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The In-Need-of-the-Very-Best Edition Friday, May 10, 2024

Apple’s “Let Loose” iPad Event Was Shot On iPhone — With Panavision Lenses, by Stu Maschwitz, Prolost

None of this would be possible without Apple having adding Log ProRes recording to the iPhone 15 Pro. Log is to video what raw is to still photography, and the story of how Apple Log transforms the definition of “Shot on iPhone” from a dalliance to a responsible, even desirable strategy for filmmaking is still ongoing.

Truly “pro” features like color-accurate OLED screens on iPads and ProRes Log on phones don’t just sell a few devices to a few filmmakers. They preserve and elevate Apple’s reputation as the choice of creative professionals in all fields. Apple hardware is vastly overpowered for most of its customer’s uses, so as Apple looks around for folks in need of their very best, they find the Zbrush artist, the Redshift renderer, and now, improbably-but-deservedly, the professional cinematographer.

How The iPad Pro's M4 Chip Sets The iPhone And Mac On A New Path, by Jason Snell, Macworld

Basically, Apple used the M3 generation to get to 3nm before everyone else, but it knew that it would need a new design for the system TSMC was building toward. Hence the M4–and presumably the A18–were redesigns Apple absolutely had to do.

Why launch the M4 on the iPad Pro rather than a more popular product, like a MacBook Air? Chances are pretty good that at the beginning of a chip cycle, the volume of chips coming out of the factory will be low. The iPad Pro doesn’t sell in remotely the same numbers as a MacBook Air, allowing Apple and TSMC to ramp up deliveries.

The Crush

Apple Apologizes For 'Crush' iPad Pro Ad That Sparked Controversy, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

Apple has now responded to this criticism, issuing a public apology to Ad Age saying it “missed the mark with this video.”

Is The ‘Crush’ Backlash A Dead Canary In The Apple Brand Coal Mine?, by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Today there’s widespread uncomfortableness, perhaps outright concern, that the digital world is consuming the analog one. It plays differently today than a decade ago to emphasize that an iPad can replace a veritable truck-full of artistic tools and toys.

Ai Ai Ai

Apple To Power AI Tools With In-House Server Chips This Year, by Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

The company is placing high-end chips — similar to ones it designed for the Mac — in cloud-computing servers designed to process the most advanced AI tasks coming to Apple devices, according to people familiar with the matter. Simpler AI-related features will be processed directly on iPhones, iPads and Macs, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is still under wraps.

Where Does Photoshop Go From Here?, by Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic

And there’s the challenge: Photoshop, the most professionalized fake-image program, now has to walk a middle path. It needs to offer generative-AI tools to stay cutting-edge, but it also cannot risk alienating its clientele by taking off the guardrails. Adobe is a technology company that serves artists, and in the art world, AI is deeply polarizing.

Stuff

‘I Taught Myself’: Tucker MacDonald And The Rise Of Tide Guide, by Apple

Lots of apps have great origin stories, but the tale of Tucker MacDonald and Tide Guide seems tailor-made for the Hollywood treatment. It begins in the dawn hours on Cape Cod, where a school-age MacDonald first learned to fish with his grandfather.

“Every day, he’d look in the paper for the tide tables,” says MacDonald. “Then he’d call me up and say, ‘Alright Tucker, we’ve got a good tide and good weather. Let’s be at the dock by 5:30 a.m.’”

Plinky Is An App For You To Collect And Organize Links Easily, by Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch

Plinky lets you save links to web pages, apps, videos, images and even app stores; label them neatly; and organize them in different folders. You can customize these labels and folders, and even how a link shows up in the app. Additionally, you can search for links and pin them for easy access.

New Sonos App Breaks Accessibility For Visually Impaired Users, Here's What This Advocate Recommends, by Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac

While the company made an official statement on the matter, it hasn’t appeared to address a concerning issue – the update has broken accessibility for visually impaired users.

Develop

Apple Is Making It Easier To Develop Your First App Using Pathways, by Ryan Christoffel, 9to5Mac

Today the company launched Pathways, a collection of videos, documentation, and other resources that will walk you step by step through the journey of developing your first app.

Notes

When Your Smartphone Tries To Be Too Smart, by Tim Harford, Financial Times

And so we carry around these pocket miracles, and very useful they are too — until something unfortunate happens. It’s brilliant to have your tickets, keys, phone, address book and cash all in the same little box of delights, as long as you don’t drop the box of delights down the toilet. As Earl Wiener put it, “Digital devices tune out small errors while creating opportunities for large errors.” Next time, I’ll print the ticket.

Apple Music Rolls Out New Analytics Tools, by Elias Leight, Billboard

Those who pay to gain access to the tools can lose themselves in more than 4,500 charts — each ranking as many as 1,500 titles — that cover 60 genres and span 270 countries, regions, and cities. While radio is not the commercial force it once was, Apple also harnessed Shazam to monitor what’s playing on over 40,000 radio stations (terrestrial and internet) across the globe.

Bottom of the Page

It is okay for Apple to sell an iPad that is not meant for you and your work. It is okay if you find that you are better off using macOS rather than iPadOS. Stop asking Apple to do an iPad that can run macOS, but start asking why MacBook's portability is still far behind iPad's.

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Thanks for reading.