Almost exactly six years ago in 2016, when Apple’s flagship phone was the iPhone 6s, Apple introduced the iPhone SE.  The 2016 version of the iPhone SE took most of the insides of the iPhone 6s (which has been introduced six months earlier) and put it in a smaller and cheaper device ($399 for the base model) that was about the size of an iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s (which had been released in 2012 and 2013).  If you wanted a smaller iPhone, it was an excellent product at the time.  Apple continued to sell the iPhone SE for four years, and near the end of that time, it was far less powerful than the flagship iPhone models.  Nevertheless, people still bought the iPhone SE because of its size and price.  On April 15, 2020, Apple introduced the iPhone SE (second generation).  The second iPhone SE took most of the guts of an iPhone 11 (which had been introduced seven months earlier) and put it into a body that was similar to the iPhone 8 (introduced in 2017).  This second version of the iPhone SE was sold by Apple for almost two years, when it was replaced this week by the iPhone SE (third generation).

With the third version of the iPhone SE, Apple is following the same playbook that it has used in the past.  First, take an older iPhone design—one that some would call dated, and others would appreciate as a classic.  Second, add most of the insides of the current flagship iPhone.  And third, sell it all for a lower price.  The 2022 version of the iPhone SE uses the same iPhone 8 model as the 2020 iPhone SE, a smaller model that includes a home button with Touch ID.  However, the guts of the new iPhone SE are similar to the current top-of-the-line iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, the A15 chip—a very fast processor.  And the price is nice, starting at $429 (a $30 increase from the first and second generation iPhone SE models, which started at $399).

The new iPhone SE comes in three colors:  midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED.

There is a lot to love about the latest iPhone SE.  The A15 chip is incredibly fast right now and should continue to seem fast and responsive for many years to come.  The latest iPhone SE has longer battery life than many older iPhones.  For example, Apple advertises two hours more video playback time than the iPhone SE (second generation), iPhone 7, or iPhone 8—three devices from which many purchasers of the new iPhone SE will be upgrading.  It supports 5G, which is still not very important today but should be more important in years to come.  And like many other modern iPhones, it is reasonably durable if you drop it or spill water on it.

You can get the 64GB version for $429, spend another $50 for a 128GB version, or spend $579 for the 256GB version.  The 128GB version seems like the sweet spot for many.

• The iPhone SE has a smaller 4.7" screen, versus the 6.1" of the iPhone 13, and the iPhone 13 screen looks better and brighter with far more colors.
• The iPhone 13 adds a second camera: an Ultra Wide camera.  (But not a zoom lens; you need the iPhone 13 Pro to get that one.)  And the iPhone 13 has more photography capabilities, such as Night Mode and the ability to record Dolby Vision HDR video at up to 4K at 60fps, which will look amazing if you have a new 4K television.
• The iPhone 13 has about four hours more of battery life than the iPhone SE.
• The iPhone 13 works with MagSafe accessories—the ones that use a magnet to connect to the back.
• The iPhone 13 supports a much faster version of 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave), but currently it is hard to find areas that support that.
• The iPhone 13 has an Ultra Wideband chip that you can use with the Find My app to locate lost items with even more precision.
• The iPhone 13 supports spatial audio / Dolby Atmos for 3D sound.

Another important difference is the home button with Touch ID versus Face ID.  I prefer Face ID because it is faster and easier to use.  For a long time during the pandemic, Face ID was a problem when you were wearing a mask, but Apple has recently fixed that.  And since you don’t need to devote space on the front of the iPhone for a home button, you get even more space on the front of the iPhone for a larger screen when you use an iPhone that supports Face ID.  On the other hand, I know that some folks grew up using a home button on an iPhone and that is simply what they prefer.  (For example, my wife still prefers the home button, and she uses a second generation iPhone SE.)  Suffice it to say that reasonable minds can disagree over whether a home button with Touch ID is better or worse than Face ID, but it is certainly an important difference to consider.

As for the other differences I noted in the bullet points above, those are all very nice advantages of the iPhone 13.  But depending upon how you use your iPhone, you may not care about many, or perhaps all, of those features.  If they don’t make a big difference to you, why spend an extra $320 for them?  That’s almost the price of a second iPhone SE.

Conclusion

I know that I will always be a person who appreciates the latest and greatest features of a top-of-the-line iPhone.  But I also know that a large number of folks don’t care about most of that.  They just want to check their emails, use Messages, use a few apps, etc.  They may take pictures with their iPhone, but they don’t feel the need to have the best possible picture using the latest mobile camera technology; they just want a simple picture that can be shared on social media.  And they want to spend as low a price as possible for an iPhone.  If there is a chance that you are going to drop and break or lose your iPhone, it is much better to have spent less than $500 on an iPhone SE versus over $1000 for an iPhone 13 Pro.  For all of these folks, the iPhone SE has always been a great product. 

Now that Apple has once again refreshed the processor and other internal features in the iPhone SE, you can buy an iPhone SE today and know that it will remain dependable and responsive for many years to come.  And for folks who prefer the home button with Touch ID, this is the best device you can get.  As Apple says, it is “a powerful smartphone in an iconic design.”

You can pre-order an iPhone SE (third generation) starting tomorrow, March 11, at 5am Pacific / 8am Eastern, and the new iPhone SE will be available in stores a week later on March 18.

Yesterday, Apple announced a number of new products including a new iPhone SE, a new monitor, a new Mac, and more.  Today, I’m focused on the new iPad Air, the fifth generation of this device that debuted in 2013.  This looks to be an excellent iPad Air, one that will be perfect for most attorneys.  In fact, Apple did the same thing yesterday that the company did in 2020 when it announced the 4th generation iPad Air: Apple has created a mid-level iPad that is so powerful that it provides almost all of the advantages of the more expensive iPad Pro.  There are some differences, and those differences will be important for certain types of users.  But for many lawyers looking to get a new iPad, this is the one to get.

Design

The new iPad Air shares the same design as the 2020 iPad Air fourth generation, and that is great news.  It includes a 10.9-inch screen, which is the traditional iPad size, and it weighs a pound, the traditional iPad weight.  It has a flat edge that works with the wonderful second generation Apple Pencil.  It works with the Magic Keyboard and other external keyboards.  The power button includes a Touch ID sensor, so you unlock it with your fingerprint.

The new iPad features a USB-C connector.  Unlike the USB 3.1 Gen 1 connector on the prior iPad Air that supported 5Gbps transfers, this one supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 and thus supports 10Gpbs transfers.  That higher speed means that it works with the new 5K Studio Display that Apple announced yesterday, should you ever want to do so.

It comes in five colors: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Blue, and Purple.

Speed

The prior iPad Air included an A14 chip.  That was an excellent processor when it was introduced in 2020, but Apple introduced a faster A15 processor in the iPhone 13 that was announced last September.  I expected Apple to use the A15 in this iPad Air, but instead Apple used the M1—the same processor used in the iPad Pro and some models of the Mac.  The M1 provides a little more performance than the A15.

Compared to the fourth generation iPad Air, Apple says that this new fifth generation iPad Air provides 60% faster performance and up to twice the graphics performance.  Suffice it to say that this new iPad Air will be plenty fast and should seem very responsive for all of the typical tasks that attorneys will want to do with an iPad, even working with very large PDF documents.

Other improvements

The front-facing camera is a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide, up from the prior 7-megapixel camera.  It also supports Center Stage, so if you walk around during a video conference or if someone else enters the frame with you, the iPad will zoom and pan to keep up, almost like you had a professional camera operator. 

The new iPad also supports 5G, if you purchase the cellular model. 

iPad Air versus iPad Pro

The iPad Pro is the most expensive iPad model, and it is the best overall iPad model.  But given all of the power of the new iPad Air, which model is best for attorneys?

If you want the larger screen of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, then you need to get the iPad Pro.  I love that larger screen for reading documents, and the additional screen real estate means that there is enough space to run two apps at once without being too cramped.  Plus, a larger tablet is wonderful for taking handwritten notes, watching videos, viewing webpages, etc.  Yes, the larger iPad weighs more and takes up a little more space in your hand or a briefcase.  However, it wasn’t very long after I started using the 12.9-inch size that I realized that I would never want to go back to a smaller 11-inch size. 

I could go on forever about why I love the 12.9-inch size, but there is also another extreme: the iPad mini with an 8.3-inch screen.  For some uses, like simple reading, the iPad mini size is perfect.  But for many attorneys, the mini is too small to get serious work done.

For most attorneys, 11-inch is the sweet spot between the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the 8.3-inch iPad mini.  If that applies to you, one other consideration is how much storage space you need on the iPad.  The new iPad Air (like the prior model) comes in a 64GB size for $599 and a 256GB size for $749.  (Add another $150 if you want a model that includes cellular.)  I don’t recommend the 64GB size for most attorneys because once you start to add a lot of large PDF files, pictures, videos, and other documents, you can easily run out of space.  But the 256GB size is perfect for most attorneys.  Of course, some attorneys will want even more space, and that’s where the iPad Pro comes in with its 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB sizes.  I use a 512GB model and I love never having to worry about running out of space.  (Even with the large number of documents on my iPad Pro, I’m still only using 333GB out of the 512GB available.)  But I’m sure that most attorneys will store far less than I do.

So let’s say that you want the 11-inch size and you believe that 256GB is large enough—statements that I suspect would apply to the vast majority of lawyers.  Then you need to choose between the $749 iPad Air or the $899 iPad Pro 11-inch (third generation) that was introduced in April 2021.  Is it worth spending the additional $150 for the Pro model that is virtually the same size and the same storage capacity?  Probably not.  Here are the advantages of the iPad Pro so that you can decide for yourself.

• A slightly better version of 5G (if you get the cellular version) because the iPad Pro can support mmWave.  I don’t think that this matters for most folks because mmWave is still pretty rare, and you are likely to be using Wi-Fi most of the time.
• A slightly better USB-C connector that supports Thunderbolt/USB 4.  Most attorneys will never notice the difference.
• A very slight difference in the display size:  11-inch instead of 10.9-inch because of a slightly thinner bezel.  Unless the iPad Air and iPad Pro are side-by-side, I doubt you would ever notice the difference.
• A second camera on the back, a 10-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, with a flash, a LiDAR scanner for improved augmented reality (for apps that support it), and a few other minor improvements.  Except for occasionally taking a picture of a physical document to convert it to a PDF, most attorneys have no need to take a picture or a video with an iPad.  That’s what the iPhone is for.  So the better cameras on the iPad Pro won’t make a difference.
• A slightly better display.  While the iPad Air has up to 500 nits brightness, the 11-inch iPad Pro has up to 600 nits brightness.  Note that there is a difference between the 11-inch iPad Pro and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro; the larger iPad Pro has 1000 nits brightness and can go up to 1600 nits for a portion of the screen, which makes a big difference. But I am assuming that you have already decided that the 11-inch size is right for you, so the 100 nits difference between the iPad Air and the 11-inch iPad Pro won’t be very noticeable.  All models of the iPad Pro also support ProMotion, which allows for a higher frame rate so that motion on the screen is smoother.  This is a nice feature on the iPad Pro and it makes it a more premium product, but you can certainly live without it.
• Four speakers on the iPad Pro, versus two speakers on the iPad Air.  More speakers sound better, but this isn’t a big deal.
• Face ID on the iPad Pro, versus Touch ID on the iPad Air.  Face ID is more convenient (if you are not wearing a mask), but this isn’t a big deal.

I like Face ID.  I like ProMotion.  I like having four speakers.  But I’d be lying if I said that any of those features made much of a difference to my law practice.  You know what makes a huge difference when using an iPad in my law practice?  My Apple Pencil, which costs $120 on Amazon.  For most attorneys who want the 11-inch size and 256GB capacity, you should get the iPad Air and use the $150 savings over the iPad Pro to purchase an Apple Pencil.  A new iPad Air with an Apple Pencil is the perfect combination for annotating documents, taking notes, and more.

