704: Past the Ternus Horizon

Key takeaways

Apple's app review system is experiencing significant delays, impacting launches and updates.
Apple's icon design in macOS/iOS 27 hints at a move toward more practical, bitmap-based, and glassy icons, allowing more designer flexibility.
There’s a strong need for Apple to overhaul the Apple Watch, especially to reduce size, improve battery life, and introduce varied form factors suited for different user needs and markets.
Hardware supply chain issues, especially with memory, are causing delays and shortages for upcoming Apple products, emphasizing the importance of new battery chemistries.
Managing OS updates can be complex, especially during beta cycles; careful planning is needed to avoid system issues, particularly for family devices.
Robust backup strategies—combining local backups like Time Machine with cloud solutions like Backblaze—are crucial to safeguarding data, especially for shared or caretaking scenarios.
Podcast hosts discuss the importance of clear mental models for services like Slack and suggest organizing passwords with meaningful, searchable names for easier management.

Summary

Apple's Software Update Challenges and Beta Testing Issues

The hosts discuss the ongoing frustrations with Apple's app review process, especially for iOS apps, highlighting delays that impact launch plans and in-app purchase approvals. The systemic issues seem to have worsened recently, exceeding the traditional 1-2 day review times and causing delays up to two weeks or more. This affects marketing and pre-order setups, as developers can't predict or control review timelines. The conversation also covers beta updates for macOS and iOS 27, noting changes to icons and the evolution of icon design standards, emphasizing efforts to improve icon aesthetics and system consistency.

Apple's Future of Apple Watch and Wearables Innovation

The discussion explores rumors about a major overhaul of the Apple Watch lineup, including possibilities of a new Series 12 Ultra, return of ceramic cases, and various new form factors, including options with no display or different sizes like round screens. The hosts agree that the current Apple Watch design has become somewhat stale and that Apple hasn't heavily innovated in hardware for over a decade. They propose that Apple should consider simpler, more affordable devices focused on fitness and notifications, possibly even device types like rings or bands that prioritize health sensors over full smart features. The Ultra's success is attributed to its new look that appealed visually, suggesting a larger trend towards diversified, more specialized wearables.

Battery Technology and Hardware Innovation in Apple Devices

The hosts touch on the challenges of improving battery life in Apple Watch and other devices, mentioning new battery chemistries like silicon-carbon batteries that could extend runtime. They discuss Apple’s attempt to explore a Chinese chipmaker, CXMT, for DRAM to mitigate supply chain issues, which has backfired, leading to less leverage and more competition from Korean memory makers. The ongoing global memory shortage and manufacturing delays threaten production schedules for upcoming Apple products, emphasizing the importance of new, more efficient battery technologies and diversified hardware approaches.

Design and Iconography Updates in macOS and iOS 27 Beta 5

Details are shared about visual updates in the latest macOS and iOS 27 beta 5, including icons such as Siri, Chess, Safari, and Preview. These icons show a shift from liquid glass effects to more straightforward, bitmap-style images that are easier to render and manipulate, indicating a practical change that hopes to improve system consistency and developer flexibility. The hosts appreciate the trend toward more simplified, glass-like icons and speculate about improvements and limitations in dark and light modes. They also discuss ongoing tweaks to system icons, emphasizing the need for more customizable icon creation options in future macOS releases.

The Future of Apple Watch and Variations for Broader Market Needs

Discussion centers on the long-overdue need for a redesign of the Apple Watch, with emphasis on battery life, size, weight, and aesthetic appeal to attract younger and more diverse users. The hosts suggest that Apple should develop lower-cost, simplified versions that focus purely on health and fitness, potentially as screenless devices or bands that omit features like apps and notifications to serve niche markets. There’s also talk of exploring new form factors like rings, which could provide health monitoring without the bulk of current models, expanding Apple's reach into different wearables markets.

Supporting Topics and Listener Engagement

Various additional discussions include tips on securing passwords using app naming and organization, mechanisms for managing OS updates and badges, and navigating the complexities of Slack's account system, highlighting user confusion and the need for clearer mental models. The hosts emphasize the importance of proper backup strategies, differing opinions on cloud versus local backups, and suggestions for physical solutions like SD card slots for Time Machine backups. The episode concludes with a reflection on the proliferation of digital and hardware innovations, demonstrating the hosts’ multifaceted interests and ongoing curiosity about technology trends.

Show notes

Pre-show: Marco has a rose and thorn
Follow-up:
- Marco’s favorite feedback (about Myke) was from Analog(ue) 😬
  - SQLite bug write-up
  - Blackbird
- Post-show Neutral
  - Professional negotiators / “headhunters” are very much a thing
    - CarEdge (via John Siracusa)
    - Delivrd (via Roger Coxon)
      - Wall Street Journal (News+ link)
    - The Car Chick (via Juan Boyce)
      - The #1 trusted automotive expert for women and smart men
    - Your Car Buying Advocate (via Ian McCullough)
    - Two options from Colin Macdonald
      - Automatch Consulting
      - Insight Auto Consulting
  - Casey makes some discoveries over the last week
    - Justification from the midwest dealer
    - Ventilated seats
    - Laser headlights
  - Marco takes a spin as well
- John’s passwords pro-tip
- Codex Micro (via St. Chris)
  - Icon keys
- John and Casey weep for a while about Verizon CableCARDs 😭
- Backups
  - Time Machine has a fatal flaw (via Jonathan Dechko)
  - …but also a workaround (via Eric Jacobsen)
    - Transcend JetDrive
    - BaseQi Adapter
  - Are backups even necessary? (via Mustapha Hamoui)
- Apple Upgrade
  - Lease agreements are between customer & financier, not the retailer (via Patch)
  - Apple Card also has 12 months interest-free (via Andrew Haglund)
- RAMpocalypse
New macOS & iOS 27 β5 icons
- Siri
- Chess
- John pours one out for his homie
- Keir’s observation about icon composition
- Safari
- Preview
- Settings
Apple Watch overhaul rumors
- The Casio watch everyone has (it’s small; here’s a bigger one if you want, or a more modern one with step-counting)
John’s Passwords pro tip
Post-show: John’s macOS update woes
Members-only ATP Overtime: More AI hardware rumors
- Is OpenAI making a hockey puck or a doughnut?
- Anthropic will design its own hardware to power Claude