Apple

Elon Musk completes Twitter purchase, Meta’s in trouble and it’s time to admit self-driving cars ain’t gonna happen • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 29, 2022Posted in Apple, Argo AI, Elon Musk, meta, Startups, Week in ReviewNo Comments

Hey, folks, welcome back to another edition of ZebethMedia Week in Review, the place where we point you to the hottest stories of the past sevenish days. I’m stepping in front of the laptop for Greg Kumparak this week, but don’t fret, he will be back soon. If you want this goodness in your inbox every Saturday, head on over here to sign up. Now, let’s get to it. most read (Elon edition, somewhat) Elon did it: He bought Twitter. The $44 billion acquisition closed this week and on day 1, the platform’s new owner “cleaned house,” Taylor and Amanda write, firing CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and head of legal, policy and trust Vijaya Gadde. The purchase capped off months of ups and downs, and this week was no different. Darrell rounded up some highlights. Elon’s layoff about-face: While Elon Musk immediately fired some folks at the top, earlier this week in a reversal from his layoff declaration last week, he said he won’t actually lay off 75% of Twitter’s staff — or 5,600 people — writes Rebecca, citing a Bloomberg report. Apple’s Elon problem: Darrell’s headline says it all, really: “Twitter’s Elon problem could soon become Apple’s Elon problem, too.” At issue is that Apple updated its developer guidelines this week, one of which “seeks rent on revenue made by social networks around promoted posts.” Argo AI shutdown: Autonomous vehicle startup Argo AI, flush at launch in 2017 with $1 billion, has shut down. Its parts, writes Kirsten Korosec, are “being absorbed into its two main backers: Ford and VW.” Speaking of autonomous vehicles: After the Argo AI news hit, Darrell took to the site to explore the fact that, no, autonomous vehicles just aren’t going to happen. MrBeast’s worth: Amanda asks if MrBeast, or 24-year-old YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, is worth the $1.5 billion he’s valuing his business at. Meta is in trouble: That’s the headline. Meta reported its third-quarter results this week and they weren’t great. As Taylor writes: “With the Instagram portion of the business not looking so hot lately, Meta has quintupled down on the metaverse without examining if it even knows what users want at all these days. And after changing the name of the company while ruining a perfectly fine word in the process, there are no easy take-backs.” Meta really was a perfectly fine word. Google Pixel 7’s “dumb” flaw: Haje took a picture through an airplane window and noticed a reflection caused by the reflective chrome surrounding the phone’s camera lens. “It’s a pretty common use case for most photography applications, which makes it all the harder to grok why Google went out of its way to make that experience worse.” audio roundup On Equity this week, we share with you one of Natasha Mascarenhas’s Disrupt panels. She talked to Chief co-founders Lindsay Kaplan and Carolyn Childers about the future of their private membership club for women in leadership positions. This week on Found, Darrell and Jordan sat down with Shanthi Rajan from construction management software company Linarc to discuss breaking into a slow-changing industry, building a team with talent across the globe and working with customers to build the most useful product possible. And on Chain Reaction, Anita and Jacquelyn chat about Apple’s new App Store guidelines, Reddit’s foray into the NFT space and whether the U.K.’s new prime minister will live up to the hype he’s received from the crypto community. techcrunch+ 5 tips for launching in a crowded web3 gaming market. Contributor Corey Wilton explains the steps that will set you apart when looking for capital. Pitch Deck Teardown: Palau Project. Haje usually passes on tearing down pre-seed rounds, but he went for it this week with the Palau Project, which was founded by professional kite-surfer Jerome Cloetens, who is taking on climate change.

