Copilot Money: Cash Flow, iOS 18, and More [Sponsor]

If you haven’t heard of Copilot yet, it’s time to check out Apple’s Editors Choice award-winning money tracker app. Copilot makes it simple to monitor your finances while providing valuable insights.

Their native iPhone and Mac apps can do it all: you can track your spending, budgets, investments, and net worth all in one place, allowing you to drill into the details without losing sight of the big picture.

In the Apple community, Copilot is known for staying in sync with new iOS launches, from responsive widgets to tinted icons ready for iOS18. Beyond beautiful design and functionality, Copilot’s mission is to build a future where everyone has a clear picture of their finances, without all the anxiety. Where anyone can reclaim their data from the banks to build their own plan for achieving their goals — with confidence and trust in their tools for doing so.

Copilot’s new Cash Flow section brings them closer to that vision. It focuses on three key areas: income, spending, and net income. You can easily compare your progress over different time frames to see how your financial habits stack up month-to-month or even week-to-week.

For a limited time, MacStories readers can get a special two-month free trial by using the code MACSTORIES when signing up. Visit their website to learn more and download Copilot from the App Store to get started today.

Our thanks to Copilot for sponsoring MacStories this week.

The Latest from Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, and MacStories Unwind

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Sigmund and Devon break down the exciting announcements from Apple’s It’s Glowtime event and grade their event predictions.

It’s all challenge this week as the gang brings (and defends) their phone home screens. Rules were followed by all, but of course there’s a little twist this time as well.

This week, as we approach the release of Apple’s updated OSes, Federico and I check in on where our reviews stand and the one distraction we’ve both allowed ourselves in the final stretch.

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Apple Will Make Alternative App Marketplaces and Browser Engines Available on the iPad in the EU Starting Monday

Next week is going to be fun. Not only is every OS being updated on Monday, but Apple is opening up the iPad to alternative app marketplaces and browser engines in the EU according to a post by the company on its developer news site.

You may recall that in April, the European Commission has added iPadOS to the products and services subject to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Before then, the DMA only applied to the iPhone, meaning that, if you live in the EU, changes to iOS, like browser default choices and alternative app marketplaces, are currently only available on your iPhone. That changes on Monday, according to Apple:

Starting September 16:

  • Users in the EU can download iPadOS apps on the App Store and through alternative distribution. As mentioned in May, if you have entered into the Alternative Terms Addendum for Apps in the EU, iPadOS first annual installs will begin to accrue and the lower App Store commission rate will apply.
  • Alternative browser engines can be used in iPadOS apps.
  • Historical App Install Reports in App Store Connect that can be used with our fee calculator will include iPadOS.

It’s good to see this change happening alongside the update to iPadOS. The App Store and browser experiences on iOS and iPadOS are effectively the same, and having that be different based on which platform users were on didn’t make much sense. It may have taken a nudge by the EC to make it happen, but it’s the right call for Apple’s EU customers.

Craig Federighi on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute Architecture→

Apple’s Craig Federighi was interviewed by Wired about the company’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure that will handle Apple Intelligence requests that can’t be handled locally on-device. Federighi told Wired’s Lily Hay Newman:

What was really unique about the problem of doing large language model inference in the cloud was that the data had to at some level be readable by the server so it could perform the inference. And yet, we needed to make sure that that processing was hermetically sealed inside of a privacy bubble with your phone. So we had to do something new there. The technique of end-to-end encryption—where the server knows nothing—wasn’t possible here, so we had to come up with another solution to achieve a similar level of security.

Still, Apple says that it offers “end-to-end encryption from the user’s device to the validated PCC nodes, ensuring the request cannot be accessed in transit by anything outside those highly protected PCC nodes.” The system is architected so Apple Intelligence data is cryptographically unavailable to standard data center services like load balancers and logging devices. Inside a PCC cluster, data is decrypted and processed, but Apple emphasizes that once a response is encrypted and sent on its journey to the user, no data is retained or logged and none of it is ever accessible to Apple or its individual employees.

PCC is a complex system that leverages technologies that Apple has developed like the Secure Enclave, Secure Boot, and Trusted Execution Monitor to ensure customer privacy. Those technologies are backstopped by making every PCC server publicly available for inspection and verification by third parties. That said, Wired spoke to security researchers and cryptography experts who told the publication that although PCC looks promising, they hadn’t spent significant time studying it yet.

Cloud-based privacy is a tough problem to solve. I’m keen to hear what independent researchers think of Apple’s solution, once they’ve had more time to evaluate it. If PCC is as robust as Apple claims, it’s the sort of thing I could see Apple turning into a standalone product as worldwide regulation pushes tech companies to offer better privacy protections for their customers.

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The Latest from NPC: Next Portable Console and AppStories

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

This week, Federico and John finish their tour of the apps they use for work and play to be productive.

On AppStories+, Federico has an iPad surprise for John.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Memberful – Help Your Clients Monetize Their Passion

This week, Anbernic comes through with another retro handheld, PC makers announce new Windows handhelds, an iPhone case built for the Delta emulator, and Federico declares his love for a gaming pillow.

