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The Weird-and-Wonderful Edition Monday, February 19, 2024

Phone Cases Are Boring. Put A Lip Balm On It, by Louryn Strampe, Wired

Where is my weird and wonderful case that fits my lifestyle and is ergonomically designed? Maximalist phones are the future I want. From mobile gaming controllers to PC-inspired coolers to decoden folding cases, there’s a market for hypercustomization.

I Hate My Apple Watch When It Rains, by Michael Grothaus, Fast Company

The issue is the Apple Watch’s capacitive touch screen. Like any capacitive touch screen, it reacts when an electrical charge comes in contact with it, like the kind of electrical charge the skin on your fingertip gives off. But when a piece of clothing is damp—such as the cuff of a coat that was in the rain—it, too, transfers an electrical charge to the touch screen. In my case, my damp cuff kept brushing against my Apple Watch’s screen, and it managed to activate the Messages app, select an existing thread (the one with my friend), and bring up the tiny onscreen keyboard.

Apple Vision

Why Some Of Apple’s Biggest Fans Are Returning Their Vision Pros, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Based on what I’ve seen so far, the demos have been effective — maybe too effective. They sell consumers on an experience that doesn’t quite exist yet. Some stores are seeing conversion rates after demos as high as 10% to 15%. That’s an impressive number for a product with the Vision Pro’s price tag.

Here's What It's Like To Watch A Movie In The Apple Vision Pro, by Jordan Hart, Business Insider

I didn't know I needed to be able to watch a movie from the side of a lake with the starry sky above me before getting the Vision Pro, but it's become my favorite way to have some alone time.

Vision Pro Panoramas, by Casey Liss, Liss Is More

The Vision Pro has un-distorted the image.

Apple In EU

EU To Hit Apple With First Ever Fine In €500mn Penalty Over Music Streaming, by Javier Espinoza, Financial Times

Brussels is to impose its first ever fine on tech giant Apple for allegedly breaking EU law over access to its music streaming services, according to five people with direct knowledge of the long-running investigation.

[...]

The probe is investigating whether Apple blocked apps from informing iPhone users of cheaper alternatives to access music subscriptions outside the App Store. It was launched after music-streaming app Spotify made a formal complaint to regulators in 2019.

Notes

‘Welcome Home, Franklin’ Peanuts Special Addresses Controversial Scene From Thanksgiving Special, by Armando Tinoco, Deadline

Apple TV+ dropped a new Peanuts special titled Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, focusing on the comic strip’s first Black character, Franklin Armstrong.

When the trailer was unveiled, one moment got social media buzzing as it referenced the 1973 special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The controversial scene is where Franklin is seen sitting on one side of the dinner table while the rest sit on the opposite side.

Bottom of the Page

The problem with the iPhone case market is that the market is too small.

What? The market too small?

Yes. Firstly, there are different models that all require different cases. But, secondly and more importantly, cases for one year will most likely not work for the models in the subsequent years. No wonder you don't see much 'innovation' with iPhone cases.

I hoped that the introduction of MagSafe will create a market for all sorts of cases and stuff that just sticks on the back on iPhones, but so far, this market is pretty much non-existent.

Oh well.

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Thanks for reading.