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Big week for Apple TV+ (and a crazy Steve Jobs 'interview')

October 15, 2022

Sprawling new Apple TV+ epic Shantaram casts Charlie Hunnam in the role of a gregarious Australian outlaw who flees to the slums of India.

I never read Shantaram, the 2003 novel upon which the new Apple TV+ series is based. But I liked Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy. And our reviewer Scout Tafoya praises director Bharat Nalluri and says the Apple TV+ series, which premiered Friday, is "fun to watch."

That seems like a promising start, and another prestige show for Apple TV+. However, the streamer lost a couple of fan favorites this week. Post-apocalyptic epic See and Irish black comedy Bad Sisters both wrapped up their seasons and might be gone for good. (See definitely won't return, and Bad Sisters might not either.)

If you want some non-Apple TV+ entertainment to round out your weekend, don't miss the bonkers posthumous "interview" of Steve Jobs by podcaster Joe Rogan. It's 100% generated by artificial intelligence -- and sounds 99% realistic!

-- Lewis Wallace, managing editor

In new Apple TV+ limited series Shantaram, Charlie Hunnam headlines as a man on the run from Australian authorities who starts over in Bombay — only to fall into still more trouble. The ambitious drama, based on the best-selling book by Gregory David Roberts, charts a man’s new life in a hotbed of sin and all-but-sanctioned crime. Along the way, he discovers himself at long last in the least likely of settings.

Bad Sisters, the Apple TV+ black comedy about the murder of a bad man and the five women who stood to gain from it, draws its delicious first season to a close this week.

Post-apocalyptic Apple TV+ series See comes to its thrilling conclusion this week, sending off Baba Voss and his family in high bloody fashion.

News and opinion

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passed away more than 11 years ago, but that didn’t prevent him from giving a new interview with superstar podcaster Joe Rogan. In it, the co-creator of the Mac talks about the importance of Eastern mysticism, his thoughts on LSD, Google, innovation and more. There’s just one tiny wrinkle: The entire podcast is generated by artificial intelligence.

The dramatic increase in Mac shipments is undoubtedly good news, but the growth is partially caused by the company catching up with demand it was unable to meet earlier in the year.

Apple’s much-rumored mixed-reality device reportedly will scan the iris of the wearer’s eye to identify them.

People are reportedly getting off roller coasters and discovering that their new iPhone 14 called 911 for them. Turns out the handsets mistook thrilling rides for a car wreck and thought their users needed emergency help.

The money Apple Card users get as a cash-back reward can go automatically into a savings account that will earn interest over time.

The company is reportedly talking to media agencies about adding adverts to its shows.

The airline says "tracking devices with very low battery and transmission power in checked luggage do not pose a safety risk."

How-tos

Even though It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on Apple TV+, it’s still possible to watch it for free in 2021. Here's how.

How to undo send, schedule emails, use smart search, get reminders about missing attachments and more in iOS 16 Mail and macOS Ventura.

Deals

Hate the drudgery of vacuuming and mopping floors? Let one of Roborock's smart vacuums do the work for you. You can save on 10 advanced models during Roborock’s October promotion.

If you’re like me, you love your iPad for its many uses and its portability. And an Apple Pencil is fun to use for both writing and drawing on the tablet. But wouldn’t it be more rewarding if it felt more like writing and drawing on real paper?

If you want to add some excitement to the text on your social media profiles, messages and even your iOS device’s Home screen, you might want to try Fonts Art.

Whether you read to unwind, learn or simply keep yourself entertained, finding time to cross books off your reading list can be challenging. These microbooks can help.

Reviews

The iPhone 14 Plus combines two popular phone features: larger screens and lower prices. With a 6.7-inch screen, it offers Apple’s largest display but for a lot less money than any previous model this size.

Apple’s modern keyboards are perfectly adequate but pretty unremarkable. They are anything but fun. But thanks to the wide selection of modern USB adapters from TinkerBoy, you can liven up your setup with long-lost keyboards and mice of yore.

In the fast-growing world of increasingly compact-yet-powerful gallium nitride chargers, Ugreen is a player. Its new Nexode charger is potent, reasonably compact and a fine purchase for most people who need to charge laptops, tablets, smartphones and more.

Anyone who recently nabbed a fancy new iPhone 14 faces the question: Do I trust the device’s built-in durability, or do I put it in a case? Your iPhone may be tough, but is it tough enough to withstand you dropping it all over the place?

Setups

Sometimes the hero of a computer setup isn’t the computer itself. And it may not be a slick external display or other peripherals, either. In this MacBook Pro setup, a newly added LG UltraFine display gets some attention, but the real star is something a bit more pedestrian mounted on the wall behind it.

In this MacBook Pro and Intel NUC PC setup, we find a nifty folding MagSafe charging stand just about to go on the market.