Apple releases Mac OS Big Sur, a total revamp of its desktop operating system

Despite a long gestation period and a botched launch day yesterday, Apple's biggest revamp to its mac OS "Big Sur" is now available for download. Weighing in at over 12 GB, this is a hefty visual and functional upgrade to compatible mac desktops and laptops. A lot of the look and feel is reminiscent of iOS 14, and this is no surprise since Big Sur has been optimized for Apple Silicon which Apple is transitioning to by way of new hardware. 

Notable updates are the return of the startup chime, additoonal controls and the return of widgets that help push information forward without needing to open apps. The Safari browser is also faster, safer, and more privacy-oriented and now feels faster than Google Chrome, which is a resource hog on Macs. The spit and polish extends to Apple's native apps like Mail, Maps, Messages, and Notes offer new features and better integration. The big benefit of Big Sur on Apple Silicon macs is that they will be able to run iOS apps, while this sounds great in theory, mac OS still does not offer multi-touch control, so while having access to these apps is a cool feature, they will not be running in an optimized environment. 

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Apple promises "One more thing." on Nov. 10 streaming event

Apple is reaching deep into its folklore and invoking founder Steve Jobs' iconic "One more thing." line for the invitation of their November 10 Apple Event. One more thing is not to be taken lightly, it is the mic-drop statement used by Jobs during various events to introduce revolutionary new products. Past one more things include such blockbuster products as Airport wireless hub, PowerBooks, iPod and iPod Touch, and, most recently, the iPhone X received the One more thing treatment by Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

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Apple tries again in the smart speaker market with HomePod mini

After a rather disastrous first salvo into the smart speaker space with the HomePod, Apple is hedging its bets to take on Amazon and Google with its new HomePod mini, a smaller and cheaper Siri-powered smart speaker. When we reviewed the OG HomePod, we were impressed by its audio quality as well as its impressive multi-room functionality. We did lament that Siri was tied to only one account and that the range of content was limited largely to Apple services. We also found HomePod expensive. 

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Apple launches 5G-enabled iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

Apple held a streaming event today to launch the new iPhones 12. This year brings a refreshed design as well as a smaller variant in the iPhone 12 mini. The big feature is 5G, which has bee available on other devices for over a year. Noteable features for the new iPhones 12 include a squarish design that's reminiscent of the iPhone 5 and the latest iPad Pros and iPad Airs. The notch is still there and doesn's seem to have shrunk much, Apple has also retained the Lightning adapters for power and connectivity, making the iPhone the only product it sells that still does not use the USB-Type C industry standard. Apple is omitting power supplies as well as the EarPods headphones in the new iPhones to ostensibly cut down on e-waste and also to increase their margins.

The new iPhones do feature a new screen technology in the Ceramic Shield front cover. The Apple-designed A14 Bionic, ups performance while the dual-camera system provides new computational photography and video MagSafe, previously a much-missed feature on MacBooks, is now on iPhones  as a high-powered wireless charging and an all-new ecosystem of accessories that easily attach to iPhone. 

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