Conclusion

For attorneys like me who want a larger iPad, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is the way to go.  But for just about everyone else, I think that the new iPad Air with 256GB is the best iPad for a law practice.  The impressive M1 processor will make this device incredibly responsive, the size and weight are great, the support for the second generation Apple Pencil is fantastic, and it will work with lots of accessories such as Bluetooth headphones, speakers, and keyboards, Apple’s own Magic Keyboard, USB-C peripherals, etc.  I’m very happy that Apple introduced this product, and a huge number of attorneys are going to love using it.

You can pre-order the new iPad Air starting at 8am Eastern on Friday, March 11, and the new iPad Air will ship and will be available in stores starting Friday, March 18.

Today, Apple will announce its first new products of 2022.  The tagline for the event is “Peek Performance,” and there are lots of rumors circulating about a new iPhone, new iPad, new Mac, and more.  It appears that, like all of Apple’s events since COVID started, the event will be a prerecorded video that is streamed.  The quality of Apple’s video production is top-notch, so no matter what Apple announced, I expect the introduction to look very good. 

If you want to watch the event, you can do so at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern.  One way to stream the event is to go to this page on Apple’s website.  Additionally, you can stream the event on YouTube using this link or by clicking the below embedded video.  Hopefully, it will be an interesting presentation.

In this week’s episode of the In the News podcast, Brett Burney and I talk about what we might see when Apple announces new products on Tuesday.  We also talk about new solutions for wireless charging of an iPhone, smarter smart doorbells, the last place that you want to discover a lost iPhone, and more.

In our In the Know segment, we share tips for using weather apps.  Brett discusses the notification features of the built-in weather app, and I discuss the ability to change the weather forecast source in the CARROT Weather app.

