Episode 16 – New iPhones, Content Blockers, iOS 9

Episode 16 is a fairly iPhone-centric affair. We start out with a review of the new software releases from Apple over the past week, with iOS 9 landing on schedule last week and WatchOS 2 arriving a few days late. We discuss some of our favorite built-in features, and also the relatively small number of apps that seem to be taking advantage of the new features in both operating systems.

Our Question of the Week this week is about the hot topic of the moment – content blockers in iOS 9. This discussion starts at around 23:35 in the episode, and we review the context and the technical details behind Apple’s implementation of content blocker extensions in Safari, the worries some people have about the implications of these content blockers, and an evaluation of the likely impact over time.

Our final topic is the new iPhones, and this section of the episode starts at around 41:40. Neither of us has our hands on these devices yet, but we discuss the reviews and what they reveal about reviewers, as well as our take on the preorder process and early numbers from Apple and what (if anything) they might signify.

As usual, we wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this time around is a band Aaron recommends. The SoundCloud player is below as usual, with links to relevant content and other material beneath that.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 15 – Apple September 2015 Event Deep Dive

Last week, we did a quick half-hour quick take on Apple’s September event, and briefly covered all the major announcements. This week, we dive a little deeper on each of the announcements, but focus mostly on the Apple Watch, iPad, and Apple TV announcements, touching only briefly on the iPhone, which we’ll cover in a bit more depth next week. On the Apple Watch front, Aaron notes that there are no obvious killer apps for the Watch yet, even with the WatchOS 2 release imminent, and we talk about the implications for product upgrade and release cycles given the addition of new color options last week. With regard to the iPad Pro, we discuss Steve Jobs’s famous comment about the role of the stylus, as well as Tim Cook’s remark from the event itself that the iPad represents “the clearest expression of our vision of the future of computing”. Aaron also follows up on his comment from last week about the possible role of the iPad Pro in college settings. On the subject of the Apple TV, we discuss the interesting storage limitations Apple has placed on apps, along with the significance of the On-Demand Resources model; the requirement for all games to support Apple’s Siri Remote, and not just third-party controllers; and possible upgrade cycles. With the iPhone, we discuss briefly the significance of 3D Touch, the new cameras, and a few other features, as well as Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program. As ever, the SoundCloud player is embedded below, and links to other versions as well as other relevant content are underneath that.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 14 – Apple September Event First Take

This is our quick take on Apple’s September event, which was recorded with Jan sitting outside the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, immediately following the conclusion of the Apple event. As such, the audio on this episode is not up to our usual standards. It’s also shorter than most of our episodes and doesn’t follow our usual format. Instead, you’ll hear about 25 minutes of quick conversation following the chronological order of Apple’s event, with some tidbits from the hands-on experience. We’ll do a deeper dive next week, hopefully with our usual audio quality!

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.

Episode 13 – Apple Event Preview, Apple TV as Game Console, Android Wear and iPhone

Ahead of Apple’s big event next week, we spend the majority of our time previewing the likely announcements. The conversation kicks off with a general discussion of what we’re expecting with regard to new iPhones, iPads, and the new Apple TV, including a brief discussion of the reporting and in particular the scoops some publications seem to be getting very good at, notably Mark Gurman at 9to5Mac. We then do a deep dive on the Apple TV, as Aaron answers our Question of the Week: “How would the new Apple TV compete as a gaming console?” Aaron talks through the technical capabilities of the device and the developer program Apple is likely to build around the Apple TV and how these compare to the leading consoles in the market today, and we also discuss the controller(s) for gaming on the Apple TV, content restrictions, and social gaming. Our final brief topic is the announcement this week that Android Wear devices will now work with iPhones, albeit in a very limited fashion. Jan wraps things up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is an app, for the first time.

The SoundCloud player for the episode is embedded below, and underneath that you’ll find some links to related content, including Jan’s piece today on the Apple TV for Techpinions.

We invite listeners to submit questions for subsequent weeks in the comments below, on Twitter (@jandawson, @aaronmiller), or via email (jan at jackdawresearch dot com). We also now have a dedicated Podcast Twitter handle at @BDPcast.

As ever, you can also find the podcast on iTunes, in the Overcast app, or your own favorite podcast app. Here is the RSS feed for the podcast if you want to add it manually to your app of choice.

Show notes:

Here are some useful links relating to this week’s episode:

Please leave us a comment or get in touch via Twitter to give us feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Also, we’d love it if you would leave a review of the podcast on iTunes.