Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/06/friday-morning-news240616/
Among the minor changes expected in this year’s iPhone, a longer earpiece cutout and relocated ambient light sensor are the latest to hit the rumour mill. These small changes mean that current protective films will not work on the new iPhone, and due to the consistent rumour about a dual-lens camera in the Plus-sized model, mean that existing cases won’t work, either.
A different leak from the Chinese supply chain indicates that it’s possible this year’s iPhone will start at 32GB of storage, going all the way up to 256GB. Apple is expected to retain a three-tier capacity, meaning that you can expect this year’s iPhone to be available in 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB versions. Pricing speculation also appears to point to a higher starting price, which generally doesn’t bode well for Australians.
Continuing the headphone jack debate is Ars Technica, who says that if Apple (or anyone else) are going to think about replacing the headphone jack, they should be replacing it with something better. Ars writes that comparisons to the floppy drive and optical discs are flawed, because the headphone jack’s age and ubiquity are features that can’t be overlooked just because one company wants to move to something more futuristic. On the other hand - if not now, when?
TechCrunch reports Apple intentionally left the iOS 10 kernel unencrypted, saying that keeping the kernel unencrypted allows the system to be optimised for performance without compromising user data.
AppleInsider discusses two Apple patents, the first of which comes in the form of a touch-sensitive stylus capable of recognising gestures on the body of the stylus itself. The second is a patent for a device which can recognise which hand is holding the device and can then customise the UI to suit left or right-handed usage.
Apple is looking for streaming video feedback. An email sent to AppleInsider about streaming video after a recent iPad purchase deviated into how the user streams video, and what they thought of their Apple TV, prompting speculation Apple is looking at further direction for the Apple TV.
MacRumors covers the accessibility features shown off at WWDC. Switch controls are coming to tvOS, dwell controls on macOS further the mouse-using experience, and both display and colour adjustments in iOS and watchOS mean better experiences for vision-impaired users.
Minor hidden features of macOS Sierra include a complicated storage management window, Siri’s knowledge of system information, and a whole bunch of miscellaneous Photos improvements.
Third-party apps already provide the storage management features found in macOS Sierra, and my pick from iMore’s list has to be DaisyDisk. There might be free apps that do a very similar thing, but it’s hard to go past the design and all-in-one feature set of DaisyDisk.
This week’s game recommendation is Tapt, a “surprisingly fun, ultra-minimal” rhythm game as reviewed by TouchArcade. As its name suggests, Tapt makes you tap out the beat to songs, but you have to do so completely from memory. It’s free on the App Store, with in-app purchases for extra music packs.
