Month: February 2025

Apple is well known for providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be marginalized. That means devoting time and resources to accessibility features for speech, vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive disabilities, often resulting in features that are beneficial for everyone—such as iPhone and iPad features that I use regularly. And it also means creating a culture of inclusion and encouraging diversity in its hiring not only because it is the right and just thing to do but also because when your products are created by people with different viewpoints and backgrounds you are more likely to come up the next great idea. Unfortunately, it has always been true and remains true today that there are some people, including people in power, who oppose this. Michael Liedtke of the AP reports that during the Apple shareholders meeting that took place this week, a conservative organization opposed to diversity efforts submitted a shareholder proposal for Apple to abolish its diversity and inclusion programs. Apple opposed that proposal, and it was rejected by 97% of Apple shareholders. Reuters reports Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said at the meeting that Apple’s “strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate.” Apple is not alone; Miranda Jeyaretnam of Time magazine wrote this week that other companies suporting DEI efforts notwithstanding the latest wave of opposition include Microsoft, Delta Airlines, and JPMorgan Chase. But Jeyaretnam also notes that some are giving in to the pressure such as Google, Amazon, and Meta. Students of history know that doing what is right is not always what is easy, so I’m glad to see that Apple is sticking to its convictions on these issues. And now, the other news of note from the past week:

• The new iPhone 16e goes on sale today, and we now have reviews from a few folks who got pre-release units from Apple. Cherlynn Low of Engadget says that while it is nice to get an iPhone that starts at $599 instead of $799, the shortcomings in the camera and the lack of MagSafe are big omissions, and the iPhone 16 at $799 “is a better buy for most people.”
• Allison Johnson of The Verge had a similar reaction: “I’d rather have a cool magnetic accessory system and a neat quick-glance display feature built into my phone than Apple Intelligence, especially for $600. It doesn’t quite add up for me, but maybe the math looks a little different for you.”
• Nicole Nguyen of the Wall Street Journal says that the iPhone 16e is “a decent choice for anyone who just wants the basics” and “who give priority to price of specs,” but also notes that for those folks, an older model being sold at a discount might be “the best bang for your buck.”
• Patrick Holland of CNet says that when you look at what Apple included and what Apple omitted from the iPhone 16e, it is “a weird value proposition. It’s new, but it’s old. It’s affordable, but not cheap.” But he ultimately concludes that “it’s a good phone and will be a solid upgrade from older iPhone models.”
• The most in-depth review of the iPhone 16e that I read was the review by John Gruber of Daring Fireball. He discusses all of the omissions to make this product less expensive but notes that the target market of the iPhone 16e is not the people who read his website but instead their friends and family members who just want a decent phone. I agree with that 100%.
• The one new feature in the iPhone 16e is the Apple-designed celluar modem called the C1. In an article for Six Colors and Macworld, Jason Snell says that while the C1 itself is nothing special, it shows that Apple eventually plans to beat Qualcomm at its own game.
• David Sparks of MacSparky offers a similar take in his post Why the C1 Chip Matters More Than You Think.
• William Gallagher of AppleInsider discusses one of the first tests of the new Apple C1 modem, noting that Apple is correct to say that it is up to 25% more power efficient than previous modems.
• Apple announced this week that its relatively new Hearing Aid feature for the AirPods Pro 2 is now available in the United Kingdom.
• One feature no longer available in the UK is Advanced Data Protection, and John Gruber of Daring Fireball explains why: a reported demand by the UK government that it be allowed to access encrypted data of Apple customers.
• Those reports of what the UK demanded—the first one of which seems to be this February 7, 2025, article by Joseph Menn of the Washington Post—say that the UK was demanding not only access to encrypted data for customers in the UK but for customers everyone in the world. Zoe Kleinman of the BBC reported this week that Tulsi Gabbard, the new director of US National Intelligence, is saying that if these reports are true, then the UK’s demands are an “egregious violation” of privacy for U.S. citizens and might also violate agreements between the US and the UK.
• Two weeks ago, I noted that Apple introduced a way to migrate all of your purchases from one Apple Account to the other one so that you can just use a single account for everything. Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reports that there are tons of restrictions on who can use it and that he cannot get the tool to work for me. Although I have two Apple Accounts and I would love to have one, I’m planning to wait on the sidelines on this one for a long time. I’ve heard too many stories like this one.
• Adobe released Photoshop for the iPhone this week. It is a cool app with some useful features like quickly replacing the background of an image, adjusting the color and light in a specific part of an image, a tool to remove something from an image (the Clean Up feature in Apple Intelligence for the built-in Photos app can do something similar), the ability to add to an image with AI Generative Fill, and more. I started trying out the app last night, and it is very powerful but also fairly easy to use.
• Amazon unveiled the new Alexa+ this week, and Ryan Christoffel noted that it has some AI features that would be great on an Apple TV, such as the ability to jump to a specific scene of a movie and personalized movie and TV recommendations. I suspect that Apple is working on a next generation of the Apple TV to include features like this.
• Speaking of possible future Apple products, Christoffel notes in another article that the upcoming iOS 18.4 will include a new Food section in Apple News, and he wonders if the reason why is that providing recipes would be a perfect feature of a new HomePod-like product with a screen sold by Apple to use in a kitchen.
• Whether or not it is included on a possible future new home device from Apple, the upcoming Apple News+ Food section sounds pretty great. Juli Clover of MacRumors reports that it will include “tens of thousands of recipes, stories about restaurants, tips for healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more” from “top food publishers such as Allrecipes, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Good Food, and Serious Eats.” When Apple first released News+ in 2019, I wasn’t sure how useful it would be, but I now find myself reading it just about every day. News+ does a good job of automatically surfacing articles of interest to me, and it is a great way to search for other articles from a wide range of sources on other topics. With the addition of a Food section, News+ will become an even better value.
• iOS 18.4 will also include new features for CarPlay. José Adorno of BGR reports that one new feature is the ability to display a third row of apps if you have a larger screen in your car, such as the 14-inch screen offered in a Toyota Tundra.
• There was lots of good news this week for users of the Apple Vision Pro. I reported a few days ago that visisionOS 2.4 will be released in April and will feature a new Spatial Gallery app. Additionally, Mike Fleming, Jr. of Deadline reports that Apple TV+ has a new documentary coming out on May 30 called Bono: Stories of Surrender. That film about the U2 singer and songwriter will have not only a regular version but also an immersive version designed for the Apple Vision Pro.
• Andrew Orr of AppleInsider reports that visionOS 2.4 will also make it substantially easier to let a guest use your Apple Vision Pro thanks to a new iPhone/iPad app.
• Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reports that an Apple Watch helped to save the life of a man in Texas when it notified him of an irregular heart rate and detected Afib.
• Off and on for a while now, you were able to purchase a four-pack of AirTags from Amazon for a record-low price of $69.99. Now the price is down to $67.99, a new record low (as shown on Camel Camel Camel). I suspect that Apple is clearing out inventory so that it can release a second-generation AirTag with new features, but the current AirTag is so useful that I wouldn’t discourage anyone from taking advantage of this sale if you have something that you want to be able to track.
• I enjoyed this interview by Sarah Bahr of the New York Times with actor Tramell Tillman, who plays Mr. Milchick on the Apple TV+ show Severance.
• And finally, Steve Jobs would have turned 70 years old this week, and the Steve Jobs Archive shared a Steve Jobs video clip from 2007 that is one of my personal favorites. By almost any measure, Tim Cook has done a fantastic job leading Apple since Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, but I was thinking of Steve Jobs when I watched the recent SNL50 show and found myself laughing at another Steve: Steve Martin. Between the opening monologue on that special and his hit show Only Murders in the Building, Steve Martin is doing some of his best work ever at age 79. If Apple could have had the benefit of another two decades or more of contributions by Steve Jobs, the results could have been something special for all of us. The video clip released by the Steve Jobs Archive is nice because you can see Steve Jobs speaking, but I prefer the slightly longer version that Apple played (audio only) at the beginning of its special event on September 12, 2017, which was the first presentation in the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple’s campus and was the occasion when Apple introduced the revolutionary iPhone X. I encourage you to hit play on the below video and listen to the first 90 seconds:

The very best spatial content for the Apple Vision Pro is the Apple Immersive Video released by Apple. These are 180-degree 8K recordings captured with Spatial Audio. And they are stunning. Apple has released quite a bit of Apple Immersive Video content since the Apple Vision Pro first went on sale on February 2, 2024, but I haven’t been able to find a good source online that lists all of it in one place. So I made one myself.

If you are new to the Apple Vision Pro and want a good list of what to watch, or if you want a reminder of all of the Apple Immersive Video content that has been released, here is an up-to-date list.

Last update: July 31, 2025. Total videos: 28.

Adventure. Join pioneering athletes as they take on awe-inspiring challenges in some of the world’s most spectacular locations. Apple TV+ link. Episodes:

• Highlining. Step into thiin air with highliner Faith Dickey as she take on her biggest challenge yet—a daring traverse 3,000 feet above Norway’s breathtaking fjords. (2-2-2024)
• Parkour. Join the world’s leading parkour athletes on a gravity-defying trek across the streets and rooftops of Paris. (5-24-2024)
• Ice Dive. Plunge into the Arctic’s frigid waters as diver Ant Williams attempts to shatter the world record for swimming the longest distance under ice—on just one breath. (12-20-2024)
• Deep Water Solo. Scale the craggy seaside cliffs of Mallorca, Spain, with world-class climber Kai Lightner as he makes a risky free-solo ascent on Cova del Diablo. (2-28-2025)
• Hill Climb. Ride along with driver Laura Hayes for an exhilarating rally car race against the clock. Will she become the fastest woman to finish the notoriously tough Pikes Peak International Hill Climb? (4-25-2025)

Boundless. Embark on the kind of bucket-list trips you’ve only dreamed of as you explore extraordinary places and meet inspiring people. Apple TV+ link. Episodes:

• Hot Air Balloons. Take a stunning journey above Türkiye’s iconic rock formations with the first woman hot-air baloon pilot from Cappadocia as your guide. (7-18-2024)
• Arctic Surfing. Paddle into icy waters with a group of intrepid surfers and feel the rush of riding Norway’s wintry waves. (2-21-2025)

Wild Life. Get up close and personal with some of the most charismatic creates on the planet—and uncover what makes them unique with the experts who know them best. Apple TV+ Link. Episodes:

• Rhinos. Explore the world’s largest sanctuary for these gentle giants—and meet the woman who dedicates her life to rescuing, raising, and rewilding them. (2-2-2024)
• Elephants. Join orphaned elephants as they find their footing at Kenya’s Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, forming a chosen family with each other, their caregivers, and wild elephants. (8-9-2024)
• Sharks. Suit up with a bold team of scuba divers in the Bahamas—and come nose-to-nose with one of the most misunderstood creatures in the ocean. (12-13-2024)
• Orangutans: Bond with young orangutans at an extraordinary rehab center in Borneo as they grow, play, and learn the ropes of jungle life. (8-8-2025)

