In 2007, Steve Jobs took the stage and said: "Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. ... One’s very fortunate if you get to work on just one of these in your career. Apple has been very fortunate. It’s been able to introduce a few of these into the world. [In] 1984, we introduced the Macintosh. It didn’t just change Apple. It changed the whole computer industry. In 2001, we introduced the first iPod. And it didn’t just change the way we all listen to music, it changed the entire music industry. Well, today ... Apple is going to reinvent the phone." And he then proceeded to introduce the world to the iPhone. There is a chance that this Monday might be another one of those moments when Apple introduces a revolutionary product. At 10 Pacific / 1 Eastern on Monday, June 5, Apple is widely expected to introduce an augmented reality headset device. And just like the first iPod only worked with a Mac and only held 5,000 songs, and just like the first iPhone used Edge for a painfully slow cellular internet connection, and just like the first Apple Watch was painfully slow, I'm sure that there will be plenty to criticize about aspects of the product that Apple shows us on Monday. But remember, that will be just the version 1.0. If Apple plays its cards right, we will see better versions in future years. Over time, the device will cost less and do more. And then, we might have something really special. Indeed, eventually, we may get to the point where the device is even more useful than the iPhone itself. Or, it will be a complete dud. You never know, and that is part of what makes it so exciting. Having said that, I cannot help thinking how much better the announcement might be if the master presenter Steve Jobs was still around to introduce the product on Monday. This was a short week due to Memorial Day, and most of what people are talking about right now is what Apple may introduce next week, so there isn't much recent news, but here is the news of note from the past week:
- Brett Burney and I will record the next episode of the In the News podcast after we see what Apple announces on Monday. We will probably record on Tuesday afternoon, so I expect that you will have a new episode late Tuesday or on Wednesday.
- California attorney David Sparks says that even if Apple announced a new headset on Monday, it probably won't be available until the close to the end of 2023. That makes sense to me. I would expect Apple to follow the playbook from the Apple Watch introduction: it was first introduced in September 2014, but it wasn't available to buy until April 2015.
- Apple announced in a press release this week that according to a new study, the App Store facilitated $1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022. And the iOS app economy now supports more than 4.8 million jobs in the U.S. and Europe. It is interesting that Apple is telling developers just how much money they can make by releasing apps for an Apple platform when we are (presumably) days away from Apple announcing a brand new platform.
- Some people view the iPhone and Android as competitors. To a certain degree that is true, but I think that they largely cater to different audiences. One segment of the population—a major segment around the world—prefers Android because it has the cheapest phones. Another is at the opposite extreme; they want a powerful phone that they can manipulate in lots of different ways to make it perfect for them, much like one might build a gaming PC from scratch. Android is perfect for them as well. For most others, the iPhone is the phone of choice. Even so, there are still lots of folks who switch from Android to iPhone each year, and Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac discusses a study that purports to identify the top reasons for switching to iPhone.
- If the car you are driving doesn't have CarPlay, what are the best options for adding it yourself? Zac Hall of 9to5Mac answers that question.
- Two weeks after Apple released watchOS 9.5, Apple released watchOS 9.5.1 this week to fix some bugs, as reported by Juli Clover of Mac Rumors.
- What does watchOS 9.5.1 fix? Apple hasn't really said, but Adam Engst of TidBITS helpfully reports that it "probably fixes some problem." Well there you go.
- And finally, this week Apple TV+ released the final episode of Season 3 of Ted Lasso. What comes next, if anything? We don't know yet. But the first three seasons of Ted Lasso were something special, one of my all-time favorites. Thank you to Apple TV+ for giving us all such an amazing show. And that last episode doesn't disappoint. After you watch it—not before, there are spoilers!—you should watch the following video, which is under seven minutes long. But bring a tissue because there will be tears.
