As has been the case in 2012, I have written a couple more books. Just like last year, I have written a couple of books. Also like last year there are two, one about iOS, tvOS and watchOS and the other about macOS.

In previous years I have published an iBooks version as well as an ePub. There is a slightly different approach this year, at least for my books on Apple. There is only going to be one version, ePub. The biggest reason for this that the ePub format that is produced by Apple's Pages software can now do image galleries, which was the big reason for doing the iBooks version.

Similar to last year there will be paperback versions of the books, the order information for that will be forthcoming a bit later.

iOS 12, tvOS12, and watchOS 5 for Users and Developers delves into the changes and new features of Apple’s iOS-based operating systems.

Some of the changes covered include: performance improvements, privacy changes, grouped notifications, enhancements to FaceTime, improved photo features, suggested password enhancements and more. We will also cover some app updates, including changes to Activity, Stocks, News, Voice Memos, and Books.

There are also a bunch of new features like the new Siri Shortcuts which allows you to automate various tasks. Screen Time will let you gain insights into your, as well as your children’s, usage across all of your devices. If you like sending Animoji you will love the all new feature Memoji which allows you to customize an Animoji character however you would like. The new Live Listen will help those who may have a difficult time hear things more clearly. We will also dive into the new Safari password features which will help you use individual passwords on all of your devices.

For developers we dive into the Xcode Changes includes Dark Mode, Performance Improvements, changes around object libraries, and enhanced editing features. We will also dive into Grouped Notifications and how to provide threaded conversations. With Siri Shortcuts we will look at the different ways of adding intents. ARKit 2 is also covered which includes Quick Look and Persistence. For CoreML we look at how to improve model sizes with quantization as well as a brand-new framework related to CoreML, called CreateML. There are also two additional brand new frameworks, Natural Language and Network and we look at these as well. No Apple Developer book would be complete without looking at some of the changes that surround Swift.

There are some features for web developers as well which includes MapKitJS, MusicKitJS and ways to provide secure loading of remote content.

No matter your technical level, there is something for everyone in iOS 12, tvOS12 and watchOS 5 for Users and Developers.

You can pre-order the ePub from Apple for $3.99, or the Kindle version from Amazon for $3.99.

Despite macOS being a mature operating system, the new version macOS Mojave (10.14) contains a bunch of new features. Some of the new features covered include Dark Mode, Screenshots & Markup, and the redesigned Mac App Store.

Besides the new features there are some major changes too including ones to Finder, Safari, and using unique passwords on each website. There are also four brand new applications that are coming from iOS. We look at these in-depth. These apps are Stocks, News, Home, and Voice Memos.

Server Administrators see some big changes with macOS Mojave and these are covered as well.

For Developers we cover Xcode changes include performance improvements, object libraries, editing enhancements, and code folding improvements. We look at implementing Dark Mode within your apps, Notarized apps, and implementing Finder Actions.

There are some new frameworks that are covered as well. These include the Network Framework, Natural Language, improvements to CoreML and a related framework called CreateML.

For web developers we cover MapsKitJS, MusicKitJS, and secure loading of content.

No Apple developer book is complete without a discussion of the changes around Apple’s own programming language, Swift. We cover some of the recent changes as well as some future ones.

You can pre-order the ePub from Apple for $3.99, or the Kindle version from Amazon for $3.99.

One of the things that some may have noticed is that there has not been a whole lot posted to the site over the last few months, as a matter of fact there have only been four posts total. Three of these have been videos and one was about Amazon's Prime day. As has become custom over the last few years, my summers are spent writing e-books about Apple's latest operating systems. This year is no different. These e-books are now available for pre-order in Apple's iBooks Store.

iOS 10 for Users and Developers explores the myriad of new features in iOS 10 across all of Apple’s iOS-based devices: iPhone, iPad, tvOS, and watchOS. Some of the topics covered include Widgets, HomeKit, Payments, Unlocking your Mac, Notifications, Messages and the Music Redesign.

For Developers, the biggest changes occur within Xcode and Swift. Swift 3 is covered extensively as well as some of the new frameworks, and the updates with Xcode.

As with previous years, iOS 10 for Users and Developers is available in both ePub and iBooks versions.

macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers is a book that covers all of the new features of macOS Sierra. For users, some of the categories covered are the new name, Siri, changes to Photos, the Apple Watch and your Mac, Storage updates, Messages, Safari changes, and the Apple File System (APFS).

For Server Administrators, some of the items include updates to permissions, Apple Classroom, security updates, and other supported changes.

For developers, the changes in Xcode as well as Swift 3 are covered. Along side these, the new frameworks that have been unveiled by Apple are discussed.

No matter what your level of expertise, macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers has something for everybody.

Just like the iOS 10 book, macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers is available in ePub and iBooks versions. Pre-orders are available today.

Amazon pre-orders for these will be forthcoming.