Prehistoric Planet Immersive. Transport yourself into the daily lives of dinosaurs, and follow the struggles and triumphs of these majestic animals amid spectacular scenery. Apple TV+ link. Episodes:

• Pterosaur Beach. Along a rugged ocean coast, a pterosaur colony settles in for an afternoon nap—one that proves to be anything but restful. (2-2-2024)
• Triceratops Forest. Deep in the woods, a curious baby triceratops learns a valuable lesson about family bonds. (4-19-2024)

Elevated. Gain an all-new perspective as you take aerial tours of the world’s most remarkable landscapes, led by well-known guides with a special connection to each place. Apple TV+ link. Episodes:

• Hawai’i. Soar over simmering volcanoes, rushing waterfalls, and breathtaking ocean cliffs. It’s all in this epic voyage across the islands, guided by actor and Hawai’i native Auli’i Cravalho. (9-6-2024)
• Maine. (coming soon)

Sports. Sports content is especially compelling in immersive video because you are so close to the action, sitting in seats that you could never afford. Sports-related titles that have been released by Apple so far include:

• 2023 MLS Cup Highlights. Join MLS superstars on the pitch as Columbus make their heart-pounding push for the club’s third MLS crown. (3-28-2024)
• 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. Take the court as gravity-defying icons and emerging stars ignite the NBA’s star-packed weekend. (10-18-2024)
• 4 Minutes Inside Super Bowl LVIII. Join the NFL’s best on the gridiron—and go behind the scenes—as the Chiefs and 49ers battle for football’s ultimate prize. (9-6-2024, but not currently available)
• Man Vs. Beast. Hang on tight as professional bull riders take you inside the rodeo and show you what it takes to compete in the dangerous sport. (1-31-2025)
• VIP: Yankee Stadium. An all-encompassing look at how elite athletes, die-hard fans, dedicated staff, and epic moments make the Bronx ballpark legendary. (2-4-2025)

Concert for One. Enjoy exclusive, up-close access to private performances from today’s most electrifying artists. Apple TV+ link. Episodes:

• RAYE. Singer-songwriter RAYE sings her hits “Genesis” and “Escapism” from AIR Studios in London in this captivating, intimate set. (10-10-2024)

Music. In addition to the Concert for One series, music-related content includes:

• Alicia Keys: Rehearsal Room. Get a rare glimpse into the GRAMMY winner’s creative process with this intimate rehearsal session featuring renditions of her hits “No One,” “If I Ain’t Got You,” and “You Don’t Know My Name.” (2-2-2024)
• The Weeknd: Open Hearts. Journey alongside The Weeknd as he weaves his waythrough a surreal, haunting cityscape in this electrifying sonic voyage. (11-14-2024)
• Metallica. Immersive concert filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year finale of the band’s M72 World Tour. Features full performances of “Whiplash”, “One,” and “Enter Sandman.” (3-14-2025)
• Bono: Stories of Surrender. Through words, music, and mischief, Bono pulls back the curtain on his deeply personal experiences that have shaped him as a son, father, husband, activist, and U2 frontman. (5-30-2025)

Other Apple Immersive Video content that has been released or announced:

• Submerged. A WWII submarine crew combats a harrowing torpedo attack in this adrenaline—pumping thrill ride. From filmmaker Edward Berger, director of the Academy Award-winning All Quiet on the Western Front. (10-10-2024)
• F1 The Movie: Hot Lap Immersive. Go for a high-speed test drive with Brad Pitt. (6-19-2025)
• Red Bull: Big-Wave Surfing. Elite surfers riding powerful waves off the remote coast of Teahupo’o, Tahiti. (coming soon)

Finally, while the focus of this post is on the immersive video content created by Apple, I would be remiss if I did not mention that some third parties are also doing amazing work in this area. For example, the Prima Immersive app premiered on February 10, 2025, with the first episode of the Sessions immersive video series from The Spatialists, which features bluegrass band AJ Lee & Blue Summit. It is stunning, as good as anything released by Apple. I hope to see more great content like this from third parties.

Thank you to SaneBox for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month. SaneBox is a service that sorts emails based on who the email is coming from and the subject line of the email. That sounds so simple, but it makes such a difference. Using SaneBox can vastly reduce the number of interruptions in your day.

Whether you are drafting a brief, doing legal research, or preparing a contract, you need uninterrupted focus time to do your best work. But of course, getting uninterrupted time is a luxory, and email is often one of the biggest obsticles. Even if you can deal with each email quickly, every time you do so, you need to take the the time to return focus to what you were working on.

You cannot get rid of interruptions completely. But you can minimize them by using SaneBox. I’ve written in the past about how SaneBox can improve your relationship with email by automatically filing your less emails into different folders. For example, by turning on the SaneLater feature, messages that are likely to be less important automatically go into a separate folder. And every email that doesn’t show up in your Inbox is one less interruptinos to your day. By turning on the SaneNews feature, newsletters—which you almost certainly don’t want to take the time to read while you are focusing on a project—automatically go into the @SaneNews folder. SaneBox keeps these less important emails out of sight and out of mind, until a later point in the day when you are ready to take the time to look at them. Meanwhile, important emails still go straight to your Inbox.

What if SaneBox makes a mistake, putting an email into your @SaneLater folder when it is the type of email that you normally want to see right away? You can fix this without fiddling with any control panels or settings. Simply drag the email from the @SaneLater folder into your Inbox. That’s it. That will train the SaneBox AI so it does what you want in the future.

