Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/11/monday-morning-news201117/
Apple announced on Friday a small delay before it will start shipping its HomePod wireless speaker. In a statement provided to media outlets, Apple says it needs a little more time before the HomePod will be ready for customers. Apple also said that HomePods will ship in early 2018 for the US, UK, and Australia, suggesting that we’ll see much more limited availability compared to Apple’s more recent product releases.
The good news is, the iMac Pro is probably still on track for a release next month. The BridgeOS 2.0 software package reveals that there’s a good chance the iMac Pro will feature an A10 coprocessor along the regular Intel processor. That will make the iMac Pro the first Mac with an A-series chip, and although speculation says the A10 chip will allow for tighter control of macOS, there’s also a good chance it’ll power features like always-on “Hey Siri”.
Fast Company says Apple wants Intel modems in future iPhones. The news comes despite the current performance disparity between Intel and Qualcomm cellular modems — apparently, Intel’s 5G technology will give it the edge over Qualcomm’s offering, perhaps partly due to Qualcomm’s carrier-specific technologies that may not see widespread adoption.
Over at the New York Times, Brian Chen talks about the superstition that your phone slows down when a new device comes out. Combined with a new release of iOS that changes a lot of things under the hood and behind the scenes, it’s tempting to place the blame solely on Apple forcing you to upgrade. But performing a fresh install of the latest iOS release on your device, or at least doing a reset all settings, is likely to restore some speed. And if that fails and you still feel like your device is noticeably slower, well, you can always get a new phone.
The fourth betas of iOS 11.2, watchOS 4.2, and tvOS 11.2 betas have been released, with a slew of minor features including some level of AirPlay 2 support and Apple Pay Cash. The releases follow the fourth beta of macOS 10.13.2, which has been released to developers and members of Apple’s open beta testing program.
The opening of the Visitor Centre at Apple Park happened over the weekend, and 9to5Mac shows off the exclusive Apple merch you can buy. Sure, there’s the usual assortment of Apple hardware, the same as you can find in any Apple Store in the world. For Apple aficionados, that’s not the real reason you’ve journeyed all the way to Cupertino.
The latest instalment of the MacRumors case review roundup includes iPhone X cases from OtterBox, Spigen, LifeProof, Sena, and Pad and Quill. Both OtterBox and LifeProof have the ultra-durable market covered, while some of the other retailers have more niche designs including leather wallets and even one with an included strap.
Something for Mac sysadmins to watch out for is the automatic rollout of macOS High Sierra. If you’re running macOS El Capitan 10.11.5 or later, your Mac will start to download High Sierra in the background, later popping up with a notification that gives you two choices: install macOS High Sierra right then and there, or put it off until a later date. Like Stephen Hackett, I don’t mind Apple prompting users to upgrade, but automatically downloading the installer seems a step too far.
The big Apple support article of Mac keyboard shortcuts misses one that’s used by a fair few system apps. While Command+G is nice for “Find Next”, Dr Drang points out Command+E, which didn’t make it onto the list yet always comes in handy when you want to find something by selection.
Black Pixel’s latest app is Pixelboard, a new collaborative whiteboard app for iPad. It works over the internet to create your own shared whiteboard sessions, and you can either draw with your finger or use an Apple Pencil for more precise diagrams. Definitely an app to consider if you have a remote team.