2020 is no more! Huzzah and good riddance! The Mac Observer is taking New Year’s Day off, but we’ll be back with our regular daily new coverage, analysis, and podcasts on Monday, January 4th.
This iOS Shortcut Gives You Permanent Low Power Mode
iOS has a feature called Low Power Mode you can turn on to conserve your battery life. It automatically turns off once your battery capacity reaches 80% but you can keep it on with a shortcut. Or rather, an automation. It’s simple to do because it only uses one action. This is especially helpful for older iPhones whose battery life has shortened.
New York City Subways Complete Apple Pay Support
Subways in New York City have finished rolling out support for contactless payment methods such as Apple Pay using the One Metro New York.
Hey Ho, Let's Go (To a New Year) – TMO Daily Observations 2020-12-31
Andrew Orr and Charlotte Henry (aka Team Nightmare) join host Kelly Guimont to discuss their standout moments of 2020 and send it off properly.
Dr. Mac's Experience with an Apple Silicon (M1) Mac
With some trepidation, Dr. Mac bought a MacBook Pro M1 with only 8GB RAM because he didn’t want to wait a month for one with 16GB… Was eight (GB) enough?
120 Lumens KeySmart Nano Torch XL Compact Pen Light: $32.99
We have a deal on the KeySmart Nano Torch XL Compact Pen Light. this device shines at 120 Lumens and features a a sliding barrel head that enables you to adjust the focus from a wide spill to a narrow spotlight. It’s also designed for one-handed use, and it’s $32.99 through our deal.
Using iOS Shortcuts to Quantify Your Self
Jackson Dame shared how he uses iOS shortcuts and an Apple Watch for lifelogging. I experimented with lifelogging back in 2014-2015, but I gave up after a while. Shortcuts would’ve made it a whole lot easier. Mr. Dame shares a list of all of the data he collects and what tools he uses to collect it, like Data Jar (love this app), Timelines, iA Writer, Charity, Microsoft Excel, and more.
Total App Spending Hit $407.6 Million Over Christmas Period
Spending across the Apple App Store and Google Play Store hit rocked to $407.6 million over the Christmas period.
Privacy-Focused Browser Now Has Native Support For M1 Macs
Brave now offers native support for M1 Macs, 9to5Mac reported. This should help the privacy-focused browser utilize the faster speeds offered by Apple’s own silicon. That said, it is built on the Chrome engine, which often brings with it high memory usage and reduced battery performance.
The company says the latest version also has a fix for problems playing videos from a couple of key sites. “Our last desktop browser update of the year (v1.18.77) features native support for M1 Macs, a localization fix for Brave Rewards, and fixes for playing videos on HBO Max and IMDb.” Brave blocks ad trackers by default, and claims to be faster by blocking most ads too.
Apple Removes 39,000 Games From China App Store
Apple removed 39,000 games from its App Store in China on Thursday, before a deadline for developers to get a license hit.