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Connected

258: Technically iOS 13

 

00:00:00   (upbeat music)

00:00:02   - Hello and welcome to Connected, episode 258.

00:00:12   It is made possible by our sponsors,

00:00:15   Eero, Hello, and DoorDash.

00:00:17   I am Stephen Hackett and I am joined for the first time

00:00:19   in a long time by Mr. Federico Vittucci.

00:00:23   - Hello, hi.

00:00:24   - Welcome back.

00:00:25   - This is not the bot speaking, this is actually me.

00:00:29   You heard that, huh?

00:00:30   That's really caught on.

00:00:31   [LAUGHS]

00:00:32   Isn't that what a bot would say?

00:00:35   Yeah, that's true.

00:00:36   He's become self-aware.

00:00:37   Well, that's up to you to decide.

00:00:40   Maybe I mastered the artificial intelligence of my replicant.

00:00:46   Wow.

00:00:47   And that's who you're doing a podcast with.

00:00:49   Who knows?

00:00:50   Maybe.

00:00:50   Whatever works for you, man.

00:00:52   Yeah.

00:00:53   And Myke Hurley is here as well.

00:00:55   Hello.

00:00:56   I'm in a cupboard.

00:00:58   Explain.

00:00:59   Uh, so I'm still in San Francisco, California.

00:01:01   I'm leaving this evening.

00:01:03   And the hotel room that I'm in is very echoey.

00:01:07   So I have recorded two shows so far from inside of a wardrobe where the mini bar is.

00:01:14   There's like a mini bar and like a clothes...

00:01:16   Are you drinking right now?

00:01:17   No, no, no.

00:01:18   Okay.

00:01:19   That's like a whole other thing.

00:01:20   I'll get to that in a minute.

00:01:22   So I'm in a very small room.

00:01:25   I will send you both a picture of me in the small room.

00:01:29   It's like it is a wardrobe, it has the mini bar and the safe in it.

00:01:33   And I am using the ironing board as a desk.

00:01:37   It's good.

00:01:38   It's a life hack.

00:01:40   There's no desk obviously because it's a wardrobe, why would they put a desk in it?

00:01:44   So that's where I am.

00:01:46   But the problem was I was recording before this, so I thought "oh I know what I'll do.

00:01:52   I will use my very powerful external battery pack to power my MacBook Pro.

00:01:57   But the MacBook Pro would not accept that it would start the charge

00:02:02   and the charger just stop again,

00:02:03   even though it should be powerful enough to do it.

00:02:05   But I don't know why that's not working.

00:02:07   Stephen said sometimes it doesn't work. I don't know why.

00:02:09   So now I have my laptop.

00:02:12   There's no obviously there's no power in the cupboard. Right.

00:02:14   So now my laptop is outside the cupboard being powered.

00:02:20   and I am inside with my iPad getting real work done.

00:02:23   There's probably power behind that mini fridge somewhere,

00:02:26   but you don't want to unplug that or they'll charge you for the whole thing.

00:02:28   You should have unplugged the mini fridge.

00:02:30   I had to turn off the mini fridge because I was you make a noise.

00:02:33   And it looks like that the power is built in behind the wall.

00:02:37   Probably to stop me from unplugging it,

00:02:41   because the cable from the mini fridge goes into the wall

00:02:44   and I'm not going to start trying to break the wall down just to get power.

00:02:48   should have ripped off the cable off the wall. You should have done that. I don't know what

00:02:52   is going to cover that for you ripping. No, I don't think that's true. Ripping the cable.

00:02:56   I don't know why that would help me in any way. How is that? I can't like just take the

00:02:59   cable from the fridge. Oh, for it'll make you feel better. What? But who am I spiking?

00:03:07   Nobody. You know, but anyway, I also have, I don't know. I have limited beverages here.

00:03:12   I have a very small amount of water because that's just where I am in my life. So maybe

00:03:16   Maybe at some point in the episode I'll break into the minibar.

00:03:19   There is water in there is what I'm saying.

00:03:21   But we'll see how that goes.

00:03:23   We can check in for frequent updates on my minibar situation if you want.

00:03:27   Yeah, I'm taking a look at the picture right now.

00:03:30   Don't touch those peanuts or you're gonna die.

00:03:31   Alright, good, good.

00:03:32   I'll get my hand out of the peanut jar so that's good news.

00:03:35   Mmhmm, mmhmm.

00:03:36   Everything else should be fine.

00:03:38   I see potato chips.

00:03:40   Nice.

00:03:41   Okay.

00:03:42   I'm sure it's look...

00:03:43   Would you like some prices?

00:03:44   Please.

00:03:45   So, uh, the, what would you like to know? The price of the chips?

00:03:50   Yeah, and the M&M's maybe. What are the M&M's?

00:03:52   The M&M's are $14.

00:03:54   Oh, that seems like a lot.

00:03:57   It's a lot for M&M's. I'm trying to- Oh, the kettle chips are $5. That is an expensive bag of chips.

00:04:03   The water that I may need, um, where is that on this list?

00:04:08   Uh, $8. That's a very expensive bottle of water.

00:04:12   Which is not cold anymore either, which I feel like I should have to complain about.

00:04:18   Because someone turned it off.

00:04:19   There's a can of blue bottle coffee in here.

00:04:21   And a bottle of Casanoble tequila.

00:04:24   We'll see where the episode goes.

00:04:26   Just don't eat while on the show because it's disgusting.

00:04:31   Never do that. Otherwise you should be fine.

00:04:33   Yeah I know you get very upset about that. I never eat on shows but I wouldn't do that to you.

00:04:37   Please, please. I know.

00:04:39   Now I really want to but I'm not going to.

00:04:41   Do you get upset when people eat on phone calls or is it just podcasts?

00:04:45   No, I get upset with all kinds of eating noises on any kind of audio transmission.

00:04:52   Ah, so audio transmission only. Okay.

00:04:55   Well, in real life I can manage it better, but for example Sylvia has a real problem,

00:04:59   whereas in real life if somebody makes any weird mouth noises while eating, she gets

00:05:06   super itchy and like it's she can't stand it my main problem is just audio I

00:05:12   just think it's disgusting it's like the opposite of a say a SMR like it's

00:05:17   something that makes me want to die inside I would love you to actually

00:05:27   share how you really feel the which would be good because I feel like I don't

00:05:30   fully understand how you really feel yeah just tell us like exactly how

00:05:34   you're feeling about this? It is Sonic Torture for me. That's a very good band name.

00:05:42   It's a promising name for a band. Moving on, we have been reporting in every once in a while on

00:05:53   our beta statuses. We're going to talk about iOS 13.1 here in a few minutes, but I have boarded

00:06:01   the beta train on my MacBook Pro. It is running Catalina natively with all my stuff on it.

00:06:07   And just today I put my iPhone on the iOS 13 beta. So I'm living that sweet, sweet beta

00:06:13   life now Federico and everything except my iMac Pro, which will remain a Mojave for the

00:06:18   foreseeable future. So why did you put it on your phone? I wanted to so some of the

00:06:24   stuff I'm thinking about writing about is sort of cross platform. And if like the iPad

00:06:29   me most of that but I don't use my iPad as a daily device like y'all do so I kind of

00:06:33   want to experience it on the phone so wow okay the shade I get it okay yeah it upgraded

00:06:41   really easily and everything seems fine it's not even hot so hopefully it's it's okay we

00:06:46   have a little bit of follow up from our family feud episode which was last week episode 257

00:06:52   if somehow you haven't heard that yet you should go check it out it was a whole lot

00:06:55   of fun. We had a lot of questions about video of the show. And so there the venue did record

00:07:02   video of the event. I have not gotten the video yet. But if that ever materializes or

00:07:08   when it materializes, we will share it far and wide so you can watch the two hour event.

