Apple TV+, which was announced on March 25, 2019, turned five years old this past week. On the day of the announcement, nobody really knew what it would ultimately become, as evidenced by a cute video in which Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, and Rashida Jones stood on the Apple campus and wondered if they were now Apple Girls. Indeed, in the beginning, there were far more questions than there were shows. But now, five years later, I think that Apple TV+ has the highest quality content of any streaming video service. Others seem to agree with me; Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac reported this week that Apple TV+ is the streaming platform with the highest rated content on IMDb. New content is coming out all the time, and most of it is very good. For example, my wife and I just started watching Palm Royal and it seems great, my son and I are about to finish up Masters of the Air which has been fabulous, and I'm loving the bizarre story in Constellation. So let's raise a glass to Apple TV+ for bringing us high-quality shows, shows that look great on our Apple devices such as an Apple TV or an iPad or an Apple Vision Pro. And now, the rest of the news of note from the past week:
- When Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this year that Apple would have some AI announcements later this year, I figured that would mean that we would see something about AI at Apple's WWDC developer conference. This week, Apple announced that the conference will be held on June 10, and Apple executive Greg Joswiak noted that it's going to be Absolutely Incredible. Yep, there is going to be an AI announcement at WWDC for sure.
- When Apple executive Phil Schiller exchanged his marketing responsibilities for simply being an Apple Fellow, I thought that would mean that his work at the company would begin to fade away. To the contrary, Aaron Tilley of the Wall Street Journal reports that Phil Schiller is still working 80-hour weeks and is heavily involved in Apple's defense against the new DOJ antitrust lawsuit.
- Ben Lovejoy of 9to5Mac reports that one of the surprise new features of iOS 17.4 is that it brings 15W Qi2 charging to the iPhone 12, allowing that phone to charge twice as fast.
- Federico Viticci of MacStories made some interesting modifications to his Apple Vision Pro that he likes. First, he is now using a second Solo Knit Band on top of his head for comfortable support. Second, he has removed the light shield and replaced it with something called an Air Cover that he says is an improvement because he can see things in his peripheral vision.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors reports that Apple has released its first sports film show in Immersive Video format, one that includes highlights from the 2023 Major League Soccer Cup playoffs. I watched this five-minute video on my Apple Vision Pro last night, and it is perhaps the single most impressive video that I have ever seen in my entire life. You feel like you are standing right there on the soccer field watching plays take place a few feet in front of you. And when the camera is placed in the stands, you feel like you are in the stands with the other fans. If you own an Apple Vision Pro, watch this video immediately. If you don't own one, I hope that you can find a friend and borrow their device for five minutes so that you can experience how amazing this looks. My only complaint is that it went too fast. I want a 30-minute version of that same video so that I can enjoy each of the dozens of camera angles for even longer.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that perhaps the only problem with that immersive MLS video for the Apple Vision Pro is that we have so little of it. It took Apple four months to create this one short highlight video, and they need a way to cut the production time down to four hours so that we can have much, much more of this content. As Gruber says: "Perhaps the single most surprising aspect of Apple’s launch plan for Vision Pro is the relative dearth of original immersive content. It’s the most compelling experience with the product but there’s hardly any of it. I would have thought Apple would drop new immersive content at least a few times per month, if not weekly, but this MLS Cup highlight film is the first new one since launch."
- Last week, we wondered what fixes were in iOS 17.4.1. Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac reports this week that it addresses two specific security flaws which do not appear to have been exploited yet.
- I often report on good and interesting uses of Find My, but sometimes they are a problem, not a solution. Ambert Neely of Apple Insider reports that a SWAT team busted down a front door—the wrong front door—based on a tip from Find My.
- Chance Miller of 9to5 reports that the emergency satellite feature on an iPhone helped to save stranded hikers in Mt. Hood National Forrest.
- And finally, Apple shows how the Face ID feature on an iPhone can keep things secret on your iPhone in a new video called Nice Try:
