Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stomped onto Apple TV+ on Friday, bringing the biggest star yet to the streaming service: Godzilla.
As a lifetime fan of kaiju films, I’m here to review the first two episodes, and also to remind viewers of MonsterVerse lore brought up in the new series. I even throw in some speculation on what’s coming in later episodes.
In the wake of Elon Musk posting his support for an antisemitic comment on X, Apple reportedly paused advertising on the social-networking service that Musk owns.
Disney, IBM and Lionsgate have also supposedly stopped advertising on the service formerly known as Twitter.
Add iPad Air and iPad mini to the list of Apple tablets getting OLED screens. At least, that’s what an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia says. And the mini will supposedly get a boost in display size.
The top-of-the-line iPad Pro models will reportedly get the enhanced display type much sooner, though.
Apple filed a challenge to an European Union law that requires iPhones to allow third-party software to be installed from outside the App Store.
Unless the appeal goes through, the legislation will go into effect in March 2024.
★★★★☆
The KYY K3-3 Portable Monitor adds a high-quality second screen to your Mac or iPad. Even some iPhones. It’s 15.6 inches and has a 4K resolution, so it’s designed for work and play wherever you go.
I tested the reasonably priced second screen in my home office and when working remotely to see how it stands up to real-world use. I like it more than I expected to.
Lego Bricktales is a fun way to play with these bricks wherever you go. The game challenges players to build their way through puzzles in a variety of colorful environments.
It’s available for iPad and iPhone.
In what is apparently an enormous change of direction, Apple reportedly plans to add support for Rich Communication Services to the iPhone Messages app in 2024. This will enable iPhones and Androids to communicate more effectively, with more of the bells and whistles associated with Apple’s proprietary iMessage platform.
It also could be the end of the green bubble versus blue bubble controversy, though not necessarily. If you’re wondering how to get RCS on iPhone, Apple’s latest update will bring end-to-end encryption to RCS messaging. Find out more here.
Just about everything electronic requires firmware — Apple’s iPad stylus is no exception. With software comes updates, and there’s new one for the recently released version of the Apple Pencil with a USB-C port.
Here’s how to check what firmware version your Apple Pencil is currently running, and a suggestion on how to get the new update.
The Apple Music Classical app that launched for iPhone earlier this year has been updated with support for the larger screens on iPads.
The app offers access to the world’s largest classical music catalog, with more than 5 million tracks. It’s free for Apple Music subscribers. If you’re interested in Mac music, you can find more insights in Apple Music Classical listening guides. This is just one of many apple digital services expanding across devices—learn more about it on Apple Music Classical on the web.
The Wireless Power Consortium promised Wednesday that the first chargers using the emerging Qi2 standard will be on the market in time for the holiday season.
Qi2 unifies wireless charging for iPhone and Android, bringing the advantages of Apple’s MagSafe to rival handsets.
Following last month’s abrupt cancellation of Apple TV+ commentary series The Problem With Jon Stewart, members of Congress sent a letter to Apple asking whether the show’s potential coverage of China played a role in the series getting the ax.
The lawmakers want to know if “the coercive tactics of a foreign power” were a factor in Apple’s decision.
Professionals looking for a more powerful MacBook will get really significantly more performance by upgrading to an M3 Max processor instead of the M3 Pro.
It’s no surprise that the Max version of one of Apple’s new chips is faster than the Pro, but many people might not be aware how very much faster it is.
Samsung just launched the T5 EVO, a consumer-oriented solid state drive that provides up to 8 terabytes of storage, the most currently available in a portable SSD.
And the lower-capacity versions cost less than the equivalent Samsung T9 pro-grade drives that also hit store shelves recently.
French iPhone users now have access to Tap to Pay, which enables businesses to accept contactless payments from credit cards directly on their iOS handset – no additional hardware required.
The service has been gradually roiling out around the world since it launched in 2022.
Apple is reportedly on the list of streaming services with the option to acquire Coyote vs. Acme, a film Warner Bros. made but recently decided to not release.
It’s a story of Wile E. Coyote attempting to catch the Road Runner from the classic cartoons. John Cena stars in the film.
The good news is that iPhone could finally allow users to install applications directly starting in 2024, according to a reliable source. The bad news is that being able to go without the App Store will only be an option in Europe.
To be clear, sideloading is required by EU law so it’s definitely happening. The timing isn’t clear, though.
Tests show that the 8GB version of the M3 MacBook Pro is significantly slower than the 16GB version when running Photoshop, Blender and other graphics applications.
And there are performance differences for other types of apps, too. But these are not as dramatic. If you’re trying to decide between different configurations, it’s worth considering which models rank among the best Macs for video editing to ensure you get the best performance for your needs.
Steve Wozniak suffered a minor stroke but is now recovering at home.
The Woz is now 73 but not really retired from a career that included co-founding Apple with Steve Jobs in 1977.
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max can record ProRes video at 4K and 60 fps, but only if the handset is connected to an external drive that’s fast enough to handle it. To find out if your SSD is up to the job, there’s OWC Drive Speed.
This new app verifies transfer speeds between your iPhone and external drives. It displays the maximum frames per second a drive can handle. Because you don’t want to find out on the day of the shoot that the SSD you’re counting on is a dud.
Those eager to watch Masters of the Air should be thrilled by the first teaser trailer for the upcoming WWII drama series from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
It’ll hit Apple TV+ in January and will be a gritty look at the perilous air war in the skies over Germany — as the trailer makes clear.
★★★★★
Have an M.2 NVMe drive you want to use with your MacBook or iPad? Put it in the HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure and you can access the contents at speeds up to 40Gbps.
I plugged a solid state drive of mine into this very rugged enclosure to put it to the test.
Backbone updated the USB-C version of its popular game controller just in time for the iPhone 15 series, Apple’s first handsets with a USB-C port.
Like earlier versions, this wraps around an iOS or Android handset to put a collection of buttons, sticks and triggers on either side of the landscape screen.
The classic horror game Resident Evil 4 will make its iPhone and iPad debut on December 20. It’s a demonstration of the gaming capabilities of Apple’s most powerful mobile devices.
This is one of multiple console titles being ported to Apple handsets and tablets thanks to their highly capable processors.
Apple Music joined the ranks of the Swifties. Taylor Swift was picked to be Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2023.
“I am so honored to be Apple Music’s Artist of the Year,” said Swift. “Thank you to every single one of you for making this year the most incredible, joyful, celebratory year ever. From streaming the music nonstop to screaming it together in real life at the shows, dancing chaotically in movie theaters, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much.”
Work on the operating systems Apple will release in 2024 was reportedly halted temporarily because the code had become extremely buggy.
The move affected iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 and watchOS 11, none of which are expected to reach users for almost a year.