There has been some hubbub this week about the possibility that iOS 16 will come out in September but that iPad OS 16 will not come out until October—perhaps when Apple announces new iPads. This all stems from a rumor reported by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, so it may not be true, but there have been interesting discussions about whether, if true, this is a good or bad thing. Jason Snell of Six Colors said that he's "glad Apple is apparently being patient with this update and not forcing it out the door when it doesn’t need to," and Federico Viticci of MacRumors said that a delay "is the right thing to do" because the new Stage Manager feature is still very buggy and iPad OS 16 needs "some design polish, too." On the other hand, California attorney David Sparks says that the beta "feels stable to me," and software developer James Thomson (who makes the popular calculator app PCalc) warned that a staggered release is a problem for developers who make universal apps (apps that run on both the iPhone and iPad): "I can’t separate them, so it will be a case of not shipping anything until iPadOS ships, or shipping something early that’s potentially broken on iPadOS." There is no easy answer here. We have seen times in the past when Apple released a major system update that wasn't really ready for prime time, and that was no fun, so I generally prefer for Apple to wait a little longer to make things better. But perfect is the enemy of good, and at some point, Apple needs to ship what it has so far. It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds over the next two months. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- I've mentioned before that the fabulous LIT SUITE apps, including TrialPad and TransriptPad, are coming out for the Mac. The public betas became available this week so feel free to start putting them to use if you don't mind being an early adopter.
- California attorney David Sparks reviews the new Anker 65W portable hybrid charger. It works as both a charger that you plug in the wall (with two USB-C ports and one USB-A port) and also as a portable battery. Great idea for travel. ($99.99 on Amazon.)
- Apple iMessage encryption has been in the news this week because it has been offered as an excuse for the Secret Service losing text messages that relate to the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jason Snell of Six Colors looks into the possible validity of these claims. In short, he finds that depending upon how the Secret Service was doing things, this might be a legitimate excuse, but it is unclear.
- For the last nine months, Harry McCracken of Fast Company has stopped using his fancy camera and relied only on the iPhone. In this article, he shares six tips for iPhone photography that he learned from going all in, and all of them are great tips.
- I've recently shared many stories about people having difficulties with airline travel during the last few months. My wife had a ridiculous experience last night with a flight from New York to New Orleans that was delayed over six hours. Another issue is lost luggage, and this is causing many people to purchase AirTags to track their luggage. Here is a series of tweets with people noting that AirTags are now sold out in many Apple Stores.
- What company might Apple purchase next? In an article for Macworld, Jason Snell shares his thoughts.
- If you want a wall dimmer switch that is compatible with HomeKit, Lutron Caséta is always my #1 suggestion. But if you don't want to have to purchase a Lutron hub—for example, you will only one a single wall dimmer, so the hub wouldn't be used for anything else—Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac reports that Wemo now offers a Smart Dimmer that works with HomeKit. It supports Thread, and you don't need to have a neutral wire in your wall (which is missing in many older homes).
- I love using HomeKit to turn off outside lights. Unfortunately, the iHome iSP100 Outdoor Smart Plug that I've been using for four years has been giving me connectivity issues for the past few weeks. Before this week, every outside smart plug with HomeKit support that I had seen was simply an on/off switch. But Jason Snell of Six Colors reviews the Meross Outdoor Dimmer Plug, and he says that it not only works well, but it allows him to dim his outdoor lights, which I cannot do with the iHome product.
- Andrew O'Hara of AppleInsider wrote a comprehensive review of the new Eve Motion 2, a motion and light detector that works with HomeKit. ($39.99 on Amazon.)
- In the upcoming iOS 16, the Wallet app will provide order tracking information for purchases from certain retailers. Benjamin Mayo explains how order tracking will work.
- Also in the upcoming iOS 16, you will be able to edit or unsend an iMessage after it has been sent. John Gruber of Daring Fireball explains and shows how it works.
- Jace Lacob of Entertainment Weekly recommends the best shows to watch on Apple TV+ right now. I agree with most of the suggestions, except that The Essex Serpent didn't appeal to me. One show that isn't on the list is Black Bird, which I haven't started yet but I'm hearing good things about.
- The Apple TV+ animated movie Luck debuts today, and it is cute how it has taken over the homepage of Apple.com. Make sure that you scroll down.
- One of the shows on the EW list is For All Mankind, which I have been loving this season. I enjoyed reading this interview of Shantel VanSanten, who plays Karen Baldwin, by Amelia Walker of 1883.
- Impressionist Matt Friend shares what Apple CEO Tim Cook and Jony Ive might be saying about ending Ive's connection with Apple.
- And finally, ever since May 15, 2001, when Steve Jobs debuted the very first Apple Store in the Tysons Corner Center in Virginia, the stores have been something special. But looking back over the past 21 years, they have changed substantially even though they have always stayed interesting. Of course, a big change is that we now have the flagship stores, like the one in Milan that I mentioned a few days ago. But even the simple stores in shopping malls look substantially different now than they did years ago. To help you experience an Apple Store from the past, Michael Steeber created an amazing free app for the Mac called the Apple Store Time Machine. Using the app, you can walk (or run, or jump) through four iconic Apple Stores as they appeared on opening day: (1) the first store at Tysons Corner in 2001, (2) the first mini-Apple Store, at Stanford Shopping Center in 2004, (3) the Apple Store Fifth Avenue, and (4) The Apple Store Infinite Loop on September 19, 2015. I was living in New York at the time, so I attended the Apple Store Fifth Avenue opening on May 19, 2006. There was quite a crowd for the opening, as you can see in this photo (I'm wearing the red shirt in the middle of that picture, taken by a camera placed by Apple), and I can vouch that the store looked just like Steeber shows it in this app back in 2006. I took this picture inside the store that day, but it was so crowded that you see more people than products. If you have a Mac, I strongly recommend that you download this free app to explore the stores (and some Easter Eggs) for a few minutes or so. If you don't have a Mac, you can watch this clip from the MacBreak Weekly podcast in which they show off some of the app. And for far more details, you can listen to Steeber himself discuss the app in a recent episode of The Talk Show with John Gruber. What a cool project, truly a labor of love:
