A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Noah Leon about his documentary project, Love Notes to Newton. He is funding the project through an Indiegogo campaign, which has now entered its final week. If you didn’t catch it the first time around, our interview covers all of the details of the project in detail, and it is well worth a listen.
For riff-raff like myself, the process of reviewing the new iPad Pro models will begin tomorrow. However, today was the day for the lucky few in the tech media who got an early look at Apple’s latest goodies. I’m not jealous at all.
That aside, there are several insightful and thoughtful reviews that range from glowing to conservatively positive that hit the web today. The only complaints mentioned were price and practicality, and those are legitimate concerns considering the recent sales struggles of the iPad line. However, as for the hardware itself, the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Most are also very upbeat about the iPad’s future thanks to the changes coming in iOS 11.
Here are some of my favorite of the early reviews:
What a week it has been. Apple has definitely made the most of its time in the spotlight, grabbing the media’s attention and showing us that they can still innovate, be aggressive, and even listen to what users are asking for from time to time. While all may not be perfect, and there are still questions to answer, iOS 11 looks REALLY good, and the new iPad Pro features are a huge upgrade. As for the HomePod, let’s reserve judgement until we at lease see it in a closer to final form.
Beyond all the great software and hardware announcements, which I will get into in greater depth soon, there is other Apple news of note to look into. Let’s get to it.
This has been building since Apple’s acquisition of Beats in 2014, but after WWDC, I think things are starting to come into clearer focus. Apple is now transitioning from dominating the declining business of purchasing music to dominating multiple areas in the field. But it goes deeper than that. They are building toward something. I think they are currently moving their chess pieces across the board to set up a final checkmate on the big-label recording industry, which will in turn, squeeze competitors like Spotify in ways they will have difficulty combating.
As wonderful as it was to get all of the goodies that Apple sent our way on Monday, there are always a few items left off the list, and rumors that don’t come true. The following is a list of some of the more prominent items that Apple didn’t mention during the WWDC Keynote.
In my recent article Taking Siri Seriously, I made the comment that if Apple was releasing a Siri-equipped speaker product into the world, then it would surely be a sign that all is now right with the world’s first mobile digital assistant. They wouldn’t make another “Maps” error. They wouldn’t blindly release another product like that into the world. As the afterglow of yesterday’s WWDC Keynote fades and the reality-distortion dissipates, now I’m not as convinced.
Apple’s massive 2 1/2 hour data dump certainty accomplished goal one of flipping the media’s script yesterday. ALL of the talk today is about what Apple is doing and how they are doing it. They absolutely NAILED that. However, at the end of the day, what did we really learn about Siri in iOS 11?
It’s a Good Day to be an iPad User!
The iPad has been at a crossroads for a couple of years now. Since the original iPad Pro didn’t move the sales needle, it has felt a little like Apple has been marking time while they came up with a Plan B on how to jumpstart things. Part one came with the release of the rolled back, but less expensive iPad this Spring. While it was a solid device that fit a need in Apple’s tablet lineup, it was hard to tell too much based on such a modest start down a different path.
I have been anticipating writing an article of final predictions for what we will see at WWDC for a few weeks now. However, as sit here on the eve of Christmas for Apple fans, I find little point in doing so. Not only has every tech site and every Apple blog weighed in on this topic at this point, but pretty much every national medial outlet, as well. What’s the point in one more drop in a very full bucket?
Rather than go the path well travelled, I’m going to take a different look at WWDC and get into more of the “how” than the “what”. Allow me to explain myself. One of the recurring themes I see, especially in several of the articles from larger medial outlets, is a negative slant towards Apple’s current position. Despite their incredible stock performance and profitability, the emergence of new sources of revenue in wearables and services, and the coming release of a sure-fire hit in the next iPhone, the “what’s wrong with Apple” storyline is as reliable as the taxman coming to collect lately.
Apple news has been fast and furious the last two weeks, but this week things seem to have gone into neutral. There is no shortage of WWDC Keynote predictions, and there are the obligatory “Apple is Doomed!!!!” articles, as usual this time of year. I will have none of that here, so I will keep it brief this week and stick to actual news.
Apple’s WWDC Keynote is a little over a week away, and the rumors and stories regarding upcoming devices are coming fast and furious. Apple is also actively hiring and working on some exciting new technologies that we will see in future devices. Let’s jump right into some of the best news of the last week.
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing the filmmaker behind a crowdfunded documentary project covering the history of and enduring community still dedicated to the Apple Newton platform. Noah Leon’s project is called Love Notes to Newton, and it is currently being funded through a campaign on Indiegogo, which you can find here.