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The Personal-Sound-Amplification Edition Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Apple AirPods Can Work As More Affordable Hearing Aids, Study Finds, by Andrew Liszewski, Gizmodo

Apple does not position Live Listen as a tool for those dealing with hearing loss but as a way for users with normal hearing to boost desired sounds, like the calls of a bird. However, the researchers found that, in some situations, consumer-level personal sound amplification products faired quite well against pricier medically prescribed solutions, and given the popularity of products like Apple’s AirPods, there’s no stigma associated with wearing them.

Ensure Sufficient Free Space Before Upgrading To Ventura, by Adam Engst. TidBITS

My best guess is that there’s an edge case where the installer believes there’s enough space available to start (assuming that an upgrade is either opportunistic or important), but when it starts copying files, APFS doesn’t always release the needed purgeable space.

Charles reported that since he published that article, he has also heard from a handful of people who have suffered a failed Ventura upgrade and have thus been forced to start over with a clean install.

Craig Federighi Admits Apple's Beta Programs Don’t Provide The Interaction And Influence Many Users Desire, by Sami Fathi, MacRumors

In an email exchange with MacRumors reader Kieran, Federighi responded to a complaint that Apple’s beta program doesn’t effectively listen to user feedback and suggestions, noting the challenge Apple faces when “literally millions of people participate in our betas, and many, many, many of them want to provide feedback to help influence Apple’s products.”

Coming Soon

Apple Is Making iPhone 14 Pro Always-on Display Work Like Android In iOS 16.2, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

After complaints from some users, iOS 16.2 beta 3 includes a new option that allows users to disable wallpaper and notifications from appearing on the iPhone’s always-on display.

Latest watchOS 9.2 Beta Includes Race Route Workout Feature For Runners, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

Designed especially for runners, Race Route lets you compete against yourself on a route you’ve already completed and tracked as an outdoor run on Apple Watch.

Stuff

Apple Demonstrates Emergency SOS Via Satellite In New Ad As Feature Launches, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

The dramatic video shows first responders boarding a helicopter and flying towards a couple on the top of a mountain after they contacted emergency services with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, which launches later today in the U.S. and Canada.

'Descript' Podcast And Video Editor Gets Major Update With AI-powered Features, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

The new version of the app adds more than 30 new visuals and AI-powered features, which should make editing videos “as easy as editing a doc or slides.”

Meross’ New Smart Plug Is One Of The First Matter Devices You Can Buy, by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge

This might be the very first device you can buy with the Matter logo on it, indicating that it's ready to go with Matter out of the box.

Notes

Why Does Apple Hate The Mac Mini?, by Roman Loyola, Macworld

So, what’s another five or six months for a Mac that turned four years old tlast month? Well, the fact that any company (let alone Apple) sells a four-year-ago computer at its original price is ridiculous. Maybe Apple’s reasoning is that virtually no one is buying the $1,099 Mac mini, so there’s no harm in keeping it around. But there is harm–it’s taking advantage of people who might not know better by selling them extremely outdated tech. It’s a bad look for the Mac mini and for Apple.

Apple Prepares To Get Made-in-US Chips In Pivot From Asia, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made the disclosure during an internal meeting in Germany with local engineering and retail employees as part of a recent tour of Europe, according to remarks reviewed by Bloomberg News. He added that Apple may also expand its supply of chips from plants in Europe.

“We’ve already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in ’24, so we’ve got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less,” Cook told the employees. “And in Europe, I’m sure that we will also source from Europe as those plans become more apparent,” he said at the meeting, which included Apple services chief Eddy Cue and Deirdre O’Brien, its head of retail and human resources.

Bottom of the Page

If the Mac Pro turns out to be just a faster Mac Studio, I suspect many people will be quite disappointed. You don't (probably) miss the deadline with just a faster Mac Studio.

And if the missing Mac mini turns out to be just like the current Mac mini, just a little faster, that will also be disappointing.

(Yes, I know we are still living in strange times. And the longer one waits, the wilder the imagination goes. So, discount what I wrote.)

~

Thanks for reading.