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The Stay-in-the-Moment Edition Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Apple Reveals Its Design Philosophy Behind The iPhone Camera, by Jaron Schneider, PetaPixel

“As photographers, we tend to have to think a lot about things like ISO, subject motion, et cetera,” McCormack said “And Apple wants to take that away to allow people to stay in the moment, take a great photo, and get back to what they’re doing.”

He explained that while more serious photographers want to take a photo and then go through a process in editing to make it their own, Apple is doing what it can to compress that process down into the single action of capturing a frame, all with the goal of removing the distractions that could possibly take a person out of the moment.

iPhone 12 Pro Max Camera Review Zion, by Austin Mann

I did really enjoy using the extra focal length of the Telephoto and pushing the Max in low light, but it feels massive in my hand and it’s hard to operate as a single-handed camera, so I’m still debating which iPhone is right for me.

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What I do know is both the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are a massive jump in imaging capability compared to previous years, so regardless of your decision between this year’s models, I know you’re going to thoroughly enjoy shooting with this new iPhone camera.

Review: Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max Offering Has A Great Camera, But A Stiff Ergonomic Cliff, by Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch

I recommend the iPhone 12 Pro Max to two kinds of people: the ones who want the absolute best camera quality on a smartphone period and those who do the bulk of their work on a phone rather than on another kind of device. There is a distinct ‘fee’ that you pay in ergonomics to move to a Max iPhone. Two hands are just plain needed for some operations and single-handed moves are precarious at best.

The iPhone 12 Mini And iPhone 12 Pro Max, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

But if we’re talking about value, about bang for the buck, the iPhone 12 Mini is the standout. There was a time when miniaturization in technology cost a premium. Smaller cell phones cost more than larger ones. A smaller camera that captured the exact same quality images cost more than a larger one. That the iPhone 12 Mini costs $100 less than the iPhone 12 feels too good to be true.

Big Love For The Small iPhone, by Lauren Goode, Wired

Wouldn’t it be nice to deprioritize screens? Even if that means just using one that’s slightly smaller? That’s what it felt like to switch to the iPhone 12 Mini. It’s still a smartphone. It’s not this kind of baby phone. But I just felt like I had more control over my phone. It’s so light, so airy. It fit into the small side pocket of the stretch pants I’ve been wearing more than I care to admit.

Review: Apple’s iPhone 12 Mini Offers The Best Value Of Any iPhone In Years, by Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch

This is one of the best years ever for the iPhone lineup. The choices presented allow for a really comfortable picking routine based on camera and screen size with no majorly painful compromises in raw power or capability. These are full featured devices that are really well made from end to end.

Apple iPhone 12 Mini Review: Fit To Size, by Dieter Bohn, The Verge

The iPhone 12 mini feels like the first iPhone in a long time with a different goal. It was designed around the human hand and real pockets. It is an object that doesn’t aim to be judged against other smartphones (which are mostly big now), but to be judged simply as an object you need to hold. You judge a spatula or can opener or whatever by whether it’s easy to grip, by whether it fits in your hand. It’s about time we got back to judging smartphones that way, too.

Stuff

Apple Magsafe Duo Charger Review: Useful, But Expensive And Underwhelming, by Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch

The MagSafe Duo does work, and there are a couple of engineering bright spots. But you will not feel that it’s worth the money by the time you purchase the $129 charger and the $19 20W power brick to go with it, and there are many third party accessories on the market that do this job just fine.

Review: iPad Air 2020 Is A Bundle Of Powerful Joy, by Jonny Evans, Computerworld

Such is the unequal state of competition in the tablet market that Apple at this stage competes with itself. All its iPads are good, and the models are becoming better defined.

BestPhotos 3 Introduces Calendar View, A New Compare Interface, And More, by Alex Guyot, MacStories

The app seeks to help users clean up their photo libraries using smart searches, photo comparisons, and metadata edits.

Develop

A Contentious App Ban Could Open Up Apple's Walled Garden, by John Biggs, Gizmodo

In other words, Apple doesn’t want app updates that occur outside of the App Store. This is due to caution on Apple’s part—they don’t want your social media app to suddenly update itself and turn into a surveillance system—but it also means you can’t, say, write and compile an app on your device, a feature that would truly turn iOS into a developer’s dream.

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“At a high level, Apple has selectively targeted iSH using section 2.5.2 without fullying understanding our application, their own guidelines, or the consequences of what they are asking and how they affect the App Store ecosystem as a whole,” write iSH’s creators. “Consistent enforcement of Apple’s incorrect interpretation would require the removal of all scripting apps, including many of the most popular applications in the App Store and some of Apple’s own applications.”

Notes

20 Macs For 2020: #7 – iBook, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

Apple has never stopped selling a “consumer laptop,” if you mean a laptop that’s offered at a lower price than its higher-end professionally focused designs. But have all been defined by their price, and their lower-end features, and not on what the original iBook had in abundance: a sense of fun.

iOS Apps Will Run On Apple Silicon Macs, But Major Developers Have Already Opted Out Of The Mac App Store, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

9to5Mac found out that some major iOS app developers have already chosen not to offer their apps on the Mac App Store to Apple Silicon Mac owners — at least for now. We were able to check this information through the App Store system that revealed to us which iOS apps will not work on the new Macs with Apple Silicon chip.

Bottom of the Page

I may be tempted to spend more money this year if Apple reveals a small and inexpensive Mac mini. (I may have already hidden my wallet while reading all the iPhone mini reviews.)

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Thanks for reading.