Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The episode bounces from banter about caffeine, Diet Coke, showers, and sheet hygiene into substantive tech coverage: Apple’s APFS rollout in iOS 10.3, Consumer Reports’ MacBook Pro reevaluation, developer tooling changes for App Store reviews, alternate app icons, and a floating iPad keyboard. It also touches on iPad hardware rumors, political tech advocacy, and whether Tesla is worth it versus gas cars and Ferraris.
Main Topics: Caffeine, soda, and personal routines: The hosts open with a long comedic debate over Diet Coke vs. coffee, caffeine habits, shower timing, and whether night showers are cleaner than morning showers. APFS coming to iOS 10.3: Apple’s filesystem rollout is discussed at length: iOS 10.3 beta converts devices to APFS in place, with analysis of safety, metadata handling, and implications for future features like snapshots. Consumer Reports, MacBook Pro, and keyboard criticism: They revisit Consumer Reports’ renewed MacBook Pro recommendation, discuss how product reviews should be interpreted, and complain about the MacBook keyboard and the complexity of keyboard preferences. App Store changes: review replies and review prompts: The conversation praises Apple for finally letting developers reply to App Store reviews and for introducing an official, limited API for prompting app reviews, while raising concerns about enforcement and UX details. App icon changes and floating keyboard in iOS: They examine hidden iOS 10.3-era features: alternate app icons with user confirmation and a detached floating keyboard on iPad, debating security, usefulness, and the gradual arrival of window-like UI in iOS. iPad hardware future and 10.5-inch speculation: The group discusses math suggesting a 10.5-inch iPad Pro and whether Apple should diversify iPad sizes further to better serve power users without abandoning the 9.7-inch model. Tech policy and Brianna Wu’s congressional run: Brianna Wu’s campaign is used as a springboard to discuss how tech issues like encryption, privacy, and net neutrality rarely factor into politics despite affecting everyone. Electric cars, Teslas, and car identity: The show closes with a long discussion of whether moving to a Tesla changes one’s relationship to cars, contrasting practical EVs with enthusiast gas cars and expensive Ferraris.
Key Arguments: APFS conversion on iOS appears to be an in-place metadata rewrite, making the upgrade safer and less disruptive than many feared. The real risk of APFS on iOS is not the conversion process but any latent bugs in the new filesystem after deployment. Consumer Reports’ changing MacBook Pro recommendation undermines trust in review outlets because readers need stable guidance, not moving targets. The MacBook Pro keyboard remains a major complaint; even small differences in travel can make a keyboard feel frustrating despite being close to ideal. App Store review responses are a clear win for developers because they let them correct misunderstandings and feel less powerless, even if only a minority of users read written reviews. The official review-prompt API is a good compromise: it preserves user control while reducing abusive, repetitive rating prompts. How useful app review replies become depends heavily on implementation details such as notifications to reviewers, tooling, translation, and cross-store support. The floating detached iPad keyboard may be niche, but it reflects a broader move toward floating UI elements and more window-like behavior on iOS. A 10.5-inch iPad is plausible if Apple wants a size between the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch Pro models, especially for power users who want more multitasking space. Political candidates talking seriously about encryption and tech policy is unusual but important because these issues affect nearly all voters, not just nerds. Teslas are compelling as technology and performance products, but for car enthusiasts they may not fully replace the emotional appeal of gas-powered sports cars.
Data Points: Consumer Reports MacBook Pro battery life: almost 19 hours - Mentioned as the result of a retest after Apple reportedly worked to fix bugs App Store review prompt frequency: 3 times per year - Referenced as the intended limit for the new official Apple rating prompt API App Store user response setting: global opt-out switch - Users can choose never to be asked to rate an app MacBook Pro purchase price reference: around $100,000 - Estimated cost for a fully built Tesla Model S compared with Casey’s desired build and current car value Current BMW price reference: $55,000 new - Used as a comparison point against Tesla pricing Ferrari ownership cost example: $13,000 per year - Doug DeMuro’s cited annual costs including depreciation and maintenance Overcast search ads share of new users: about 10% or less - Marco estimates the share of new users coming from App Store search ads Apple subscription revenue share: 85% renewal share - Marco notes he’ll get this on renewals beginning next September Casper mattress trial: 100 nights - Sponsor offer allowing free home trial with pickup returns Casper promo: $50 towards mattress - Coupon code ATP at casper.com/atp Indochino promo price: $389 - Premium suit price with code ATP Betterment managed assets: more than $5.5 billion - Sponsor ad claims for automated investing service Betterment customer count: over 180,000 customers - Sponsor ad claims
Pivotal Quotes: "The horrible aftertaste that regular humans like yourself get from Diet Coke. I actually get that from regular Coke." — Marco: Part of the opening argument over soda, caffeine, and taste preferences "I cannot fathom how any human being that values hygiene can get into covers that they're getting in without showering first." — Marco: During the extended debate about morning versus night showers and bed cleanliness "It is really nice to have changes happening in the App Store, most of which are good." — Marco: Summarizing Apple’s recent App Store policy and tooling changes "I think the actual big change is going to come later." — John: Discussing APFS and the idea that filesystem capabilities will enable future OS features
Implications: Apple is quietly laying infrastructure for major future features in filesystem, App Store, and iPad UI. Developers gain new channels, but success will hinge on implementation and enforcement. For users, the biggest visible changes may arrive later than the underlying platform shifts.