Tangible Tech

It's Tuesday - be sure to watch AWT TV tonight live at 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET on https://youtube.com/c/appleworldtoday as Steve Sande and Marty Edwards bring you an hour of iOS and macOS tips! Here's some news for you while you wait:

• AirPlay 2 disappears from the latest betas of iOS 11.3 and tvOS 11.3
• Samsung announces a new line of SSDs for enterprise, one of which has a 30.72 TB capacity
• Samsung's also seen its smartphone market share drop in the company's home country of South Korea, where Apple and LG keep increasing their share
• A Pennsylvania woman credits her Apple Watch with possibly saving her life after a drunk driver hit her car, temporarily blinding her
• That news about Apple filing for a new trademark for the rainbow logo? It's a nothingburger. 

Steve's podcasting record for February took another hit last Friday with a bad bout of stomach flu; today he's back with four news stories for you:

• WWDC hasn't been officially announced, but rumors are pointing toward June 4 - 8, 2018 in San Jose, CA 
• Apple's new flagship retail store in Chicago has another issue -- this time, a big crack in one of the glass panels
• A drone crashed into Apple's new headquarters building over the weekend. The building is unscathed, but the pilot may not get the drone back
• Twitter is dropping support for the Mac, discontinuing its Mac client. We have news of a deal for a replacement client for you

This Thursday afternoon we have a variety of short news items for your listening pleasure:

• Apple will require developers to support the iPhone X starting in April 2018 for all new apps submitted to the App Store
• One character in India's Telugu language is crashing message apps in iOS 11, and a fix is on the way soon
• Getting an Apple HomePod? You might want to get a Pad & Quill HomePod Coaster first!
• Google Maps for iOS receives a handy update that speeds access to many features
• Facebook is entering the smart speaker market later this year

Today's podcast is somewhat shorter in length, which should be useful for those of you who forgot today was Valentine's Day and are still rushing around trying to buy gifts and set up restaurant reservations...

• The Apple Watch Series 3 finally appears in the refurb section of the online Apple Store, although GPS+Cellular watches are not available yet
• Apple has published an ARKit/Augmented Reality mini-site that includes details on ARKit, phone technology, and apps that use ARKit
• A Barclay's analyst thinks that Apple's 2019 iPhones may add a rear-facing 3D sensor for AR purposes
• YouTube TV adds a number of Turner networks today, but also announces a higher monthly fee for new subscribers starting March 13

Today was Apple's annual shareholder meeting, held at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus. As a result, today's podcast covers just one topic -- the shareholder meeting, the agenda of the meeting, and comments made by shareholders and the Apple executives during the meeting. 

Steve is back to recording the podcast after a week-long hiatus due to a death in the family. Today we have three stories; one highlighting major US carrier Verizon, another the HomePod, and the final focusing on wireless mobile chip vendors Qualcomm and Broadcom:

• Verizon announced that it will begin locking smartphones for a specified amount of time in order to reduce criminal demand for its unlocked phones
• A scientific test of Apple's new HomePod smart speaker proves that it has excellent sound quality
• Apple suppliers Qualcomm and Broadcom are set to restart talks on a possible takeover of Qualcomm by Broadcom; any takeover would have an impact on Apple

Welcome to the shortest month of the year...that usually feels like it's two months long. Our February coverage of Apple starts with five stories from around the world of Apple:

• Uber's latest iOS app update disabled the ability to hail a ride from within Apple Maps or using Siri
• India builds another barrier to entry for Apple by raising custom duties on imported mobile phones from 15 to 20 percent
• A new setting in iOS and macOS makes it possible for enterprise administrators to delay updates for up to 90 days
• Only a little over three weeks until the first Apple retail store in Austria is set to open in Vienna
• Slack is the latest company to do away with an Apple Watch app

Welcome to the shortest month of the year...that usually feels like it's two months long. Our February coverage of Apple starts with five stories from around the world of Apple:

• Uber's latest iOS app update disabled the ability to hail a ride from within Apple Maps or using Siri
• India builds another barrier to entry for Apple by raising custom duties on imported mobile phones from 15 to 20 percent
• A new setting in iOS and macOS makes it possible for enterprise administrators to delay updates for up to 90 days
• Only a little over three weeks until the first Apple retail store in Austria is set to open in Vienna
• Slack is the latest company to do away with an Apple Watch app

We leave the month of January with an extended edition of the AWT News Update podcast:

• Apple is crippling macOS Server later this spring and asking administrators to consider switching to open source versions of the apps that make up the server package
• 18-core iMac Pros are on the way to some lucky folks who ordered the powerful computer
• One feature to expect in Apple operating systems later this year is the ability for developers to easily port iOS apps to Mac, with iPad apps reportedly requiring little or no changes to run on macOS
• Apple responds to SEC and DOJ investigations with a statement describing its intentions in throttling iPhone CPUs

Just a short little podcast for you today, giving you the 411 on HomePod, Apple Maps, and a proposed new Apple Store in Scottsdale, Arizona:

• The upcoming HomePod smart speaker will apparently install updates through the Home app
• Two new American cities are getting transit directions in Apple Maps: Omaha, Nebraska and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Architectural renderings of a proposed Apple retail store in Scottsdale, Arizona show a stunning external design