Apple was founded on April 1, 1976. That means we are less than three weeks away from its 50th anniversary. Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a letter to the public this week called 50 Years of Thinking Different to celebrate how people have done amazing things with Apple products, and Apple also announced it will celebrate its anniversary over the next few weeks. This week also marked the release of the book Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue, which is sure to be a definitive history of the company’s first five decades. I have a copy of that book on my desk right now, and it looks fantastic. Apple has certainly had its ups and downs over the years, and it is astonishing how close the company came to bankruptcy in the 1990s. But right now, the company is doing great. It is one of the most successful companies in history, and its products have repeatedly changed and improved society. I will enjoy toasting Apple between now and April 1st. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- David Pogue is making the tour of Apple websites, podcasts, and YouTube videos to discuss Apple’s history as a way to promote his book. One interview that I particularly enjoyed was conducted by Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac. That interview is full of great stories, some of which I had never heard before.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors reviews the MacBook Neo and concludes that it allows a Mac “to be considered by a whole selection of people who have never considered a Mac before.”
- In a video review, Marques Brownlee does an excellent job of explaining who the MacBook Neo is for. His bottom line: “Not only is this really good, I think it is potentially Apple’s most disruptive product in the last 10+ years.”
- Kyle Barr of Gizmodo reviews the new iPad Air (M4). He says that while it is still the “better” in Apple’s “good, better, best” iPad lineup, this new iPad Air has performance that is much closer to the top-of-the-line, and more expensive, iPad Pro (M5).
- Cherlynn Low of Engadget reviews the new iPhone 17e, calling it the economical choice.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball reviews the iPhone 17e, concluding that it is “recommendable without hesitation” for anyone “who considers price their highest priority.”
- Jason Snell of Six Colors reviews the new version of the Apple Studio Display, calling it the smallest of upgrades.
- The AirPods Pro 3 have been out for about six months (my review), and Andrew O’Hara of AppleInsider takes a look at how they have held up for him after daily use.
- Glenn Fleishman of Six Colors explains how to get information on how a shared note in the Notes app has been edited.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac explains that if you subscribe to DIRECTV, you can now use its Sports Central feature on the iPhone and iPad apps.
- Abner Li of 9to5Google describes the new Immersive Navigation feature coming to the Google Maps app, including the CarPlay app.
- Although I’m a happy user of the UGREEN 3-in-1 Foldable MagFlow Wireless Charger (my review), which is $99.99 on Amazon, I noted when Anker released its Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station that it looked to be even better because it offers faster charging, albeit at a higher MSRP of $149.99. However, I see that the Anker product is currently on sale on Amazon for only $115.99, and if I were looking to purchase a 3-in-1 MagSafe charger right now, this Anker product is probably the one I would buy. And if you don’t already own a product like this, you should strongly consider one. Having something like this on your desk is wonderful for using the iPhone’s StandBy mode, plus this type of device is incredibly useful when you are traveling.
- Apple has some creative and unusual videos on TikTok right now, and Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels shows a few of them. These are very unlike the videos that we typically see from Apple.
- Alex Weprin of The Hollywood Reporter writes that, according to Apple VP Eddy Cue, the first week of F1 racing on Apple TV was a ratings success. Apple has certainly been promoting the sport quite a bit, including this cute video featuring Apple CEO Tim Cook “racing” next to Dutch driver Max Verstappen.
- And finally, here is an excellent segment from CBS Sunday Morning in which David Pogue discusses Apple’s first fifty years, the subject of his new book: