Rumors suggest a “finally” moment, with Apple on the verge of completing the redesign of the newest generation of the Mac mini, this time featuring an M4 chip. This could result in the smallest Mac ever. The current Mac mini design dates back to 2010, when Apple was still using more power-hungry and larger Intel chips. The only change over the years has been the back portion to accommodate a variety of port offerings. Continue reading →

What the “can’t do real work on an iPad” narrative is really about

people like me do want a Mac for getting all of our stuff done, but Apple doesn’t make exactly the Mac we want, so we lust after the iPad and lament how it doesn’t get the job done for us. If the Mac we wanted existed, we’d buy that and not have nearly as much to say about iPadOS.

I think Matt is nailing it. Apple doesn’t want to make an iPad run macOS, fine, but are they as much vocal against making a Mac touch-friendly? I don’t think so. Mike Gurman wrote this past week-end that one Mac will see a major redesign in the next 12 months. Could this be to introduce touch support?

Cookie banners show everything that’s wrong with the EU

It makes it hard to cheer for even much-needed antitrust action, like the Digital Markets Act. Because if the EU can screw up something as basic as cookie banners this bad, and prove so incapable and uninterested in re-calibrating its approach, what hope is there for the thornier issues?

A shit show in the making.

Next Apple Watch SE Could Be Made From Plastic

Apple used to sell a plastic ‌iPhone‌ 5c, for example, and it came in vibrant blue, yellow, pink, and green colors. Plastic would also better differentiate the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ from the standard Apple Watch models as the current ‌Apple Watch SE‌ is basically a modified version of the aluminum Apple Watch without the latest features.

I wonder if Apple could use 3D printing for the SE plastic case. There are rumors that Apple might use 3D printing in building devices. That could be it.

I always enjoy MKBHD’s videos, and this one about the Microsoft Surface ARM laptop is no exception. His views are well-balanced and feel honest. Now, about this specific lap, supposedly being fast with long battery life, great built quality and… a touch screen, certainly feels like a leap beyond Apple’s offerings, but… it’s running Windows. And that, is the problem. I wouldn’t buy one of these for the simple reason that running Windows required running a bunch of security-related software to keep it secure. Continue reading →

Apple results: big increase in services, big increase in iPad sales, increase in Mac sales, wearables sales in decline (AVP doesn’t move the needle, Watch in need of a reboot), China in decline. That’s pretty much it.

So iOS 18.1 is a thing, after all. Well, as I live in Canada, I’m not going to set the region to English US on my phone¹. I rather wait and see other devs and YouTubers delve into this beta of Apple Intelligence and see how it goes. That should be fun and interesting.

Update: changing the region of the device doesn’t do much except for date formatting, temperature metric and dollars amount formatting. Oh, and if you set one device (iPad) to use one region, the other device (iPhone) will also use the same region. Why?

In iOS 18 beta 4, look at user ratings in the App Dtore and the choice Apple made for the star’s gray shades… it’s very hard to spot how many actual stars were given out of the five. Is this on purpose? 👀🧐

It’s 8:45 AM. The joy of running beta software. 😱👀

Today I made a template. Who knows, it might be useful to some big company.

“We will release {insert product or service name here} over the coming months, but not in the EU due to the unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment,” {insert company name here} said in a statement to {Insert news agency name here}.

You are welcome.

Today’s CrowdStrike update is probably the most expensive update of all time in IT history. Will we really learn from it? Some big players probably will but in general, I doubt it. #crowdstrike

In a meeting this morning at the office, I was quick to point out that those running Macs were just fine (we’re a Microsoft shop with a few weird guys like me promoting the Mac). I got booed. I guess people in IT are masochist. #crowdstrike 🤷🏻‍♂️

The AT&T Data Breach Shows Why RCS Can’t Be Trusted and the Downside of Apple Adding Support for It in iOS 18

Eddy Cue doesn’t lose many arguments but he lost that one. All of the effort spent pushing Apple to support RCS would have been better spent pushing Apple to ship iMessage for Android. And without a supported iMessage client for Android, that role ought to go to WhatsApp, not RCS. WhatsApp is free, secure, and works equally well on all phones.

I think Apple made a big mistake by not shipping iMessage for Android.

Tomorrow I’m going to the Apple Store for an Apple Vision Pro demonstration. For some reasons, I’m not that excited for this. And I’m a big Apple fan. I was excited for the AVP when it came out, but like everyone else, the hype is no longer there. Apple is still working to find THE killer app or use case for this. And, something is broken with Apple these days…

Taboola + Apple News? No thanks

Apple’s decision to strike a deal with Taboola is shocking and off-brand — so much so that I have started to question the company’s long-term commitment to good customer experience, including its commitment to privacy. As it chases more and more revenue to appease Wall Street, it’s clear Apple will become one of those companies that prioritize shareholders over paying customers and their experience.

I hate ads. I hate ads. This is a sad day. That is not cool at all. How can Apple brags about protecting user privacy (see that ad on YouTube?) and al while serving ads through an external ads network? More than ever, Apple is becoming like everyone else and IS profiling its users, for money. I’m starting to hate Tim Cook’s Apple. As soon as I see a change in News, I’ll cancel my subscription to Apple One.

If Apple were to design a new router, the resulting device would likely resemble this one from Ubiquiti. The box has a similar aesthetic to Apple’s iconic networking hardware.

There is something incomplete in how Apple is portraying Safari as a way to stay private when surfing the web. The ad is certainly visually striking, with surveillance cameras flying over people as they browse the web on their non-iPhone devices. It’s a compelling analogy. It reminds me of another Apple ad where a person is in a similar situation, being watched and followed by a group of people who want to know their online whereabouts. Continue reading →

I 🥰 the new design of Photos in iPadOS 18. Probably the most controversial opinion about iPadOS this year.

So, iPadOS 18 beta3: nothing obvious, really. Feels snappy. Less buggy than expected. Some rough edges, of course. Autocorrect seems way better. Finally. Tempted by iOS 18 now. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

Google Chrome, Along With Other Popular Chromium Browsers, Grants System Monitoring Privileges to *.google.com Domains But speaking of the DMA, Chromium is, far and away, the most popular browser engine that the DMA compels Apple to allow on iOS. There are legitimate reasons to wish that Apple allowed third-party browser engines on iOS. But there are also legitimate reasons why Apple doesn’t allow them. Chrome really is bad. Better to let the market decide than let clueless regulators decide. Continue reading →