Episode 22 of the In the News podcast is now available. Brett and I begin by talking about two things that happened 10 years ago, one happy and one sad: Siri began, and Steve Jobs passed away. Then we talk about the iPhone mini and the new, enhanced Find My support for AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro Max. I then share my experiences pre-ordering a new Apple Watch Series 7, and we discuss a new iPad hub.
Finally, in our In the Know segment, Brett shares a great tip for using the Files app on the iPad. I explain why this is a great time to start using the Medical ID feature on the iPhone — or update it if you did it long ago.
There was a bittersweet anniversary this week: it has now been ten years since Steve Jobs died. Jony Ive, a very close friend of Jobs who was the head of design at Apple for many years, wrote a touching tribute in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. Tim Cook reminded Apple employees and everyone else that Jobs reminded us that “people with passion can change the world for the better.” Jobs founded Apple in the 1970s, brought the world the Apple II and the Mac in the 1980s, saved Apple from the brink of bankruptcy when he returned in the 1990s and brought a new focus and a new operating system to the company, made Apple successful with the iPod in the early 2000s, introduced the iPhone in 2007, which turned Apple into the largest and most successful company in the world, and introduced the iPad in 2010, a product that Apple started working on even before the iPhone. Nobody was better at introducing new products; his enthusiasm was truly contagious. He was known for some bad traits as well, including an occasional lack of patience and sometimes poor interpersonal skills, especially early on. But he was brilliant, and his passion changed the world for the better, many times. Even though Apple has done quite well during the past decade, one cannot help but wonder how the world would be different if he were still around. And now, one more thing … the news of note from the past week:
I enjoyed listening to the latest episode of the Law Firm Autopilot podcast in which New Orleans attorney Ernie Svenson interviews California attorney Denise Howell. Ernie and Denise were some of the very first lawyers to ever publish blogs (Denise invented the word “blawg”), Denise created the first law-related podcast, and they have both been on the forefront of legal technology for decades. Along the way, they have helped countless other attorneys take advantage of technology. Indeed, Ernie’s encouragement and advice to me was a big reason that I started iPhone J.D. back in 2008. If you have any interest in the history of legal technology and what might be coming in the future, that episode is worth your time.
If you use either AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, Apple gave them a new feature this week: the ability to use Find My to locate them. Before this week — and still with AirPods — Apple can tell you the last place that they were used with your iPhone. But now, your iPhone can help you to find the current location of AirPods Pro and AirPods Max by letting you know when you are walking closer and when you are walking farther away. It isn’t as precise as the similar feature with AirTags (for example, there is no arrow pointing you in the right direction) but it is still a big help if you cannot remember where you left your AirPods Pro. Illinois attorney John Voorhees has more details in this post for MacStories.
Voorhees also recommends extensions for Safari that you might consider using on your iPad.
How much more powerful is the new A15 chip in the iPhone 13? Andrei Frumusanu of AnandTech ran some sophisticated tests. In short, the new chip is faster, especially when using the GPU for graphics, but the biggest improvement is in efficiency. Thus, the big news this year is not that there is a huge speed increase — although there is a nice speed increase — but instead is that the A15 chip is more efficient, which means that it uses less power. This is one of the big reasons that battery life is so much better with the new iPhone 13 models. Bravo to Apple for this improvement. More speed is always nice, but most iPhone users will prefer a significant battery life improvement over a significant speed improvement considering that the iPhone 12 was already really fast.
One of the disappointments of iOS 15 is that the Shortcuts app is full of bugs. Federico Viticci of MacStories tweeted this week: “Honestly – and it pains me to say this – if you depend on Shortcuts and reliable automations for your work, my advice is to not upgrade to iOS 15 for now. Stay on 14 until Apple figures this out. Hopefully, quickly.” Some of my Shortcuts are still working, but others are not. Ugh.
Apple introduced Siri shortly before Steve Jobs died. That means that Siri turned 10 this week. As reported by José Adorno of 9to5Mac, you can ask Siri about her birthday.
What would Ted Lasso look like as a horror film? Perhaps something like this.
And finally, here is a moving short video released by Apple this week to honor Steve Jobs. The audio is clips of Steve Jobs speaking and the pictures span his long career at Apple. Very much worth watching.
On Friday, October 8, 2021, the new Apple Watch goes on sale for pre-orders. I mention this today because you might want to set an alarm. Many folks are saying that supplies are very limited this year. And that rumor is certainly consistent with the fact that Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 7 back on September 14, but at the time Apple said nothing about when it would be available to purchase.
What this means is that if you want to be among the first to have an Apple Watch Series 7 on your wrist, your best bet will be to order one right at 5am Pacific / 8am Eastern when they go on sale. I recommend using the Apple Store app on your iPhone, but you can also order using the Apple website. If you are among the first to place a pre-order, then you should be able to have one shipped to you a week later, on Friday, October 15. But if your pre-order is not placed within the first few minutes and I am correct about the limited supply, then it won’t take long for ship dates to slip to two weeks or more.
What if you want a new Apple Watch Series 7 but you are not able to pre-order tomorrow? If you live in a town that has an Apple Store, your best bet is to order one early on Friday, October 15, and select in-store pickup for the same day. Typically, Apple sets aside a certain number of new products for pre-order sales, but also sets aside a certain number of new products so that they are in each Apple Store on the day of launch. By selecting in-store pickup, you can take advantage of the in-store supply without the risk of showing up at a store only to discover that there are none left to purchase. You cannot always count on this approach, so your best bet is still to pre-order tomorrow, but this is a good Plan B. Another advantage to waiting a week is that you can read some of the early reviews; Apple typically gives a few reporters early access to new Apple products so that they can post a review during the week that the new product goes on sale. Look out for those reviews next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Until those reviews are out, why might you want an Apple Watch Series 7? I went through all of the reasons in this post. If you have never used an Apple Watch before, this is a great time to jump aboard. This year’s Apple Watch has a new design with a larger screen and tons of great features. At the same time that Apple is selling the new Apple Watch Series 7 (starting at $399), Apple is continuing to sell the Apple Watch SE (starting at $279) and the Apple Watch Series 3 (starting at $199). I strongly encourage you to get the Series 7, not those other models. An Apple Watch can last many years, so it makes sense to get a better model so that it continues to be a good device even when new models come out in future years. The Apple Watch SE is currently a decent Apple Watch, but it is starting to show its age because it was never a high-end product. And as for the Apple Watch Series 3, it is now four years old and there have been so many improvements to the Apple Watch since then that I find it embarrassing for Apple that it is still selling the device. Perhaps Apple thinks that it sounds good to say that the entry-level Apple Watch starts at under $200, but you are going to just frustrate yourself if you purchase a Series 3 today.
If you are upgrading from an older Apple Watch model, Apple will usually pay for your current Apple Watch if it is not too old, which can help to defray the cost of a new model. Just today, I received an email from Apple telling me that they had received the iPhone 12 Pro that I traded in when I received my new iPhone 13 Pro, and Apple told me that they are paying me $640 for my prior iPhone. That helps to substantially reduce the net cost of my iPhone 13 Pro. I don’t yet know how much Apple will pay for an old Apple Watch as a trade-in, but if you don’t have another use for your older Apple Watch such as giving it to a family member, it may make sense for you to take advantage of this Apple program.
I spent some time this year researching home security camera options for my home. I wanted something wireless so that I could select the best spot for a camera without concern about getting a power cord to that location. I wanted something with HomeKit support so that I could use it with my iPhone’s Home app and take advantage of Apple’s updates to that technology. And my preference was to have a camera that did not upload video to a server controlled by the camera’s manufacturer; I have some concerns about the security of online videos from my own house, and that feature isn’t necessary for me because I knew that I would have access to Apple’s online HomeKit Secure Video feature, which I suspect is more secure than anything offered by a third party. With these preferences in mind, it quickly became clear that one of the models of the eufyCam was the best choice for me. And as you will learn in this review, I’m extremely happy with my purchase.
Many security cameras are sold by companies that you have never heard of, so it is nice that eufy is owned by Anker. I’ve been using Anker products for years, including their cords, batteries, and the very useful PowerPort. Anker launched the eufy brand in 2016 to create home automation products. Having said that, a company with the reputation of Anker should have done a better job with the eufy website. For example, the eufy website says that “HomeKit Secure Video will be available via an update later this year” but that feature actually came out in 2020.
Different eufyCam models
There are currently four eufyCam models that work with HomeKit: the eufyCam 2 ($247.99), eufyCam 2 Pro ($349.99), eufyCam 2C ($239.99), and eufyCam 2C Pro ($319.99). Those prices include two cameras and the required hub.
The 2C and 2C Pro models are less expensive, smaller, have half the battery life, do not contain anti-theft detection in case someone tries to remove the camera (discussed below), but do contain a spotlight so that you can see in color at night. The difference between those two “2C” models is that the 2C Pro has double the resolution (2K instead of 1080p).
The eufyCam 2 and 2 Pro camera are longer than the 2C models, which provides space for larger batteries resulting in double the battery life. Unlike the 2C models, the 2 and 2 Pro lack a spotlight, but I saw mixed reviews about the quality of the spotlight, and the infrared night vision camera works well. The difference between the 2 and the 2 Pro is that the 2 Pro has a 2K camera instead of a 1080p camera. I purchased the eufyCam 2 Pro, which I see is currently selling for $349.99 on Amazon, but it was $329.99 when I purchased it a few months ago.
If you plan on using HomeKit Secure Video, which I discuss below, you currently cannot take advantage of the 2K camera. HomeKit Secure Video currently only supports 1080p, so once you enable that support, the Pro cameras will limit you to a 1080p mode. Thus, if you plan to use HomeKit Secure Video, think about whether you want to save some money by getting the non-Pro version. I decided to spend the extra money on the eufyCam 2 Pro because I think/hope that Apple might add 2K support to HomeKit Secure Video in the future (although it did not do so when HomeKit was updated in iOS 15). Time will tell whether I didn’t need to spend that extra money.
In the rest of this review, when I say “eufyCam” I am referring to the eufyCam 2 Pro that I purchased, although much of what I say below should apply to all four models.
Setting up the hardware
The way to start with eufyCam is to purchase a kit, which comes with three main items: two cameras and the Security HomeBase 2, which is the hub that is required for the cameras to work. Each HomeBase works with up to 16 cameras, so you can purchase and add extra cameras to the system if you want. For example, you can purchase an additional eufyCam 2 Pro camera for $139.99 on Amazon.
The eufyCam is white on the side and black on the front. If you prefer an all-black look for your camera, you can purchase a black silicone casing ($15.99 for a 2-pack) to cover all parts of the camera except for the front. I think that the white looks good so I didn’t purchase or try out the casings.
Installing the cameras is so simple that a child could do it. Or at least, a 15-year-old can do it, because my son wanted to install our cameras, and he did a great job. The box includes a sticker to place on a wall to show you exactly where to drill two holes, then you place anchors in the holes and use screws to attach a mount. The eufyCam then connects to the mount by twisting a ring. Loosen it to make the camera point in the desired direction, and then tighten it with your fingers to keep it in that position.
The eufyCam has a red status light that comes on when it detects motion. If you don’t want the status light to go on, you can disable that feature.
