14: 📰Apple's September '15 event with Ben Sandofsky →

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Supreme iOS/Mac engineer and Apple aficionado Ben Sandofsky joins me to break down Apple's September 2015 event. We dig into all the details of the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV announcements, with detailed discussion on why the iPad Pro was even necessary, the Internet's reaction to the Apple Pencil, the types of games we may and may not see on Apple TV, our fears for 3D Touch and more.

We also give our initial impressions of what was the most unexpected and perhaps bigggest announcement, that of the iPhone Upgrade Program, as well as discussing iCloud's stingy data caps, the 16GB base model iPhone and whether Apple's vastly increased product count and increasinly long keynotes are a worrying sign for the company.

To close out the show, Ben gives some insight into his time as a technical advisor for HBO's Silicon Valley series.

Follow Ben on Twitter: @sandofsky

13: 📚The history of Link Bubble with Jake Wharton →

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Jake Wharton (aka the most in-demand Android engineer on the planet) takes over the show and proceeds to interview yours truly about all things Link Bubble, my now former app. We discuss everything about Link Bubble, from how I conceived the app all the way up to my selling of the app and everything in between.

Some of the many topics discussed include the early prototyping of the app, my decision making process in applying for a patent on the app, my thoughts on the vocal folk who felt the app was outrageously priced at launch, the companion app TapPath, what it was like for me to temporarily trade in my engineering hat and try my hand at becoming a deal making executive, and a whole heap more.

This episode is brought to you by Action Launcher 3 for Android. Go on, leave me a review (I like the number 5).

Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton

Links

Ep. 12: Two Android developers talk iPhone with Francisco Franco →

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Pitchforks at the ready, as Android developer and kernel tweaker Francisco Franco and I have a lengthy chat about the iPhone 6! We start off talking about how we came to spend time with the latest iPhone, and then dig into three main topics: the hardware, iOS and the platform's apps.

We discuss our experiences using an iPhone on a daily basis, the things we miss most coming from Android, areas where the iPhone is superior, Apple's restrictive APIs and more. Oh, and Francisco demonstrates that he may in fact have a future in politics when we discuss what phone we envisage our SIM card being plugged into on Christmas Day once this year's Nexus phones have shipped.

Ep. 11: M is for Marshmallow with JR Raphael →

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Guest JR Raphael and I discuss all the week's news. We break down M's official name, as well as discussing the potential implications for future Android version numbers and logos, and of course discuss this week's updated M Preview release itself.

I have my first podcast mini-rant about over-the-air updates of preview releases, and also speculate about a potential reason we have seen M's finalized APIs released earlier this year.

We also chat about on the possibility of multiple Nexus devices for this year, and dig into Google's newly announced OnHub device, including my irresponsible speculation as to why Nest didn't release this product. Finally, JR shares a few thoughts about OnePlus.

Follow JR on Twitter: @JRRaphael.

I've sold Link Bubble, TapPath and all related assets

Before releasing Link Bubble, I made a teaser post for the app in which I stated:

"I’m more proud of Link Bubble than anything I’ve done in my career".

This remains true today.

But what has become apparent to me since launching Link Bubble is that it will take a lot more resources and know-how than my indie company possesses to really take the app as far as it can go.

It is with this in mind, that I'm tremendously excited to announce that Link Bubble, Link Bubble Pro and TapPath have a new home.

The new owners of the apps are a US startup currently in stealth mode, so I'll let them introduce themselves on their own schedule. But you should trust me when I say that once the founders come to light, it will immediately be apparent why I, as the world's most enthusiastic Link Bubble user, am so excited about both this deal, and the implications for Link Bubble's future.

To celebrate this transition, today Link Bubble is receiving its largest update ever, with a material design overhaul, support for HTML drop down elements, colored toolbars, custom domain redirects, translations for 6 new languages and a wealth of bug fixes.

For existing users, this transition will be an entirely seamless experience. Your previous purchases of Link Bubble Pro and TapPath are still tied to your Google Account, and will continue to work as they always have. Users of the free Link Bubble app will receive updates via the Play Store as with any other app.

I'd like to thank each and every person who used, bought, sent feedback on, or had any interaction with Link Bubble during the past 18 months. I feel as confident as ever that Link Bubble planted a seedling for a better way to use the web on mobile devices, and I'm excited for us all to see this idea flourish in the years to come!

WSJ interview with OnePlus CEO Carl Pei →

WSJ: After working for China-based electronics manufacturers Meizu and Oppo, you started OnePlus. How did OnePlus come about?

Pei: I was talking with my Oppo colleagues in a cafe, and we put our phones on the table. We were all using iPhones even though we worked for a company that makes [Android phones].

We asked ourselves who makes the best smartphone in the world? You had to say Apple. But second? There was no No. 2. We saw a gap.

The above video is interesting, as is the linked interview.

Jurassic World sequel set for 2018

Justin Kroll:

After the smash success of “Jurassic World,” Universal has dated a sequel for June 22, 2018.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard will return to star in the film, which Steven Spielberg will exec produce through his Amblin Entertainment banner.

Colin Trevorrow, who directed “Jurassic World,” will co-write the screenplay with Derek Connolly.

Given Jurassic World is now the third highest grossing movie of all time and Pratt is set to make Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for 2017, little of this news comes as a surprise.

Personally, I'm excited Trevorrow and Connolly are writing the sequel. I think they largely did a good job with World.

Although unlike the vast majority of Hollywood blockbusters I've seen, I did come away from Jurassic World with the feeling that I didn't immediately see an obvious route for a sequel. In fact, my impression was it almost felt as if they painted themselves into a corner where any further sequels might be tough. Certainly there doesn't seem any avenue for the island as a tourist attraction anymore, and I doubt if the writers want to do the whole "let's make up an excuse for our humans to have to go back a dinosaur filled island" plot line from the first two sequels again.

But I've only seen World once. Perhaps there's more threads there that become apparent upon subsequent viewings.

Apple desperately needs to split official apps from iOS updates →

Owen Wilson:

It’s a crazy backwards policy to require entire point releases, like iOS 8.4 for Apple Music’s release, for adding or updating individual apps.

Such a system slows down progress from Apple until major changes are available, leaving users in the lurch for weeks or months longer than necessary for fairly trivial fixes.

App developers, like Medium and Slack, are able to throw bug fixes and quick tweaks out the door as soon as they have them. Users automatically get the latest, without even knowing it in many cases.

I've lost count of how many times I've mentioned this over the years. Apple's system of requiring a system update and in turn a device restart to fix even the slightest issue with any of their apps is just madness.

Wilson's entire piece is one of those "I agree with every word" articles for me, and I suggest reading the whole thing, but I'll leave with this:

Apple is seen to be moving too slowly with development of important bundled apps, like Maps, Podcasts and Music, because it simply can’t push entire system updates for such small content frequently without upsetting users.

App developers have the tools to rapidly iterate their creations, but Apple is suffocating its own products back by not ripping those apps out from the core of iOS and iterating faster.