September 19th seems so long ago.
Back in those halcyon days of a month and a half ago, when I knew another Apple event was on the horizon, I mused that I would have little to post other than the iPod turning 15 years old. Maybe a few articles on the new mac OS would be in order. And, if it made the street date, I'd have some things to post about iOS 10.1. Sure, there would be the 4th quarter earnings report to ponder. And I'd end the article with something funny in regards to the headphone jack.
then 2016 happened with its ability to upend everything you know and expect in a rational universe.
There was the death of the iCar and all the hopes and dreams of hipsters using a lightning adaptor to charge their rose gold four-wheel status symbols are now dashed. A semi-overshadowed "October Surprise" about the AirPods delay fell on the press's deaf ears. Even stories about the slowing of Apple Watch sales didn't gain much traction for long.
Nope, the Mac was indeed the spotlight at the event with that bit at the beginning about Apple TV and the new TV app being the parsley garnish you ignore on the dinner plate at those fancy eatting establishments. Smaller stories, like Apple getting out of the standalone display business, found little oxygen because the internet focused solely on the loss of other aspects of the new hardware announced.
So, below you will find one lopsided edition of the Apple rundown. There is a lot of mac news, of course, and a few other stories worth noting. I'm sure I missed a few things here and there. Feel free to expound on that in the comments section. For now, and for what it is worth with an impending "must post' deadline in front of me, here is this Mac-centric look at Apple.
The New MacBook Pros:
Apple announces new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Touch ID, and USB-C
Apple just told the world it has no idea who the Mac is for
New MacBook Pro is not a Laptop for Developers Anymore
Two of four Thunderbolt 3 ports in new 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar have reduced speeds
New MacBook Pros Max Out at 16GB RAM Due to Battery Life Concerns
Apple defends skimpy MacBook Pro RAM
AMD reveals Radeon Pro 400 series GPU specs, as used in new MacBook Pro
Teardown finds removable SSD in 13" MacBook Pro without Touch Bar
Apple raises UK Mac prices by hundreds of pounds thanks to Brexit
You ll need $250 in dongles to upgrade to the new MacBook Pro
Apple Releases $49 Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter Alongside New MacBook Pro
End of an Era: Goodbye Mac Startup Sound
New MacBook Pros lack iconic Mac startup chime, but they do automatically boot when you open the lid
Apple's New Macbooks Are Dumping the Escape Key
JONY IVE TALKS ABOUT PUTTING THE APPLE 'TOUCH' ON THE MACBOOK PRO
Apple's Touch Bar further normalizes emoji as everyday language
Apple s MacBook Touch Bar is actually a mini Apple Watch
MacBook Pro's Touch Bar Will Display Function Keys When Running Windows With Boot Camp
You can customize the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro to suit your workflow. Make it your own!
How do you get both the Touch Bar and a permanent, physical ESC key on your MacBook Pro? Like this!
Ad Format for Touch ID Someone Is Working on this Right Now :)
Hands-on with the new MacBook Pros, their keyboard, and the Touch Bar
15 hours with the 13 MacBook Pro, and how Apple s T1 bridges ARM and Intel
First look at the new MacBook Pro (the one without the Touch Bar)
New MacBook Pro: Should you upgrade?
Deny it all you want, Apple, but Macs and iPads need to fuse
Opinion: Why the new 13-inch MacBook Pro means you should reconsider the 12-inch MacBook
Apple has lost the functional high ground
Hardware is sexy, but it's software that matters
Apple turns thrill into chill and our relationship is on the rocks
Apple's disgracefully outdated Mac lineup is killing sales
Apple to Obsolete iPhone 4 and Late 2010 MacBook Air on October 31
iPhone:
In truth, iPhone is featured in a lot of the links posted in this article. But here are a few specific ones that found their way into an area all their own.
iPhone 7: Computer from the Future
I took a photo with the Pixel that changed my mind about the iPhone
The iPhone 7's Portrait Mode Screws Up Sometimes
Apple s New Portrait Mode Is Gonna Take Over Instagram, for Better or for Worse
$40 too far: the real cost of the iPhone 7 s missing headphone jack
Geniuses Say Apple Knows About iPhone 6 Touch Disease , Won't Admit It Publicly
Fuze Case is bringing the headphone jack back to the iPhone 7
This case sticks an E Ink screen on the back of your iPhone 7
Three more lawfirms join class action over 'touch disease' affecting iPhone 6
Access/How To:
This section is woefully shorter than usual due to the mac news portion. I do heavily stress that if you are looking for some more info than what is found here, you should nab Shelly Brisbin's newly updated iOS Access book
or check out the weekly newsletter over at Top Tech Tidbits for some great information.
