Is your iPhone really yours?

But the thread running through everything was that if you buy an Apple device, it’s yours. And it’s you. And if you buy, well, anything else, you’re just a slab of meat holding a slab of glass through which the internet will manipulate and extract data from you any way it wants. So, yeah, the garden’s walls may be high, but Apple says that’s only to keep you safe.

— David PierceSource: Apple defends the walled garden - Protocol — The people, power and politics of tech

Many would argue the since you cannot install apps from outside the App Store, your iPhone isn’t really yours. Others would argue that since you don’t have a choice but go to Apple to get “your” iPhone repaired, your iPhone isn’t really yours. what is “your” take on this?

Michael Tsai: On macOS Big Sur lingering issues

This blog post from Michael Tsai paints a very terrible picture of macOS Big Sur. Unstable, weird design decisions, lot’s of issues in Apple’s Mail, etc. Sounds like the worst macOS incarnation of all time. Personnally, I don’t experience many issues with macOS Big Sur, but I do feel it’s a weird design overall. The next release, macOS Montery, doesn’t appear to fix bad design choices… I’m thinking about widgets handling and notifications dismissal.

Another exciting update coming this fall is Apple’s Maps data. This site carefully documents what’s new, what’s updated. Really well done. Day and night difference. Nice updated typography. Some features are available on more capable devices. Is this new?

Focus — A Game changer feature in experiencing Apple devices?

The more I read and learn about the upcoming “Focus” feature in Apple’s upcoming OS updates, the more I think it could be a transformative feature in experiencing Apple’s devices. The combinaison of notifications and home page configurations assigned to each focus mode has powerful implications. Even though I’m not on the beta train right now, I’m already at work designing the different focus modes I plan to use on my devices. As you might expect, I’ll be writing a detailed blog post about this in the future.

Tomorrow I’ll go to an Apple Store to pay a visit to the Genius Bar for a repair. My last visit goes back to more than a year. I may feel disoriented. 😳 I’ll have a look at the iMac! And the iPhone 12 Pro! And the Mac Pro! And….

The change that didn’t came (#apple #wwdc21 #developers)

This take from Gruber “App Store: The Schiller Cut” has a sour taste following the WWDC keynote and Platforms state of the union. Did Apple announce something this week to appease developers relations? Nope. Will they announce something in the coming weeks in regard to App Store commissions? Who knows. If they do, they will do it in a position of weakness:

If someday down the road we will be changing 70/30, then I think the question moves from “if” to “when” and “how”. I’m not suggesting we do anything differently today, only that whenever we make a change we do it from a position of strength rather than weakness. That we use any such change to our advantage if possible. And thinking about this long in advance can only help to look at an eventual change as an opportunity (with developers, press, customers, etc). — Phil Schiller in 2011

They missed the opportunity this year. Apple is in a weak position and I don’t see how this could change anytime soon.