The Talk Show With John Gruber

Special guest Jim Dalrymple returns to the show to speculate about what Apple might announce at the upcoming WWDC 2017: Apple Watch, iPad, iOS, updated MacBooks, Apple TV, and more. Also: a celebration of the great Roger Moore. Sponsored by: MailRoute: Hosted spam and virus protection for email. Use this link for 10 percent off for the life of your account. Squarespace: Make your next move with a beautiful website. Use code gruber for 10 percent off your first order. Fracture: Your photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Great gift idea. Links: Car reviewer Nick Murray on Alcantara, the synthetic leather Microsoft is using for their new Surface Laptops. CNBC: Tim Cook spotted testing Apple Watch glucose monitor. Marc Haynes on meeting Roger Moore as a 7-year-old in 1983. Fred Brooks’s “The Mythical Man Month”. Seth Weintraub’s preview of iOS 7 a few days before it was announced at WWDC 2013. Bozoma Saint John on Instagram. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Ben Thompson returns to the show. Topics include Microsoft's announcements from Build 2017, search engines, Amazon's new (confusingly-named) Look and Show devices, the need for HAL 9000, Apple's WeChat problem in China, and more. Sponsored by: Pingdom: Uptime and performance monitoring made easy. Use code THETALKSHOW for 20 percent off. Squarespace: Build it beautiful. Use code gruber for 10 percent off your first order. Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Links: Microsoft's Build 2017 Keynote. Fish Shell. Surface Laptop "luxury" treatment. 2007 Apple iPhone commercial. Bob Borcher's iPhone guided tours. Phil Schiller dumping Instagram in 2012. WeChat and the iPhone in China. When a ReadWriteWeb article became Google’s top result for “Facebook login”. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Rene Ritchie returns to the show. Topics include Apple’s Q2 2017 financial results, the iPhone’s decline in China over the past two years, Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop and Windows 10 S, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick getting called to Tim Cook’s office regarding Uber’s surreptitious “fingerprinting” of iPhones, judging Apple Watch’s success, Hulu’s entry into the cord-cutting “live TV” subscription market (and Apple’s conspicuous absence from that same market), and more. Sponsored by: Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code thetalkshow for $50 toward your mattress. Squarespace: Make your next move with a beautiful website. Use code gruber for 10% off your first order. Audible: With Audible, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Get a free 30-day trial. Links: Apple Q2 2017 results: Apple’s press release. Data (PDF). Transcript of the analyst call opening remarks. Transcript of the analyst call Q&A segment. Is WeChat a problem for Apple in China? Ben Thompson: “Apple’s China Problem”. John Gruber: “Apple’s China Problem: WeChat”. Connie Chan: “When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China”. Other events in San Jose during WWDC week: Layers design conference (save $100 with code “martini” or “🍸”). AltConf. CocoaConf. Apple’s “Beyond WWDC” page. Scandal of the week at Uber: “On Uber’s ‘Identifying and Tagging’ of iPhones”. Unroll.me CEO’s “heartbreak”. App Store economics: Matt Gemmell: “No company has done as much damage to the perceived value of software, and the sustainability of being an independent developer, as Apple.” Rene Ritchie: “Indie Development in the Age of the App Store”. Hulu’s new $40/month live TV service. It sucks that you can’t type common characters like tab and π, ¶, and © on an iOS software keyboard. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Lisa Jackson — Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives — joins the show for an Earth Day discussion of the state of Apple’s environmental efforts: climate change, renewable energy, responsible packaging, and Apple’s new goal to create a “closed-loop supply chain”, wherein the company’s products would be manufactured entirely from recycled materials. Full transcript of this episode. Sponsored exclusively by: Circle With Disney: Disney’s new way for families to manage content and time across devices. Use code THETALKSHOW to get free shipping and $10 off. Links: Lisa Jackson’s bio. Apple’s 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report (PDF). Recycle your old Apple products. Apple’s charming series of animated spots on the environment by filmmaker James Blagden: “Can We Produce Zero Waste?” “Do Solar Farms Feed Yaks?” “Why Does Apple Make Its Own Sweat?” “Can a Building Breathe?”

MG Siegler returns to the show. Topics includes Virgin America's sad fate as a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines, the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pros, "doing work" on an iPad Pro, Walt Mossberg, the absurd bloat of iOS apps, Clips, Netflix and Amazon's spending on video, and more. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code gruber for 10% off your first order. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi that works. Fracture: Your photos, printed directly on glass. Great gift idea. Links: MG: The Great Laptop Stagnation. MG: Death of a Virgin. MG: The Squid. Columbia Journalism Review's interview with Walt Mossberg. Mark Gurman's new weekly video show for Bloomberg. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Matthew Panzarino returns to the show for an in-depth discussion of last week's "future of the Mac Pro" round table discussion between a handful of Apple executives and journalists who cover the company. We talk about what went wrong with the 2013 Mac Pro design, speculate on the timeline of when Apple made this decision, why touchscreen Macs are almost certainly a bad idea even though a lot of people think they want one, and more. Sponsored by: Circle With Disney: Disney’s new way for families to manage content and time across devices. Use code THETALKSHOW to get free shipping and $10 off. Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Hullo Pillow: Sleep better with a new buckwheat pillow. It’ll be your favorite pillow, guaranteed. Links: Matthew’s story for TechCrunch on the Mac Pro meeting. Yours truly’s story for Daring Fireball. Apple CFO Luca Maestri on using Circle With Disney with his family. (In Italian.) Longtime Mac developer Dan Counsell on building a hackintosh. Jonathan Hoefler’s posted-to-Twitter critique of a work-in-progress typeface design from Louie Mantia. Notability, the app Hoefler & Co. use for annotating typeface designs on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Dan Frommer returns to the show. Topics include the end of The Deck ad network, my weird story about getting kicked out of Amazon’s affiliate program, Apple’s new products announced last week (Red iPhone 7 models, larger-capacity iPhone SEs, the new 9.7-inch just-plain iPad, and Apple’s excellent new Clips app), Samsung’s new Galaxy S8, Twitter’s new reply system, CarPlay getting its ass kicked in a head-to-head comparison with Android Auto, ISPs and Privacy, and more. Sponsored by: JAMF Software: Jamf Now helps you manage your Apple devices from anywhere. Use this link and set up your first 3 devices free of charge. Squarespace: Build it beautiful. Use code gruber for 10% off your first order. Audible.com: With Audible, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Get a free 30-day trial. Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code thetalkshow for $50 toward your mattress. Links: Jim Coudal announces the end of The Deck. My farewell to The Deck. Clips. Dan Frommer on the Galaxy S8 taking a bit of the piss out Apple's purported edge-to-edge iPhone coming later this year. Dan Seifert’s report on the Galaxy S8, from Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea. Viv, the Samsung-acquired voice-AI system from the creators of Siri. The 12-year old Daring Fireball post that apparently got me kicked out of Amazon's affiliate program. Andy Rubin's teaser tweet. Eric Schmidt's tweet promoting Rubin's teaser, on the day of Samsung's S8 announcement. Android Auto vs. CarPlay head-to-head. Sam Biddle tries to get a telecom PR rep to make sense of their official position on “protecting user privacy”. The iPhone Math, Dan’s favorite busted-ass rumor. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

The one and only Merlin Mann returns to the show. Topics include modern plumbing technology and product marketing, the intricate ordeal of switching from iCloud’s old two-step authentication to the modern two-factor authentication, and the future of voice-driven UI/AI. Also, a wee bit of follow-up on our post-election November 9 Holiday Party. Sponsored by: Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi, that works. Away: High quality luggage with built-in USB chargers. Save $20 with promo code talkshow. Fracture: Now through the end of March, save 20% on Fracture prints with promo code CLEAN. Order now for Mothers Day. Warby Parker: Boutique-quality, vintage-inspired glasses at a revolutionary price. Try up to five pairs at home for free. Links: American Standard VorMax anti-splatter flush technology. “Clinger”. “Skid Marks”. Halfway through this one they flush something soft and brown. Michael Heilemann: “When did Siri figure out to not activate two iCloud connected devices with ‘Hey Siri’ at the same time?” My YouTube video showing how best to remove AirPods from their case. Do By Friday: Excellent new(ish) podcast hosted by Merlin, Alex Cox, and Max Temkin, whose names have an average of one “x” per host. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Serenity Caldwell returns to the show. Topics include the Best Picture fiasco at last week’s Academy Awards, Tim Cook speaking vaguely of “the pro area” at Apple’s shareholders meeting, the conflict between Apple’s culture of secrecy and the glaring embarrassment that is the 1,100-day-old Mac Pro lineup, new iPad Pro rumors and our ruminations on tablet vs. notebook hardware form factors, The Wall Street Journal’s seemingly goofy report on new iPhones replacing Lightning with USB-C ports, and the garbage fire that is Uber’s corporate culture. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Build it beautiful. Use code gruber for 10% off your first order. Harry's: An exceptional shave at a fraction of the price. Use code talkshow for a great deal on your your first purchase. Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Links: The Best Picture Oscars fiasco: Vulture’s deep dive on the Best Picture envelope mixup. Variety’s backstage photographic evidence showing how PricewaterhouseCooper accountant Brian Culligan gave Warren Beatty the wrong envelope. Andy Ihnatko’s tweet showing the terrible typographic design of the envelopes. The terrible design of the “The Winner Is…” cards. Tim Cook speaking vaguely of Apple’s commitment to “the pro area” at Apple’s shareholder meeting. Curious Wall Street Journal report claiming the next iPhone will replace Lightning port with USB-C. Ming-Chi Kuo, following up on that WSJ report, says all new iPhones will have Lightning ports. Jonathan Hoefler’s Twitter thread critiquing an in-the-works typeface design by Louie Mantia — a great example of how the iPad is great for some forms of work. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Marco Arment returns to the show. Topics include WWDC moving back to San Jose, the latest rumors about this year’s new iPads and iPhones, and the thinking behind the design changes in the just-released Overcast 3.0. Sponsored by: Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code thetalkshow for $50 toward your mattress. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi, that works. Use code thetalkshow for free expedited shipping. Audible: With Audible, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Get a free 30-day trial. Links: WWDC moves back to San Jose. Marco on the design details of Overcast 3.0. iPhone and iPad rumors: FastCo: “Here’s Why Apple’s 10th Anniversary iPhone Will Likely Cost More Than $1,000”. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo: “iPhone 8 to Feature 5.8-Inch OLED Display With 5.15-Inch Main Screen and Virtual Buttons Below”. If this is true, this new iPhone (which I do not think will be called “iPhone 8” — I’d guess “iPhone Pro” — will have a radically different aspect ratio. 3D facial recognition to replace or supplement TouchID? Mac Otakara: Apple to introduce new iPad Pros (7.9-inch (mini), 9.7-inch, 12.9-inch, and a new 10.5-inch with an edge-to-edge display), red iPhone 7’s, and 128 GB iPhone SE at event next month. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.