Before you install a camera, however, you need to do to things. First, you need to connect the HomeBase to your network using an Ethernet cable. Place each eufyCam close to that HomeBase to pair them. Every step of this is clearly explained in the free eufy Security app that you download to your iPhone from the App Store.
After that initial pairing, eufy recommends that you keep the HomeBase connected to your network via an Ethernet cable, but you don’t need to do so. You can instead plug the HomeBase into any outlet inside of your home and let the HomeBase use Wi-Fi to communicate with your network. Eufy says that using Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet may add some delay to live streaming. I’ve been using mine in this configuration and it only takes about two seconds for the live stream to start. It would be nicer to reduce this delay, but I don’t have an Ethernet connection in the room in my house where it makes the most sense for me to place the HomeBase.
The second step, after your devices are paired and charged, is to find the best place to mount the cameras and to place your HomeBase. Placement is an issue because your HomeBase needs to be somewhere in your house where it can communicate with each eufyCam. The trick is to find a single location for the HomeBase in your house that is close enough to both of your cameras that you get a good wireless connection with the cameras. Distance is a factor, but so is the number of walls between the HomeBase and the camera. I tried a few locations in my house until I found the one that works best. I get a strong signal to both cameras in this location, but it did take some trial and error to find that location. Again, the app helps you with this process, telling you how strong the signal is between the camera and the HomeBase so that you can select the optimal location for everything.
Eufy says that a HomeBase can cover a house of about 3,000 square feet, although this varies depending upon factors like the thickness and number of walls between a camera and the HomeBase. If for some reason it is impossible for you to find a single place for the HomeBase that works with both of your cameras, you could purchase an additional HomeBase so that two or more cameras communicate with different HomeBase hubs. Having said that, I don’t currently see a single HomeBase for sale on Amazon and it is currently listed as sold out on the eufy website, although I suppose you can purchase another HomeBase as a part of a kit if you want additional cameras.
Note also that the HomeBase 2 works with a number of products besides eufyCam security cameras. For example, it also works with a smart doorbell sold by eufy, which I purchased and I’ll be reviewing in the future.
I’ve devoted a lot of words to how to configure this system because this is something that I was concerned about before I purchased my system. Fortunately, it was smooth sailing for me.
Battery life
The eufy website says that a eufyCam 2 Pro can last a full year before needing to be recharged. Every review that I’ve read says that actual battery life is much less than that, and I agree. After using my two cameras for almost two months, my front camera is at 35% and my back camera is at 42%. Now admittedly, I used these cameras a ton in the first few weeks to play around with features, so I certainly drained more power than normal use. But I suspect that I’ll want to recharge them about once a quarter or so.
Fortunately, that is easy to do. You simply twist a part (no tools required) to remove a eufyCam from the mount attached to the side of your house. Then, you use the provided cord (or any micro-USB-to-USB cord) to recharge it. The HomeBase itself has a USB port in the back that can be used for charging.
Eufy also sells a solar panel that you can use to provide a constant charge to a eufyCam, but I haven’t tested that.
Using the eufyCam in the eufy Security app
When you open the eufy Security app, you see an image from each of your cameras. Often, it is not a live image, but instead, an image from the last time that video was recorded or you initiated a live stream of your cameras.
If you tap in the middle of the image, you can watch a live stream of video from that camera, including both audio and video.
There are lots of options from this mode. For example, you can tap a button to start recording video or another button to snap a picture. Turn your phone to landscape mode to see the video in full-screen mode. (And of course, if you use the app on an iPad, you get a larger image.)
The image quality is excellent, and the wide-angle lens allows you to see a large area at once.
There is also a large microphone button at the bottom of the screen. Hold down that button and you can say something and then release the button. In about a second, that audio will be sent to the camera and played on the camera’s speaker. In other words, you can use this feature to have a two-way conversation with someone who is in the view of the camera, albeit with some slight delays between when each side speaks.
The app also has a button that you can tap to see your recordings, listed by date.
Unlike other security cameras that only upload the video to a website run by the manufacturer of the camera — with a monthly access fee — all of the video recorded by a eufyCam is saved to a 16GB microSD card that is built-in to the HomeBase. Thus, by default, the video is stored at your house, not on a eufy server, and there is no monthly charge.
Eufy estimates that 16GB is enough to store video for one month with two cameras, assuming 30 motion detentions per day and 60 seconds of recording each time. (The instructions indicate that you can replace this 16GB card if you want more storage space, but I haven’t tried this myself.) My HomeBase has only used 4GB (for both of my cameras) in the past two months, and I still have over 10GB of usable storage space remaining. I’m storing 1080p videos, not 2K, so they are taking up less space, but even so, 16GB seems very generous.
If you want eufy to upload your video so that the most recent 30 days of recording are stored on the cloud for a monthly fee, the eufy website does offer this as an option. (The fee is $29.99/year for a single camera or $99.99/year for up to 10 cameras.) But you don’t need to do this to access your videos when you are away from home. The app on your iPhone or iPad can communicate with the HomeBase at your home and stream your videos to you. And by not uploading to eufy’s server, you are protected if something goes wrong with that server.
Although you can typically access your videos directly from your HomeBase, that does assume that you have power and internet at your house. My house lost power during Hurricane Ida on Sunday, August 29, 2021. We evacuated to Alabama, and while there — like everyone else from the New Orleans area — we kept wondering when the power would come back on. On Friday, September 3, 2021, I got a notification of motion detected in my backyard in New Orleans (which was probably just the system coming back online, not actual motion), and I was thrilled to learn that my home had power.
