Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2018/03/tuesday-morning-news270318/
The New York Times has a report on Apple’s push into original video programming. They claim that if everything goes to plan, we’ll be watching TV shows on some kind of Apple platform by this time next year, with Apple’s streaming video service slated to launch around March 2019. Apple SVP of Internet, Software, and Services Eddy Cue said at SXSW earlier this month that although Apple knows how to create apps, do distribution, and marketing, they don’t really know how to create TV shows.
Also from the New York Times is their piece on Federal law enforcement officials in the US pushing for legal mandates to force tech companies to build back doors into devices to allow access by the authorities in the case of criminal investigations. Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi argued that with more security threats than ever before, it is important to keep strengthening security, saying that it was no longer a case of security versus privacy, but security versus security, and that weakening security made no sense in that context.
Rumours claim we’ll see a gold iPhone X within the next few weeks or months, with the reasoning given to boost sales during the typical mid-season slump. If we do see a gold iPhone X, then it will probably come in the blush gold version we’ve previous seen leaks of. Other rumours claim we’ll also see a new 9.7-inch iPad in Q3, although whether this is a new cheaper model or one with support for the Apple Pencil is unclear.
The introduction of Face ID on the iPhone X has given Apple a two-year head start on 3D sensing. Particularly against Android, with Reuters claiming that other device manufacturers will not have access to the same 3D sensing-components as Apple does until 2019, with production bottlenecks and constrained supply being the major factors in Android device adoption of similar features to Apple’s 3D sensing Face ID authentication.
In case you needed more proof Facebook is invading your privacy, a tweet from Mike Rundle about Facebook collecting call logs tells the real story: the permissions that Facebook needs to do that only exist on Android, not iOS, Facebook specifically chose to require that level of access, and Apple, Steve Jobs, and Tim Cook were right about privacy all along.
The Verge says people are hanging out for Apple’s AirPower integrated wireless charging mat, and in lieu of any official release from Apple, have started backing similar products on crowdfunding platforms. The Plux is one such product, and while it may not have the integrations of AirPower that allow you to see charge status of other devices on your iPhone, there are very few reasons to not get a larger wireless charging pad for probably less than what AirPower will cost, when it’s finally released.
9to5Mac wonders what is lacking in Apple’s deployment model for iPads. It’s relevant given Apple’s education event tomorrow, which typically involves the administration of numbers of iPads, and while Bradley Chambers thinks iOS deployment is a solved problem in 2018, there are two major cases Apple still needs to address: iCloud storage upgrades for managed Apple IDs, and in-app purchases for volume purchasing.
Apple has sent a note to its business partners, saying that Apple will be changing their invoice number format, moving from an entirely numeric 10-digit invoice number to two alphabet characters followed by 8 numerical characters. The change allows for billions of possible invoices, even though it won’t happen until late February 2019.
The story of the forgotten history of obscure Apple accessories is fascinating, but you’ll probably remember a bunch of these. I mean, some, like the Lightning to Micro-USB adapter are still for sale, Apple Remotes weren’t from all that long ago, and iPod socks are iconic. Still, the surprising range of first-generation iPod shuffle accessories was definitely a surprise, as were some of the earlier Mac accessories.
Joe Cieplinski tells us about using an iPad for long-form writing. Cieplinski says that for prolonged typing sessions, the combination of Apple’s Magic Keyboard or whatever mechanical version you prefer and iOS can be a better choice than just a laptop, even though the iPad is better suited to being used by itself in your hands.
