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Accessories

 29th August 2024 at 2:45pm

Stephen's Accessories Picks

TypeAudio PredictionsScore
Stephen Regular "At least 1 more color option comes to AirPods" 0
Stephen Regular "HomePod price drop" 1
  • In April, they were cut from $349 to $299.
TypeThe AirPower GameScore
Stephen Non‑graded "AirPower will come out the first week of December 2018" 0
  • This wasn't actually an option, but Stephen felt confident. (Really, he changed it to just be "after the 2018 iPhone event" as well, but that's not as fun.)
Type2019 WWDC PredictionsScore
Stephen Risky "The HomePod will gain multiple user support via voice detection" 2
Type2020 Summer RickiesScore
Stephen Non‑graded "Apple says literally anything about the HomePod" 1
Type2021 Annual RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "Apple puts a cheaper display on sale as a sibling to the XDR" 0
Type2021 April RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "The Magic Keyboard for iPad goes unchanged" 0
  • Ungraded: what if it got a camera on the long edge? That'd be incredible.
Stephen Flexie "No mention of AirTags" 0
Type2021 WWDC RickiesScore
Stephen Risky "Apple unveils a new high-end audio product" -1
  • "As defined by a price of over $399, or it's a stand-alone DAC."
  • The idea of an official Apple DAC sparks a lot of discussion.
Stephen Flexie "Apple unveils a new external display" 0
Type2021 September RickiesScore
Stephen Risky "MagSafe is updated to support 20 watt charging or higher, but a new puck is required" -1
  • This was originally just "faster charging", but the live chat pointed out a recent FCC filing by Apple which undercut the riskiness of the pick. Stephen added a specific wattage target and also had to decide whether the existing MagSafe puck will support the higher wattage.
Stephen Flexie "A new AirPods product is announced" 0
  • This pick was one event early, as the third generation of AirPods came in October.
Type2021 October RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "USB-C charging is faster than the new MagSafe" 0
  • Which charging methods can do what differs between models, but in all cases MagSafe appears to be equally fast or faster than USB-C.
Stephen Flexie "The new MacBook Pro power bricks have ports on them, like the iMac does for Ethernet" 0
Type2022 Annual RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "A new home-focused device is released" 0
Type2022 March RickiesScore
Stephen Risky "Apple announces an update to AirPods Max, that support wireless lossless playback, to take full advantage of Apple's new classical music service" -1
  • Working with Apple Classical is part of the pick, meaning that if Classical is not introduced it will be incorrect.
  • This was edited to be any AirPods, but then Stephen went back to the more passionate original pick.
  • Not a reuse of the infamous DAC pick, but in a similar vein.
Type2022 September RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "Apple shows off at least one new MagSafe accessory" 0
Stephen Flexie "Lightning is updated to be faster than USB 2.0" 0
Type2023 September RickiesScore
Stephen Risky "Apple announces a multi-device charger that looks a lot like AirPower, without designated charging targets" -1
  • Stephen came to the table with two picks: "Apple announces a multi-device charger that looks a lot like AirPower" and "The 15 Pro Max weighs within 10% of the 14 Pro Max's weight". Myke believed that a 10% margin on either side is too wide to be risky and also that the AirPower one is just a better risky pick with less math. Once it's settled to go with the AirPower one, Federico asks to clarify "looks like" and the pick is modified to specify a lack of charging targets.
Stephen Flexie "Some iPhones will come with color-matched cables" 0
Stephen Flexie "Apple replaces its leather iPhone cases with a new product" 1
Stephen Flexie "iPhone Pro models will be equipped with Thunderbolt, but will come with a USB-C cable in the box, requiring a separate purchase of a Thunderbolt cable" 0
Type2023 October RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "The iMac's input devices are updated with USB-C but otherwise remain the same" 0
Type2024 Annual RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "AirPods Pro 3 launch with lossless support"
Type2024 May RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "The new Apple Pencil is named Apple Pencil Pro" 1
Stephen Flexie "A new Apple Pencil is announced and only works with the new iPad Pros" 0
  • Close, but the iPad Air got it too.
TypeThe TiccilympicsScore
Stephen Regular "Ticci tries an e-ink phone to help reduce distractions and get more into reading"
  • After writing down the pick but before the episode was recorded, Federico mused about this on Threads, but the other hosts will allow it. And he might already have one that he doesn't use already. The key is that Federico needs to actually speak about it.
  • Federico did indeed try an e-ink phone and discussed it on the Pro show of Connected 513.
Type2024 September RickiesScore
Stephen Flexie "FineWoven lives on" 1
  • Although the cases did disappear, other products still use the brand, so counterintuitively, both this and this are correct!