Unfortunately, the power in my neighborhood went right back off a few minutes later, but that was still a very welcome sign of progress. A few days later I received another notification from my eufyCam, and this time the power stayed on. I certainly did not buy a eufyCam as a way to learn whether or not I had electricity at my house, but it came in useful for this purpose. (Because each eufyCam has an internal battery, technically those cameras stayed on the entire time. But since the HomeBase lacked power, there was no way to record video and stream it to the app.) It was nice to be able to check out the front and back of my house even when I was in a different state.
A eufyCam does not record video 24/7. As a practical matter, it cannot do that because that would drain the battery incredibly quickly. (If you want 24/7 recording, you need to buy a different type of camera from eufy or another manufacturer that is directly connected to power.) Instead, it only records video when it detects motion.
There are lots of different ways to configure when it detects motion and records video. One useful option is to designate a portion of the screen as an activity zone such that motion outside of that zone is not detected. For example, for the camera on my front porch, my activity zone excludes the street and sidewalk in front of my house because I don’t need a recording every time a car passes or a person simply walks on the sidewalk in front of my house, but it includes all areas closer to my house.
You can also decide whether you want to record video for all motion or only for detecting a human. You can also select the motion detection sensitivity by selecting a number from 1 to 7. When I had the motion sensitivity set to 7, the eufyCam in my backyard would often start recording even if a bird quickly flew by. That ended once I changed the setting to a 4.
The app also lets you turn on an optional Anti-Theft Detection mode. When this mode is on, if someone tries to remove the camera, that motion will trigger both the camera itself and the HomeBase to play an alarm.
I’ve talked about how detecting motion can trigger a recording. But it can also trigger a notification to you, even if you are not at home. You can decide whether the app should notify you immediately, wait a little bit longer to also send you a thumbnail image of what the camera saw, or do both.
You can create a schedule for when you receive notifications based on the time and day. You can create one setting for when you are home and one setting for when you are away and then tap a button manually to change between those notification modes. You can use a geofencing feature so that notifications only occur when your iPhone is not at your home. And for each of these modes, you can select to (1) record video, (2) provide you with a push notification, (3) play an alarm on the eufyCam’s speaker, and/or (4) play an alarm on the HomeBase inside of your home.
HomeKit support
Although the eufy Security app is useful, you don’t have to use it at all, thanks to Apple. Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video system provides an alternative system for using eufyCam and the HomeBase.
Using the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can view and control the cameras, recording, and notification much like you can using the eufy Security app.
If you pay for an iCloud+ subscription — something that I had already been doing, previously to get extra iCloud space for sharing my photo library, and now because it is part of an AppleOne subscription — Apple stores online, in a secure and encrypted way, your last 10 days of video recordings. Unlike the eufy Security app in which you go to a separate screen to see a list of recordings, with HomeKit Secure Video there is a timeline below the camera view and you scroll back and forth to see the parts of the timelines on which there was a recording. You can jump to specific days using the calendar at the top.
There are some things that I prefer about HomeKit Secure Video over the eufy app. You have some additional options, such as the ability to be more precise in creating activity zones — multiple lines of a polygon instead of a single rectangle.
The Home app supports picture-in-picture. Thus, if you want to keep an eye on your front porch as you wait for someone to arrive or wait for a package to be delivered, you create a small, live video window that sits in one corner of your iPad or iPhone screen while you do other things on the device.
The Home app supports recording when a person, animal, vehicle, or package is detected. Package detection is new in iOS 15, but I haven’t had a package placed on my front porch since iOS 15 was released so I haven’t yet tested the feature.
HomeKit Secure Video also supports automation. For example, I’ve created an automation for my backyard so that if motion is detected between at night, some lights in my backyard come on for a few minutes, and then go off. My thinking is that if I have an intruder, the light may scare the bad guy away. Or, if I go to a window or look on my iPhone to investigate, the light will make it easier to see what is going on. Plus, the light improves the quality of the video recording that occurs when there is motion. So far, I’m happy to report that there haven’t been any human intruders in my backyard, but one night, a bird landed on my eufyCam. This triggered the motion detector, which turned on the lights, which caused my feathered friend to immediately flee, as you can see in this four-second video:
The automation that I’m using is very simple, but you can have a whole series of actions occur when motion is detected, if that is what you want.
If you own an Apple TV, using HomeKit Secure Video means that you can see your camera feeds on your TV, with either one camera filling the screen or multiple cameras in different parts of the screen. There is no eufy app for the Apple TV, so if you want to view camera feeds on an Apple TV without sharing the screen of the eufy Security app on an iPhone or iPad, then you need to use HomeKit Secure Video.
There is also a difference in when the eufy system and HomeKit record videos. There have been occasions when the eufy system detects motion and records video to the HomeBase but Apple HomeKit did not record a video. There have been fewer occasions when HomeKit recorded a video but not the eufy HomeBase. Even when both systems record a video, the video length can vary between the two systems.
Unfortunately, HomeKit Secure Video does not currently support two-way audio. If I want to use a eufyCam to talk to someone on my front porch, I need to use the eufy Security app. And as noted above, HomeKit Secure Video is currently limited to 1080p. Thus, if you enable HomeKit Secure Video, you cannot see 2K video either in the Home app or in the eufy app. So far, 1080p video has been perfect for my needs, and I haven’t yet had a situation in which I feel that it would have made a difference to see something in a higher resolution. If motion is detected on my back porch, 1080p is more than clear enough for me to see that it is my kids. I’ll try 2K if Apple adds support to it in HomeKit, but I may decide that the additional file sizes are not worth it.
As you can probably tell by now, what I like most about HomeKit Secure Video is that I can use it and the eufy Security app at the same time. On the rare occasions when one system doesn’t detect motion and record video, the other one often will. And when I’m looking at a video recording, each system tends to start and stop the video at a different time, so it is nice to have options.