00:07:14   It think it is helpful. Like you can totally keep up with it and audio but I think the

00:07:17   video will add a an extra element of joy if you enjoyed it. So we'll we'll be sure to

00:07:23   to mention that here if that gets done and gets on YouTube, but we didn't want to promise

00:07:27   it beforehand because I wasn't sure and it seems like it all got recorded.

00:07:32   Also during that show, Myke's first podcast appearance, which was on Dignation in 1976,

00:07:40   that was brought up and I had requested that people send me a photo, if they could find

00:07:45   it, of Myke on that show.

00:07:47   It was in my mentions within minutes of me saying it on stage.

00:07:51   I had Twitter open on my laptop just to make sure you know if the livestream died or something and

00:07:55   All of a sudden these pictures started

00:07:58   Pouring in so that is a link in the show notes, and if you haven't seen this picture you really should

00:08:03   This is not Myke right. This is really you

00:08:07   That's me

00:08:09   That's me wow that is actually me yeah

00:08:12   It's in the show notes. That is me. That's what I look like about a beard and longer hair. Well. You were like 12

00:08:18   I was I don't know

00:08:20   18 maybe 17 18 probably something around that time well there is a so the way

00:08:28   that this person found it so Ryber found it it's kind of cheating right and I

00:08:32   knew that this would happen this came up years ago on the pen addict so you'll

00:08:37   see that the the poet the image the droplet link is 2016 see that's dated

00:08:41   it's 2016 because I uploaded that photo so if you are a pan addict listening you

00:08:48   know that this was there so all you had to do was search the show notes. I wondered if

00:08:51   that was how anyone was going to pick it up and that was how it was picked up is my assumption.

00:08:56   But there you go. There's a treat for people.

00:08:58   So if you want to set that as your iPhone wallpaper, let me know.

00:09:01   I of course have many more photos of myself from this time because who doesn't have pictures

00:09:07   of themselves, especially when they were that age and Myspace existed. I'm considering maybe

00:09:12   unearthing some of these pictures for our St. Jude fundraiser but we'll see about that.

00:09:17   Let's talk about that. I would like to talk about that. September is National Childhood

00:09:23   Cancer Awareness Month, and listeners will know we've raised money for St. Jude Children's

00:09:28   Research Hospital for years now. I've got a son who's a patient there, and thanks to their

00:09:33   hard work and amazing technology and science, he is doing really well. But every year, we work in

00:09:39   September to raise money for the hospital, and we're doing it on an all-new scale this year.

00:09:44   Relay FM is St. Jude's first official podcast partnership, which is really cool. We're really

00:09:50   excited about that. And you can go to stjude.org/connected to learn more and to donate.

00:09:57   And this money goes to funding the hospital, so patients and their families never receive a dime

00:10:04   for any care they receive at St. Jude. We've been there for a decade, and it means a whole lot that

00:10:09   the people around the world support this mission, support this work, so go check it out.

00:10:13   stjou.org/connected.

00:10:14   We're going to be talking about this a bunch over the next couple of weeks, but please

00:10:19   go and give some money now.

00:10:21   We have already raised over $9,000 to our $75,000 goal, so thank you to everybody that's

00:10:27   done that after hearing us talk about it for the first time last week.

00:10:31   But we have a lot of exciting things coming throughout September that's going to help

00:10:34   us get to the goal that we want to reach.

00:10:36   We should also mention just briefly August is the end of Relay's membership drive and

00:10:42   our membership special will be coming out September 9th.

00:10:44   We're a little bit behind just because there's so much travel.

00:10:47   But Federico, do you want to tell the audience what we'll be doing on our membership special?

00:10:52   Well I was informed, actually I am being forced into watching what essentially amounts to

00:10:59   to a homemade movie of a so-called "actor" about Steve Jobs. So this is the Michael Fassbender

00:11:20   portraits, if it can be called as such, of Steve Jobs. It's the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.

00:11:30   I have no idea how and why Aaron Sorkin lent his talents to this really amateur production

00:11:40   featuring an actor that nobody knows about. Still, I'm guessing that they stole the screenplay

00:11:45   maybe. I don't know. Um, we're going to watch that movie. We're going to share our impressions

00:11:50   of that movie. Um, and it's going to be a member, a member special and you can expect

00:11:55   all kinds of hot takes from me and about the movie. And because I already watched it once

00:12:03   in Italian, but I want you to get an English. Um, wait, you've seen it. I've seen the movie

00:12:08   was on TV last year and I think I saw, I sent you guys even a photo of, you know, the photo

00:12:14   of the TV and I was like "Hey, look at the actor guy!"

00:12:18   I don't remember you having seen that.

00:12:20   So I'm gonna watch it again in English on my Apple TV and we're gonna talk about it.

00:12:25   Especially I guess we're gonna compare it to the Pirates of the Silicon Valley, which

00:12:28   we did last year I think, as the member special episode.

00:12:33   So we continue our tradition of Steve Jobs movies with a... it's just called Steve Jobs,

00:12:41   one I think there's no subtitle of course because it's an amateur production so yeah.

00:12:47   I believe that it was rumored that Steven you will be attempting to fact check this

00:12:52   movie. Was that rumored? I believe that was your suggestion or I suggested it upon you

00:12:57   but I would like you to do your best to fact check this movie. Yeah and so there's a link

00:13:02   to it to the IMDb page in the show notes. It is I could not find it on Netflix but it

00:13:06   is available for like four dollars on Amazon Prime Video. I think it'd be fun if you're

00:13:11   relay if you remember to watch it in advance so you can have it in your in

00:13:15   your mind as we go through and talk about it we're not liable for any

00:13:18   damage you do to your television set while watching it though I'm gonna buy

00:13:21   it on iTunes just because I think that's funnier oh I am too might as well give

00:13:25   him the money my first impression if I remember correctly is that while I

00:13:29   watched the movie in Italian I wish that Seth Rogen played Steve Jobs instead of

00:13:34   Fassbender so we'll see how it goes on my second watch I think we need to dig

00:13:38   into that but we haven't got the time right now. We'll talk about that in our member special.

00:13:43   Because I can't fathom this.

00:13:45   Seth Rogen should have been Steve Jobs. That's all.

00:13:48   Then who would have played Woz? And it just carries... Please,

00:13:51   Steven, take us to a break. We can't do this now.

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00:15:38   and relay FM. Alright, Federico, you have a tweet up where you've continued to modify

00:15:43   your iPad, your iPad situation. So what have you done this time?

00:15:49   Put more stickers on top of the smart key portfolio. This is for my 12.9 inch iPad Pro.

00:15:55   I bought these stickers from Amazon and they're probably illegal in the sense that I'm not

00:16:02   sure if the original artists for these illustrations and brands are getting paid.

00:16:10   But you know, they were available on Amazon for like three euros.

00:16:14   That's Amazon's problem, that's not your problem.

00:16:16   You know, sometimes you gotta put the morals aside and just be part of capitalism.

00:16:21   And that's what I did for these stickers.

00:16:24   So I put more stickers in and I bought an additional set of kickstands. These are the

00:16:29   Spigen metal kickstands that we, much to Myke's entertainment, we talked about a few months

00:16:35   ago. I sent Myke some pictures and then I did an article about them. They are originally

00:16:41   intended as smartphone kickstands, but I sort of, you know, inspired by a fellow Mac Stories

00:16:49   reader who disappeared in the void of Twitter. He never texted me or brought to me again.

00:16:56   Somebody inspired me to do this months ago and I kept doing it. So initially I only used

00:17:02   two kickstands to enable a software keyboard typing mode. So fold the keyboard, the physical

00:17:10   keyboard under the cover but use the kickstands to create an angle. So you could use the iPad

00:17:16   in Touch Typing mode. I recently realized that if I put two additional kickstands

00:17:24   on the opposite end of the cover, I could create a movie watching mode. So let the iPad stand upright

00:17:34   and use the keyboard essentially as a base for the entire thing. Both of these modes are

00:17:41   enabled are possible with the Smart Folio. So not the Smart Keyboard Folio, the regular Smart Folio

00:17:49   without the keyboard. The keyboard version doesn't allow this because it doesn't fold,

00:17:53   it doesn't have the same origami system of the Smart Folio. So with the kickstands,

00:17:57   I can sort of replicate that experience. And now I have a movie mode that I can use, you know,

00:18:03   when I want to watch some YouTube embed with the big iPad Pro, I can just put the iPad Pro

00:18:09   essentially on my chest, you know, because I'm lying in bed and make it stand upright with the

00:18:14   kickstands and watch some video. I've also tried playing video games with the DualShock controller

00:18:20   connected to the iPad Pro in this mode and it works really well. So I think I'm done with the

00:18:25   modding for now and I actually quite like the results. I have a concern about your iPad. Okay.

00:18:33   What has happened to the USB-C port?

00:18:35   Yes, I was just going to ask this.

00:18:38   It's all worn away.

00:18:39   I know. I have no idea.

00:18:41   I don't do anything particular to that USB-C port.

00:18:45   I just plug and unplug cables.

00:18:47   Maybe the problem is the cables that I use.

00:18:49   Maybe they create too much friction against the side,

00:18:54   the edge of the iPad and that discoloration.

00:18:56   I have no idea.

00:18:58   Are you using any of those dongles or anything like the hyperdrive?

00:19:02   You're not using anything like that?

00:19:04   - No, no, I only test them every once in a while,

00:19:08   but I don't usually attach them.

00:19:10   I think it must be one of the cables that I have

00:19:13   that maybe, you know.

00:19:15   - I mean, are you like rubbing it around?

00:19:17   So this picture, you have a space gray iPad Pro,

00:19:21   and the space gray anodization is like rubbed off,

00:19:25   and you can see silver.

00:19:27   - But it's not just around the USB-C connector,

00:19:29   there's also like below it in a line.

00:19:31   Yeah, are you just like rubbing around?

00:19:34   I'm zooming and enhancing right now on these images.

00:19:40   I don't understand what's happened.

00:19:41   I find it very surprising the amount of people that were extremely concerned about this.

00:19:50   I don't particularly care about, you know, having my devices look used.

00:19:57   It's electronics that are meant to be used, they're meant to be handled.

00:20:01   I don't have a problem with it. Like I'm not disappointed at you. I'm just intrigued, right?

00:20:05   Because like I have two space gray iPads and don't have this like so I just wonder like what

00:20:09   is it that's doing? No, I don't know. My pad silver, but it's smooth. I don't have any roughness

00:20:15   around it. I mean, it's I don't know. It's strange. It just caught my eye. I agree with you.

00:20:18   These things should be used and like, look, I can't judge anybody for damaging an Apple product. How

00:20:23   many iPhones have I been through in the course of the show? But yeah, it just caught my eye. That's

00:20:27   all. No, I get it. I think because of this, and even if only because I actually prefer

00:20:33   the look now that I have one, my next iPad Pro is probably gonna be silver. I have the

00:20:39   11" iPad Pro is a silver one, and I think I prefer the look of the edges. As time has

00:20:45   gone on, I think I prefer that to the space grey. So my next one, probably not gonna be

00:20:51   space grey. But I don't particularly care about the, you know, that problem right there

00:20:56   in the photo. But yeah, I have no idea. Maybe it's the way that I put it in my bag or maybe

00:21:03   I have no idea. I don't rub anything against the iPad really. I don't play with the connector

00:21:10   in any way. It just, I don't know. Maybe it's one of the cables that I use that has like

00:21:17   the top edge is rubbing against the iPad in a weird way. I don't know.

00:21:22   I have a theory. Federico, what does the other side look like?

00:21:25   Is that is it worn away on the other side?

00:21:27   No, because I'm wondering if it's your rings.

00:21:30   I'm looking now.

00:21:31   Is it jewelry that's doing it?

00:21:33   Oh, it could be. Yeah, totally. Right.

00:21:36   Because you have those big chunky rings that you use

00:21:40   that you walk around town with so you can make your mark in things.

00:21:42   And the way you hold your iPad, I bet you hold it just there.

00:21:45   And I bet that's what I bet is rubbing against it.

00:21:47   I'm a detective. The right detective season four features me.

00:21:50   and the right side is where I got a salmon slide over. So that totally makes sense that I would

00:22:01   bump my fingers with the rings on the right side and that's what caused the problem. I think you

00:22:07   got it. Did it. Wow. Did it. That's amazing work, Myke. It's really good. Thank you. Thank you. I

00:22:12   had to go into my mind palace to get that one. Just while we're talking about silver versus

00:22:17   of space gray. I think I'm kind of over space gray as a product color. Like, my laptop is

00:22:23   silver. My iPad is silver. And I really like it. Like I like the crisp kind of look. And

00:22:29   this sort of thing doesn't happen where if you if you get nicks and dings and stuff,

00:22:33   you don't you don't get silver shining through. I'm I'm I'm in the camp of doing silver on

00:22:39   Apple products, not not space gray.

00:22:40   I think this is one of those things of like, it's like a what you're used to, right? Like

00:22:44   you use space gray for a long time. So now you're like silver seems new and nice again. Right? Like,

00:22:49   because I see whenever I see like silver iPads, I'm like, Oh, man, I forgot about that. So I can

00:22:54   understand what you're coming from. But you had one for eight years, right? Like before space gray

00:22:57   was an option. Yeah. But I'm a professional. So I have to use space gray. Oh, yeah, it's true.

00:23:02   Up next in our snot tiny topic. It's topic 0.5 Mario Kart tour coming on September 25. What's

00:23:11   What's this about, Myke?

00:23:12   Federica, did they change the name of this?

00:23:15   I'm sure it was like Mario Kart World Tour or something like that, but Mario Kart Tour

00:23:19   is a smartphone game.

00:23:22   It's going to be on iOS and Android, but it seems like it might be coming out on iOS first.

00:23:26   You can preorder it now.

00:23:28   It is in essence what everybody thought that has been thinking about this.

00:23:32   It's not going to be Mario Kart like you know it.

00:23:35   It is going to be a smartphone interpretation of Mario Kart.

00:23:38   So a portrait game where you're basically using your finger or your thumb to swipe left

00:23:43   and right to kind of control the cart.

00:23:46   You're going forward and you're moving left and right to control the cart.

00:23:51   It looks okay.

00:23:52   I mean it's going to be full of microtransactions and stuff like that would be my expectation.

00:23:58   And so if you didn't think that this game was going to be that, I love you but you were

00:24:04   way too hopeful.

00:24:06   So we're very unhappy with the money made from Super Mario Go run and that was a pay

00:24:15   out, you know, like you got like a few levels and you paid for it.

00:24:18   They're not going to do that again.

00:24:19   So this game is going to be full of in-app purchases.

00:24:21   And let me tell you, I want to give you a breakdown of the available in-app purchases.

00:24:25   We have rubies at three times, three times, ten times, twenty three times, forty eight

00:24:31   times, seventy five and times one hundred and thirty five.

00:24:34   they are varying prices from $1.99 to $38.99.

00:24:37   There are two things called Gold Pass, which is $4.99

00:24:41   and something called Special Offer, which is $19.99.

00:24:44   So it seems like maybe buying tracks

00:24:47   and buying rubies to give you life's or like lives or like other things.

00:24:52   The game is free to start with in-app purchase available is what it says.

00:24:56   So there's going to be a ton of things that you can buy

00:24:59   and it's going to be a bunch of different micro transaction mechanics.

00:25:02   and I'm sure that's just the way it's going to be.

00:25:05   It looks like from the screenshots that you need like different points

00:25:08   to unlock different cards.

00:25:10   It's going to be like a in-app purchase festival over there on Mario Kart Tour.

00:25:15   But I bet it's going to be really nice

00:25:16   and it's going to be a nice little simple game to play.

00:25:19   There is another Nintendo game that came out recently,

00:25:21   didn't really make much of a splash and I actually have not played it,

00:25:25   which is Dr. Mario.

00:25:27   Have you played the Dr. Mario iOS game, Federico?

00:25:29   No, I haven't. No.

00:25:31   Never been a fan, really.

00:25:32   Uh, yeah, Dr. Mario isn't my jam, which is why I didn't play it.

00:25:37   And I tried downloading it and I opened it and it's like,

00:25:39   "You're not connected to the internet."

00:25:41   And I was just like, "Oh, go away. Go away, Nintendo."

00:25:43   And that's like puzzle games, right? Like it's...

00:25:45   Yes, it's closer to Tetris than anything else.

00:25:47   OK.

00:25:48   But yeah, Mario Kart Tour is one that I will be checking out

00:25:51   because I tend to like these kinds of games anyway, right?

00:25:54   Looks like a simple, quick iOS game.

00:25:56   And we'll see.

00:25:58   We'll just see just how in-app purchase-y it is.

00:26:01   I enjoyed the comments of some Apple observers that I had that I follow on Twitter.

00:26:06   There are other sometimes pop up in my timeline of why isn't Nintendo making actual,

00:26:12   you know, paid up front iOS games?

00:26:14   Well, guess why? Because they have a console and that's, you know,

00:26:18   they're using iOS games for what they're good at so far to drive sales

00:26:22   of the real games on the Nintendo Switch, which is selling and going really well.

00:26:27   If they put real Mario Kart for $5 on the App Store, how are they going to sell Mario

00:26:32   Kart for $40 on a Nintendo Switch, where they get all the money, rather than having to hand

00:26:37   over some to Apple?

00:26:38   Are we surprised this isn't being held for Apple Arcade?

00:26:41   I would expect Nintendo still think they can make more money than it purchased than they

00:26:45   can with Apple Arcade.

00:26:46   Hmm.

00:26:47   Okay.

00:26:48   Plus, this game is not going to be exclusive, and Apple want that.

00:26:54   Right.

00:26:55   Okay.

00:26:56   So.

00:26:57   holding phone news again for some reason.

00:26:59   - Yeah. (laughs)

00:27:01   As expected, the Huawei Mate 10 has officially been delayed.

00:27:04   So--

00:27:05   - Oh, what a shocker.

00:27:06   - Huawei has said there is no possibility

00:27:08   of a September launch date,

00:27:09   but they are certain it will launch by the end of the year.

00:27:12   We're at the end of August

00:27:14   and we still don't have a defined date.

00:27:16   It would seem about when the Galaxy Fold is coming out,

00:27:19   but Samsung have said September, so, you know.

00:27:24   - Soon.

00:27:24   - It's gonna be a big episode when that one thing,

00:27:26   when that thing finally comes out.

00:27:28   So I'm excited still, but who knows?

00:27:30   - You said the perfect thing about the Galaxy Fold,

00:27:33   that everyone you know will want to see it.

00:27:35   And that is how I feel about it.

00:27:37   I want to see it, I want to fold it a few times,

00:27:39   I want to hand it back to you.

00:27:40   So I'm looking forward to that interaction.

00:27:42   - There's a pre-registration page in China,

00:27:44   but I can't really do anything about that right now.

00:27:46   - All right, we're gonna talk about iOS 13.1,

00:27:50   the beta that surprised, I think, just about everybody.

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00:30:09   All right, Federico, walk us through the last 24 hours

00:30:12   of iOS 13 and now 13.1.

00:30:15   Oh, God. Well, so we were all expecting to see iOS 13 Beta 9 yesterday, or sometimes this week.

00:30:30   Instead, Apple surprised us and before iOS 13 is even out, they have released the first Beta of iOS

00:30:40   13.1. So the next major point update to iOS 13 is already in testing with developers and now with

00:30:48   the public because the public beta is also out and iOS 13.0, the basic version, also still in beta.

00:30:56   But we're not sure what's gonna happen in the sense that speculation right now suggests that

00:31:03   Apple needed to finalize iOS 13.0 in order to install it on the new iPhones

00:31:11   that are supposedly right now currently in production in China for release in September.

00:31:17   So iOS 13 is pretty much done. It's pretty much, you know, whatever beta 8 or

00:31:24   a slightly updated version of beta 8 that Apple has

00:31:29   That's been wrapped up, that's done, and it's gonna be installed on the new iPhones, and it's gonna be released to the public as iOS 13.

00:31:37   The problem is that some of the features that Apple promised as part of the iOS 13 fall update

00:31:44   were removed from iOS 13 beta a few weeks ago,

00:31:49   namely audio sharing with AirPods,

00:31:52   automations in shortcuts,

00:31:54   conversional shortcuts,

00:31:58   basically the ability to interact back and forth with the shortcut using Siri,

00:32:03   and a bunch of other features that were removed and we were all expecting them to come back

00:32:09   eventually in iOS 13 Beta 9 or Beta 10 or whatever, and instead have been rolled into iOS 13.1.

00:32:19   So those features are coming back, but they're coming back in iOS 13.1. We don't know

00:32:26   when iOS 13.1 will launch to the public. So, in looking at previous trends and previous patterns,

00:32:34   we know that, for example, last year iOS 12.1, which also contained new emoji,

00:32:40   launched at the end of October, and I think it was pre-installed on the new iPad Pros.

00:32:46   Now, does Apple want to release iOS 13.1 at the end of October? A full month, probably even more,

00:32:56   45 days or something after the theoretical release of iOS 13. I guess we're all expecting iOS 13 to

00:33:04   launch on or around September 16th. Does Apple want to wait a month and a half to push this update?

00:33:13   Can it come out earlier than that maybe? We don't know. So if you guys allow me, I prepared a list

00:33:19   of all the features that I spotted in iOS 13.1, and I guess we can have a conversation about

00:33:26   these features as well as my plans for the iOS review, because this whole thing is forcing me

00:33:32   to change my plans. We're going to talk about that. So the features that have been pushed to

00:33:38   iOS 13.1 are the ability to share an ETA using maps. This was removed from 13, now in 13.1.

00:33:49   Shortcuts automations have come back. They are available in 13.1. The ability to run shortcuts

00:33:56   inside the Home app. So as part of HomeKit automations you can now run shortcut actions.

00:34:03   Conversational shortcuts, as I mentioned, the ability to interact with shortcuts actions inside

00:34:11   Siri. So things like choose from list or ask for input or even parameters from third-party actions.

00:34:18   in shortcuts. Those are now exclusive to 13.1. If you try and do the same in iOS 13, the

00:34:26   shortcuts app will open instead, as in iOS 12. Audio sharing with AirPods coming back

00:34:34   in 13.1. And then there's new features. Oh, and also I think I spotted the new gesture

00:34:43   to select multiple items in a table view.

00:34:46   So for example, messages in mail or notes in the Notes app.

00:34:51   In theory, you should be able to do that

00:34:53   by just swiping on them with two fingers.

00:34:56   So put two fingers on the screen, swipe down or up,

00:35:00   and you select multiple items instead of having to edit

00:35:03   and then select them.

00:35:05   In 13.1, this gesture behaves as Apple promised

00:35:09   in that you can just put two fingers down

00:35:12   and select the items.

00:35:14   In 13 Beta 8, you still need to tap the Edit button first,

00:35:22   and then swipe with two fingers to select.

00:35:25   So that gesture is a little smoother, a little more

00:35:28   intuitive in 13.1.

00:35:30   There is also new features that are not part of iOS 13,

00:35:34   but that will be part of iOS 13.1,

00:35:36   at least in the first beta.

00:35:38   There's new icons for HomeKit accessories,

00:35:42   new animations for HomeKit accessories,

00:35:44   which look really nice.

00:35:46   You can create an SSH key in shortcuts.

00:35:50   So if you wanna connect to a server,

00:35:52   you don't wanna use a password,

00:35:54   you can now create a key using RSA and that other method,

00:35:59   EA something, I don't remember the full name.

00:36:01   And also there's a new, so you know the new volume indicator,

00:36:06   the new volume slider in iOS 13,

00:36:09   that's still gonna ship.

00:36:10   - It's nice. - It's very nice.

00:36:11   - Thank goodness they got something in.

00:36:13   - Still gonna ship, still gonna ship in 13.

00:36:15   But in 13.1, you're gonna get

00:36:19   sort of a multiple custom flavors,

00:36:22   depending on the accessory

00:36:23   that you're controlling the volume for.

00:36:25   So when you change the volume on the AirPods,

00:36:28   the slider is gonna have an AirPods icon.

00:36:31   When you change the volume on the HomePod,

00:36:33   it's gonna have a HomePod icon.

00:36:35   There's custom icons for different types of Beats headphones.

00:36:39   Looks really nice.

00:36:40   And that's about pretty much everything

00:36:43   that I found in 13.1.

00:36:45   - I have so many questions, Federico.

00:36:47   So many questions.

00:36:49   - Okay.

00:36:50   - So you said I was 13.

00:36:52   You believe, you know, dev beta eight,

00:36:53   I think it's public beta seven.

00:36:55   That feels like what I was 13.0 was going to be.

00:36:59   Clearly Apple had to move the goalpost

00:37:00   to get that done, right?

00:37:02   So I guess our assumption is that 13

00:37:07   is required for the new phones,

00:37:09   that whatever new stuff is required for these new phones

00:37:13   in a couple weeks, they can't backport that to 12,

00:37:15   and they wanna launch with a new version number,

00:37:17   as they've always done.

00:37:19   That all makes sense to me,

00:37:21   but it does raise questions in my mind about,

00:37:24   maybe did Apple bite off more than it could chew

00:37:26   in this release, or, as I say, something about

00:37:29   the speed of Apple's software development cycle?

00:37:32   What is, in your mind, what's the big lesson here

00:37:36   in them splitting so much stuff out of 13

00:37:39   and pushing it down the road a little bit?

00:37:41   Because they've done this before, right?

00:37:42   So like, Group FaceTime is an example.

00:37:45   iMessage in the cloud was an example,

00:37:47   I think the year before that.

00:37:49   Big headline features, they got pushed to a later release.

00:37:52   They've done this before, but it seems like

00:37:54   almost anything good in 13 is not actually

00:37:58   going to be in 13, it'll be in 13.1.

00:38:00   I don't know, what do you walk away thinking about?

00:38:03   Thinking about that?

00:38:04   - I guess that for the things that I can say,

00:38:11   because there's conversations going on, right?

00:38:14   You know, when you have friends that work at Apple,

00:38:18   you sort of, you try and gain

00:38:21   some of the background knowledge.

00:38:23   So there are things that I wouldn't want to repeat

00:38:28   the show, but my general sense is that it is part of that, it is as you say sort of,

00:38:36   you know, Apple over promised a little for some features that clearly needed more time.

00:38:43   For example the Maps ETA or the Shortcase Automations and all that kind of stuff. I

00:38:48   think it's sort of a sign of how sometimes, you know, when managers make decisions and

00:38:57   they don't have a clear sense, maybe, of all the ramifications that the decisions have

00:39:02   in terms of shipping features on time. And I think maybe someday we'll be able to talk

00:39:11   about how some of these features are, you know, the main problem was a lack of communication

00:39:17   between teams at Apple. And the reason why maybe, you know, maybe some actions got removed

00:39:24   from shortcuts, because maybe the communication between the different teams involved prevented

00:39:30   that, prevented those actions from shipping. I think what I walk away with is that, you

00:39:38   know, having a plan, a solid plan for which features to ship on time continues to be an

00:39:45   exercise for Apple. They're not perfect at this. I think they, you know, compared to

00:39:50   last year where some features got pushed back to 12.4 if I'm not mistaken or 12.3. I think

00:40:01   we, you know, I think, you know, having most of them, if not all of them come back by the

00:40:06   first point update, I think that's a good sign. So maybe Apple didn't plan exactly right,

00:40:12   but they still overall did better than the iOS 12 cycle. And I want to see...

00:40:19   They were closer to the mark.

00:40:21   They were closer than last year.

00:40:23   And I want to see...

00:40:25   I get the sense that 13.1 may come sooner than 12.1 did.

00:40:33   I have a feeling that we won't have to wait 45 days for it to ship after 13 does.

00:40:41   But is that a week?

00:40:43   Is that two weeks?

00:40:45   I don't think it's going to be a day one patch, as some people are calling it.

00:40:49   So the day one patch, this is a common term in the video game industry where a video game

00:40:54   maker has to submit a version of the game for approval purposes and to get it printed

00:41:00   on discs or stuff like that.

00:41:02   But then they have already started working on the first patch of the game.

00:41:07   So as soon as you put the disc in, you're required to go through a day one patch, because

00:41:14   the physical version that you have requires an update that has already been released digitally

00:41:20   through servers. And the idea here would be that, in the case of Apple, we don't have

00:41:25   physical disks, but we have physical phones. And those phones may have an outdated version

00:41:30   of iOS 13. I don't think Apple has the time to ship a day one patch, especially because

00:41:35   they... And it wouldn't make sense to do it as 13.1

00:41:38   anyway. Exactly.

00:41:39   It would just be 13. Exactly. So, I think we're going to have to

00:41:43   but maybe not as long as in previous years.

00:41:46   Though, right now that's just my interpretation of things that I hear,

00:41:50   you know, through the air, through birds, and we'll see how it goes.

00:41:57   But I feel optimistic, even though this whole thing basically...

00:42:02   I don't want to say destroyed my plans, but it was quite a day yesterday.

00:42:08   yesterday. But this 13 itself, the 13 like beta 8 or whatever that I don't even know if anybody

00:42:14   can even beta test anymore because 13.1 seems to have just like swallowed up the dev channel.

00:42:20   Does that feel, has that felt like it was in a releasable state before the 13.1 beta?

00:42:30   It is in a releasable state, but it's not as good as 12.0, I think.

00:42:40   Which, you know, part of the problem for me right now is having to revise some of the

00:42:48   impressions that I shared in, for example, the performance section of my review that I already

00:42:58   wrote because now I'm dealing with a version that is not out yet and I was

00:43:04   under the assumption that things would still get better before the final

00:43:07   release and I think one of the big features that we didn't mention and one

00:43:12   of the reasons that also Apple was able to sort of pull back from new features

00:43:18   and release 13 in this state is they have completely reversed the new file

00:43:26   format of iCloud Drive. Early in the iOS 13 beta cycle they upgraded iCloud Drive

00:43:34   to a new format. They actually changed the path in the file system for the

00:43:41   application document folders and that change allowed for at least two features

00:43:48   that Apple promised as coming to files. The ability to pin a file so that it

00:43:55   would always stay cached on your device, downloaded offline.

00:44:00   And the second major feature, shared folders.

00:44:04   So collaborative folders in iCloud Drive.

00:44:07   But because Apple had to reverse and go back

00:44:10   to the older iCloud Drive format,

00:44:13   those features have been pulled.

00:44:15   They're still not part of iOS 13.1.

00:44:19   And that, I would say, is where Apple really, I think,

00:44:25   messed up their timeline.

00:44:26   Because all those other features,

00:44:27   you know, the shortcuts automations,

00:44:29   maps ETA, audio sharing, conversational shortcuts,

00:44:33   even though it is, you know,

00:44:35   it's not ideal that they were promised

00:44:37   as coming with the first version,

00:44:39   they're still coming within a relatively short timeframe,

00:44:42   I would say.

00:44:43   But the files changes.

00:44:45   The fact that they're not in 13.1 Beta 1

00:44:49   makes me suspicious of the fact

00:44:52   that maybe we'll have to wait longer,

00:44:54   if not until next year, which that would be bad.

00:44:57   Shared folders and pinning files in iCloud Drive,

00:45:04   those were highly anticipated features,

00:45:06   especially the shared folders.

00:45:08   And it would be bad for Apple

00:45:12   having to wait until iOS 14 in 2020.

00:45:16   - Yeah, that would be sad, sad for everybody.

00:45:19   One thing, you mentioned this,

00:45:21   but I kinda wanna rewind this for a second.

00:45:23   the idea of the day one patch,

00:45:27   Apple does have to put some software on these phones

00:45:31   that are in factories, right?

00:45:32   And if this phone is gonna ship in three weeks,

00:45:35   like we think it's going to,

00:45:37   the cutoff for a beta isn't when the phone ends up

00:45:40   at your doorstep, it's when the phones are done in a factory.

00:45:45   And so Apple's deadline for iOS 13, I don't know when it is,

00:45:48   I'd imagine it's soon if it hasn't,

00:45:51   maybe that was a factor in getting this ready. So I tend to agree with you, I think we will

00:45:56   see 13.1 pretty quickly, probably not on day one, but I would imagine, within, you know,

00:46:02   the first seven to 10 days, maybe we see we see this roll out. It's weird, but I guess

00:46:09   Apple would prefer to do this over shipping something that's like really buggy on brand

00:46:15   new phones, right? Like they don't they don't want to do that. And if they're stuck with

00:46:20   not being able to use 12, this is maybe their only option.

00:46:23   And I'm sure that was a difficult decision to make, but probably the right one in the long run.

00:46:29   So what is this doing to your review then?

00:46:31   Are you going to are you pulling out the 13.1 features for review or are you going to be including those because it is like technically iOS 13 anyway?

00:46:43   I will be including them.

00:46:44   My current plan is to launch is to publish the review.

00:46:49   the day that iOS 13.0 comes out, but still cover features coming to 13.1.

00:46:58   Maybe not to the same extent as the features actually available that day in 13, but still

00:47:06   cover them and talk about them, because I feel like they were part of the original iOS 13 plan,

00:47:15   And again, I get the sense that they will be coming back sooner

00:47:19   rather than later. So I think it makes sense for me to cover them. It does

00:47:23   add, all of this though adds a layer of complication to the review that I did

00:47:29   not foresee. So as I mentioned, I will have

00:47:34   to explain upfront, for example, how the review was primarily written and

00:47:40   tested while using iOS 13.0 beta, but towards the end of the process I upgraded to 13.1.

00:47:49   I will have to explain how that is still in beta, how that is still not out, and I will have to

00:47:55   explain the small differences between iOS 13.0 and iOS 13.1 and find a clear way to communicate

00:48:05   "this is what you're getting today, this is what you're getting for example in two weeks."

00:48:10   Let me give you an example. On the iPad, in Apple Music, in 13, the now playing screen

00:48:19   opens as a floating panel at the side of the music app. It looks like a floating panel,

00:48:27   it's detached from the top edge, it's detached from the bottom edge of the screen, but it

00:48:33   It doesn't actually let you grab it and move it across the screen.

00:48:39   It's fixing position.

00:48:40   It's weird.

00:48:41   It looks like a floating panel, but it doesn't actually float.

00:48:45   In 13.1, they have changed the design slightly so that it doesn't look like a floating panel

00:48:51   anymore.

00:48:52   It's completely attached to the bottom section of the toolbar.

00:48:58   And this is a small difference, but it's something that I gotta explain.

00:49:02   the people reading my review will probably have 13.0 on the day that 13 comes out.

00:49:09   And on that version, that floating panel looks weird, but I already know that it's gonna look not weird as much

00:49:17   when 13.1 comes out. So there's a lot of consideration that I gotta go through, you know, all the difference that I find.

00:49:24   I'm keeping a list in reminders right now, and try and have mentions of things like,

00:49:30   "Oh, by the way, in a month, or if Apple gives me a release date, I expect...

00:49:36   I would like them to share a 13.1 release date at the iPhone event, if possible,

00:49:42   but I will be able to say things like, on September 30th or whatever,

00:49:47   with the 13.1 update, this feature will look different."

00:49:51   So, I was not expecting to do this, and of course, in the shortcuts section,

00:49:58   I will cover conversational shortcuts, I will cover automations, but I need to be mindful of

00:50:05   how many examples do I want to share for something that is technically not out yet, and most people

00:50:12   will not be able to use it because they don't want to install the beta, but it's still important to

00:50:17   talk about because it's part of a bigger story around iOS 13. So that, of course, the fact that

00:50:24   that I'm running behind schedule doesn't help,

00:50:27   but it's something that, you know, it'll get done,

00:50:30   as always.

00:50:31   - I think that's the right way to handle it,

00:50:33   because other than this time gap, however long it is,

00:50:37   13.0 and 13.1, those details are gonna be lost to time,

00:50:41   right, if someone's reading this in six months or a year,

00:50:45   - Right.

00:50:45   - Then it doesn't really matter.

00:50:48   - Which is probably gonna take them that long to read it,

00:50:52   because it's not small.

00:50:55   - That's true.

00:50:56   And so I think the balance of sorting out 13.0 and 13.1,

00:51:01   it's important, but I don't think it's something

00:51:06   that you should totally destroy

00:51:08   the next several weeks of your life over either.

00:51:11   - Which is gonna happen anyway, but still.

00:51:13   - True, sure.

00:51:15   We know you.

00:51:15   - Yeah, I mean, I just wanna warn listeners

00:51:21   in that you may recall when I was younger and innocent two months ago, really, I thought that

00:51:29   I thought that my review would be the shortest one I've ever made. Well, let me tell you,

00:51:36   having two operating systems in the same review doesn't make it shorter, it makes it double

00:51:47   what it usually is. Uh oh, this is news. Wait a second. What's happening? It happened that

00:51:58   I thought, you know, there's so much overlap between iOS and iPadOS, I can write a small

00:52:05   review, you know, I can make it smaller than in previous years, shorter, more compact.

00:52:13   I'm happy that I think I was able to move away from the technical language and the technical

00:52:21   jargon and all the API discussion as much as possible.

00:52:25   There's very, very little API talk or framework talk in this review.

00:52:31   It is very conversational.

00:52:33   It's based on experience.

00:52:36   It's on the same style of my "Beyond the Tablets" story from May.

00:52:41   there are just so many changes in iOS 13 and iPadOS that I completely misunderstood the

00:52:52   scope of the story. And this will be the most extensive, longest review I've ever done,

00:53:03   by far. Oh, it's going to be the biggest thing I've ever done, really. It is, it is, it's,

00:53:14   it's massive. But, and, and this is considering how the Mac stories team is helping me with

00:53:22   all those stories that we've been publishing on Mac stories. We needed them because I will

00:53:27   not be able to cover those features in my review. So, Sitecar, Maps, Sign-In with Apple,

00:53:34   those features are not covered in the review. Still, it's the longest, you know, deepest,

00:53:42   and I think hopefully best one that I've done to date, I'm really happy with what I'm doing

00:53:47   so far, but it's a lot of work and I'm still writing some chapters. I'm very happy with

00:53:57   the fact that I decided to save the shortcuts chapter for last. Imagine if I had to write

00:54:05   the whole thing when automations were not available and I thought that 13.0 was gonna

00:54:11   be the only version shipping. I'm gonna finish the shortcuts chapter this week and there's

00:54:16   a, you know, at that point there will be the grab bag chapter and the conclusion left to

00:54:22   do. So I'm shooting for middle of next week to finish writing everything. I'm

00:54:32   already editing the review, of course, and I'm getting some excellent help from

00:54:37   from Ryan, obviously, like every year. So I'm writing a day editing at night, but

00:54:45   But the whole thing is just massive, and I switched text editors.

00:54:54   Yesterday I moved from drafts to IA writer, because I need to speed up the process of

00:55:01   collecting screenshots and including screenshots in the review.

00:55:05   So I'm using the same method that I used back in May for the Beyond the Tablet story.

00:55:12   There's gonna be of course, you know, fancy videos and animations.

00:55:16   We're working on some, actually some visual changes for the review itself.

00:55:21   New formatting tools, new elements.

00:55:24   Because you just can't stop yourself, can you?

00:55:28   You can't stop yourself from doing that every year.

00:55:31   Every year you say "Nah, I'm not gonna do any of that" and then there you go, doing

00:55:35   it again.

00:55:36   But I'm really, I'm pushing myself maybe a little too much right now.

00:55:42   but also I don't want to complain too much because I love doing this. I am stressed.

00:55:47   It's a weird, you know, I have a weird combination of feelings right now. I am incredibly stressed

00:55:52   and tired, but I also love what I'm doing. So it's, you know, it's like I'm punishing

00:55:58   myself, but I also love doing that with text. Not with anything else. So yeah, 13.1, big

00:56:10   change. I will have to revise the things that I say in certain places. But I think it's

00:56:17   doable. And I think it's the right call to include it. We'll see.

00:56:21   All right, we're going to talk about Apple's changes to the Siri privacy framework. I don't

00:56:29   know the Siri privacy stuff. We're gonna talk about that. After I tell you about our third

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00:58:01   Okay, we need to talk about a story we missed the first part of the story has been a couple

00:58:06   of weeks since we've had a regular episode. But at the end of July, the Guardian reported

00:58:12   that Apple was employing contractors to listen to audio samples from failed Siri interactions. So

00:58:20   what was going on is Siri. Apple was recording Siri conversations, so it would have audio from

00:58:28   individuals, including when Siri was falsely triggered. And contacts were listening to those

00:58:34   and comparing them with computer generated transcripts to understand

00:58:37   what was happening with Siri, why it was misfiring or why it was misunderstanding.

00:58:43   Users were not alerted to this, it was on for everyone. Apple said data about the user's names,

00:58:50   locations, Apple ID, etc. were not part of the review. But the Guardian, if you read that

00:58:55   original article, people were listening some pretty, you know, private things. And it's not

00:59:00   great. The company at the time commented that it was a very small random subset of these things,

00:59:07   less than 1% of daily Siri activations were used for grading, typically only a few seconds long,

00:59:14   we now know an Apple's press release today, which we're gonna talk about, it's actually

00:59:17   point 2% of interaction. So a very small number. But if you think about how many times I can't

00:59:22   even imagine how many times Siri must be activated today that that is a whole lot of audio being

00:59:28   shared with contractors. And so this has kind of been in the news after this story came out,

00:59:36   Apple said that it was pausing the Siri grading program until it could figure out what it needed

00:59:43   to do. And today Apple is back with changes they say they're making to this program. And I think

00:59:52   I think I'm going to run through these real quick and then we can kind of talk about what

00:59:54   we think.

00:59:56   So first coming in a future software update, users will opt in to this program and the

01:00:05   default will be that Apple no longer retains audio recordings of Siri interaction.

01:00:10   So if you do nothing, after this future update, they didn't clarify what that would be if

01:00:14   it'd be Catalina and I was 13.

01:00:16   If we'll get a point update some point down the road, whatever it is after that update

01:00:20   is out. If you do nothing, Apple will not keep audio recordings of your Siri interactions.

01:00:26   However, you can opt in to them keeping those those audio train those audio files. However,

01:00:34   Apple will continue to use computer generated transcripts to help Siri improve that cannot

01:00:40   be opted out of if you use Siri. Those interactions could become computer generated transcripts

01:00:46   for use later by the company. Apple has also moved this from a contractor service to in house

01:00:55   employees that cost some 300 contractors their jobs in Ireland, which is not great. Maybe there

01:01:02   was a way Apple could have hired some of those folks. Maybe they did, but still a lot of people

01:01:06   out of work, which is never a good thing. But it's it's in house now. And this this is like a gateway

01:01:12   to a bigger conversation I don't really want to have today. But Casey Newton of the Verge has been

01:01:17   doing some really great reporting on Facebook, and how their content moderation team very often are

01:01:22   made of a contractors and they're not employees, they don't get benefits. And that's a practice

01:01:27   across Silicon Valley that is pretty gross. And I think I think everyone should change. But again,

01:01:31   we're going to leave that today. So you're opting for audio recordings, computer generated transcripts

01:01:37   will still be on for everybody. And the grading process will will be suspended until this update

01:01:45   is out and users start to opt in. So they're not turning this back on the way it was, they're going

01:01:50   to be using the the new system. So there's a bunch of links in the show notes about this the original

01:01:56   reporting, a reporting today, Apple's press release a k base article about what Siri grading actually

01:02:03   is because look, you know, we all know that all the voice assistants but maybe Siri in particular,

01:02:08   it struggles sometimes and they're using this real world data to improve it. I understand that need,

01:02:13   but I think Apple went too far in what they were doing to improve it. And I'm curious what you guys

01:02:18   think about this. Myke, what about you? Well, I mean, they got caught with the table between

01:02:22   their legs, like the original very, very original comment that Apple gave to the Guardian, they were

01:02:27   kind of like, yeah, no worries, like, we're just gonna keep doing it. It's not a problem.

01:02:31   and then it started to get kind of like a storm started to get kicked up really

01:02:36   and then they have had to backtrack over this in multiple ways right like then they were giving

01:02:42   additional statements then they said they were going to stop it and now they've basically

01:02:46   apologized and they're going to change it they're doing the right thing like i have no you know like

01:02:51   the the uh computer generated transcripts that is a bit better and i'm i'm intrigued to see how

01:02:58   they're actually used right because like that's just like a thing where like okay but if all the

01:03:04   text is gonna go is it any different um so i'm intrigued to see how they're gonna use that i

01:03:08   find that to be peculiar that it can't be opted out of right that like yeah there's always gonna

01:03:14   be some element of my speech sent to apple if i use siri i don't think that i have to give them

01:03:21   that. I don't think that I need to be responsible for making their software better. I don't

01:03:28   know why I as a customer or every single customer must give their information to make software

01:03:35   better. That just seems like a strange thing to me. But this is at least better than what

01:03:40   they were doing. Do you know, Stephen, how those computer-generated transcripts are used?

01:03:48   Does it say if they're going to be given to people to look at?

01:03:52   Yes, so the grading will continue with the opt-in audio if you decide to do that, but

01:03:59   also these automatically generated transcripts.

01:04:02   So they will go to now employees, not contractors, in the Siri grading process.

01:04:09   And I feel the way you feel about this, like I don't love it.

01:04:12   You know, the Guardian article, if you go and read it, you know, it says these interviewees

01:04:18   that the Guardian had, so that people can listen to intimate moments in someone's house

01:04:23   and that sort of thing.

01:04:25   That sort of thing on a transcript is maybe less impactful, but I think that there should

01:04:31   be a way for people to understand what actually is being sent.

01:04:38   And I don't know how you do that.

01:04:39   So from the knowledge base, it says computer-generated transcripts are used to improve Siri and its

01:04:43   reliability.

