We are finishing up one of the biggest weeks of the year in the Apple world: the introduction of the newest iPhone models. The iPhones have been out long enough that it is no longer realistic to expect dramatic improvements every year, but when Apple adds a few hardware features that improve the iPhone experience and you add to that the yearly update of the iPhone operating system, the end result is yet another nice year-over-year step forward. Apple starts taking orders for the new iPhones today, and new Apple Watch orders started a few days ago. The new products should be in our hands starting one week from today. It's an exciting time, especially if you ordered something for yourself. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- If you are spending some money on a new Apple device, I encourage you to share the love and also make a donation to help those with childhood cancer. Simply click here and donate any amount. Those of you who donated already are awesome. For everyone else, just click that link, and I promise it won't take more than a minute of your time to do something that will make a tremendous difference. Thanks so much!
- Let's start with some of the iPhone news from this week. Jason Snell of Six Colors was at the announcement, so he had a chance to try out the new models, and he offers lots of interesting thoughts on what is new. He also notes that the colors on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are very pale.
- The new iPhone 15 models use USB-C instead of Lightning. That means that you have many more charging options. However, Brian X. Chen of the New York Times warns that you should not get the very cheapest items, such as USB-C cables that cost only $5, because they will not be very good quality and could, in extreme cases, even damage the iPhone.
- Stephen Shankland of CNet offers advice in selecting a USB-C cable.
- Apple used to sell the MagSafe Duo and MagSafe Battery Pack, two devices that charge via Lightning. Rather than come out with new USB-C versions this week, Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac reports that it looks like Apple has discontinued both devices. That's a shame because I love the MagSafe Battery Pack, as I noted again just a few months ago. Hopefully Apple will do something to improve the product and then will bring it back.
- Since the iPhone now supports USB-C, you might also want to use AirPods Pro that support USB-C. You can now buy that from Apple but you have to get the whole product, not just a new case. The new product is called the second-generation AirPods Pro, just like the old product. But as reported by Joe Rossignol of MacRumors, you get more than just a new charging port in the case; you also get support for the best noise quality when used with the upcoming Vision Pro headset. So if you plan to get an Apple Vision Pro next year, you might want to get new AirPods Pro as well.
- Dan Moren of Six Colors mentions some other tidbits that Apple did not announce during the presentation this week—like the new version of AirPods Pro—but that you should know about.
- Everyone who has held a new iPhone said that it feels much lighter than the model it replaces, even though Titanium should only reduce the weight by around 8% to 10%. Why is that? The blogger who goes by "Dr. Drang" (and who has a Ph.D. in engineering, so he tends to know what he is talking about) offers some theories on why this is. And yes, he shows his work when he does the math.
- Justin Meyers of Gadget Hacks identifies the differences between the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
- Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac explains the reasons that he opted to get an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Spoiler alert: it's the camera.
- One of the problems with Qi (wireless) charging is that if you don't put your device on the charger in the right spot, it might not charge at all. Apple solves that problem in MagSafe by using magnets to make sure that everything is lined up correctly. Apple donated the MagSafe standard to the consortium behind Qi, and it is supposed to be part of the upcoming Qi2 standard. Apparently, the four new iPhone 15 models should support Qi2, but as Nathan Edwards of The Verge points out, this isn't 100% clear because the Qi2 standard isn't finished yet. But in theory, much like you can purchase any MagSafe device today and know that it will work well with your Apple products, in the future you will be able to purchase any Qi2 product and have the same degree of certainty that it will just work.
- Andrew O'Hara of AppleInsider reviews the new HiRise 3 Deluxe from Twelve South. This looks like an amazing product, offering MagSafe charging for an iPhone and support for the new StandBy Mode, plus an Apple Watch charger and a Qi charger (perfect for AirPods), all in a beautiful package that is Apple certified.
- Apple has phased out using leather in its products because of the environmental impact. Instead, Apple is using a soft material that it calls FineWoven, which is a type of microtwill. For example, for many years I have used a leather case made by Apple with my iPhone, but this year it is instead a FineWoven case. Although my new iPhone is still at least a week away, I received the case yesterday, and FineWoven feels very nice. It has some similarities to leather, and it seems to be a perfectly fine replacement. Apple is also using FineWoven in new Apple Watch bands. Antonio Benedetto of The Verge discusses Apple's new use of FineWoven in its products.
- Apple may not be using leather, and the new Hermès Apple Watch bands that Apple is advertising don't use leather, but Tim Hardwick of MacRumors reports that Hermès also has new leather band options that Apple is not selling through its own website. They are beautiful, but they are expensive.
- Mitchel Broussard of MacRumors identifies all of the new Apple Watch bands announced by Apple this week.
- Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac notes that there is now a new watch face for the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2: Modular Ultra.
- This Monday, Apple will release iOS 17 and the related operating systems such as iPadOS 17. As I noted earlier this year, that means that we will get lots of new features. However, a few features announced by Apple won't be ready for the initial launch date. John Voorhees of MacStories identifies that features that will take a little bit longer before they are ready.
- Jovana Naumovski of Gadget Hacks identifies some of the great features coming to Safari on the iPhone this Monday in iOS 17.
- Before the Apple announcements this week, Tripp Mickle of the New York Times explored why the iPhone is so popular. One interesting statistic: nearly 90% of all teenagers own an iPhone. In my household, that statistic is 100%: 2 out of 2.
- John Cook of GeekWire shares a story of how he accidentally "butt-dailed" Apple Satellite SOS Emergency Service while he was hiking in the Dinosaur National Monument near the Colorado and Utah border.
- There were some Easter Eggs during the Apple announcement video this week. William Gallagher of Apple Insider reports that Apple hid in plain sight some of its famous prior products in the video.
- Amber Neely of Apple Insider reports on a woman in Utah who swallowed her AirPod instead of a vitamin. Whoops.
- A big congratulations to Tara Cheever of Lit Software, the maker of amazing iPad apps for lawyers such as TrialPad and TranscriptPad. Tara was honored this week by the Legal Technology Resource Center as one of the top Women in Legal Tech. Tara has helped countless attorneys do more with their iPads over the years, and this recognition is well-deserved.
- And finally, part of Apple's presentation earlier this week was this video called Mother Nature. When I first saw the video, it struck me as a little silly. But upon a second watching, I've changed my mind. This approach is a fun and effective way for Apple to identify the significant efforts that it is taking to reduce its carbon footprint without being too preachy. So in the end, I like this video. Check it out and see what you think:
