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The Ramped-Up-Testing Edition Thursday, June 21, 2018

Why Apple’s AirPower Wireless Charger Is Taking So Long To Make, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

The AirPower charger is also more advanced than the current competition because it includes a custom Apple chip running a stripped down version of the iOS mobile operating system to conduct on-device power management and pairing with devices. Apple engineers have also been working to squash bugs related to the on-board firmware, according to the people familiar. They asked not to be identified discussing a product that hasn’t been released yet.

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Apple didn’t say when in 2018 it would release AirPower, but engineers hoped to launch the charger by June. The aim now is to put it on sale before or in September, according to one of the people. In recent months, some Apple engineers have ramped up testing of the device by using it as their charger at the office, another person said.

Apple’s Habit Of Announcing Early, Delivering Late, Is Worse For Apple Than For Us, by Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac

Maybe avoid promising specific dates until it is sure, but I hope it’ll continue to announce products as soon as it has either firm plans or prototypes ready to show us, allowing us to make purchase decisions with the benefit of the best information available.

Down the Road

Apple Is Figuring Out What's Next, by Neil Cybart, Above Avalon

There is a drawback found with most of the cameras and screens that stand to benefit from these new technologies: We still have to hold them. While AR makes for a cool on-stage demo, having to hold an iPhone or iPad up as an AR viewfinder for long periods of time isn't ideal. Items like Siri Shortcuts and Siri Suggestions are interesting on iPhone and iPad although they are incredibly more appealing on mobile displays worn on our bodies. ML applications on iPhone and iPad are useful, but the predictive and proactive nature of the technology can work wonders when combined with mobile cameras and screens that we don't have to hold. Apple is announcing new technologies that make more sense on form factors that currently don't exist.

Imaging How Apple Will Roll Out Its New TV Service, by Jason Snell, Macworld

So this time I’m going to try something different. I am going to force myself to make those hard decisions, as if I were an Apple executive. What do I think is the most likely course of action for Apple’s service? It’s time to stop hedging and risk being dead wrong in public. (The good news is, if I make bad decisions, more than a billion dollars in content investment won’t go to waste.)

Stuff

International Yoga Day: How The Apple iPhone And Watch Can Help You Keep Fit, by Deccan Chronicle

Leading Yoga Expert Natasha Noel says, “Mindfulness means living in the present moment. The mind is constantly involved in activity – swinging from the past to the future – but never staying in the present. You don’t need any special equipment to focus on the breath, just take these very short breaks over the course of one’s day to focus on them as a way of bringing focus, mindfulness and awareness into your life. The Breathe app on the Apple Watch, gently reminds you to breathe. And for a minute you can just pause everything around you look at the flower blooming on an inhalation and shrinks down on the exhalation.”

Losing My iPad Pro: What I Missed (And Love) About Apple’s Tablet Experience, by Matthew Cassinelli, The Sweet Setup

For me, iPad is the ultimate form factor. It’s a large screen you can interact with through touch. Pair it with a keyboard and you start to get the best of both worlds.

Firefox Is Back. It’s Time To Give It A Try., by Brian X. Chen, New York Times

Most notably, Firefox now offers privacy tools, like a built-in feature for blocking ad trackers and a “container” that can be installed to prevent Facebook from monitoring your activities across the web. Most other browsers don’t include those features.

After testing Firefox for the last three months, I found it to be on a par with Chrome in most categories. In the end, Firefox’s thoughtful privacy features persuaded me to make the switch and make it my primary browser.

Develop

On Apple's Love Affair With Swift, by Stefan Lesser

I wanted to write a thoughtful article in response to Dominik Wagner’s “On my misalignment with Apple’s love affair with Swift”. During my research I realized, that Chris Lattner had already done this. Sort of. 17 months before Dominik published his piece.

Thanks to Marco Arment, Casey Liss, and John Siracusa for recording a fabulous “not an interview show” with Chris “extraordinary circumstance” Lattner back in January 2017, asking the right questions, and even publishing a transcript.

Bottom of the Page

Apple has a new problem: other people are announcing launch dates for Apple.

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Thanks for reading.