Thursday Morning News

Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2016/12/thursday-morning-news151216/
apple-watch-brick-800x495Apple has pulled the watchOS 3.1.1 update, after it was found to cause bricking issues on some devices. The issue appears to only affect Apple Watch Series 2 units, with my own personal Series 0 unaffected and working just fine after the update. For those that have the red exclamation mark, you’ll need a replacement from the Apple Store.

Now that the previous betas of iOS and macOS have been released to the public, the first betas of iOS 10.2.1 and macOS 10.12.3 have been seeded to developers. Seems like Apple is taking this beta seeding thing pretty seriously, in order to prevent exactly the kinds of issues that happened with the latest watchOS update.

AppleInsider reports Apple has recruited engineers from a Berlin-based automotive mapping firm called Here. At least six engineers have made the jump from the Audi, BMW, and Daimler-owned Here, which at least suggests there’s an Apple mapping team hiding out in Berlin somewhere, working in secret on whatever Apple has up their sleeves.

One of the bigger features of iOS 10.2 is that HomeKit devices can now send notifications. Compatible HomeKit accessories can notify you of changes, all of which can be controlled via Apple’s Home app, which allows you to pick and choose which notifications you’d like to see.

Apple’s Support app has been released in the US following a soft-launch in the Netherlands. While it’s still not available in other countries, MacStories has a breakdown of how you can book appointments and schedule support calls using the app.

MacStories also takes a look at Pastebot, which is out for Mac today. It’s a clipboard manager with some cool features, such as the ability to store 500 of your most recently copied items, and a feature called sequential paste which seems particularly handy if you’re assembling something that needs clips in order.

The folks from Six Colors share their favourite iOS apps from the year gone by.

The Verge says Apple’s TV app does nothing to solve the inherent issues with digital media, even though the promise of a one-stop shop for content is a compelling narrative.

Michael Tsai’s post has hot takes from the Apple blogosphere about the removal of the time remaining estimate from macOS 10.12.2, which include Gruber’s “like being late for work and fixing it by breaking your watch”.

Jean-Louise Gassée writes that the launch of the latest MacBook Pro with Touch Bar was perplexing, which includes such gaffes as dongles not being available, price-drops on USB-C adapters, no compatible external display, and issues with battery life being sub-par.