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

In the Fall of of 2005, I was living in New York City for a few months after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina and I was using a Palm Treo 650.  The device slipped out of my pocket when I was in a taxicab, and—no surprise—I never saw it again.  Although I ultimately bought a replacement, I hesitated to do so because at the time I thought that there was a chance that Apple might have been working on a smartphone.  The first iPhone wasn’t introduced until 2007, but I was right that Apple was working on it in 2005.  John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote an interesting account of the origins of the iPhone, including a timeline of its development.  One of the sources he cites in that article is Ken Kocienda, who developed the original touchscreen keyboard for the iPhone, and Kocienda also talks to Gruber on the latest episode of The Talk Show podcast.  If you have any interest in the early history of the iPhone, I recommend both Gruber’s article and that podcast episode.  I especially enjoy hearing about the past when we are just a few days away from the future, considering that Apple will announce new products next week.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• Jason Snell of Six Colors discusses what Apple might announce on March 8.
• I mentioned a few days ago that Apple has halted all exports into the sales channel in Russia because of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and I wondered what effect this might have on re:Store, the largest seller of Apple products in Russia.  Now we know the answer.  Steven Warwick of iMore reports that, according to the website iPhones.ru, reStore announced that it is temporarily closing all of its stores in Russia.
• Readdle, one of the leading developers of iPhone and iPad apps, was founded in Ukraine.  This week, Readdle thanked all of its users for their support and provided a number of links that you can use to support Ukraine right now.
• In a post for Macworld, Jason Snell explains why it is so much easier for Apple to take a stand against Russia than against China.
• Twelve South previously introduced an interesting product called PowerPic, which works like a picture frame but doubles as a wireless charger for an iPhone.  The company introduced a similar product called PowerPic mod, and Adam Oram of iMore posted a review.  It seems like an interesting product that would look good and work well on many desks.  The PowerPic mod costs $59.52 on Amazon.
• Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac reviews another interesting wireless charger, the BaseOne charger from Nomad, which features a glass and aluminum design and costs $130. 
• Andrew O’Hara of AppleInsider calls the BaseOne charger “the most luxurious MagSafe charger to hit the market yet.”
• Josh Centers of TidBITS discusses the pros and cons of getting a version of the Apple Watch that has cellular.
• In the year 2000, the album “1" by The Beatles was released, a collection of every song released by The Beatles that reached the top of the charts.  It was one of the last CDs that I ever purchased; not long after that, I started using an iPod and purchasing my songs from iTunes.  Igor Bonifacic of Engadget noted that the album is now remastered for Apple Music spatial audio.  Unlike some songs remastered for spatial audio, in this case, it doesn’t mean that instruments surround you in a 3D space.  Instead, it means that the music appears to be coming from your iPhone, most noticeable as you move your head back and forth.  I’ve been listening to it as I write today’s post, and it sounds great.
• While I’m discussing The Beatles, I’ll mention that I watched the Get Back documentary on Disney+ back in December, and it was amazing.  I don’t watch documentaries very often, especially if they are almost eight hours long, but I was memorized by Get Back.  I highly recommend it to anyone who likes music.
• Speaking of music, if you like the idea of an HomePod mini but want it to be portable, one option is to use it with a portable charger, as I explained in my review.  Another option is to get a portable speaker that works with AirPlay.  Michael Potuck of 9to5Mac discusses the new Roam SL from Sonos, a $159 device that does just that.
• Last week, I linked to a review of Chipolo Card Spot, a tracker that fits in a wallet and works with Apple’s Find My service.  Glenn Fleishman wrote an even more comprehensive review of this device for Macworld, worth checking out if you are interested in it specifically or this technology in general.
• One of the unfortunate results of COVID is that Apple stopped doing its excellent “Today at Apple” demonstrations in its retail stores for two years.  Killian Bell of Cult of Mac reports that Apple is now bringing them back.
• Have you ever found yourself wanting to post a picture on social media, but then you stop yourself because the picture shows the faces of one or more people who should remain private, such as children, protestors, etc.?  One solution is to cover the face with something, like a yellow emoji face.  MaskerAid is a new app by Casey Liss that does this one task very well.  It’s a clever idea for an app.
• Apple gets patents on many ideas that never see the light of day, so I don’t report on them very often.  But Tim Hardwick of MacRumors discusses an Apple patent for a computer that is built-in to a keyboard, and as someone who used the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX81 back in the 1980s, this one makes a lot of sense to me.
• Federico Viticci of MacStories discusses the new Tweetbot version 7.1, which adds background notifications for follows, quotes, and user tweets.
• Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac discusses the new Smart Door Lock A100 from Aqara.  Not only does it work with Apple’s HomeKit, but it also provides Home Key support (which is something very few developers currently support).
• Thomas Hobbs of Time Out London reports that the area in Richmond where Ted Lasso films outdoor scenes (Ted Lasso’s home and the nearby pub) has seen lots of tourists thanks to the success of the show.  The pub that is called The Crown & Anchor in the show is actually called The Prince’s Head.
• Abigail Wilson of the U.S. version of The Sun shares the tale of Maryland resident Becki Beckmann, who lost her iPhone in 2012 on the night of Halloween.  Ten years later, she heard a banging sound when she flushed her toilet and … you guessed it … her husband plunged the toilet and up came the iPhone 4S.  Read the story for more details and pictures (which, fortunately, are not gross, unless you start thinking about what that iPhone has been through for the past decade).
• And finally, while I still remember the early days of Apple TV+ when it only had a few shows, Apple now has a very large number of shows being released and in development.  One that looks interesting to me is Slow Horses, a TV show that tells the tale of British intelligence agents who are stuck in a dumping ground department of MI5.  It looks like a spy thriller with comedic elements.  The show is based on the well-reviewed series of Slough House novels by Mick Herron, and it stars Gary Oldman.  It debuts on April 1, and I’m looking forward to this one because it looks like it could be quite good.  Here is the trailer:

Apple occasionally has events in March or April to announce something new.  Sometimes, Apple introduces new products.  For example, on April 20, 2021, it was a “Spring Loaded” event to announce the 2021 version of the iPad Pro, the AirTag, and updates to the iMac and Apple TV. Sometimes, Apple introduces new services.  For example, on March 25, 2019, the tagline was “It’s show time,” and Apple announced Apple TV+, Apple News+, Apple Arcade and the Apple Card.  Yesterday, Apple revealed that it would hold its next event on March 8, 2022, at 10 Pacific / 1 Eastern.  This will be yet another online-only event, which means that Apple has been putting together a series of video introductions, and the recordings will be streamed on Tuesday.  The tagline for this event is “Peek Performance”:

What will Apple announce?  Only Apple knows for sure, but I have some guesses.  We know that Apple will introduce additional Macs at some point in 2022 that take advantage of Apple’s powerful M1 chip, and perhaps an M2 successor, and the reference to “performance” makes me think that new, more powerful Macs, could be announced.  The word “peek” suggests that maybe we are just seeing a preview of something that is coming later.

