Sir Apfelot newsreel week 19, 2023

Oh, another week is coming to an end. Then I'll sit down at a new Sir Apfelot newsreel. This time you will find out which Apple and tech news I noticed in calendar week 19 of the year 2023. Among other things, these reports are included: E-Ink display without its own power supply, IKEA office chair causes monitor problems, former Apple employee presents AI wearable, the 25th birthday of the iMac G3, current rumors iOS 17, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro and Apple Watch Series 9, interesting concepts for Apple systems, report on returns fraud in online retail and more!  

The Sir Apfelot newsreel as a podcast

If you like podcasts, you can also listen to the current newsreel. Lynne and Jens present you the latest blog posts as well as the individual news from the newsreel - they add their own experiences and opinions to the mix. You can access the podcast with these links:

• Sir Apfelot Podcast on Let's Cast
• Sir Apfelot Podcast at Apple Podcasts
• Sir Apfelot Podcast on Spotify
• Sir Apfelot Podcast on Amazon Music

E-ink display that works without a power supply

Screens with e-ink, i.e. a monochrome display that only consumes a small amount of power to change images, are an interesting topic. Anyone who uses an e-book reader, for example, will already have had experience with it. But price tags in supermarkets are sometimes provided with digital prices and information based on this technology. At heise online there was this week IDEA a model that does not require a power supply, but draws the energy for changing the picture from a wireless NFC connection. So the image change z. B. via smartphone. The areas of application are limited, but the concept is still exciting. By the way, there is more about e-ink on the YouTube channel “Technology Connections” (highly recommended!) – here and here.

Peridot - Niantic releases next AR hit for the walk

Niantic was able to make a name for itself a few years ago with the Pokémon GO app. And with Pikmin Bloom, a popular Nintendo video game series has also been transformed into a successful app for the walk. Niantic has now released a new AR app that is independent of Nintendo. This is called Peridot and brings you virtual pets called “Dots” to your smartphone (iOS App Store). The new twist on the well-known Tamagotchi concept occupied the media this week, such as the iPhone ticker (German) or MacRumors (English). Incidentally, another video game implementation for augmented reality on smartphones has been announced for autumn 2023: Monster Hunter. Anyone who wants to take part in the beta test of "Monster Hunter Now" can register sign up for it here.

Technology in 2023: Your office chair is not compatible with your monitor

An Entry from t3n we can confidently put this week in the categories "Found objects" or "Curious". Because it's about the IKEA office chair Markus (greetings to Lynne and Jens, the IKEA topics aren't getting any fewer!). Due to static electricity, this can cause some monitors to go out briefly or show other errors. In t3n one refers to one Mastodon thread by Felix Haecker. He concludes with the observation: "Welcome to 2023 – Your Ikea “MARKUS” chair is not compatible with your screen“. Incidentally, grounding the chair is suggested as a solution to the electrostatic discharges and associated monitor problems (details about it in the ComputerBase forum).

Apple issues: iCloud sign-in, Mail, Weather, and Payments

In addition to renewed errors in the weather app on various Apple devices, there were also failures in other services this week. So it was temporarily not possible for some users to log into the iCloud account. There were also problems with Apple Mail here and there. The Apple system status At the time the newsreel went to press, however, it shows all services as “Available” and states that all problems have been resolved. If you continue to experience slow-response Apple services or login problems in the future, then take a look at the system status. Errors and faults are actually always noted there quite promptly.

According to former Apple employees, AI wearables are set to replace smartphones

"Screenless", "Seamless" and "Sensing" are the three buzzwords with which the AI ​​wearable from Humane Inc a recent TED talk was presented. Behind the technology and the company are Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno. Chaudhri has worked at Apple for over 20 years and has worked on many devices from the Mac to the iPad to the Apple Watch. Bongiorno was responsible for the software engineering of iOS and macOS and was involved in the iPad launch. The device newly developed by the two should be able to be attached to clothing, answer questions, translate statements, recognize hand gestures and objects and learn more and more about individual use and accommodate it. To be honest, I miss a lot of accessibility features and feel more reminded of the film "The Circle" or the series "Black Mirror".

The 25th birthday of the first Apple iMac

The 3 iMac G1998 has become an iconic piece of computing history through its design and evolution. Not only did Steve Jobs, who had returned to Apple at the time, bring the company back onto the scene of computer-interested people. The "i" used to this day for many products was also introduced as the beginning of the name. According to the Keynote, on which the iMac was first introduced, it not only stands for "Internet", but also for "Individual", "Instruct", "Inform" and "Inspire". The all-in-one computer with stereo speakers, CD drive and network connections, as well as a colorful and transparent housing, was extremely different from the standardized PC blocks of the late 1990s. The first iMac is now 25 years old – there are reviews at heise online (German) and Macworld (English).

By the way: Apple history is also hidden in macOS is coming! Here I have listed the individual Easter Eggs.

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 17, iPhone 16 Pro and Apple Watch Series 9 rumors

At the beginning of June, i.e. in less than a month, the Apple WWDC23 instead of. Accordingly, rumors and assumptions about new operating systems and future devices are currently spreading Cupertino. Here are just a few of this week's rumours:

• With iOS 17, the iPhone should be able to display Apple maps and the navigation implemented with them on the lock screen. Date, time and widgets should remain placed above and notifications should be superimposed. However, this could be mere conjecture. (Which)
• The Apple Watch Series 9 is said to have a SoC based on a revised A15 chip. The current Series 8 has an S8 chip; the A15 comes z. B. in iPhone 13 / iPhone 13 Pro and in the Apple TV 4K from 2022 for use. So there would be a significant performance leap for the Apple Watch with this hardware upgrade. (Which)
• The iPhone 15 Pro Max will be the only one of the 2023 models of the Apple smartphone to have a periscope camera. This should result in an optical zoom of up to 6x for the most expensive iPhone of this year. (Which)
• iPhone again: the displays of the Pro models of the coming year, i.e. the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, are to be larger. In addition to a larger device overall, even thinner or omitting edges could also help here. The display diagonals should then amount to 6,3 inches or 6,9 inches. (Which)

Concepts that are conceivable but do not have "rumor" status

Also this week there were some interesting concepts that Apple should look at when designing its operating systems. The first comes from the Basic Apple Guy (the one with the van Gogh wallpapers), which takes on a former iOS feature: the landscape home screen. Not only app icons, but also widgets could be better displayed in landscape mode. The Dynamic Island and multitasking have also been thought of. Check it out with this link

Speaking of Dynamic Island: this could also be introduced on the Mac at some point. While the notch replacement only makes sense on the MacBook and iMac, all Mac models could be given a "Dynamic Dock". This concept was this week z. B. from 9to5Mac in one detailed contribution picked up. One refers to one Tweet by Janum Trivedi, which features a demo of the technique. Demonstrating chat viewing from the Messages app, media controls from the Music app, and download progress from Safari - all on the dock.

Refund scam: Ctrl_F shows the background of the return fraud

Returns in online trading - this is a topic that is also associated with fraud and rip-offs in various ways (my research on this here and here). In addition to fake offers, where you can allegedly buy returned goods, there are also people who order products that are regularly offered online and then take advantage of the return process for themselves. Behind it are different approaches, meshes and an entire business. The editors of the Strg_F report format were able to capture part of this and talk to an active returns scammer. You can find the video here and embedded below:

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.