Morning Coffee 126: Sept. 9th, 2024

Good morning. On my second cup of s’mores coffee. Rose is helping me work outside. We’re moving everything in the back apartment as we prepare for a potential Hurricane Francine. A few days ago we all got dressed early, went into the attic to get a gift bag, went to the store to buy a football for a gift, then headed to the trampoline park just in time for a birthday party…just to be told at the register that we’re a day early and should come back tomorrow. This is Morning Coffee 126. Buy me a coffee to keep it going. As always, I hope this letter finds you well.

Table of Contents

1. Apple Event
2. A New Mascot
3. Upcoming Releases

Apple Event

The iPhone event just ended. They announced several new products:

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro now have built in Apple Intelligence, and on the side of the phone there’s a Camera Control button, giving your phone a real camera shutter.

Apple Watch Series 10 is now thinner with a bigger screen, and can now play music straight from your wrist (a feature I’ve been waiting for since the watch first launched). And for health, it now has sleep apnea detection.

AirPods 4 have a new design that brings features over from the Pro models, like Transparency Mode and Noise Cancellation.

A New Mascot

To put it simple, Astro Bot is the Playstation 5’s Super Mario. This feels like a love letter to gaming. The combination of eye-popping graphics and immersive controls will charm anyone that gets their hands on this little game. My family gathered around the living room, taking turns playing and collecting bots all weekend.

You land on a variety of planets with a list of what’s needed to be found. A handful of your friends are scattered and need your help. Your job is to find them and bring them back to the crash site. The concept is simple, but the process will hook you in until all three hundred bots are collected.

Sony has a new mascot and system-seller. It doesn’t get more refreshing than Astro Bot. I expect to start seeing this little guy everywhere going forward.

Upcoming Releases

Tomorrow, the Playstation 5 Pro is expected to be announced. The Penguin premieres September 19th. On September 24th, we’ll be getting early access to The Forever Winter. On September 26th, we’ll be getting The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Balatro on the iPhone.

Previously: On September 1st, I wrote about our picnic in the rain. August 26th, I turned Hyrule into a cozy game. On August 19th, I wrote about exploring underwater caves. On August 12th, I wrote about my Apple Watch face. On August 5th, I wrote about a media tracker. On July 29th, I wrote about how not to use bookmarks. On July 22nd, I wrote about how my daughter watches her cartoons. On July 15th, I wrote about how to hide your apps on the iPhone. On July 8th, I wrote about how to setup a Mac. On July 1st, I wrote about journaling. On June 24th, I wrote about our trip to Destin. On June 17th, I wrote about how to pack for a vacation. And on May 5th, I showed off the arcade machine we built.