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News
iPhone 6s Repair Program
Apple is offering a new program to fix issues some customers are having with power on their iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models
Apple says in some cases the devices may fail due to a faulty component.
The repairs will be done free of charge by Apple or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider.
You can go in to an Apple store, visit your local AASP, or contact Apple support to arrange to mail in your device for repair.
Kuo predicts iPhone growth
Ming Chi is thinks that the iPhone 11 and a possible upcoming replacement to the iPhone SE could drive iPhone shipments up in the first quarter of 2020
He expects shipments to grow around 10 percent year over year in Q1
iPhone 11 replacement demand seems to be a big driving force and iPhone demand should be driven further if Apple does launch a smaller more affordable iPhone as an SE replacement.
He expects the SE2 to have a similar form factor design and specifications like the iPhone 8, with a faster A13 chip and 3GB of RAM.
So it may not be smaller. Kuo says the driving force is lower cost, not smaller screen size.
Kuo also said next years iPad refresh will likely have 3D time of flight cameras, as are also expected in the 2020 iPhones
It's believed that this years iPad Pro updates, expected this month, will adopt the triple lens camera system of this years iPhone 11 Pros, so this could signal a new trend.
He thinks Apple will do a full MacBook line refresh in the second quarter of 2020 bringing an updated "scissor-switch" keyboard design
This is the same designed rumored for a 16-inch version of the MacBook Pro expected to also be announced this month.
We've also heard rumors that the 16-inch might have a 96W power adapter. A bump up from the 15-inches current 87W adapter.
Now not so surprising that Apple's Pro Display XDR is capable of offering up to 96W of power through it's Thunderbolt 3 ports
Finally, he's also predicting that Apple will collaborate with ‘third-party brands’ to launch it's AR headset accessory for iPhone in the second quarter of next year.
AR headset references have been seen in version of iOS 13
Designs and exactly what the accessories will look like are up to debate.
New animation discovered by Guilherme Rambo in iOS 13.2 beta 2 that seems to show how you'd control the noise cancellation feature in the next AirPods.
Apple Card security
A 9to5Mac reader shared an incident where he had a fraudulent transaction on his Apple Card
The purchase was made with a physical card
The purchase location appeared to be "faked"
Remember, it's still a card WITH a magstripe so it can be skimmed.
Should see the purchases pop-up and get alerts
Use Apple Pay or "dip" when you can.
Apple Card offers disaster relief to some customers
Went out to users in Texas impacted by the flooding
Offers the following:
No interest for two months, starting with the month you enroll. After two months, your standard purchase APR will apply.
You can skip the payment due in the month you enroll.
If your account is in good standing, you will remain current while enrolled.
If your account is past due, your account will not go further delinquent while enrolled. However, your account will remain paste due until you make all of your past due payments and your ability to make new purchases may continue to be restricted.
Robin discovered that when you make a payment from your bank, via the Wallet, that transaction can take 7 business days or longer to post
I contacted Chase support and they confirmed this
Said, if you're making a full payment on the due date, and as long as the payment goes through, you will incur any interest.
Apple leaks Sleep app
The App Store for Apple Watch had a listing for Apple's Alarms app that showed a screenshot with a wake-up alarm.
The screenshot said, "Set your bedtime and wake up in the Sleep app"
Apple of course replaced the screenshot after this story broke.
We've heard Apple is developing sleep tracking and a sleep app for Apple Watch, but nothing has been announced yet.
The sleep track would have "Time in Bed tracking"
Also the ability to track the quality of sleep and have a silent wake up with the Taptic engine.
It's also believed it would have a dedicated watch face.
Several years back the also bought the sleep tracking company Beddit.
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Plus they are presented in small chunks, typically 10-15 minutes so I can easily fit then into my schedule
That's made even easier by the fact I can access them on any device iPhone, iPad, Mac, and best of all my Apple TV.
While you can get courses individually I really love having the all-access pass because there's so much content and being able to explore is great,
For example, I'm finishing up the Neil Gaiman course, but I noticed the Chris Hadfield Space Exploration course.
I'm not planning to be an astronaut, but I've never really understood orbits but really want to.
He has a lesson that does a great job of explaining orbital mechanics and I finally "got" it.
They have over 60 classes and they are constantly adding more, so I think it's a great investment in learning.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
Some follow-up items
App Store Updates
I mentioned it being a bit tricker to get to these under iOS 13 as they appear under your account now instead of in the "Updates" tab (replaced by Arcade)
Ian pointed out that Taptic Touch (3D Touch) offers a quick access
Tap and hold the App Store icon to enable the menu
Tap, or slide, to 'Updates'
Matt also pointed out that there is a "Pull to Refresh" feature.
Also, no one is mentioning much how valuable space and useful functionality is now being consumed by "offers"
Well, I talked a little bit when I discussed my frustration with the TV app.
Monthly AppleCare
Some info from Stephen
Photos, album sharing
I still think I want a Family Shared Library, but Daniel pointed out that you can use "Shared" Photos
Settings > [Your name] > iCloud > Photos, turn on Shared Albums
Create a new Shared album and invite people
You can allow other to post to the album
Photos all sync.
