September 28, 2015 10:11 PM PT
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
Inspired by the previous link, I hauled out my original iPhone and took a photo with it, as well as my iPhone 6S. Just as a reminder of eight years of smartphone evolution.
Lisa Bettany has done an amazing comparison of every iPhone camera ever, with image samples. The samples are beautiful and the reminder of just how far we’ve come since 2007 is pretty remarkable.
“The only thing that’s changed is everything,” says the slogan Apple unveiled along side the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It’s an attempt to address the perception that the odd-year “s” updates to the iPhone line are minimal and uninteresting.
Yes, the “s” models look more or less like their predecessors, but for quite a while Apple has used these cycles to upgrade a lot of the stuff on the inside. This year is no different: The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus offer some major improvements, with better cameras (front and back), much faster processors, more responsive Touch ID, and the single biggest improvement to the iPhone’s user interface in its history.
But other than that, y’know, no big deal.
With all the productivity features that iOS 9 brings, I decided it was time to trade up my long-in-the-tooth iPad mini 2 for an iPad Air 2 and see how the other half’s been living. So far, I’ve been impressed by the capabilities of the Air 2: Its speed, its slim and light form factor, and its gorgeous large screen.
Honestly, the more impressive the iPad gets, the closer it approaches, well, the MacBook. But despite all of that, and even with the immense productivity enhancements made in iOS 9, I found myself thinking that I’m not about to give up my laptop anytime soon.
September 25, 2015 10:01 PM PT
This week Six Colors is sponsored by PCalc, a powerful calculator for iOS, watchOS and Mac.
With the latest update, you can use PCalc to do quick calculations on your Apple Watch! The app also supports Handoff between iOS devices and Macs, Notification Center widgets, and much more.
PCalc is widely considered the best calculator on iOS and Mac, with sterling reviews from sites such as The Sweet Setup and Macworld. If you need a professional-level calculator in your life, PCalc is the one to get.
BREAKING: Apple has Rickrolled you: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204833
This is not the first time Apple has Rickrolled: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT202769
Lex, Dan and The Wirecutter like this iPhone 6 case: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MUQ9IIC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00&tag=thelexfiles05-20
But Moltz bought this one because it’s a few bucks cheaper: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VU8JQF6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
Joanna Stern says the battery life on the iPhone 6s is worse: http://www.wsj.com/articles/iphone-6s-review-a-slightly-better-iphone-6-1442923203
Christina Warren does not agree: http://mashable.com/2015/09/09/iphone-6s-plus-hands-on/#AacFuyI19ZkR
watchOS 2 is pretty great: http://www.imore.com/watchos-2-review?utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=navigation&utm_source=im
Here’s an editorial about ad blocking we take some exception to: http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/17/9338963/welcome-to-hell-apple-vs-google-vs-facebook-and-the-slow-death-of-the-web
Here’s Marco on why he discontinued his ad blocker: http://www.marco.org/2015/09/18/just-doesnt-feel-good
The Deck has stopped any tracking: http://decknetwork.net/privacy/
Our thanks to Softlayer (http://softlayer.com), the cloud built to compete. You deserve cloud resources that meet your unique needs. Softlayer is one of the only cloud providers that provisions bare metal servers and virtual servers from a single, seamless platform. Go to http://softlayer.com/podcast and get your first $500 free.
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If you’re curious about how the iPhone 6S Plus’s camera compares to the latest top-of-the-line smartphone cameras from LG and Samsung, this 13-minute-long video from The Verge is worth watching. In it, Dan Seifert and Sean O’Kane carefully step through different test shots and show what the strengths and weaknesses of the iPhone’s camera are in comparison to its competition.
iPhone Day is upon us once again, as Friday marks the first day that the general public can take delivery of the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on both models a day ago. So here are some first impressions to tide you over while you’re waiting for your new iPhone to arrive, while you’re copying your data onto your new iPhone, or maybe while you’re wrestling over whether to go down to the Apple Store on the off chance that they’ve got one in stock with your name on it.
Turns out (turns out) 3D Touch is pretty good: http://www.macworld.com/article/2984416/apple-phone/3d-touch-is-a-hard-problem-that-apple-got-just-right.html
Apple says it’s on track to sell more iPhones than it did a year ago: http://www.macworld.com/article/2983797/apple-phone/apple-says-new-iphone-sales-will-beat-last-years-record.html
The iPad Pro keyboard is … ooookay: http://www.macworld.com/article/2982813/ipad/hands-on-with-the-ipad-pros-smart-keyboard.html
Apple TV apps are not really limited to 200 MB: http://www.imore.com/how-new-apple-tv-uses-demand-resources-host-great-apps-and-games
Lex bought hisself a NAS: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-network-attached-storage/
If you want to know what’s new in iOS 9, here you go: https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-9-review/
Middle finger emoji is coming in iOS 9.1: http://onefoottsunami.com/2015/09/10/finally/
Our thanks to Softlayer (http://softlayer.com), the cloud built to compete. You deserve cloud resources that meet your unique needs. Softlayer is one of the only cloud providers that provisions bare metal servers and virtual servers from a single, seamless platform. Go to http://softlayer.com/podcast and get your first $500 free.
And thanks as well to FanDuel, the leader in one-week fantasy football with more winners and more payouts than any other site. Go to fanduel.com and click on the microphone in the upper right hand corner. Use the code “REBOUND” and sign up now. For every dollar you deposit, FanDuel will match it with up to two hundred bucks that get earned as you play. Fanduel.com where every day is a new season.
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Jack Marshall, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
[Dean Murphy, developer of iOS content blocker app Crystal] said he has taken Eyeo up on its offer, and plans to implement an option within his app whereby “acceptable” ads will be displayed to users. The feature will be switched on by default, Mr. Murphy said, and he will receive a flat monthly fee from Eyeo in return. Mr. Murphy declined to disclose the fee, but said he expects to make less money from Eyeo’s payments than from sales of the app itself.
Hey, buddy, nice ads. It would be a shame if something were to happen to them.
September 24, 2015 10:49 AM PT
Last updated July 2, 2021
Note: This story has not been updated since 2021.
Update: And would you look at that, Apple’s released a support doc outlining this very problem, along with a suggested workaround. Thanks, Apple Fanboi.
Update 2: Apple posted a note on its developer site which says that the issue has something to do with App Slicing, which is not a process used at your local deli, but rather a way to deploy device-specific versions of apps.
I decided last week that I needed a new iPad in order to be able to write about some of the fancy productivity features of iOS 9, so after polling Twitter over an iPad Air 2 vs. an iPad mini 4–and discovering, to my interest, roughly equal support for both–I opted for a refurbished iPad Air 2. The reasons being: I haven’t had a full size iPad in many years, the iPad Air 2 is still faster (though not by huge amounts) than the iPad mini, and, ultimately, if I decided I did not care for the larger form factor, I could pass this one along to my mom–who still has a fourth-generation iPad but has expressed an interest in a new one–and buy a mini 4 instead.
Fast forward to yesterday, when the Air arrived. (I’d forgotten just how big the full-size iPads are, even with the Air’s slimmer form factor, but it looks great and it’s super light.) Earlier in the day, I’d made sure there was a current backup of my iPad mini 2 in iCloud, so I went in to restore the Air 2 from the iCloud Backup.
Reminder to self: It’s never as easy as you think it’s going to be.
September 24, 2015 7:22 AM PT
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
Safari likes to think it’s being so helpful, providing that list of “frequently visited sites” every time you open up a new browser tab or window, but sometimes there’s a site in that list that you just don’t want to see everyday: maybe you don’t want your boss knowing you’re visiting Facebook frequently, or your partner to know that you’ve been shopping for a surprise present.1
You can, of course, disable the feature entirely in OS X by going to Safari > Preferences > General and making sure that both “New windows open with” and “New tabs open with” are not set to Favorites. It’s even easier on iOS: open Settings, go to Safari, and turn the slider next to Frequently Visited Sites off.
But if you want to remove just one or two errant items, that’s pretty easy too.
On OS X, just right click on the icon for the favorite and choose Delete.2
On iOS, tap and hold on the icon you want to remove, then release: a Delete option should appear. Tap that to banish the site.
There you go: easy enough, but not necessarily obvious.
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]
September 23, 2015 2:05 PM PT
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
There’s been a lot of talk about the Apple Watch lately, especially as watchOS 2 arrived earlier this week. I’ve heard from a number of friends and colleagues about what they use the Apple Watch for, how they feel about it, and where they think it’s going.
Given that, I figured five months in is a good time to take stock of exactly where I am in regards to the Apple Watch.
