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Apple had an easy day overall
Is it me or Apple had a pretty easy day today? Seems all the attention went to Google, Facebook and Amazon. My guess is that it reflects a fact: Apple is not in a monopolistic position like the other three. www.cnbc.com
Live: Big Tech testifies: Bezos promises action if investigation reveals misuse of seller data
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After 14 major iOS release... and yet...
Everybody is talking about Apple Music new icon since Beta 3 but, think about this: after 14 versions of iOS, and here we are: the āMoreā ābuttonā lingering bad design. How many times I try to hit this and I bring the detail view of the app instead. Frustrating.
Let me be clear: wrong place, too small, text overlapping, not a real button.
Come on, Apple!
My suggestion: add a āDetailsā button accessible when sliding the table cell to the left (the same gesture that reveals a Delete button).
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On Widgets Management Interfaces on iPhone
Very valid complaint from Dieter Bohn of The Verge on Appleās implementation of widgets management on iPhone. Two different user interfaces for basically the same objective. I prefer the look of the new design, but I understand the previous one is still there for compability purposes.
iOS 14 Beta 3 brings back the Ā«Ā EditĀ Ā» button at the (very inconvenient place) bottom of the list. Hitting the button brings you back unexpectedly to the top of the widgets list. Going back down the list and youāll find a āCustomizeā button. Really? Also, tapping and holding on old widgets doesnāt invoke edit mode. Not very consistent. I should probably fill a feedback report and send it to Apple.
I do think this is a transitional design. Transitions are rarely pleasant.
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The race for the bottom of everything
On Apple’s 30% cut. Again.
We all know where this all goes. Yesterday it was a deal. Today, 30% is way too much. So, letās fight and try to force Apple to set the cut to 20%. No, 15%. That is way better, right? A few years down the road, a well known developer comes out and complain about 15% being way too much of a cut. Poor guy. Let’s start a fight and bring that down. Apple respond and set it to 10% because they are forced to. And the story continues.
Let’s face the reality. We don’t like to pay for something. We want it all. We know the price of everything but the value of nothing. How do you think China came to be so powerful? How do you think Amazon or Costco is sucking air from small local businesses in our communities? Why do you think our life is full of shitty ads are everywhere? Why do you think we are the product of Google, Facebook? Because we don’t like to pay for something, anything. We want it all free.
There is a pattern. There is a race for the bottom of everything. And I don’t agree in Brentās views on what would happen if Apple lowers their demand from developers. I certainly don’t believe developers would lower the price of their apps.
Remember what capitalism is all about?
Change my mind.
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The iPad still held back with iPadOS 14
iPadOS 15 concept imagined by Parker Ortolani certainly looks interesting. I’m not sure about some ideas put forward but it certainly shows how the iPad is still held back with iPadOS 14. The lack of flexibility in widgets placement is, put mildly, baffling. I love those widgets on my iPhone but the lack of space forces us to create tons of pages. And the problem will only get worst this fall after developers start adding widget support in their apps. It will be crazy. #iPadOS14 #apple
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Smartphones going forward and Zoom going backward
Modern smartphones replaced most if not all specialized tools like camera, microphone, etc. Zoom wanting to sell dedicated screens for meetings would be going backward and… really, who want’s to buy a 27" monitor just for Zoom meetings? daringfireball.net/linked/20…
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Ten years ago ā Antennagate
Ten years ago today: Antennagate. Remember? It was an intense episode in Appleās history. I didnāt own an iPhone 4. At that time, I was using my 3GS. I upgrade to the iPhone 4S in 2011. Time certainly flies.
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Viticci on iPadOS 14 - when iPadOS is Influenced by macOS #iPadOS14
Good insights by Federico Viticci of MacStories about iPadOS 14. One theme stands out: with iPadOS 14, Apple is no longer taking itās inspiration from the iPhone but from macOS to push the iPad in its very distinct path.
Exhibit A: the Sidebar in applications like Music, Photos, Files. Exhibit B: the redesigned Search bar.
Still to be improved, though: multitasking. Next year.
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On Apple's iOS 14, Widgets and Considering Bigger iPhone
One of the unexpected side effect of Apple introducing widgets in iOS 14 is that I’m reconsidering my stance against big iPhone like iPhone 11 Pro Max.. when widgets invade our landscape this fall, we may find the iPhone 11 screen too small for all of them.
If Apple was willing to add the same flexibility to the iPad it would be another matter, though.
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Ā«Ā Donāt assume discreet GPU always offer better performanceĀ Ā» #apple #applesilicon
Iām one of those who was thinking discreet GPU would provide much better performance. When watching Appleās transition to Apple Silicon, I asked myself about discreet GPU options in future Macs. This article goes on to report that not only integrated GPU (thanks to SoC) will be faster, it could be easier to support and help Apple reduce costs. Apple never offered discreet GPU in iPad Pro. Why would it be different with Apple Silicon-based Mac? Will future Mac support external GPU? Probably but performance gain will be marginal.
ARM Mac graphics performance could beat discrete GPUs - 9to5Mac
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A Visual Comparison of Catalina & Big Sur - Who Wins? #apple #macOS11
Excellent visual comparison between macOS Catalina and Big Sur (see link below). Here are a few observations:
- Big Sur design is a step back in clrity in many areas. Ex.: Icons and segmented controls in top portion of windows.
- More padding around items lists. I’m not sure why. I prefer Catalina’s version.