Overall impressions
My main complaint about the eufyCam is that there have been a few times when I know that motion has occurred but it was not detected, and thus not recorded. Those instances have been rare, but there have been a few. There is also a short delay between when motion is detected and when it is recorded, so I often lose the first second or two of activity. But overall, the system works very well. I love that both my wife and I can use an iPhone, an iPad, a Mac, or an Apple TV to see what is going on in the front or back of my house, regardless of whether anyone is home. My wife and I are already talking about getting one or two more cameras to see some additional areas.
It is reassuring that HomeKit Secure Video means that I can upload video, and thus have two different ways to access video (stream directly from the HomeBase or watch use the Home app). At the same time, I don’t need to worry about video being uploaded to a server run by a company that I don’t know and trust.
The picture quality is excellent, and as noted above, I say that even though I’m only using 1080p mode. I’ve never had trouble seeing what is going on in a live stream or when viewing a recorded video. I also like that when video is recorded by either the eufy App or the Home app, I can view the video and, if I want, export it to save it forever.
The automation feature of HomeKit Secure Video is really nice. Whenever I walk in my backyard at night to go to my garage, an automation script causes an outside light to go on for a few minutes, illuminating my backyard for me. Of course, you can also purchase a stand-alone light with a motion detector to attach to your house, but HomeKit works with my existing lights.
After testing both notification systems, I find that I am happier with the ones provided by the Home app, so I’ve turned off eufy Security notifications. And I have mine configured so that the notifications only “play a sound” — which actually means have my Apple Watch tap my wrist because I have sound turned off — at night. I didn’t find that I was gaining anything by learning about motion being detected during the day. But if someone is on my front porch or my backyard at night, I want to know about it. On the other hand, my wife prefers to get notifications 24/7, and she has been happy using the eufy Security app for notifications so she hasn’t felt the need to explore using the Home app instead.
Conclusion
I’ve been very happy with the eufyCam system. The cameras were simple to install, and they provide a great view of what is going on around my house. I’m happy to have them from a security standpoint, although hopefully I’ll never have an actual burglar to “test” the system for me. But the cameras also provide a lot of peace of mind, and they make it easy to see what is going on outside of my house, whether or not I’m home. If you own an iPhone and are interested in security cameras, I highly recommend the eufyCam system.
Episode 21 of the In the News podcast is now available for your listening and viewing pleasure. Brett and I start by discussing the new iPhone 13 Pro, and I explain why I am so impressed by it. We then discuss Apple’s iWork apps (Keynote, Numbers, and Pages). Then we discuss our favorite keyboards. I love the Logitech MX Keys, especially the three keys that you can press to instantly switch the connection between a computer, iPad, and iPhone, which means that I can have a single keyboard on my desk that works with all of my devices. And now, there is a smaller version, the MX Keys Mini. Brett uses a similar feature on his Keychron K1 Wireless Mechanical keyboard.
After discussing a few bonus topics, we then move on to our In the Know segment where Brett and I share our tips of the week. Brett explains why you should customize the Workout View on your Apple Watch. I discuss a new iOS 15 feature that lets you drop-and-drag on the iPhone, which is probably easiest to understand if you watch this short video tweeted by Marcos Alonso, a human interface designer at Apple.
If you are reading this, then I suspect that there is a 100% chance that you have purchased an iPhone. Back in 2016, that would have made you 1 in a billion. But according to estimates by Horace Dediu of Asymco, Apple has just sold its 2 billionth iPhone. Apple stopped releasing iPhone sales numbers in 2019 so we no longer know precisely how many iPhones have been sold since then, but I suspect that Dediu’s estimate is accurate. (His article also reminds me that, back in 2009, I reported that Apple had sold its 1 billionth app, and I listed the top 20 paid apps and top 20 free apps. It is interesting to go back and look at those lists again now because the App Store has changed considerably since 2009.) Now that the new 2021 versions of the iPhone have been released, I’m sure that iPhone sales numbers are rapidly increasing again. And now, the news of note from the past week:
California attorney David Sparks wanted to show off all of the new video features of the iPhone 13 Pro, so he took his new device to Disneyland and put it through its paces. If you want to see what kind of video you can take, or if you just want to see Disneyland, check it out.
Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories describes the latest update to CARROT Weather, including new XL widgets for iPadOS 15.
Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac reviews the new iPhone 13 Pro and calls it the Goldilocks phone — not too big, not too small, just right.
Jason Snell of Six Colors describes the new updates to Apple’s iWork apps: Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. For example, you can now integrate live video into a Keynote presentation, and Numbers can now create pivot tables.
Juli Clover of MacRumors warns of a bug in the Messages app in iOS 15: if you delete a message thread, the iPhone will also delete any photo that you saved from that Messages thread. Until Apple fixes this, be cautious about which threads in Messages that you delete.
Chance Miller of 9to5Mac explains new branding that is coming soon for USB-C cables to try to make it more clear which have which features. Currently, it is very confusing that different USB-C cables can do different things, and there is no easy way to determine what kind you are using.
I’m a big fan of my Logitech MX Keys keyboard, which I reviewed last year. I use it at my office with my PC, and then I can simply tap one button to start using the same keyboard with my iPad. Tap another button and I’m typing on my iPhone. J. Fingas of Engadget reviews the MX Keys Mini, a smaller version that lacks a number pad.
If you are interested in a side-by-side comparison of iOS 14 and iOS 15, John Gruber of Daring Fireball links to a helpful series of tweets from Ryan Burnett.
Mike Fleming of Deadline reports that Apple TV+ secured the rights to an untitled movie staring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. I think that they could just use the title “The Movie With George Clooney and Brad Pitt” and that would get them more than enough viewers.
