Step Into Updates - Slowly

The Apple World Wide Developer Conference, WWDC, has inspired developers to make updates to their apps and work to be ready for iOS 16.x in the fall. 

So if you are not on auto-update for apps, then read the reviews before taking the leap. 

View your important apps on the App Store. Read the hype. Scroll to Ratings & Reviews > tap See All > tap Sort by Most Helpful > change to Most Recent. Read. There's no rush to update. 

When reading reviews, know that some folks are using old iPhones and iPads and have an axe to grind. Read reviews for the features that are important to you.  

On my Caution List: 

• Pixelmator v2.7 released Jul 18, 2022 
• Darkroom Photo & Video Editor v6.0.6 Jul 16, 2022
• Focos v 2.5.12 Sept 5, 2022 

On my Good-to-Go List: 

• PicCollage 
• Camera+2 
• RAW Power 
• Touch Retouch
• Prisma
• Hydra 2

So far, I have avoided opting into a subscription when offered on apps. 

Investigating Camera+22 - yes, that is "twenty-two" the current version for Camera+2. This update now includes an "Ultra Res" camera preset and in the editor. Ultra Res is supported on devices with "neural engine" meaning iPhone 11, iPad Pro 3 generation and iPad 9th generation ... and later. I've reported a "bug" for the iPad version because there is no ( i ) > Copy Edits ... to apply edits (crops) to other photos. This feature is available on iPhone. 8/1/22 WAIT A MINUTE - USER ERROR! After contacting tech support at LateNightSoft, this feature is where it’s been all along. Edit your picture in C_2. In the thumbnail display of C+2 Photo Library > Info > … > Copy and close the picture. Back at thumbnail view  tap a photo to see options > Info > … > Paste. 

I'm also shooting with Hydra 2 Pro-Pack because it offers 110MP and 49MP resolutions. These upscaling features are part of the "computational photography" that helps camera with small sensors (smartphones) capture amazing details. Similar to Apple Camera's Night Mode, the best shots for image stacking are still images or landscapes where a tripod can be used.  

Filter - is our friend

Just working with Photos and found the Filter option. Looking at Library Albums or Shared Albums you can find the ( ... ) button in the top right corner and see several menu items. The menus change depending on the current view. For example: 

• Library > Months > ( ... ) > 
• Albums > view an album > ( ... ) > Filters > 
• Albums > Shared Albums > view an album > ( ... ) > Filters > 

[We can expect new menu items to appear with future iOS updates.] 

The little icon for Filter is available in other apps. 

Frame Grabber is the app recommended to save a still frame from a video clip. And from Live Photos! Also from Timelapse or SloMo videos. Individual frames are saved as HEIF to Photos or to Files app.  

Some Update News

It is important to keep up with updates for security reasons. There are always incremental updates between major updates that are important to install for computers and mobile devices. 

iOS and iPadOS 16 is coming this fall and the current version is 15.5. 

I've finally updated my iMac to the Monterey macOS, v12. The reason for my long delay in updating is because of critical software I use for recording and editing app demo videos. (Telestream's Screenflow is this critical app.) Just in time because the Ventura macOS, v13, will be out this fall. 

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Troubleshooting 

iPhone OS was acting strange. Several features seemed to be misbehaving. I've used the Screenshot feature to document the app and Markup to add annotations on wackiness. After restarting several times and the problems persisted, the last resort was to sign-out of my Apple ID and sign back in. This would be called "the nuclear option" and after this experience, I'd not recommend it. Live with the problems until a new iOS comes out and then update. If that doesn't solve things, call Apple Support for guidance. Why? Because you are disconnecting your device from Calendar, Contacts, Messages, Mail, Photos and more. The guidance from the pros at Apple will help you not duplicate your Contacts. 

After signing back on to iPhone with Apple ID, there has been one new problem - Shared Album in Photos. On my iPad this current semester's album has 260 photos and 14 videos! Sounds about right. But on the iPhone there are only 71 photos and 7 videos! What? Past shared albums for our Studio class seem to include the same number of photos on iPad and iPhone. So there is a ghost in the machine and it got cranky in March and June. Time to visit Apple Communities and search posts to see if others have noticed this problem. 

Back in March I posted a video report about Live Photos. Actually a "problem" with changing the Key Frame in a Live Photo and retaining that frame when Share > Duplicate > Duplicate as Still Photo and then editing the still image. Oops. When editing the new still image it automatically everts to the original Key Frame. Whattt? Experimenting with options: First: transfer the Live Photo with new Key Frame to Mac computer using AirDrop. Photo becomes JPEG. Good. Second: transfer the Live Photo with new Key  Frame using PhotoSync app on iPhone. One photo becomes two files - a JPEG and MOV! The new key frame appears as the JPEG photo.  Third: use Frame Grabber app on iPhone to open Live photo, select individual frame and export ... HEIF image.