Vector

I'm live in Cupertino California fresh out of Apple's Show Time media event at the Steve Jobs theater — scratch that, I was live in Cupertino but it's taken me a bit longer than I hoped to get to this video, but I've also managed to learn a bit more than I did immediately following the event, including chatting with Apple about its just-announced video game service. So, I'm hitting pause, hitting restart, and playing this one over all over again.

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Apple has canceled AirPower. That's not an April Fool's joke. It's not a typo. It's not a glitch in the matrix. AirPower is dead, and here's the statement Apple sent me about it on behalf senior Vice President of hardware engineering, Dan Riccio:

"After much effort, we've concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward."

Now, I've already made an AirPower video that covers the history of the product from announcement to late last year, and I'll link it in the description, so I'm not going to rehash all of that here and now.

But, there are so many questions, so many hot takes, so many rushed uploads and pubs, and so much misinformation and misunderstanding circulating out there, I felt like I had to try, at the very least, to help all of you who support this channel understand what happened and why. At least as much as it's possible for anyone outside the AirPower and executive teams at Apple to really do that. So…

Let's do that.

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LINKS:

• Best Alternatives for the Apple Airpower Mat | iMore
• NOMAD® | Base Station Apple Watch Edition
• Amazon.com: Nomad Wireless Charging Base Station Hub Edition - Charges 2 Qi Devices Wirelessly, 1 USB-A Port, 1 USB-C Port, Black Recycled Leather: Cell Phones & Accessories
• Amazon.com: Wireless Charging Pad 2 in 1, Lightweight Portable Easy-Use, Charger Dock Compatible to Apple Watch, 7.5W Compatible iPhone X XS MAX XR 8 8+ 10W Compatible Samsung Galaxy 5W for Qi-Enabled Device: Cell Phones & Accessories
• Amazon.com: Dual Wireless Fast Charger, 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad Induction Charger Base for (i) Watch Series 4/3/2/1 & (i) Phone XS Max (iPhone 8 Plus Galaxy S8/S9/Plus/Note 8/S7 & All Qi-Enabled Device: Cell Phones & Accessories
• SliceCharge: The 1st 6-coils Wireless Charging Mat | Indiegogo
• Material Dock | Studio Neat

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The last time Apple introduced a new iPad Air was 2014. Since then, there have been iPad Pros with more premium features and price tags, and even a resurrected original Air with the lowest entry-level price ever. But as the Pros got more expensive and the base model less, there's been nothing but a widening gulf in-between those two extremes. Until now.

So, with the 2019 iPad Air 3 and the almost identically specced iPad mini 5, Apple hasn't just launched new iPads — they've added a new midrange tier to the lineup, something with many of the Pro features but without the pro price.

I spent some time chatting with Apple about the new iPad Air 3 in New York City last week and picked one up one for review while in Cupertino for the Show Time event.

But, I wanted to do a wider, more complete, more in-context review for the Air as well.

So, I took it up, up, and away into the air. Literally.

I scored an upgrade on my flight home, headed to the airport, jumped into one of the wacky s-shaped pod seats, and got to work finding out what this new 10.5-inch Air is really all about.

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Austin Mann isn't just one of the best photographers in the business he also happens to be one of the best iPhone photographers. Every year when Apple puts out a new iPhone, Austin takes it somewhere jaw-dropping to test out the camera, like Iceland or the Sahara, and then he posts a review of everything he likes and, yeah, doesn't like about the new sensor, chipset, and software. And when he's not doing that, he's traveling around the world shooting famous places, famous faces, and capturing awe inspiring moments from pretty much anywhere and everywhere.

I had a chance to meet up with him when he was in Montreal a couple of months back and had so much fun chatting I asked him if he'd come back so we could chat with all of you as well.

And he was gracious enough to say yes.

