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New orange, yellow, and blue versions still at the USD $99 price
Siri's multi-user voice recognition is expanding to all regions where the HomePod mini is available later this year.
Apple Music entry level “Voice” plan
$4.99/mo US.
Access the Apple music catalog only via Voice and Siri
Can sign-up for a 7-day free trial through Siri by saying, “Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial”, or by using the Apple Music app.
Voice Plan users will get a "customized in-app experience" with suggestions based on their music preferences and a queue of music that was recently played through Siri.
A section called "Just Ask Siri" where you can learn tips to optimize the voice experience
Apple also added new mood and activity playlists (available to non-voice subscribers as well) to support the new service this week.
Voice users also have access to Apple Music’s existing curated customized playlists
Spatial Audio and Lossless quality are NOT supported in the Voice plan
Will launch later this fall in 17 countries and regions, including: Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
New AirPods 3rd Gen
Have a new design with shorter stems and new “mag-safe” battery case that looks similar to the AirPods Pro
They also gain the force sensor controls like the Pros.
They don’t have the silicon ear tips, but Apple says they have an improved “universal fit”
They also don’t have Active Noise Cancellation or Transparency Mode, but Apple did add sensors so they can support Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, and head tracking.
They do not offer Conversation Boost
Includes Adaptive EQ, which adjusts frequencies in real-time based on what a user is listening to
Tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit.
They also have an IPX4 rating with making them more sweat and water resistant
Battery life is improved. Apple says you can get up to six hours of listening time and up to 30 hours of total listening time with the battery case
Worth noting the listening time is reduced by 1 hour if you have spatial audio enabled.
Require iOS 13 so do not support the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, the iPhone 5s, iPad mini 2 or iPad mini 3, or the sixth-generation iPod touch
The marketing video was very iPod inspired to me. With colors and silhouettes
They are already available to order on Apple’s online store and will be in stores on Tuesday, October 26th for USD $179.00
New MacBook Pros
New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models
Not one, but two new M1 chips and not named what anyone thought
The M1 Pro and M1 Max
M1 Pro
Comes 8-Core CPU / 14-Core GPU (binned) and 10-Core CPU / 16-core GPU versions
8 core has six high performance and two-high efficiency cores
10 core has eight high performance and two-high efficiency cores
Early Geekbench scores show that the 8-core model is about 20 percent slower that the 10-core in multi-core performance
For obvious reasons the single core scores for the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips are all about the same.
200GB/s of memory bandwidth
Supports up to 32GB of unified memory
Adds Apple ProRes hardware acceleration
M1 Max
10-core CPU / 32-core GPU
Eight high performance and two-high efficiency cores
400GB/s of memory bandwidth
Up to 64GB of unified memory
Two ProRes accelerators
edit up to 30 streams of 4K ProRes video or up to seven streams of 8K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro
Interestingly the M1 Max adds 0.1 lbs to the weight on the 16-inch model
Apple says it comes from the "configuration and manufacturing process."
The 14-inch model with the same upgrade doesn’t have this?
Early Geekbench scores are showing the multicore CPU performance of the M1 Max is up to two times the performance of the M1 and GPU performance of the 32 core version is up to 3 times faster in Metal scores.
Significant redesign
Slightly thicker and heavier
Cool integrated rubber “feet”
3 Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports
HDMI Port
Is 2.0 vs 2.1 which means one display with up 4K resolution at 60Hz
SD Card Slot
Uses the UHS-II standard allows for read and write speeds of up to 250MB/s, lower than the UHS-III standard's read and write speeds of up to 624MB/s.
MagSafe 3
fast charging for up to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes
14-inch models can fast-charge over USB-C or MagSafe with the 96W charger (USB-C has a 100W power limit)
16-inch models can only fast-charge over MagSafe with the 140W charger.
There is a new standard is known as USB PD 3.1 Extended Power Range (EPR) that can deliver up to 48V at 5A, supporting anything up to 240W.
But there are no USB-C cables currently available that support EPR
Apple’s MagSafe cable does support EPR
Can still charge, though not fast charging, through the USB-C ports
Braided MagSafe to USB-C cable is separate from charging brick
67W for 14-inch 8-core
96W USB-C Power Adapter (included with M1 Pro with 10-core CPU or M1 Max)
140W for 16-inch
This supports the USB-C Power Delivery 3.1 standard and is Apple’s first gallium nitride charger
3.5mm Headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones
Six speaker sound system and three studio quality mics
Two tweeters and four force-cancelling woofers
Spatial audio
Yes, it has a notch.
Notch is integrated into the menubar and the resolution of the display is such that the menubar is basically pushed up, so the main display area remains unaffected.
Cursor also simply glides under the notch.
