The Mac Observer Show

There’s an Apple patent that shows the iPhone’s Home button is going away. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on the future of the Home button, plus they look at what’s up with Apple auto-downloading macOS Sierra to user’s computers.

It’s time for Apple to rethink the Apple TV interface. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at the problems with Apple TV’s app-focused interface and discuss why it should be content-focused. They also have some thoughts on Apple Music ranking at the top of a recent JD Powers satisfaction survey for streaming music services.

Third party Lighting to 3.5mm headphone adapters are starting to make their first appearances for the iPhone 7. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the headphone adapter market and whether or not most people will really need one. They also respond to listener comments on yesterday’s show where we talked about the limitations of Apple’s Airport Extreme Base Station.

Word on the street says new Retina MacBook Pro models are coming in October, and TMO’s sources say they’ll be announced on the 11th. Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about John’s wish list for new Apple products, and Jeff disagrees with John’s take on Apple TV.

Blackberry is giving up on making smartphones. John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to discuss Blackberry’s long downward spiral, plus they look back on Apple’s first Think Different ad from 19 years ago.

Apple wants HealthKit to track your overall health and become a diagnosis tool. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss whether or not Apple is ready to expand HealthKit, and they also look at the state of Apple TV compared to Roku’s latest home entertainment appliance offerings.Bonus: Bryan lost his Apple Watch battery life bet with John.

Worried about viewing PDF documents in macOS Sierra? Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at what we know now about potential data loss in PDFs, plus they dive into two-factor authentication for Apple IDs and why that matters for HomeKit and Apple Watch users.

Apple is diving deeper into the world of artificial intelligence with its recent Tuplejump purchase. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple’s AI efforts, balancing privacy with data collection, and how Apple’s HomeKit is still frustrating.

Apple’s car project is still something of a mystery, and that’s leading to all kinds of speculation. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at reports that Apple wanted to buy a high end car maker, plus they have some thoughts on Apple’s paper bag patent.

With macOS Sierra out the big question is whether or not you should upgrade now. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at who should install Sierra now and who should wait, how to check for compatibility issues, their data backup routines, and more.

Heads up, everyone! It’s macOS Sierra release day. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about the new Mac operating system, issues with incompatible software, and some best practices ahead of installing the upgrade. They also note a just released update for ProDOS on the Apple II and IIGS. Seriously.

to share their thoughts and first impressions on Apple’s latest smartphone. John also talks about what went right—and wrong—with his iPhone trade in at the Apple Store.

What’s inside an iPhone 7 Plus? A lot, it turns out, including space for a headphone jack. Jim Tanous from TekRevue joins Jeff Gamet to dive inside Apple’s latest iPhone model, plus they respond to listener comments.

Good luck walking into a store tomorrow and buying a new iPhone 7 or 7 Plus because they’re already pretty much completely sold out. John Martellaro joins Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple product launch strategies and controlling inventory to drive up hype. They also share some watchOS 3 standout features—both good and annoying.

With iOS 10 out and on people’s iPhones and iPads it’s time to dive into some features. Kelly Guimont joins Jeff Gamet to look at Messages and Sticker Packs, and to talk about why Jeff decided to make his own. They also talk about wireless earbuds and Apple dropping the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

It’s iOS 10 launch day and there’s plenty to talk about in Apple’s newest iPhone and iPad operating system. Dave Hamilton and TekRevue’s Jim Tanous join Jeff Gamet to talk about iOS 10’s new features and what they’re finding handy, plus they look at the different options for financing a new iPhone 7.

Apple seems to be shaking up its secret car project, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss what the reported car project layoffs likely mean, plus John explains why the media loves spinning Apple in a negative light.

Benchmark tests show the Apple’s brand new iPhone 7 Plus A10 processer is faster than the 2016 MacBook. Bryan Chaffin and John Kheit join Jeff Gamet to look at what those performance tests mean, why it’s a big deal that an iPhone can be faster than a MacBook, and what would happen if Apple put its own processors in the Mac lineup.

TMO’s Bryan Chaffin was at the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 launch event yesterday and got to get his hands on both devices as well as the AirPods. Bryan, along with John Martellaro joins Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple Watch Series 2 and how AirPods sound and work. Jeff also settles Bryan and John’s Apple Watch bet.

Apple’s “See you on the 7th” media event just wrapped up, and there were plenty of big announcements. Dave Hamilton joins Jeff Gamet to talk about what stood out to them, like the new wireless AirPods, the A10 quad-core processor in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and the Apple Watch Series 2.

The New York Times says Apple age discriminates against potential retail store employees. Dave Hamilton joins Jeff Gamet to discuss what they think may have really happened with the former Apple engineer who applied for a Genius Bar job, plus they look at Apple Music’s new discount annual price deal.

Apple’s slow Mac refresh cycle is HP’s opportunity. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about how HP is taking advantage of the ongoing lack of new Mac hardware, plus they share their thoughts on Apple’s plan to clean house at the App Store.

FBI Director James Comey isn’t ready to give up the fight to punch a hole through our encryption and privacy. Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss the FBI’s stance on mandated back doors into encryption and the Director Comey’s need to save face in this argument.

Monster’s Noel Lee is having a pretty bad day because his lawsuit against Beats fell apart. Kelly Guimont joins Jeff Gamet to look at Mr. Lee’s claims he was duped to cut him out of the deal where Apple bought Beats. They also talk about the why Dropbox’s 2012 data breach is news again, and get a little excited about Stranger Things season 2.