Elon buys Twitter, new App Store rules, gambling ads backlash • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 29, 2022Posted in app stores, Apple, Apps, developers, Google, Mobile, This Week In AppsNo Comments

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly ZebethMedia series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up only slightly from the $64.4 billion during the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by the pandemic has slowed down. But overall, the app economy is continuing to grow, having produced a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. Global spending across iOS and Google Play last year was $133 billion, and consumers downloaded 143.6 billion apps. This Week in Apps offers a way to keep up with this fast-moving industry in one place with the latest from the world of apps, including news, updates, startup fundings, mergers and acquisitions, and much more. Do you want This Week in Apps in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here: techcrunch.com/newsletters. Musk buys Twitter It’s official, Elon Musk now owns Twitter. In typical Musk fashion, the transition has been nothing but chaotic, with the deal closing just ahead of the deadline set by the Delaware Chancery Court — the court where Musk was planning to try to exit the deal by claiming Twitter had misled him about the number of bots on the platform. (He was really looking to get the price down, of course!) In any event, the Telsa and SpaceX exec now has a new toy and everyone is waiting to see what comes next. Earlier, Musk had hinted at layoffs, then later retracted his statements, saying he wouldn’t fire 75% after all. However, he did immediately clear out the C-suite, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, General Counsel Sean Edgett and Head of Legal, Trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde — a sign that he’s planning to fill out Twitter’s top ranks with execs who will do his own bidding and not fight for the Twitter of days past. Still, Musk’s talk about a Twitter that’s more permissive of “free speech” doesn’t quite align with his message to advertisers posted shortly after the deal’s close: He promised marketers that Twitter can’t turn into a “free-for-all hellscape.” That’s clearly a tacit acknowledgment on Musk’s part that advertisers don’t want to post their content next to hate speech-filled tweets. And despite Musk’s plans to grow Twitter’s subscription business, around 90% of Twitter’s revenue today comes from advertising. Given what he had to pay to own Twitter, Musk probably doesn’t want to have to pay to keep it running, too. App Store Review Guidelines now give Apple a cut of NFTs, in-app advertising Image Credits: ZebethMedia Along with the launch of iOS 16.1, Apple also introduced new App Store Review Guidelines. Among the major changes were two new rules designed to give Apple a bigger slice of the NFT market and Meta’s core advertising business. The company said apps will be allowed to list, mint, transfer and let users view their own NFTs, but clarified that owning an NFT could not be a shortcut to unlocking any more features in an app. In other words, the ownership of an NFT shouldn’t be a way to route around Apple’s in-app purchases. In addition, Apple said NFT apps can’t display external links or other calls-to-action to purchase NFTs — that can only take place through Apple’s own in-app purchases system, as well. This change is not all that surprising. As the web3 market grows, Apple wanted to find a way to stake its claim on the revenue and transactions that are occuring inside these new apps. Plus, it’s a better consumer experience for NFT marketplace apps to not just function as a showcase for users’ purchases, but as a place where users can actually transact. The other big rule adjustment, however, is a bit more startling. In a bold move, Apple essentially said it deserves a cut of Meta’s ads business as well as any other social app. The new rule around social media apps now states that purchases of “boosts” have to flow through Apple’s in-app purchase system. This could impact any app that sells the ability to boost a post to a wider audience, like Meta (Facebook, Instagram), TikTok, Twitter, dating apps and others. Meta, of course, took significant issue with this change, saying that Apple’s policy undercuts others in the digital economy after Apple had previously said it wouldn’t take a share of developer ad revenue. While Meta isn’t exactly a sympathetic player here, it’s concerning that Apple has decided it can now tax advertising inside iOS apps at the same time it runs its own expanding ads business. That seems like a move regulators will need to look into asap. App Store gambling ads backlash Speaking of Apple’s ads business…The company’s App Store ads platform expanded this week to include new ad slots like the main Today tab and a “You Might Also Like” section at the bottom of individual app listings. The slots are available in all countries as of October 25, except China. The ads have a blue background and an “Ad” label to differentiate them from other listings. Developers, however, were immediately disturbed by the instant deluge of gambling ads that appeared marketed alongside their own, including against kids’ applications and, in at least one case, a gambling addiction recovery app. This was a poor look for Apple. After all, the gambling category itself is already controversial — many developers would rather not share an app marketplace with these often predatory apps in the first place, much less have them advertised alongside their own. Apple at least moved quickly to respond to the backlash by “pausing” gambling ads and a few other categories on App Store product pages, but the company didn’t say how long this pause would last or what it planned to do about the situation in the long term. Spotify accuses Apple of anti-competitive behavior, this

