Who even cares about a sitemap anymore (search engines maybe?) — and why in the world would Apple’s process for publishing this file include even a chance that it would go live before the event?
ATH only notes the iPhone names, but The Verge noticed that updated Apple Watch bands are in new sizes, 40 and 44 mm, which suggests they’re not compatible with existing Apple Watches.
UPDATE: Good news: the strap lugs are unchanged. All old bands fit the new watches, and new bands fit old watches.
While Apple made no mention of AirPower during today’s event, it looks like Apple may be launching AirPower later in 2018 than originally anticipated.
Apple has seemingly updated its website today, removing all mentions of AirPower except in one place. Looking at the AirPods product page, Apple mentions the optional wireless charging case, noting that it is currently unavailable. The charging case is placed on what appears to be the AirPower mat, along with the iPhone X.
So there’s a picture of an AirPower mat, but the word “AirPower” is nowhere to be found. No one from Apple I’ve spoken to today will say a word about AirPower other than that they have nothing to say about it today. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been scrapped, and they just don’t want to say so yet.
If it feels as though Amazon’s site is increasingly stuffed with ads, that’s because it is. And it looks like that’s working — at least for brands that are willing to fork over ad dollars as part of their strategy to sell on Amazon.
Amazon-sponsored product ads have been around since 2012. But lately, as the company has invested in growing its advertising business, they’ve become more aggressive.
Paid placement isn’t new to retail. It’s a genuine racket how items gets placed on shelves in grocery stores. Add some higgle else.
Zachariah Vargas was six hours into his shift delivering packages for Amazon. He was about to drop off a package when he accidentally slammed the door of his truck on his hand. The door clicked shut, trapping his middle and ring fingers.
Once he freed his fingers, the blood began to pour. Both of Vargas’ arms started to shake involuntarily. The lacerations were deep. Vargas thought he glimpsed bone when he wiped away the blood.
Panicked, Vargas called his dispatch supervisor, who was working at a nearby Amazon facility. He said he received no sympathy. “The first thing they asked was, ‘How many packages do you have left?’” he told Business Insider.
Vargas had dozens remaining. Delivering them all would take several hours. Still, his supervisor advised him to drop them all off before returning to the station or seeking care.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and there’s no such thing as free shipping.
In addition to Face ID support, we expect the new iPad Pro models’ main upgrade to include replacing Lightning with a USB-C interface and bundling with a new unibody design 18W power adapter, which cancels the removable plug design.
I would find this a bit surprising, but nowhere near as shocking as if they moved iPhones to USB-C. On the one hand, Apple is positioning iPad Pros as alternatives to laptops, so a USB-C port makes sense for connecting peripherals. But if the rumors are true that this year’s iPad Pros don’t have headphone jacks, this doesn’t make much sense at all. This would mean someone with a Mac, iPhone, and iPad would need three different headphone adapters.
UPDATE: Lots of people are pointing to the obvious: AirPods. I love my AirPods. I get it. But there has to be a wired headphone story too. There’s a reason why MacBooks still have a headphone jack. And here’s another question: what about Apple Pencil? They could make a USB-C version, but why splinter that market? What’s the advantage to switching to USB-C?
My thanks to Ken Kocienda for sponsoring this week at DF for his new book Creative Selection. How does Apple’s creative process work? This is your look inside. It’s truly an amazing and unprecedented book. If you haven’t already, just buy it.
John Paczkowski and Charlie Warzel, reporting for BuzzFeed:
A day after being banned from Twitter, Alex Jones and Infowars have been booted from yet another platform: Apple’s popular App Store. As of Friday evening, searches on the App Store for Infowars return no results.
Apple confirmed the app’s removal to BuzzFeed News, but declined to comment, pointing to its App Store Review Guidelines. The company said Infowars would not be permitted to return to the App Store.
The paradox of tolerance was described by Karl Popper in 1945. The paradox states that if a society is tolerant without limit, their ability to be tolerant will eventually be seized or destroyed by the intolerant. Popper came to the seemingly paradoxical conclusion that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.
During meetings, Mr. Cue is sometimes known to fall silent, shut his eyes and tilt his head back, leaving other participants to wonder whether he is staring at the ceiling or sleeping, said several former Apple employees and one outside partner present on multiple occasions when it happened over the past few years. In at least two of these situations, Mr. Cue began snoring, one source said. […]
From the moment he gained responsibility for Siri, Mr. Cue seemed to lack much interest in it, according to people who worked on the project. When Siri team members presented Mr. Cue with technical data around the performance of the assistant — an area of frequent criticism of the technology — Mr. Cue appeared bored and seemed to fall asleep in at least two meetings, said a former Apple employee who was present.
I’ve heard some really good Eddy Cue stories over the years, but this falling asleep thing is a new one.
Also, I thought this was interesting:
Apple has improved Apple Maps since its troubled launch, boasting that the service is more popular on iPhones and iPads, on which it comes pre-installed, than Google Maps. But Google Maps still reaches more users because of the larger global audience of Android devices, and the quality of Google Maps often comes out ahead in independent evaluations.
One such evaluation was a blog post last year by the cartographer Justin O’Beirne, which chronicled in exhaustive detail the richer detail available on Google Maps. The post appeared to rattle Mr. Cue, who ordered changes to Apple Maps to satisfy internal concerns related to the blog post, said a former Apple employee. In June, Mr. Cue publicly promised further improvements to the service. Some observers believe Apple Maps faces a disadvantage as long as the company restricts it to Apple devices.
Bizarre to me that The Information didn’t even link to O’Beirne’s work. It’s good to know it caught Cue’s attention.