Category: Apple Insider

To use Scribble, you need your iPad on iPadOS 14 and your Apple Pencil. You can use Scribble almost anywhere, but we decided first to start with the Notes app.

When in the Notes app and creating a new note, by default the keyboard appears. We minimized the keyboard and tapped the screen with our Apple Pencil to start using it instead.

If Apple Pencil is active, you will see the Apple Pencil toolbar appear on the screen. This revamped toolbar still has your different writing utensils, as well as buttons to open the keyboard, go to Settings, and to return a line in the text document.

Toggle Scribble on or off in Apple Pencil settings

Note: Be sure to head to the Apple Pencil settings to ensure Scribble is enabled.

We wrote out with Apple Pencil “this is scribble” in our below-average handwriting. Despite our poor penmanship skills, the iPad was still able to detect what we wrote and convert it to the header of the note almost instantly. We then used the return button in the toolbar to go to a new line and try out another sentence.

When writing, you can tap and hold between words to enter a space between them. This is useful if Scribble accidentally combines words you didn’t intend, which can happen if you write words too close together.

To get rid of something you wrote, you can just scratch it out and it disappears. To select a word — or a group of words — circle them to highlight them, then you can cut or copy as well as move them about.

Searching online with Apple Pencil using Scribble

This isn’t limited to just Notes, as it works throughout the OS. For example, pulling down on the Home screen to open universal search brings up a search box that you can just write on top of, and it is recognized automatically. The same goes for within apps whenever there is text to fill out.

In Safari, you can fill out boxes. We used it to search for “HomeKit” on AppleInsider.com as well as entering our contact info on the Apple Store.

Scribble shortcut palette

Whenever you use Scribble, you will notice the Scribble shortcut palette appear on the bottom of the display, one which differs from the large Apple Pencil toolbar found in apps like Notes. This smaller shortcut palette has undo and redo buttons, a keyboard shortcut, ellipses to get to additional settings, then some form of action button. When using universal search or search within Safari it will let you tap it to instantly run the query.

Scribble is a very cool new feature, one that adds a new layer of depth and usability to the iPad.

There are too many times where we get bogged down by having to switch between our Apple Pencil and the keyboard. We will be taking notes, editing a photo, or sketching and need to enter text and must change how we are using the tablet to better type on the keyboard. This fixes that issue completely.

That isn’t to say it is always useful. If you are already using the keyboard or are using the Magic Keyboard, swapping to the Apple Pencil to edit text just doesn’t make sense.

This does however demonstrate how the iPad is getting so much more powerful, by allowing it to adapt to exactly how you use it. Whether with a keyboard, a mouse, your finger, or the Apple Pencil, it simply works.

Scribble currently functions in English, but it is also capable of working in Chinese as well. It can even do both at the same time, allowing users to switch between the languages as they write and iPadOS distinguishes them apart as it translates the separate languages into typed text.

Apple Pencil gained many other skills with iPadOS, but we will save those for another deep dive.

Existing features

Apple’s iOS 14 update — along with tvOS 14 and macOS Big Sur — are packed with changes, HomeKit enhancements among them. Apple demoed a few of the features in various WWDC sessions, but we were able to pull out a few more changes you’ll see once these updates are released.

HomeKit may have some new tricks, but the platform it runs on must be solid to sell the experience. For that reason, Apple tidied up and improved everything from the setup process to using the Home app and controlling different devices.

The Mac in particular got some love this year. Now, Catalyst supports HomeKit apps. This means developers will be able to create their own third-party HomeKit apps for the Mac, which was never possible before.

Very early look of HomeCam running on macOS Big Sur

We even got an early look at Aaron Pearce’s HomeCam app that is slated to hit the Mac later this year. While it is still a very early build, it was encouraging to see how quickly Aaron got it running with Catalyst. It’s also enlightening to see what the future holds not just for HomeCam, but other great third-party HomeKit apps.

Home app on macOS Big Sur

The Mac HomeKit app was refreshed with a new full-height vertical sidebar that greatly improves the usability. Additionally, it has received many of the shared features that we see on iPhone and iPad.

Speaking of which, Apple’s Home app now features a row of status icons across the top of the Home as a whole, as well as individual rooms. These small pieces of glanceable information give you everything you need to know about a room. “Is there motion detected in the backyard,” “what’s the temperature in the living room,” “what’s my home’s air quality,” “is my window open,” are all common questions you may see answered in these little status icons.

Status icons in Home app on iOS 14

You can’t choose status icons as they are automatically selected for you based on the room and what’s inside it.

Similar rationale goes for the new HomeKit icons in Control Center. You’ve been able to add your favorites to Control Center but now it will show your favorites, and then various scenes and accessories you use most often. Control Center will automatically choose these icons, which in my case was our large living room window, my front door, and various lights.

Recommended automations in the Home app with iOS 14

The Home app now has the ability to recommend automations based on the accessory. There are some creative ones that make it far easier for beginners to start automating their home instead of manually controlling it.

For a lock, it will suggest locking the door when the last person leaves and unlocking it when the first person arrives home. For lights, it may “say turn them on” when the shades in the same room are opened at least 50 percent or when the door lock is unlocked. There are countless options for automations and by adding these toggles during setup and in the Home app it’s even easier to get started.

AirPlay 2 is also technically part of HomeKit, which is why we wanted to mention that users are now able to AirPlay videos from the Photos app to the Apple TV 4K at full 4K resolution for the first time.

Lights in HomeKit, are gaining a feature that may sound familiar to steadfast Apple users. Night Shift is a useful feature for iPhone, iPad, and even Mac that adjusts the level of blue light in the display throughout the day.

Many lights can adjust the amount of blue light

The idea is that in the morning it is a warmer screen that is easier on your just-awake eyes before leveling out mid-day and then warming up in the evening before bed. Now that principle applies to the lights in your home.

Any HomeKit lights that support the white color spectrum will be able to automatically shift their color throughout the day. Again, starting warm in the morning, going more blue and white mid-day to help you be productive, then removing the blue light and leaning toward warmer shades in the evening to help you get ready for bed.

Third-party lights such as Hue and LIFX already do this so we are very excited to see HomeKit support the feature natively.

HomeKit Secure Video cameras are starting to really take off following the launch of the Eve Cam and Circle View as well as the updates to Netatmo and Eufy. More are already promised but Apple is taking this chance to make them even more capable.

With iOS 14, HomeKit Secure Video cameras are gaining full support for activity zones as well as facial recognition.

Creating an activity zone in iOS 14

Activity zones can be configured within the Home app and allow you to section off portions of the captured image to monitor for motion and parts to ignore. A good example of this is a HomeKit Secure Video doorbell cam. You can actively monitor your porch and sidewalk for motion while ignoring the street. It is easy to do and each camera can have multiple zones.

Offline time denoted in a HomeKit Secure Video camera’s timeline

Cameras also send notifications when they go offline and come back online, and this is shown visually with a notification and on the history timeline in the Home app.

Adding a HomeKit video doorbell. Images credit: Rayan Khan

Developer Rayan Khan clued us in on a new onboarding process for HomeKit-enabled doorbells that will ask you where you’d like it to chime — your traditional chime, HomePod, or both.

Facial recognition is also enabled in the Home app for HSV cameras. The cameras utilize the facial data from your Photos library to know who people are who visit your home. That way it can send you alerts based on who is at your door.

Enabling facial recognition with HomeKit Secure Video cameras

Of course, Apple is very upfront about privacy here, ensuring to get all permissions before any photos are analyzed. This is also all done locally so none of your footage is shared outside your home.

Whenever your camera does capture someone at your home, you can now get notified via HomePod or Apple TV. When your doorbell rings, the HomePod will announce exactly who is at your door and it will also show as a notification on Apple TV.

Acessing cameras and scenes on tvOS 14 Apple TV

Looking more at Apple TV, it can now open camera streams when asked via Siri and your Home view is accessible from Control Center which is opened by holding the TV button. It shows your camera feeds on top, followed by all of your favorite scenes. Feeds can be viewed small or brought full-screen.

iOS 14 Home app

Regardless of which devices you use, Apple has made some big improvements this year. We’d have loved to see some new accessory types, easy toggle options, and other improvements but we still got some major new features and a lot of “nice to have” changes that will make HomeKit even better.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our new weekly HomeKit-specific podcast, HomeKit Insider, where we talk all things HomeKit.

Existing features

It would be easy enough for Apple to create an app that detects the start and stop point of your sleep. Apple has a tendency to go the extra mile on features, however, thinking about the implementation as a whole, and not just what users anticipate.