Apple earnings see iPhone revenues up, still short of forecast • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in Apple, Apps, earnings, Hardware, iPad, iPhoneNo Comments

Sometimes earnings leave you wondering how good is good enough. Take, for example, Apple’s Q4, which finds the iPhone maker beating Wall Street expectations overall, but still seeing an extended trading stock dip after iPhone sales were improved, but still managed to miss the mark. Revenue hit $90.15 billion for the quarter, edging out the $88.9 billion estimates and rising roughly 8% over this time last year. iPhone revenue, too, saw a healthy uptick of 9.6% on the strength of the new iPhone lineup, though the $42.63 figure fell short of Wall Street’s $43.21 project enough to see a dip in late trading. Mac revenues saw double-digit revenue gains for the quarter, at $11.51 billion. The ever-important Services sector, meanwhile, saw a (relatively) modest y-o-y bump to $19.19 billion – making it another category that just failed to miss the mark of $20.10 billion. iPads, which only recently saw a refresh, were down 13% from last year. The numbers, of course, arrive in the face of significant economic headwinds. In a release, CFO Luca Maestri notes, “Our record September quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to execute effectively in spite of a challenging and volatile macroeconomic backdrop.” Tim Cook, meanwhile, used the opportunity to discuss environment concerns. In a separate interview with CNBC, however, Apple’s CEO addressed inflationary and other issues that stalled a potentially larger overall revenue growth for the behemoth. Cook expained, “We would have grown in double digits without the foreign exchange headwinds.” Specifically, the company was hurt by the US dollar’s strength. He added that the company has joined a number of other tech giants in slowing its overall pace of hiring, saying that Apple is instead doing so “deliberately.”

Apple pauses gambling ads on App Store product pages after developer outcry • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in app-store, Apple, Apps, GamblingNo Comments

It’s hard to imagine anyone but advertisers being happy with Apple for putting more ads on the page in App Store listings, but the way they rolled it out was especially troubling. Ads for shady gambling apps quickly pervaded the platform, appearing in the “you might also like” section of ordinary apps — including at least one for gambling addiction management. The change took place earlier this week and the problem was almost immediately discovered by developers, who naturally check their product page frequently to make sure all is well. For a brief but significant period — Tuesday night, basically — many of these newly created ad spaces were filled with “online casinos” and sports or horse betting apps. Now gambling is already a controversial topic on the App Store, as it’s hard to think of a category more predatory on users, while Apple siphons up a share of the cash being won and lost. The practice is highly regulated or completely illegal in plenty of countries or locales, so advertising it ought to be carefully monitored. So that it is being given pole position on Apple’s platform to begin with is a little unpleasant. But these are not just a way for someone to skip a trip to the bookie; many were shady shovelware and definitely not something that established developers would want to associate with at all. Yet suddenly at the bottom of their game or app’s page, there it was: “you might also like” a janky virtual casino. As a user, if I saw that, I would definitely wonder whether the app I was looking at was in the same category. The most egregious example has to be the ad for “Jackpot World,” a slots app, in the ad slot for RecoverMe, a gambling addiction support app. Imagine if you got an ad for meth when you tried to search for a rehab center! What’s this? Ads for gambling at the bottom of a listing for a gambling addiction recovery app. How could this possibly go wrong? #Apple #appstore pic.twitter.com/9MQQvDMx8r — ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Jon (@hot_doggin_jon) October 26, 2022 Fortunately, Apple was watching the conflagration on Twitter and elsewhere and yesterday it restricted gambling ads “and a few other categories” from these slots. Of course that’s not the end of the drama. An ad being inappropriate for its position is not an easy call to make, and even in the best case scenario developers feel that they are essentially being taxed, since if they don’t buy the ad on their own app, their competitor might. Apple has made it clear that it intends to bolster its advertising revenue, despite the company’s status as one of the richest and most profitable in the world. Old hands at the ad game, like Google, have weathered controversies like this one before, but Apple probably has a few more hard knocks ahead of it in its push for greater cash flow.