The newest TV show in Apple TV+ is Foundation. I watched the first two episodes, and it looks like the story could be quite interesting. And the production is incredible; this show looks better than most movies. Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica reviews the first season of Foundation, without any real spoilers.
What do you think about getting some interesting aerial video shots by simply throwing your iPhone up in the air or off of a building? The idea sounds crazy, but there is a Kickstarter project called AER TYP for a cushioned iPhone holder with wings that supposedly lets you do exactly that.
And finally, when Apple first introduced the four new phones in the iPhone 13 line, Apple created a video to show off the new Cinematic mode on all all four of these phones. The video is titled Whodunnit and it does an excellent job showing off the automatic rack focus feature of these new iPhones. Plus, it’s a cute video that is worth watching:
If you are thinking about getting an iPhone 13, I recommend that you first read my general post on all four of the models in the iPhone 13 line. The iPhone 13 is the primary new model. The iPhone 13 mini is the smaller version of the new model. The iPhone 13 Pro is the more advanced version of the new model. And the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the more advanced version of the new model that adds an even larger screen. For me, the best choice was the iPhone 13 Pro. I consider it to be the “just right” size. The mini is cute but I prefer having a larger screen, whereas the iPhone 13 Pro Max size would be way too big for me. Thus, for me, the only real choice was between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro.
Between those two, for many folks, the iPhone 13 Pro is a better choice for two reasons. First, if taking pictures with an iPhone is important to you, the iPhone 13 Pro is a better choice because it includes a telephoto lens, a macro lens, and better cameras. Second, if you appreciate using nicer technology, then the iPhone 13 Pro is a better choice because of the improved screen with Pro Motion. If you read this post and are not impressed by these features, then the iPhone 13 is probably the best value for you.
Photography: the 3x Telephoto lens
When Apple first introduced the “Pro” version of the iPhone in 2019 with the iPhone 11 Pro, one of the distinguishing features was the addition of a third telephoto camera. That way, instead of cropping a photo to zoom in, which decreased quality and made the picture fuzzier, you could get a higher quality zoomed-in photograph. For the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro, the telephoto lens was 2x. Being able to choose between an Ultra Wide camera, a Wide camera, and a 2x Telephoto camera often gave you the ability to take three different pictures that told three different stories, as I showed in my review.
That remains true this year, as you can see from some pictures that I took this past weekend at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. (I’ve compressed these pictures somewhat to make the size of this post more reasonable, so the real pictures are even better in quality than these versions.)
For example, with the Ultra Wide camera, I can take a picture that tells the story of a cool tree and its surroundings, including the path, trash can, and bench around it.
Using the standard Wide camera, the story is all about the tree itself.
Using the 3x Telephoto camera, the focus of the story is the sign on the tree.
Similarly, this Ultra Wide picture shows a round fountain.
Using the Wide camera, the focus is on the elephants in the fountain.
With the 3x Telephoto lens, the picture is no longer about the elephants; it is a peek-a-boo picture about a golf cart.
As that last photo shows, having a 3x telephoto lens gives you a pretty powerful zoom. How does it compare to the 2x zoom from the 2019 and 2020 versions of the Pro? I found that it made a pretty big difference.
Here is a Wide camera picture of some flamingos. The first picture is the iPhone 13 Pro and the second picture is the iPhone 12 Pro. Although the 13 Pro has a better quality Wide camera for low light, I didn’t notice the difference for an outside picture on a sunny day.
Here is the Telephoto camera with the iPhone 13 Pro, followed by the iPhone 12 Pro. With the 3x zoom, the flamingos fill the screen, which results in a more dramatic picture.
The same is true for video. Here is a short video of some sea lions playing around, first with the iPhone 13 Pro Telephoto lens, followed by the iPhone 12 Pro Telephoto lens. (Both videos were taken at the same time.) The 3x lens lets you get closer to the sea lions, which lets you take a more impressive video. The 3x lens also does a better job of showing that sea lions are very funny to watch.
I had feared that using a 3x lens would mean that small shakes in my hand would be more noticeable, reducing the overall picture quality. Perhaps that would happen with a 4x or 5x lens (if they could figure out how to fit that into an iPhone), but in my tests, I didn’t have a problem with 3x pictures.
Having a Telephoto lens is a great feature that allows you to take different types of pictures. Even if this were the only difference between the iPhone 13 and iPhone Pro, it would be enough for me to pay more for the Pro. Moreover, 3x is better than 2x, so if you are upgrading from a 2x Telephoto camera, you will appreciate the improvement.
Photography: Macro lens
A second advantage of the iPhone 13 Pro is that it is the first iPhone to have a Macro lens. When you get about 14cm away from an object (just under six inches), you will actually see the image on your screen change slightly as the iPhone switches to the Macro mode. At that point, you can get very close to your object, and you can even tap the 3x button to zoom in even more. On the iPhone 13 and prior iPhone models, the iPhone would lose its ability to focus when you got that close.
Macro photography is especially useful when you are taking a picture of a flower. Here is an example of a 1x Macro picture of a flower — which the Photos app tells me is a Ruellia. (That’s a new feature of iOS 15, the ability to identify flowers, pets, landmarks, and more.)
Here is a 2x Macro picture of that same flower:
How much better is this Macro lens than what you could do with prior iPhones? This past weekend I was sitting at my bar and I saw a bottle of Peychaud’s bitters (a key ingredient for a Sazerac cocktail). This picture is taken with the normal, Wide lens:
With my iPhone 12 Pro, using the 2x Telephoto lens, this is the closest picture that I could get without the words becoming too fuzzy to read. And the words are still a little fuzzy.