In full screen apps there is an artificial bezel that basically hides the notch
Developers can choose a “compatibility” mode for their apps that will avoid the notch.
On Macs that have a notch, the Finder automatically adds a checkbox to an app's Get Info panel that can be used to manually enable or disable the new compatibility mode
The developer setting would override this option.
Display resolutions with 254 pixels per inch density
14.2-inch display with a 3024x1964 resolution
16.2-inch display with a 3456×2234 pixel resolution
Thinner bezels around the sides and top
Mini LED backlighting with dimming zones (Liquid Retina XDR)
1000 nits of sustained brightness, 1,600 nits of peak brightness (HDR content only). SDS is 500 nits.
1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
Adaptive rate 120Hz “ProMotion” display
1080p webcam, but no “Center Stage”
TouchBar is gone, replaced with full height physical function keys, larger ESC key, and TouchID with ring
Keyboard is also all back under the keys with a black anodized aluminum inset
Battery life
14-inch: 17hrs video playback, 11hrs wireless web browsing
16-inch: 21hrs video playback, 14hrs wireless web browsing
Improved thermal design
50% more air at lower fan speeds
Apple claims for most customers the fans will never turn on.
Comes in silver and space grey
The 14-inch model starts at $1,999. The 16-inch model starts at $2,499. Are available now, though they are already backordered into mid-november to early December.
Other stuff
macOS Monterey will be available Monday (Oct 25th)
Will offer a “high-power” mode for 16-inch MacBook Pros with the M1 Max chip
Steve Moser from macRumors found the references in the Mac Betas and Apple confirmed the feature
Sort of the opposite of “low-power” mode. “Your Mac will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. This may result in louder fan noise.”
With an M1 Max can connect up to three Pro Display XDR, and a 4K TV
AirPods Pro now also come with the MagSafe Charging Case
Price remains at USD $249.00
Apple polishing cloth for USD $19.00
Works with “all” Apple Products, including nano-texture glass displays
Now has a 10-12 week shipping time
Customers opt for bigger phones
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) was out last week with their iPhone sales data for the 3rd quarter of 2021 and it had some interesting findings.
First was that it seems like we’re all replacing our devices more frequently.
At least every 3 years and they say more iPhone 11 users were replacing their devices last quarter versions in the previous quarters
42% of buyers had their previous phone for 2 years or less
Interestingly their data also showed that 21 percent of buyers in the quarter “upgraded” to an iPhone 11
Customers also seem to be choosing larger and higher end models with the iPhone 12 Pro Max accounting for 27 percent of sales in the quarter
By contrast the smaller entry level models, the iPhone XR, SE, and iPhone 12 mini, had just 4 percent of the sales each.
iPhone 13 models accounted for 13 percent of the sales for the quarter despite only being on sale for two days
Indicates strong demand
Apple AR/VR headset delayed
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo
Says production now is not set to start until the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 meaning possibly a late 2022 or early 2023 launch.
Says the delay is because Apple wants to be sure it has a "complete software, ecosystem, and services," ready to go at launch
Apple’s plans for the product go well beyond gaming, which is where most VR headsets have been focused to date. So the challenges of what they are trying to build are greater than what face current products/competitors.
He also believes Apple is focusing heavily on the industrial design requirements to make sure the product is comfortable and that significantly increases the design complexity
Apple has reportedly been focusing on designs using fabrics and lightweight materials for a comfortable fit and are looking for a sleeker design.
Apple Maps updated in Australia
Apple has met it’s promise to roll out it’ updated Apple Maps to Australia “later this year"
Offers a lot more detail in roads, parking lots, parks, buildings, airports, and more.
New 27-inch iMac soon?
Ross Young from Display Supply Chain Consultants says that Apple is working on a new 27-inch display for release in an iMac in early 2022
He says he expects it to have mini-LED backlighting and Pro-Motion (adaptive 120Hz refresh rate) which means it will likely could get the XDR branding
He did not offer up what the display resolution might be.
It had been rumored earlier this year that Apple choose to delay the update of a 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon to focus on the release of the 24-inch iMacs
Would be great if Apple offered a range of 27-inch iMac models with options using the M1 Pro or Max chips?
He also eluded at some point Apple could also do a smaller, and I assume lower cost, stand-alone 27-inch Pro Display
Reportedly on the M1 roadmap are “Jade 2C” and “Jade 4C”
Updated iMac Pro?
Basically M1 Max times 2 - 20 core CPU and 64 core GPU and and M1 Max times 4 - 40 cores CPU and 128-core GPU for the upcoming Mac Pro update
What about the new MacBook Air?
According to Twitter leaker Dylandkt it will have a design similar to the new MacBook Pros. Thinner, but without the wedge shape
It will also have off-white bezels and an off-white keyboard like the 24-inch iMac and come in similar colors.