Myke's Accessories Picks

Type2017 Annual PredictionsScore
Myke Regular "An iPhone Pro with Apple Pencil support, 2 Apple Pencils" 0
  • "2 Apple Pencils: the standard and a short one that supports the iPhone and iPad mini"
  • During grading, Federico proposes what will become Risky Picks, including 2 points for correct picks and losing a point for being wrong, as Myke describes how he wanted to go big with this pick.
Type2018 Annual PredictionsScore
Myke Non‑graded "A new Apple Pencil with a button of some kind" 0
  • "(aluminum?)"
TypeAudio PredictionsScore
Myke Regular "AirPods to gain more controls via touch actions" 1
Myke Regular "The next HomePod is a mini HomePod" 0
  • True, but too late. The HomePod mini wasn't released until 2020.
Myke Regular "Apple will create some new noise-cancelling technology" 1
  • Some sort of thing that they put into an AirPod or something that they tout as invented by Apple, is how it was clarified during predictions.
  • Myke, in absentia, gets the benefit of the doubt as to how new the AirPods Pro tech is.
TypeThe AirPower GameScore
Myke Non‑graded "AirPower will come out after the 2018 iPhone event" 0
Type2018 iPhone Event PredictionsScore
Myke Non‑graded "New pencil and keyboard" 0
Myke Non‑graded "A new, unique case" 0
  • Apple's case lineup would stay effectively unchanged until 2023, when the Fine Woven case replaced the leather case.
Type2019 Annual PredictionsScore
Myke Non‑graded "Over-ear headphones (i.e. HeadPods)" 0
  • Myke was a year off, as AirPods Max came out at the end of 2020.
Type2019 Fall RickiesScore
Myke Non‑graded "Some surprise hardware, like a Tile tracker" 0
  • Apple's tracker would eventually come out in 2021.
Type2020 Summer RickiesScore
Myke Non‑graded "A new Apple Display" 0
Type2020 September RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New non-Pro iPad gets second generation Apple Pencil" 1
Type2020 October RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New HomePod model" 1
Myke Flexie "Over-ear AirPods are offered with multiple material options" 0
Type2020 November RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New AirPods or AirPods Pro" 0
Myke Flexie "New MagSafe charging case for existing AirPods" 0
  • MagSafe came to the AirPods line the next year.
Type2021 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Risky "A Mac gets a screen that supports touch and/or Apple Pencil input" -1
Myke Flexie "Another variant of over-ear headphones will be released" 0
  • Technically Apple wasn't specified, but of course that wasn't the intent.
Type2021 April RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New iPad Pro accessory" 0
  • "Something we haven't seen before, or is redesigned significantly, e.g. Apple Pencil 1 to 2."
Myke Flexie "AirTags unveiled" 1
Myke Flexie "You can buy AirTags in a 3-pack" 0
  • It was a 4 pack instead.
Type2021 October RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New AirPods" 1
Type2022 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New AirPods Max" 0
  • Was originally "AirPods Max 2"
Type2022 September RickiesScore
Myke Risky "AirPods Max 2 can be folded to store more compactly" -1
  • Myke doesn't seem to have much confidence in this risky pick, but his other choices were shot down as insufficiently risky in negotiations.
Type2023 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "AirPods Max 2 feature a foldable design, and come with a new case that fully encloses them" 0
Myke Flexie "Apple will release a new monitor" 0
  • Myke wanted an additional pick to match the 7 of the other hosts, so this was thrown in after the others had gone.
Type2023 September RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New Apple Watch Ultra band style" 0
Myke Flexie "Apple debuts a new style of charging accessory for the iPhone" 0
Myke Flexie "Apple announces new AirPods Max, featuring USB-C and made of titanium" 0
Type2023 October RickiesScore
Myke Risky "Apple unveils a new Studio Display Pro that is larger than the regular Studio Display and features a new screen technology than the smaller model" -1
  • Myke wavers on the "larger" clause but chooses to keep the pick unmodified when Stephen thinks it's important to the riskiness of the pick.
Myke Flexie "We do not get new AirPods Max, even though I want them" 1
Type2024 Annual RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "New AirPods Max in 2024"
Myke Flexie "Apple introduces a HomePod with a screen"
Type2024 May RickiesScore
Myke Risky "The iPad Pro gets MagSafe charging, but it's not what you think…" -1
  • "Not the MagSafe an iPhone has."
  • In other words, an iPhone MagSafe charger will not charge an iPad Pro, but it will have a new charging method called MagSafe, likely the MacBook's MagSafe or very similar.
Myke Flexie "New pencil has a button" 0
Myke Flexie "Apple now sells four Apple Pencils" 1
Myke Flexie "New pencil comes in colour choices" 0
Myke Flexie "New Magic Keyboard matches aluminium colours" 1
Myke Flexie "Apple's iPad Pro keyboard features a new key switch technology" 0
TypeThe TiccilympicsScore
Myke Regular "Federico drills a hole in wall for running a cable to an external GPU"
Myke Non‑graded "Federico discovers a new kickstand technology"
Type2024 September RickiesScore
Myke Flexie "Apple Watch band attachments will change" 0
Myke Flexie "FineWoven cases mysteriously disappear" 1

