It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock in London. That means it’s time to down tools, pour yourself a drink and look back at what A Prodigal Week it has been.
Glass in hand? Let me offer you some canapés of news and views.
CARS
Ferrari needs better design?
Did you wonder what Jony Ive would do with himself now that he’s not spending every waking moment working on the next iPhone? Well, the Financial Times reports this week that he and Marc Newson will be working with Ferrari on….well, all sorts of things:
In addition to working alongside the Ferrari design team on its full range of forthcoming cars, which is set to include its first fully electric vehicle by 2025, Ive is joining the iconic Italian marque as it pushes into fashion, with its first runway show held at its Maranello factory earlier this year.
Whether Apple itself will ever ship an electric car remains to be seen but what isn’t in doubt is that Ferrari will. I’m fascinated to see what Ive and Newson’s influence on it will be and, I have to say, I’m curious as to why Ferrari felt the need to bring them on board. I do hope they’re going to be involved in cars rather than just money-grab merchandise.
The thought that niggles me is this: It’s not as if anyone ever looked at a Ferrari driving past and said “you know what that needs? Better design.”
GADGETS
Good things come in small packages
As impressive as the iPhone 13’s new cameras and batteries are, when I reported from the company’s September event, it was the iPad mini that stole the show for me. This week, the ever excellent Dieter Bohn at the Verge has reviewed it. He writes:
The iPad Mini is not just a small iPad. Even though the change in screen size doesn’t change how the software works (to its detriment), it does change how you use the software. That’s why it’s great for me — and it’s why my advice to anybody considering one is to think about whether or not it would truly be great for them.
I don’t need to think. I know I want this thing in my life. By miniaturising the iPad Air, Apple has returned to an iPad that is unashamedly an iPad again, not a laptop replacement but a content consumption device. I love this thing.
Also worth your time
Amazon Astro introduced: “This is Amazon’s most ambitious in-home product yet. Amazon sees it as bringing together many different parts of the company — robotics, AI, home monitoring, cloud services — all into one device. The Astro is meant to be the next step in what Amazons believes to be the seemingly inevitable home robot.”
Ring Always Home Cam confirmed: “The Always Home Cam is a Ring camera attached to a drone that can fly predetermined paths in your home when triggered via a Ring Alarm sensor or from the Ring app.”
Nintendo Switch OLED praised: “Strong contender for most gorgeous handheld ever, the OLED’s screen is bright, crisp and gosh-darn beautiful. The original Switch display still looks good, but the new screen is great.”
WATCHES
Bond to Bond
With the ink still drying on my review of No Time To Die and the movie and its protagonist still very much on my mind, Fratello’s timely look back at the evolution of Omega’s Seamaster in the Bond franchise was destined to catch my eye.
In our look at watches in movies, I denigrated the early Omega Bond years for saddling Brosnan with “a watch better suited to a successful estate agent than a super spy”. Dear reader, I’m not backing down. But I’ll also concede that the latest iteration is a hugely desirable watch. And yet…it’s also the same watch. Fratello writes:
007’s Seamaster 300M [has come] a long way since 1995. From a no-nonsense diver’s watch in stainless steel with 300 meters of water resistance and an ETA2892-A2 based automatic movement or quartz movement, to a modern 42mm titanium watch with a mesh bracelet [and] a Master Chronometer certified movement. Side-by-side, these watches are clearly related, and yet have a very different appeal.
This is the very conversation Tim Barber and I had as we weaved our way through Soho after the movie. Seeing these two watches side by side really brings it home: by changing the bracelet and a few key details on the dial and bezel, the character of the watch is utterly transformed.
I’ve had the chance to play with the Seamaster 300M NTTD in the metal and it’s a lovely thing indeed. The mesh bracelet in particular is sensational. How well it truly goes with a case design that still feels a little more 1990s is my only concern. But, one thing’s for sure: the Seamaster - like its most famous wearer - has come a long way.
Also worth your time
The MB&F Legacy Machine 1 Longhorn Unique Piece introduced: “With all its stock of LM1 editions depleted, MB&F decided to rescue an original prototype of the LM1 and dust it off for the tenth-anniversary commemorations.”
Seiko reconsidered: “‘Seiko has become a brand of no clear identity,’ says Akio Naito, newly appointed president of Seiko Watch Corporation. ‘Everything for everybody ended up being everything for nobody. That has to be changed.’”
Paul Newman’s Daytona found: “The ur-Paul Newman Daytona, aka Newman's Own, aka Paul Newman's Paul Newman, is currently on display in a small vitrine at LA's Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.”
Don’t miss…
⏳ No Time To Die, Bond’s latest outing, is sensational.
Join us at Omega’s preview screening >
🍎 Apple’s September event wasn’t all about iPhones. Indeed, the most interesting announcement was iPad-related.
Discover the highlights >
👑 Is Rolex still relevant? asks Marcus Hanna in the first issue of his column ‘Hanna Time!’ When mere mortals are unable to buy most of the brand’s models, it’s a fair question.
Find out >
Welcome to the weekend, folks. 🍸