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Apple’s September 2024 Media Event: All the Small Things

Apple’s presentation moved fast yesterday, and since the event concluded, more details have emerged about everything announced. We’ve been combing Apple’s product pages, social media, and other sources to learn more about everything announced, which we’ve collected below:

You can follow all of our September 2024 Apple event coverage through our September 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated September 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Maybe I’m Not a Pro Anymore

Apple just wrapped up their September event revealing a bunch of updates to the Apple Watch, AirPods, and iPhone lineups, and I have only one major takeaway as a person who was absolutely, positively going to get the iPhone 16 Pro if it came in gold: I am seriously considering downgrading to the non-Pro iPhone 16 this time around. 

I’ve been an iPhone Pro user since it was first announced — and in some ways even earlier if we consider the iPhone X to be the first true Pro iPhone when it was released alongside the 8. I always went Pro because I take a huge amount of photos with my phone and, despite currently owning four dedicated photography cameras, none beat the ease of use, access, and versatility of the iPhone. It made sense to use the best camera system available. In a lot of ways, I credit the Pro models with keeping me interested in photography throughout all these years, and learning to utilize the different lenses for different scenes and subjects has felt like learning a skill, like the iPhone Pro was helping me become a pro. I truly believe a lot of those skills transferred directly to the photography I create today.

I read a piece by Allison Johnson over the weekend about the base iPhone experience that resonated with me. She wrote:

At the very least, it looks like Apple is about to bring a little more balance back with the iPhone 16 series. I think that’s how it should be — the Pro iPhone should feel like you’re getting something extra, not being cornered into paying more for an essential feature.

It occurred to me watching today’s presentation that this is the first year where the iPhone’s Pro models feel like they were actually made for professionals. The “extras” Allison is referring to used to be the marquee features of the newest lineup — the Dynamic Island, the Action button, etc — but are now seriously professional features. The latest additions and the reasoning behind their inclusion all felt completely alien to me. I kept wondering: how many people will actually use camera options like the ability to dynamically shift the audio mix while recording in ProRes or capturing 4K content in slow motion to use for a music video? It became clear that the reach of what “Pro” means to Apple has outpaced my own photographic use case. I simply went with the Pro models year after year because I liked having a third lens in my kit and also got some kind of fun bonus feature to mess around with, but I don’t think that’s enough of a reason to justify the jump anymore. And that’s okay!

The base iPhone lineup seems to have pretty much everything I could ever need this time around — including the dedicated Camera Control button and the more fun colors I’ve always been so envious of — so the idea of downgrading seems almost prudent despite being a nonstarter for me as early as this very morning. I think I can be perfectly happy with one less lens and Halide’s Process Zero to keep experimenting with. And maybe the limitation of having one less lens will help me grow as a photographer in an entirely new way this time around. That would be nice!

I’m legitimately very happy for the people out there who will get the iPhone 16 Pro and make use of the latest and greatest Apple’s incredible product design teams have to offer, but I think it’s finally time I step down from the precipice of what the iPhone is capable of. In some ways, it feels simpler now, and the “Pro” name has the weight it should have all along. No artificial reasoning behind which features make it to which device, just one iPhone for the people who need it and one iPhone for the rest of us.

I’m fine being lumped into that second bucket this time around.

You can follow all of our September 2024 Apple event coverage through our September 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated September 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Apple Announces AirPods 4, Minor AirPods Max Update, and New AirPods Pro 2 Features

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

At today’s Glowtime event, Apple unveiled new AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Pro Max with a range of new features.

One of the biggest updates was to the AirPods 4, which now come in two varieties. Both versions look more like the AirPods Pro than before, but without the in-ear silicone tips and are powered by the H2 chip, which Apple says provides better audio range, adaptive EQ, and clearer phone call quality. The AirPods 4 are IP54 rated for sweaty workouts too.

The AirPods 4 also feature a smaller case that can be charged using a USB-C cable or Qi-compatible wireless charger. With the new case, the AirPods 4 have 30 hours of listening, too. The updated headphones also add gestures, allowing users to shake their heads or nod to respond to Siri prompts. Apple says it has updated the force sensor in the device for toggling playback and muting or ending phone calls.

The biggest change, though, is that Apple is offering a second model of the AirPods 4 that includes Active Noise Cancellation. That’s not unheard of in an open-ear style set of headphones, but it’s rare. Apple claims that the AirPods 4’s upgraded microphones and H2 chip allow it to offer noise cancelation as well as Transparency mode, Adaptive Audio, and Conversational Awareness. I’m very keen to see how well these work.

The AirPods 4 can be ordered today for delivery on September 20th. The base model AirPods 4 are $129 and the model with active noise cancelation is $179.

New features were also announced for the AirPods Pro 2 to help prevent hearing loss, test for hearing loss, and assist people with mild to moderate hearing loss. For more on these features, be sure to check out Niléane’s story.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Finally, the AirPods Max received a minor update with new colors and USB-C connectivity. The latest iteration of the headphones comes in midnight, blue, purple, orange, and starlight and adds Personalized Spatial Audio too. The price remains $549, with ordering available today for delivery on September 20th.

You can follow all of our September 2024 Apple event coverage through our September 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated September 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Apple Announces the New Apple Watch Series 10 and a New Color for the Apple Watch Ultra 2

Going into today’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ event, there were high expectations for a significant redesign for this, the tenth version of the Apple Watch. We’ve been burned before by rumors of a redesign, but thankfully, this year’s rumors turned out to be true. The new Apple Watch Series 10 looks like a noticeable upgrade; however the Apple Watch Ultra wasn’t upgraded and only received a new color option.

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