Update:

Amazon Pre-orders are now available. You can pre-order iOS 10 for Users and Developers or macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers. They are both $3.99 and are available worldwide.

Today was the first day for Apple Watch pre-orders. Being an Apple nerd, I like to have anything that's newly released from Apple, that I want to purchase, on day one. Here is my pre-order story.

After Apple's September event, where they unveiled the Apple Watch, I looked at the different models of the Apple Watch. With this being a first generation Apple product, I knew that I would not want to spend a lot of money. Mostly because I do not know what the day to day benefit of a watch would be. The secondary reason is that I will likely end up getting the second generation when it comes out. Only time will tell whether I follow my iPhone [footnote] I have purchased a new iPhone every year regardless of contract. I have now decided on buying unlocked only.[/footnote] or my iPad [footnote] I bought the first, second and third generations. I then waited until the 6th generation to buy my next iPad.[/footnote] pattern. The third reason is that I stopped wearing watches about a decade ago.

As I mentioned, I looked at all of the Apple Watch models. I wanted to keep the price down, so I knew I was going to get a sport model. I have always liked the way that the Space Gray Apple devices have looked. I ultimately decided that I wanted to get the 42MM Space Gray Sport with the black band. Knowing that Apple Watch pre-orders started today, I favorited the configuration I wanted to purchase, to make it easy for ordering.

Living in the Central US time zone, I set my alarm for 1:45 AM. I woke up just before my alarm at 1:44AM. Bleary-eyed and only half awake I made my way to my computer to be able to order. I pulled up the Apple Store webpage in two browsers, and opened the Apple Store app on both my iPad and iPhone. I did this because during the iPhone pre-orders, the application came up before the website.

Once the Apple Store app became live, I quickly went to the watch section, went to my favorites, and began ordering. I chose the 42MM Space Gray with Black Band. I then added Apple Care. I went to check out. The date said 4/24 to 5/8 for delivery. It was not guaranteed to be delivered on launch day, but that was okay. I wanted to use a different payment method besides what I have setup in Apple Pay. [footnote] My bank does not support Apple Pay, why, I do not know.[/footnote] I entered in all of the information for the payment. When I got back to the confirm purchase page, I watched as the date refreshed from the launch window, to 4 to 6 weeks. At this point, my heart dropped knowing that I would not get it during the launch window. I think choosing a different payment method is what the time change.

Having seen this, I quickly went back and put in a second order. One for a 42MM Silver with the Blue sport band, since that was the only other 42MM Sport watch that did not have a 4 to 6 week shipping time. So I put in an order for that watch, and used Apple Pay to pay. That one stated 4/24 to 5/8. I then placed a third order. This one includes a 6 meter charging cable and a Black Sport band. Somewhat ironically, the charging cable will be the first item to ship and arrive.

Looking at it afterwards, the emails indicating that my orders have been placed were sent at 2:05AM, 2:07AM, and 2:16AM respectively. With the app being available at 2:00AM, this means that the 42MM Space Gray Sport sold out in about 3 minutes. As of this writing, all of the models have a ship date of June. The Apple Watch Editions vary between July and August for ship dates.

Dilemma

After having gone through the experience, I mentioned it to a couple of people I follow on Twitter, particularly @BearsFan34. So here is where the dilemma I am currently experiencing. Do I want to have the Apple Watch early and not get the model that I originally wanted or do I wait for the one I want and just not have it during "Launch window".

The other option I have is to just keep both. It seems excessive, but I could always return the 42MM Silver Sport with Blue Band or sell it to somebody. Unlike many, I would not mark up the watch 200%, just to make a profit. I do not see this as a fair thing.

My initial inclination is to cancel the Blue Sport After talking to a few people about the dilemma, and sitting back and reflecting on it, my inclination is to cancel the 42MM Silver Sport with Blue Band, as well as the Black sports band from the third order I placed. If I were to do this, somebody who pre-ordered from Apple would be getting their order early, which is always a nice thing to see.

I gave myself a deadline of tomorrow morning to decide. So I will be sleeping on it tonight and making my decision and then doing something at that time.

Sidebars

As a quick side note, Apple has released some new Beats Solo 2 headphones. These come in three new colors, Silver, Gold, and Space Gray. I am going to be on the lookout for a couple of pairs of bluetooth headphones. I may look at these, but given the price tag of $299, I will likely look for something a bit cheaper. If anybody has any recommendations, I will gladly accept them. If I really wanted to, I could justify buying a pair by canceling the 42MM Silver Sport with Blue band.

Also, today was the day that orders for the 12" Macbook. The 1.1GHz Macbook is seeing 1-3 business days for shipping for the Silver and Space Gray models. The Gold model is 3 to 4 weeks. The 1.2GHz Silver is 1-3 Business days, while the Gold and Space Grey are listed as 3 to 4 weeks.