St. Louis Apple Professionals

My, whatever should we cover? No great surprise: we will review the newest crop of iPhones, latest update to the Watch, and the release of all 4 system softwares previewed at this year's Developer Conference for pretty much the entire Apple line-up. With the iPhone XS, XS Max, and (still forthcoming) XR, Apple has not only made even more questionable naming decisions (is it the -R because it's mostly similar to the -S?), but has wholly adopted the new all-screen Home-button-less notch-proud design of last year's X. Small phones are likewise out, with the quiet disappearance of the holdover SE. And signs point to this approach carrying over to the iPad line, which still has a strong chance of a refresh next month before the holiday lockdown. The Watch Series 4 has garnered extra attention for its introduction of new health-monitoring features in a limited ECG and optional fall detection, an expansion of the target market from pure fitness tracker. Along with a larger viewable area and improvements in battery life when using the optional cellular, there are more places where a Watch may fit into professional contexts as a hands-free smartphone alternative or adjunct. Still fresh out of the oven, are iOS 12, macOS Mojave, and the related watchOS and tvOS updates ready for deployment? Siri Shortcuts has already started to see vocal attention at least from the tinkerer set, but Mojave's Dark Mode and Finder tweaks and myriad other enhancements could reap quieter benefits for work use. We will run through the announcements and reviews, and also see what's left on Apple's To-Do list for this year (along with X-style iPads, there's a bevy of Mac models overdue, plus the mysteriously absent AirPower). Come toast the coming Fall and join us for the big rundown!