Let’s Talk Apple — Ep. 54 (February 2018)


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Panel:

The show starts with a quick follow-up on Throttle Gate before moving on to the three main stories of the month, the arrival of HomePods in people’s homes, Apple’s moves to source their Cobalt directly from mines, and the on-going war on privacy. The show finishes with a quick rundown of some shorter Apple-related stories that made the news in February.

You’ll find detailed show notes below the fold, and if you enjoy this free show, please consider clicking on the donate button at the top of the left side bar – the show is free for you to listen to, but not for Bart to Produce!

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Followup
  • Throttle Gate Developments
    • The release of iOS 11.3 beta 2 gave us our first look at the battery management UI Apple promised to ship in iOS11.3 — www.macobserver.com/…
    • Apple responds to a letter from US Senator John Thune which asked specific questions about Apple’s battery management features — arstechnica.com/…
      • iPhone 8, iPhone 8S & iPhone X will not need the same kind of throttling because their newer hardware design prevents the kinds of battery spikes that caused the unexpected shutdowns in earlier models
      • Apple is ‘exploring’ giving partial refunds to customers who paid for the full price of a battery replacement before they reduced the price
Main Stories
  1. The HomePod is out, and off to a mixed start
  2. As competition for Cobalt ramps up, Apple moves to purchase it directly from miners — www.bloomberg.com/…
    • Cobalt is a critical ingredient in Lithium-Ion batteries like those Apple uses in just about all their products
    • One of the reasons for the ramp-up of demand for Cobalt is electric cars — arstechnica.com/…
    • Cobalt mines are notorious for their human rights abuses, and buying direct will make it much easier for Apple to source the element ethically — daringfireball.net/…
  3. Developments in the Privacy War
Quick Stories

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