On the other hand, with the Macro feature on the iPhone 13 Pro, I had no trouble getting a much more clear image when I was close up:
And using the 3x Macro camera on the iPhone 13 Pro, I could get an incredibly clear very close picture, one in which I could see every crinkle in the paper label:
Macro photography is probably not a thing that you want to do every day. But you’ll certainly know the times when you can take advantage of it. When those times occur, it is nice knowing that the iPhone 13 Pro can do exactly that.
Photography: low light
The third advantage of the iPhone 13 Pro’s cameras is that they do even better in low light. This is great because I often want to take pictures indoors when the lighting is less than ideal. Apple explains it this way: “iPhone 13 Pro was made for low light. The Wide camera adds a wider aperture and our largest sensor yet — and it leverages the LiDAR Scanner for Night mode portraits. Ultra Wide gets a wider aperture, a faster sensor, and all-new autofocus. And Telephoto now has Night mode.”
Telephoto photos using Night mode are a significant improvement. When you try to use the Telephoto lens in a low light situation using an iPhone 12 Pro, the picture quality is not great. In this picture, the overhead lights are somewhat low, about the level that you would use for a more intimate gathering. Using the Telephoto mode on the iPhone 12 Pro does result in a closer picture, but the words on the bottles are quite blurry:
But with the iPhone 13 Pro, Night mode on the Telephoto lens results in photos that are significantly more bright and detailed. And at 3x, you also get closer to the objects (or the people) without having to move the iPhone closer:
For all of the times when you cannot do anything about the low light — in a restaurant or bar, indoors in a room without good lighting, etc. — the iPhone 13 Pro allows you to take better pictures.
ProMotion
Prior iPhone models, and the non-Pro models of the iPhone 13, refresh the screen at 60 Hz. The iPhone 13 Pro can refresh the screen twice as quickly, using 120 Hz when it will improve the experience, or dialing down to 10 Hz when nothing is moving on the screen. This makes motion on the screen seem much more smooth. Here is a slo-mo video that Domenico Panacea posted on Twitter that shows the difference:
In real life, it makes things seem much more smooth on the iPhone screen. There have been numerous times over the last few days when some sort of motion has happened on my iPhone’s screen, even something as simple as returning to the home screen, and I’ve found myself amazed that the transition was so smooth.
If you are not a big tech enthusiast like I am, maybe you won’t notice this difference as much. But I notice it quite a bit, and I really like it. (I’ve been using ProMotion on an iPad Pro for many years now, and I really like it there as well.)
The iPhone 13 Pro screen can also be a little bit brighter. In typical usage, the max brightness on the iPhone 13 Pro is 1000 nits, versus 800 nits on the iPhone 13. (The iPhone 12 Pro/iPhone 11 Pro was 800 nits and the iPhone 12/iPhone 11/other models going back to the iPhone 7 was 625.) When watching HDR content, all of the iPhone 13 models can go up to 1200 nits.
Battery life
I haven’t been using this iPhone 13 Pro long enough to provide personal experience on the battery life improvements. But if Apple’s numbers are correct, they are pretty substantial. For example, Apple says that an iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro can play video for up to 17 hours. The iPhone 13 can play video for up to 19 hours. The iPhone 13 Pro can play video for up to 22 hours. And the iPhone 13 Pro Max can play video for up to 28 hours.
Lots of things that you can do with an iPhone will affect its overall battery life. But when Apple announced the iPhone 13 Pro, Apple said that in typical use it will last about 90 minutes longer than an iPhone 12 Pro. When you are having a long and busy day, having an extra 90 minutes before you need to recharge can make a significant difference in your day.
Speed
I haven’t yet noticed the speed improvements resulting from using the new A15 Bionic chip and the 5-core GPU (versus a 4-core GPU on the iPhone 13), but I’m always in favor of making an iPhone faster so that it is more responsive. And my iPhone 13 Pro certainly seems very responsive.
Conclusion
I loved the design of my iPhone 12 Pro because of the flat edges that make it easier to hold the device. The iPhone 13 Pro takes that same great design and adds more battery life, a screen that displays movement more smoothly, and a significantly better camera. The iPhone 13 will also give you some battery life improvements and somewhat better cameras, so it is no slouch. But if taking pictures with your iPhone is important to you and/or if you like the idea of a premium screen, I think that the iPhone 13 Pro is easily worth the $200 premium over the iPhone 13. If you are ready to upgrade to a new iPhone, you have some great options this year.
Episode 20 of the In the News podcast is now available, and there was so much to talk about this week! We start by talking about iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, which became available a few days ago. Then we talk about the new iPhone 13 and the new iPad mini. Our two bonus topics are the potential EU requirements that all smartphones use USB-C and LIT SUITE.
In this week’s In the News segment, Brett and I discuss two tips for the newest operating systems. Brett provides tips for using the new Safari tab bar. I discuss putting widgets on an iPad home screen.
Today is new iPhone day! If you pre-ordered an iPhone 13 and you are lucky enough, you will get your new iPhone today. Or, you can walk into any Apple Store and many other stores today and purchase a new iPhone, so long as they are in stock. If you are still on the fence, take a look at my preview of the top new features and some of the initial reviews of the iPhone 13. Jason Snell of Six Colors wrote a helpful article explaining what you get if you upgrade to an iPhone 13 from an iPhone 7, 8, X, XR, XS, 11, 11 Pro, and SE. When I placed my order last Friday, I ordered both a new iPhone and a new case. My case arrived on Wednesday, and it was immediately obvious that the square cut-out in the back of the case for the cameras is considerably larger than the cut-out in a case for the iPhone 12. According to Apple and the earlier reviewers, this larger square allows for better cameras, and I look forward to trying them out this weekend. And now, the news of note from the past week:
If you are a litigator and you have used an iPad for a while, there is a good chance that you have used one or more of the fantastic apps from LIT SOFTWARE over the years: TrialPad, TranscriptPad, or DocReviewPad. Earlier this year, the company switched to a subscription model called LIT SUITE (my review), and offered a $100/year discount for prior customers who upgraded — a discount that you can continue to use every year for as long as you stay a subscriber, so it really adds up over time. I mention all of this today because the company announced this week that the discount ends on October 1, 2021, so you only have a few days left to take advantage of it.
