Apple’s head of Diversity and Inclusion has left ↦

Bloomberg’s Shelly Banjo and Mark Gurman: “Inclusion and diversity are core Apple values and we deeply believe the most diverse teams are the most innovative teams,” Apple said in an emailed … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Maybe it’s time to Breathe ↦

Stephen Hackett: When Apple added the Breathe feature to watchOS 3, I — like many of you, I suspect — turned it off pretty quickly. However, over the last six months, it has come to be one of my fa… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

European Commission launches antitrust investigations into App Store, Apple Pay ↦

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, launched two separate antitrust investigations of Apple on Tuesday. The first deals with the App Store: The European Commission has opened for… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple: The App Store ecosystem generated $519 billion in 2019 ↦

Here’s an interesting Apple press release trumpeting a study from Analysis Group that claims “the App Store ecosystem supported $519 billion in billings and sales globally in 2019 alone… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #302: The WWDC Keynote Draft 2020

It’s time for our fifth annual competition regarding what will happen at next week’s WWDC keynote! Will there be a stage? Will there be enormous Mac announcements? Will iPadOS and Apple Watch… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple updates Developer app for WWDC, adds Mac version ↦

Apple has updated its Apple Developer app, for the first time releasing a version for the Mac, just one week ahead of the kickoff of its annual (and first ever virtual) Worldwide Developers Confere… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Star Wars: Squadrons preps for launch

I’ve been beating the drum for a Star Wars dogfighting game in the style of the classic X-Wing and TIE Fighter games for as long as I can remember, and it looks like it may have finally paid … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Star Wars: Squadrons preps for launch ↦

I’ve been beating the drum for a Star Wars dogfighting game in the style of the classic X-Wing and TIE Fighter games for as long as I can remember, and it looks like it may have finally paid … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

WWDC 2020 hopes and dreams for iOS, Macs, and more (Macworld/Dan Moren)

We’re now just a week away from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which—in case you missed the many memos—will be held virtually for the first time in its 33-year history. Last w… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Adventures in Shortcuts: Posting content using ancient web APIs (2018)

This week I got a little envious of Matthew Cassinelli, who was proudly posting how he’s building all these Shortcuts on iOS that let him do cool stuff involving automatically posting things … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

5 reasons you’ll want to upgrade to an ARM MacBook (Tom's Guide/Jason Snell)

After years of rumors, it appears that Apple is finally going to commit to release Macs that run on Apple-designed ARM processors rather than chips made by Intel. Based on reports, the announcement… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: June 12, 2020

Jason did a lot of technical things this week. Web development is tricky. But we now have a new website that looks like the old one. | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

We’ve moved – please excuse our dust

I’ve been spending a lot of time using PHP. When I started Six Colors, I built the site using the venerable Movable Type blog system because I needed to build something quickly and get it liv… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) #350: A Hunk of Inert Matter

This week, on the 30-minute podcast that’s tautologically 30 minutes, Dan and Mikah welcome special guests Rosemary Orchard and Rene Ritchie to discuss whether we’d use a Mac Upgrade Pr… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple takes the wraps off WWDC 2020 schedule ↦

Apple: Now in its 31st year, WWDC20 will be the biggest WWDC to date, bringing together the global Apple developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented, virtual way, from June 22 t… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

What will the ARM Mac look like? ↦

I really enjoyed this post by Gus Mueller about what’s likely to happen if Apple is indeed transitioning the Mac to ARM processors: With all the recent rumors flying around about the Mac tran… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #293: John Gruber's Footnote

Arm yourselves. There might be a few ARM puns in this episode.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Explaining the law that prevents Internet platforms from being sued ↦

Fantastic explainer by Ars Technica’s Timothy B. Lee about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants immunity to online platforms for content posted on their services: It… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple closes the book on iBooks Author

iBooks Author, Apple’s application for creating and publishing ebooks, wrote its last chapter on Wednesday. The company announced that the app will be discontinued for new users as of July 1, 2020.iBooks Author came out back in a January 2012 ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Apple will discontinue iTunes U next year ↦

Apple announced today that it’s discontinuing iTunes U at the end of 2021. Apple has been moving away from the iTunes U concept for some time, moving iTunes U content to Apple Podcasts back i… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

WWDC Wish List: HomePod stereo pair as Mac system output

The HomePod has kind of faded into the background since its release more than two years ago, with little in the way of new features, and some notable omissions still remaining. Among all those, the one that frustrates me the most is the inability to u... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

WWDC Wish List: HealthKit on iPad and Mac

Apple introduced HealthKit in 2014, but the iPad and Mac are still left out.Since the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple has become increasingly focused on health technology. As someone who makes an effort to fill the rings on my Apple Watch, I appreciate... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #301: Show Me You're Serious

With WWDC two weeks away, Myke and Jason share their wishes for iPadOS updates. They also analyze why they love certain kinds of games but are repelled by others and discuss Apple’s inevitable move into streaming live sports. ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