For watchOS 7 and iOS 14, Apple thought about the entire sleeping experience for users. That includes keeping a consistent routine, settling down before bed, gently waking up, and analyzing the data that is collected.

So that’s what Apple did by introducing the Sleep app for Apple Watch, sleep mode for iPhone and Apple Watch, revamping the Bedtime feature found in iOS 13, and introducing Wind Down.

To get started with sleep tracking for Apple Watch, users can jump in to the new Sleep app on the wrist-worn computer or into the Health app of their iOS 14-equipped iPhone. We opted for the latter.

When you go to the sleep category of the Health app, there is a new option to set your bedtime schedule. First, you can enable sleep mode. Sleep mode simplifies your Lock Screen at your scheduled Bedtime and will turn on Do Not Disturb to reduce interruptions.

The app will then suggest you enable Wind Down. The idea is that your nighttime routine can begin prior to your bedtime, before you go to sleep. Sleep mode is when you’re actually sleeping and Wind Down is everything leading up to that. You choose how much before your bedtime you want to start Wind Down. This can be between 15 minutes and three hours.

Wind Down on iOS 14

What Wind Down will do is help with those routines as you get ready for bed while reducing the screen time on your phone. It simplifies your Lock Screen, just showing the time, your alarm and any Shortcuts or apps you may use. Create a Shortcut to listen to a relaxing podcast, play your nighttime music playlist, or start your two-minute teeth brushing timer. Whatever you do before bed can be added here.

Finally, Health will ask if you want to track your sleep with Apple Watch. You then get your summary of everything you set up including your schedule and features enabled.

Once everything is set up, you can start tracking sleep. Almost everything happens in the background. Your phone will go into Wind Down mode before it Watch go into sleep mode.

Manually enable sleep mode on iPhone or Apple Watch within Control Center

Sleep mode is able to be manually set, too, on both the watch and phone. Just go into Control Center on each device and toggle it on.

Apple Watch display when it is awoken in sleep mode

When the Apple Watch is in sleep mode, the display stays black as you move your wrist about, preventing it from inadvertently lighting up while you are trying to sleep. And tapping the screen causes is it to light up very dimly with the time and when your alarm is set.

Rotate the Digital Crown to use Apple Watch in sleep mode

If you want to use your watch, it makes you rotate the Digital Crown, similar to expelling water after swimming. This too stops the watching from waking by accident.

Good morning report on Apple Watch after sleeping

Once you wake up, your Apple Watch will greet you with a “good morning” summary that lets you know how long you slept, what the weather looks like for the rest of the day, and what your battery life is for your watch.

Sleep app in watchOS 7

You can revisit your sleep history by checking out the Sleep app your Apple Watch or by visiting the Health app on your iPhone. It will show you how long you slept, how many times you woke up, and how consistent you’ve been.

Speaking of battery, this is likely one of user’s biggest concerns. Apple doesn’t have a way to magically extend your watch’s battery life but it does try to help you manage it.

Apple Watch charging notification

When it is almost time for bed, if your battery life is less than 30 percent, your phone will notify you that you need to charge. And when your watch is charging, your phone will get an alert letting you know when it hits a full charge so you can go grab it.

Apple Watch does charge quick and in our time testing, we haven’t had much issue keeping the watch juiced up — even on a beta. We top it off while we are in the shower and maybe a few minutes in the morning before work and it makes it through the day and night.

Together, the new features cover the entire experience of sleeping and helps you better your sleep patterns. You slowly wind down your day by reducing distractions and getting into your bedtime routine. Your phone stays silent on Do Not Disturb mode while you sleep and your Apple Watch tracks you at the same time and doesn’t turn on and blind you. When you wake up, your watch greets you, as does your iPhone, to start your day.

Track your sleep with Apple Watch

It has been a long time coming, but Apple’s implementation is well thought out, unique, and a phenomenal example of Apple’s ecosystem working together.

Existing features

It is immediately noticeable, right from the initial boot, that macOS Big Sur has a wholly refreshed design. It’s clean, bright, and consistent, and jibes with similar designs tweaks seen on iOS and iPadOS.

You can see it in the new dock that is full of rich new icons. Some icons look a bit off — such as Quicktime that just stuck a Quicktime “Q” on a blue background — but many of the icons look great.

The menu bar is translucent and blends into the background. This looks great though the translucency may cause legibility issues for those with impaired vision. The menu bar to the right with all of your status icons is enhanced as well.

Menu bar items like volume, AirPlay, Wi-Fi, have all gotten a new look that feels much more in line with what was offered by iPhones and iPads. Much has been tucked into a new feature for Mac — Control Center. Control Center houses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlay, and many other common utilities. This helps remove clutter from the menu bar itself, but if you do want to keep them in your menu bar, they can just be dragged right to where you’d like.

Many apps have new looks as well. They come with full-height sidebars and new icons from SF Symbols 2 which was ported from iOS and again, makes everything more consistent.

Safari has received a massive overhaul as well and frankly deserves a deep dive on its own. But hitting the high points, Safari is now faster and more power efficient than ever.

It has a clean interface with a new customizable start page that can be tailored to your liking. Tabs are more user-friendly and accessible with better icons and previews whenever they are hovered over.

Safari has a new feature called Privacy Report which, when clicked on when visiting a website, will let you know how many trackers were encountered and if they were stopped using Safari’s cross-site tracking.

Safari also has password monitoring, built in translation for web pages, and more.

Maps was another app overhauled this year. It is built on Catalyst and is much more fluid and natural than the previous design. We are only in the first beta of macOS Big Sur, but it is a big improvement over what we had before.

Maps not only looks better but includes cycle routing, EV vehicle routing with charging locations, curated guides, Look Around, and indoor maps for airports and malls.

Messages is nearly on par with its iPhone and iPad counterparts in Big Sur, too. Up to nine conversations can be pinned on the left side bar making them much more easy keep track of. Search is also robust and works much better than it did in previous version of macOS. These changes are very welcome.

Group conversations can be named, have an image assigned, feature mentions for different participants, and offer inline replies for more manageable reading.

The app icon is here on the Mac as well. When clicked, it allows users to now insert Memoji stickers, search for gifs, access photos with a new image chooser, and send messages with various effects.

Messages has long lagged behind the iPhone and iPad with a poor interface, non-responsive search, and none of the new features that Apple has added to its mobile variant over the years. It finally seems as though Mac is getting some love with this massive Big Sur update.

We saw some nice changes in Photos such as a more fluid interface, an improved retouch tool powered by machine learning, new editing options for photos, portrait photos, and videos, and more relevant memories with additional soundtracks.

Music and Podcasts have new layouts and For You recommendations, like many other system apps.

The Home app got a major update with a new sidebar, status icons along the top, and countless changes as part of HomeKit Secure Video. Apple is opening Catalyst to HomeKit apps this year as well, so we should now see many third-party Home apps coming to the Mac.

Apple is putting a lot of work into the Mac. Not just reworking the user interface, but doubling down on Catalyst for easier ports of existing iPad apps. Macs will also be running on Apple silicon with future hardware, allowing iPad and iPhone apps to run natively.

The Mac feels reinvigorated and fresh for the first time in years, and users will instantly recognize the difference with a new look, feel, improved performance, and new features.

Stay tuned to AppleInsider for additional coverage of Apple’s new operating systems.

Existing features

The proposed bill is heralded by sponsors as a means to strengthen national security interests and “better protect communities across the country” by ending “warrant-proof” encrypted technology used by terrorists and bad actors.

If enacted, the law would force tech companies to help agencies access encrypted data in service of a warrant.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) proposed the act.

“Tech companies’ increasing reliance on encryption has turned their platforms into a new, lawless playground of criminal activity. Criminals from child predators to terrorists are taking full advantage,” said Cotton. “This bill will ensure law enforcement can access encrypted material with a warrant based on probable cause and help put an end to the Wild West of crime on the Internet,”

Government entities, namely law enforcement agencies, have long sought to dismantle strong encryption methods, including end-to-end messaging encryption, on-device encryption and other forms of personal data security, in a bid to streamline investigations. Critics and tech companies that market encrypted products, like Apple, argue strong encryption is a vital cog in the data privacy machine that, if weakened, leaves users vulnerable to attack.

“Terrorists and criminals routinely use technology, whether smartphones, apps, or other means, to coordinate and communicate their daily activities. In recent history, we have experienced numerous terrorism cases and serious criminal activity where vital information could not be accessed, even after a court order was issued. Unfortunately, tech companies have refused to honor these court orders and assist law enforcement in their investigations,” Graham said in a statement.

