The iPhone Sans Charger Debate

The Internet has been losing its mind the last several days over a rumor that Apple will ship the next iPhone without a charger or cable. The argument for is, of course, that you need a charger and a cable if you want to keep using your phone past the first charge. The case against is that nearly all consumers already have multiple chargers and cables, and the costs of shipping (and later disposing) of all of that is a lot more than you’d think. MKBHD did an excellent job summarizing (below).

This story is interesting to me in a few ways. In a lot of ways, I think your reaction to this story gives a good indication of your general thoughts about Apple. It is also curious to me how worked up people are getting over a mere rumor. Does Apple even know for sure how they’ll be shipping later this year? It is 2020, after all, and every day seems to bring new surprises.

If I were Apple, I’d be looking at ways to ship the phone without a charger or cord, but also have some mechanism where, if customers need those things, they get them with zero delay, friction, or cost. Apple is a pretty smart company. They can figure it out.

One last point is that if true, Apple will have effectively also ended the debate/outrage we all feel every year when they continue to ship $1,000 iPhones with 5W chargers.

Work Smarter, Not Harder with TextExpander (Sponsor)



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I love it when tools I use every day want to sponsor MacSparky.com. A case in point is this week’s sponsor, TextExpander. I use that application every day. I am currently working on a complicated transaction where we have a pile of exhibits, all with absolutely crazy names. So I made quick TextExpander snippet to rename the files. It inserts the date, puts in a transaction code, and even moves the curser to exactly the right place for me to type in a brief description. It took me about a minute to make the snippet and it saved me at least an hour. Just another day with TextExpander.

TextExpander makes you more productive. With the ability to add tokens for dates, get fill-ins from the user, and even run AppleScript, it is way more powerful than you’d think. With TextExpander you’ll see your snippets everywhere. It syncs between your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Windows PC instantly.

They’ve got free snippet groups for all sorts of folks including job recruiters, freelancers, airport codes, brand names, and more at the TextExpander website (or you can download some of mine).

TextExpander even lets you run AppleScripts. For example, I use TextExpander to auto address emails with Apple Mail.

Best of all, with TextExpander you don’t have to work alone: TextExpander for Teams lets you manage and share snippets with your coworkers or the entire company. Use this link to get 20% off. 

More Apple Stores Closing During Pandemic

As COVIC-19 comes roaring back, Apple is closing Apple stores in multiple states (including my home state, California). All of the work Apple has done to improve the online Apple Store experience over the last few years is paying off for them. Thus far, Apple has been paying its retail employees during these shutdowns. I know that is not true for a lot of employers and this is one area where I think we are all glad to see Apple spending its money.

I can’t help but wonder what the long term effects of this pandemic will be on an already suffering brick-and-mortar segment of retail sales. Microsoft announced plans to shutter its retail stores permanently last week and while I don’t think that will be the case for Apple, I’m not sure anyone else in retail sales is safe at this point.

The Paperless Field Guide Second Edition Is In Production

I am currently hard at work on an all-new second edition of the Paperless Field Guide. I am already deep in production and pleased with how it is coming out. While the curriculum is pretty thorough, it isn’t in stone just yet. If you’ve got ideas or problems you’d like to see solved with a new Paperless Field Guide, please send me an email (david@macsparky.com) with a subject line “Paperless Ideas”. While I can’t include everything, I promise to read your emails and consider them. It looks like the new Paperless Field Guide will release in late August/early September.

As part of this, I’ll be taking the old version down from the Apple Book Store. (If you already purchased it, you will still have access.) I can’t wait to share the new version with you.

Mac Power Users 542: Beta Tales



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It’s beta season, and on the latest episode of Mac Power Users, Stephen and I have reported for duty with reports of new features and general thoughts on macOS Big Sur, iOS and iPadOS 14, as well as watchOS 7. Plus, a brief announcement about something coming in July.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Have you ever forgotten a password? You don’t have to worry about that anymore. 

  • Cotton Bureau: Shop graphic tees, hoodies, and more. Use MPU10 for 10% off.

  • SaneBox: Stop drowning in email!

Walking and Chewing Gum

Steven Sinofsky, formerly of Microsoft, had an interesting Twitter thread a few days ago that was complimentary of Apple and its ability to ship their own Apple silicon. I read through the thread, and at one point he explains the sort of focus it takes for a company of Apple’s size to pull this off.

Then later, he makes a point that hit me right between the eyes.

Within hours of Apple announcing that they were moving all Macs to their own silicon within two years, I was on a podcast whining about the lack of a share button in Apple Mail.

I get Sinofsky’s point, but I don’t have any regrets whining about the Mail app, iOS tag support, or any of the other friction points I face every day as an Apple customer that could be solved with better software.

Make no mistake, this week was monumental in the evolution of the Mac. There is a reason that after so many years the macOS now goes to number 11. Apple silicon Macs are going to change the way we use our Macs significantly. I’m not sure if any of us appreciate how much these changes will resonate into the platform’s future.

Still … it sure would be nice if Apple added a share button to Mail on the iPhone and iPad.

The Touchscreen Mac

Every year, it is fun to look at the announcements from WWDC and look for the breadcrumbs that lead to new Apple hardware. Often signs exist pointing to new features, hardware, and screen sizes. You just have to look for them. That’s why many folks are looking at this week’s WWDC announcement and thinking that touchscreen Macs are on the way.

For years the argument against touchscreen Macs was that macOS made no concessions for touch, and trying to navigate an operating system made for a tiny mouse pointer with your big meaty finger would be madness.



But then there is the new macOS Big Sur. It seems to be made, if not explicitly, for touch, at least to be touch-friendly. For instance, just look at this Big Sur Apple Mail toolbar. (You can click to expand it). The toolbar is taller, the icons are bigger, and more spaced out. To get more room for these finger-friendly icons, they removed the search bar and replaced it with the magnifying glass icon. When you click (tap?) it, it expands for a full search bar. While space is nice, this takes it to an extreme if you are only using a mouse pointer.



Also, take a look at menu bar items. They are spaced out more than ever before. Again, that extra space looks nice, but it seems extreme if you use a mouse, yet just far enough to make selecting menu items with your finger possible.

The other bit of news that makes me think we’ll get a touchscreen Mac is that with the new Apple silicon Macs, they will natively run all iPhone and iPad apps. Think about that. You will be able to load any number of the millions of iPad and iPhone apps on your Mac, but the apps would (as matters currently stand) require a mouse or trackpad for interaction. None of those millions of apps were built with the idea of mouse input in mind, and it is going to be an odd (if not outright bad) experience. In the Platform State of the Union presentation, Apple made a show of using a mouse to play an iOS game on a Mac, but it all felt a little too precious.

So my theory is that at least some (if not all) of the Apple silicon Macs will be equipped with a touchscreen. That will let you run iPad and iPhone games as they were meant to be. The Big Sur user-interface changes will make it possible for you to navigate around your Mac with your meaty fingers. While macOS isn’t getting that bottom-up redesign for touch, Apple is hoping the changes they made will make it good enough for users to combine touch with mouse or trackpad when driving these machines as a traditional Mac.

I’m not the only one thinking about touchscreen Macs. Stephen and I discussed it on this week’s Mac Power Users episode just hours after the Keynote. Jason Snell wrote about this idea at Macworld and its potential long-term implications for the Mac. Nevertheless, don’t be surprised if when the new Apple silicon Macs start shipping later this year, they have touchscreens.

Get More Productive with Tomato 2 (Sponsor) 


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The reason the Pomodoro Technique is so popular is because it takes almost no effort to implement and immediately delivers real productivity. If you’re going to use the Pomodoro Technique on your Mac, I recommend Tomato 2, this week’s sponsor. Just like the Pomodoro Technique itself, Tomato 2 is easy to use and delivers immediate results.

What I like about Tomato 2 is the way it remains simple but adds flexibility. Pomodoro Technique purists insist you need to work in 25-minute bursts, but I prefer 45-minute bursts. Tomato 2 can do that. Tomato 2 also gives you feedback about how many Pomodoro sessions you finished charted out over your week.

Need a little help resisting distractions? Tomato 2 can also block those websites that get in the way of your productivity. I’ve tried several Pomodoro apps over the years, and Tomato 2 is the best I’ve ever used. Check it out.


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IOS 14 Back Tap for Camera and Flashlight

I couldn’t help myself and installed the iOS 14 beta on my iPhone. There are a lot of nice new features, but one obscure one is Back Tap. This new accessibility feature lets you trigger Accessibility functions by tapping the back of your phone two or three times. It also can trigger a Shortcut. So I made some simple shortcuts to trigger the camera and toggle the flashlight and added them to Back Tap triggers. Here is a video showing how it works.