The moon was captured by a smartphone. Can you guess which one?
One port to rule them all
It looks like the European Union is going full-speed ahead with its plans to push every electronics maker to adopt a universal charge port. For now, that’s USB-C, a port favored by virtually all Android phone manufacturers and various other consumer gadgets, but not Apple.
Apple is still using the lighting port.
Some believe that the EU is, once again, way overstepping. It’s like Wyoming setting the regulatory agenda for all of the US. Plus, its GDPR has turned into a mess of confusion where people are purposely accepting all cookies because they have no idea how to opt out.
On Twitter, I noted that Apple probably won’t sweat this. It’s been slowly switching other devices like the iPad to USB-C and, for the iPhone, is surely already looking at what comes after lightning. That might be the USB-C port, but it also could be no port. Getting that done by 2024 seems possible.
It’s unclear if the EU will force Apple to change ports in still-for-sale legacy devices like the iPhone 13, though that seems unlikely.
Apple will make a lot of public pronouncements about the change, most of them cautioning that the EU should not have this kind of power and the change could ultimately cost consumers. Behind the scenes, though, they’ll be preparing for the inevitable transition.
Port of no call
After years of pushing promoting and expanding its Portal Video calling line, Meta/Facebook is apparently pulling the plug on the whole thing.
You’ll still be able to buy them for a while and Meta promises to offer long-term support, but Portal is basically a dead-end consumer technology.
Not gonna lie, I’m a little annoyed. I reviewed the original Portal and liked it enough to buy one for my house and one for my mother-in-law. We use it every day. It was smart, simple, and tied into Facebook in a way that made sense.
I like the Amazon Alexa integration which meant I didn’t need an Amazon Echo speaker in my house. I could do video and voice control all through one device.
Some day in the not-too-distant future, Meta will announce that it’s no longer supporting Portals, they’ll all stop working, and I’ll be left with bricked technology.
Aside from cost-cutting, I don’t know why Meta is killing Portal (except for Business applications - it’s already running Portal business ads), but I suspect it has something to do with all the money the company is pouring into the Metaverse.
That’s fine, I guess. I’m not yet a huge fan of the Metaverse, but see tiny sparks of potential. Of course, who knows if Meta will stick with it or, maybe, decide five years from now that the metaverse isn’t the society-altering idea it thought it would be. Maybe then it’ll bring back the Portal.
Inside Apple
Last week, I sat down via video with Apple’s Craig Federighi and Alan Dye to talk about one crucial part of the upcoming iOS 16 update: the Lock Screen.
It’s a big change and one that, having downloaded and installed the Dev Beta, I can say looks pretty amazing.
What’s more interesting, though, is how Apple arrived at these changes. My conversation was a rare glimpse behind the curtain and at Apple’s rather interesting - and successful - design and engineering process.
I encourage you to sit back and check out my entire long read, which also includes a hidden feature Apple hadn’t revealed up until this point.
Stay well
See you soon