Dark Noise Update

the official app icon for sound-generator app dark noise from developer charlie chapman.

Dark Noise is one of my favorite applications. I first used it years ago as my go-to white noise generator. (I particularly like the thunderstorm sound.) Over the years, I’ve become friends with the developer, Charlie Chapman, who does all the right things with his application.

So it’s no surprise to me that he recently released a version that now gives you Dark Noise controls in Control Center. If you haven’t played with Control Center on iOS 18 yet, you really should. It gives us all of the stuff we’ve been asking for for years now. It’s fully customizable with multiple screens, and while I haven’t nailed down my Control Center strategy just yet, I’m having a great time figuring it out.

The More Repairable iPhone 16

The iFixit teardown of the iPhone 16 is interesting. Apple is continuing to creep towards better repairability each year.

A constant problem for folks who like to crack their phones open is glue. Specifically, there’s a lot of adhesive inside these devices, and getting rid of it to do any repair is time-consuming and messy. Apple solved that with the battery in the new iPhone by using electrically activated adhesive. You apply a low-voltage current to it, and the battery pops out. It’s an interesting technology that I didn’t even know existed.

If you’d like to learn more about what’s inside your phone, check out the full iFixit video below.

Looking Forward to iOS 18.2

Now that we’re officially in October, I can’t help but think a bit about the 18.2 beta coming to iOS later this month. According to the rumors, we’re going to get several new Apple intelligence features including Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration, and personal context awareness for Siri. We’re also supposed to get the auto-sorting feature in Apple Mail. These are big features and represent a step up over the Apple Intelligence features we saw with 18.1.

The next six months, in general, will feel like a slow burn toward Apple intelligence. Apple’s put a lot of wood behind the arrow about how important Apple Intelligence is for them but we still need to see the more advanced features work. This feels like a big bet for Apple, and I’m curious to see how it plays out. We’ll get our next big indication with 18.2 later this month.

Mac Power Users 764: New iPhones and Software Releases

Stephen and I talk about Apple’s new hardware on this episode of Mac Power Users. Then, we take a tour of macOS Sequoia, iOS and iPadOS 18, and watchOS 11.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • SaneBox: Stop drowning in email!
  • Things: The award-winning to-do app. Ready for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. Download a free trial for your Mac.
  • Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU.
  • Backblaze: Unlimited cloud backup for macOS and Windows. Try it for free today.

The Hypothetical Cellular Mac

Ryan Christoffel, over at 9to5Mac, wrote an excellent article about how we are at an interesting crossroads over Macs with cellular chips. Specifically, Apple seems closer to releasing their own cellular chip and a lot of folks, myself included, have used that event as the hypothetical tipping point where Apple starts putting cellular chips in Macs.

If they don’t have to pay a fee to some other manufacturer, why not? Right?

If Apple doesn’t start putting cellular chips in Macs after they start shipping their own cellular chip, I have to wonder if they’ll ever do it.

The Lab Report for September 27, 2024

It’s time for the latest Lab Report from MacSparky, covering this week’s Apple news and updates.

In this week’s episode: iFixit tear-downs confirm easier repairs on iPhone 16 models, new legislation in California around smart phones, and will there an October Apple Event?
… This is a post for MacSparky Labs Members. Care to join? Or perhaps you need to sign in?