Federico's Accessories Picks

Type2017 Annual PredictionsScore
Federico Non‑graded "New iPad accessories: Keyboard + protection + pencil holder" 0.75
Type2018 Annual PredictionsScore
Federico Non‑graded "A new smart keyboard: new material, backlit keys, a dedicated Siri key" 0
  • Apple's Magic Keyboard basically matching this description came out in 2020.
TypeAudio PredictionsScore
Federico Regular "The AirPods line is split in two, and the lower end version gets a price drop" 0
  • The additional condition is an intentionally risky choice by Federico
  • Ultimately this is in fact his undoing. While AirPods Pro were released to split the line, the normal AirPods 2 didn't drop from their original $159 price until the 3rd generation was released in October 2021.
Federico Regular "Shortcuts will gain new HomePod/AirPlay 2 actions to play audio on HomePod more quickly" 1
Federico Regular "HeadPods will be wireless only and they will have no headphone jack and will charge via Lightning or USB-C" 0
TypeThe AirPower GameScore
Federico Non‑graded "AirPower will come out before the 2018 iPhone event" 0
  • Confidence remained high even days before the event in episode 208.
Type2018 iPhone Event PredictionsScore
Federico Non‑graded "A new Smart Keyboard" 0
Type2019 Annual PredictionsScore
Federico Non‑graded "AirPower is released and new AirPods are released" 0
Type2019 Media Event PredictionsScore
Federico Risky "Apple will mention at least one new feature coming to the HomePod" -1
Type2020 September RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "The new iPad Air supports the Magic Keyboard" 1
Type2020 October RickiesScore
Federico Regular "One of the new iPhones will not have the USB charger in the box" 1
Federico Flexie "Apple launches a new AirPods app for iPhone, similar to Watch app" 0
  • Instead of an app, Apple made a section in Settings at the next WWDC.
Type2021 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Regular "Apple launches 'AirTags' accessories for tracking physical objects" 1
  • The name was allowed to be different, but Federico nailed it.
Federico Flexie "Apple releases its own game controller" 0
Type2021 April RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "New case colors for the iPhone" 1
Federico Flexie "DriverKit comes to iPadOS to let more kinds of accessories be supported on iPad" 0
Federico Flexie "Apple updates the standard Bluetooth Magic Keyboard" 1
  • Jason Snell had to be called in to adjudicate this one. Stephen contended that it was just the iMac's keyboard that was updated, not the "standard" one. To be fair, when describing this pick, Federico seemed to be using "standard" to differentiate from the "extended" keyboard with number pad, but of course it's what's written that matters.
Federico Flexie "The new iPad Pro comes with a fancy new GaN charger" 0
Type2021 September RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "New AirPods announced with a MagSafe compatible case" 0
Type2021 October RickiesScore
Federico Risky "Apple announces a new display that is not the Pro XDR, launching by the end of 2021 somewhere" -1
  • This was originally a pick about the Mac Pro being fully announced, but it was too close to Myke's risky pick.
  • The long-wished-for cheaper Apple display finally came out in 2022.
Type2022 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Regular "At least one AirPods model will support lossless music playback" 0
Type2022 March RickiesScore
Federico Regular "New iPhone case colors and/or watch band colors are introduced at or after the event" 1