China’s smartphone shipments slumped 23% in Jan-Aug • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 27, 2022Posted in Apple, China, chips, Gadgets, Hardware, Huawei, iPhone, oppo, Phone, semiconductors, shipment, XiaomiNo Comments

Smartphone shipment is often seen as the bellwether of China’s consumer spending, and right now, the picture isn’t very rosy. The world’s largest market for smartphones shipped 175.1 million handsets between January and August, marking a sharp 22.9% decline year-over-year, according to research from a state-backed institution. In August alone, shipments dropped 21.9% year-over-year. The global smartphone market as a whole is experiencing a slowdown, logging a 9% decline in the second quarter due to a mix of challenges including a COVID-struck economy, inflation, and deceleration following years of frantic growth. China’s growing consumer appetite obviously played a big part in driving the boom, and now that the world’s second-largest economy is hitting a speed bump, the smartphone industry is inevitably taking a hit. The era of economic miracles is coming to a close in China. On Monday, official data reported a 3.9% GDP growth rate from July to September, which beat forecasts but was way below the double digits that propelled the country’s economy forward for three decades. China is not only the world’s largest market for hanset users but is also its largest phone producer, with home-grown brands like Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi rising over the years to rival Apple and Samsung. These domestic phone markers began seeking overseas expansion well before their home market start cooling down. And they’ve successfully carved out their international market share and have in recent years consistently shared the top five spots alongside Apple and Samsung. The smartphone industry is notoriously cut-throat with modest margins, so it wasn’t unsurprising when Xiaomi and Oppo, which are long known for selling budget phones, started offering higher-end models in recent years. Huawei established a strong presence in the premium handset space before the U.S. cut off its supply of critical chipsets and key Android services. Having seen how overdependence on advanced U.S. technologies and geopolitical tensions has wrecked Huawei’s revenues, Oppo and the likes are rushing to work on their own smartphone processors. The need for Chinese firms to have their own high-end chips is getting dire as the Biden administration hit China with possibly the strictest export controls earlier this month. Analysts are still parsing the impact of the policy, but initial observation shows that the new rules will not only restrict Chinese companies’ access to high-end U.S. chips but will also bar their access to chip-making equipment, which will hobble the country’s ability to develop such advanced technologies.

Say goodbye to the notch? OTI raises $55M for technology to remove screen obstructions • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 26, 2022Posted in Apple, Hardware, LG, oled, Samsung, StartupsNo Comments

