Brett Burney and I had planned to record the 100th episode of the In the News podcast this morning, but as a result of an unexpected family issue that arose, we need to postpone that milestone for another week or two. Even though you are reading my words today instead of hearing my voice, I still want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who listens to the podcast or who watches the YouTube version for joining us for the last two years. Hopefully, the delay will build up the anticipation ... not that we don't already have a lot of that right now. This Monday is the Memorial Day holiday in the United States, and as Apple confirmed this week, just a week after Memorial Day, Apple is giving a Keynote address to start its WWDC conference. That means we should see sneak peaks at the next versions of iOS and iPadOS. And more importantly, the rumors are that Apple will provide at least a sneak peak of its upcoming headset device. I cannot wait to see what Apple has to show us. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- The Lit Software blog has a great in-depth post about how Chicago attorney Paul Motz uses apps like TrialPad and TranscriptPad to work with a team to prepare for trials in complex cases.
- Twelve South makes lots of great accessories for the iPhone and iPad. For example, I reviewed an older version of the AirFly about five years ago, and the new version is great if you want to connect your AirPods to a device that only has a headphone jack, such as the audio on many airplanes. Right now, the company is having a 20% sale on all items.
- In an article for Fast Company, Harry McCracken wrote an in-depth article on Apple's upcoming Personal Voice feature that lets you securely create and store a digital version of your voice that you can use in the future should you ever need it.
- If you play music and own an iPad, then Apple's release this week of Logic Pro for the iPad may be big news for you. Andrew Marino of The Verge reviews the app and was very impressed.
- If you edit video and you own an iPad, then Apple's release of this week of Final Cut Pro for the iPad may be big news for you. And I fall into this camp. I've been too busy at work this week to play around with the app very much, but I'm impressed with what I see so far. Jason Snell of Six Colors says that it is a great version 1.0, but it needs more: more gesture support, more Pencil support, etc.
- Vjeran Pavic of The Verge says that Final Cut Pro for iPad gets the basics right but it still lacks many features that exist on the Mac version.
- Apple announced the 2023 finalists for the Apple Design Awards. There are lots of well-done apps on the list that I have enjoyed using, such as Flighty, Duolingo, and Knotwords, as well as many other apps that I look forward to checking out.
- Speaking of Flighty, I love the Live Activities and Dynamic Island support in that app, which is a great feature when you are traveling. But if you prefer to use an airline-specific app, Juli Clover of MacRumors reports that United is now the first U.S. airline to implement support for Live Activities.
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reports that a new power bank from Belkin can charge an iPhone while simultaneously providing a fast charge to an Apple Watch.
- Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac reports that many recent Apple ads won advertising awards.
- Apple is now selling the 2023 version of its Pride watch band. While not something that I would consider wearing to court, I know that the bold and fun look will be popular for many folks this year. Rikka Altland shares some pictures of the new bands.
- This week, the HBO Max app on the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, etc. was replaced with a Max app. And it was a serious downgrade. As John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes, the new Apple TV app removes a ton of features such as "up next" support in the TV app, support for the Siri remote's jog controls, picture-in-picture, and the fantastic "What did they just say" feature that I use frequently. I really don't understand what Warner Bros. Discovery was thinking with this update.
- Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that teenagers who became stranded while hiking in California were able to use the iPhone 14's satellite communication feature to call for help. They were lucky because the story reports that the ten teenagers were not prepared for the hike, failing to bring food, water, flashlights, and other items needed for a hike in the "Last Chance" area of the Santa Paula Canyon. Fortunately, a rescue team made up of volunteers was able to find them and lead them back to safety.
- Like many iPhone users who have used mobile technology for a long time, I previously used a BlackBerry. Devindra Hardawar of Engadget reviews the new BlackBerry movie, which chronicles the rise and fall of the company, and he says that the movie is quite good. I look forward to watching this one.
- And finally, this week, Apple released some very funny and incredibly well-done videos to emphasize how the iPhone respects your privacy. The first one surprised me because of where it was released: China, where expectations of privacy are very different in light of the government. Go to the Apple China website and there is a fun video at the top featuring Hong Kong-based martial artist Donnie Yen Ji-dan as a representation of Apple privacy. (Don't worry, there are virtually no words in the video, so you don't need to speak Chinese to enjoy it.) Second, here in the United States, Apple released a video featuring actress Jane Lynch as the announcer called The Waiting Room. This video emphasizes the privacy of health data that you store on the iPhone. Definitely worth watching:
