0:00:00[Music]
0:00:06From Relay FM this is Connected episode 122 our 2016 Year In Review. This episode is brought to
0:00:15you by Smile. My name is Myke Hurley and I am joined by Federico Vittucci. Hi Federico.
0:00:20Hello Myke.
0:00:20And Steven Hackett. Welcome to the show.
0:00:22Hey Myke.
0:00:24We have a big show today. This is one of my favourite shows of the year where
0:00:28We take a look, I think we took a look back mostly at the things that we have spoken about
0:00:34on this show throughout the year of 2016 and we're going to go through them month by month
0:00:39in a kind of round robin style and talk about the stories and talk about if they are really
0:00:47worth thinking about now, right?
0:00:49Now it's just like whatever and maybe see how some things have changed and grown over
0:00:54the years.
0:00:55as you would expect, we're gonna start with January.
0:00:58Now January saw the launch of a really weird
0:01:02Apple application called Music Memos, which I had completely forgotten about
0:01:07until I saw it in this document. What even was Music Memos?
0:01:11Or is, I guess, it's still alive, I don't know.
0:01:14Are we sure that was 2016? It feels like a lifetime ago, really.
0:01:18Music Memos was a lifetime ago, yeah. We've all aged a lot.
0:01:22Is it still around? Is it really still around?
0:01:24Apple.com/music-memos still exists.
0:01:28- Oh really?
0:01:29- Yeah.
0:01:30- Oh really?
0:01:30- It's a top level page.
0:01:31- There's a webpage, wow.
0:01:32- Yeah, it's got--
0:01:33- I mean the Mac Pro has a webpage.
0:01:35- Oh, dear.
0:01:36- So it has aperture on it, right?
0:01:37- I think they fixed that.
0:01:39- What, can anyone remember what music memo was?
0:01:44I don't know what it is.
0:01:45- Yeah, so you would sit down as a singer, songwriter,
0:01:49coffee shop hipster, and you could play guitar or sing,
0:01:52or I think it would do piano and stuff.
0:01:55Oh no, I looked at the website the other night.
0:01:56And you could record into that.
0:01:58I think the idea was a lot of musicians
0:02:00use voice memos for this stuff.
0:02:01But music memos, if you played guitar,
0:02:04it would try to match the chords
0:02:06and it would put in like an intelligent drummer
0:02:08or a bassist and help you sort of take your raw idea
0:02:12and fill it out a little bit.
0:02:14And then you could export that to GarageBand
0:02:16or save it and do a bunch of stuff.
0:02:17So I'm like you guys, I didn't realize this was in 2016.
0:02:21and I remember downloading it and playing with it but I'm not a musician so I was like
0:02:26"Oh well this is cool, I'm glad that it exists, it's a very Apple app to build
0:02:31but I don't know what the adoption is like or what the usage is like anymore."
0:02:36Well it did receive three updates since it came out and the last one was in October.
0:02:42I think it's very cool, I still don't believe it has replaced the notes app for musicians
0:02:50musicians and like I follow a couple of, actually not a couple, maybe a couple of
0:02:55dozen really, artists on Twitter and I see screenshots of notes all the time.
0:03:00I don't think it has, you know, Music Memos has to replace the popularity, you know,
0:03:05of notes, the default app. I think it's a great idea. It's one of those experiments.
0:03:10It reminds me of, and I think we made this comment when it came out, reminds me
0:03:14of the cards app, you know, or the iPhone.
0:03:18- I miss that thing, man, especially in the holiday season.
0:03:19- Yeah, me too, me too.
0:03:20It was a really clever, you know, single purpose idea,
0:03:23but I don't know why this to me look like intern projects.
0:03:28Like sometimes they see the light of day.
0:03:31- No, you know what, I don't think that's a bad thing.
0:03:33I don't think like, I get what you're saying.
0:03:35It's not in quality, it's like in why does this exist?
0:03:38Like it's somebody's little project.
0:03:40- Yes. - Yeah, it's gotta be.
0:03:42Like I can't imagine that like, you know, at the top level of the iOS software team,
0:03:46they're like, we don't want to update GarageBand.
0:03:49We have to make music memos.
0:03:51Like I can't imagine that that's what occurred.
0:03:53It just seems strange.
0:03:54It just feels like maybe somebody's little 20% time project or something.
0:03:58And it was good enough that they're like, no, let's, let's throw our weight behind
0:04:02this and actually make it as a real thing.
0:04:04Yeah.
0:04:05Also in January, we saw the preview of iOS 9.3.
0:04:10So this showed off a night shift
0:04:13and the iPad and education changes.
0:04:16This was, I think, the first time
0:04:18that Apple has ever done something like this.
0:04:20It was like a big preview.
0:04:21They've not done it since, right?
0:04:23There's not been anything since.
0:04:25Now, January's close.
0:04:27Maybe we're gonna see the 10.3 preview, fingers crossed.
0:04:32Or maybe we'll wait for that until the spring,
0:04:34but that was a big surprise.
0:04:36And there are a couple of things this year
0:04:37where Apple kind of broke out of their normal cycle with dealing with, you know,
0:04:42announcements where not everything was done on stage. Sometimes there were just
0:04:46pages put up on Apple.com or there were press releases or interviews given about
0:04:50new initiatives that Apple was working on and the 9.3 preview was one of those.
0:04:57Yeah and it's interesting to think about if Apple is gonna do 10.3 next month.
0:05:03I think we're going to see with some iPad features,
0:05:08I just wonder if there's going to be these big changes
0:05:12coming to, let's say, iPad multitasking, for example,
0:05:15and developers need to adapt.
0:05:17There's going to be some kind of reveal with betas
0:05:22and new developer SDKs,
0:05:25and it just seems a little odd to me that Apple would
0:05:28introduce these big changes without an event.
0:05:31But then again there's iPads supposedly coming in March or April.
0:05:37The rumors that we've spoken about seem to suggest that the software is not going to be front and center.
0:05:41Like this is going to be a really exciting hardware announcement for the iPad.
0:05:46Like if the rumors are true and it's like this basically bezel-less 10.9 engine and 9.7 body,
0:05:53like you don't need the software to tell that story. The hardware tells that story.
0:05:58You don't need to. It would just be a little strange but I guess okay to have this big...
0:06:04Imagine if Split View for example in iOS 9 was not announced at WWDC with a proper event
0:06:10but instead with a press release and a webpage. That's what I'm thinking about.
0:06:14This is like... It's weird within the current ways that things are done but I guess our hope is that
0:06:20that breaks and WWDC is never the iPad thing, it's much. So it's like every six months. That's the hope.
0:06:26So I have my fingers crossed for a 10.3 announcement in January.
0:06:32That allows developers and everybody to get prepared for the spring release of new iPad
0:06:37hardware. So we'll see. Federico, what happened in February?
0:06:40Well, the big story from February was Apple versus the FBI in the United States following the
0:06:46shooting at San Bernardino. And the FBI and the police seized the attacker's iPhone,
0:06:55and they essentially demanded Apple to get access to the phone.
0:06:59And the problem was, of course, Apple doesn't want to provide law enforcement with a master key.
0:07:05That's according to Apple and Tim Cook.
0:07:09Because essentially the FBI wanted a way for Apple to create a custom software,
0:07:13a custom version of iOS, that would have allowed the law enforcement to break into the iPhone
0:07:20without running into the problem where if you type, for example, multiple times an incorrect passcode,
0:07:27the phone erases itself. So the FBI demanded Apple to write a custom version of iOS that would bypass
0:07:34that security measure. And Apple was opposed to that because of the argument that if Apple
0:07:39were to create such master key, it would be too risky and it would too easily be out in the wild
0:07:47and it would be a problem for millions of iPhone users, not just because of that single FBI case.
0:07:53So Apple was afraid that it would create a precedent, you know, for the FBI to demand even
0:07:59for future iPhones. And I mean, I guess, Steven, you know much better living in the US what exactly
0:08:07happened afterwards. There were various interviews with Tim Cook, he went on television, there were
0:08:12were a couple of hearings with the FBI and Tim Cook I think. Yeah I mean Apple
0:08:18really made it a very public fight. They turned it from some sort of like
0:08:23political you know technology story into a big like public relations like fused
0:08:31with American freedoms I think. It was kind of a brilliant move right to take
0:08:34it public. Yeah. And I think that I mean clearly Apple came out on top but I
0:08:39I think that it would be foolish to think that this sort of thing is over, especially
0:08:43in light of new administration and things.
0:08:47This is a conversation that's going to come back up.
0:08:53Until that happens, Apple seems to be hard at work at making the phones even more difficult
0:08:57to get into.
0:08:59One of the weird things in this case was that it was an iPhone 5C.
0:09:01Had it been a 5S or later, the security system in the phone would be even more difficult
0:09:06to get into.
0:09:08So I think it's sort of an opening chapter in what will be a longer story.
0:09:13I don't know if there were polls and stuff, but the public seemed relatively split on
0:09:20what to do.
0:09:21I think obviously in our circles it seemed like a pretty obvious solution that no government
0:09:26should have a backdoor into encryption like this.
0:09:30But we see around the world new administrations and new governments who may be more interested
0:09:36in that.
0:09:37I fear that this is going to be a story that we have to cover again, probably sooner rather
0:09:41than later.
0:09:42It was fascinating really at the time, and I think it's one of the more interesting technology
0:09:47stories of the year just because we've not really had a thing like this before.
0:09:53And also, I think at the time, a lot of us were quite impressed with the way that Apple
0:10:00handled this.
0:10:01That they publicly went out and said that they weren't going to do this, even though
0:10:06it was obvious that that was going to be a PR disaster, right? That people that didn't care about
0:10:12security in that kind of like really intense way of understanding encryption would just look at
0:10:22this and be like, "Apple is helping terrorists." And there was no way to spin that, right? Like
0:10:28that was always going to have to be a message that obviously, you know, people sympathizing
0:10:36with what the FBI were trying to do would tar Apple with, right? Like they would have said,
0:10:43"Oh, they're just trying to help these terrorists," or "They're unwilling to help the government,"
0:10:47like, you know, that's a lot of people, I mean, and I understand why I would see that as a bad
0:10:52thing just on the face of it. And it's one of the other things that, you know, as the year has gone
0:10:57on I think the general consensus towards Apple has kind of changed as the year has gone on,
0:11:03but in February we were really big supporters of what they were attempting to do, right?
0:11:10And it's funny to see how things kind of went throughout the rest of the year. Because there
0:11:14are just, you know, there are other like, not even just because there's no Macs, but
0:11:19with weird, you know, strange stories like the EU stuff which we're going to get to a
0:11:24a little bit later on like the narrative has changed quite a lot as the year has
0:11:28gone on but at least at this point it was great.
0:11:31Yeah, the other story from also from February was when Apple really upset
0:11:38Myke and then they kind of backtracked on the changes we're introducing.
0:11:43Basically in iOS 9.3 at that point they were in the beta at some point
0:11:52I think in beta 1 or beta 2 maybe, they changed the functionality of the Apple Pencil.
0:11:57The Apple Pencil came out in November 2015 with the first iPad Pro.
0:12:03And the Pencil, the original one, even if you go read my review at that time, you were
0:12:08able to use the Pencil to navigate the iOS interface.
0:12:11So in addition to drawing and sketching, you know, the more specific Pencil functionalities,
0:12:16could use the pencil as a finger replacement to navigate iOS, scroll, you
0:12:21know, tap icons, and with the beta of iOS 9.3 they introduced a change that
0:12:26prevented the pencil from being used as a complete finger replacement. And Myke
0:12:33and others, they got really upset.
0:12:35Mm-hmm, because we were used to using our Apple
0:12:38Pencils in that way at that point. You know, as I said at the time, if the Apple
0:12:42Pencil debuted and all it could do was draw, then that would have been fine. But
0:12:46it debuted and for whatever reason it could do anything that your finger could
0:12:50do and then that got removed and there were beta after beta were coming out of
0:12:5510.3 and it wasn't changing and then there was some outcry from from myself
0:13:02and Gray and I was like you know there was a great piece that Serenity wrote on
0:13:05iMore and it kind of like ended up bubbling up into one of those little
0:13:09snowstorm type scenarios that happened with Apple press stuff and then I think
0:13:16it was in the release candidate it was changed. Apple released a press release
0:13:21said that they would restore functionality and then I think it was in
0:13:24the either the last beta or the release candidate 10.3 got amended and the
0:13:28functionality got restored. So that was that was a great win for all pencil
0:13:34users everywhere.
0:13:35Yeah have you been using the pencil in the same way since?
0:13:39Nah, I didn't even bother. No, of course.
0:13:41It's my main use of the Apple Pencil.
0:13:44It's why I have Apple Pencils attached to my iPads, right?
0:13:48It's because when I'm doing some serious work for long periods of time, especially with
0:13:53stuff like spreadsheets, it's just way nicer and more accurate and more comfortable for
0:13:58me to use the Apple Pencil for those sort of things.
0:14:00I continue to and it's genuinely one of the three things that makes the iPad Pro the best
0:14:06computer for me, is the Apple Pencil is one of them.
0:14:10So it was definitely a win for you that had consequences throughout the year.
0:14:15So good job.
0:14:16Thank you.
0:14:18So we are now in March and like most years 2016 was, you know, March was kind of the
0:14:24first big month so we have a bunch of stories here.
0:14:27We had Flux which was available to be sideloaded onto iOS devices.
0:14:32So if you're not familiar with something that ended up basically being like night shift
0:14:36where an app can change the color temperature of the screen. It's been on the Mac forever.
0:14:41I've had it installed for years. And they did a little Xcode project where you could
0:14:46sideload it onto your iOS device. Apple set that down in a big hurry. And then of course
0:14:52Night Shift came out. When was Night Shift? Was that in 9.3 or was that in 10?
0:14:579.3. No, 9.3. We also had the transmission BitTorrent client infected with malware, which
0:15:05That was a super fun story for lots of people.
0:15:08That actually happened I think twice this year.
0:15:09Yeah, definitely.
0:15:10A couple of times actually, yes.
0:15:13So good server security there guys.
0:15:16We also saw the Android N developer preview.
0:15:20This was a surprise from Google.
0:15:22Basically it just sort of showed up on their website.
0:15:27And we've all spent time with Pixel and with Android recently.
0:15:32But it's Android N brought split screen to the phone and it brought some better like
0:15:40software updating mechanisms which we won't go into but are interesting.
0:15:45Pretty solid update to the Android side of things.
0:15:48But of course the big thing in the Apple world was the March event where we saw the iPhone
0:15:55SE.
0:15:56So an updated small phone from Apple with the guts of the success but in the case of
0:16:02the I guess the 5 and 5s. I think it's a popular phone at least it is in my
0:16:08household my wife has one and really loves it. I think she's going to be sad
0:16:11when they don't ever update it again. But at the same time we also saw the 9.7
0:16:18inch iPad Pro. So this was the event of small devices I guess and of course the
0:16:239.7 inch Pro built with the same technology in the 12.9 but went even
0:16:29further with things like the true tone display which I would really like on the
0:16:35big iPad. Everything. Yeah has the wide color gamut as well which has since
0:16:44spread to the iPhone and of course a bunch of Macs and I think the 12.9 will
0:16:48kind of get updated to get back in line with everybody this March but March was
0:16:53busy and I think out of all of these stories I think that 9.7 inch iPad
0:16:58Pro is really the one that sticks around. The iFantasy is great for people who want it.
0:17:02It's interesting that they did it. Like I said, I don't really think they're
0:17:05going to ever update it again, but I don't think it's as important as a
0:17:11product as that 9.7 inch iPad Pro just because that form factor was the
0:17:16default iPad size and they got rid of the Airline and replaced it with a Pro
0:17:21that was more expensive, had pencil support, and really kind of pushing the
0:17:25boundaries of that notebook. This is also the event where Phil Schiller,
0:17:29so I think Apple made a couple of weak keynote arguments this year. Courage being
0:17:34one and the other one being this. We're like who is this for? It's for people
0:17:39switching from PCs and I see what they're saying and I think we argued
0:17:43about this when it happened but in my mind that's not a super compelling
0:17:49argument for this thing being a device. The device is good on its own and
0:17:54I'm sure there are people switching from PCs to iPads, no doubt.
0:17:57But it was just a very strange hook into this product in the keynote and I don't know, it
0:18:04still seems a little weird to me in hindsight.
0:18:07It is strange, especially because at that time, I mean of course there were no iOS 10
0:18:12and no new iPad features basically since iOS 9 the year before.
0:18:16But even if you consider the accessory that Apple is trying to sell as the primary way
0:18:21of turning an iPad into a PC, the Smart Keyboard. At that point there were no international
0:18:27layouts for the Smart Keyboard. They were released in late July or August I think, in
0:18:33the summer. So back in March the Smart Keyboard was effectively only available to US users
0:18:38with an American layout. And it was a really strange argument to make for the small iPad
0:18:44Pro with just one smart keyboard layout, no new smart connector accessories. It was just,
0:18:52it felt like a tagline slipped in at the end of rehearsals or something. It was not a,
0:19:01maybe a strong point but not a cohesive one I would say. At least not consistent with
0:19:06what Apple was showing.
0:19:08From a marketing perspective, Supercomputer is one of my favorite Apple taglines of the
0:19:12the last few years. I think it's fantastic but there are problems from
0:19:17like a functionality perspective that it doesn't back it up. I agree with that
0:19:22right like that they didn't give the 9.7 inch iPad Pro anything more to make it a
0:19:29more powerful computer like you know me and Federico will go to bat and say that
0:19:34like this machine can be a computer replacement but the 9.7 inch didn't
0:19:40really do anything to back the supercomputer line up but I do really like the line because
0:19:46I think it's very smart. I do continue to love my 9.7 inch iPad Pro. It's my favorite,
0:19:51it's like my favorite Apple device at the moment and I think it has, bar none, the best screen I've
0:19:57ever used. It's just incredible and it's a shame to me that this is the only device that has a
0:20:04screen that looks like good. The wide color gamma on the iPhone 7 and 7 plus is really
0:20:10great but the true tone really goes an extra mile and I'm looking forward to seeing that
0:20:18come out across the line. I expect the 12.9 will get it next and I really do hope that
0:20:23they're able to put it in the next iPhone because it's great.
0:20:25So we're now in April and it was just maybe the big story that kind of set the tone for
0:20:34Apple throughout the year was the first downquarter in terms of revenue in 13 years.
0:20:41So Apple in the Q2 2016 earnings call, they detailed the fact that for the first time
0:20:48there was a downquarter.
0:20:51And there was a bunch of explanations that Apple made and I saw analysts and other journalists
0:20:58on Twitter but the core issue is that Apple saw insane growth with the iPhone 6 and 6+
0:21:08in China.
0:21:09I think this was the main argument and that was impossible to replicate with the 6s and
0:21:15the 6s+.
0:21:16But this idea of Apple having the first down quarters since many many years and trying
0:21:25to find the next big driver and moving to services, this kind of set the entire narrative
0:21:32around Apple for 2016 in terms of from a financial perspective.
0:21:37Yeah, it was a bit of a shocker, right?
0:21:41Because I think for so many years, whenever there's a quarterly results, everyone goes
0:21:48into defensive mode of how can the stock be down?
0:21:53just posted more money than ever, right? Like all of this stuff is ridiculous. But now it's
0:21:59like, well, what can you do? They just, they didn't make as much money. And it was a very
0:22:05strange thing. You know, 13 years, four times a year, we have seen the same answer. And
0:22:12that answer is Apple is making more money. Apple is making more money. Like that has
0:22:16been the thing that we have been used to for such a long time and it was a bit of a strange
0:22:24thing to see as somebody who is a fan of the company and cares about the company and it's
0:22:29like how are they gonna do better than this? Like it's a difficult thing. I'm really interested
0:22:36to see how next year goes because there's a lot of talk about like oh 2015 was this
0:22:42weird year where there was a big peak.
0:22:44And I was like, I can accept that argument so long as 2017 is better than 2016.
0:22:51And as of right now, we have no idea, no way or no idea of knowing that.
0:22:55And I'm, I'm interested just to see how this plays out to see what happens next year.
0:23:01And if 2015 ends up just being this weird little anomaly or it was the peak.
0:23:08Also in April, I published an article and associated video for a big project that I had been working on for a couple of months.
0:23:17For the first time, every year I do my iOS Wishes story, where I kind of lay out what I would like to see coming in the next version of iOS.
0:23:28And for the first time this year, in addition to the story, I worked with Sam Beckett, he's a motion and graphic designer,
0:23:37to produce a video version of my iOS wishes with a concept video.
0:23:45I tend to be against the idea of concept videos that, you know,
0:23:52imagine these crazy features that are never going to happen,
0:23:55like, I don't know, holographic iPhones.
0:23:57So we try to kind of combine the fact that I really think about
0:24:05sensible, reasonable features that could come to iOS and to design them in a way that they don't seem too crazy,
0:24:12they don't seem too absurd.
0:24:14And the general feedback that we got was exactly what I was hoping to get from readers and
0:24:20that is it makes sense and it feels like
0:24:23something that Apple could do and
0:24:26fun story when I was at WWDC I was talking to a bunch of
0:24:32Apple engineers and
0:24:35And some of them told me, "Well, you know, thank you for the video in a sarcastic way."
0:24:40Because a lot of their friends actually texted them and they were like, "I saw you guys
0:24:46announced iOS 10 already.
0:24:47I saw the video."
0:24:48They were like, "No, that's not us."
0:24:53So the feedback was incredible and it was my first video on YouTube.
0:24:58It was a fun project, I think.
0:25:00I loved it.
0:25:01I loved it because I got a video version of one of your long articles. You know how I love video versions.
0:25:06And it was really great and I don't know but I hope that you're going to do it again.
0:25:13No comment. No comment at this time.
0:25:17I don't know. Basically the problem is if there's going to be 10.3 coming in January with a public release in March.
0:25:26I don't know how to... I don't have enough time to think about what I want next.
0:25:34Because if there's major changes to the iPad in March, there's no point in thinking about future iPad changes.
0:25:46There's at least no time for me because I sit on these ideas for months.
0:25:51And so next year I think it will be different, even for my iOS wishes story.
0:25:56The timing will be different because now iOS is effectively split between two releases.
0:26:02So, you know, we'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll just do an iPhone one, I don't know.
0:26:07So, we are now into May. Myke, what happened? What did April's Hours bring in May?
0:26:14May.
0:26:15They bring May flowers?
0:26:16May added to it completed a long project that was off spoke about on the show
0:26:23which was Steven completing his 13 iMac G3 color collection so April showers
0:26:31brought May flower powers Wow you should be a poet that was kind of amazing I
0:26:41I hope you're proud of yourself right now.
0:26:43I am.
0:26:44So this was a big project for you and I guess now we're at the end of the year.
0:26:49I should ask, do you have a home for the IMAX?
0:26:52They still all in your office?
0:26:55They are all in my office, just over there.
0:27:00And yeah, so I got sort of all the content done that I wanted, wrote a bunch, did a bunch
0:27:06of videos.
0:27:08They became a third of the book that I just published.
0:27:15What the question is now is what do I do with these IMAX.
0:27:20What I think is going to happen, what I'm working on, is actually having them become
0:27:24part of the collection at the Henry Ford Museum.
0:27:28Listeners may remember, I interviewed Kristin Gallerneau, one of their technologists, about
0:27:37the Apple I, because the Apple I turned 40 in April.
0:27:41And she and I have stayed in touch and that's hopefully where they will end up being preserved
0:27:46and cared for for all time at the Henry Ford Museum, which is super exciting.
0:27:53So it's not quite a done deal yet.
0:27:54When it is, I'll let people know.
0:27:56But that's where I think they will all end up.
0:27:59So they'll be safe and sound and it'll be exciting to have them as part of their collection
0:28:07And I'm happy to make that donation to them because a lot of them were given to me and
0:28:11I want to make sure that they get taken care of forever.
0:28:15That's really nice.
0:28:16Like that's a good thing that you'll be able to collect them all up in good condition and
0:28:22donate them for other people to see.
0:28:24And I guess it's also nice to not have to have them in your house anymore.
0:28:29Because have you ever wondered or like got worried that they might gang up on you?
0:28:33Yeah, you know, you have to feed them and you know you have to take care of them.
0:28:37I mean really it's just about the storage space.
0:28:39I only have so much storage space and out of my big shelving units they take up like
0:28:45a third of the space right now.
0:28:49And like some of them are kind of neatly arranged in the corner.
0:28:51It's just a lot of computers to have and I wish I could hold on to all of them but I
0:28:57feel like if they can all be together then that's the right answer.
0:29:01I want them to stay together and the Henry Ford once all 13.
0:29:05So we'll see where that goes.
0:29:07- May also brought the Google I/O conference.
0:29:12Is that like a festival, right?
0:29:15They did it outside.
0:29:16- It was this year.
0:29:17- Yeah, an amphitheater and everybody got sunburned.
0:29:19But it did look really cool though,
0:29:22as opposed to just having it all in a big conference center.
0:29:25They had it in this big amphitheater
0:29:27and it was kind of a nice setting that the keynote was cool.
0:29:31These were the big things that came out of Google I/O 2016.
0:29:33Allo and Duo, which I don't really think have gone anywhere.
0:29:37Even people that, you know, even Android users
0:29:40don't seem to be like super hot on that for what I can see.
0:29:43Google Home, which Steven has one of,
0:29:47and I don't really think that you like it
0:29:49any more than your Echo.
0:29:51- I like the Echo.
0:29:53I'm trying to be very careful not to say them
0:29:54'cause they're both here plugged in listening.
0:29:56I like the Echo a lot more.
0:29:58I have been meaning to put something together,
0:30:01just haven't gotten to it yet but I do have thoughts on the Google Home that
0:30:03will eventually make it on the show. Daydream VR which is something that I do
0:30:08really like and there are a couple of weeks ago there was a ton of new games
0:30:12come out for the Daydream VR but everything was packed in boxes for me so
0:30:16I'm gonna check those out but there was like a huge like ton of content that
0:30:21just kind of landed all of a sudden for that so I'm excited to check that out
0:30:24And this was the first time that the Google Assistant popped up.
0:30:29This was like the first talking of Google's idea of having this assistant,
0:30:35which was like the central core of all their products.
0:30:37And it was like it showed up in a little bit.
0:30:42It's meant to be in a Google Home a little bit,
0:30:43but they speak about this throughout the year, again, like later on in the year.
0:30:46But it's really like a "this is our thing that we're moving towards"
0:30:51rather than a thing that we have right now.
0:30:53Yeah, it's still kind of limited. I mean, the full assistant is only available in the Google Home speakers.
0:31:01The things you can do with the Google Home, which received a bunch of new third-party integrations, I think last week,
0:31:08those commands, those integrations are not available in the Google Assistant, in the Allo app, for example.
0:31:14So there's still a bit of inconsistency between what you can do with the Google Assistant in messaging, with text,
0:31:21text and what you can do with voice. It does feel like
0:31:25several months later Google is still getting started on this front.
0:31:32The Google Home came out last month. I think
0:31:35developers are still working on their integrations and the Google Allo app is still, you know,
0:31:41nobody uses it, I think. And a
0:31:45A good move I guess would be for Google to actually make a Google Assistant app or to bundle the assistant functionalities
0:31:52with voice and text into the main Google app, especially on the iPhone
0:31:57Because right now it's kind of silly to tell users...
0:32:01I think that will definitely happen, right?
0:32:03Yeah, exactly.
0:32:04They don't have it yet. But like I think that that is I think you're spot-on like
0:32:08eventually the assistant will be
0:32:10everywhere and in everything.
0:32:13But it really does seem like,
0:32:15and it kind of frustrates me when I see this announcement,
0:32:18because they've done it twice now
0:32:20and they show off these demos where like,
0:32:22it's exactly what you want out of virtual assistant.
0:32:25And they're like, this is what we hope we can make one day.
0:32:27It's like, why are you even?
0:32:28Like, I don't understand, like, why are you doing this?
0:32:30It frustrates me a little bit
0:32:32because it's like dangling this thing,
0:32:34like, oh yeah, you know that name,
0:32:36Google Assistant we've spoken about?
0:32:37It's in our chat app, but it sucks right now.
0:32:40It's like, it's, I don't know.
0:32:42I don't know why they came out
0:32:45with the Google Assistant branding
0:32:46before they had a compelling product.
0:32:48They may as well have just kept calling it like Google
0:32:50and just like Google Now and just kept using those phrasings
0:32:55until they actually had a product that could give them
0:32:58and could give users what we're all looking for,
0:33:01which is the demos that they keep showing.
0:33:03They already had a brand name.
0:33:05They already had all of it,
0:33:05like Google Now and Google Now on Tap.
0:33:07Those brands would have existed fine
0:33:09while they were still trying to build up something
0:33:11that could become the assistant,
0:33:13because right now it's not much more than Google Now
0:33:15and Google Now on Tap was.
0:33:17So I think they've kind of flubbed that one,
0:33:19because I think Google can do that.
0:33:21The stuff that they show,
0:33:22they are the company that are able to do it
0:33:23more than anybody else,
0:33:25but they don't have the product right now,
0:33:27and they've shown it twice this year,
0:33:28and there is nothing yet, and it's kind of frustrating.
0:33:33- We are now at Apple Christmas,
0:33:35which happens in June at WWDC,
0:33:39But before the conference, just a couple of days before the conference, Apple announced
0:33:44some really big changes to the App Store, including the subscription pricing changes.
0:33:50So if you have an application that provides ongoing service or you can promise regular
0:33:57updates, then you can charge a subscription.
0:34:01And if a user continues their subscription over a year, it moves from the 70/30 split
0:34:08it to what is it 80/20 as I would have moved to and 15 I don't remember it may
0:34:13be 15 I'm trying to live this verge article and it's taking forever the and
0:34:19in conjunction with that they announced the search ad platform for the iOS App
0:34:26Store and I think in hindsight the subscription pricing changing is is good
0:34:30and I think there are some apps that are are slowly figuring out how to use that
0:34:35I don't know if there have been many yet who I think have done it perfectly, but I think
0:34:40they're figuring it out.
0:34:42But the search ads still seem like a real mess.
0:34:44We all follow a bunch of developers on Twitter and how often are they complaining that they
0:34:50purposely put their competitors' names as exclusion keywords and they still show up
0:34:55for those searches.
0:34:56Or a lot of the things that Phil Schiller said, "Oh, we're going to monitor it so the
0:35:01big guys don't squash the little guys and the little guys are getting squashed."
0:35:05It's not working super well yet, I don't think, but I think maybe they will get there.
0:35:11And I just remember it being really interesting that they did this ahead of the conference.
0:35:18And I think the reason is pretty clear that they wanted people coming out of the conference
0:35:22to be excited about iOS 10 and watch iOS 3 and Mac OS Sierra and Swift Playgrounds and
0:35:28let the app store changes have their own news cycle before everyone gets to San Francisco.
0:35:34had time to percolate there were answers to questions like it was a smart move to
0:35:39do because it was a very big complex and confusing thing that really I don't
0:35:43think they could have adequately gotten across on stage and it was it ended up
0:35:48being a much smarter idea for us to think about it and talk about it and
0:35:51read more about it in the days leading up to WWDC then trying to put this into
0:35:56what was already a pretty packed keynote. Absolutely and it is and first real-time
0:36:01follow-up it is 85/15 split once you're there for a year but then we get to the
0:36:06conference right and and like you said completely jam-packed iOS 10 bringing
0:36:14the new stuff being better and messages and you know so many great iPad changes
0:36:22wait not thank you yeah good job good work yeah nice nice we we saw watchos
0:36:30S3 bringing really, to me, I think out of the updates, probably the most groundbroken
0:36:37within the update itself.
0:36:38They really kind of took apart WatchOS and put it back together with things like the
0:36:42dock and getting rid of glances and it being much faster even on first generation hardware.
0:36:49On the Mac we got a new name, Mac OS.
0:36:51We got Sierra which brings Siri and a lot of file disk management stuff to the Mac.
0:36:58Some of that's a little bit of a mixed bag, but it's here.
0:37:01And then we had Swift Playgrounds, where you can take an iPad and install an app and begin
0:37:06to develop and learn to develop in Swift, which I think is just super cool.
0:37:14And they really geared it, you know, kind of in the keynote towards education.
0:37:18I think a lot of people think about Swift Playgrounds as like, "Oh, my kids can learn
0:37:23how to code."
0:37:25But I think Swift Playgrounds is a lot more than that.
0:37:27I think it has a lot more potential than just teaching kids how to code, as good as that
0:37:33is.
0:37:34It's the first step as well towards more development tools coming to iOS.
0:37:39Right?
0:37:40Like it's step one.
0:37:41It's the simple part of it.
0:37:44I totally agree.
0:37:45And you know, I mean, there were all this crazy stories going around that people like
0:37:49hacking things into Swift Playgrounds and that it has access to a lot more than it just
0:37:52looks like on the surface.
0:37:54So I do think that I agree with you that it is a step in the right direction.
0:38:00I don't know if we're going to get Xcode for iPad in June.
0:38:03I don't think we will.
0:38:06But as Swift becomes more mature and as the iPads become more powerful, you can see where
0:38:12those lines will cross and that at some point I truly believe that you will not need a Mac
0:38:18to develop iOS apps.
0:38:20And that's going to be a big blow to the Mac as a platform, but it seems inevitable and
0:38:25it seems like just something that Apple should do, right?
0:38:30If you're building an app and you're running an app on an iPad, you can instantly see how
0:38:34it is as opposed to dealing with a simulator or putting a build on your phone.
0:38:39It takes out so many of those steps and I think a lot of people would be really interested
0:38:43in that and I think that Apple will definitely get there.
0:38:48So this WWDC made for some personal news.
0:38:53It was the first time that the three of us had ever been in person together.
0:38:56As Federico made the journey with me to lovely San Francisco and we had our first ever Relaycon
0:39:04San Francisco event which was amazing and I've been thinking a lot about what 2017 could
0:39:12be.
0:39:13Right now I have no idea.
0:39:16I was thinking about it in the shower yesterday and I have nothing.
0:39:20Luckily, we have six months to think about it.
0:39:23That is the plan, right?
0:39:24The plan is to do another one next year.
0:39:26We hope we can pull it off.
0:39:28I want to do another one and I want to do something that is bigger than last year.
0:39:37More people doing more things.
0:39:39And really we don't have six months.
0:39:40Really we have like four months.
0:39:41Well, I have six months to think of what's going to be on stage, right?
0:39:45I don't have that much time to get you a place to do it.
0:39:48But that's something that we're thinking about.
0:39:51All in all, I think WNBC this year was a big thumbs up.
0:39:55Software stuff was good.
0:39:57The personal stuff was great.
0:39:59Myke, you and I have seen each other many times over the years.
0:40:02But I got to y'all's hotel and Federico was upstairs on the phone.
0:40:07I just knocked on the door and there was Federico there.
0:40:10And he's much taller and much more handsome than I ever imagined.
0:40:15We spent time together and it was great.
0:40:17Well, you were younger than I imagined.
0:40:20Well, you know the um...
0:40:22The compliments go both ways.
0:40:24Thanks.
0:40:25Yeah, I left the cane at home, so...
0:40:27It was good.
0:40:29We are halfway through the year, which means we are probably halfway through the show,
0:40:32which means we should take a moment to thank our sponsor for this week's episode,
0:40:36and that is our friends over at Smile.
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0:41:40to
0:41:53on some Smile stickers.
0:41:54I have some on my devices, of course.
0:41:58I want to thank Smile so much for their support
0:42:00of this show, their support of Real AFM,
0:42:02and the fact that they have been such a long time
0:42:04support area, a time where we're looking back
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0:42:09Smile has been there for us since day one.
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0:42:14make sure that you look at Smile as a place to do that.
0:42:18Thank you so much to Smile for their support of this show.
0:42:22We're now in July.
0:42:24We are indeed.
0:42:25And, you know, the summer is usually quiet as Apple is testing new versions of iOS.
0:42:31We got a couple of interesting bits of news.
0:42:35Evernote announced new pricing tiers and price, major pricing changes.
0:42:40And at that point for context, a lot of people in the tech community, I think, especially
0:42:46in ours, were sort of falling out of love with Evernote.
0:42:51We had switched to the Notes app since iOS 9 and there were some really good alternatives
0:42:57to Evernote which kind of fell behind.
0:43:00We've talked about this before but Evernote announced these changes and in my opinion
0:43:06they kind of made everything even more complicated than it used to be.
0:43:11So the big idea is Evernote now has three plans.
0:43:16The basic one, which is the free plan, plus, which is $4 a month, and premium, which is
0:43:22$8 a month.
0:43:24With the pricing changes, plus is $10 more annually, and premium has gone up by $20.
0:43:34But the really important change is that the basic plan, the free one, is now limited to
0:43:41I think two devices.
0:43:42It used to be that Evernote could be used for free on as many devices as you wanted.
0:43:48You could have Evernote for free without the premium features on your iPhone, your Mac,
0:43:52your iPad, whatever.
0:43:53Your Pebble watch?
0:43:55The Pebble, really important platform to focus on.
0:44:00Now with device limiting, effectively Evernote cannot be used for free on every device you
0:44:07have.
0:44:08Which I understand this is a business thing, right?
0:44:10Like they have to do this.
0:44:12However, what this does though is it fundamentally changes what the product is about.
0:44:15Yes.
0:44:16Right?
0:44:17And that's the biggest problem.
0:44:18It's if you use Evernote, like if you were an Evernote user, you are forced into this.
0:44:23I mean, whatever, you're using it for free.
0:44:26Maybe you shouldn't, you know, maybe you should pay them if you love it that much.
0:44:28Right?
0:44:29Like, but whatever.
0:44:30But it was, I think the idea was it pushed everyone into this plan because if you truly
0:44:36used Evernote, you were using it on multiple devices, many devices, because it was meant
0:44:40to be on everything you have so your off-board brain was always with you. And
0:44:46this was like, I don't know, when I saw this I was like this is a company who's
0:44:50not at their best. That was kind of, you know, the way that I think a lot of
0:44:54people reacted to this and it was like hmm shall I continue to trust them with
0:44:58with like my most important things? I'm not so sure.
0:45:01As we'll see later, probably not. The other narrative I guess at this point in
0:45:08the year is the lack of Mac updates, and especially for professionals. And that
0:45:14frustration materialized in an odd sort of comeback. You know,
0:45:22frustration comes back in the strangest ways sometimes. And this year it was
0:45:27Hackintosh's. They came back in style and I guess the frontmost story was by
0:45:36Myke Randall posted this kind of tutorial or you know how we put together a
0:45:42Macintosh with really powerful specs quite a bit of a setup of course
0:45:48because there's some weird limitations especially for iCloud and iMessage when
0:45:53you try to to install Mac OS or in this case I think OS X and Capitan on a
0:46:00non-Apple computer but this article, this story resonated with a lot of people and
0:46:07this sort of kick-started I think a kind of movement that I see in my
0:46:14Twitter timeline to this day which is a lot more people using Hackintoshes but
0:46:21also a lot more Mac users switching to PCs and that's interesting because I
0:46:29For a lot of years I thought, well, once you're loyal to the Apple platform and ecosystem,
0:46:36you're going to be an Apple user forever.
0:46:39And instead there's sort of this ramification between people who are so fed up with the
0:46:45lack of Mac Pro and professional Mac updates that either build their own or just go back
0:46:51to Windows, which is interesting.
0:46:54Kind of a surprise to me.
0:46:57I think some people surely are doing that, but I think there's a lot of, I think a lot
0:47:01of that is sort of like frustration rhetoric that people rage tweet and then, you know,
0:47:07don't actually do it or, you know, say that they're going to do it and it's just a statement
0:47:11like, I don't, I don't think that that's happening in widespread numbers, but, um, I mean, you're
0:47:18right though, it is interesting and it does really point to the frustration that a lot
0:47:22Mac users have, especially pro Mac users, that there's just not, at least in 2016,
0:47:30not really a machine for them. And the MacBook Pro is hobbled in some weird
0:47:36ways and we didn't see new iMacs and we haven't seen a new Mac Pro since the
0:47:40Reagan administration. There's a lot of frustration there and I think
0:47:43it spilled over into this Hackintosh story for a little while this summer.
0:47:47but I'm hoping that Apple has some sort of relief in the near future for these users.
0:47:56Also, I'm not sure why but at this point in the year we started talking about 123 Notetaker.
0:48:03Yep, it was the birth of the incredible application 123 Notetaker.
0:48:07I don't remember why it happened either.
0:48:08It was the start of Myke's new career, you know, the 123 brand that sort of expanded
0:48:16towards other types of applications and services because Myke is also doing services now.
0:48:22Yeah, 123 services.
0:48:24And you know, especially one big feature that we'll see later in the year would be, you
0:48:31know, the 123 trip planner in September for iOS 10.
0:48:37That was leaked. Somebody didn't like observe the embargo of 123 Trip Planner and wrote about it.
0:48:44Yeah, one of the best time I saw jobs really that came out this year.
0:48:47And it all began with 123 Notetaker back in July. So it was a fantastic, fantastic month.
0:48:55I think we were talking about subscription apps.
0:48:57Maybe.
0:48:58And then, but so it may have started in June, but July saw the release of the branding,
0:49:04which we'll put in the show notes.
0:49:06I think it's there somewhere.
0:49:08I'll find it.
0:49:09One, two, three, note taker.
0:49:11And then we go to August.
0:49:12In August, Salesforce bought Quip.
0:49:14And this was a problem for us at the time
0:49:16because it was the document collaboration system
0:49:18that we were using to prepare for all of the shows,
0:49:20including this one.
0:49:21Because at this point, Google hadn't updated Google Docs.
0:49:24And we were concerned that Salesforce
0:49:27would eventually shut down Quip,
0:49:30but we have now all jumped Quipship
0:49:32and we're back on to Docs again because Google finally did their split screen update. But
0:49:38that happened. We got the preview, another weird thing from Apple, a preview of emoji
0:49:44which included the gender diverse emojis that were appearing in releases of Windows 10 and
0:49:51Android at the time. But also the retcon of the gun emoji where it was taken from being
0:50:00the standard revolver pistol and turned into a water pistol.
0:50:04And this caused a lot of conversation at the time
0:50:07and people wondered if Apple would stick to their guns and they did.
0:50:11They stuck to the water gun and that is now the emoji
0:50:14that will be, I assume, used for forever
0:50:18and Apple is sticking to that one and they are not changing it back
0:50:21to a pistol, a revolver pistol. This was the same month that Microsoft went from a
0:50:26water gun to a real gun.
0:50:28- Right? - Yes.
0:50:29- This is really-- - They went from a space ray gun
0:50:32to a real gun. - That's right.
0:50:33- It happened the day after Apple announced their change.
0:50:38- Oh man. - But Microsoft had had it
0:50:42in the plans for months.
0:50:43They were getting ready to drop their huge emoji update
0:50:46and then Apple just made it sad.
0:50:48- Really, really good timing.
0:50:49Really good. - It's a bad day
0:50:50for your senior vice president of emoji.
0:50:53- Yep.
0:50:53Instagram made their first step into destroying everybody by launching Instagram stories,
0:51:03which was a clear carbon copy of Snapchat stories. And Instagram has since continued
0:51:10to just keep doing this.
0:51:12They just don't care. It's just whatever.
0:51:14They do not care and they're going to keep plowing forward, gobbling up anything that
0:51:20that will get in their path.
0:51:22The prompt curse continued and picture life shut down
0:51:27with a lot of really weird goings on
0:51:29with people's photos just becoming hidden for a while,
0:51:32I guess, from them.
0:51:33And eventually everybody got their pictures back
0:51:35and picture life shut down.
0:51:37And that was the end of that one.
0:51:39And then we mentioned this earlier,
0:51:40Apple were ordered to pay 13 billion euros
0:51:45to the European Union after an investigation
0:51:48into tax practices in Ireland.
0:51:51It says back in the news again,
0:51:54as this week Apple is launching their legal case
0:51:59into why this shouldn't occur,
0:52:02why Apple is in the right
0:52:04with everything that happened with Ireland.
0:52:06And Apple are claiming that they are being
0:52:09kind of made an example of because of who they are.
0:52:14That came from Bruce Sewell.
0:52:15That was basically what Bruce Sewell, the legal counsel said.
0:52:18that Apple is kind of being made an example of.
0:52:22So we'll see about that.
0:52:23I continue to be interested in this story
0:52:26because it's just kind of a little bit fascinating to me
0:52:31that all of this is going on
0:52:32and everybody is saying that everybody is wrong.
0:52:35And those stories always end in fireworks.
0:52:38- There's the theory that, I mean the allegation
0:52:43from the EU that Apple got special treatment from Ireland
0:52:47to whatever it is they're doing in Ireland.
0:52:50And other people saying, well,
0:52:53it is the Irish government actually
0:52:55that gives these companies special treatment
0:52:57so they can move jobs back to Ireland.
0:53:00And then there's Apple denying
0:53:01that they got special treatment.
0:53:03And the Irish government saying,
0:53:04oh, look, we did nothing wrong.
0:53:05Actually, this is all, you know,
0:53:07Apple paid the taxes that we asked.
0:53:09So it's like three different sides of the story
0:53:14and everybody else is just yelling on Twitter and blogs.
0:53:17So yeah, popcorn time and we'll keep an eye on this.
0:53:20- So I think we have made our way to September
0:53:27where Apple's annual fall event takes place.
0:53:30- If June is Apple Christmas, what is September?
0:53:33- I don't know.
0:53:37Part of a Christmas?
0:53:39- Yeah, that's very inventive.
0:53:41- I don't know, you sprung it on me.
0:53:43I had one good line about the iMacs, it's all I have today.
0:53:46- So we saw a bunch of stuff in September.
0:53:50We saw of course the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus
0:53:53with the basically the same case design
0:53:56as the previous two years,
0:53:58but a departure with the waterproofing or water resistance.
0:54:03The headphone jack of course is gone.
0:54:06Moving to lightning and Apple introduced the AirPods
0:54:11at this event which are just now shipping.
0:54:12I think all three of us now have AirPods.
0:54:14we're gonna talk about that on the next show I think.
0:54:17But you know overall the iPhone 7 I think initially had a pretty, at least in some circles,
0:54:24a pretty lukewarm reception but it's selling well and I don't know about you guys,
0:54:30but my 7 Plus is like, it seems like you know by far better phone than the 6s Plus.
0:54:35The camera in particular is amazing but as far as like build quality and the,
0:54:42just like the way it sort of is a whole device in a way.
0:54:45Like the 6 and 6s felt a little disjointed to me in places.
0:54:48I've got the case design and those bands on the back.
0:54:51And I don't know, the 7 and 7 Plus feel a lot tighter to me
0:54:53and I'm a big fan.
0:54:55- Yeah, I really like my iPhone 7 Plus.
0:54:58I don't love my iPhone 7 Plus
0:55:01in the way that I've loved previous phones.
0:55:03- Really? - Oh, really?
0:55:05- Yeah, because it wasn't a home run, right?
0:55:09Like, there are just things that are different about it.
0:55:13And I don't know if I like all the changes, you know?
0:55:17Like what?
0:55:17Well, the headphone jack.
0:55:19Like, yeah, it is annoying.
0:55:21Like and you know, I have Bluetooth headphones now.
0:55:24I have Bluetooth headphones now, which is great.
0:55:26But my point is I could have had Bluetooth headphones anyway.
0:55:29Right. Like they always existed.
0:55:32Nothing in the iPhone 7 Plus has made Bluetooth headphones any better.
0:55:35But now I also have frustrations like
0:55:38We were only talking a couple of weeks ago about you trying to, Federico, trying to get something from a USB key and also power, like all these like dongles and adapters.
0:55:49It's like this is the same kind of idea if you want to use wired headphones and charge like it's a thing that is frustrating.
0:55:57And I have had to spend hundreds of pounds more this year on new on two new sets of new headphones because I need
0:56:05Bluetooth well
0:56:06I want Bluetooth headphones in different configurations now because I'm trying to move away from wired
0:56:11The wired headphones that I have sometimes just cut out right? They don't know why that is but that happens and
0:56:17Whilst I have come to prefer the general clickiness of the capacitive button
0:56:24It isn't a button that works 100% of the time like I think I have had this I've heard many people had
0:56:31You've ever had your phone just like not just the button just won't work like you're in an application
0:56:35It just won't just won't close
0:56:37Yeah, like that stuff happens and it didn't happen before and what I got with this phone is
0:56:42All of the usual stuff. I got a better camera. I got a better screen and it's faster like there wasn't a
0:56:48Thing in this phone that was like and now it's the new one
0:56:54I really like all of the things that I got, but I remained disappointed at things that got taken away.
0:57:00I feel like it was enough to a great start, especially because of the AirPods and the lack of portrait mode.
0:57:07But I feel like the 7+ is a good wine, it's getting better as it ages.
0:57:12I agree with that completely, that's a really good point.
0:57:14Especially with the 10.2 update, with fixes to the portrait mode, with the AirPods now available, at least to some users.
0:57:21- Particularly, I mean, there wasn't like fireworks that you usually get with a new iPhone.
0:57:27- I get it, yes. It was not a splash, if you will, release. It was not like a bunch of new things,
0:57:33groundbreaking new things all at once. It was like, you buy the product and you get the new stuff
0:57:41in multiple chunks throughout the year, which is odd. It doesn't make the iPhone 7, you know, a big,
0:57:49I don't know, like it's no really drastic update, that is.
0:57:57I don't know, maybe we'll look back next year once we have the iPhone 8 with a major redesign,
0:58:02we'll look back at the iPhone 7 as the weird kid in the family, or maybe this is the future,
0:58:07you know, Apple announces the phone and throughout the year you get the actual features and accessories.
0:58:12We'll see, we'll see, I don't know.
0:58:15So we also saw the Apple Watch Series 2 and the Series 1.
0:58:22The naming is a little bit confusing but I think we're just going to talk about the Series
0:58:252.
0:58:27Swim proof is the language that they use.
0:58:31It is a tiny bit thicker but it seems like the battery life is way better.
0:58:36It's a lot faster and it seems to be a little bit of a simplified product.
0:58:42They got rid of all the additions except the one, the white ceramic that I think Myke and
0:58:46I both lust after.
0:58:50And they introduced the Nike Plus, Nike Run version as well, which is basically the sport
0:58:56watch but with a different band and a custom watch face and an app.
0:58:59So you both have Watch Series 2 now and it seems like things are good in that world.
0:59:09I feel just like the worst human being.
0:59:12The Apple Watch Series 2 is amazing.
0:59:13I didn't even want it, but now I'm super happy.
0:59:16I feel like a terrible person because you murdered your old one.
0:59:21Yeah.
0:59:22Okay.
0:59:24So this is what's so good about it.
0:59:25The battery life is insane.
0:59:26It's.
0:59:27Yes.
0:59:28It is seven.
0:59:29I have 70% left battery at the end of the day.
0:59:33Yeah.
0:59:3470% like on a normal day, like just using the phone, like using the thing,
0:59:38like not workout related stuff, just like regular stuff, 70%.
0:59:42The screen is amazing.
0:59:44Like I know that they made it brighter.
0:59:46I don't know if they did anything else, but everything looks way nicer.
0:59:48Every animation, every button press is smoother.
0:59:52Like I constantly had like you think you press a button and nothing happens.
0:59:56That doesn't happen here.
0:59:58And I don't know if this this could also be because I have a better
1:00:01internet connection at home.
1:00:02I don't know.
1:00:03But dictation seems more reliable on my Apple Watch series, too.
1:00:08it's a great product. I'm so sorry everybody.
1:00:10If you really love your Apple Watch, I don't, I still don't know.
1:00:15I still don't know if you have to do this. Like if this is like,
1:00:19if you like a super Apple Watch fan, I still don't know if you,
1:00:21if you like really should upgrade.
1:00:24But if any of the things I've said to you are things that annoy you about your
1:00:28current Apple Watch,
1:00:29then maybe you should do it because it is a better product in every way.
1:00:33It is a little bit thicker, it's a little bit heavier,
1:00:35but you just get used to that within a day. Um,
1:00:38it's very very very good. Sorry everyone.
1:00:41I know, it's good to hear.
1:00:45We also of course saw iOS 10
1:00:48Federico wrote like a 150 word review
1:00:52just a little thing, a little linkless post.
1:00:55Yeah it was like a link blogging
1:00:58basically project.
1:01:02It was really short and it didn't take much time.
1:01:06I was very relaxed, very, you know, sleeping a lot.
1:01:11It was fun, it was fun.
1:01:14Very relaxing.
1:01:15Seriously, it was both the best and the worst point in the year was this project, this review.
1:01:26And I mean, I'm, you know, I'm gonna do it again for sure because now it's sort of,
1:01:34It's that kind of thing that you want to do.
1:01:36You also know it's going to be bad for you because you have no sense of self-restraint.
1:01:41And you know, the sleep schedule is all messed up.
1:01:45I work too much, I write too much.
1:01:47But whatever, it's what I got to do. It went really well.
1:01:52I think I posted these stats when it came out.
1:01:58we went over a million page views on the story within like a week or ten days.
1:02:04It was incredible, the feedback was incredible. And I'm sort of scared about
1:02:10what's gonna happen when we do get new iPad features, but we'll think about it
1:02:16when that becomes a problem next year.
1:02:19Don't think about these things now.
1:02:21That is something for future Federico to deal with. It's not for you.
1:02:24That dude is screwed.
1:02:26Yeah, he's got problems, but you're good. You're all good.
1:02:28Don't mention it. It's fine. It's gonna be fine.
1:02:31There was a little story about iPhones making funny noises.
1:02:38Yeah, that also didn't really go anywhere. Nobody watched any videos. Nobody read anything.
1:02:43That was a nothing story.
1:02:46Yeah, it was no good deal.
1:02:48It was a very strange couple weeks in my life.
1:02:54We also saw the App Store search ads launch.
1:02:58I don't know, I feel like the story during the beta
1:03:00and the story then at the launch and the story now
1:03:02is kind of all the same, that it's a little ho-hum
1:03:04and that Apple really hasn't delivered
1:03:07on what they said they would deliver, but.
1:03:09- This feels like iAd again.
1:03:10- Yeah, I mean it's--
1:03:13- It's not really gonna be anything.
1:03:15It's just like it is what it is.
1:03:16Some people will use it,
1:03:17but it's not changing anything really.
1:03:19That's how it feels to me.
1:03:21I mean, maybe I'm just thinking that
1:03:23because it still isn't in the UK, so I never see them.
1:03:26- I mean, I'm in the US, and I don't see them,
1:03:30'cause I don't like randomly search the App Store very much,
1:03:32but I feel like when I do see them,
1:03:34they're not very accurate to what I think they should be.
1:03:38But at this point, like I don't peruse the App Store often,
1:03:42and if I do, I'm just looking at top charts
1:03:43out of curiosity or boredom, like I don't ever
1:03:47open the App Store to search for a new markdown editor,
1:03:49right, like I'm gonna go read a review
1:03:51that Federico wrote or something that we did
1:03:53at the Sweet Setup or like, I go to the App Store
1:03:55with a purpose now and maybe that colors my experience
1:04:00that I'm not really looking for ads to like direct me,
1:04:03but I gotta think that there are people
1:04:07whose traffic is really diverted in one way or the other
1:04:11due to those things.
1:04:12We have the Galaxy Note 7 Recall Disaster
1:04:17starts in September.
1:04:19They did a recall due to phones not really exploding,
1:04:24but sort of burning up, catching fire.
1:04:26- Not really exploding, but.
1:04:27- No, I mean, not shrapnel, but burning cars down.
1:04:31- There was fire, it wasn't like, boom.
1:04:34- It wasn't like a nuclear warhead going off,
1:04:40but people got hurt, which is really unfortunate,
1:04:43and Samsung really did a shoddy job
1:04:47at getting the message out.
1:04:48They're still dealing with it.
1:04:49They did as bad a job as you could imagine a company could do.
1:04:53Sort of just already ignoring it.
1:04:56They were slow to respond to people who had inquiries.
1:05:00They replaced a bunch of phones and the new phones started exploding, which is like the
1:05:04worst possible move.
1:05:07And now they are, I saw a story the other day that after the holidays they're going
1:05:11to be pushing another update to them that basically makes them inoperable.
1:05:16Which should have been done months ago.
1:05:17I don't know why that's-- - Yeah.
1:05:19I mean, they've done things where you can only
1:05:22charge it to 45%.
1:05:23Like every time you turn the screen on,
1:05:24a big red alert pops up.
1:05:26If you still have one of these,
1:05:28you're just beyond help at this point.
1:05:29But it's something that Samsung didn't handle very well.
1:05:34They still really haven't come out and said what happened.
1:05:37- No, they literally have not.
1:05:38There has been no statement from Samsung
1:05:40that explains what this was.
1:05:43There have been many people that have shown their proof
1:05:45as to what they think it was.
1:05:47Fundamentally, the consensus seems to be that the batteries were too big for the cases and
1:05:53that they were swelling and it was bad.
1:05:55That was what happens.
1:05:58But yet, they could not have dealt with this worse.
1:06:03Every step along the way, they seem to make the wrong decision time after time.
1:06:08And it is now at the point where their brand is damaged severely.
1:06:12If you go on a plane, you are told that you have to,
1:06:17basically it seems like the consensus
1:06:19is turn all Samsung phones off,
1:06:21and if you have a Galaxy Note 7, you may be put in prison.
1:06:24Right, like it is basically considered a weapon by airlines,
1:06:29and I understand why.
1:06:30Like the thing is, it's just a disaster.
1:06:34It's an absolute disaster.
1:06:36And I, this has been one of the two stories,
1:06:39maybe one of the three stories
1:06:40that has like really consumed me this year.
1:06:42one was the FBI one, then this one,
1:06:45and then the one we're gonna talk about next.
1:06:48And I just think it's been kind of fascinating
1:06:50to watch how Samsung has destroyed this.
1:06:54And I'm really interested to see how they try
1:06:58to bounce back from it, because I don't know how they will.
1:07:03And I assume that the note line is dead.
1:07:06I would be-- - Oh man,
1:07:07I think they're gonna have a new one in the spring,
1:07:09and they're gonna call it Note 8,
1:07:10and they're just gonna roll like it never happened.
1:07:12- I think, oh man, I think that they're gonna give it
1:07:16some name related to cold or ice.
1:07:17I still think that's gonna happen.
1:07:19- I think your idea is silly.
1:07:20They, I mean, they handle it in the worst possible way
1:07:23and like the next logical step on that path
1:07:26is the Galaxy Note 8 in March or April, right?
1:07:29Like, let's move on, they're gonna have a little line
1:07:31about oh yeah, like it's totally fine and that'll be like,
1:07:35there's gonna roll and the question then
1:07:37is how does the public respond?
1:07:39Do people buy these phones?
1:07:41I think that it won't sell very well.
1:07:42I would hope that it doesn't sell very well.
1:07:44Because I do think the brand is damaged beyond repair, but I don't think they will realize
1:07:51that or they think that, you know, the hubris to think that they can just roll forward with
1:07:56no change.
1:07:58I look forward to see what happens to see who's right there.
1:08:01I completely feel like your thought there is very logical.
1:08:07Well, not logical.
1:08:08completely illogical but it fits with--
1:08:11- Which is why it's what Samsung will do.
1:08:13- It fits with the way that they've dealt
1:08:15with this whole thing.
1:08:16But I just like to hope that they're smarter than that.
1:08:18- So September wrapped up with the Snapchat
1:08:22spectacle story breaking.
1:08:24Myke, you have a pair now, so if you wanna tell us about them.
1:08:28- What's going on?
1:08:29- How did you get a hold of them?
1:08:31- Listen, Meher, who lives in New York, got a pair for me.
1:08:34Meher didn't line up for me, that would have been terrible.
1:08:38he had an extra pair that he bought for a friend and friend didn't want it.
1:08:41So I bought them from my hair and he sent them to me. So thank you Mia. Um,
1:08:46I have,
1:08:47anybody that's listened to this show knows that I've been completely obsessed
1:08:51with this story. Like,
1:08:52I just think that this is one of the coolest tech product announcements of years
1:08:57past. Just not, not,
1:08:59and people constantly say, Oh, they're not cool.
1:09:03I'm talking about the whole thing. The way that Snapchat is dealing with this,
1:09:07the way that they're getting around the amount that they can make by creating this scarcity,
1:09:13putting them in these vending machines that appear in random places across the United
1:09:16States, all of it is just absolute marketing and PR dream.
1:09:22They're just doing such a fantastic job and I've been interested in getting them because
1:09:27I've wanted to take some weird video from my vlog and that's why I have a pair and I've
1:09:32done some of that and I'm going to continue to do it and find ways to try and use this
1:09:36POV camera because it works so well. It's just a really nicely designed product and
1:09:42I don't feel like a doofus when I wear them. I don't think that, I mean they look, they
1:09:46look unlike your average pair of sunglasses, but they're not completely weird. They're
1:09:54like super weird. They still have, I think I like the style of them. Um, so when I wear
1:10:00I don't feel like a doofus because I don't feel like I'm wearing something that I think looks bad
1:10:04So yeah, that's my kind of feeling on it
1:10:08But I just think that the way that the company now known as snap is dealt with this and launched
1:10:14This product has been really cool, and I like it a lot so
1:10:18There you go. I'll have more to say on snapchat
1:10:21Spectacles at some point in the future as I use them more and more. I will say though the the pairing process
1:10:27So smart like it's just so simple you just put them on you open up the snapchat app and
1:10:31You just open up the QR code you look at the QR code you press the shutter button and it's paired
1:10:36It's so simple so so simple so yeah, they're cool. I think they're really I think it's cool
1:10:43I like the case the case has the battery and it's just like the air pods
1:10:46It's I think it's a really interesting product
1:10:49And I'm I'm interested to see where snap takes this if they continue to move down this line if they maybe try and make other
1:10:55types of cameras. I'm interested to see what they do.
1:11:01All right, so we should move on to October. October brought everybody's new favorite product,
1:11:07the new MacBook Pro with the touch bar. I think that we can all say that it's been a
1:11:12resounding success, right? And everyone's really happy with the direction that Apple
1:11:15has taken. I think if I've been reading the tea leaves correctly, am I right in thinking
1:11:19that? Yep. Good. We'll move on. Apple leaves the display business and potentially the router
1:11:24business has been a story in October, Google unveiled the Pixel which it's
1:11:31kind of crazy to me to think now that all of that happened in the same month.
1:11:34The Pixel felt like a very long time ago and I think it's because October has
1:11:41been a troubling time for fans of Apple. It was a strange month. It was odd looking back.
1:11:49I don't know. I feel like I got no work done in October for some reason.
1:11:54I don't know. It's been a strange month.
1:11:56[laughter]
1:11:58So the Pixel came out.
1:12:01I really like my Pixel. I haven't spent as much time with it as I would have wanted to.
1:12:05And that's probably something I'm going to try and change over the next couple of months.
1:12:08Especially as I maybe play around with more of the Daydream stuff.
1:12:11But that's that. Vine was shut down.
1:12:16Oh yeah, but it's coming back as a dedicated camera app.
1:12:20Like Twitter announced...
1:12:22Yeah, Twitter last week I think they said
1:12:25we're shutting down Vine as a platform.
1:12:28We're just keep having a dedicated Vine camera app
1:12:34that you just use to shoot and edit videos.
1:12:37The six second looping videos that you post on Twitter or save them to your phone.
1:12:43I don't even... that company is just a disaster.
1:12:46It's Twitter, it's like, what are you even doing guys?
1:12:50It's like, still, Vine as a social network is dying.
1:12:54They're keeping the camera up so you can make the Vines
1:12:58but post them on Twitter and other places.
1:13:00And another thing that makes October feel like a lifetime ago,
1:13:04the PlayStation VR was also released in October.
1:13:07That also feels like it was a very, very long time ago.
1:13:09I think it's been a very weird fourth quarter of the year.
1:13:13But yeah, that was October. Lots of hardware releases in October.
1:13:17Yeah, right. Leading up to the, I guess, the Thanksgiving and, you know, the holidays.
1:13:22Which brings us to November.
1:13:24Again, an interesting month for Apple.
1:13:28The AirPods, which were supposed to launch in late October, I think,
1:13:33they got officially delayed.
1:13:35On November 1st, Apple said...
1:13:39First there were some rumors that said Apple is gonna release the AirPods in January
1:13:46and then Apple...
1:13:48It was kinda strange, they said nothing basically
1:13:53and they eventually appeared online
1:13:56like in the first week of December maybe
1:13:59But in November we got the rumors that Apple is not going to meet their deadline for the AirPods.
1:14:06So buckle up, it's going to be a delayed launch.
1:14:10And as we see basically, the majority of customers, they are getting AirPods in January 2017.
1:14:16Because only when they went on sale last week, 10 days ago, they stayed within the next week delivery for like an hour.
1:14:27and then everybody else, either you got lucky, you walk into an Apple store and you pick them up because they're available
1:14:34or you're gonna wait four to six weeks.
1:14:36So basically a 2017 launch.
1:14:40In November we also got the Apple book, the "Designed by Apple in California" book
1:14:47which is not really a book in the sense that there's a text or a story that you can read.
1:14:53photo, it's a coffee table book with photos of Apple Industrial Design and Apple products
1:15:00either close-ups or like turn apart like the insides and I didn't buy one. Steven can you
1:15:10tell us more about the book because I know you have a special relationship with this object.
1:15:18- Yeah, it's big and it's heavy and it's vaguely disappointing
1:15:22that Apple didn't really get into the why of these products.
1:15:28That it's just like really cool pictures.
1:15:30And like I do love the photos of like the Apple Watch,
1:15:33you know, test bed with like a board with a screen on it
1:15:36and how they make the Mac Mini and how they make the Mac Pro.
1:15:40But it's all about process and they really don't even explain it very well.
1:15:45It's like the picture of this big gear and it does things.
1:15:48I would like to know why, like why do they do these things?
1:15:50Why do they feel like they need to make these changes
1:15:52at certain times?
1:15:53And what's really disappointing about that is that Apple
1:15:56is the only company that can do that.
1:15:58Like I could have made this book.
1:15:59In fact, I made a video proving that I could make this book.
1:16:02But they, only Apple, only Johnny Ive's team
1:16:07can make, can tell the back story of why things change when
1:16:12and the decision making that goes into products.
1:16:15And that just isn't in the book.
1:16:16and maybe we'll start to get that as people retire and people die and we find their diaries, but
1:16:23for now we don't have those stories.
1:16:26Like National Treasure style?
1:16:28Are you hoping that happens?
1:16:30I mean I'd like to know more.
1:16:32Okay.
1:16:34I don't want anyone to, you know, I don't, I mean that would be sad when that happens,
1:16:37but you know it's like we now know everything about the development of the like the Macintosh
1:16:44and the Apple 2 because all those people are retired
1:16:48from Apple and they don't give a crap anymore
1:16:50and they'll tell the stories and that's not the case yet
1:16:54for things like the iPhone or even really the iPod
1:16:57even though we know a lot about that.
1:16:59- I wonder if that will happen, you know.
1:17:02I just think that the secrecy thing was very different
1:17:04then to now and I wonder if those people
1:17:07will tell the stories or if they'll keep their mouth shut.
1:17:10- Yeah, I mean I may be wanting something
1:17:12that never comes to pass.
1:17:13But I mean, the interesting thing too about the book,
1:17:18you guys talked about this on Upgrade this week,
1:17:20that Apple's made a couple of decisions
1:17:22from a PR perspective that are a little weird.
1:17:24Like people are really upset about the MacBook Pro,
1:17:26which like we didn't even get into, but it's a thing.
1:17:29People want more ports and want a keyboard that works
1:17:31and want better battery life and all those things.
1:17:35That people were upset about that
1:17:37and that's when they released this book
1:17:39And like, you know, maybe it was a little tone deaf, maybe it was a lot of money to
1:17:45spend on something, but that is what it is.
1:17:49And I think that the contents of the book are far more interesting than the environment
1:17:53in which it was introduced.
1:17:57Finally in November, Beam, the social network co-founded by Casey Neistat, got quote unquote
1:18:09acquired by CNN, which is the Beam social network is shutting down the app, it's going away.
1:18:15They basically acquired the talent of the Beam team and Casey Neistat is also on board to
1:18:23produce more millennial content for CNN with video. I don't even know how to describe this.
1:18:31Basically CNN wants to reach younger people and so they got a bunch of other people who are also
1:18:36young to make videos. Am I oversimplifying this?
1:18:42It's all we can assume, right? Because, you know, even like,
1:18:46Nice Dance has made videos saying that we don't know what we're gonna do yet.
1:18:49Like, nobody knows, but we're just gonna do something.
1:18:52You know, I am, and I think we all are big Casey Neistat fans. This was just a
1:18:57very interesting story to all of us, and I think anything that guy does
1:19:02is interesting to me. I think he's quite a character.
1:19:06I think the type of acquisition it was is interesting too.
1:19:09Like if you look at Fitbit buying Pebble,
1:19:12which is in our December list,
1:19:13I'm gonna blend the months a little bit.
1:19:15They bought Fitbit's software
1:19:19and the engineers on the software have jobs.
1:19:21- Some of them. - Some of them.
1:19:24But all the hardware people are gone
1:19:25and like a lot of times you see acquisitions
1:19:27of a software product and they're buying it for the patents
1:19:30or the intellectual property.
1:19:32- Is the CEO going to Fitbit?
1:19:34Is the Pebble going? - No.
1:19:35- No, he's-- - It's out of a job, yeah.
1:19:37- No, he is back at--
1:19:39- Y Compenato, right?
1:19:40- Y Compenato. - Yeah.
1:19:41- Oh, okay, okay.
1:19:42- But with Beam,
1:19:44Nightstar's video says very clearly that the entire,
1:19:49what was left of his company,
1:19:50which I think was smaller than it was in its heyday,
1:19:52however many people are left,
1:19:54all of them are part of the deal.
1:19:55All of them are working on whatever Beam is doing now
1:19:59with CNN, that they didn't just buy the technology,
1:20:03which they had some interesting stuff, right?
1:20:04the proximity sensor to fire the camera.
1:20:06It just didn't take off as a social network,
1:20:08but I think as a technology product,
1:20:09they had some stuff in there that was pretty interesting.
1:20:12They obviously own all of that now,
1:20:14but they also have all of these people,
1:20:16and the team is staying intact.
1:20:18And that's something we don't see super often
1:20:20in these big acquisitions, right?
1:20:22That a lot of times a company gets split up,
1:20:24and the valuable parts get picked out,
1:20:26and the rest is just kind of left behind.
1:20:28And that's, I think, why this story
1:20:29sticks out to me a little bit,
1:20:31even more so than what Nice Dad does,
1:20:35is that the way that he pulled it off
1:20:38from an acquisition standpoint is a little unique
1:20:41and I think worth mentioning.
1:20:43So December, we talked about Pebble and Fitbit.
1:20:48We also have some things that were going to be
1:20:50follow-up this week, but we didn't do follow-ups,
1:20:52we're gonna do it now.
1:20:53Super Mario Run came out now five or six days ago.
1:20:58It's been out, it's a free app for the first,
1:21:00what three or four levels and then it's $10 in-app purchase but that doesn't act
1:21:04like other in-app purchases and maybe you guys can clarify this because I've
1:21:08read a little bit of conflicting things my understanding is that I can buy it on
1:21:12my iPhone but if I want it on my iPad I have to do it again is that accurate?
1:21:16I saw a bunch of people confused by this. I'm confused so
1:21:21You cannot share an in-app purchase with other people through
1:21:25family sharing. It's the main point of contention here.
1:21:29And you can on other apps? Like that's unique to Super Mario Run?
1:21:32No, that's always the case.
1:21:34If you use Family Sharing, In-App Purchases cannot be shared.
1:21:37Which is a stupid restriction by Apple.
1:21:39But it's not new to Super Mario.
1:21:41But if you have multiple devices,
1:21:43and you log in with the same Apple ID,
1:21:45Nintendo made a bad interface decision,
1:21:49but it works.
1:21:50If you have the same Apple ID, you need to tap buy again,
1:21:54but you won't be charged.
1:21:55It says you've already purchased this item.
1:21:57What a lot of developers do, they usually include a restore button in the UI. So it checks the
1:22:04receipt with your Apple ID and it doesn't tell you to buy again, which is a misleading message.
1:22:10But you can totally, I mean, I installed Super Mario the extra levels on my iPad on Sylvia's
1:22:17iPhone by logging in with my Apple ID. You can totally do it. It just, Nintendo made a bad
1:22:24in-app purchase design screen. That's the problem. Which goes along with the other bad decisions that
1:22:30they made. Yeah. Right, they made lots of bad decisions with this. You know, we spoke about
1:22:36a bunch already, right? The need for an internet connection. Yes. And this, when you're actually
1:22:40using it, you find it's even worse than it is, right? Like if the internet connection is not
1:22:43strong enough and you've tried to complete a level, well your level completion doesn't get saved.
1:22:48Like it is extremely aggressive with the need for an internet connection.
1:22:55A lot of the setup screens are just not very good.
1:22:59It's like bad Wii design.
1:23:01Yeah that's what I thought of is we have a Wii now somehow in our house and so I've been
1:23:07playing it with my kids and that's what I thought.
1:23:09I was like "oh this looks like Wii buttons" and like a lot of iOS designers and developers
1:23:16were mocking that and like it's it's not that it looks like iOS 6 which is a lot
1:23:21of people were saying it looks like Nintendo stuff like yeah people that
1:23:23make in the iOS 6 joke or even trying to be funny or they don't get Nintendo
1:23:28it's not really funny right like like I get it it's it's like congratulations
1:23:32you had a really funny idea but Nintendo are being Nintendo right like they are
1:23:38that this looks like a Nintendo game I mean doesn't look a good Nintendo game
1:23:41but this is Nintendo's design and there's no reason that they should have
1:23:45to make an app that looks, because it's not an app, this is a game.
1:23:48Games have this type of style, right?
1:23:50They have their own styles.
1:23:51Games run independently from the operating system
1:23:54because they don't tie into the operating system in the same way
1:23:56that calendar app does.
1:23:57Calendar app looking like this is ridiculous.
1:23:59A game is not.
1:24:01The thing about, so Federico, I want to see what you think about this, right?
1:24:04My feeling is
1:24:07when I play this game, Nintendo made the gameplay,
1:24:10Dina made everything else.
1:24:12I feel like it's a terrific game with some questionable interface decisions, so I agree with you.
1:24:20And I feel like the main problem is that users who don't buy the full game are allowed to leave a review on the App Store.
1:24:32And that speaks to a bunch of different problems with the App Store infrastructure,
1:24:36but also to the fact that Apple is still not allowing developers to have real full trials
1:24:41that don't require in-app purchase or subscription tricks and workarounds.
1:24:48So the problems that Nintendo is facing now is there's lots of negative reviews.
1:24:53In addition to the need for an internet connection, which is totally on Nintendo and Dina,
1:24:58the main problem with the negative reviews and the criticism is that some people just don't like
1:25:04paying but they're still allowed to leave review and to say this game sucks
1:25:09when in fact they haven't bought the full game because either you know they
1:25:13don't want to pay but also because they don't have a way to try the game. It's a
1:25:17tricky question and I feel like there's part of you know it's like 50/50/50
1:25:24situation. Part is Apple's problem with the App Store, whether it's an economics
1:25:27problem or a mindset problem that some people just the App Store is
1:25:33forever ruined and people will never pay for content again, but also part of that
1:25:39is Nintendo's own problem with the messaging, with the interface, with the
1:25:42need for an internet connection. I feel like Nintendo, again, I still believe
1:25:46they will remove the need for the persistent internet connection,
1:25:52they will update the interface. I still think it's a fantastic game,
1:25:56it's like way better than I could have hoped for a mobile Mario game.
1:26:03The interface needs to be better, the internet connection needs to be backtracked, and Apple
1:26:08has to find some kind of solution for this problem of people complaining about paying,
1:26:15in-app purchases, of trials, otherwise, do we really want a feature where every game
1:26:21lets you wait 20 minutes between turns, or you need to watch a video ad, or you need
1:26:25to buy a sack of gems.
1:26:27I don't know.
1:26:29That's not the feature I want.
1:26:30think that there's a better way and Mario Run sort of exemplifies this
1:26:35problem. It's a fantastic game with problems in the interface and problems
1:26:40in the infrastructure.
1:26:41So it's like Apple, Nintendo will not do this again.
1:26:44Exactly.
1:26:45Like if they have a bad relationship here, if this doesn't work for them and
1:26:49they're gonna get like just dumped on in the press and
1:26:52stuff and then the reviews, they're not gonna bring Zelda and you want them to
1:26:57bring Zelda because you super wanted them to bring Mario, right?
1:27:01Like they really wanted Mario because Mario is everywhere on the App Store
1:27:08and they are making ads that they're putting on Instagram.
1:27:10Like that Apple are going whole hog with this as they should.
1:27:15But there needs to be a little bit more of a two way street on this.
1:27:20You know what?
1:27:21Maybe Nintendo should have just made this a pay up for an application, right?
1:27:25Maybe Nintendo should have had more levels that you could play first, right?
1:27:29Maybe they didn't include enough.
1:27:30There are a lot of like questions around this, but there are also a lot of
1:27:33questions on Apple about the things that they do, how they choose to do things
1:27:39and stuff that they could do to make the App Store more inviting to developers
1:27:44of all kinds.
1:27:44Um, and Super Mario Run is just yet another example of this, which is a game
1:27:49which is as good as you would want the game to be, but it is like a two star
1:27:54application but the game is like there are not a lot of levels of this was it
1:27:58like 12 or something like that like 12 actual levels maybe a few more maybe 18
1:28:02but it's not an easy game it's got the level of difficulty that you would want
1:28:09and a ton of like replayability like yeah there are so many same level for a
1:28:15while now yeah and that's what you want right like yeah I'm getting my money's
1:28:20worth out of like the time that I got into it and I'm not I mean you guys know
1:28:23We talked about the show for years like I don't play games
1:28:26But I downloaded this because it's such a big deal and I did the free trial as a Q
1:28:30You know what? I'm really enjoying this and
1:28:33It's like the only game I've had on my iPhone in years and I've got some games on my iPad
1:28:37but the only game I've had on my phone and
1:28:39forever and it's um, it's great, but it's hard to see how the markets responding to it and it lost a bunch of
1:28:46market cap over at even in their stock price like I
1:28:51Worry that this will be a one-time thing the stock price thing is is whatever the same thing happened with Pokemon go, right?
1:28:57like
1:28:58Everybody got super excited because they thought that this was gonna mean that Nintendo was the most successful
1:29:03Compose bag the world again and then the reality here
1:29:06I mean look frankly five million downloads on day one
1:29:09Right and which and likes I saw a statistic that Pokemon go got like half a million on day one
1:29:13I mean
1:29:14I'm sure Pokemon go got up to the multiple millions of levels after the press and like the cultural phenomenon
1:29:21Which, you know what, we should have included Pokemon Go in our year in review.
1:29:25I don't know how I missed that.
1:29:28But whatever month it was that Pokemon Go happened, it was sometime in the summer, one
1:29:31of the biggest stories of the year.
1:29:33Like flat out one of the biggest stories of the year because it is a video game that did
1:29:38something that I've never seen a video game do before.
1:29:41It was a worldwide cultural phenomenon for the time that it was.
1:29:45I mean, and there are still people playing it a lot, which is awesome, but like there
1:29:49was that span of a couple of weeks where everybody was playing Pokemon Go.
1:29:53But yeah that's Mario I love the game I just I just wish two things like you
1:29:59know I wish that everybody could have done a better job and I wish that the
1:30:02focus was on the stuff that's good not the stuff that people think is bad. What
1:30:08else happened in December? Well something just happened right? Yeah AirPods shipped
1:30:12and I know Federico you just got yours like 20 minutes ago. Myke and I both got
1:30:18I used mine for a little bit yesterday.
1:30:20I mean, I want to save this for like a full topic,
1:30:24but I would say my initial impressions are a thumbs up.
1:30:28I think that they're really interesting.
1:30:30I think they are the most appley product
1:30:34we've seen from the company in a while.
1:30:35Just in like, there's like little pieces of charm to it,
1:30:39like little delights in the way that they work
1:30:41and the way that they act.
1:30:43That is like sort of classic Apple.
1:30:45And I, so far I'm really enjoying them.
1:30:48So they're comfortable. I've worn them for multiple hours now, mainly just around the house today.
1:30:56Mine came in yesterday evening. They work really well. I can totally see now why there's such limited controls available.
1:31:07Because the tapping to play pause or tapping to get Siri is not very reliable.
1:31:12Sometimes you could do it multiple times before it will work that out.
1:31:16So trying to have a set of complex gestures, that was just never going to happen.
1:31:20And I can see why they went with Siri. I still think that the Siri thing is a bad idea
1:31:24fundamentally, but I can see why they went with it as a cop-out for not being able to do anything
1:31:29more with them in this revision. But I hope in later revisions that they make the sensors better
1:31:34and maybe put some kind of touch on them. So it can do these
1:31:39Interactions via touch rather than accelerometer. I think the accelerometer is
1:31:42Really not not fine enough to be able to get make this work like
1:31:48But but hey the battery case is awesome
1:31:51The way that they sit in the case is great the fact that it charges whenever I put them in is great like it charges
1:31:57Super fast. I like the battery indicator as a charging the pairing is fantastic
1:32:00The main problem that I have with these is that they look really weird. They just look weird
1:32:06That will go away. Yeah, I showed them to Adina. I explained all the technology
1:32:12she thought it was cool, but she said they look weird and they do and
1:32:15I'm gonna feel weird being out in the street with them. I'm gonna take them out
1:32:20I'm going out this evening and I'm gonna be wearing them
1:32:22while I'm running some errands like and I'm gonna feel like I'm sticking out like a sore thumb with them because that's just how I'm
1:32:29Gonna feel because they look weird
1:32:32But we'll get over that and the next versions will be even better and I agree like
1:32:38This is a very Apple thing and it's really nice and I love that. It's a little white plastic case like I love all of that
1:32:45It's a it's a really cool little product
1:32:48But I feel like I have a lot more time to play around with them, but they do feel very comfortable
1:32:54and it's actually very easy to forget that you have them in because they really do not
1:33:01make much of an impact on your life when they're in your ears, right? They don't
1:33:04You don't feel it very much. So it's a cool product. Very cool product. Thanks
1:33:10So so what and we'll talk about them in a couple of weeks because we mentioned this already
1:33:14But we're gonna be we've taken a holiday break now for the show. We're back in on January 3rd now
1:33:19It's just a quick programming note, but that was
1:33:22That was 2016 2016 overall has been just in general a strange year
1:33:28There is a meme right now, like 2016 was just a hellfire of a year.
1:33:34Technology was no different.
1:33:35It's been a very weird year.
1:33:36It's been a very weird year if you're a fan of Apple.
1:33:39There have been some highs and there have been some lows and depending on your personal
1:33:44perspective, there have been more lows or highs or more highs than lows.
1:33:49But there have been some, I think, some very interesting changes in technology.
1:33:52I think there's been some very interesting stories.
1:33:55And there's no reason to feel that 2017 will be any different.
1:33:59I think it's going to be very interesting to see what Apple do in 2017 and the moves
1:34:02that they make.
1:34:04I'm very keen to see where the iOS devices go.
1:34:07You know, there's more rumors of, I hope you like that iPhone 6 design because you're going
1:34:12to get it again.
1:34:14But there's also rumors of, you're going to see an iPhone which is made completely of
1:34:17glass and wraps around your face.
1:34:19So I'm interested to see what September brings.
1:34:22Of course I'm interested to see what June brings.
1:34:24I'm looking forward to 2017.
1:34:31for
1:34:49I think so. I am at iMyke, I M Y K E. Thanks again to Smile for supporting this week's
1:34:55show. Thank you all for listening. Have a very happy holiday season. A happy new year
1:34:59to you and we'll be back in January. Until then, say goodbye guys.
1:35:03Adios.
1:35:04Adios.
1:35:04Adios!