There are other SaneBox features that you can also use to minimize interruptions such as the Snooze feature. You can enable folders such as @SaneTomorrow, @SaneNextWeek, and @SaneNextMonth. (Or you can configure any other time period.) Move an email into the @SaneTomorrow folder and it will disappear from your Inbox until sunrise the next day, keeping your Inbox clean for today. If you want, you can enable auto-replies for snoozed emails to let the sender know that you will get back to them soon.

You can also free up your headspace by setting reminders right from your Inbox. Just forward a message to a reminder address like 1day@sanebox.com and you’ll get a reminder in your chosen time frame.

With SaneBox automatically organizing your emails, you can spend much less time in your Inbox, which means more time getting your important work done with fewer interruptions.

If this sounds interesting to you, click here to get a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. If you decide that you prefer getting all of the intrruptinos, then just don’t sign up. But if you appreciate having more time to focus on getting your work done, using this link in this post will give you a generous $25 credit for when you pick a plan. I’ve been using SaneBox since 2022, and I really like the service, so perhaps you will too.

Thanks again to SaneBox for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month.

Apple does not introduce a new iPhone very often, especially one that has a new type of name. But a few days ago, Apple announced the iPhone 16e, and that is what we focus on in this week’s episode of the In the News podcast. We talk about what the “e” might stand for, what features are included and which are missing, and what the iPhone 16e might tell us about future iPhone models. We also talk about how to store multiple Apple Watch bands, the latest immersive video for the Apple Vision Pro called Arctic Surfing, the Severance show on Apple TV+, and more.

In our In the Know segment, Brett shares a tip for changing the size of app icons on your iPhone. And I remind you that if your speaker or microphone on your Apple Watch isn’t working as intended, then it may be time for it to take a shower.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice. You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

For a long time, Ted Lasso was the most popular show on Apple TV+. Nellie Andreeva of Deadline reports that Severance is now the #1 show on Apple TV+. My podcast co-host Brett Burney revealed last week that he finally started watching Severance, so perhaps Brett was the one that put the show over the top. As one sign of the show’s popularity, there is a new commercial for State Farm Insurance set in the Severance universe. Yes, you heard that correctly. It’s pretty funny, actually, and what a bizarre juxtaposition to see Mark S. next to Jake. I’m excited to watch this week’s new episode tonight. And now, the news of note from the past week:

• The transition of iPhone J.D. to the WordPress platform is now complete, and to my knowledge, I fixed everything that broke along the way … at least, everything that I came across. If you see something that doesn’t seem right, I’d appreciate it if you posted a comment on this website or sent me an email. You should notice that this website loads MUCH faster now, and everything is far more stable. Thanks again for your patience during the last 48 hours.
• Apple introduced the iPhone 16e this week, the replacement to the iPhone SE (third generation). One of the best articles I saw about the new iPhone 16e came from John Gruber of Daring Fireball. Worth reading if you are interested in this device—even if you are not interested in buying one for yourself.
• The only new feature in the iPhone 16e is the first cellular modem made by Apple, which it calls the C1 chip. Stephen Nellis of Reuters interviewed a number of folks from Apple to discuss what makes the C1 special and what it means for the future. For example, Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, said: “We build a platform for generations. … C1 is the start, and we’re going to keep improving that technology each generation, so that it becomes a platform for us that will be used to truly differentiate this technology for our products.” Srouji noted that Apple has an advantage over Qualcomm, the company that has traditionally made the modem for the iPhone and many other smartphones, because Apple can design its modem to meet the specific needs of the iPhone and can integrate it with other processes on the iPhone.
• In an article for Six Colors and Macworld, Dan Moren discusses what the iPhone SE meant for users and Apple and how the new iPhone 16e fits into that.
• Juli Clover of MacRumors reports on some of the common iPhone features that are missing from the iPhone 16e, including some minor ones that I didn’t discuss in my post from yesterday, such as the Photographic Styles feature.
• William Gallagher of AppleInsider argues that one of the features missing from the iPhone 16e that Apple should have found a way to include is MagSafe. I understand his point; I love StandBy mode and use it every day that I am in my office by placing my iPhone on my Anker MagSafe Charger Stand. And there are lots of other useful things that you can attach to an iPhone that has MagSafe. Nevertheless, in my opinion, it is still a “nice to have” not a “need to have” feature, and I presume that Apple had a good reason for not including it, even if it was just to keep the cost lower.
• If you have a lot of bands for your Apple Watch (yep, that’s me), you need a place to store them. Back in 2023, I mentioned a new watch band storage solution called the TimePorter from a company called Twelve South that makes lots of great products. Andrew O’Hara of AppleInsider posted a review of the TimePorter, and he likes it. If I had an appropriate wall space for a TimePorter, I would definiteily get one of these. I instead keep the watch bands that I use most often in the large white box that used to come with some of the early premium Apple Watch models (like the ones with stainless steel).
• Apple released a new immersive video for the Apple Vision Pro last night, and it is really impressive. It is the second episode of the Boundless series, which lets you explore new locations and trips, and it is called Arctic Surfing. We have all seen people surfing next to sandy beaches and perhaps some sand dunes. In this video, people surf in icy waters in Norway surrounded by snow-covered mountains. It is beautiful, but it made me cold to watch it.
• Andrew Orr of AppleInsider explains how you can watch an NBA basketball game in an Apple Vision Pro in tabletop mode. Interesting.
• Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac discusses some recent updates to the Tripsy app, an alternative to TripIt.
• Apple TV+ is unquestionably a great service if you like Sci-FI. Severance is amazing, and so is For All Mankind, Dark Matter, and Foundation. And Apple just announced its next one, a Sci-Fi/thriller/comedy called Murderbot. But Apple TV+ is not just for Sci-Fi. Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac says that Apple TV+ is also becoming a great destination for crime thrillers thanks to the upcoming show Dope Thief and existing titles like Hijack, Presumed Innocent, Black Bird, and Criminal Record.
• And finally, here is the video released by Apple to introduce the iPhone 16e:

Yesterday, Apple announced the successor to the iPhone SE (third generation), which was released three years ago. Instead of calling it the iPhone SE (fourth generation), we have a brand-new name: the iPhone 16e. Given the number of changes, I think that this new device earns a new name. For example, the iPhone SE was the last iPhone that still had a button on the front (used for Touch ID); the new iPhone 16e removes the button to have more usable screen space and uses Face ID like every other modern iPhone. The iPhone SE was also the last iPhone to have a Lightning port; the new iPhone 16e has a USB-C port like every other modern iPhone. But the primary purpose remains the same: just like the iPhone SE, the iPhone 16e is the least expensive iPhone. It is the device to get if you want something new but don’t want to pay more than you have to.

Like an iPhone 16, minus a few features

I suspect that most people considering the purchase of an iPhone 16e will be comparing it to the iPhone 16, which was announced on September 9, 2024. The iPhone 16 starts at $799 but the new iPhone 16e starts at $599, so you save $200. The two devices are virtually the same physical size. (The iPhone 16 is .03 inches taller and weighs .12 ounces more, and I doubt you would notice the difference unless you held them close to each other.) Both have a 6.1” screen. Both devices have an Action button on the left side. Both devices use the A18 chip. Both devices start at a 128GB capacity, or you can pay more for 256GB or 512GB. Both devices use USB-C instead of Lightning.

So what is different? The camera system is very different, and this is immediately apparent when you look at the back because the iPhone 16e has only a single camera whereas the iPhone 16 has two cameras (and the iPhone 16 Pro has three cameras).

The iPhone 16e has the 48MP Fusion camera, which is a big improvement over the iPhone SE’s 12MP camera. But you don’t get the second lens, the 12MP Ultra Wide lens that is used for wide-angle photography and for macro photography. Having only a single camera means that you cannot take spatial photos or videos for viewing on a device like the Apple Vision Pro. The iPhone 16e also lacks the Camera button on the right side that is on the iPhone 16.

The iPhone 16 also lacks the Dynamic Island, a useful feature introduced with the iPhone 15 that allows you to use one app on most of the screen but get updates from another app at the top of the screen.

The iPhone 16e also lacks true MagSafe support. It does support Qi charging up to 7.5W, so you can do wireless charging. But the charger won’t attach to the back of the iPhone (nor can you use other devices that take advantage of the magnet part of MagSafe to attach to the back of an iPhone) and you don’t get the faster 15W charging of MagSafe and Qi 2.

Those are all of the big things that you miss when you save $200. There are also some very minor additional differences, but they are things that most folks won’t notice. For example, the iPhone 16 has an A18 chip with a 5-core GPU; the iPhone 16e has an A18 chip with a 4-core GPU, so it will be a little bit slower on some tasks. But again, I doubt you will really notice this. There are also some other minor differences regarding photographs and videos, how dim the screen can get, color choices (the iPhone 16e only comes in black or white), etc. But the big omissions are one camera lens versus two, no Camera Control, no Dynamic Island, and Qi instead of MagSafe. For a lot of people, those features will not be worth an extra $200.

A different modem that might be better

Another big difference is that the iPhone 16e is the first iPhone to use a modem designed and built by Apple instead of Qualcomm. Apple calls this the C1. It is more power-efficient than a Qualcomm modem, and Apple says that this translates into better battery life. For example, Apple says that you get up to 26 hours of video playback, compared to 22 hours on the iPhone 16.

What remains to be seen is how the C1 modem performs as a modem. There is a reason that Qualcomm has been the leader in the cellular modem business for so long. Its modems are really good. I hope that we soon see reports that the C1 modem is as good (or better?) than a Qualcomm modem. But we could see just the opposite since this is Apple’s first effort. When we start to see Apple-built modems in the high-end iPhones, then we will know that Apple is confident that its modems are better. For now, the jury is out.

A more modern budget iPhone

In the past, when Apple has introduced a new generation of the iPhone SE, it has included many (although not all) of the features from the high-end iPhones. Each generation of the iPhone SE would remain on sale for several years, so near the end of the product cycle, the device would be noticeably behind the latest-and-greatest iPhones, but it would remain a good model. Both my wife and my daughter use the iPhone SE (third generation), and it remains a good, functional iPhone for them.

But the new iPhone 16e is much closer to the top-of-the-line iPhone models. If you just plan to use the “regular” iPhone camera lens, now you have a really good one. USB-C support means that your iPhone will now have the same connector as your other devices (and if that is not yet true for you right now, it will be soon because Apple done with using the Lightning port in its products). It supports Apple Intelligence, and to enable that support, it starts at 128GB of capacity, which is a perfect size for most people. And while some people may miss the button on the front, Apple decided long ago—and I certainly agree—that it is better to have more usable space on the screen.

