7 Things This Week [#26]
A weekly list of things I found interesting, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.
1️⃣ The Next Chapter of Readwise: Our Own Reading App — Readwise Blog
One framework we’ve found especially helpful to structure such product discussions is to separate reading into three components: before, during, and after you read.
If we can build software that helps you be twice as effective in each of these stages — choose twice as efficiently before you read, comprehend twice as deeply while you read, and retain twice as much after you read — the compounded effect will be the Thielian 10x improvement we’re shooting for.
Very excited for this! While I’m super happy with Reeder for my RSS and Read-It-Later needs, I do wish that I could highlight bits more natively and be able to return to them. I gave Readwise a try a while back and enjoyed the way it resurfaced highlights from Kindle books, but ultimately didn’t find that to be enough to justify an ongoing monthly subscription. If they can make a high-quality app that integrates RSS, read-it-later, and highlight retention, I’ll be all-in.
And, as a side note, I really appreciated how well-written this blog post was. It’s long, but cohesive and lays out their vision of success in a very readable way.
2️⃣ Apple hypes next week’s iPhone 13 event with AR portal experience — 9to5Mac
Now Apple has included another fun Easter egg for the “California streaming” event. If you head to Apple’s Events page on your iPhone or iPad, tap on the event logo/Apple logo at the top to launch the AR experience.
Speaking of things that I’m excited for, Apple’s next event is coming up rapidly on Tuesday. If the rumors are to be believed, it could be a costly fall: new iPhone (🤞 for a good Mini that could last a few years), new Watch (loving the rumored design, and hopefully improved battery life), and AirPods (two years seems to be about the limit for the batteries, but I’m also optimistic about their rumored redesign and stem-based controls). The AR easter egg on Apple’s site is undoubtably their best yet!
3️⃣ Impossible Type — Fleta Selmani | Bēhance:
I’m a sucker for both impossible structures and creative typography. So this typeface concept was right up my alley.
Still, on balance, I’m pleased with the Court’s decision. You can argue about whether Judge Gonzalez Rogers overstepped the bounds of her authority by imposing a nationwide injunction based on state law. That’s the sort of remedy that I think is more appropriately the purview of federal legislators. However, I’m also glad to see additional pressure brought to bear that I hope will result in meaningful changes to the App Store for all developers, and that doesn’t reward Epic’s questionable legal tactics.
The big news out of this week was about the Epic vs. Apple ruling by Judge Gonzalez Rogers. John Voorhees, who used to work as a lawyer, had an excellent overview of what the 185(!) page legal document means for both companies. It’s got plenty of pull quotes but John writes so anyone can understand what’s going on. I tend to agree with John’s levelheaded assessment here.
5️⃣ Addressing 4 Misconceptions About Payments I Typically Hear from Apple Enthusiasts — Birchtree
The important thing to know here is that when you use an Apple Pay button on the web, you’re saving time and reducing the odds of a typo in your payment details, but the transaction flow is basically the same for the merchant. And like I mentioned in the first misconception, the odds are that all ways a merchant takes your card data on their site involve the card number being hidden from them.
Matt Birchler, who works in the payments industry, sheds some light on how Apple Pay works for merchants. I thought I had a pretty clear understanding of the benefits, features, and flow for Apple Pay, but even I learned a bit from Matt. Good, succinct read.
6️⃣ Some simple advice for Apple and app developers: It’s not about you — Macworld
Too often, when a company stumbles, it’s not because it made a fundamentally bad decision. It’s because it made a decision that benefited itself rather than its customers and lacked the perspective to understand that customers don’t applaud when you lower your costs or the quality of your product.
I’ve made this very mistake in past lives. Feeling clever about solving an internal problem but misjudging how external parties would feel about it leads down a thorny path.
7️⃣ The Affinity Photo People’s Choice Award — Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
Funny animal photos are my jam, and are some truly great gems in this people’s choice collection. It was so hard to vote. I’m going to have to go searching for a Twitter or Instagram account for more hilarious photos of animals like these.
Thanks for reading! If you found these things interesting too, or have something exciting to share, please drop me a line on Twitter!