ios
My Siri Shortcuts (in iOS 12 beta 1)
I think the most exciting thing Apple announced at WWDC last week was Siri Shortcuts. It looks to me like a brand new way to interact with our iOS devices and I am way into it. It’s as if Workflow and Launch Center Pro had a baby and Apple built that into the operating
podcast
Podcast #99: Auditing Your Digital Workflow
People have a tendency to always be looking for the latest and greatest software to do their work with. They want something new, something shiny. And while tools are important and when possible you should try to use the best tool for the job, this quest to always find something better will not magically make
podcast
Podcast #97: Demystifying Shortcuts in iOS 12 and watchOS 5
Shortcuts might be the coolest new addition to iOS and watchOS coming this fall, and today I do my best to demystify the many layers of this feature.
Understanding Shortcuts in iOS 12 - BirchTree
Subscribe to The BirchTree Podcast here.
goodie
Sunday Surprise: iOS12’s Shortcuts Wallpapers
I wrote essentially an “explainer” on Apple Shortcuts, coming in iOS 12 and watchOS 5 this fall, and I couldn’t resist but make some wallpapers based on them.
As always, these are in super high resolutions (well north of 5K) and can be downloaded here (2.6MB zip).
Desktops
Full size 6827x3840
Full size
ios
Understanding Shortcuts in iOS 12
I’m seeing a bunch of people saying Shortcuts are a power user-only feature. “No normal person will ever use these!” In their WWDC keynote, I think Apple leaned too hard into what Shortcuts can do for power users, and people lost the message that these are something users will benefit from even if
Siri in iOS 12: Apple’s Big Leap
I think Apple made a big leap with Siri at WWDC this year, and it’s notable for being a different leap than we were expecting. This is being read as disappointing to some, and revolutionary to others. Why are some people totally jazzed? Take a look at this quick Siri action in Drafts:
https:
podcast
10 Awesome Features Coming in watchOS 5 (podcast episode #96)
Apple unveiled watchOS 5 yesterday and here are my 10 most exciting features I've seen and used in the first beta so far.
1. Automatic workout detection
2. Advanced running features (steps-per-minute, rolling pace)
3. Walkie talkie
4. Podcasts
5. Audio apps in the background
6. Grouped notifications
7. Third party
podcast
WWDC18 Reaction Podcast
Is "hugely smarter" grammatically correct? I hope it is because I said it with confidence in today's second episode of the podcast. These were my immediate impressions following the keynote.
I had no notes and the Apple site hadn't been updated in time for this recording so I blanked
goodie
Apple Developer Wallpaper (just in time for WWDC)
https://twitter.com/_inside/status/1003292582435262465
Yes, why yes it would! I'm not entirely sure exactly where that graphic is from, but it looks really cool.
Wordpress doesn't like having these at full res (14,400px wide!), so you can download a ZIP with all 4 variants here or use the
tech
Keyboard Micro-Review Collection
My wife tells me I have a keyboard problem. You know what, she’s probably right, as I have more keyboards than I really need, but I’m always on the look out for the perfect solution for me. In light of this, here are all the current keyboards I own with basically tweet-length
iOS Apps Crank it to 11 Right Before iOS 12
(That thing where you write a terribly punny post title without even realizing it.)
App developers seem to be treating WWDC as a deadline to get their big updates/launches out of the way. Presumably, this will let them devote much of their summers to updating for whatever goodies will be included in iOS 12.
ios
Work Apps in iOS 12
I failed to mention this in any of my notification articles yet, and that’s a damn shame because I think this would be a great feature. Without further ado, here’s what I want.
Apps should be able to be marked as “work” apps. This would simply mean they are an app that is
homepod
HomePod Gets It’s First Meaningful Update
Note: HomePod did get an update last month, but no one was able to suss out any user-facing changes.
The most exciting update for me is the ability to finally ask my HomePod about my schedule for the day. My work calendar is super important to me and the fact Siri on the HomePod
iOS 12: Realistic Hopes and Dreams
iOS 12 is exactly one week away and if you’re not feeling the hype then…well I guess everything is fine. We’ve made it through Microsoft’s and Google’s annual developer events and next up is the one that I personally am the most invested in. With that in mind, and in
Links
Going All Open Source on Android
Corbin Davenport tried to go all in on open source software on his Android phone:
I started this experiment with one question in mind: could you realistically use an Android phone in 2018 with only open-source software? I think for most people, the answer is no. Just about every service or app used by