This still remains the heart of the Apple Watch. In that sense, it doesn’t differ much from the Pebble I used to wear–before it died and I didn’t bother replacing it–except that it looks nicer, and plays better with the iOS ecosystem, for obvious reasons.
That’s not to say it’s perfect, though. The relationship with notifications is a bit inconstant. Sometimes I get a notification first on my Apple Watch, but more often than not, I see it pop up on my Mac or iPhone. Granted, in many of those situations I’m sitting in front of said device, so it makes sense that my Watch shouldn’t be triggered. But sometimes my Watch buzzes me minutes later. In general notifications seem inconsistent.
Being able to respond to texts–and now, as of iOS 9, emails–from the Watch is downright handy at times, but for anything longer than a quick reply I still end up going to my iPhone or Mac. Even on the iPhone, I can type faster than I can tap through to the dictation screen.
The usefulness of third-party notifications varies tremendously, and I have very few that I actually pipe through to my Watch–most of the ones I’ve kept are about delivering information, not being interactive.
The Taptic Engine’s silent notifications remain one of my favorite features of the Watch. They’re not disruptive, they are subtle enough to not be startling, but–usually–noticeable enough to not be missed. And they simply feel less urgent than a phone on vibrate: less “Look at me, look at me, something’s happening!” and more “Hey, just thought you should know.”
In addition to a Pebble, I used to have a Fitbit–like the Pebble, it fell upon some hard times, and was eventually consigned to the dustbin of history known as my office. I liked the end result of the Fitbit, that it made me more conscious of being active, getting up and walking around, but it was plagued with reliability issues. It also had a strong social aspect, a feature that’s disappointingly absent from the Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch takes a slightly different approach than the Fitbit, as far as metrics go–tracking calories, exercise, and standing time, rather than simply steps. (Though you can see the steps in the Activity app, or in a third-party app like Pedometer++.) A lot of people have lauded this as the Apple Watch’s killer feature, and I don’t dispute that it’s pretty great, but it remains to be seen if it’s appreciably better than what competitors like the Fitbit offer.1
I really like Apple Pay on the Watch, and find myself using it even more than on the iPhone. My only outstanding complaint about it remains that I wish it worked in more places. But it’s been consistently expanding availability since its introduction, and I can say that, for me, it’s been flawless pretty much every single time I’ve used it.2 And, hey: I use it frequently enough that it’s made my top three use cases for the Apple Watch.
It’s been years since I’ve regularly worn a watch, and the Apple Watch has definitely changed that. Is it for the better? I’m not convinced. But at least I can tell the time without taking my phone out of my pocket. So, I guess that’s something.
Complications remain perhaps the best feature of the Watch, because they don’t require any extra interaction–they simply present the information I want to see. Apple’s standard offerings are fine, if not mind-blowing, but I’m eager to see what third-party developers can come up with in watchOS 2. So far, though, I’ve only got one–Dark Sky–and it hasn’t provided me with appreciably better information than Apple’s own usual Weather complication.
All of this might seem a bit like damning with faint praise. After all, the Apple Watch does so much in addition to all of this: lets you draw pictures and send them to your friends, make and receive phone calls, listen to music, use Siri, and, of course, run apps.
In practice, I use almost none of them. Sending sketches fell by the wayside a couple weeks in. I take the occasional phone call, but doing so on the Watch is almost never the best experience3. Siri generally takes a couple tries to respond, so I end up using my iPhone, or, well, Alexa. Most of the apps are too slow and too limited to be of significant benefit to me. I vastly slimmed down my number of Glances, both because having a huge number of them was practically unusable and because most of them took too long to be useful. (I may have to revisit both apps and Glances under watchOS 2 to see if they deliver on promised performance improvements.)
A few weeks back, I went on an overnight hike and left the Watch at home, figuring that there was a good chance I would trip on a rock and smash it, but also because I wasn’t sure how useful it would be given the lack of cell signal–plus there wouldn’t really be any way of charging it. To be completely honest, I didn’t really find myself missing it at all.
Is that a problem? Maybe, maybe not. I like the Apple Watch just fine, but when random people ask me about it–and fellow Apple Watch wearers, you know what I’m talking about–I want to be more enthused than I am. I want to love the Apple Watch. But right now, as the lady once said, there’s no there there.
