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The Well-Intentioned-Magnet Edition Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Having Issues With Your Phone's Compass? Read This, by Jason Cipriani, CNET

So, months later, when she removed the case she discovered the compass on her iPhone X suddenly worked. The culprit? That well-intentioned magnet.

When asked about cases interfering with a phone's compass, both Apple and Google cautioned users from using third-party accessories that don't follow their guidelines.

New App Could Put Life Saving Brain Injury Screening In The Palm Of Your Hands, by Jess Mador, WYSO

The app uses a smartphone or other device camera to play an interactive eye test similar to the real-life test.

[...]

The Vye app records Galentine’s eye movements, reaction time, velocity and abnormalities that could indicate a concussion.

Apple, IBM Add Machine Learning To Partnership With Watson-Core ML Coupling, by Ron Miller, TechCrunch

The way it works is a customer builds a machine learning model using Watson, taking advantage of data in an enterprise repository to train the model. For instance, a company may want to help field service techs point their iPhone camera at a machine and identify the make and model to order the correct parts. You could potentially train a model to recognize all the different machines using Watson’s image recognition capability.

The next step is to convert that model into Core ML and include it in your custom app. Apple introduced Core ML at the Worldwide Developers Conference last June as a way to make it easy for developers to move machine learning models from popular model building tools like TensorFlow, Caffe or IBM Watson to apps running on iOS devices.

Stuff

Apple AirPods: The Audiophile Review, by Vlad Savov, The Verge

Because Apple moved the Bluetooth electronics and batteries to the stem, it was able to use the full cavity of each bud for sound reproduction. That’s how the AirPods reproduce a wider soundstage than most Bluetooth earbuds without being any thicker or protruding from the ear.

[...]

When I look at the limits of what’s possible today — in terms of miniaturization of audio and wireless components — I can’t see a better combination of price, features, and performance than what’s offered by the AirPods.

Linea Sketch 2.0: Elegant, Approachable Sketching For The iPad, by John Voorhees, MacStories

Linea Sketch delivers powerful drawing tools in an elegant package that makes it approachable to a wide variety of users. The new selection tool adds flexibility to Linea Sketch, which is a fantastic addition for existing users. At the same time, portrait mode, new templates for taking notes, storyboarding, and prototyping, the ability to import images, and support for drag and drop, open Linea Sketch up to a wider base of customers who will find ways to use for it for more than traditional sketching. I highly recommend trying the app if you haven’t already.

Sleep++ 3.0 Brings Automatic Sleep Detection On Apple Watch, by Federico Viticci, MacStories

Sleep++ 3.0 is a major update that brings automatic sleep detection through the Apple Watch.

Develop

Developers Will Need To Go Through App Review To Edit ‘What’s New’ Text And Change Support URLs, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

Apple is today informing developers of a new policy change through iTunes Connect. From April, the ‘What’s New In This Version’ text and the support URLs in App Store listings will no longer be able to changed at will.

Changes to this metadata will now require a new app update to be submitted to the App Store.

Notes

Apple Grabs Two-year Lead In 3D Sensing Race, by Sonam Rai, Stephen Nellis, Reuters

Apple’s effort to get ahead with the technology is the latest evidence of an aggressive approach by the Cupertino-based company to making the most of the technological advances its financial firepower can deliver.

The iPhone maker’s $390 million deal in December to secure supplies from VCSEL-maker Finisar was one such move. Another is Apple’s discussions with major cobalt producers to nail down supplies for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power its mobile phones.

Bottom of the Page

I'm tempted by all these positive reviews of Apple's AirPods. But I do remind myself from time to time why I am not getting a pair for now:

One: My Beats wireless earphones is still working fine; I may want AirPods, but I do not need AirPods...

Two: More importantly, I am still worried that if I ever do drop the AirPods, I may not be able to find them. (I have poor eyesights.)

~

Thanks for reading.