At $599, the iPhone 16e is more expensive than the $429 iPhone SE, but it is still the cheapest iPhone in the lineup, and yet you get a lot of modern features for $599. Will the iPhone 16e remain for sale for two, three, or four years as was the norm for the iPhone SE? Or does the fact that “16” is in the name mean that we will see a new model every year: iPhone 17e, iPhone 18e, etc.? Time will tell.

Conclusion

There is nothing exciting about the iPhone 16e, unless you have been on the edge of your seat waiting to use a modem made by Apple. But that’s not the point. This is a very good iPhone and it is cheaper than the alternatives. If you compare the iPhone 16e to an iPhone 16 and decide that the missing features are important to you, then Apple would be delighted for you to spend an extra $200. But if those few missing features don’t matter, it is good news for you that you can now get a modern iPhone for $200 less.

If you are reading this, that means that the change has already occurred. Here was my original post:

We interrupt this website’s regular broadcast schedule to alert you that this website is about to change. When I started this website in 2008, I used a website platform called TypePad. It was a good option at the time. But now, over 16 years later, it is no longer the best option for a website like this one. TypePad no longer keeps up with the latest website technology, and I’ve had many problems with things breaking behind the scenes. For example, have you ever noticed that a post seems to be missing a picture? Yeah, me too. Indeed, if you try to create a new website using TypePad, you are alerted that Typepad no longer accepts new customers. The service is simply servicing its existing customers until they move elsewhere.

So I am moving elsewhere. I’m changing to a web platform called WordPress. You may have heard of it before. WordPress is used to create almost half of the websites on the Internet. That’s a lot. WordPress offers numerous advantages over TypePad and is much more stable. However, it is also more complicated to use, and I’ve faced a steep learning curve over the last few months as I’ve been making the transition and getting all of the old posts moved over to the new digs.

If all goes well, once I make the move official, everything should be mostly the same for you as a reader. You will still be able to go to www.iPhoneJD.com to visit this website and see new posts. All of the old posts should still be there. And all of the old pictures in those old posts should still be there … with the exception of some that I’m sure I will need to fix, once I find them, which will take some time.

It will be obvious to you when the switch to WordPress takes place because instead of this being a website with a sidebar on both the left and the right, there will only be a single sidebar on the right. Here is what the website has looked like on TypePad for the last 16 years:

Here is a preview of what it will look like in WordPress:

It’s not just a new look on a computer or iPad; when you access this website from an iPad or iPhone, the page layout will be better than ever.

Many of you read iPhone J.D. when it shows up (at no charge to you) in your email Inbox thanks to a service I use called FeedBlitz. Others read iPhone J.D. using RSS and a newsreader. When the change occurs, it may take some time for those services to start working again. If you need to change anything on your end, I’ll let you know, and I appreciate your patience during the transition. You will always be able to visit the website in any browser, such as Safari, to see the new posts.

Once I move to the WordPress platform, I hope to never have to make a move like this again. At the very least, I hope this new platform will take us through the next sixteen years. Will we still even be using iPhones at that point? Will “iPhone J.D.” sound as antiquated as “Telegraph J.D.” or “Atari 2600 J.D.”? Let’s all plan to trade notes in the year 2041 and see where we are.

Thanks in advance for your understanding during the upcoming transition. Unless I encounter an unanticipated stumbling block, the change will happen soon.

This week’s episode of the In the News podcast showed up in your podcast player a few hours late due to Brett’s busy travel schedule, but to make up for it, we have a jam-packed episode given all of the news of note this past week. We start with a very brief discussion of the so-called red version of Apple’s Solo Loop band for the Apple Watch, and then we then discuss what Apple will include in the next generation of the iPhone SE, which we expect Apple to announce in just a few days. We then discuss the reports of a truly inane decision by a part of the UK government that would help the bad guys and decrease security and privacy for everyone else; hopefully, sanity will prevail, but that cannot be taken for granted in today’s world. We also discuss T-Mobile’s new program for getting the internet on your iPhone using satellites, my recent review of the Kodak Slide N Scan, the brand new Powerbeats Pro 2 (which looks to be a worthy alternative to the AirPods Pro 2), the new Apple Health Study and what it might mean for future Apple products, a new way to deal with having two Apple Accounts when you really want to have just one, an unexpected place to wear an Apple Watch and the relatively new Titanium Milanese Apple Watch Band, and more.

In our In the Show segment, we discuss the fantastic Apple TV+ show Severance and the new Apple TV+ app for Android.

In our In the Know segment, we provide tips for helping a friend or family member with their iPhone when they are not in the same room as you. Brett discusses the numerous features you can use in FaceTime screen sharing, and I provide a tip for sending someone an annotated screenshot.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast, or just listen using your podcast player of choice. You can also watch the episode on YouTube:

Apple introduces its flagship iPhone models every year in September. Additionally, Apple announces a new version of the iPhone SE every few years in the Spring. The original iPhone SE was announced on March 21, 2016. Four years later, the second generation was announced on April 15, 2020. Two years later, the third generation was announced on March 8, 2022. It has now been three years since the last generation of the iPhone SE was released, and there have been rumors for many months that a fourth generation would be announced in Spring 2025. Well, as reported by John Voorhees of MacStories and countless others, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed yesterday that Apple would reveal “the newest member of the family” on Wednesday, February 19. I suppose that could be anything, but it is widely expected that this will be the announcement of the fourth generation of the iPhone SE. The first two SE models started at $399, the third one started at $429, so the iPhone SE has always cost about half of what the flagship models cost. With that lower cost, you get fewer features, but even so, the iPhone SE has always been a nice iPhone, especially if you get one during the first year of its release. Until now, the iPhone SE has also been the only way to get an iPhone with a button at the bottom—a feature that was an iconic part of the iPhone for its first decade until the iPhone X introduced Face ID in 2017. However, there are rumors that the button will disappear in the fourth generation of the iPhone SE. It will be interesting to see what Apple announces in a few days. And now, the other news of note from the past week:

• Apple released iOS 18.3.1 and related updates this week, and Malcolm Owen of AppleInsider reports that the updates fix some bugs and provide security updates.
• Apple cannot improve the security of the iPhone if a government orders it to break encryption. But last week, the Washington Post reported that the UK issued a secret order that Apple must break the security of its end-to-end encryption for all users worldwide (not just UK citizens) by creating a backdoor and also prohibited Apple from talking about it. This is shortsighted. Once a backdoor is created for one government, Apple will have to give it to every government, plus the backdoor will inevitably end up in the hands of the bad guys. At that point, the only people who will have secure communications are the criminals who use programs that continue to utilize encryption, notwithstanding any government prohibitions. As Dan Moren of Six Colors says: This is red alert, five-alarm-fire kind of stuff. Tim Hardwick of MacRumors notes that members of key U.S. congressional oversight committees are seeking to get the UK government to back down from its demand.
• Apple released the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 this week. They are the same cost as and a worthy competitor to the AirPods Pro 2, especially for people who like the way that Beats products traditionally sound. One big advantage of Powerbeats is that they wrap around your ear, so you don’t have to worry about an AirPod falling out of your ear. That’s why my daughter prefers her first-generation Powerbeats Pro to AirPods. As Malcolm Owen of AppleInsider notes, the second generation has active noise cancellation and many of the other features of the AirPods Pro 2. You don’t get the hearing aid features, but you do get heart rate monitoring—although you already have rate monitoring if you wear an Apple Watch.
• Chance Miller of 9to5Mac has been using the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 for the past two weeks, and he posted this review. He says that they are especially great for fitness enthusiasts.
• As I noted in my recent review of the Kodak Slide N Scan Digital Film Scanner, I’m a big fan of the Photomator app for the iPad. Apple announced last November that it had purchased Pixelmator, the company that makes that app, and as William Gallagher of AppleInsider notes, the first sign of that acquisition is a new splash screen when you open the app. I’ll be interested to see what substantive changes come next, including whether Apple renames the app and/or does something to better integrate it with the Photos app.
• If you have a new iPhone and you are in an emergency situation outside of the range of a cellular network, you can communicate with a satellite to get help. T-Mobile partnered with Starlink (the Elon Musk company) so that you can also use satellites for text messages (and, in the future, picture messages, data, and voice calls). And as Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reports, you don’t have to be a T-Mobile customer to use the service, and it is free for now before the official launch in July, at which time it will cost $15/month (or $20/month if you don’t use T-Mobile for your cellphone service). If you frequently use your iPhone when you are off of the grid, this might appeal to you.
• If you want to help advance medical research, the Research app from Apple on the iPhone lets you participate in select research studies. As reported by Dan Moren of Six Colors, Apple announced a new one this week, and it is a big one. It is called the Apple Health Study, and Apple says that this study is being done in collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and it “aims to further understand how technology—including iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods—can play a role in advancing and improving physical health, mental health, and overall wellbeing.” So, by participating in this study, you should help Apple and the medical community better understand how products from companies like Apple can be used to help you. That sounds good to me, so I signed up.
• If you have been an Apple customer for a long time, you may have two Apple accounts, one that you created back when iTunes was first introduced and another one that you use for things like iCloud. This week, Apple introduced a way to migrate all of your purchases from one account to the other one so that you can just use a single account for everything. That’s great news (and long overdue), but I’ve heard about a few hiccups from people who tried it out this week, and I don’t want to do anything that might mess up my Apple Account that I share with my family members for things like app purchases. So I’m going to wait a while before I try this myself.
• I paid $129 for my Apple Pencil 2, which I love and use daily, but you can get one on Amazon right now for only $99.00.
• I have been a big fan of the Milanese Loop band for the Apple Watch since I first purchased one ten years ago. Last Fall, Apple released a new version of that band, the Titanium Milanese Loop. The color better matches the Apple Watch Ultra, but you can use it with any of the larger Apple Watch models, including the Apple Watch Series 10. It also has a different type of clasp. Andrew O’Hara of AppleInsider wrote a review of the Titanium Milanese Loop.
• It has never occurred to me to put that Milanese Loop band on anything other than my wrist, but Scott Cacciola of the New York Times reports that, apparently, some people are wearing an Apple Watch on an ankle. (Gift link)
• Bogdan Popa of AutoEvolution describes new features in the Waze app for CarPlay, including the ability to navigate to home or work with the press of one button.
• One of the best features of the Apple Vision Pro is the ability to watch immersive videos created by Apple. They are so lifelike that you feel like you are really there, and for the past year, nobody else has released immersive content as good as what Apple has released. That changed this week with the release of the Prima Immersive app for the Vision Pro, created by Immersive Company. The first video available for that app is the first episode of a series called Sessions, produced by a company called The Spatialists. This episode gives you a front-row seat for an intimate performance by the bluegrass group AJ Lee and Blue Summit. The quality of this streaming video is excellent. The sound is also fantastic, although I did hear a tiny bit of distortion. The sound is good if you just wear the Vision Pro; the sound is better if you put on your AirPods Pro, especially for the sound coming from the upright bass. (The built-in speakers for the Vision Pro are only so-so for low bass sounds.) Between this app and the upcoming Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera, I expect that we will see a lot more immersive content for the Vision Pro in 2025.
• By the way, I had never heard of AJ Lee and the Blue Summit before I downloaded that app this week, but they are really good. I particularly like their song City of Glass (Apple Music link).
• If you have $50,000, you can bid on a Steve Jobs business card signed by Steve Jobs, as reported by Joe Rossignol of MacRumors. If you have $0.50, I’m happy to mail you one of my business cards, and I’ll sign any name that you want on it.
• Apple TV+ may have fewer subscribers than other services, but the show Severance is such a hit that it managed to reach #4 on the Nielsen streaming charts, as reported by Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac.
• And finally, Apple continues to expand the reach of Apple TV+, and this week released an app for the Android platform. I’m sure that iPhone J.D. readers use the iPhone, not Android, but this news is still relevant for us because as the number of Apple TV+ subscribers increases, Apple will have even more incentive to release new great content. So welcome to the party, Android users. We’re glad that you are here. Here is a fun video released by Apple to announce the new Android app:

Apple CEO Tim Cook grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, which is just a few hours from New Orleans. In 2019, he came to New Orleans to give the commencement address at Tulane University. I created a transcript of his speech because nobody else made one, and I thought a transcript would make it easy for folks to quickly read what he had to say instead of taking the time to watch a video. (Back then, we could not use AI to do all the work of making transcripts.) In that commencement address, Cook quipped that for many people at Apple, New Orleans is “in our blood,” and he explained that he is part of that group too because when he attended college at Auburn, “the Big Easy was our favorite getaway” and a great place to enjoy a “weekend of beignets and beer.”

As I am sure you know, this past Sunday, New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl. Apple Music sponsored the halftime show, bringing Cook and other Apple executives back to New Orleans. I’m not sure if Cook was able to get beignets or beer while he was here, but he did have a busy weekend.

Cook and Deirdre O’Brien (Apple’s Senior VP for Retail + People) visited the Apple Store at the Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, LA, a suburb next to New Orleans. There are some fantastic Apple employees at that store, and I’m sure that they enjoyed the visit. O’Brien shared some pictures on Instagram, such as this one:

Cook also took the time to talk to some customers in the store. One of them, Michael Harold, shared pictures on Instagram and had this to say:

My computer screen went out on me earlier this week and I made an appointment at Apple to meet with a computer expert. The guy was great. Helpful. Nice. Like most of the staff there. I was lamenting the fact that everyone and his/her mother had been running it into celebrities and big wigs. Not I! And I’m certainly not going to meet some famous person in the mall. So the tech says to me “Well that has changed. Take a look.” Sure enough. Tim Cook himself. No bodyguard. No entourage. Just Tim and his colleagues. He is here for Super Bowl and took time to see [his] Apple employees. Everyone was highly impressed. He took pics with the staff and customers. Finally I had to go and take a look. His director of communications, Kristin, says to me. Tim is really genuine. (From Alabama by the way) “Would you like to meet him?” I’m thinking. Well. Yeah. But I don’t want to be too obnoxious. She said absolutely not. In seconds flat she goes up [him]. “Tim. I’d like you to meet Michael Harold.” So I get a photo with him and relate the fact that I had yet to see a big shot until now. He was so nice. “I can assure you I’m not a big shot.” He says. I go back to my computer and work on the issues. As Tim leaves I say goodbye to him and no lie. He says “Goodbye Michael.” He’s right. He’s not a big shot. He’s just a regular guy. A successful and extraordinarily kind regular guy.

Cook also met up with Odell Beckham, Jr. Before he played NFL football, Beckham attended my alma mater, Isidore Newman. (He was in the class of 2011.) Ever since I was a Newman student in the 1980s, the best place near campus to get a po-boy has been at Domilise’s, so it was no surprise to see that OBJ took Cook there. Others at the table included Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior VP of Services who is in charge of Apple Music, and Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiative who was previously Administrator of the EPA. Lisa Jackson is from New Orleans; in 1979, she graduated from and was the valedictorian of Dominican High School, another school close to Domilise’s. Jorge Alonso shared a video on TikTok showing them enjoying what looks like shrimp po-boys, which is also my go-to order at Domilise’s.

New Orleans native Harry Connick, Jr. posted on Instagram that he, Cook, and Jackson visited the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music (EMCM), a center in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans that uses music for children as its focal point to battle poverty and social injustice. Apple recently posted an article on its website about Apple’s partnership with EMCM. That article also mentions Apple’s partnership with the Young Artist Movement (YAM), a part of Arts New Orleans that works with teenagers and young adults. YAM artists recently used iPads to design a mural they painted outside the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office jail. It is a 6,600-square-foot art piece that is visible as you drive towards downtown New Orleans on I-10.

Cook, Eddy Cue, Oliver Schusser (Apple’s VP of Apple Music and Beats), and others were also seen on a balcony at a prime location in the French Quarter: the corner of Bourbon Street and Bienville Street at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, as shown in a TikTok video posted by DJ John Summit.

After his trip to New Orleans, Cook posted a video on Twitter/X about his trip to New Orleans. The video shows Cook at Domilise’s, the Super Bowl parade, Cook at EMCM, the YAM mural, Cook spending time with Saints legend and ALS advocate Steve Gleason, and more:

Spent an amazing weekend in New Orleans with students, team members, athletes, and some of the most impactful artists making music today. And it was all capped by a fantastic game and halftime show! Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles! pic.twitter.com/1dNZ7yykso

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 10, 2025