- Dark Mode is slightly better looking in Big Sur.
- Battery panel in Settings is horrible.
- Gone are popup alerts at the top of windows, they now look to be centered within window content and movable. Catalina is better.
- Menu bar is translucide. Catalina is better too.
- Safari is much better looking in Big Sur.
- Notes is much improved in Big Sur.
- Big Sur icons shapre are much more uniform. Advantage to Big Sur here.
- Big Sur Side Bars in many apps like Maps is better looking too.
Who wins? Well, the jury is still out.
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Which Mac will go first to ARM? My take. #apple #armmac #applesilicon
Which Mac will transition first to Apple Silicon? Will Apple start with the desktop or the portables? That is the question. I would say, the desktop, but…
On the first Mac to be converted to ARM: my bet goes on the Mac mini, a lower volume, utility orientated machine for the Mac enthusiasts. Next, the iMac redesign where any perf discrepancies with the MacBook is more easily explanable (desktop versus laptop, you know). But…
…my confidence level in this theory will be negatively impacted by the actual release of a rumoured redesigned iMac but with an Intel processor instead. Rumors are circulating about a published benchmark with a 10 cores Intel CPU in a new iMac design. If Apple did release this machine, it would send a clear message: they will continue to support Intel machines for a long time. But…
…launching an iMac redesign with an Apple Silicon inside would make a much better marketing story: something like a powerful Apple Silicon powering a brand new design with unique features (fan-less design, FaceID, or even… touch input support?). But…
…I concede the fact that price/watt ratio is much more useful and lends much more practical advantages on a portable product than on the desktop where space and energy are less constrained which puts some doubts on my take.
Finally, about the Mac Pro conversion to ARM. My gut feeling is that it will be the last to be converted… with A16 CPU? Who knows.
PS: I would expect Apple to re-introduce their illuminated logo on the MacBook. A sign of Appleās enthusiast returning to the Mac.
Daring Fireball: On Ming-Chi Kuo’s Report of a 24-Inch ARM iMac
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Poor advertisers... thanks to Appleās iOS 14.
They are the ones who will suffer the most from Appleās iOS 14. Good for them. If they want to show ads, the burden of finding new ways is on them, not on Appleās shoulders or on ours. In other words: fuck them. European advertisers critical of iOS 14 warning users about ad tracking - Appleinsider
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Widgets & iPadOS - Apple is in a ābad design choiceā corner
Iāve been thinking a lot about the limited support of widgets in iPadOS 14. While waiting for an answer from Craig Federighi (see previous posts), I think I know why. The way Apple introduced widgets in iPadOS 13 kind of put themselves in a ābad design choiceā corner.
Take an iPad with iPadOS 13 in landscape orientation with widgets showing on the left, now look what happens when rotating the iPad in portrait mode. See? Imagine widgets all over the home screen. How could the iPad handle this orientation change gracefully? You tell me.
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A bizarre upcoming fall schedule for Apple? #iphone12 #ios14
If iPhone 12 launch is effectively delayed by a few weeks or months, could Apple decide to release iOS 14 for currently shipping devices while we wait for iPhone 12? It would be a first for Apple, but I certainly hope so. #iphone12 9to5mac.com/2020/07/0…
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On Siri updated design #wwdc #wwdc20 #wwdc2020 #ios14
I like the new Siri design but I don’t like it after all. The animated sphere placement feels wrong as it leave space on top of it on which we cannot interact. Siri answers and feedbacks onscreen position feel very inconsistent. Sometimes it will appear at the top with another smaller banner at the bottom. Sometimes only a banner at the top.
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iOS 14 Widgets and Anxiety #wwdc #wwdc20 #wwdc2020
Following the reveal of widgets support on iOS 14, Iām feeling anxiety over how I’will “design” my home screens coming this fall. The same kind of feeling related to my Apple Watch watch face design, btw.
What role will play the App Library? Will I reduce my reliance on folders for organizing my apps and add more pages that I can hide as needed? How many pages reserved for widgets only will I create and for which use case?
Decision, decision, decision.
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The Secret Feature of Upcoming ARM-Based Mac #wwdc #wwdc20 #wwdc2020 #apple
Wild dream of the day: what if a silent yet unannounced feature of the ARM-based Mac is touch support? Looking at one of the WWDC session video called āAdopt the new look of macOS Big Surā, spacing of many UI elements certainly feels in preparation of touch support introduction. Plus, iPhone apps running unmodified on these machines would feel at home with touch support.
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On macOS Big Fur surprising visual and design attributes #wwdc #wwdc20
Taken out of one of @gruber recent post. In red: the Cancel button looks like being disabled. Very bad. The menu bar transparency, why? Is Apple trying to make us forget about this distinctive UI element? In yellow: the window title being no longer at the center, to make room for buttons (that look less and less like buttons)…
In green: a depth effect with surrounding shadow, thumbs up. General look of the refresh popup dialog, very iOS is refreshing on the Mac.
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Apple moving to ARM: another game changer move in the works #wwdc #wwdc20 #apple
Today, it will be interesting to see how Apple is positioning its move from Intel to ARM.
To me, one thing is clear: this could be another game changer move. Apple has proven many times in the past that you don’t need to own a market (PC sales) to create new inflection points on its trajectory. Remember when Apple legitimize the use of the USB ports in its original iMac? Now, they could legitimize the use of ARM on traditional computers.
If I was Intel, I would be scared.
