Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/11/wednesday-morning-news081117/
Six Colors talks about one week with the iPhone X. Jason Snell writes about the differences between the space grey and the silver finishes, the impressive camera, and the need for there to be some other way to invoke Control Center other than a swap down from the top right “ear” (we really need to settle on a common name for those things). There’s also initial thoughts on the iPhone X from MacStories, who extolls the virtues of Face ID as the Touch ID replacement we never knew we needed, while at the same time praising developers for having updated apps ready to go.
The second public beta of iOS 11.2 has been released to members of Apple’s beta testing program, bringing with it Apple Pay Cash. Person-to-person payments sounds exciting and all, but given that this is a virtual credit card, the feature is limited to the US for the time being. Still, there’s now an Apple support article on setting up and using Apple Pay Cash.
A standalone Animoji app created by one developer doubles the recording time for your face-tracked shenanigans. Unfortunately, the app uses private APIs so we’ll never see it on the App Store, but you can still sideload it onto your device with Xcode and a free developer account. Otherwise, use the built-in screen recording feature like everyone else has been doing.
TechCrunch points out the part of Apple’s support article on Face ID’s advanced technology which mentions that Face ID learns about your face from failed unlock attempts which then are authenticated using your passcode. What this means it that you probably want to be careful with who you let use your iPhone X — if Face ID doesn’t recognise them as you, but they put in your passcode, Face ID will start to recognise them over time.
MacRumors takes a look at some case options for the iPhone X. Wallet-style cases seem to be the flavour of the month, with Apple’s own Leather Folio being a popular option with card slots on the front. There’s also a few great options from Twelve South, Nomad, and Speck, although MacRumors warns you about removing cards stored in the rear of your iPhone before attempting to use wireless charging. Just in case.
The current shipping estimates of 3-4 weeks for new iPhone X orders give you just enough time to get an iPhone X in your hands before sales of the iPhone X open up to an additional 13 countries on November 24. Alternatively, you can try your luck at an Apple Store using Apple’s stock reservation system, or one of the many stock checker websites.
The good news is, tvOS 11.2 will fix an issue where Apple TV units will prefer frame rate over a better quality picture. There’s a new option found in tvOS 11.2 that allows users to choose whether the frame rate or dynamic range is matched to playing content, fixing one of the gripes users had about the Apple TV.
Israeli company Corephotonics has sued Apple for allegedly infringing on four of its patents relating to dual-lens camera systems, as found on the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus. Strap yourselves in for another drawn-out legal battle, because the two companies are known to each other and reportedly discussed a partnership before Apple refused to license the technology.
Joe Cieplinski just wants all of his music library in his pocket available to play regardless of network connectivity. That’s something that’s become harder to do now that Apple are pushing Apple Music and iCloud Music Library, but it’s still possible if you want to do a little dance with iTunes.
The latest Macs to be marked as obsolete include the mid-2011 Mac mini, late 2009 versions of the 21.5 and 27-inch iMac, as well as the mid-2010 Mac Pro, fourth-generation Time Capsule, and fifth-generation AirPort Extreme. Check out the full list here.