Friday, November 25, 2022 Friday, November 25, 2022
Back on November 1st, Nomad launched its Super Slim case for iPhone 14. The case, which is available in either carbide or frost colors, aims to protect your iPhone 14 in the most minimal way possible. This is a good case to consider if you want to protect your device, yet wish to maintain the general form factor of the iPhone 14.
Corresponding with Black Friday festivities, Nomad has launched an 30% off site-wide sale, which includes the Super Slim case and everything else Nomad sells. If you’re looking for some of the best iPhone and Apple Watch related third-party accessories out there, this is it. Sale ends Monday, and products are limited, so act now.
Specifications
50% recycled materials
Premium & grippy matte finish
360º coverage with chamfered cutouts for buttons and ports
Raised camera bump for added protection
Wireless charging compatible
I recently went hands-on with a video walkthrough, unboxing the Super Slim case, and showcasing it when paired with my space black iPhone 14 Pro. Both the carbide and frost color options looked great, but I appreciated how the translucent frost color paired with the space black colorway.
I found that the case provided a decent amount of grip. I think it arguably enhances the grip on regular iPhone 14 with the aluminum band, but isn’t quite as grippy as the stainless steel band on the Pro models.
In the end, I think the Super Slim case is a good choice for those who desire a measure of protection, but don’t like being saddled with some of the more unwieldy case options. Keep in mind that these cases are wireless charging compatible, but aren’t officially MagSafe cases due to the slim form factor.
Nomad also sent me the ultra-compact 30W power adapter in a limited edition transparent colorway. The adapter is almost as small as Apple’s 5W adapter, but because of GaN technology, it’s able to provide up to 6 times the power output. I especially find these adapters nice for replacing Apple’s 20W power adapters, because they are much smaller and fit in areas where Apple’s charger may not. For example, I’m using Nomad’s 30W chargers to power my HomePod mini setup, and it provides a cleaner look and simpler install on my power strip due to the small size.
Transparency: Nomad provided me with the cases and power adapter for review, but opinions are my own, and I wasn’t paid for this post. I genuinely like their stuff, and they’ve always been super supportive of independent creators.
Tuesday, November 22, 2022 Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Tesla — the “iPhone” of the automotive industry — has several integrations with popular music services. Spotify, TuneIn, Tidal, and Slacker (as the default streamer) currently grace the UI of the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y. The elephant in the room — the omission of Apple Music — has been a thorn in the side of many a Tesla user who also subscribe to Apple’s streaming music service.
Despite people clamoring for it, Tesla vehicles will probably never adopt Apple’s CarPlay, and from a business standpoint that makes sense. Why would Tesla give up so much control of its primary interface to Apple? I don’t ever see that happening, and I personally don’t blame Tesla for this decision at all.
But having no access to Apple Music within the native Tesla UI? That decision never made sense to me. It’s probably my number one complaint about Tesla vehicles. Thankfully, it looks as if the lack of native Apple Music support may be coming to an end if a recent post on r/teslamotors rings true. (via Tesla Raj).
As you all have seen by the pictures captured on the Model S display at Peterson Automotive Museum, Apple Music is coming to Tesla! This is probably coming in v11 Holiday Release! No word on Dolby Atmos but here is the notes! 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/4SAubjRHse
The image was captured at the Peterson Museum’s Tesla exhibit from a Tesla Model S running software version 2020.40.50.
Setting up the service appears to be fairly straightforward, and facilitated by a handy QR code instead of having to try to log in with an Apple ID from Tesla’s center-mounted display.
It looks like the annual holiday update is going to be one for the ages if you’re an Apple fan. Hopefully the UI is good, and perhaps there will be support for Dolby Atmos and Lossless downloads to a USB drive? I would like to imagine that Apple worked closely with Tesla to make it right, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Monday, November 21, 2022 Monday, November 21, 2022
iOS Rapid Security Response debut
The Rapid Security Response feature that Apple announced at WWDC 2022 is now undergoing beta testing. Users who are running iOS 16.2 beta 3 received a secondary security update named iOS Security Response 16.2 (a). This update includes no real security enhancements, as 9to5mac confirms that the test is merely that, a test. However, it does give us the first look at how Apple’s security updates will work. In most cases, Security Responses will be small updates that are aimed at fixing crucial security holes in iOS software without forcing the user to download a full iOS update.
After visiting Settings → General → Software Update, users are greeted with an invitation to Download and Install iOS Security Response 16.2 (a). The update looks similar to a normal OTA update, except for its size (this test came in at 98 MB).
Once the update is initiated, you’ll see the following responses from Apple’s update server:
Once downloaded, tap the Install Now button followed by your device’s passcode to initiate the update. Users will see a brief “Verifying Security Response” prompt before the device reboots. While the download and prep took a few minutes, the iOS Security Response 16.2 (a) update completed in just about 30 seconds after my iPhone rebooted. This is significantly faster than a typical iOS update, and will be a great feature for keeping detrimental bugs at bay without necessitating a full iOS update.
Users can also toggle automatic Security Response updates by going to Settings → General → Software Update → Automatic Updates, and using the Security Responses & System Files switch. This option is enabled by default, and I recommend keeping it enabled.
Verifying Security Response installation
Settings → General → About → iOS Version, and you should see the Security Response release notes, which are separate from the main iOS update release notes, if it was installed successfully.
Uninstalling a Security Response
To uninstall a Security Response, visit Settings → General → About → iOS Version, and tap the Remove Security Response button underneath its release notes. Tap Remove again on the pop-up that appears to confirm, and your iPhone will automatically reboot after a few seconds. Once rebooted, visit Settings → General → About → iOS Version to ensure that the Security Response is no longer displayed.
Updated Always On Display options for iPhone 14 Pro
iOS 16.2 beta 3 affords iPhone 14 Pro users more fine-grained control over the Always On Display. IN previous versions of iOS you could only disable the Always On Display, but in beta 3 you can disable Lock screen Wallpaper, Notifications, or both, yet still keep the Always On Display active for widgets and the date/time.
This is a step in the right direction, as even after a couple of months, I still haven’t gotten used to the Always On Display, and usually end up disabling it outright. I could also see hiding wallpaper providing a measure of battery life savings. Apple, please keep the customization options coming.
New ‘Battery Level’ Shortcuts variables
iOS 16.2 beta 3 includes a couple of new variables for the Battery Level action in Shortcuts. Not only can users prompt for battery level like before, but now they can check to see if the device is charging, or if it is connected to a charger.
Apple launches Emergency SOS via Satellite
Last Tuesday, Apple pushed a server-side update that made the new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature live for all iPhone 14 owners running iOS 16.1 or higher. This feature makes it so that you can communicate with emergency services via text even when you don’t have cellular connectivity.
All in all, I’m extremely impressed with Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite functionality.
There is also a new feature found in the Me tab of the Find My App that allows you to send your location to a friend using the Satellite feature. This, too, requires that your phone be without cellular signal.
On Tuesday, I traveled 25 minutes outside the city to go to a place with dense foliage, a place where I know that cellular access doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the location, the forest area was closed due to deer hunting season. Not wanting to get hit by stray buckshot, I thought it would be wise to heed the warning.
Although there is a demo, I was really looking forward to trying out some of the Emergency SOS via Satellite features in a real no-coverage situation. Fortunately, there is a workaround that can be used to simulate a scenario with no cellular coverage, and I cover it in my video walkthrough.
The Emergency SOS via Satellite demo
All in all, I’m extremely impressed with Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite functionality. It’s the type of thing that provides a little extra peace of mind when venturing off the grid for a hike. It’s clear that Apple worked hard to make satellite connectivity not only possible, but practical. For example, the iPhone 14 series has all of the need hardware to establish a connection with a satellite 800 miles in the sky, moving at thousands of miles an hour. In fact, you don’t even have to hold you iPhone in any awkward ways or perform any other song or dance to make it work.
Send Location via Satellite live example
I was able to send my location to a friend while completely devoid of cellular or Wi-Fi signal while sitting at my office desk indoors. This was not a test like the SOS demo, but the real deal. If that doesn’t speak to how impressive this feature is, I don’t know what will.
Above, you can see the result on a “friends” phone that follows me via the Find My app. Here, you can see my location was sent to the friend via satellite. These locations can be sent every 15 minutes.
Emergency SOS via Satellite is available for free for two years after iPhone 14 activation. It’s the type of feature that most people will forget about until they absolutely need it, but like Apple Watch, it’s only a matter of time before it makes a real difference in someone’s life.
Saturday, November 12, 2022 Friday, November 18, 2022
Coming via a December update once iOS 16.2 goes public is Custom Accessibility Mode. This new feature, according to 9to5Mac, will provide a more streamlined iOS and iPadOS experience for users who may benefit from a simpler interface. Custom Accessibility Mode will therefore be a Springboard replacement, which is the app icon Home Screen interface that iPhone users have used since the original iPhoneOS 1.0 launch. Upon launch, users will be able to enable Custom Accessibility Mode via Settings → Accessibility.
The Custom Accessibility Mode splash screen, which 9to5Mac unsurprisingly was able to unearth, features three main points:
Streamline Home Screen and apps
Large text and controls
Customizable to accommodate different needs
In a nutshell, it looks like Custom Accessibility Mode will be a simplified version of the iOS interface for users who might benefit from such an experience. Similar to how services like GrandPad make using an Android tablet dead-simple for older users, Custom Accessibility Mode aims to do that, but on iOS. Head over to 9to5Mac to see more pictures of it in action.
iOS 16.2 finally enables 5G support for iPhone users in India. Support will officially launch once iOS 16.2 goes public next month, but beta users in India have confirmed that 5G support is now active while using the 16.2 beta.
Freeform settings panel
The Freeform app that Apple debuted back at WWDC was made available in the initial iOS 16.2 beta. In the second beta, Apple added a settings panel for Freeform that includes alignment guide preferences, as well as software acknowledgements.
‘Everyone’ AirDrop receiving setting for just 10 minutes in China
This is a China-only feature that disables the ability to set AirDrop receiving to Everyone indefinitely. One reason for this change may be to stave off unwanted spam via unsolicited AirDrop sessions.
Music app
The Music app gets a couple of new changes in iOS 16.2 beta 2:
Animated album artwork features transparent audio details and Play/Shuffle buttons.
Transport controls now feature same button animations as Lock Screen Live Activity.
Live Activities
More status bar icons appear next to Dynamic Island
Live Activities – More Frequent Updates
Lock Screen
Health – Medications Lock Screen widgets
Long-press needed to disable Focus on Lock Screen
Show Photo in Library option when using photo wallpaper
Sleep Mode alarm doesn’t appear on top of Lock Screen album art
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 Wednesday, November 9, 2022
As promised earlier this year, LumaFusion, by far the most feature-filled NLE option for iPad and iPhone video editors, is now available for Android and ChromeOS users. Starting today, LumaFusion is available from the Google Play Store or Galaxy Store as an early access beta for just $19.99, a 30% discount off the full $29.99 price. Once the final version ships later this year, an update will be available to early access users at no additional charge.
I’ve been a big proponent of LumaTouch’s work for a long time, and the praise has been well-deserved. Not only did LumaFusion start off strong out of the gate, but it’s continued to grow and expand and a steady clip. Terri Morgan and her team at LumaTouch have done what basically no one else has been able to do — create a competent NLE that’s capable of producing high-quality videos on a touch-first platform like the iPad and iPhone. Now the lessons the team has learned over the past few years as an iOS-only app will expand to an even larger user base.
On a whole, iOS and iPadOS are leaps and bounds ahead of the various Android storefronts when it comes to high quality apps, but attracting a desktop-class app like LumaFusion is a definite win for Android users. If users support this app, like they should, it might convince other popular developers to make high quality Android software as well.
