Most of us are still getting used to iOS 18.1 on the iPhone, but Apple is working on iOS 18.2 and similar updates for other products, with many people using the beta versions. Apple has already announced that iOS 18.2 will be released in December, and Joe Rossignol of MacRumors explains why he thinks that the specific release date may be December 9. In addition to lots of improvements to Apple Intelligence such as integration with Chat GPT (which Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac believes will be especially useful when you are using AirPods), there are lots of other interesting features. For example, Apple announced this week that you will be able to share with others a secure link to the location of an AirTag or other Find My accessory, and this includes sharing with an airline to (hopefully) dramatically reduce the time that it takes for an airline to find and return your lost luggage. John Gruber notes that you will be able to turn on a setting so that pressing the Camera Control on the iPhone 16 immediately opens the Camera app even when the display is turned off, solving one of his significant critiques of the latest iPhone. Also, as noted by David Snow of Cult of Mac, Apple Vision Pro users will be able to simulate a virtual display for a computer that extends to a wide or even an ultra-wide display. I've heard numerous people (who are using the beta) say that this is a dramatically useful new feature. Tim Hardwick of MacRumors has a list of 18 useful new features coming in iOS 18.2. It's nice to know that, long before Santa visits many of us on December 25, Apple has some cool new gifts coming our way. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reports on an iPhone security improvement that is included in the current iOS 18.1. If an iPhone hasn't been used in four days, it enters the same lock-down mode used when you first power on an iPhone: you have to use a passcode to unlock the device, with Face ID and Touch ID turned off. Apparently, this simple fix breaks much of the hacking software that is now available. While good news for security, Hardy notes that this change has frustrated some police officers who confiscated iPhones and assumed that they had as long as they wanted to try to unlock them using tools available to certain police departments.
- Joe Rossignol of MacRumors reports that Apple's extended return policy is now in effect for the 2024 holiday season. That means that you can buy (almost) any product from the Apple Store and instead of the normal 14-day return window (which I recently discussed), you have until January 8, 2025, to return the product for a full, no-questions asked refund.
- Third-party reports on which specific Apple devices are selling better than others are always at least a little suspect; only Apple knows the true numbers. With that caveat, Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac discusses a recent report estimating that for the last three months, the breakdown has been 45% for the iPad Pro, 33% for the low-end iPad, 13% for the iPad Air, and 9% for the iPad mini. If those numbers are accurate, I'm surprised to see so much more interest in the iPad Pro over the iPad Air. I love my iPad Pro because of all of the advanced, premium features. But unless someone tells me that they want the best of the best, I recommend the iPad Air because it is cheaper but has so many great features that you used to only get on an iPad Pro.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors wrote a fascinating post, full of graphs, that takes a look at Apple revenue over the last 25 years. There are so many interesting stories revealed by these graphs. For example, we all know how important iPhones have become to Apple, but it is interesting to see how much Services revenue has been increasing over the years. Wearables revenue is also quite impressive; people love AirPods and the Apple Watch.
- If you want to take a video using an iPhone but want to make sure that you hear someone speaking, even if they are not close to the camera, you might want to buy the new wireless microphone from Rode, the Wireless Micro ($149 on Amazon). As Zac Hall of 9to5Mac explains, it does a nice job of picking up the audio, and you get two wireless lavaliere microphones plus a USB-C receiver that plugs into the bottom of your iPhone. It looks like a neat product.
- Joe Rossignol of MacRumors reports that the Apple Music Classical app now supports CarPlay.
- The Apple Watch Series 10 is fantastic, as I noted in my review. And you can now save $50 on the product when you buy it from Amazon. With a discounted price starting at $349, this would be a fantastic gift for someone you love for the holidays.
- Andrew O'Hara of Apple Insider explains why he loves his Apple Watch Ultra 2 more than ever.
- You can currently purchase a four-pack of AirTags on Amazon for only $69.99. That is the lowest price that I have ever seen for AirPods—while Apple charges $99, Amazon typically charges around $80 and sometimes has gone down to as cheap as $75, but I've never seen $69.99—so this is worth taking advantage of if you want some more.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac reviews HomeBatteries, an app that monitors the battery life on your HomeKit devices. I use this app frequently, and it is a great way for me to check the battery life on the Eufy security cameras that I have outside of my house.
- As reported by John Voorhees of MacStories, Apple has released updates to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad. One nice improvement on the Mac is that the program can now edit spatial videos that you take with an Apple Vision Pro or some iPhones. Apple did a nice job of implementing this feature. I especially like that you can work with the video by just looking at the right or left eye, or you can use an Anaglyph mode that will remind you of watching an old 3D movie using red and blue glasses but which is a really effective way to get a sense of the intensity of the 3D effect even when you are working on a 2D screen. The release of this app is great for two reasons. First, and most obviously, it means that you can take a number of spatial videos and then edit them together into a nice movie that looks great on your Vision Pro. You can even add 3D titles. Second, my hope is that the release of this tool is the dawn of people creating lots of interesting 3D movies for the Vision Pro. Still missing is a good way to stream these videos, although Vimeo may be adding something next month that will work.
- If you own a Vision Pro and want to see a very simple example of a spatial movie created in Final Cut Pro, here is one for you. A few months ago, I used my iPhone to take some spatial videos at the bar/restaurant that serves my favorite hamburger in New Orleans: Port of Call, located on the edge of the French Quarter. Last night, I turned those video clips into a two-minute 3D spatial movie. To watch it, look at this post in Safari while using your Vision Pro, click this link to download the 600MB movie from Dropbox into the Files app on your Vision Pro, and then watch the downloaded movie. Note that it may take some time to load before it starts playing.
- If you want to watch a spatial movie that may not be as good as mine (ahem) but had a slightly larger budget (ahem ahem), last night Apple released a music video for the song Open Hearts by The Weeknd in Spatial Video, and it is both surreal and very fun to watch. There is one scene in particular involving buildings that made my jaw drop. Definitely worth watching if you have a Vision Pro. Apple released a press release to discuss the new video.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac points out that in addition to lots of other great Vision Pro content currently available, you can watch the two top-grossing films of 2024 in 3D in the Disney+ app: Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine.
- If you are a fan of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+, you can now read a book about the making of the show.
Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show That Kicked Its Way into Our Hearts by Jeremy Egner (the television editor at the New York Times) is now available on Amazon, Audible, and elsewhere. According to Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac, the book explains that while we now know that the show is a hit, the team behind the show had trouble selling it; the only interested buyer was Apple TV+, a brand-new streaming service that very few people were using at the time. - Mythic Quest is a funny TV show that I have enjoyed watching on Apple TV+. And fortunately, there is a lot more coming. Joe Otterson of Variety reports that Season 4 begins on January 29, 2025. Also, when Season 4 ends, Apple TV+ will begin streaming a four-show spin-off series called Side Quest that features the same characters; it sounds like each episode of Side Quest will focus on a different character.
- Julie Strietelmeier of The Gadgeteer discusses Zerfio, a device that plugs into your USB-C port on the iPhone and turns it into a flute.
- And finally, as we prepare for Apple Intelligence to get more, well, intelligent in iOS 18.2 and other AI services are developing even more, are we at the point yet where an AI can be our friend and companion? In a fantastic video for the Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern explores that question by taking a vacation with four AI assistants:
