The good and bad of Apple Podcasts Subscriptions

I’m a participant in several podcast membership programs, which provide me with an important portion of my income. So of course Apple’s announcement of its new Apple Podcasts Subscripti… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Tip: Control HomeKit via Stream Deck

Controlling HomeKit via Stream Deck is easy with Home Control URLs. After much hesitation and research, I recently bought a Stream Deck Mini. And I immediately wondered if I could assign buttons to… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

macOS 11.3 patches a nasty security vulnerability ↦

Among macOS 11.3’s update is a fix for an insidious 0-day that bypassed all of the OS’s built-in defenses. Dan Goodin at Ars Technica has a good layperson’s overview: Apple engine… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple rolls out big software updates ↦

On Monday, Apple released new versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The big news is iOS 14.5, which adds all sorts of new features, most notably iPhone unlock for masked people wearing Apple Watches … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 350: The Time for Color is Now

Apple’s Colleen Novielli and Navpreet Kaloty visit the show to discuss the new 24-inch iMac in depth. Then Jason and Myke discuss the positioning of the new iPad Pro, and what it means that A… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The weird conflicted life of the Apple TV (Member Post)

Apple shows off the new Apple TV 4K during its recent Spring Loaded event. Hard as it may be to believe, the Apple TV is older than the iPhone. Way back in fall of 2006, Steve Jobs first showed off… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Quick Tip: Escaping a stuck screensaver on the Mac

This afternoon I set my iMac to update to macOS 11.3, walked away, and when I came back, was greeted with the soothing sight of jellyfish on my screensaver. But when I tried to wake my Mac by tappi… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

These future Apple products may be hiding in plain sight (Macworld/Dan Moren)

Despite all the intriguing new devices that Apple showed off this week, it’s never too early to start musing on what might be next up the company’s sleeves. As ever, you can glean a lot about the d… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

New 12.9-inch iPad Pro will require a new Magic Keyboard ↦

Nicholas Furno reporting for iGeneration (originally in French): Although the 2021 iPad Pro 12.9 inches is largely similar to the 2018 and 2020 models, the new tablet stands out in one respect: it … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) For All Mankind S2E10 Review: “The Gray”

So it all comes down to this. We review the season finale of “For All Mankind,” which puts the fate of the world in the crucible and makes us ponder the power of individual decisions when great sys… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Unite 4

My thanks to BZG Apps for sponsoring Six Colors this week. BZG makes Unite 4, which allows you to turn any Website into a Mac app. Using a lightweight, WebKit powered browser as a backend, you can … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: April 23, 2021

M1 all the things! This podcast will continue until the robots arrive. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple execs talk AirTags security, pet tracking ↦

Apple executives Kaiann Drance and Ron Huang spoke to Fast Company’s Michael Grothaus about AirTags, and there were a few interesting tidbits I hadn’t seen elsewhere: AirTags also have … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Bloomberg: iPadOS 15 to feature major home screen overhaul ↦

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg reporting on what we’ve all suspected: Apple is poised to show off a big update for the iPad at this year’s WWDC. The company is planning the most significant u… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The iPad Pro needs an iPadOS that’s just as advanced ↦

Harry McCracken, longtime PC World editor and iPad power user, on the disparity between iPad hardware and software: Ideally, a device’s software and hardware become so symbiotic that you stop think… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The Apple silicon transition reaches the iMac (and the iPad Pro) (Member Post)

Though the products themselves will mostly not be appearing until late May, Apple’s latest set of announcements is now in the rear-view mirror. And I’m struck by how much both the iMac … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 338: Too Many Cooks

Apple announced a new remote and some other things. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 395: Please Do Not Ingest AirTags

Apple’s latest Apple TV update, our thoughts on the new iPad Pro, whether we customize our hardware, and where our first AirTags are going. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

New Brydge keyboard has bigger trackpad, supports new iPad Pro ↦

On Wednesday Brydge announced the Brydge 12.9 MAX+, a new version of its iPad Pro keyboard-and-trackpad product that converts an iPad Pro into a MacBook Pro-style laptop. It works with the last thr… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The details of Apple’s new podcast program agreement ↦

I did a quick skim through the agreement for Apple’s new Podcast program yesterday, but Nathan Gathright took a more in-depth look and picked out some interesting details that I hadn’t … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The iPad Pro is a killer machine but its software is killing me (Macworld/Jason Snell)

Nobody needed to convince me that Apple’s at the top of its game when it comes to designing iPad hardware. The 2018 iPad Pro was so fast that more than two years later, it can handle more or less a… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Notes on the M1 iMac

The original iMac was all about colors. The first one was blindingly Bondi blue, and the follow-ups all came in various shades and designs. It was a computer you didn’t just buy to use, but t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

As usual, the iMac takes it on the chin ↦

Stephen Hackett details the history of the iMac’s chin: From the front, it’s rather remarkable how little the iMac has changed in nearly two decades. The screen is front and center, surrounde… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 349: Six Colors and Not a Color