Here’s a video preview of LumaFusion running on a ChromeBook to give you an idea of what to expect:
In addition, here are some of the features that Android and ChromeOS users can expect from this initial early access version of LumaFusion:
Editing
Layer up to 6 video and 6 audio tracks (number of layers determined by your device type)
Powerful magnetic timeline with insert/overwrite and link/unlink clips
Display track headers for locking, hiding, and muting tracks
Use preset effects or create your own
Add markers with notes
Cut, copy, paste in your timeline and between projects using multiselect
Effects
Layer effects; green screen, luma and chroma keys, blurs, distort, styles and color
Use powerful color correction tools
Select from included color LUTs like FiLMiC deLog or import your own .cube or .3dl
Animate with unlimited keyframes
Save and share effect presets
Speed FX
Create slow motion/fast motion forward and reverse
Create smooth slow motion using 120 and 240fps files
Edit with time-lapse video
Audio
Keyframe audio levels, panning and EQ for perfect mixes
Fill-from-left / right for dual-mono audio captures
Duck music during dialog with Auto-ducking
Titler
Create multilayer titles with shapes and images
Adjust font, color, face, border and shadow
Save and share title presets
Project Manager
Create projects with a variety of aspect ratios (including landscape, portrait, square, widescreen film)
Work in frame rates from 18fps to 240fps
Duplicate, add notes, and use color-tag projects
Media Library
Use media directly from your device
Link to media on USB-C drives – only download what you use on the timeline.
Import media: cloud storage (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive)
Storyblocks Library (In App Purchase) includes thousands of royalty-free music, sound fx, videos, and backgrounds
View detailed metadata for your media
Rename, add notes, and color-tag
Sort and search to quickly find what you need
Share Features
Easily share movies with control over resolution, quality, and framerate
Create a snapshot of any frame
Archive projects for backup or edit on another device
Available Purchases
Subscribe to Storyblocks for LumaFusion to access the full library of music and clips
To learn more, and to get links to direct downloads of the Android, ChromeOS, and Samsung versions of LumaFusion, visit Luma-Touch.com.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022 Thursday, November 17, 2022
In this post I’ll show you step by step how to create a macOS Ventura bootable USB installer. In today’s versions of macOS, it’s not as important to have a USB installer disk on hand like it used to be several years back, but portable installers can still come in handy. As someone who generally maintains multiple Macs, I find USB installers especially handy for installing macOS in environments with slow internet speeds.
Step 4: In the Terminal window type: sudo followed by a space.
Step 5: Open Finder → Applications, right click on Install macOS Ventura, and select Show Package Contents.
Step 6: Open Contents → Resources and drag createinstallmedia to the Terminal window. A space will automatically be placed at the end of the path location.
Step 7: In the same Terminal window type the following with a space inserted afterward:
-- volume
Step 8: Open Finder and in the menu bar click Go → Go to Folder. Type /volumes and press Return on your keyboard.
Step 9: Drag the location of the USB drive to the Terminal window and press Return on your keyboard.
Step 10: You’ll now be asked to enter your Administrator password. Once you do, you’ll be asked to verify that you wish to erase the USB volume. Type ‘Y’ and press Return on your keyboard to continue.
Step 11: Createinstallmedia will now run. First it will erase the disk, then make the disk bootable, and finally, copy the needed contents to disk to complete the macOS Ventura USB installer. The process will take about 5-10 minutes.
Step 12: Once the process is completed, Terminal will report that install media is now available at “Volumes/Install macOS Ventura”. You can now close Terminal, open Finder, and eject the Install macOS Ventura USB drive.
Creating a bootable macOS Ventura USB installer via Terminal
Booting from the macOS Ventura USB installer
Note: These following steps pertain to Macs with Apple Silicon. If you’re using an Intel Mac, hold Option (⌥) instead of the power button in step 3.
Step 1: Power down your Mac
Step 2: Connect the macOS Ventura USB installer.
Step 3: Press and hold the power button on your Mac and continue holding. You should see the Apple logo and eventually a message that says: continue holding for startup options.
Step 4: After a few seconds, you will see a message that says Loading startup options, after which you can remove your finger from the power button.
Step 5: The startup selector will appear, and Install macOS Ventura should appear as one of the options. Select Install macOS Ventura and click Continue.
Step 6: In most cases the macOS Recovery interface with your users. Click your user, and you’ll be requested to enter your administrator password. Once the password is entered, click Continue.
Step 7: You’ll now have the option to set up the installation of macOS Ventura using your desired method.
The end result: macOS Ventura installer
Conclusion
As I stated at the outset, not everyone will find a macOS Ventura bootable USB installer useful in 2022, but it’s nice to have on hand when needed. I find that it comes in handy when needing to upgrade a machine to Ventura that’s in an area with slow network connectivity. For that reason, I’ll always keep one close by.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments with your thoughts.
