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The Sad Reality of Apple Leaks

The Sad Reality of Apple Leaks

It's Getting Worse, New YouTube Features for iOS, Dream MacBook Air & More

Brandon Butch
April 14, 2023 • 📖 Read time: 10 minutes

Good morning! ☀️ *Tim Cook voice*

Alright, I have to ask this right away because it has caused quite a stir online..

Would You Take $10,000 to Never Buy an Apple Product Again?

I ask because legendary investor Warren Buffett said this:

If you’re an Apple user and someone offered you $10,000 to never buy an iPhone or Apple product ever again, you wouldn't take it. If someone offered you $10,000 to never buy a Ford again, you'd take it and go buy a Chevy.

Warren Buffett

Let’s take the Apple bias out of the equation for just a second & consider the competition…would you take the $10k?

You already know my answer 🤣 so I wanna see yours. Vote in the poll above!

Anyways, we have some Apple goodies to get to. Let’s go!

Estimated reading time: 4.1 minutes

📲 Quick Tip

Open links more efficiently in Safari!

If you are still tapping & holding on a link to open it in a new tab, you’re Safari-ing wrong. Here’s why:

A two-finger tap on a link will open it in a new tab
Go to Settings > Safari > Open Links
Set this to “In Background” to open a link in another tab but not switch to that tab instantly. It happens in the background.

📺 Big YouTube Changes

Youtube is introducing some new features exclusive to YouTube Premium subscribers.

Higher Quality Video
- Enhanced bitrate version of 1080p HD
- Will make videos look “extra crisp and clear, especially for videos with lots of detail and motion”
Queuing
- Finally! You can now choose which videos are going to play after the one we’re currently watching
Continue Watching
- Pick up where you left off when using other devices
Smart Downloads
- Recommended videos will be downloaded & added straight to your library
- So if you’re on a flight or without service, you still have videos to watch
- You can enable this in Library > Downloads > Settings > Recommend Downloads
SharePlay Support
- You’ll soon be able to watch videos together with friends on FaceTime with this SharePlay integration

I currently have access to all features except for SharePlay and I’m loving them, especially queuing! The new high-bitrate 1080p quality is also nice and noticeable, mainly on action/sports videos.

Honestly, YT Premium is worth the $12/mo just to block ads, but these new features really make me feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.

Tip: If you’re paying more than $11.99/mo for Premium, cancel your subscription & re-purchase on Desktop. You’ll save a few bucks a month by not going through your iPhone.

🤥 Why Leaks are a Slippery Slope

Leaks are fun. They’re great for conversation & building up hype for the next big Apple product.

But just a few days ago, we got a reminder: don’t get too excited over a leak, because anything can change. And it likely will - several times.

And this time it was the iPhone 15 Pro volume buttons that we’ve been hearing so much about lately.

MacRumors

Early leaks from Ming Chi Kuo pointed to these buttons moving from mechanical buttons to solid-state buttons that emulate the “click” - like what we see on the latest iPhone SE. He also said that the mute switch will be turned into a button.

But now, Jeff Pu and Kuo both said SIKE! Uno reverse, it’s not happening anymore.

Apparently, the buttons will remain mechanical, but the plans for the mute switch are still expected. So we might be seeing that “action button” type functionality on the 15 Pro after all!

It gets worse..

MacRumors

Remember how we heard (for several months) that the new iPhone SE 4 would be coming next year and that it would have that custom Apple 5G chip inside?

Yeah, well, that’s not happening either.

According to Kuo, this phone was just a prototype device for Apple to test that 5G chip on. He now says to not expect an SE until at least 2026, if ever again. Bummer!

Oh, one more thing about leaks while you’re here. More iOS 17 leaks were “released” this past week but as I’ve said on Twitter, they’re usually all BS. Same thing happens every year - vague guesses from people without extensive track records. The real leaks typically drop on the week leading up to WWDC.

💻 My Dream MacBook is OTW

TheNextWeb

WWDC is on June 5th and while we’re expecting to see our first glimpse at the Reality Pro headset, it might not be the only hardware Apple reveals…

According to Ross Young, a new 15” MacBook Air is approaching!

Panel production for the 15” MBA started in February. Increased production planned for April
Same design as the current M2 model, which could also see a refresh
M2 or M3 chip - no confirmation yet
Expected release date: late April or early May

A 15” MacBook Air is something I’ve been wanting for several years! It will be the perfect laptop for those - like me - who found the 13” screen size too small, and the MacBook Pro overkill for basic tasks. Can’t wait!

What's Your Preferred MacBook Screen Size?

⚙️ A Week of Software Updates!

TheVerge

TL;DR:

5E133 released for AirPods
iOS 16.5 Beta 2 for Beta testers
tvOS 16.4.1 & HomePod version 16.4.1

For the first time in 5 months, Apple finally released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2 - version 5E133!

This same update was also released for the AirPods Pro 1st Gen, AirPods 2/3 & AirPods Max.

Apple didn’t provide anything useful in the release notes and so far, the only thing I’ve noticed is a fix for battery drain on the AirPods Pro 2 case.

For my fellow Beta testers, Apple dropped the second Beta for iOS 16.5 and I made a video on everything new.

And then finally, for Apple TV and HomePod owners, you guys received the new 16.4.1 update on Wednesday. It adds stability & bug fixes.