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This week, I am getting an appointment for a screen replacement on my iPhone 13 Pro (under my paid AppleCare warranty). Three highly visible scratches are bugging me big time: the trade-in value is reduced by 485 CAN$ (at the worst timing possible: iPhone 15 Ultra is approaching😩), and I always focus on the scratches when looking at my iPhone screen. 🫣 AppleCare can be a good investment.
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I’d love to buy one of these, simply because it’s a great object of art and design.
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Dear Original iMac, I Barely Knew You
Happy 25th anniversary, iMac! As I started documenting in my series about remembering every Mac I ever owned, in 1998, I wasn’t invested in Apple’s ecosystem at all. I was a “PC” guy because of my job. Right before the iMac came out, I got rid of my Power Mac 7100 in 1996. I barely saw the iMac in stores or public spaces where a computer was made available for things like web surfing. What an iconic but somewhat weird-retro-style computer.
Isn’t the starting point of USB ports for the masses? Thanks, Apple.
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The Apple Way
I just went through the complete process of an Apple Trade-In for the return of my “old” 13-inch MacBook Air after getting my brand new 15-inch MacBook Air. I’m super impressed by the logistics behind all of it and how the user (me) is guided in the process. The final step was to cancel the AppleCare+ that I originally bought with my old device. Took a 5 min call from somewhere in Texas. The call was automatically initiated from a web form I filled out by selecting a few options. Got a confirmation email before the call and after stating the actual amount of the refund. All done. Great user experience. The next time will be for the replacement of my iPhone 13 Pro with the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro. 😃
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On Being Locked Out of an Apple ID Account
Being locked out of an Apple ID account is probably one of the worst nightmares I could imagine. This story (Reddit link) makes me pause for a bit. If you spend some time reading the comments thread, it seems the original poster doesn’t tell the whole story. There are some grey zones here. Nonetheless, the possibility of losing complete access to my previously purchased and subscribed content is really something that I wouldn’t want. I would feel helpless.
Mike Rockwell’s comment on the subject:
I hope we’re nearing a future where you can realistically use an iPhone without an Apple ID at all — replacing all of Apple’s services, including the App Store, with independent alternatives.
Mike’s wishes are not going to be fulfilled anytime soon. Even with alternative authentication mechanisms and third-party stores, the prospect of losing access to previously purchased content is real. Somehow I think the government should step in and ask companies to provide secure content recovery means.
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I don’t like these two “disconnected” visual elements: the menu bar from the dropdown menu. The highlighted portion of the menu bar and the menu itself. There, I said it. On a positive note: on recent MacBook Air like mine, I love the rounded screen corners.
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Yep. 😎
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I’m seeing a lot more AirPods Max than I used to.
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Apple Should Introduce FlightPlay™
Recently, while on a flight with United from Tenerife to Newark, I played with the infotainment screen in front of me. These infotainment systems really improved in recent years. Screens are bigger, speed is much faster, and interaction has improved quite a bit. Some of these systems look like iPad-in-the-seat, literally. It occurred to me that Apple while offering CarPlay, could try to find a way to create a version for flight infotainment systems. Let’s call it FlightPlay because Flighty is already used, and AirPlay, too!
I want each plane to offer a complete set of flight data, ready to be consumed by my iPad or iPhone while in flight via a local wifi network. The iPhone or the iPad would then turn into a special StandBy mode where data would be visually presented dynamically, allowing for great interactions with the user. Modern devices have so much powerful CPU, the interaction would be much more fluid and enjoyable. The data provided would be based on a standard model and would provide speed, altitude, current destination, path, atmosphere metrics (temp, headwind speed, etc.), and so much more. The airplane company could directly provide TV shows, music, etc., to our devices. The same would be for games. But Apple could also allow consumption of locally stored content from the device itself. I can imagine Apple’s designers working on a great graphical dashboard.
Is anybody at Apple reading this? What are you waiting for?
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My Non-Review of Apple's Latest Betas
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.
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Rumors of an M3-based MacBook Air are already being shared… which I find surprising and troubling as I’m going to pick up my brand new M2 15-inch MacBook Air this Thursday. I know the drill… and yet… Sigh.
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The Post-COVID iPad Era
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.
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Musk reminds me of Trump when he says he wants to have a conversation with Tim Cook about the App Store’s 30% cut on whatever shit they allow to sell through X.com. Just like Trump walking to the room in Ukraine or Russia and solving the Ukraine war in a day. What a pair of clowns these guys can be.
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Apple Can’t Kill Siri Just Like That
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.
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Thought of the day: if only we spent as much time on great rollouts (Apple) than we do on really bad ones (X)… oh wait, we do actually! Seriously, I’m tired of those comments about X…
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On The Refinement Game in Tech
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.
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My next MacBook Air will have 16 GB of RAM (up from 8 GB), 1 TB of storage (of from 512 GB), all this in a 15 inch configuration. I decided to give my previous 2020 M1 MacBook Air to Apple for a 580 CAN$ credit, plus the 200$ credit for the “back to school” promotion. And… 1500 CAN$ of Apple Store credit, thanks to my job bonuses! This could be the cheapest upgrade ever!
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I digg iOS 17 beta 4: much smoother. I’m guessing we will start to get new betas weekly from now on or maybe from beta 5. I still have to test iPadOS 17 beta 4, though. Are you having a similar experience?
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Apple’s Alan Dye interview. Super interesting interview.
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A new ad by Apple. I never share this but this one made me smile many times. Very entertaining too. Interesting how Apple highlights many features of its products in s single ad.
