November 2024

iOS & Apple news

Apple has started to deliver on AI, as promised: Apple Intelligence is available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. `Users can now tap into Apple Intelligence to refine their writing; summarize notifications, mail, and messages; experience a more natural and capable Siri; remove distracting objects from images with Clean Up; and more.' Apple offers a thorough overview of what has been released so far.

Apple also released the Hearing Aide feature for AirPods Pro.

Inside the Audio Lab: How Apple developed the world’s first end‑to‑end hearing health experience

The Wall Street Journal published a feature article: Tim Cook on Why Apple’s Huge Bets Will Pay Off. `The CEO of the world’s most valuable company led two of the biggest product launches of his tenure this year—and believes they will be as life-changing for the rest of us as they are for him.'

Also, regarding Apple and AI:

Joanna Stern of the WSJ on AI.

Apple introduced the new Mac Mini:

The new Mac Mini overview, by Macrumors.

ArsTechnica Mac Mini review: `M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis are probably Apple’s best Mac minis ever. First Mac mini redesign in almost 15 years highlights how good the insides are.'

The new MacBook Pro overview, by MacRumors.

Apple also refreshed the iMac lineup with M4 and all the colors.

[ RUMOR ] Apple announced iOS18.2 will be released in December; a potential date is Dec 9. `iOS 18.2 includes additional Apple Intelligence features for iPhone 15 Pro models and all iPhone 16 models, including Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration for Siri, and more. On all compatible iPhones, the update also adds a new Defaults section in the Settings app, an item location sharing feature in the Find My app, and more,' reports Macrumors.

iOS 18.1

The Hearing Aid feature explained in nice detail:

Apple's AI feature to summarize emails has been released, here's Apple's humorous intro:

Siri has been enhanced with AI powers -- that are transparent to the user -- to be more refined and personal. Here's an example from Apple:

Also, AI writing tools help you change the tone and style of your emails as you need:

Here is a deeper look into the new iOS 18 Photos app:

iOS apps

Sunlitt tracks the position of the sun and gives you a lot of useful information about it. You can use it for real estate, for landscapes, for camping, for photography, and more. It has been an iOS, watchOS app, and visionOS, and was just released for macOS. It has been a finalist for an Apple Design Award in 2024. It offeres a 7-day free trial. It is $20/year.

podcasts

Kara Swisher is a journalist and a podcaster. But here is an intersting interview of Kara Swisher by another journalist: Why Kara Swisher loves country music and the military. The podcast is series Life In Seven Songs. They interview one person at a time by asking them to pick 7 songs that capture their life and personality. A very enjoyable and interesting premise and it reveals a good deal about a person.

tips & tricks

How to take a hearing test and turn on the Hearing Aid feature:

How to use Writing Tools with Apple Intelligence:

Use Writing Tools with Apple Intelligence on iPhone, by Apple Support.

Starting in iOS 18.1, you can record a phone call or FaceTime audio call on your iPhone and find the recording and transcript later in Notes. With Apple Intelligence enabled on supported devices, you can view a generated summary of the call as well. How to record & transcribe a phone call on iPhone:

How to Record and transcribe a call on iPhone, by Apple Support.

gadgets & accessories

Last month, both Mary Anne and Olga bought the Schlage BE499WBCEN716 Encode Plus Century WiFi Deadbolt Smart Keyless Entry Touchscreen Door Lock. They reported on their (very positive) experiences with this lock.

Also, Olga reported on the Aqara Video Doorbell G4 she bought last month.

Note: Olga also mentioned the Wemo smart video doorbell she has been using for 1.5 years. Unfortunately, some undiagnosable interaction with the transformer was causing problems and nobody could resolve them.

Pay

Apple celebrates 10 years of Apple Pay. From Apple's Newsroom: `Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, reflects on a decade of Apple Pay enriching users’ lives, and shares new ways to pay with Apple Pay, including rewards and installments.'

watch

next iPUG

Our next iPUG meeting will be on Tuesday, December 3, at 7 pm AZ/MT time.