There are also rumors that Apple is ready to announce a third-generation iPhone SE.  (The second-generation model was introduced in 2020.)  There are also rumors of a fifth-generation iPad Air.  (The fourth-generation iPad Air was introduced in 2020.)

Perhaps Apple will also devote some time to iOS 15.4, which will add lots of new features.

And just maybe, Apple has something new up its sleeve that nobody has predicted yet.  We’ll see.

Yesterday, Apple announced that it has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a number of ways.  Here is Apple’s statement, as released to John Gruber of Daring Fireball:

We are deeply concerned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand with all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence. We are supporting humanitarian efforts, providing aid for the unfolding refugee crisis, and doing all we can to support our teams in the region.

We have taken a number of actions in response to the invasion. We have paused all product sales in Russia. Last week, we stopped all exports into our sales channel in the country. Apple Pay and other services have been limited. RT News and Sputnik News are no longer available for download from the App Store outside Russia. And we have disabled both traffic and live incidents in Apple Maps in Ukraine as a safety and precautionary measure for Ukrainian citizens.

We will continue to evaluate the situation and are in communication with relevant governments on the actions we are taking. We join all those around the world who are calling for peace.

As confirmation of the limitation on the use of Apple Pay, I saw yesterday that Moscow-based reporter Jason Corcoran tweeted that Apple Pay no longer works with Moscow’s metro system:

Apple Pay and Google Pay no longer work on Moscow’s metro system, leading to long queues as people fumble about for cash pic.twitter.com/ezaLZneKiJ

— Jason Corcoran (@jason_corcoran) February 28, 2022

Apple operates an online store in Russia, and people in Russia can no longer use it to purchase Apple products.  Apple does not operate any physical stores in Russia, but it does work with a number of third-party retailers.  The biggest of those is the chain re:Store.  Here is a picture that I took of a re:Store location in a mall in Moscow when I was there in 2009:

Considering that Apple has halted all exports into the sales channel in Russia, I expect that the supply of Apple products in re:Store and similar stores will soon become incredibly limited.

Hopefully, Apple’s actions, combined with the actions of countries and companies around the world, will put sufficient pressure on Putin to end the invasion.

Today is Mardi Gras day in New Orleans.  Perhaps it is just that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it seems that the parades and other celebrations have been particularly good this year after COVID resulted in the cancellation of Mardi Gras last year.  The weather has been excellent, and folks have been gathering with friends and family to have a wonderful time enjoying the festivities.  Hopefully, some of you had the opportunity to enjoy it as well, but if not, I encourage you to plan a trip to New Orleans in the future.  Happy Mardi Gras!

In this week’s episode of the In the News podcast, Brett Burney and I discuss masking at Apple Stores, Apple’s MagSafe battery, the new gender-neutral voice for Siri, and more.  We also discuss Rene Ritchie’s interview of Dr. Sumbul Desai, Vice President of Health at Apple.

In our In the Know segment, Brett shares a practical tip for getting files from a USB drive to an iPhone or iPad.  On the other hand, my tip is just for fun.  If you like Wordle, I explain why you should try Dordle, Quordle, and Octordle: they sound ridiculous at first, but the use of multiple boards results in a different type of game with new strategy considerations.