They say it will also offer a 1080p webcam, I assume with CenterStage?
Sound like no changes to the ports, Thunderbolt / USB 4
Will use a second gen Apple M2 chip
Rumored to still have 8 CPU cores (4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores), but Apple would up the GPU cores to 9 or 10 from 7-8
Other rumors have indicated it possibly may get a mini-LED backlit display, but seems unlikely.
Update is expected mid to late 2022 and could come with a “slight” price increase.
Intel still wants Apple’s business
Despite all the recent attack ads Intel seeming wants to win Apple back one way or another.
First Intel's CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a recent interview that Apple had done a "pretty good job" making it’s own chips and that Intel hoped it could win bring Apple back to Intel by making better chips then Apple was making itself.
Then a DigitTimes report claimed that both Intel and Samsung are trying to get a piece of Apple’s chip fabrication business
They claim Apple is looking to diversify their assemblers adding more than Quanta Computer and Foxconn
Still the piece says as much as Samsung and Intel want that business Apple is likely to stick with just TSMC at least for now.
Q3 Mac shipment growth
New estimates from Counterpoint for the 3rd quarter show Mac shipments up 11 percent year over year
This is in a quarter where they estimate overall PC market growth of 9.3 percent
Counterpoint speculates that the popularity of the new M1 systems helped Apple outpace the industry growth.
They estimate Apple’s share of the overall PC market at around 8.7 percent.
Now with the release of the new M1 MacBook Pros showing incredibly high demand it would get even better for Apple but there is a wrinkle they might not be able to overcome.
Global PC component shortages might mean that Apple seems less growth in the 4th quarter.
As noted by Bloomberg, looking at Apple’s current line up many of their newest products, like the iPhone 13, iPad mini, iPad, Apple Watch Series 7, and MacBook Pro are backordered already into mid to late November and early December.
Even older products like iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 seem to be impacted.
So far Apple has been pretty deft at staying ahead of their competitors when it comes to the supply chain. The fact that they do have November / December estimates might actually show they could correct before the en of the year.
If the times continue to slip however it could be a sign that they are falling behind demand and that could mean their streak of record breaking quarters could be put on pause.
Still analysts seem generally optimistic still about Apple’s chances. With predictions that Apple could still see record revenue of $120 billion this holiday quarter.
Apple has their fiscal Q4 2021 earnings on October 28 and so it’ll be interesting to hear what their guidance is on the supply chain. A question I’m sure they will be asked about.
With respect to Q4 call Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty expects Apple to beat Wall Street consensus.
She predicts Apple will post revenue of $88.2 billion up 36 percent based on higher iPhone, iPad, and Mac shipments.
She also calls the predictions of supply chains issues for the holiday quarter "overblown”.
Apple probably not giving 6% cash back
Post on social media and in the MacRumors forms made it look like Apple had a promotion giving 6 percent cash back (instead of the normal 3 percent) on Apple Store purchases made with Apple Card
Early speculation was that it was a yet unannounced Holiday promotion.
Later customers who contacted Apple Card support were told the rate was a bug on Apple’s side and then when the purchases actually post they would be corrected back to 3 percent.
But there’s good news if you got the erroneous rate. Apple acknowledged the bug, but is going to honor the offer for users who did manage to make a purchase and see the 6% listing
Apple Car Battery suppliers balk at Apple demands
A Reuters report says that Apple’s demands to potential battery suppliers for production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for it’s rumored Apple Car project have caused at least two potential partners to stall out in their talks with the company.
Both BYD Lithium Battery Company (BYD) and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) are reportedly unable or unwilling to meet Apple’s demand that they offer an exclusive manufacturing facility in the US.
For CATL, which is a Chinese company and the main battery manufacturer for electric vehicles in the world, the issue seems to be finding employees in the US for building out a product development team just for Apple. They also are hesitant to to build a U.S. factory given the US / China relations
BYD already makes batteries in the US, but they do not seem willing to build out a new plant just to supply Apple.
Still both companies say they are open to continued talks, I would assume as long as Apple is willing to bend on the US manufacturing or exclusivity points.
Apple likely done with events this year
I wasn’t under the illusion that Apple would have another event this year, but I guess some in the community were?
Last year Apple did have three events, a September Apple Watch and iPad event, an October iPhone 12 and HomePod event, and then a later October Apple Silicon event with the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini.
But last year was weird.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his newsletter that he wouldn’t expect a third even this year nor any major announcements and I agree.
Some are still holding hope for a Mac mini updates, but if that existed Apple would have easily covered that at the MacBook Pro event.
For 2022 Gurman says we can expect a larger Apple Silicon iMac, new Mac mini, new iPhone SE and new iPad Pro
And a “M2” MacBook Air roughly six to eight months
Most believe the iPhone SE update will simply be Apple adding an updated processor and 5G
A report from the Chinese site MyDrives says they believe Apple will redesign the SE based on the iPhone XR
With a side button TouchID or possibly FaceID
MacRumors received images of a supposed updated AirPods Pro case from an unproven source
The key feature being it has speaker holes supposedly to support Apple’s Find My
They also seem to be missing the optical sensor on the underside of the earbuds, but that is supposedly because they’ll pickup the new “skin-detect” sensor that is in the updated AirPods 3
Also seems to be a metal loop on the side, I guess for a strap, but that just adds doubt about the image in my mind.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
Apple product placements
Got a lot of great feedback on this from you
Play comment from Mitch
Robert noticed that iPhones are often seen in other shows on other services (I’ll mention could be due to Apple product placement)
Star Wars director Rian Johnson said an interview for the movie Knives Out that Apple won’t allow iPhones to be used by villains
As part of Apple’s guidelines for using Apple trademarks and copyrights, the company says its products should only be shown "in the best light, in a manner or context that reflects favorably on the Apple products and on Apple Inc.”
Not everyone agreed though. Play comment from Gary.
Apple’s return to “practical” design
This was something that Ken ray mentioned to me as a “thing” when I did a recent episode of “In a Minute”
He alleges that, “without the moderating influence of the late Steve Jobs, perhaps Ive started to prioritize aesthetics a little too much”
He points to the recent backtracks on the MacBook Pros designs as examples of the death of Ive’s influence
The dumping of the butterfly keyboard, the Touch-bar, and the return of ports like HDMI
Also the loss of the iPhone’s display curves or the new Siri Remote design that brings back buttons
Worth noting that Apple is still a customer of Ive’s design firm Love Form
New MacBook Pro advice
play comment from Mitch (different Mitch)
For Photos, if you’re simply going to be using the internal 2TB for your Photo storage then it should be as simple as moving the Library file from the external SSD drive to the new Mac. Hold down the option key when launching Photos, and selecting the Library file to set it as the [System Photo Library](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204414)
I’m not sure what exactly you’re attempting to to, but in setting up the new MacBook I would suggest using Migration Assistant from a Time Machine backup (or you could go direct from Mac to Mac)
If you want to continue to use the “old” Mac and have it “In sync” with the new Mac you could use iCloud Desktop & Documents to at least sync your Desktop and Documents folders.
Just be aware that the first time you enable this on the second Mac it’s Desktop and Document folders will be placed inside the first Macs Desktop and Document folders with the the name of the Mac appended to a folder called “Desktop” or “Documents” respectively.
One sync’d you can organize this within the main folders however you like and then things will stay in sync.
What MacBook Pro options should I get?
Allen is like a lot of listeners and a bit confused by all the M1 Pro and M1 Max options and what each would mean for performance.
For Allen he wants to upgrade his early 2015 MacBook Pro ( 256 gb HD with 8G RAM ) which is used for photography, with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. Although he’s been using a 2019 iMac instead of the MacBook Pro due to limited storage and RAM. Runs the Photo library from an external 1TB SSD
There’s an easy general rule I follow… buy the most computer you can afford at the time.
When making hard choices start with what your biggest pain points are in the current setup
If you hate having to use external storage then maybe more internal
If your image processing runs slow maybe you want more GPU cores and more RAM
Can’t run all the apps you want concurrently? More RAM.
Generally… I would say CPU is the last item to worry about
But in the case of the bottom end M1 Pro 8-core vs 10-core you’re talking 20 percent performance for $200 bucks. Might be worth it to go 10-core.
The Pro and Max 10-Core CPUs are the same
Obviously with the Max you have options for 24 or 32 core GPUs vs 16-core that will matter for image processing
RAM is also a consideration
Up to 32GB on the Pro and 64 on the Max
So personally for most high-end Pro applications… GPU and memory will give you performance and longevity. Then storage if you know you’ll be disappointed if you can’t store everything locally. Then CPU, but I thin the 10-core is the baseline.
But that’s just me. Different needs. For example. I know I don’t do GPU intensive work, so I’d put my money more to storage and then maybe RAM vs needing to have a 32-core GPU.
Thing of the Moment: Mapper
Safari Extension for iOS
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After you get the App go to Settings > Safari > Extensions, or tap the puzzle icon in Safari’s address bar, then choosing ‘Manage Extensions’ to enable it
You can take it completely anonymously and your info will be only used in aggregate with others who take the survey to help us better tailor and customize our advertising
If you are OK providing an email address we’ll be giving away randomly some $50 amazon gift cards to folks who take the survey. We only need the email to send the gift cards should you get one and the email will not be used for any other purpose.