OTI Lumionics, an eye-catching startup out of Canada that has been working on display materials for device makers to create uninterrupted, full-view displays on their devices without the need for “notches” or cut-outs to account for camera technology — and whose name has been connected with Apple as a key supplier for a future notch-free iPhone — has raised $55 million in funding. The money will be used both to take its technology into production with a number of partners, and to develop a secondary line of operations that was borne out of the first: OTI credits the breakthrough that it had with its own work on display materials to a “quantum and AI-driven computational platform” that it built itself, and so the plan will be to productize that as well to help other technologists and engineers solve their own thorny material science conundrums. The funding is coming from a mix of strategic and financial backers that speak to its current business funnel, too: it includes LG Technology Ventures, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, UDC Ventures (the venture arm of United Display Corporation), Anzu Partners and the Family Office of Lee Lau — LG, Samsung and UDC being some of the biggest names in display technologies. Areas where the display materials are likely to make an appearance in coming years include smartphones, tablets, laptops, AR and VR headset makers, televisions and potentially automotive applications. OLED screens have changed the game when it comes to connected devices, literally and figuratively, with brighter and more contrasting colors, and better responsiveness that all improve the experience in visually-intensive experiences like gaming and much more. But one of the shortcomings in their structure is that when they are used, typically in full-screen scenarios, manufacturers have had to create “notches” or other dark spaces to share that real estate with cameras and other technology needed for features like facial recognition, a challenge that becomes even more compounded when considering how and where newer technology, like transparent screens, might be used in the future (automotive windshields, for example, is one area where obstructing the viewing space would not work at all). It also means that there have been limitations in introducing features like touch ID on the smooth screens. OTI’s breakthrough is something that it calls CPM Patterning, a new material and approach that allows for the cathode display technology to essentially be knit together with the sensor technology in a seamless design, so that the screen essentially becomes one with the functionalities of the cameras or other sensors, which it says also produces a more efficient process that uses less power. Michael Helander, the CEO and president of OTI (pictured, above), said that the process of coming up with the material was something that OTI could not have done without building and using its own quantum computing-based algorithms — the platform that it is looking to productize alongside this specific material. Helander said the platform runs using “classic hardware” with some compute from third-party quantum companies like D-Wave. Beyond coming up with the design, the company has already gone through the process of getting the production method tested and qualified by manufacturers, meaning that one typically long step in bringing something new to the market has already been passed, and that OTI’s technology is “production ready.” And if the name OTI rings a bell, you might recall that it was named as a key partner of Samsung’s in a report earlier this year, subsequently picked up by others, that alleged the two were working on building screens using the technology for a future generation of Apple’s iPhone. This is a long-play game. In an interview, Helander would not comment on customers or where we might see OTI’s technology in action first, he did say that it was unlikely to be making its way to consumers’ hands for some years still. He added that although hardware companies are known to build and acquire IP technology all the time, there is an interesting opportunity here for more nimble startups that are focusing on and fixing very specific problems. A company like Samsung, he pointed out, has made a few acquisitions of material science startups, but “the challenge is that because of the timelines and work involved, if one device maker buys from one manufacturer [but not another], or changes its strategy, then the whole supply chain could shift. It’s a lot of investment and it’s a risk, so you see a lot of cases where display competitors will co-invest in supporting smaller companies, and even collaborating,” as LG, Samsung and UDC are doing here with OTI. “Even though they would like to have total exclusivity, supporting them together can be beneficial for everyone.” Robert McIntyre, LG Technology Ventures’ MD, said that the display material alone sealed the deal for investing in OTI, with the platform opening the door to more possible collaborations in the future. “OTI at its core has a materials discovery engine that we think is uniquely powerful, using AI and quantum computing to run simulations to arrive at material endpoints that were previously undiscovered,” he said. “The unique thing about the company is that it realizes the importance of bringing applications to market.”

Apple exec says future iPhones will comply with EU’s USB-C mandate • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 26, 2022Posted in Apple, Apps, Hardware, iPhone, USB-CNo Comments

There has been a lot of consumer demand and regulatory push on Apple to change the iPhone’s charging port from the lightning connector to USB-C. Earlier this month, the European Parliament voted in favor of the legislation that mandated phonemakers to adopt USB-C connectors from 2024 — increasing pressure on the tech giant to make the switch. Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior Vice President of marketing, confirmed on Tuesday that the company will comply with EU’s ruling, but stopped short of sharing any other detail. Speaking at Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Tech Live event, Joswiak didn’t seem pleased with how governments across the world are approaching this issue. A decade ago when the EU was pushing for micro USB connectors the firm had a disagreement with them, he said. While the regulatory body’s aim was to reduce the type of power adaptors consumers were using to make it easier on them, Apple approached the problem differently, he mentioned. Apple debuted the lightning connector almost 10 years ago and it has been the primary connector for many devices including the iPhone, the iPad, and Airpods. Over the last couple of years, Apple has launched iPads using USB-C as the primary connector — including the latest baseline iPad. “…we got to a better place which is power adapters with detachable cables. All of them being USB-A or USB-C and you choose the cable which is appropriate for your device. That allowed over a billion people to have that (lightning) connector and to be able to use what they have already and not be disrupted and cause a bunch of e-waste,” Joswiak said. The EU is not the only region pushing for a common charger for mobile phones. In June, Democratic senators including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Ed Markey sent an open letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo pushing the US to follow the EU’s steps. Other countries like Brazil and India are considering a common connector rule.

Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime are down for some users • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 25, 2022Posted in Apple, Apps, FaceTime, imessageNo Comments

First, WhatsApp went down this morning. Now, Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime appeared to experience an outage in the U.S. this afternoon. Several Twitter users noted they were having trouble sending messages and connecting on the services and Apple’s System Status dashboard marked iMessage and FaceTime as having issues. “Some users are affected,” the status said. Now the status has changed to resolved. Notably, WhatsApp was down for two hours earlier in the day. Meta has since resolved the issue. This story is developing…

Apple cracks down on NFT functionality, social post boosts with App Store rules • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 25, 2022Posted in app-store, Apple, Apps, cryptocurrencies, NFTsNo Comments

Apple rolled out software updates — iOS 16.1, iPad OS 16.1, and macOS Ventura — to all users on Monday. It also introduced new App Store rules that limit features unlocked through NFTs and mandates apps to use Apple’s payment method to purchase “boosts” for posts on social media. NFTs The company said apps are allowed to list, mint, and transfer, and let users view their own NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). However, the ownership of NFTs shouldn’t unlock any more features within the app. Plus, these apps can let users browse other collections but they shouldn’t show external links, buttons, or call to action to purchase NFTs. Users can only purchase NFTs through Apple’s in-app payment system. The company is also prohibiting apps to use other mechanisms such as QR codes or cryptocurrencies to give special access to users. “Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency wallets, etc,” it said. Folks from the industry pointed out that these changes could have serious implications on the functionality of web3-dependant apps (including games) within the Apple ecosystem. Until now, they might be used NFTs as a way to thwart Apple’s App Store fees and simultaneously as a token or key to unlock features for users — but that won’t be allowed anymore. Notably, Meta has started rolling out features for users to show off their NFTs across both Instagram and Facebook. The company has also expressed a desire to open a marketplace for artists to sell their digital creations. But this step from Apple means it might have to pay App Store fees if the marketplace is made available on iOS. Crypto exchanges The company is also cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges as it now mandates them to have “appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange” in all regions they operate in. So Apple now has the power to remove a crypto exchange from a local App Store if it deems the app to be illegal for that region. Social media boosts With new App Store rules, Apple said that marketers don’t need to use in-app purchases to manage and purchase campaigns across different media types like TV, apps, and outdoors. However, they will have to use Apple’s in-app purchase system to buy boosts for social media posts— this would only apply to apps offering in-app tools for promoting posts. That means Apple will take a cut out of those sales, which might result in platforms hiking boost fees. This could impact companies like Meta, TikTok, and Tinder, which offer in-app boosts. Resellers: Depop, etsy, poshmark (ebay?)Dating apps: hinge, tinder, bumbleInfluencers: Tik Tok, Instagram, tumblr all have very low scale quick ways to boost your posts. Tik Tok screenshot below pic.twitter.com/t0ZX6YflHd — eric xcx (@ericherber) October 24, 2022 Other changes Apple has now included concepts that gain profit from current events such as “violent conflicts, terrorist attacks, and epidemics” under the objectionable content section. Apple is also adding ‘hookup’ apps or apps “that may include pornography or be used to facilitate prostitution or human trafficking and exploitation” in the objectionable content section. The company is prohibiting apps from unauthorized usage of music from iTunes or Apple Music as a soundtrack for a game or as background music to a video or a picture collage. Smart home apps that support the Matter IoT standard must use Apple’s support framework to initiate pings. Developers must provide a full-access to App Store reviewers through an active demo account or demo mode so they can test account-based functionalities. Over the last few years, Apple has had to reduce its App Store fees and allow third-party payment systems for in-app purchases in many regions across the world. With these new rules, the company has added new possible ways to earn money using the App Store. These changes have also brought back concerns regarding Apple’s anti-competitive practices and its tight control over how apps conduct their business on the App store.

A closer look at macOS Ventura • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 24, 2022Posted in Apple, Apps, macos, macos 13, venturaNo Comments