01:04:44   transcripts are used in machine learning training to improve Siri, determine common usage patterns

01:04:48   and update language and understanding models. The transcripts may also be used to resolve

01:04:53   critical problems that affect Siri reliability. By default, Apple will no longer retain audio,

01:04:58   blah blah blah, computer generated transcripts of your audio requests may be used to improve.

01:05:02   These transcriptions are associated with a random identifier, not your Apple ID, for

01:05:05   up to 6 months. If you do not want transcripts of your Siri audio recordings to be retained,

01:05:09   you can disable Siri and dictation in settings.

01:05:13   Some of the basics of this are not changing, but they are making parts of it better, right?

01:05:18   Like the fact that it's not going to be contracted, so maybe they can do more about the way that

01:05:23   things will be shared.

01:05:24   They're clarifying a little bit more about maybe loosening some of the ways that they

01:05:31   were, some of the information they were assigning, because the Guardian story made it seem like

01:05:35   they were assigning way more than just this random identifier.

01:05:38   And it does, Apple's not being, you know, they're not saying what else they're keeping.

01:05:43   But it is just like a, you know, if a machine is reading this information and it's getting

01:05:48   better and then that's it, I'm fine with it.

01:05:50   But there is still a part of me that's like, yeah, but like, do I have to be your test

01:05:55   case?

01:05:56   Right.

01:05:57   And I know how this stuff works, but it's still a little bit like, oh, so now I can't

01:06:02   use Siri if I don't want to do that, which is still a strange thing.

01:06:06   But they are at least tightening up a lot of the other problems that I had around this,

01:06:10   Apple were really kind of defensive initially and they have now

01:06:13   Done they have now made changes that are more in line with their typical stance around privacy

01:06:19   Which the original case was that was not at all. Yeah, I mean Apple just blew this right like

01:06:25   same thing caught between their tail between their legs like is is an understatement they they

01:06:31   they say they get to this in their press release, but

01:06:35   Apple says it has a certain standard and that this program

01:06:40   didn't live up to that.

01:06:42   And I think it's much closer to that now.

01:06:45   But yeah, this bit about the transcripts, I think,

01:06:47   deserves more explanation.

01:06:49   And maybe even some examples from Apple of like,

01:06:53   this is what these sorts of things look like.

01:06:57   Because without that, it's just like up to our imagination

01:07:00   what they're capturing, right?

01:07:01   And then that, I think, is something

01:07:04   they still need to tidy up a little bit.

01:07:06   Federico, you live in a house full of HomePods.

01:07:10   Has this made you reconsider your use of Siri,

01:07:13   or are you still comfortable with it?

01:07:16   - There's an answer that I would like to give,

01:07:18   but it's not a good answer for a public podcast.

01:07:23   I'm trying to frame it in a way

01:07:26   that doesn't make me sound like an idiot.

01:07:29   I know that I should, right, get upset about it,

01:07:33   but it's just, I think Apple is doing the right thing here,

01:07:38   And I think it was, you know, I don't know if it was a scandal or not, but I think I'm

01:07:46   happy that they were called out on it, and I'm happy that they're making changes.

01:07:52   I just didn't get upset about it, because I didn't have the time to get upset about

01:07:56   it.

01:07:57   I just...

01:07:58   It happened while I was on vacation, and I just...

01:08:03   My gut reaction was, "Yeah, whatever, this will get fixed."

01:08:07   I don't particularly worry about the fact that somebody listened to my queries because

01:08:16   I know how I use my HomePods, right?

01:08:20   I know that I use them to play music and save reminders and stuff like that.

01:08:28   I don't send messages with Siri because my accent is terrible for sending messages with

01:08:35   with Siri, it doesn't pick up most of the words correctly. Yeah, exactly. See, Siri

01:08:42   just activated on my HomePod. Right, and that's the problem. For me, my problem was never

01:08:49   sharing with Siri what I'm asking, like sharing of Apple what I'm asking Siri. It was how

01:08:55   many times my HomePod is collecting information that I never knew it was collecting, because

01:09:01   I didn't ask it. Right, right. And I get it, and I get it, and you're totally right.

01:09:05   And I know that this is how any belief of privacy dies.

01:09:10   It dies when people just stop caring about it.

01:09:13   I'm just saying that in another period of the year,

01:09:18   I would have gotten upset about it.

01:09:22   I didn't because it was the summer.

01:09:23   - It's okay to have priorities.

01:09:25   Like it's perfectly fine.

01:09:26   - And I just, no, I feel bad because I feel like

01:09:29   there's an expectation when you're, you know,

01:09:32   to some degree, a public figure figure commenting on technology. In this case,

01:09:36   Apple, it is sort of your responsibility to do,

01:09:40   we talked about this before,

01:09:41   to have an opinion to have a stance on something that happens.

01:09:45   But if you just ask me personally as Federico, did, were you concerned?

01:09:50   I wasn't because I was on vacation and that is my completely honest answer.

01:09:55   My professional answer is it was upsetting and I'm glad that Apple is fixing it.

01:10:01   it seems like they're doing all they're supposed to do.

01:10:04   Maybe they should be doing more.

01:10:06   And I'm curious to see, you know,

01:10:09   from a design standpoint,

01:10:11   what the permission will actually look like.

01:10:14   Will they be displayed during setup?

01:10:17   Will they be communicated clearly?

01:10:19   Just like today's press release,

01:10:21   an FAQ is communicated very clearly.

01:10:24   It's written in plain English.

01:10:28   It reads like something that Steve Jobs would write.

01:10:32   I remember how Steve Jobs used to communicate

01:10:36   with those public open letters on apple.com,

01:10:39   used to communicate things very clearly in plain English.

01:10:42   And this letter, this apology is in that style.

01:10:46   It's explained very concisely.

01:10:49   So I think Apple is doing the right thing here.

01:10:51   I want to see what it'll look like in settings,

01:10:53   what it'll look like in setup.

01:10:55   Will it be hidden so that most people

01:10:57   will not find the option. I don't know. But personally speaking, I wasn't even on podcasts.

01:11:06   I was on vacation. I didn't write about it on Mac stories. I wasn't particularly concerned

01:11:10   because it happened at the wrongest time for me in the summer. But if it happened, say,

01:11:20   in March, I would have been all over this. But sometimes you got priorities and sometimes

01:11:25   Sometimes you're at the beach and you don't have time to worry about digital assistant

01:11:30   privacy and that's my honest answer.

01:11:33   All right, I think that does it for this week.

01:11:36   If you want to find links to the stuff we talked about, they're on the web, relay.fm/connected/258

01:11:43   or in your podcast app of choice.

01:11:46   While you're at our website, you can do a couple of things.

01:11:49   You can send us an email with feedback or follow up and then there's links also to our

01:11:53   Twitter profiles.

01:11:54   You can follow Myke on Twitter as @imyke.

01:11:58   Myke is the host of many shows here on Relay FM, so you can go check those out.

01:12:03   Federico who is back, he's on Twitter @evitici, the editor-in-chief of maxstories.net.

01:12:10   The future home of the iOS 13 review.

01:12:14   If you're bored this evening, go read the iOS 10 review.

01:12:16   It's still out there.

01:12:17   Go learn about iOS 10.

01:12:18   You've really got to go far back there.

01:12:20   12 would have been fine.

01:12:23   I was wondering what was the first one?

01:12:25   8?

01:12:26   9.

01:12:27   9?

01:12:28   Yeah, go read the iOS 9 review and see how far we've come.

01:12:31   You can follow me on Twitter as ism8 and I write at 512pixels.net.

01:12:35   I'd like our sponsors, Eero, Hello, and DoorDash.

01:12:39   Until next time gentlemen, say goodbye.

01:12:41   Arrivederci.

01:12:42   Go to stjude.org/connected.

01:12:43   Bye bye.

01:12:44   Adios.

01:12:44   Bye-bye. Adios.