Happy Holidays from Everyone at The Mac Observer

Regardless of the holiday you’re celebrating, The Mac Observer hopes this weekend is a wonderful time for you, and that you get to take a day or two off to relax. We’re taking Tuesday off, but we’ll be back on Wednesday, December 26th, with our iPhone, iPad, and Mac coverage, along with a fresh TMO Daily Observations episode, too.

Enjoy the holiday season!
Happy holidays from The Mac Observer

The iPad Pro Needs the Split Keyboard

The iPad Pro has a lot to recommend it. However, it is missing one key feature, according to Jon Gruber on Daring Fireball – split keyboard mode. Mr. Gruber said that the larger the iPad, the more helpful split keyboard mode is and he does not understand why the biggest iPad in the range does not have this feature.

I want to type with my thumbs, iPhone-style, and can’t, because my iPad is too big. And I have relatively large hands and I’m using the 11-inch iPad Pro, not the 13-inch one. I’m not even sure Craig “Fleshy Palms” Hockenberry could thumb-type on a 13-inch iPad Pro.The bottom line is that because I want to thumb-type, I type better on-screen with my iPhone than I do my iPad, and I can type better on an old iPad than my new one that cost $1,000. This is just baffling to me.

Samsung Scraps Headphone Jack in Galaxy A8s

Having mocked Apple for years for scrapping the iPhone’s headphone jack, Samsung has followed suit. Its new Galaxy A8s phone does not have the component. Instead, users need a USB-C to 3.5mm jack adapter to plug in headphones. Given the taunting adverts and on-stage jibes from Samsung executives about the lack of a headphone jack in the iPhone, I’m sure nobody at Apple will mention this…from MacRumors:

Samsung today introduced its latest smartphone, the Galaxy A8s. It is Samsung’s first smartphone with an Infinity-O display, which has a nearly edge-to-edge, uninterrupted design beyond a small hole for the front-facing camera. It is also Samsung’s first smartphone without a headphone jack, much to the amusement of iPhone users, as Samsung has mocked Apple for over two years over its decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 in 2016, a trend that has continued through to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

iOS Mysteries, Choosing Your Server, & Cool Stuff Found – Mac Geek Gab 739

iOS is wonderful… and mysterious, especially when it asks you to login, or shows you duplicates of your data. Listen to John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton solve these problems and more for you. Then, should you get a separate Mac as a server, or can you run in the background? And, of course, more Cool Stuff Found just for you. Press play, listen, learn, and enjoy!

Ultraloq UL3 Bluetooth Fingerprint and Touchscreen Smart Lock: $143.99

We have a deal on the Ultraloq UL3 Bluetooth Fingerprint and Touchscreen Smart Lock. This smart lock allows you to program the lock to use your fingerprint, code, or smartphone to unlock the door. You can assign different users, use your iPhone app to unlock it over Bluetooth, and there’s a mechanical key backup. Our deal is for $168.99, but coupon code SAVEGREEN25 at checkout take $25 off, for a final price of $143.99.

Apple Announces New Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5

Beddit, a sleep company acquired by Apple, is selling a new 3.5 version of its Beddit Sleep Monitor for US$149.95.

The Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5 isn’t a radical change from the previous 3.0 version. It’s still a 2mm thin strip that you lay above your mattress and power via USB. It connects to an iPhone app for sending sleep tracking data to the Beddit app and Apple’s Health app (with permission), and it’s still advertised as not requiring a “wearable” like the Apple Watch — although Beddit has an Apple Watch app for tracking naps.

Real-World Speeds, Choosing Storage, and Quick Tips – Mac Geek Gab 738

Ever have a disk drive or Wi-Fi device that doesn’t get quite the advertised speeds? Yeah, so have we. In fact, it happens all the time. Listen this week as John and Dave discuss the differences between advertised maximums and real-world expectations… and how to translate between the two. Of course, that’s not all! More questions and Quick Tips than you can shake a stick at. Press play, download, and enjoy!