What's new in Apple's Accessibility portal? Pretty much everything!
New Apple accessibility videos showcase real people using life-changing assistive tech
Apple just made its accessibility video more accessible.
The woman featured in Apple's accessibility video also edited it
The Importance of Updating Software: from an Access and Usability Perspective
10 hidden iPhone features you didn't know existed in iOS 10
Quick Tip: Disable iMessage Image Search in #iOS10
iMessage users can now use Shazam without leaving their conversation
How to Totally Disable Widgets on the iOS 10 Lock Screen
Fix iOS 10's Weird Mail Threading with a Settings Toggle
This weird trick can free up gigabytes of space on your iPhone
Configure your iPhone as an iBeacon Transmitter in Less than 5 Minutes
AirServer can now transmit your iPhone screen to your Xbox
Clean Install of macOS is a LOT of Work, Is it Worth It?
Security
There weren't a ton of these types of stories this go around. However, what I did find were some of the strangest ones I've read in a long time.
Why an unhackable mobile phone is a complete marketing myth
Your iOS devices can be hacked just by opening a JPEG
iMessage hack floods Apple users with Chinese texts
Apple Replaces Support Profiles With New Tool That Only Shows Devices Signed Into Your Apple ID
How Did Someone Else s Credit Card Get in My Apple ID?
iPhone hack that threatened emergency 911 system lands teen in jail
The Phone Hackers at Cellebrite Have Had Their Firmware Leaked Online
Apple Logs Your iMessage Contacts and May Share Them With Police
Microsoft Corporate VP: Orginizations Should not Blindly Trust iOS
British Prime Minister bans Apple Watches from cabinet meetings over hacking fears
BBC News - iPhone 7? You're fired!
Correction, Sierra s storage management tools are a complete disaster
macOS Sierra iCloud features aren't ready yet
More than 90% of genuine Apple chargers & cables sold on Amazon are fake, says Apple
Siri:
The digital assistant found him/herself in a lot of articles in October. Fueled by Google's announcement of their updated Search Assistant, and a few comparative videos on YouTube,
Siri's best and worst features were debated at length in pieces such as those below.
Mossberg: Why does Siri seem so dumb?
Apple recently fixed some Siri flaws, says it focuses on enhancing common queries
Siri is a dull weapon for Apple in the AI wars
Why Watson and Siri Are Not Real AI
Why AirPods may be pivotal to Apple s AI push
Other
And here they are... the stories that didn't fit anywhere else.
Apple's Cook: 'We're going to kill cash'
After investing $1 billion, Apple takes a board seat at 'China's Uber'
Apple losing USB is a loss for music
Report: Apple is working on e-ink keyboard for future MacBooks
Apple loses FaceTime patent retrial, ordered to pay $302.4 million
The Bizarre Role Reversal of Apple and Microsoft
How Apple Scaled Back Its Titanic Plan to Take on Detroit
The AirPods delay perfectly illustrates Apple s earbuds problem
Patent shows how Apple Watch could use heart-rate sensors to identify owner
Apple's new TV app is an important half-step to the future
Apple reportedly wants Sharp to provide OLED displays for future iPhones and iPads
Apple announces App Store Search Ads
Facebook now lets you stream video to Apple TV and Chromecast
Life after death for Apple s Xserve
This candle promises the smell of a new Mac, at a fraction of the cost
Prof turns to iOS autocomplete for aid on prank physics paper
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Joe Steinkamp is no stranger to the world of technology, having been a user of video magnification and blindness related electronic devices since 1979. Joe has worked in radio, retail management and Vocational Rehabilitation for blind and low vision individuals in Texas. He has been writing about the A.T. Industry for 15 years and podcasting about it for almost a decade.
