Accidental Tech Podcast

659: Lose the Ear Lottery

October 2, 2025 02:14:07 • Download (129 MB)

Cases and bumpy starts with our new iPhones, our reviews of the AirPods Pro 3, and a baffling USB odyssey.

Pre-show: Eh, that’ll keep…
- M5 iPad Pro
- FCC leaks
🗣️ St. Jude time is almost done! 🗣️
🗣️ New ATP Member’s Special: ATP Dev: Computer Science Curriculum
Follow-up:
- ATP in the wild (via Mark Christian & Richard Earney)
- iOS 26.0.1 allegedly fixes N1 Wi-Fi/BT issues
  - CarlinKit wireless CarPlay dongle
- What does iCloud back up? (via Dayton Lovell)
- iCloud for Messages
  - A ringing endorsement from Nick
  - A potential fix for ∞ GIFs (via Nathan)
- iPhone Transfers
  - Why not pre-populate them, Kindle-style? (via Winnie Lewis)
  - TestFlight is… better now? (via Daniel Nelson)
  - Some thoughts from Nick
- Apple’s onboarding enshittification (via Imthaz)
- Thought to text & AlterEgo
  - Firefox (1982)
  - Prior MIT project (via Hannes)
  - CJ’s thoughts
    - Preview video
    - EMG
    - EEG
More first impressions
Ask ATP:
- How do we really know if something is encrypted? (via Joshua Wold)
- What is the point of neural engine cores, anyway? (via Tom Cole)
  - SIMD
  - Evaluating the Apple Silicon M-Series SoCs for HPC Performance & Efficiency
  - AMX Units
  - Neural Engine
- Does filling a phone SSD slaughter performance? (via Sean Harding)
Post-show: Marco’s USB odyssey
- CalDigit Thunderbolt Element 4
- BLE caberQu
Members-only ATP Overtime: NAS Noodling
- Synology [sorta] says third-party drives will be supported in the future
  - Synology Solution Day 2025 teaser video
- Ubiquiti’s new NAS units
  - UNAS 2
  - UNAS 4

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ATP Dev: Computer Science Curriculum

September 29, 2025

How computer science and computer engineering were taught to us in college, what's different today, and the evolving role it plays in preparing students (or not) for practical industry work.

This episode is exclusive to our members. Join now to listen!

658: Your First Mistake Phone

September 25, 2025 02:26:17 • Download (141 MB)

iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro in our daily lives… if Casey's transfer ever finishes.

Marco’s AppleCare “Express” Replacement
🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- The Marco Offset
- Podcastathon 2025
Follow-up:
- Auburn’s colors are UVA’s colors (via Tony Scida)
- You don’t need the trick new Apple charger to charge an iPhone 17 at full speed
- iPhone Air
  - Why people are buying the iPhone Air / 15” MacBook Air
  - Bending the iPhone Air
    - Apple (via Tom’s Guide)
      - Direct video link
    - JerryRigEverything (timestamp link to 6m35s)
      - Same video, different timestamp (7m37s)
  - Battery life
  - Speaker (via Steve Troughton-Smith)
  - Thermals
    - MaxTech
  - iFixIt Teardown
  - Thickness
    - Visual comparison of thickness (via Ludwig Schubert)
    - Thin iPhone future? (via Ian)
- iPhone 17 Pro
  - Teardowns
  - Scratches on the back?
- iPhone sales
  - The Information (MacRumors summary)
iPhone setup advice
- Casey’s tale of woe (see also Upgrade #582: First Chance to Make One Impression)
First impressions: iPhone 17 Pro
- Scratchability
- Telephoto camera
  - iPhone 16 Pro 5× vs. iPhone 17 Pro 8×
Post-show:
- HP M553
- HP M554
Members-only ATP Overtime: Anthropic’s $1.5B book piracy settlement
- The Verge: Settlement announced, 5 September
- Previously, on ATP #656: Anthropic asked for $1.5B/yr from Apple
- The Verge: Settlement paused, 9 September
- Ars Technica, 9 September

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657: Ears Are Weird

September 16, 2025 01:53:25 • Download (109 MB)

An iconic plateau of follow-up.

Marco 0️⃣ → 1️⃣
🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- Podcastathon 2025: Friday, noon → midnight EDT
Stephen Hackett said the foldable will be the “iPhone Ultra”
μm is a “micron”
The iPhone Air battery pack does have a USB-C port after all
iPhone 17 Pro requires a new adapter to charge at full speed
- Apple 40W Dynamic Power Adapter
- Anker Nano 45W charger
A19 vs. A19 Pro
A19 Pro benchmarks
The N1 is in every new iPhone
The whole of the iPhone Air is in the camera plateau
- Large image
Casey’s memory problems corner
- ATP #655 (Overcast timestamp link)
The mmWave antenna window is back
- Background
Logo placement on Apple’s cases
- Clear Case with MagSafe
- TechWoven Case with MagSafe
Some funny renders from iPhone case makers
Theories about the iPhone 17 Pro colors
- Every masterpiece has its cheap copy
- Luke Skywalker
- University of Virginia
- Denver Broncos
- Auburn University
  - 2021 impactful boosters
iPhone Air
- Will it bend?
  - Joz (& Ternus) with an incredible [lack of] flex
- 17 was a last-second decision? (via Sam Henri Gold)
- Max Tech’s discoveries
  - The Air does not have stereo speakers
  - The Dynamic Island is lower than on other phones
  - The USB-C port is not vertically centered
    - Image
  - No Cinematic Mode video, including the selfie camera
  - The new selfie camera is actually a 24MP sensor
- No LiDAR scanner
- Air & 17 non-Pro are limited to USB 2
  - USB 2.0
Every new iPhone screen has the same specifications, save size/resolution
- Apple iPhone comparison page
iPhones 17 can now toggle screen flickering off
- Pulse-width modulation
- 9to5Mac’s coverage
- PWM sensitive subreddit
Apple Watch
- Satellite data requires a cellular plan
- Jason & Greg Pierce agree
- Is “24-hour” battery claim because of a change in measurement?
- Underscore’s observations about the Ultra
  - Apple Watch battery
AirPods
- Ear shapes (via Tirial)
- About that “2×” noise reduction
  - AirPods product page
- The new AirPods Pro case is not smaller
- “New generation of Ultra Wideband technology” is the U2 chip
- Live translation is on-device (not in ☁️)
- Live translation is blocked for EU users with EU Apple Accounts
  - Apple feature availability
Safari on iOS 26’s compact toolbar
Tahoe Toolbars (via Zhenyi Tan) * Frosting download link * Frosting test page
Post-show: John’s red dot
Members-only ATP Overtime: Alterego and “thought to text” translation
- How artificial intelligence gave a paralyzed woman her voice back
  - A high-performance neuroprosthesis for speech decoding and avatar control
- Meet the Little Brain Region that Helps You Say What’s on Your Mind
  - Speech sequencing in the human precentral gyrus
- Scientists develop interface that “reads” thoughts from speech-impaired patients
- Alterego

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656: A Long T-Shirt

September 9, 2025 02:36:29 • Download (151 MB)

The iPhone event! Reactions and analysis of the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and Air; the Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3; and the AirPods Pro 3.

🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- The Marco Offset
iPhone event
- AirPods Pro 3
- Apple Watch Series 11
  - No new System-in-Package?
  - Whoop Band
- Apple Watch SE 3
- Apple Watch Ultra 3
  - LTPO
  - Satellite can-kicking continues
- iPhone 17
  - Memory Integrity Enforcement
- iPhone Air
  - iPhone Air MagSafe Battery 💔
- iPhone 17 Pro & Pro Max
- Software ship dates
Post-show:
- Apple trade-in
- ✨ Tina’s dream has come true! ✨
Members-only ATP Overtime: Apple’s competing implementations for the new Siri

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