Jon Porter of The Verge reports that the European Commission of the European Union is considering a proposal that would mandate that all smartphones, tablets, and other devices use a USB-C connector. If passed, that could mean the end of the Lightning port for the iPhone.
What do you get when you pair the great new cameras on the iPhone 13 Pro with professional photographer Austin Mann? You get jaw-dropping video and pictures from Tanzania. He is especially excited about the new 3x telephoto lens because “everything I shoot with the Telephoto feels naturally cinematic and has a different feel than imagery captured by previous models.” I strongly recommend that you check this one out.
The new iPad mini also goes on sale today. Jason Snell of Six Colors posted this review of the iPad mini. He found that this is an iPad that is often more useful when it is in portrait orientation, not landscape orientation.
Federico Viticci of MacStories posted this review of the iPad mini. He says that it “is a joy to use on a daily basis.”
iOS 15 came out this week, and I haven’t heard of any problems with the update. Dan Moren of Six Colors wrote a review of iOS 15.
If you want an incredibly detailed review of every little thing that is new in iOS 15, Federico Viticci of MacStories wrote this tome on iOS 15.
With this update, Safari now supports extensions. My favorite so far is 1Password, which now seems to be almost as powerful on iPad or iPhone as it is on a computer. But there are many others that I want to try, and Parker Ortolani of 9to5Mac recommends some of his favorite Safari extensions.
Juli Clover of MacRumors does the same thing, recommending some favorite Safari extensions. I see that there is a free one called Super Agent that automatically fills in cookie consent forms on websites so that you never have to see them — and I’m going to start trying that one right now.
Not only does Safari add extensions, but it also works very differently in iOS 15. Dave Mark of The Loop links to a helpful video from Apple that walks you through the new Safari.
Patrick Holland of CNet discusses some of his favorite features of iOS 15, including focus mode and live text.
Speaking of live text, Jason Snell of Six Colors wrote an excellent overview of what is new in the Photos app. And there is quite a bit that is new: a new info window for pictures, the ability to select text in images, a completely new Memories interface, and more. Jason also explains that if you want to search for a photo that contains a word in it, you (confusingly) cannot do that from within the Photos app, but you can do so using Spotlight to search your entire phone. This is so obviously confusing that I cannot imagine why Apple shipped the feature this way. If you ever use the Photos app on an iPhone or iPad, I strongly recommend this article.
watchOS 8 was also released this week. There isn’t a ton that is new, but Alex Guyot of MacStories wrote the best review that I’ve seen of watchOS 8. And I want to point out one specific part of this article. If you want to take advantage of the new Portraits watch face in watchOS 8, it is confusing at first, and this article does a great job of walking you through it.
Roman Loyola of Macworld explains the differences between the new Apple Watch Series 7 and last year’s Apple Watch Series 6.
And finally, Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal wrote a helpful article on using iOS 15. But even better is the video that she created with tips for using iOS 15. I strongly encourage you to watch it; you are virtually guaranteed to learn something new:
Shortly after Apple debuted the new iPhone 13 last week, the company gave review units to select members of the press so that they could prepare independent reviews, but instructed them not to say anything until yesterday. The embargo on those reviews is now lifted, so now we can learn from first-hand experience with the iPhone 13. If you are thinking about getting an iPhone 13, which goes on sale in stores this Friday, these reviews may help you to make a decision. And most of the reviews have been very positive, concluding that Apple added important improvements (battery life, cameras) to the already fantastic iPhone 12. Here are the reviews that jumped out at me:
Dieter Bohn of The Verge wrote excellent reviews of all of the new iPhones and also created great video reviews. In his review of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, he said that the battery improvements are welcome and that the cameras are excellent. In his review of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, he said that “there isn’t another phone on the market that can match the iPhone 13 Pro” cameras. He also said that Apple “did an excellent job with” adding ProMotion to the screens on the Pro models.
Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal was impressed by the macro photos taken with the iPhone 13 Pro, but she said that the Cinematic mode for videos isn’t yet ready for prime time because it makes mistakes when blurring parts of the video. This reminds me of Portrait Mode, which was interesting when it first launched but then became much more impressive as Apple improved the feature over time. As for the improved battery life, she said that “all four of the models lasted at least an hour longer than their predecessors.”
Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch took an iPhone Pro to Disneyland to test the camera and battery life. He said that “most of Apple’s improvements actually had a visible impact on the quality of life of my trip, though in some cases not massive. Screen brightness, the longer telephoto and battery life were all bright spots.” He also said that tests showed that the new A15 processor is “[i]mpressive as hell, especially for more battery life not less.”
Stuart Miles of Pocket-lint in the UK said that the “increased battery life is an obvious benefit, the smoother screen experience [on the iPhone 13 Pro] is great (and the more entry iPhone 13 lacks this ProMotion feature), and that updated notch is less noticeable too. It’s just all-round better.”
Patrick Holland of CNet was impressed by ProMotion on the iPhone 13 Pro. “In use, the screen looks stellar. Animations look smooth, graphics crisp and even mundane things like scrolling feeds look better.”
Apple didn’t send me a review unit, but according to UPS, the case for my new iPhone 13 Pro will arrive today. So if anyone needs a review of a case without the item that goes inside of the case, let me know, because I could do that, but I won’t.
