here to download a PDF version of the magazine, and the article starts on page 10.
- California attorney David Sparks explains on his MacSparky website why he decided to purchase an Apple Watch Series 7, upgrading from his Apple Watch Series 5.
- Speaking of David Sparks, he recently released a DEVONthink Field Guide and I've heard great things about it. I don't use DEVONthink myself, but if you do, you should check it out. And even if you don't, David has lots of other useful field guides that can help with topics such as going paperless, using Shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro, the Photos app, Fantastical, and more.
- I enjoyed the Apple Watch Series 7 review written by John Gruber of Daring Fireball. He explains why the larger display is a very nice improvement this year.
- Justine "iJustine" Ezarik has a great video review of the Apple Watch Series 7.
- Dieter Bohn of The Verge consistently does a great job with his product reviews, especially the videos that are at the top of many of his review, and that remains true for his review of the Apple Watch Series 7.
- Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac shares the story of a person in Chicago whose car was stolen, and he recovered it (with the aid of the police) because of an AirTag that he had hidden in the vehicle.
- Tim Hardwick of MacRumors explains the new iOS 15 feature of being notified if you leave your AirPods Pro behind.
- Hardwick also shares iOS 15 tips and tricks that you may not know.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball links to a survey finding that 87% of teens have an iPhone and 30% have an Apple Watch.
- Chance Miller of 9to5Mac shares thoughts on the iPhone 13 Pro Max after using it for a few weeks.
- The iPhone's new Live Text feature makes it easy to take a picture of words and turn it into text. Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac shares a video showing that students can use Live Text to "steal" notes from other students in a classroom. The video does a good job of demonstrating how Live Text can capture text that is around you in everyday life.
- Hardy also reviews the Kingston DataTraveler Max, a flash drive that stores up to 1 TB of data and uses USB-C with USB 3.2 Gen 2 to transfer data at up to 1,000MBps. You can use it with anything that has USB-C, like an iPad or a computer. It's currently sold out on Amazon and many other stores, but this looks like an incredibly useful device if you need to move around a lot of data.
- And finally, here is a useful video from Apple with 10 helpful Apple Watch tips. There were some in here that were new to me and/or that I had forgotten about.