Apple Context Machine is a weekly in-depth look at Apple and the tech world from Bryan Chaffin, editor-in-chief of The Mac Observer with special guests from the tech world.
Apple One, Fitness+, Apple Watch vs. Apple Watch, w/Charlotte Henry
Sep. 16th, 2020 - 11:36 PM | 00:58:48
Bryan Chaffin and Charlotte Henry dig into everything they love about Apple One, Apple’s new bundled services plan. They also have Apple Watch fighting Apple Watch for Charlotte’s affections, and they even have a winner!
Bryan Chaffin and John Kheit dig into Apple's new Mac Pro, covering the good, the bad, and the ugly. They talk specs, costs, some of the things that came out since the keynote, and weigh the very important question of whether they want one. Spoiler, yes, but John's actually likely to pull the trigger. Bryan also makes sure to give John plenty of room to take his victory laps for the many things he got right leading up to this long-awaited announcement.
Apple Card is coming soon, and Bryan Chaffin and guest-cohost Jeff Gamet compare it to the Amazon Prime card and other credit cards. They also dive into the heady topic of what exactly Apple is in the process of coming. Spoiler, Jeff guesses wrong when he says "a services company."
Bryan Chaffin and guest John Kheit start this week's show off with an immediate siderail about The Curse of Oak Island and Cooper's Treasure, because that's what they do. The real topics, however, include what Apple's MacBook Pro announcement might mean for Mac hardware at WWDC. They also look at the brewing fight between UIKit and AppKit, and what's coming in the world of Wi-Fi.
Will Marzipan be locked to the Mac App Store, and what effect will it have on the Mac experience? Bryan Chaffin is joined by Andrew Orr to discuss this, as well as the idea that iMessage is slowly backing its way to being Apple's first successful social media play. They cap the show with a look at recent WWDC spoilers.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest cohost Ken Ray for a spirited look into Apple's earnings report. The two also weigh the real meaning behind Apple's outward emphasis on services and what that means for Apple hardware. They cap the show with a rant about AT&T's fake 5G. Spoiler: AT&T's claims of a "5G" network are fake.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest cohost Kelly Guimont to discuss App Camp for Girls, women in tech in both the past and present, and more. They also look at Samsung's folding problems, and what it means to be writing about Apple today.
Queen Oprah and the UK's Prince Harry are doing a docu-series on mental health for Apple TV+, and Bryan Chaffin is joined by Charlotte Henry to talk about what that says about Apple's video efforts. Charlotte also brings some across-the-pond context about Prince Harry and the royal family and how this news was greeted in England. They also talk about JJ Abrams saying that working on Apple TV+ was like the Wild West. They cap the show by discussing Ming-Chi Kuo's most recent Mac predictions.
Some Mac Pro fan mockups have been circulating, and Bryan Chaffin is joined by John Kheit to discuss their pros and cons. And surprise, John Kheit is full of mostly cons, so they also discuss what they think the Mac Pro needs to be awesome. They also discuss the state of the chip industry, Intel's 56-core Cascade Lake, and Apple's ARM ambitions for the Mac. They wrap up the show with a look at John's obsessive research to find the best USB-C cable.
Apple says that it wants a tiny sliver of the ginormous medical industry, and Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-cohost John Martellaro to discuss what that might look like. They also discuss Apple TV hardware, what Apple's new TV+ announcement might mean for its hardware business, and the state of Apple TV's competition.
Google Stadia looks likely to shake up the gaming world, but there's more than one way to skin a gaming cat, and Apple is focused on AR. Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest cohost Andrew Orr to discuss how those different tracts might fare. They also talk about the good sides of corporate data surveillance, and yes, they will both forgive you if you are surprised either would entertain such a notion.
Bryan Chaffin and John Kheit don their futurist caps and look for the killer app in Augmented Reality. Spoiler: they have different ideas on what form it might take. They also explore the near-term future of practical robots, starting with today's vacuumbots. They cap the show looking at the slow pace of progress when it comes to modern cabling. Let's get that Cat 8 and 40 GB/s throughput!
In this episode, Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-cohost Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus to examine the ins and outs of Apple's Mac pricing. It's no simple issue, and they dig deep into what appears to be Apple's strategy. They also talk about the realities of cord cutting today, with Bob's own situation serving as the example scenario.
This episode is all about robots! Apple robots, military robots, delivery repots, preacher robots, manufacturing robots, and self driving car robots! Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest host John Martellaro to deep into what's happening with robots today and what they expect for robots in the future. Put your SciFi futurist cap on for this one. They also talk about foldable phones, or as they like to think of it, the netbook of 2019.
Where is Apple going with its content drive? Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-host Charlotte Henry to dive deep into original shows, services, publishing, news, and Apple's other content ambitions. They also talk about the promise (and potential drawbacks) of Marzipan, and what Apple's recent executive shuffling might portend.
Does Apple have the infrastructure it needs for a cohesive future? Once that seemed clear, but Bryan Chaffin and guest-host John Martellaro say it's become harder to see, if so. They then pivot to how augmented reality will figure into Apple's future plans and products. They cap the show by weighing Apple's ability to pay attention to details as the company grows.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by Dave Hamilton to take a very high-level look at Apple, comparing the company from its early days to the company of today, and looking ahead to what kind of company Apple might be tomorrow.
It's time to break down Apple's earnings, and Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-host Jeff Gamet to do just that. They also discuss the ins and outs, ups and downs, and even some sideways aspects of Apple's iPhone strategy. They cap the show with a look at Apple's one weird trick of goosing Mac sales, which is to release new Macs.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by Andrew Orr to talk about social media and photography. They also talk about where AR can go and what the killer app of this emerging technology could be. Still donning their futurist hats, they look at what iPhone might in 10, 20, and even 50 years.
In this episode, Bob LeVitus tells Bryan Chaffin all about the Cricut. This thing can cut 150 different substances, draw, write, and like I said, even sew. And you can control it from your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. They also discuss Rocket Book, which is part reusable paper (you can erase it!) and part app-based service that will scan what you write and draw and convert text with OCR. They cap the show with a look at Setapp and why they think this multi-app service for the Mac is great.
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro hear Apple CEO Tim Cook talk up services and they explain why it makes them nervous. They also talk about the future of 8K TVs and how they will inevitably take over the industry.
Apple’s New Mac Pro: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, with John Kheit – ACM 515
