Crashing Clockwise #537: ‘All I Found Were Three Apple TV Remotes’
Welcome back to the show, freshly-unfrozen host emeritus, Jason Snell.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Dan Moren: As part of the final Epic vs. Apple case decision, Apple is now allowing links to payments outside the App Store; I’m curious if you see this actively changing the state of how the App Store works, if it’ll stave off scrutiny from regulators, or do you think it’s just a sop?
I think Apple is asking too much of developers for any quantity of them to go through the hassle of getting the entitlement, tracking their users’ payments, paying the commission, and reporting back to Apple. I also don’t think that it’ll stave off any upcoming regulations. If anything, I think governments will loudly proclaim that Apple’s commission fee is too high, but then waffle about what they can do about it.
Apple is playing with fire here, and I can’t help but think they’re going to get burned.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Jeff Carlson: Do you use, or have you ever used, the blood oxygen feature of the Apple Watch? Are there other health/wellness features that you do use?
Only in passing curiosity have I used the blood oxygen sensor of my Apple Watch. I think it’s a good feature to have available, and I’m frustrated that Apple has let the situation get so far that new watches are being sold without a major health/wellness-focused feature. But it’s also not a capability that I think about very often, and I don’t think its absence will have a notable impact on sales.
I would love for there to be a resolution though, so I could stop hearing about it.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Jason Snell: Are you buying a Vision Pro; if so, why or why not? If not, what would make you consider one in the future?
I awoke early on Friday morning so that I could man the pre-order battle station that consisted of my Mac mini, iPad Pro, and iPhone all waiting patiently at store.apple.com. But I needn’t have worried about securing a unit on Day 1. Within five minutes of pre-orders going live at 8:00 am, I ordered a 512 GB Apple Vision Pro with the travel case and AppleCare.
The checkout process went quite smoothly for me, and I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of spatial computing.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Shelly Brisbin: When was the last time that you purchased a piece of physical media (like a TV show, movie, or music), and when that happened, did you do that because of some unavailability in the streaming world?
I make a concerted effort not to purchase stuff that will just sit on a shelf, so I really don’t remember the last time I intentionally bought a piece of physical media. I’ve been gifted a handful of paperback and hardcover books, but those weren’t my choice to receive.
Oh. Just kidding. I looked to my right and saw Michael Flarup’s The macOS App Icon Book copy that I had purchased on Kickstarter many, many months ago. I guess that and The iOS App Icon Book that came with it were certainly the most recent examples of my recent physical media pick-me-ups.
I’m looking forward to perusing them over time.
⏱️⏱️⏱️
Bonus Topic: Snow: Yay or Nay?
A hefty, heartfelt “Yay!” from us over at Scotts Cobble Nordic Center. I love watching the snow, playing in it, and more. If the winter is going to be cold — and it is — we might as well have the snow to make it more fun.
⏰⏰⏰
Overtime Topic: How do you use the iPad, if you do?
I split my time pretty regularly between a 2020 11-inch iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard and a 6th-gen iPad mini. The bigger iPad comes with me to work and is my go-to for watching videos and anything I need to type out so that I can use the Magic Keyboard.
The iPad mini is mostly a home tablet for me. It’s where I do a whole bunch of reading because the size is much more conducive to holding for any length of time. It’s also my cellular version, so it makes most trips with me.
There are certainly some notable times coming Apple’s way this year. I hope they’re ready for scrutiny from customers about the Vision Pro as a new product line and from regulators trying to even the competitive landscape.