While not mentioned by name, Apple in 2016 refused to comply with FBI requests to create a “backdoor” into an iPhone associated with a terror suspect. CEO Tim Cook at the time called the demand “dangerous,” noting a backdoor into one device would put the security of millions of others in jeopardy.

“My position is clear: After law enforcement obtains the necessary court authorizations, they should be able to retrieve information to assist in their investigations,” Graham said. “Our legislation respects and protects the privacy rights of law-abiding Americans. It also puts the terrorists and criminals on notice that they will no longer be able to hide behind technology to cover their tracks.”

While Apple has vehemently argued against the creation of backdoors, it continues to comply with court orders and valid warrants for data as dictated by existing law.

The proposal includes a provision that would allow the attorney general to hold a competition that gives a prize for discovering methods of accessing encrypted data while “maximizing privacy and security.” protecting privacy and security. As noted by CNET, security experts have long regarded such concepts as impossible.

“The bill announced today balances the privacy interests of consumers with the public safety interests of the community by requiring the makers of consumer devices to provide law enforcement with access to encrypted data when authorized by a judge,” Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement, CNET reports. “I am confident that our world-class technology companies can engineer secure products that protect user information and allow for lawful access.”

Today’s proposed bill is the latest attempt to dilute strong encryption technologies developed by big tech companies.

Announced in a message posted to Apple’s Feedback Assistant web portal, the new feature, called Teams for Feedback Assistant, is designed for collaborative bug reporting and resolution.

The service enables developers to send Apple feedback as an entity, rather than an individual. Filings, responses and other notes are automatically stored in a team inbox in Feedback Assistant on iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur and feedbackassistant.apple.com.

To use the feature, developers can tap on the “New Feedback” button under the team inbox on iOS. The same can be done macOS after selecting the team inbox and clicking on the compose message icon. Feedback that was previously filed as a personal report can be moved to a team’s inbox using the action menu.

Assignees of team feedback, which are designated as the original filer by default, can perform management actions like downloading attachments and closing a report. That person will also receive alerts if Apple requests more information.

Apple notes feedback in the team inbox belongs to the organization, not the person who submitted the report, meaning it does not follow an individual if they are later removed from the team.

Teams for Feedback Assistant is available to members of the Apple Developer Program, Apple Developer Enterprise Program, Apple Business Manager, and Apple School Manager.

Following an initial tease of the full-length interview with CBS Sunday Morning on Saturday, Sunday’s eight-minute video with Tim Cook covers a few subject areas that are both important and timely to the company.

The interview starts off by discussing the more immediate future, with talk about Monday’s WWDC 2020 keynote. “I’m full of secrets and it’s hard not to overflow right now. But I’ve been trained well!” Cook joked in the social distancing-compliant interview setup.

Briefly explaining that WWDC is beneficial to both consumers and developers, Cook suggests how he benefits from the event. “If you’re somebody like me that sort of steps back and looks at it all, you see the intersection of technology and the liberal arts, and it really makes your heart sing.”

Turning to the giant size of Apple and its $1.4 trillion market capitalization, Cook was asked what the role of the CEO is in a large-scale socially-responsible company. Cook admits to never subscribing to the idea of a CEO focusing just on profits, and instead looking towards the “constituencies.”

On the sensitive topic of the George Floyd incident, which was captured on a smartphone camera and led to global protests, Cook is asked if he reflected on the role the iPhone played in the ability for citizens to record historic moments like that.

“We are humbled by it,” Cook started, pointing out how “some of the most dramatic societal changes have occurred because someone captured video,” such as with events in Birmingham and Selma. “The thing that has changed though, and we’re very proud of this, is that we put a camera in everybody’s pocket,” he continued, “and so it becomes much tougher as a society, I believe, to convince themselves that it didn’t happen, or that it happened in a different manner or whatever it might be.”

Moving to Cook’s upbringing in Robertsdale, Alabama, he talks about his first experience with racism, which he remembers “as if it were yesterday.” It was seeing doors marked “whites only,” and failing to understand “how people could convince themselves that this was right.”

“I do believe, optimistically, this is one of those moments that we could make significant progress,” Cook continued. “For so many things it seems like there’s such slow progress, and then all of the sudden, there’s a giant leap.” When asked if he wants to make the leap bigger, Cook agrees stating “That’s exactly right.”

