Linked List: November 12, 2024

Tuesday, 12 November 2024

The Verge’s Compilation of Tech Leaders Congratulating Donald Trump ★

More comprehensive, if less punchy, than my list last week:

Some Big Tech CEOs, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Disney’s Bob Iger, and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew didn’t post a message for Trump. Netflix co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos also didn’t comment.

Also Now In Public Beta: Find My Enables Sharing Location of Lost Items With Third Parties, Including Airlines ★

Apple Newsroom:

Apple has introduced Share Item Location, a new iOS feature that helps users locate and recover misplaced items by easily and securely sharing the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with third parties such as airlines. Share Item Location is available now in most regions worldwide as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2, which will soon be available to all users as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later. Find My is built with privacy and safety at its core. The shared location will be disabled as soon as a user is reunited with their item, can be stopped by the owner at any time, and will automatically expire after seven days. [...]

Users can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Recipients of a link will be able to view a website that shows a location of the item on an interactive map. The website will automatically update when a new location is available and will show a timestamp of the most recent update.

In the coming months, more than 15 airlines serving millions of people globally — including Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, and Vueling — will begin accepting Find My item locations as part of their customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags. More airlines will be added over time.

What a cool feature. Feels closer and closer to a no-brainer to keep an AirTag in each of your checked bags now.

iOS 18.2 Beta 3 Adds New ‘Require Screen On’ Toggle for Camera Control ★

Chance Miller, 9to5Mac:

iOS 18.2 beta 3 adds another new toggle for personalizing the iPhone 16’s Camera Control. Now, you can open the Camera app with a single press of the Camera Control even if your display is off.

If your iPhone 16’s display is off, the default behavior is that you press the Camera Control once to wake the screen and again to open the Camera app. This new toggle in iOS 18 gives you the ability to remove that first press.

If you go to the Settings app and choose “Display and Brightness,” you’ll see a new “Require Screen On” toggle at the bottom. This toggle is enabled by default. If you disable this toggle, however, a single press of the Camera Control will automatically open the Camera app regardless of whether or not your iPhone 16’s screen is on.

This was a significant gripe of mine in my iPhones 16 review, and this new setting is exactly what I was hoping for from Apple. I even agree that it’s probably a good idea for the “Require Screen On” setting to be on by default. I’m already running the iOS 18.2 betas on my personal phone for Apple Intelligence features, so I’ve disabled this new option already. I’m curious if it will result in any inadvertent Camera app launches, but I don’t think it will, for me. If anything, after two months of daily use of an iPhone 16 Pro, I feel like the recessed inset of the Camera Control button makes it a little too hard to click. I sort of wish it were raised, more like the Action and Side buttons. That Camera Control is effectively flush with the sides of the iPhone is protection enough — again, for me at least — against accidental presses.