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The To-be-Heard Edition Thursday, February 10, 2022

Why I Love iMessage Audio Clips, Or, Why I Love Your Voice, by Laura Rosenberg, 9to5Mac

If you haven’t embraced voice messages, I encourage you to give it a go sometime. Let someone hear you tell your story, or listen to you laugh, and you’ll begin to pick up on the nuances of their voice (if you haven’t already).

At the end of the day, we all just want to be heard.

Coming Soon: Classical

Android Apple Music Beta Code Refers To Unreleased 'Apple Classical' App, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

Apple’s latest Apple Music beta app for Android may have revealed the name of the company’s forthcoming app dedicated to classical music, suggesting a release might not be too far away.

Stuff

Apple Launches Its Own Book Club, ‘Strombo’s Lit,’ In The Apple Books App, by Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

Oprah, Reese and now…Apple? The iPhone maker has just launched its own book club directly in its Apple Books app for readers in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia, where it will curate both fiction and non-fiction titles for readers. But unlike Apple’s other editorial efforts in apps like Apple Podcasts or the App Store, the club’s selections aren’t curated by a nameless team of editors. Instead, Apple’s book club picks are being curated by Canadian media personality and Apple Music Hits host, George “Strombo” Stroumboulopoulos.

Apps We Love: Espanso, by Jeffrey Abbott, The Sweet Setup

Packages are just collections of shortcuts/snippets that other people have already put together. Some of the most common packages available are for writing the various accents that many languages use, mathematical notations, other scientific notations, and even emojis. One of the most useful packages is a list of commonly misspelled words to ensure you’re spelling game is always excellent.

Home Widget For HomeKit Gets Updated With Sensor Support, Different Panel Sizes, And More, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Home Widget for HomeKit is probably one of the coolest apps for improving your experience with HomeKit-enabled accessories on iOS. It offers quick access to Home automation directly from your home screen. The app was updated on Wednesday with great new features, including sensor support, different panel sizes, and more.

Review: The Origami iPad Case Supports Every Viewing Angle, by Jaclyn Kilan, iMore

This innovative folding case will prop up your iPad in every useful position and orientation. The SwitchEasy Origami Case also supports auto sleep/wake functionality, keeping things easy, as always.

iPad Pro Gets Premium Protection With Nomad's New Modern Leather Folio And Case, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

Nomad launched the new Modern Leather Case and Folio today that feature the company’s premium full-grain leather with a slim design while remaining protective thanks to features like a raised TPE bumper and a polycarbonate layer.

CalDigit’s 18-port Thunderbolt Station 4 Could Be A Must-have For Your Mac, by Roman Loyola, Macworld

The Thunderbolt Station 4 has a whopping 18 ports! That’s a lot of ports! And CalDigit didn’t just slap together a dock with a bunch of ports. The company put a lot of thought into which ones to include and where.

Develop

Safari Team Asks For Feedback Amid Accusations That 'Safari Is The Worst, It's The New IE', by Hartley Charlton, MacRumors

Jen Simmons, an Apple Evangelist and developer advocate on the Web Developer Experience team for Safari and WebKit, Tweeted that “Everyone in my mentions [is] saying Safari is the worst, it’s the new IE.” This led her to ask users for feedback, preferably highlighting specific bugs and instances of missing support that inhibits websites and apps.

Notes

Apple Needs To Start Guaranteeing iOS Upgrades Like Samsung, by Michael Simon, Macworld

It’s unlikely that any Android device will ever support OS upgrades as long as an iOS device, but that doesn’t matter if Samsung offers a guarantee that Apple doesn’t. Apple users expect their new iPhones to get at least and likely more than five years of updates, and Apple should capitalize on its advantage by meeting and exceeding Samsung’s guarantee.

Bottom of the Page

We don't know what WWDC will bring, but between now and then, I am looking forward to the new Apple Classical app as well as the iOS update that will do FaceID unlock with masks on. (I don't foresee the compulsory wearing of masks outside of homes to be dropped before that.)

It will be a bonus if I also get to see what the new Mac mini and MacBook Air look like. I hope they are nothing like what we have currently. Smaller in size is what I am hoping for. (And I hope they will not cause a large hole in my wallet too.)

~

Thanks for reading.