Speaking about the recent Supreme Court decision stating there should not be any discrimination against people based on their gender or orientation, Cook admits he is “incredibly grateful for their opinion,” and he applauds the justices “who stood up and did that.”

Cook’s discussions with President Donald Trump was also raised, and was revealed on Saturday as part of promotion for the interview.

When the interviewer brought up the need for social responsibility and Cook’s fiduciary duty for Apple to pay as little tax as possible, Cook offers the usual response of “our responsibility is to pay what we owe, just plain and simple.”

Pressed further, with the suggestion that paying what’s owed is the standard, Cook is asked if there is a way in how the value proposition operates in relation to paying taxes. Cook answers by stating “we do a lot more than pay taxes.”

“We turned the company upside-down to help the world on COVID, and donated all of that, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Cook advises. “And so, I think my own view is, you pay what you owe in taxes, and then you give back to society. And Apple is clearly doing that.”

COVID-19’s effect on working life has become Cook’s biggest challenge at the moment, in that many employees are working from home instead of working at Apple Park. “The thing that I worry that we’ll be missing is the serendipity that we all count on. And for that reason I can’t wait until we’re all back together,” Cook admits.

In dealing with the virus and the issues it throws up, Cook is asked what it’s like to manage products and employees in such an uncertain world. Pointing out people generally disliking uncertainty “as a general rule,” Cook suggests he knows “very few people that thrive on uncertainty,” and that they try to make things more certain by estimating where things are going.

“And we have done all of those things, I would tell you,” Cook concludes. “But the most important thing for us is, we viewed it as a challenge to overcome.”

By design, a HomeKit smart plug doesn’t have a lot going on. It should be compact, offer backup physical control, and reliable. VOCOlinc largely succeeds in following these through.

The SmartBar is small and compact enough that two can be plugged into a standard set of wall outlets. There is a small button on the side which can be used to turn the outlet on or off manually, sans your phone. Otherwise, it is unassuming.

Smart plugs can be very useful in a home. Depending on where installed, they can be more convenient than light bulbs, especially with a physical lamp that has several bulbs installed in it.

Physical button on the side of the VOCOlinc SmartBar

Getting creative with your smart home devices is best, but there are several staples of how these can be used. Obviously, it is a just a simple measure to take a lamp and make it smart, but there is much more you can do.

For example, in a living room, there may be built-in light fixtures as well as standalone floor lamps. A good setup is to put a HomeKit switch on the wall and a smart plug on the lamps.

Then, you create a rule that says when the light switch is turned on, turn on the smart plug, as well as the inverse of that rule.

HomeKit pairing code on the rear of the SmartBar

Another great application is using a motion sensor. By tying it to the sensor, the smart plug can turn on whenever motion is detected, such as a human or a pet.

Using your location, the lights can turn off when you leave and come on when you get home, even based around the time of day.

These lights can also be programmed to come on if a smoke detector detects anything to make it easier to see or wake you up in the case of an emergency.

Not everything regarding the VOCOlinc SmartBar is all rainbows and sunshine. It has its flaws that make it frustrating at times.

For a start, the SmartBar posed problems for us when we attempted to install firmware updates. While in the VOCOlinc app, we’d select the smart plug and it would alert us to the availability of said update.

It asked us to do the update and to not leave the app during the process, but it would frequently fail. No other information was provided as to why it failed, leaving us to repeatedly try again without any guidance to help assist the process. Eventually, the update did manage to go through.

For what it’s worth, perhaps this update in part fixed this process, making updates more reliable. No other updates have been available during our testing so it isn’t known for sure if we will run into this issue the next time.

The VOCOlinc SmartBar is rather unextraordinary. It doesn’t have a nightlight as the iDevices model does. It doesn’t track energy consumption as the Eve Energy does. But what it does bring to the table is incredible value.

It is a Wi-Fi-connected HomeKit smart plug for a great price. Four of them can be purchased for $46.99, but VOCOlinc is further discounting with a $7 off coupon that can be clipped on its Amazon page. That brings them to less than $10 each.

VOCOlinc SmartBar

In the world of HomeKit where prices can easily be above the Amazon Alexa counterpart, it is great to see this affordable option. WeMo, Eve, iDevices, iHome, et cetera are all more expensive.