If you have Family Sharing enabled I believe it'll set up a Shared Family album for you and your Family Members
Shared Albums are stored in iCloud, but do not count against your iCloud storage limit.
You can have up to 5000 photos and videos in a Shared Album.
My macOS Catalina Upgrade
I jumped on board day one which I almost never do
Backup, backup, backup
Checked and verified my CCC and Time Machine backups
Created a USB recover disk, used the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372 (after you click upgrade in the App Store, but before you run the installation)
Need to run under "sudo"
Ran the installer
One nice thing it did was give a warning message about apps on my system that would no loner work under macOS Catalina
Levelator and QuickTime 7
Old Adobe Application Manager
Just ran an over the top install since I did a "clean" install for Mojave
It got stuck on "Estimating Time Remaining…" for over an hour
I decided to sleep on it
When I woke up Catalina was installed.
Hung up during the setup wizard enabling ScreenTime
I had seen many reports of people who got hung-up on reboot?
Rebooted and all seems to be fine. No issues I've noticed yet'
Permissions pop-ups, on macOS and iOS, are driving me absolutely BONKERS!
I still appreciate it, but it is annoying.
Actually, Keith had a question about one of them. Play question.
You do not need to allow access for bluetooth audio like headphones or speakers.
A lot of app, especially store apps, want it for in store location tracking for “beacons”.
Other apps may actually need it for functionality or to connect to a dedicated accessory.
For example my Sphero or car’s Automatic adapter DO need access
Some video or audio apps might want it to “cast” to a non-AirPlay device, like a Chromecast.
My tactic for now is to mostly say “No”.
If you find later that you need it you can turn it on in Settings > Privacy.
Issue with connecting my iPhone to my Mac
Would mount and unmount from the Finder.
Media Locations
Music: Default location is ~/Music
Apple TV: For TV shows and movies, the default location will be ~/Movies. Music videos will stay in the Music app at ~/Music.
Podcasts: These will be stored in a cache folder in ~/Library/Group Containers/243LU875E5.groups.com.apple.podcasts.
Books: Ever since iBooks became Apple Books, ebooks and audiobooks are stored in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.BKAgentService/Data/Documents/iBooks/Books.
"Relocated Items" folder on Desktop
"During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of your files couldn’t be moved to their new locations"
Security files that were in a location that is now incompatible
Configurations that were modified or customized and are incompatible
In my case they were related to my MySQL and Apache installs that I had done in the past.
Actually seems to be running a little better?
Some neat new features
Hover over the green "stoplight" in widows to get options
Enter full screen.
Tile Left or Right
Move to second display
Enter into SideCar mode on supported Mac (2016 and newer mostly)
Find tabs in Safari
URL bar's universal search now searches open tab titles
"Switch to tab" option in the results.
One feature NOT coming to Catalina anytime soon is the announced iCloud Drive Folders
This was the Dropbox like feature that would let you share folders on iCloud
Apple had originally said it would be available "later this Fall" they've now changed the text on their site to, “coming this spring.”
Apple Watch 5
Tim sent us a review.
Danny needs some help. Play Danny's question.
Check your iTunes Apple ID to see if 2-Factor authentication is turned on for it and if so what if ANY devices are registered as trusted devices for it?
You can get a 6-digit code on ANY f your devices manually by going to Settings > Tap on your Apple ID at the top > Tap Password & Security > Tap Get Verification Code
This might not work if this Apple ID is not registered to the device (which as I mentioned you can check on Apple's website)
Are you using any 3rd party apps on your Apple Watch that might access you Apple ID for iCloud syncing? It’s possible you may need to set up App Specific passwords for these apps.
If you're using the older two-step verification method you might need to append the security code onto the end of your password in the password field.
The disappearing TV App
Matt pointed out an odd bug in iOS 13 on iPadOS that could hit you if you use restrictions (parental controls) in ScreenTime to restrict app deletions.
If you go to Settings > ScreenTime > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Enable it and then under iTunes & App Store Purchases set the "Deleting Apps" option to "Don't Allow"
The TV App will disappear from your HomeScreen
The first time I tried this I had my TV App in a folder and it didn't disappear.
After I moved it there and tried again it disappeared. After that also toggling the setting on caused the Settings app to crash to the springboard (home screen).
NFC Tag Shortcuts
Something new in iOS 13
Need to have an iPhone that supports “passive” NFC reading. iPhone XR, iPhone XS Series or newer.
In Shortcuts you tap on the "Create Personal Automation" option
Under "Settings" you pick NFC and then scan the tag you want to use to trigger the automation
You can then add actions and events to happen
I tried this with the tag that was in my Apple Card folder
It still triggered the "Authorize" panel, but also would trigger the Shortcut.
Cool
The Personal Automation section also has a bunch of other triggers.
When you stop an alarm
When you are about to leave for your commute (how does it know?) Or connect to CarPlay
When you connect to a Bluetooth device or a WiFi network.
