MyAppleMenu

The Sliding-Down Edition Friday, November 4, 2022

Apple TV App Now Hides ‘Up Next’ Row, Making It Harder To Find What You Want To Watch, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

This new dedicated row for “Featured” content replaces the new previous top-level row for “Up Next.” The Up Next row aggregates the next episodes of TV shows you’re watching from any app that integrates with the TV app, which is essentially any streaming service app other than Netflix.

This change appears to be a server-side update, although right now the majority of users noticing the change are running the tvOS 16.2 beta.

Up Next? Disappointment., by Joe Rosensteel, Six Colors

If Apple wants to say that the Apple TV device, and the Apple TV app, are worth the money because they provide a premium experience, then they can’t keep sliding down into the same mediocre moves as any other platform owner.

The Apple TV in my living room isn’t Apple’s electronic billboard. If I wanted to own one of those, I’d have saved some money and just bought an Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Why Is Apple Gambling Its Brand Reputation On Selling Ads?, by Rob Walker, Fast Company

True, the company itself draws a big distinction between its approach and the strategies used by online-ad giants. Most notably, it says it doesn’t track users via third-party data (although it does have plenty of data it collected all by itself), and it won’t share your data. Also, the company notes, you can turn off personalized ads altogether.

But as Apple knows as well as any consumer-facing company, the technical details matter less than user experience: That’s what shapes a brand reputation. All the back-end distinctions in the world don’t matter to someone who feels they’ve just been given a creepy or inappropriate pitch.

Coming Soon

iOS 16.2 Surfaces Relevant Apple News Stories In The Weather App, by Andrew Orr, AppleInsider

Apple is introducing integration between the Weather and News apps, as noticed in the latest iOS 16.2 beta.

People in cities such as San Francisco will find weather-related news stories and reports, which will likely be available for more regions over time. A link to a story will appear in the Weather app, and tapping it brings the user over to the News app to read it.

Stuff

Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight And Shadow Recovery Tools, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Darkroom says that the Exposure, Whites, Highlights, Shadows, and Blacks sliders have been rebuilt from the ground up in a major technical investment that allows users to access edits that were previously out of reach.

Nanoleaf Announces Matter Support For A19 And Light Strip Along With New Smart Bulb Types, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

Nanoleaf is out with the news that it’s bringing Matter support to some of its popular smart lights along with two brand-new bulbs. Arriving soon, the lineup will feature GU10 and BR30 options in addition to its popular smart Lightstrip and A19 bulb.

Eve Announces Matter Updates For Eve Energy, Eve Motion And Eve Door & Window, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Eve Systems today announced an upcoming firmware update for three of its devices, with the new firmware set to add Matter integration. The latest models of the Eve Energy, Eve Motion, and Eve Door and Window devices will receive Matter firmware updates on December 12.

Cheaper Netflix With Ads Plan Is Not Supported On Apple TV, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

In a statement, Netflix told 9to5Mac that Basic with ads plan support is coming soon to Apple TV devices.

Notes

AirPods Max Noise Isolation Reduction May Be Related To Ongoing Court Battle, by Wesley Hilliard, AppleInsider

Active lawsuits cannot be discussed with the public, so that could explain why Apple changed how active noise cancellation works on its devices without notice. This assumption was shared by a Reddit user named facingcondor with a range of evidence to support the theory.

Bottom of the Page

There are many reasons one can quit Twitter. There is no need to advise people to wait and see what the new Twitter will be like. (One very good reason is to help flush that $44 billion down the toilet.)

~

Thanks for reading.