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• Travel Photographer — Austin Mann
• Austin Mann (@austinmann) • Instagram photos and videos
• The Traveler's Guide to iPhone Photography

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You can call them AirPods 1 S. You can call them AirPods 1.5. You can even call them half-a-year late for, well, not dinner, don't be obvious, but for a second anniversary, iPhone-timed release. And that's fine. That's fair. I'm not going to argue what they aren't for you. That's entirely up to you. But I am going to tell you what they are and what they mean to me. That way, if you're trying to decide whether or not you should pull the trigger on them now, now, now, you'll have all the information you need to do just exactly that.

These are the AirPods (Generation 2), and this is a quick unboxing and first look!

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I'm live at Apple's March Event — Show Time — at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, where we've just gotten the very first details about Apple's new video service, Apple TV+. You know, the one they've been working on for a couple years, spent billions on getting A-list talent signed up for, and may not be as quantity as Netflix or Amazon but could just be shooting for even higher quality.

So, what is it, when is it coming, and what do the shows actually look like?

Just. Hit. Play.

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Apple is positioning Apple Card as a credit card by a company that doesn't just want to get you hooked to the interest needle and drain you… not dry… but to the edge of a very long, very draining life.

To that end, it's partnering not with any long-established, long horrible bank, but with a new bank, that admittedly has a pretty horrible history all its own, but is kinda like Cingular was when the iPhone first launched — just desperate enough to let Apple do pretty much whatever Apple wants to do.

It's virtual. It's titanium (!), it's rewarding, it's helpful, it's U.S. only, and it's still a credit card... with all the convenience and grotesque usury that comes with that business.

Here's what you need to know.

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Apple's March 25 event is just around the corner and that means there'll not only be a lot to cover but a lot of people covering it.

And... it's weird. I've blogged and done podcasts for a long time, and YouTube much more recently. And even when you're just talking about one company, like Apple, the analysts and journalists don't always know the podcasters or bloggers, or vice versa, and the people on YouTube don't always know the people off, and also vice versa.

It's almost like we all exist in the same space but vibrate at different dimensional frequencies. And the intersection of people who read Daring Fireball, watch MKBHD, listen to Connected, and follow Above Avalon is way, way smaller than it should be.

So, let's fix that. These are all the Apple analysts, journalists, bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, and more that you need to follow in 2019.

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• 50 People to Follow at Apple's March Event (2019) - YouTube

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Apple created iPad, then iPad mini. Then Apple destroyed iPad and created iPad Air, only to destroy iPad Air and create iPad Pro. Twice. Thrice. Fice? Whatever. Now, Apple has recreated iPad and, finally, iPad mini and iPad Air as well.

So, what we have now, for the first time, is a fairly complete lineup of iPads, from entry-level to mid-range to top end. And that's thanks, in large part, to the new iPad mini 5 and iPad Air 3.

I got to spend some time with Apple chatting about both in New York City, and while I only managed to abscond with the new mini, the new Air is almost identical. Since I spent the better part of a year with the old 10.5-inch as my primary iPad, and I realize a lot of you want all the information possible to make the best buying decision possible, I'm going to offer up some preliminary thoughts on it as well. In other words, twice the video bang for your view.

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• Amazon.com: Apple iPad Air (10.5-inch, Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Space Gray
• Amazon.com: Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Silver
• Amazon.com: Apple Pencil

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macOS is old. Like NeXTStep old. Steve Jobs introduced it in 2001 and, updated it years until 2004, then every two years until 2012, and now, every year again, ever since. Presumably this year as well, with macOS 10.15… I don't know… what's the Mojave High Sierra or El Cap? Joshua Tree?

Whatever. As operating systems go, it's beyond mature but it's not entirely modern. Where Microsoft failed at mobile and was forced to bring Windows into the present, and Google never had a traditional operating system to split focus with Android… though they've managed to do that with ChromeOS all on their own.

Apple, though, is trying to drag both forward, struggling to make iOS more functional while making macOS more mainstream.

And, big surprise, I have some ideas on how Apple could do just that. Take macOS to the next level.

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• iOS 13 Major Changes Needed for the Future - YouTube

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