AirPods Max, Irish Streaming Law, Replacing iPhone Camera Lenses, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 539

Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet talk about Apple’s new AirPods Max over-the-ear headphones. They also discuss a proposed law from Ireland that would require 30% of all streaming content to be made in Europe, something that could radically affect Apple TV+. And, Jeff Gamet explains how he broke his iPhone’s camera lens cover and how he replaced it.

Apple Will Ban ‘X-Mode’ Data Broker From its Platforms

A report from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Apple and Google are banning a data broker called X-Mode from collecting location data from their platforms. (Non-paywalled version here). This is due to X-Mode links to selling data to government contractors involved in national security as Vice reported.

Both Apple and Google disclosed their decision to ban X-Mode to investigators working for Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), who has been conducting an investigation into the sale of location data to government entities.

How to Safely See Your Top 9 Instagram Photos of 2020

Your Top 9 Instagram posts of each year is a trend that has been going on for several years now. You probably don’t want to give websites access to your Instagram account just to see these photos. Or, maybe you don’t care. In any case, CNN has a short guide to safely do it with apps called Top Nine and Best Nine.

When you give your email to Top Nine, the service uses it to send you your yearly roundup, but may also contact you in the future for marketing, the company’s privacy policy says. The emails may come from Top Nine and its affiliate companies, but each one will contain instructions on how to “opt-out” of these messages.

If it doesn’t automatically use your email from Instagram, you could try a disposable email service like TempMail.

iPhone 12 Mini Sales May Be Less Than Other New iPhones

Numbers from Wave7 Research suggest that of the new iPhone 12 models, sales of the iPhone 12 mini only account for 4%-5% of sales from the major carriers.

Wave7 interviews sales reps at carrier stores to get a picture of sales. The 12 mini had the “softest demand,” and some people chose the iPhone 12 Pro Max because of its camera, according to the report […] Spending $100 more for the iPhone Pro 12 fetches a 24% larger screen and a better battery life than the iPhone 12 mini.

I was impressed with the iPhone 12 mini because even though it’s the most affordable of the lineup, it still has many of the same features like an OLED display. I don’t know about the iPhone 12 but I thought I saw news in the past couple of months saying that the iPhone 12 Pro was the most popular.