There are certainly reasons why one would buy those other brands. Their design, unique features, or improved reliability with updates. But for many, this low-cost Wi-Fi option is preferred, even if just a way to tiptoe into the platform or expand an existing setup.

• Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth
• Slim enough to fit two into a standard outlet
• Physical button on the side for control
• Easy setup
• Good reliability
• Affordable cost

• Issues performing updates
• Occasionally went unresponsive
• No energy consumption monitoring

VOCOlinc SmartBars are available on Amazon from solo packs to a four-pack. As mentioned, they are currently running a deal that takes $7 off the four-pack, bringing the price down to $39.99, or less than $10 apiece.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), chair of the House’s antitrust panel, in an interview with Bloomberg said he expects executives from Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook will volunteer testimony in the ongoing antitrust probe after their presence was requested in formal letters sent out last week.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai committed to appear before lawmakers in letters to the committee this week, though their involvement is conditioned on testimony from other executives involved in the inquiry, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos signaled intent to testify on Monday, while Apple has not yet agreed to make Cook available.

While Cicilline believes all four executives will offer testimony on their own volition, he said the committee will issue subpoenas to obtain the information it needs to come to a decision. Bezos, for example, was previously threatened with a subpoena before Amazon communicated a willingness to participate.

“We are going to get the documents and the witnesses we need to complete the investigation,” Cicilline said on Friday in reference to Cook’s testimony. “It is my hope that that will happen voluntarily, but it has always been the intention of the committee that if it does not happen voluntarily, that we will rely on compulsory process to do so.”

Controversy over App Store policies came to a head this week when Apple rejected updates to Basecamp’s new Hey email app on the basis that the software failed to include an option for in-app purchases. Basecamp founders David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried subsequently spoke out against the decision on Twitter, in interviews and a via blog post posted to Hey’s website.

Ciicilline, who appeared alongside Heinemeier Hansson in an episode of The Vergecast podcast this week, called Apple’s App Store fees “highway robbery.” That sentiment was echoed in today’s interview.

“This is very concerning that the use of the App Store, you know developers who are startups, are basically being forced to pay a ransom of 30% or they are denied access to that marketplace,” he said. “And, you know, it’s just coincidentally that Google and Apple arrive at the same thing, a third of the profit. [] And so for a developer, it puts them in the position of either you pay them the ransom or you go out of business or your app is not a success. That’s a perfect example of an abuse of your market power to bully and exact unfair profits.”

For its part, Apple says App Store guidelines are in place to cultivate a consistent consumer experience, not to generate excess profit. Critics, including some developers, view the Hey debacle as Apple chasing its customary 15% to 30% cut of App Store transactions.

“I get why there’s a question here, but that’s not what we’re doing,” Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller told TechCrunch on Thursday, adding that policies like in-app purchase requirements are designed to foster customer satisfaction.

Fried in a blog post today countered Apple by arguing in-app purchase restrictions hurt customer relations by erecting a false barrier between app makers and their users.

Despite the kerfuffle, Apple is not considering a rule change or exemption for Hey, Schiller said. Whether that stance will soften in the coming days remains to be seen. Apple is slated to host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next week, a gathering often viewed as a celebration of the tech giant’s relationship with third-party developers.

Available on all Apple Watch models from Apple Watch Series 2 to the current Series 5, Water Lock is a Control Center option that prevents inadvertent touchscreen input when swimming or using Watch near liquids. It also clears water from the speaker cavity after the device is submerged.

Like most speaker systems, the miniaturized mechanism in Watch is designed to propagate acoustic waves through air. When fluids are introduced onto or near the speaker diaphragm, the system is unable to accurately reproduce generated sound, leading to muffled output.

To allow Watch to operate in all conditions, and maintain a clear diaphragm-to-air interface, Apple implemented a unique solution capable of expelling water that might become trapped behind the speaker grille.

Described by Apple as a “series of tones,” Watch pulses its speaker at relatively low frequencies. This vibrates the diaphragm and causes water and other liquids to break free of the membrane and be pushed out of the small speaker chamber.

As seen in today’s video, the system is quite effective at moving large quantities of water out of the device. That said, the operation can leave some residue behind.

Apple is expected to include Water Lock in a next-generation “Apple Watch Series 6” that should see introduction this fall.