Looking back on another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes the disappointing iPhone 15 Pro specs, Apple’s ambitious iPhone 15 plans, Apple Vision Pro production cuts, new Macs and smart homes, the macOS dream Gaming, Apple Music defeats and develops the first Apple Mac.
The Apple Loop is here to remind you of some of the very large amount of discussion that has taken place around Apple over the past seven days (and you can read my weekly roundup of Android news here on Forbes).
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 23: The new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are on display on launch day … [+]
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iPhone 15 battery surprise
Earlier this week there was much talk about a potential increase in battery capacity for the upcoming iPhone 15 family, with an increase of the order of twenty percent. The truth is closer to the iPhone 14. While there may be a few mAh differences, the battery technology in the iPhone 15 will match that of the iPhone 14:
“So what upgrades will we get? As for the consensus, the most likely upgrades are the transition from Lightning to wired USB-C charging (for all models), while the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will adopt the iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island design as well as the A16- chip and the 48-megapixel main camera on the back.
(Forbes).
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iPhone 15 production
One point that goes up is the expected amount of production. Haitong International Tech Research’s Jeff Pu has indicated that Apple will not only start production in August, but is also targeting production of 84 million units:
“That’s an increase of about 12% compared to iPhone 14 models last year, suggesting Apple expects demand to be strong. However, Pu warns that he expects the iPhone 15 Pro Max price to be higher than the $1,099 starting price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Unlike last year, we expect the iPhone 15 Pro Max to have exclusive features not found on the 6.1-inch Pro.”
(9to5Mac).
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The complexity of the Apple Vision Pro
As expected, Apple’s pre-recorded CGI presentation of the Apple Vision Pro caught the attention of many, but it was also clear that many challenges remained. Now that the device has been spotted, it’s clear that the complexity won’t allow for a smooth launch. This week it is reported that Apple has cut the initial order:
Two people close to Apple and Luxshare, the Chinese contract manufacturer that will initially assemble the device, said it is preparing to produce fewer than 400,000 units in 2024. Multiple industry sources said Luxshare is currently Apple’s sole assembler of the device. Regardless, two China-based sole suppliers of certain components for the Vision Pro said Apple only asked for a quantity of 130,000 to 150,000 units in its first year.
(Financial Times).
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When the lights go out
What happens when your device goes to sleep? For your smartphone, the “always-on-display” continues to provide information, while sensors can record movements. Apple is exploring how to do this on the desktop and turn the Mac display into a smart display:
“Like the Studio Display, a new monitor with smart home capabilities would run on a chip first found in the iPhone. The Studio Display contains Apple’s A13 chip – the same one seen in the iPhone 11 smartphone range. The upcoming smart display could potentially run on the A16 of the iPhone 14 Pro, as this device introduced a similar always-on-display feature to Apple’s smartphone lineup.”
(Tune in, via Ars Technica).
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The grail of macOS gaming
This is the year that the Mac platform makes its breakthrough in the gaming world. Just like 2022 was. Just like 2021. And 2020. And so on. But this year will be different, says Oliver Mackenzie:
“Apple recently released a tool called the Game Porting Toolkit (GPT) that simulates a Windows environment and translates DirectX API calls into Apple’s own Metal API, while simultaneously translating x86 instructions into Apple Silicon’s ARM instruction set . It’s effectively a translation layer, like Valve’s Proton on Steam Deck, with the same ability to run high-end games at playable frame rates. But how good is GPT – and are we really on the brink of a Mac gaming revolution?”
(Eurogamers)
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Apple Music takes second place
Details on the number of subscribers for the various streaming services in the US show that Apple Music is well ahead of Amazon, but still has some way to go if it wants to overtake Spotify and take first place:
“[Spotify] According to the data, the company is at the top with 44.4 million paying customers. For comparison, Apple Music has 32.6 million paying music subscribers in the US. While Spotify leads Apple Music with almost 12 million paying customers, Amazon Music lags behind Apple Music with just 3.3 million subscribers. Our opinion? Either the NMPA data is not very representative, or Amazon Prime is doing a great job.”
(9to5Mac).
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And finally…
What did it take to design the first Apple Macintosh computer? Fred Guterl decides to find out while speaking to the designers and engineers many believe have changed the future of computer science:
“Essentially a stripped down version of the Lisa workstation with many of its software features, the Macintosh sold for $2,495 when it was introduced in early 1984; the Lisa was initially sold for $10,000. Despite criticisms of the Macintosh—that it lacks adequate networking capabilities—for business applications and is awkward to use for some tasks—the computer is viewed by Apple as its primary weapon in the battle with IBM for survival in the personal computer business.
(IEEE).
Apple Loop brings you seven days of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any future coverage. You can read last week’s Apple Loop here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column Android Circuit is also available on Forbes.
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