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

I don’t know what is going on where you live, but here in New Orleans, we are starting the big weekend leading up to Mardi Gras day on Tuesday.  Mardi Gras was canceled due to COVID last year, and that is a pretty rare occurrence.  There was no Mardi Gras during the Civil War, in 1875 (violence during reconstruction), 1879 (yellow fever outbreak), 1918 (World War I), 1919 (the so-called Spanish Flu), 1942-45 (World War II), 1951 (Korean War), and 1979 (police strike).  But many folks celebrating Mardi Gras this year were either very young or not born yet the last time it was canceled, so not having Mardi Gras last year was a very big deal.  As I noted last year on Mardi Gras day, the streets were eerily quiet.  My family and friends have been enjoying parades since last weekend (last night, the Muses parade was particularly good), and hopefully, the weather will cooperate and give us many more good days.  But most of you are not here for a carnival update, so let’s move along to the news of note from the past week:

• On a much sadder note, my heart is with all of the people in Ukraine right now, and that definitely includes all of the folks who work at Readdle.  Readdle makes a number of incredible apps, including PDF Expert (an essential iPad app for me and many other lawyers) and Scanner Pro (an essential iPhone app for me and many other lawyers).  Denys Zhadanov, a board member of Readdle and the former Vice President of Marketing for Readdle, noted on Twitter that there are a number of well-known companies with Ukranian roots including Readdle, Grammarly, MacPaw, and more.  (According to Allison Prang of the Wall Street Journal, Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly, says that the company has contingency plans for various scenarios—whatever that means.)  I cannot imagine what all of those folks are going through right now.  I hope that, somehow, they make it through this sad chapter in history.  For one good take on life in Ukraine, I recommend this short Twitter thread by Sofiya Alexandra, a comedian from Odessa.
• California attorney David Sparks explains why he is still enjoying the Apple MagSafe battery.
• If you are not living in New Orleans and thus won’t be celebrating Mardi Gras this weekend, Apple announced that its CODA movie is returning to many theaters this weekend with free screenings featuring open captions for accessibility.  CODA has a number of well-deserved Oscar nominations.  If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to do so, either in the theater or on Apple TV+.
• Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported this week that Apple is dropping the mask mandate at most of its retails stores in the United States.  As I’ve noted in the past, how Apple has responded to COVID has often been a good barometer of the severity of the epidemic, so hopefully, this is another good sign that we are getting to a much better place.  We still have a mask mandate here in New Orleans through Mardi Gras—no surprise there considering that New Orleans was an early COVID hot spot due to Mardi Gras 2020—but hopefully we are now moving to a much better phase of the pandemic.
• Jeff Benjamin of 9to5Mac discusses some of the new features that could be coming in iOS 15.4 including one that I didn’t know about, a new optional voice to select for Siri.
• Ina Fried of Axios reports that one of this new voice for Siri coming in iOS 15.4 is more gender-neutral and was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+.  I’ve always thought of Siri as having a female voice, but I know that many people prefer a male voice, and I think that it is great that soon we will have another option.
• Michael Simon of Macworld provides a sample of the new Siri voice.
• If you want an iPhone without the phone, get an iPod touch.  At least, that used to be the advice.  As Hartley Charlton of MacRumors notes, the seventh-generation iPod touch hasn’t been updated in 1,000 days, and the the last time that there was a major redesign was almost 10 years ago.  It is interesting that Apple is still selling this device without updating it in any way.
• Juli Clover of MacRumors reviews CARD Spot from Chipolo, a $35 device that is the shape of a credit card and the thickness of about three credit cards.  It is designed to be stored in a wallet so that you can locate a lost wallet using the Apple Find My app.
• Eve continues to add Thread support to its home automation products.  I recently reviewed one such product, the new Eve Weather.  Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac discusses another one coming out soon: Eve Water Guard, which can provide water leak notifications.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors reviews the Level Bolt, a smart lock for your door that works with HomeKit.
• If you are looking for advice on which Apple product to buy, Josh Centers of TidBITS announced this week the launch of his new Apple Buying Advice site.  I don’t agree with all of his recommendations on that site, but I agree with many of them, and he does a good job of explaining the choices so that you can decide if the product is right for you.
• Graham Bower of Cult of Mac explains the blood oxygen sensor on the Apple Watch.
• And finally, this week, Dr. Sumbul Desai, Vice President of Health at Apple, was interviewed by Rene Ritchie to discuss Apple’s health initiatives.  It is an interesting interview.  She talked about how Apple tries to use devices like the Apple Watch to provide “actionable information and insights to take the steps to stay healthy.”