Earlier this summer, when Apple’s OSes were at Beta 3, I installed iPadOS 17 on my iPad to test the latest improvements and additions to a maligned OS. Maybe I was bored too. I started gathering my notes, thinking that it would be part of a mini review. Then I upgraded my iPhone because my experience with iPadOS 17 was good for a beta. Then I upgraded both of my Apple Watch (Series 4 and Series 8). Then my two Apple TVs. All is good, and generally speaking, these are all great improvements to what can be considered a set of mature OSes. I tried to put my observations together, but I don’t think it’s worth it. Besides having the general impression of getting a new Apple Watch, thanks to Apple, who dare to revisit many fundamental aspects of the UI and many micro-interactions with watchOS 10, for all other platforms, most of the changes are great and show that Apple is headed in the right direction. Your mileage may vary, and this is ok. The end.

Apple’s services help other Apple lines of products soften their respective crashes. COVID and work-from-home, learn-from-home was a boon for the iPad and Apple will suffer the post-COVID for quite some time. Knowing the longer-than-usual replacement cycle of the iPad, recovery is not for tomorrow. Great summary by Six Colors.

And gone is Microsoft Cortana. What a weird name that was (Bard is not better in that respect). Some are suggesting Apple should do the same with Siri. I don’t think so because Apple has no apparent alternative to Siri, so they cannot just dump Siri because others are dumping their assistant. They do because they actively work on alternatives. Microsoft is clear in that respect and already shows what the alternatives are. Siri is a high-value brand name. Apple should build any next-generation AI-based tool to replace or complement the current back-end.

I won’t bother linking to the original piece, linking to Math Birchler’s link post instead will be enough. Is the iPhone refined enough? It depends on how you define « refinement ». To me, the iPhone isn’t refined enough in a way that new tech can help make the iPhone even better. If this year’s rumors are true, this is exactly what will happen (faster processor, more power efficient, etc.). Craftmanship also is a big part of the refinement story (softer edges, etc.). I can’t wait for iPhone 15 Pro, coming from the 13 Pro, I’ll certainly enjoy all the refinements, big and small.

Oh and apparently, unlike Apple, other companies don’t bother keeping the refinement game going. Well, this is exactly why I love Apple, they care to refine and try to improve things, year after year.