New iMacs and iPads! The long-anticipated debut of AirTags! Podcast subscriptions! A new Apple TV remote! Ted Lasso’s secret shortbread recipe! Fresh from viewing Apple’s latest event, … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The fine print: What Apple didn’t talk about

While you’re caught up in the whirlwind of an Apple event, it can be easy to fixate on what’s being said on stage. But with just about an hour of screen time, Apple’s certainly no… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Mars helicopter takes off ↦

In an astounding achievement, a helicopter has flown on another planet. On Monday NASA’s Ingenuity drone made its first flight, rising to a height of about three meters (10 feet) and hovering… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Unite 4 – Turn websites into apps on your Mac

Unite 4 for macOS allows you to turn any website into an app on your Mac. Using a lightweight, WebKit powered browser as a backend, you can easily create isolated, customizable apps from any site. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Loopback: Powerful cable-free audio routing

My thanks to Rogue Amoeba, the very first Six Colors sponsor, for once again sponsoring Six Colors this week! Rogue Amoeba’s Mac utility Loopback makes it trivial to pass audio from one appli… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 348: The 2021 April Event Draft

Emergency draft! In this bonus episode, Jason and Myke predict what will happen at Tuesday’s Apple media event. Will there be new iPad Pro models, and if so, will new accessories accompany them? Wi… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

6C Podcast: April 16, 2021

Non-hyperbolic Apple Event predictions and electric cars. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Kindles can at last display book covers on their lock screens

I was frankly flabbergasted to see a post on The Verge this morning, reporting that Amazon has—finally!—added the ability to show the cover of whatever you’re currently reading on your Kindle… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Project CHIP devices will start rolling out in late 2021 ↦

Stacey Higginbotham of Stacey on IoT has some details on the upcoming launch of products based on the new Connected Home over IP standard that counts Apple, Amazon, and Google as members: Today we … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

1800 Miles in a Tesla Model 3

Last week we visited my mother in Arizona for the first time in more than a year. Driving 1800 miles and trading sitting isolated in one house for sitting isolated in another isn’t the most p… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 394: AR Bologna

What we’d track with Apple Find My, our Samsung Unpacked predictions, what we expect from Apple’s April event, and a rant about Apple TV. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 337: Gene Munster Perks Up Somewhere

At long last, our origin story revealed. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The firm that cracked the iPhone for the FBI ↦

Back in 2016, the FBI and Apple clashed over unlocking an iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino shooter, Syed Rizwan Farook. Things looked tense for a bit, as a showdown over encryption loomed, bu… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The resilience of Tito ↦

I’ve gotten to know Paul Campbell over the past few years because he was the co-organizer of the Apple-focused Úll conference. But he’s also the co-founder of Tito, a company focused on… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

‘Ian’s Awesome Counter’ ↦

David Smith released a new app today. This isn’t news. He’s one of the most productive app developers on the planet. What’s news is that it’s an Apple Watch app he designed … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple may be on the brink of a smart home breakthrough (Macworld/Jason Snell)

Sometimes if you stare at something too long, you begin to see patterns that aren’t really there. I’m worried that this is happening to me when it comes to pondering Apple’s smart home strategy. Ha… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

The mystery of “white spots” on Apple trade ins ↦

The Verge’s Nick Statt has an in-depth story on customers who have run into mysterious “white spots” when trading their devices in to Apple via its partner Phobio: The situation s… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

It’s official: Apple Event on April 20

Apple announced (and pre-announced) that it’s holding a virtual event next Tuesday at 10 a.m. “Spring Loaded” is the tagline. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Report: Siri spills on April 20 event ↦

MacRumors reports that the beans have been spilled on the upcoming spring Apple event from an unlikely source: Upon being asked “When is the next Apple Event,” Siri is currently respond… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

We’re cobblers ↦

Ben Smith of the New York Times wrote an excellent piece about the rise of writers building their own businesses, most prominently newsletters based on the Substack platform. This part, about compe… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 347: The Hubris of the HomePod

Apple’s making moves both outdoors (Find My) and in (rumored new smart home products). Apple’s original podcasts continue with another project tied to TV+. And we discuss why some of Ap… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Loopback: Powerful cable-free audio routing

With Loopback it’s trivial to pass audio from one application to another on your Mac. Need to play a recording into Zoom? Add sound effects into a podcast? Include music in a streamed event? … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

First, do no Harmony ↦

Late on Friday, as befits disappointing news, Logitech announced that it would be discontinuing its Harmony remote line: While Harmony remotes are and continue to be available through various retai… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

Apple is running out of chances to get gaming right (Macworld/Dan Moren)

Apple has made several attempts to make a go of the game market over the years—anyone remember when Apple had Game Evangelists? Pippin? Game Sprockets? And each and every time, just like boss battl… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock

My thanks to Magic Lasso Adblock for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Magic Lasso Adblock is an efficient and high performance ad blocker for the iPhone, iPad and Mac. It runs as a native Safari co… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 3 years ago