6C Podcast: June 5, 2020

Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #349: That Was Chef's Kiss for Me

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that is all out of four letter words, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Anže Tomić and Florence Ion to discuss our use of voice assistants on our phones, mass deleting content from social media, the tech we u... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #292: Thanks, Apps

We’ll be honest: things are not great. But we’ll talk about things and technology and then get to our picks.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #300: It's So Hard to Predict the Future

It’s episode 300! This week we look to the future by drafting stories we’ll be talking about over the next hundred episodes of Upgrade, and then we answer all of your questions about how the podcast got started, how we put it together, and whe... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

A shortcut for texting location and video to a friend when detained by the police

Shortcuts guru and friend of the site Matthew Cassinelli has shared an iOS shortcut for users who are being detained by the police. The shortcut texts a preset message to a trusted contact, before recording a video. Cassinelli’s version tweaks an ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: The laptop gets ever smaller

I showed my kids a PowerBook 180 today. They’d never seen one before. In my memory it is a mind-blowingly small and light computer that, for the first time, allowed me to take my Mac with me anywhere I went. It changed my life, and that’s not ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Automating my iPod Hi-Fi's volume control... because I can

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” warned Ian Malcolm in “Jurassic Park.” I can relate. Sometimes I work to solve a problem using technology not... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Plex and Hulu add group watching features

A few weeks back on Clockwise, our guest (and good friend) Jean MacDonald lamented that, in this age of social distancing, there’s no really great way to watch a TV show or movie with someone online. Speaking as someone who’s been recording ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #348: Save Me From My Shame

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that has no time for allergies, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Joe Rosensteel and Shelly Brisbin to discuss tech that helps us sleep, our thoughts on HBO Max, how we’d fix social media if we were in ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #291: Restart Your Damn Phone

Just a warning: this is now a podcast about British TV shows.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #299: My Gut Says Yes and No

There’s a raft of media news this week, as Spotify removes a popular podcast from the ecosystem and Apple TV+ makes more content deals. We’ve got questions about the future of podcasting and whether Apple is committed to a video subscription s... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: The march of iOS software

This week’s charts tell the story of how Apple rolls out releases of software for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad—and when the last update of that operating-system cycle finally shipped. In the beginning, a new version of the iPhone OS arri... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #290: Budget Cuts

The Rebound’s promise to you is that we will never accept tons and tons of money to take our podcast behind a pay wall. For various reasons.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Clockwise #347: The Low Tech Way is The Easiest Way

This week, on the 30-minute tech show that’s worth staying home for, Dan and Mikah are joined by special guests Casey Liss and Jean MacDonald to discuss our thoughts on Apple possibly not including headphones with the next iPhone, the restaurants an... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #298: Copy Copy Copy, Paste Paste Paste Paste

Apple Stores are reopening in many parts of the world, but should you go? (Not unless you must.) Also, Taiwan Semiconductor plans to build a factory in the U.S., TV shows are being produced remotely during the lockdown, and Apple News+ turns to audio in a... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun With Charts: Time for a change?

For this week’s chart 1, I thought I’d illustrate how long Apple has historically stuck with different processor architectures. As you probably know, there are lots of reports that in the next year, Apple will begin to roll out Macs power... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) Guardian Firewall

Thank you to Guardian Firewall for sponsoring Six Colors this week. It’s a tool designed to let you take control of your privacy on iOS, by blocking attempts to track you via app data like what happens on the web. Guardian Firewall records what̵... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Brydge releases firmware update, but its trackpad still lags

Last month I was sad to report that the new iPad Pro keyboard/trackpad combination from Brydge, the makers of my longstanding favorite iPad Pro keyboard, was just not good enough. The keyboard and price were both impressive, but the trackpad experienc... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Rebound #289: Nothing Means Anything

This week we handle all the existential questions of life. Partly because Dan’s drinking.... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Bad Shortcuts: Charting data from a webpage

I’m definitely not a programmer, and I can’t proclaim to be an expert at user automation, but I’m very enthusiastic. My latest project has been figuring out the best way to scrape data from webpages and use it in interesting ways, all on... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Sponsor) Guardian Firewall

Guardian Firewall empowers users to take back control of their privacy on their iOS devices. Blatant exfiltration of very precise geolocation coordinates and data trackers recording your every move in native apps, just like they do on websites, are the ne... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

(Podcast) Upgrade #297: Factual Controller

This week Jason and Myke ponder the mysteries of the 13-inch MacBook Pro(s), including why the Touch Bar is frozen in time and whether there’s a bigger change coming to Apple’s laptop line. Also Jason makes another IKEA order, Myke shares some... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 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 content blocking extension, and blocks intrusive ads, pop up... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 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 content blocking extension, and blocks intrusive ads, pop up... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago

Fun with Charty: Generating charts with Shortcuts

My recent walk distance data, charted via a Charty shortcut.When I started Six Colors, I had to start making all my charts for myself. Apple financial charts, product-testing charts, and any other data-visualization I could come up with—all of it ... | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 4 years ago