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]
Fraser Hess has a write-up on a new feature of OS X Server 5, which came out earlier this week: iCloud Accelerator. The goal is to cache copies of iCloud data on your local network, but in truest Apple fashion, it’s a bit of a black box:
The answers surprise me: iCloud Acceleration (or Personal Caching as Caching Server calls the feature internally) is not only enabled by default in Caching Server (contrary to the implication in the release notes), the feature has no storage limit outside of the general cache limit. Furthermore, there are no controls in the service pane or documentation on how to administer the feature.
I turned on Caching Server when I installed OS X Server, but I can’t say I’ve noticed a huge improvement in download times. Then again, I’m just one guy with a handful of devices, so I’m probably not the best test case.
September 23, 2015 10:55 AM PT
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
Who doesn’t like a little point update? iOS 9.0.1 is out with a handful of bug fixes, including alarms and timers that won’t play, distorted video in Safari and Photos, and security. It’s in Software Update now, so fire away.
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]
Vlad Savov, writing at The Verge, argues that the bias towards Apple is real, but it reflects the bias of the world:
Consider the scale of Apple’s achievement every year. With iPhone hype reaching cosmic proportions every September — and the price never falling — Apple still manages to exceed expectations and maintain some of the highest user satisfaction ratings in the United States. That’s in spite of stringing people along without a large-screened phone until last year, and despite continuing to sell an inadequate 16GB entry-level model today. The only explanation for this pattern, short of a mass delusion on a religion-like global scale, is that Apple provides substantial value to its hundreds of millions of satisfied iPhone buyers. Tech consumers are biased in favor of Apple products.
As Jason said to me this morning, “It reminds me of what we used to tell Mac users in the ’90s: ‘Look, reality has a Windows bias.'”
In the Apple community, we fixate a lot on the bias exhibited by people who seem to have it out for Apple, but when you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it’s pretty clear that those folks are shouting into the wind.
September 23, 2015 6:36 AM PT
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
Isn’t it funny how you can use an operating system, day in, day out, for a year or more and not notice certain features?
The other day I had to rename a bunch of screenshots; in the past that would have sent me to a tool like Name Mangler or A Better Finder Rename, but I didn’t happen to have either of these tools installed on the Mac I was using at the time.
On a whim, I selected a bunch of the images and right clicked: imagine my surprise when I saw an option to “Rename 7 files…” Selecting that yielded a dialog box with a variety of simple transforms, including replacing one string in all those filenames with another–exactly what I was looking for. You can also opt to add text to all the file names, or format them all based on certain criteria: by name and index, name and counter, or name and date.
None of this will, of course, match the capabilities of the two aforementioned utilities, which provide all of those features and much, much more.1 But if you’re looking to make quick work of a folder of files without the hassle or expense of installing another app, the Finder’s built-in renaming powers can handle some basic renaming tasks without too much trouble.
[Dan Moren is the East Coast Bureau Chief of Six Colors, as well as an author, podcaster, and two-time Jeopardy! champion. You can find him on Mastodon at @dmoren@zeppelin.flights or reach him by email at dan@sixcolors.com. His next novel, the sci-fi adventure Eternity's Tomb, will be released in November 2026.]
For the last year, a bunch of us have been working on a crazy podcasting project: A 12-week series of humorous audioplays in the style of old-time radio. Based on a one-off episode of The Incomparable from April Fool’s Day 2013 and a follow-on holiday special that same year, this time we’ll be releasing a full season of audioplays, once a week thorough mid-December.
While it’s a labor of love, it’s also been a huge amount of work. I hope you’ll check out episode 1 and consider subscribing via iTunes, RSS, or Overcast1. This week’s episode features some voices you may recognize, such as Andy Ihnatko and Merlin Mann, and next week’s episode features even more familiar names and voices.
September 22, 2015 8:47 AM PT
Note: This story has not been updated for several years.
The iPhone 6S reviews are out, from the usual suspects! Check out Christina Warren at Mashable, John Paczkowski at BuzzFeed, Nilay and Walt at The Verge, David Pogue at Yahoo, Jim Dalrymple at The Loop, Matthew Panzarino at TechCrunch, and Joanna Stern at the Wall Street Journal.
(As for me, I’ll be reviewing the iPhone 6S for Macworld and also posting a bunch of thoughts about it here at Six Colors, but I didn’t receive a phone under embargo, so you’ll just have to wait.)