Federico Flexie "Apple releases new AirPods colors" 0
Type2022 September RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "We do not see AirPods Max 2" 1
Type2023 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "Apple will revive the HomePod line with new devices" 0
  • New deviceS, plural. Must be at least 2 and must be new products, not product refreshes like a new HomePod mini.
  • The plurality aspect ended up making the difference, after a reminder about it from the live chat.
Federico Flexie "Second-generation AirPods Max will ship during the year" 0
  • Was originally "AirPods Max 2" specifically.
Type2023 WWDC RickiesScore
Federico Flexie "The next version of iOS brings at least one new AirPods-related feature" 1
  • Adaptive audio was introduced.
Type2023 September RickiesScore
Federico Risky "At least one of the new iPhones will support the new Qi 2 wireless charging standard..." -1
  • "... and "reverse wireless charging" for AirPods cases. MagSafe charging speed will also be raised from 15 watts."
  • Originally didn't include the last sentence.
  • The previous rumors of reverse wireless charging didn't disqualify this pick since it's in combination with Qi 2 as well. It's pointed out that Qi 2 is basically just standardized MagSafe as well, but it's still allowed as they'll have to be specific about Qi 2 to count it. Stephen still thinks it lacks passion. Later, Federico sprinkled some passion on it after all by adding a charging wattage increase after all.
Federico Flexie "A new AirPods case with USB-C is unveiled" 1
Federico Flexie "Apple won't release any new leather accessories as part of the event announcements (including cases and watch bands)" 1
Type2023 October RickiesScore
Federico Risky "Apple introduces a new desktop keyboard and/or trackpad that supports connecting to multiple devices at once. They also support USB-C connections now" -1
Federico Flexie "At least one M3-series chip introduces support for Thunderbolt 5, a first for the industry" 0
Federico Flexie "At least one computer or accessory that gets updated is less expensive in the US than before" 1
  • The new low-end 14" MacBook Pro, while spiritually replacing the 13" at a higher price, counts as a price drop in the 14" line.
Type2024 Annual RickiesScore
Federico Regular "The keyboard for iPad Pro is substantially redesigned for the first time since its introduction in 2020"
  • Federico's cohosts generously helped workshop some of the possible nitpicks out of the pick.
  • Ungraded: "function row, backlight, material change, multiple USB ports, different viewing angles"
Type2024 May RickiesScore
Federico Regular "Apple unveils a new Apple Pencil" 1
Federico Flexie "Apple refreshes its input accessories for USB-C" 0
Federico Flexie "The new iPad keyboard can also be paired with a Mac or Vision Pro" 0
Federico Flexie "The new Apple Pencil is compatible with and has special features for visionOS" 0
Federico Flexie "The new iPad external keyboard has at least one programmable 'Action' key" 0
Federico Flexie "The new iPad keyboard has a dedicated Siri key" 0
  • Federico sneaks one more Flexie in before the end of the show.
Type2024 September RickiesScore
Federico Regular "Apple debuts new AirPods model" 1
  • Non-graded: with USB-C.
Federico Flexie "There are multiple AirPods models" 1
Federico Flexie "There is a new AirPods model with noise cancellation" 1
Federico Flexie "Apple introduces new "vegan leather" cases" 0
  • Added late in the episode to go "from 7 to 11"... but that's only the beginning.
Federico Flexie "There are new AirPods Max, but they don't fold" 1