MacLife April 2019

I thoroughly enjoy making Mac|Life every month, but the only downside is the amount of time between me pressing the print button on deadline to the magazine landing in your hands. It’s a long wait. As a result, occasionally the things we write about aren’t quite as relevant as they were when we put pen to paper, so to speak. Case in point: this month would have been an ideal time to talk about the recent CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, but that was back in January, and although it still is as I write this, for you it’ll now be early March. So, the extensive CES feature that I was planning just wouldn’t make quite as much sense, so instead we’re focusing on some of the interesting tech…

WORD IS, 8K is about to take off. That, at least, is according to television manufacturers and “industry leaders.” At CES 2019 in Las Vegas in January, one of the world’s biggest consumer electronics shows, 8K TVs such as Samsung’s 98Q900 and Sony’s Z9G wowed the crowds and grabbed the headlines. Then again, both are massive 98–inch screens, so they’re hard to miss. To put it simply, 8K is the next–generation hi–def TV standard. Compared to 4K, it boasts double the number of pixels horizontally (around 8,000, hence 8K) and double the number vertically — 7,680 x 4,320, to be precise. Do the math and this means 33 million pixels, four times the pixel count of 4K, or 16 times that of HD. That’s why 8K promises even larger screens, as…

APPLE DID NOT have an official presence at CES 2019, but it nevertheless made a splash with the announcement that the latest TVs from leading manufacturers will have AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support built–in (beginning later this year). These include new 8K and 4K models from Vizio and Sony, including the Sony Z9G Series, A9G Series, and X950G Series TVs. There’s also LG’s Signature OLED TV R, a 65–inch 4K HDR unit that rolls up and down from a cabinet with built–in speakers and ports. It has Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support. Sony’s TVs are based on the Android TV platform, raising the prospect of users having a choice between Google Cast and AirPlay. AirPlay 2 enables streaming of videos, music, and photos direct…

IN EUROPE, IMPLEMENTATION of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) caused headaches for businesses and confusion for citizens. But the idea of protection for personal data was popular. In October, Tim Cook, speaking in Brussels, floated the idea of a US equivalent, stating: “We at Apple are in full support of a comprehensive federal privacy law.” Cook’s theme, reflecting Apple’s aversion to the exploitation of personal data, was that users’ data was being traded for profit without benefit to them. It’s not a position that seemed calculated to win friends in big data, but when Time published an op–ed in January reiterating Cook’s views, data broking giant Acxiom backed his call for legislation. This hints at one reason why giant incumbents may welcome regulation: compliance burdens can pull up the ladder on…

LAST ISSUE, I talked about a piece of Apple design I loathe. This time, I want to readdress the balance by talking about one that I think deserves more kudos than it gets, and not for the obvious reasons. Well, actually it is for the reasons of obviousness. As AirPods have become more popular, I’ve heard more and more people to whom I’ve recommended them say that they wouldn’t want to wear them because they’d feel that they look silly. Which I get — imagine a queue of people with them on, and you’re basically envisioning a scene from the first 10 minutes of a Doctor Who or Black Mirror episode. But the more I think about it, the more strange this opinion seems, even though it has also been my…

1 DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Handheld video gets even smoother with the second edition of drone maker DJI’s lightweight three–axis gimbal, much cheaper at only $139 and with tripled 15–hour battery life. Works with any iPhone, landscape or portrait. 2 HyperDrive Wireless Charger Hub Launching on Kickstarter for March–April delivery, this will retail later for $159. Designed for MacBooks, it can charge compatible iPhones and adds in 4K HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, SD card reader, and USB–A ports alongside standard USB–C. 3 Speck Case–E iPads are great for kids, until they fumble them onto a tile floor. For $40, Case–E not only provides six–foot drop protection but easy–to–grip gooseneck arms. A tie is supplied for car seat headrests. Fits recent mid–sized models. 4 Otter + Pop PopSockets attach your iPhone to many accessories. OtterBox cases protect it from…