Sometimes it’s nice when a product launch falls when I’m on the road. I qualify that statement because, well, it’s one more thing to shoehorn into an invariably overloaded work trip. But there are some products that are just better tested on the road: laptops, earbuds, travel chargers and the occasional operating system. I’ve been running a beta of macOS 13 Ventura on my desktop since it was introduced back at WWDC over the summer. As ever, such things are not for the faint of heart. As I’ve noted before, I’ve really come to appreciate Stage Manager on the big screen. My adoption ratio for new macOS workflow features isn’t great — I usually use a majority of them for the duration of the review period and then immediately forget they exist. Stage Manager has been through the ringer on the iPadOS side — and rightfully so. The beta implementations left a lot to be desired, contributing to the company’s decision to forgo iPadOS 16, in favor of skipping to 16.1 around a month or so later. I won’t say Stage Manager was perfect from the get-go on the desktop (what beta software really is?), but I enabled it on day one and have rarely found myself shutting it off, ever since. Image Credits: Brian Heater When enabled, the feature keeps all windows open concurrently on the desktop. The primary window occupies the majority of the space, and the others are minimized on the side of the screen. It’s a bit like a toolbar comprised of open apps. Tapping any of these will swap them into the main staging area. You can also pull out a few and create a stack that will then be minimized and expanded together. An underrated piece in all of this is the fact that all of the clutter on the desktop goes away when the feature is enabled. If you maximize the window, meanwhile, the sidebar will get out of the way. The feature still has some quirks I’d suggest Apple update. Unzipping a window, for instance, drops the Finder window you’er using back into the side bar. Pulling individual windows out of a stack can also be a bit annoying. Overall, however, you can make a strong case for Stage Manager as the best Mac productivity update in years. Happy to say here that I’ve been using it on the desktop and notebook alike. Continuity Camera was greeted with mixed reception when it was introduced at this year’s WWDC. The critique is fair in the sense that it feels like putting a Band-Aid on a bigger issue, addressing the symptoms, rather than the root cause. The broader issue is that Apple has been neglecting laptop webcams for years. It’s an issue that was brought into sharp relief during the pandemic, for obvious reasons, and Apple has, more recently, been making the effort to improve video capture, through a combination of tweaks to the ISP and improved hardware. Image Credits: Brian Heater Continuity Camera was developed as a way of addressing the bigger issue with existing hardware. Instead of being forced to buy an external webcam or new Mac, it offers a way to leverage the iPhone as a kind of makeshift webcam. And let’s be real, the iPhone’s video capture is lightyears ahead of even the most recent Macs. Setup is simple, as long as the Mac and iPhone are running the same Apple account. Using a accessory like the one recently released by Belkin, you can mount it to the top of the laptop or desktop, right above the built-in webcam. The rear-facing cameras will do the webcam’s work. As far as solutions go, this isn’t among Apple’s most elegant, and as I noted in my Belkin write-up, the iPhone 14 Pro is too heavy for the Air’s lid to support at anything but a 90-degree angle. But the solution absolutely works in a pinch. I plan to keep the Belkin attachment in my cable bag, going forward. Those are the two headline features in my estimation. Though, as ever, these sorts of releases are pretty major feature dumps, with updates across the board. Spotlight gets a lot of love, this time out. It’s one of those features you likely don’t think much about. I tend to limit my desktop searches to local files, and for everything else, I use Google. Apple’s pushing to make the desktop version of Spotlight the kind of one-stop shop it has become on the iPhone. That certainly makes sense on a mobile device, but in the end, I’m not sure how much more convenient the macOS version is versus firing up a browser and searching Google. This time out, the feature offers a more streamlined design, along with searches within Photos, Messages and Notes — those, at least, are (hopefully) not things you’ll find in a browser-based search. The list also includes entertainment searches for things like music and films. However, I’d say the handiest addition here are “quick actions,” which offer shortcuts for things like creating alarms and Shazaming music. That should save you a bit of precious time. Safari tends to get a lot of love in these big system updates, and that certainly follows for Ventura. This is another place where I have to be upfront about not being a daily user. I’m just too wedded to Chrome as a browser and cloud-based account syncing service. The biggest news here is Shared Tab Groups, which lets you, well, share groups of tabs. Effectively, you make a group on a specific theme and can share them through a variety of methods, including Messages and Mail. There’s a nice security overhaul on board, as well, with the addition of end-to-end encrypted sign in through Passkeys. Think of what Google offers with Password Manager. The company has also expanded the feature to extend to non-Apple devices. Image Credits: Brian Heater There are some truly welcome additions to Messages this time out. Now you can unsend