Category: Apple

Exploring Apple’s iPhone 6 and iWatch announcements on the MacJury

September 12, 2014 /

I joined TMO Alumnus Ted Landau, Joe Kissell and host Chuck Joiner on the latest edition of The MacJury. The panel pontificated on new iPhones and analyzed the long term implications of the new “i-less” offerings: Apple Pay and Apple Watch.

What makes Apple’s NFC payment system better than Google’s? (Hint: It’s about who gets to see your data.) Can southpaws get as much out of the Apple Watch as righties? (Spoiler: Yes.) These and other burning questions are answered in The MacJury’s typical light-hearted (yet oh-so-authoritative) style.

The MacJury is available as a video podcast at Apple’s iTunes Store and the MacVoices website.

Ruminations on the Apple iPhone announcement: it’s not an ‘iWatch’

September 9, 2014 /

A lot of the details about the purported Apple iPhone 6 have already come to light, and assuming the multitude of corroborating stories are more than just the same rumor bouncing around the tech press Echo Chamber (a big assumption, to be sure), it seems likely that Apple is set to announce two iPhones today, with a 4.7 and 5.5-inch screen. John Gruber’s math on screen resolution seems to work out well, so I’ll take the “ultra high” resolution speculation on its face; the alternative of a sub-retina display is certainly not where Apple would go with this.

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When facts and narrative collide: Apple’s double-digit Mac growth calls out analysts’ flawed estimates

July 30, 2014 /

From AppleInsider:

Apple reported “strong double digit growth” in its Mac sales in the U.S., directly contradicting the earlier estimates published by IDC and Gartner that stated Apple’s U.S. Mac sales fell year-over-year in the June quarter and calling into question the legitimacy of market estimates that the tech media uncritically presents as factual.

Writing for Fortune, Philip Elmer-DeWitt shines some light on how those “estimates” are made (or made up): (via The Loop)

“So, the mantra became, preserve the growth rates; to hell with the actual numbers. Even the growth rates are fiction. The fudge is in the ‘others’ category, which is used as a plug to make the numbers work out. In fairness, we did do survey work, calling around, and attending white box conferences and venues to try to get a feel for that market, but in the end, the process was political. I used to tell customers which parts of the data they could trust, essentially the major vendors by form factor and region. The rest was garbage.”

When facts and narrative collide: Apple’s double-digit Mac growth calls out analysts’ flawed estimates

July 30, 2014 /

From AppleInsider:

Apple reported “strong double digit growth” in its Mac sales in the U.S., directly contradicting the earlier estimates published by IDC and Gartner that stated Apple’s U.S. Mac sales fell year-over-year in the June quarter and calling into question the legitimacy of market estimates that the tech media uncritically presents as factual.

Writing for Fortune, Philip Elmer-DeWitt shines some light on how those “estimates” are made (or made up): (via The Loop)

“So, the mantra became, preserve the growth rates; to hell with the actual numbers. Even the growth rates are fiction. The fudge is in the ‘others’ category, which is used as a plug to make the numbers work out. In fairness, we did do survey work, calling around, and attending white box conferences and venues to try to get a feel for that market, but in the end, the process was political. I used to tell customers which parts of the data they could trust, essentially the major vendors by form factor and region. The rest was garbage.”

‘Welcome to Swift Blog’

July 11, 2014 /

From a new Apple blog dedicated to its new programming language:

This new blog will bring you a behind-the-scenes look into the design of the Swift language by the engineers who created it, in addition to the latest news and hints to turn you into a productive Swift programmer.

Who would ever have thought we’d see the phrase “behind-the-scenes” in anything coming from Apple?

Could be a very interesting blog to follow.

Also—Xcode is now available to any registered Apple Developer—even the free level.

RandomMaccess LookBack: On the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh, a look at the 20th

January 24, 2014 /

On the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh, RandomMaccess takes a look at how we covered the Mac’s last big milestone — its 20th anniversary. A lot has changed since then: The iPod and iPad were still top-secret projects somewhere deep in the bowels of One Infinite Loop (or its Area 51 equivalent). Apple was enjoying the explosive success of the iPod and the company’s resulting resurgence. And of course, Steve Jobs was still alive.

Although the article is now 10 years old, I think a lot of the analysis still applies to this day — although perhaps one result of Jobs’ absence is an executive team that allowed the retrospective Apple is hosting on its site today. It’s hard to imagine Steve permitting such an emotional walk down memory lane.

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The ‘canary in the coal mine’ in Apple’s transparency report

November 6, 2013 /

Several people have pointed out that Apple’s “Transparency” report of government requests for information contains a brilliant end run around the government’s gag order on revealing that certain requests have even been made.

At the end of the report’s Notes section, Apple states it “has never received an order under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. We would expect to challenge an order if served on us.”

Sounds pretty innocuous, right? But here’s the kicker. As long as Apple never receives such a request, we can expect future reports to contain the same statement. If that statement were to go missing, however, it would be a clear message that a request or requests had been received.

Well played, Apple. Well played.

‘Open vs. Closed’ and other mythical battles on The MacJury

August 20, 2013 /

I joined a panel of pretty smart pundits on the latest edition of Chuck Joiner’s MacJury podcast. We started out with a look at the “battle” between so-called Open and Closed ecosystems, including of course Android and iOS (and some thoughts on why Android is ahead of iOS in market share), and then delved into TV and movie content distribution and other tangents. As usual, it was a lively discussion that I think shed some light on some of the issues at play. Guests Peter Cohen of The Loop and iMore and Weldon Dodd of Rewind Technology were lots of fun to banter with.

The episode’s worth checking out if for no other reason that to see how much grayer my hair’s gotten since my last appearance.

New iPhones on September 10th? ‘Yep.’

August 12, 2013 /

Jim Dalrymple puts his signature stamp of approval on an AllThingsD report claiming Apple will unveil its next-generation iPhone at a special event on September 10th.

Apple could introduce two new models at the event, the report says: an iPhone 5S, a speed-bumped version of the iPhone 5 that could include a fingerprint sensor and improved camera. The company may also announce a lower-cost “iPhone 5C,” which pundits have been saying would help Apple in the mid-range market, where it faces competition from low-cost and highly subsidized Android phones.

Any phones introduced are expected to ship with iOS 7 — an update to the iPhone’s operating system.

As far as I can recall, Dalrymple hasn’t tossed out a wrong “yep” yet.

‘Automatic’ pairs your car and iPhone to provide OnStar-like features

May 1, 2013 /

Regret not ponying up for that OnStar subscription for your last car? A startup called Automatic promises to provide most of those features (and a few extra) with an iPhone app and a hardware dongle that plugs into your car’s diagnostics port.

The device performs diagnostics, lets you turn off your “Service Engine” light, provides fuel-saving tips based on your driving habits, remembers where you park (and where you drove), calls for help in an accident and more.

The device (expected to ship in August) costs a one-time fee of $69 and connects to a companion iPhone app via Bluetooth. (An Android version is planned; Windows Phone and Blackberry users are out of luck.) The company says it works with virtually every gasoline-powered car sold in the U.S. since 1996.

If Automatic lives up to its promise, it could be huge. More information, including a link to pre-order, is on the company’s website.

Here’s Automatic’s promo video: