Apple View round-up
04th April – 8th April 2022
News has been a bit thin on the ground this week in Apple-land, but here is a round-up of the weeks’ highlights. And those rumours include some on iPhone 14
Baseball is coming
Yup, it is finally here. I have been giving you updates on this, since the event last month. Well, checking my TV+ app, the games are now showing. There is a whole host of games on the app, but only two this weekend. You can watch The Mets v Nationals or Astros v Angels. For the first 12 weeks of the season, you can watch without a subscription. Subsequently, you’ll need to pay for the Apple+ subscription. Apple TV+ is my new-found toy. Having binged Morning Show, I’m now deep in to We Crashed and Slow Horses. If I am quiet on here for a while, you’ll know why!
Edits on Twitter coming
Twitter is my go-to source of research for many of my blog posts. I also post regularly on Twitter as well. In that capacity, one of my biggest beefs, is noticing a mistake or typo on an otherwise great Tweet. Well, thankfully, the masses have finally been heard, and Twitter are about to include an edit button. At last! On Tuesday, Elon Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder at 9%, and tweeted out to his followers, would they like the edit feature to be included? An overwhelming 73% said yes! Initially, it will only be available to Twitter Blue subscribers, until any bugs are sorted out. Thereafter, it will be made available to everyone. I do wonder how they will go about this edit idea, though. If, I have re-tweeted one of your tweets, then you make an edit to that original tweet, to contain rude, abusive or abhorrent views which I do not want to associate with, how can that be controlled? They will need to make sure edited tweets are somehow marked, though. May be similar to Reddit.
iOS 15.5 released in beta
It honestly barely seems worth it, but Apple have just released, in beta form, the final update to the current iOS. 15.5 is available now to developers. 15.4 came out only weeks ago, with a raft of great features, including Universal Control and Face ID (now with mask recognition). It seems they are keen to get every last drop out of iOS 15 for both iPhone & iPad before the release of iOS 16 at Junes’ WWDC. I am really hoping for some significant changes to the now bored and staid OS. What about you?
And one change that is coming in 15.5…
Whilst sifting through the latest beta release, I have come across one big change. If you have bought Apple gift cards before, it will have shown up as credit in your Apple account. Well, now, it is all change. The credits will now appear in your Wallet app on an Apple Account Card. Although it is showing in the beta version, it will not go live until the full release of the OS later this summer. At least when you gift me money, I will know where to look now.
OLED is coming
iPad with OLED screens are coming, for certain it would appear. According to The Elec, China’s BOE will start production of Gen 8.6 OLED display panels at its B16 factory in Sichuan. BOE is currently testing a technology called ‘two-stack tandem’, which allows for both increased brightness and longevity. The first OLED iPads will ship in 2024. And here is me, still happy with my little iPad Mini!
Typical!
I wait all this time to finally lavish a pair of AirPod Pro on myself, and they are about to become outdated! According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will launch AirPod Pro 2 in the second half of this year, with the current model being discontinued. In part, this decision has been taken after under-performing sales figures of AirPod 3 due to poor product segmentation. I’m actually over the moon with my AirPod Pro. They are more comfortable, and I love the noise-cancelling too.
Good news for iPhone X owners
The program that Apple currently runs, whereby you can have the Face ID element of your iPhone repaired without replacing the whole handset, has now been extended to iPhone X owners. Originally, this service was only available to iPhone XS and later, but last week saw Apple giving access to Authorised repair centres to replace only the TrueDepth camera system. In so doing, this means that all iPhones with Face ID can now be repaired, as models before iPhone X do not have Face ID at all. Let’s not even mention Right To Repair or under glass Face ID technology!
Oh, to be a teenager these days
A while back, I wrote about the astonishing prevalence of teenagers in the US using iPhone over Android. Latest figures suggest that shows little or no sign of abating. 87% of US teens own and an iPhone already, with a further 87% expecting their next phone to be an Apple device. 73% already own AirPod and 42% own Apple Watch. And when it comes to checking out, 23% said they use Apple Pay as their first choice of electronic payment. The findings were part of Piper Sandler’s survey ‘Taking Stock With Teens’ in which, 7100 teenagers were surveyed. The internet was not even a thing when I was a teenager-geez!
iPhone 14 CADS
As we head ever nearer to September, these rumours and leaks will doubtless gain in pace and regularity. The latest images show a very similar design to those we have already seen, as production will soon ramp to keep up with the anticipated demand. The camera bump will be bigger than ever, facilitating a 48MP camera, and the notch will be replaced on the Pro phones in favour of the ‘pill and punch’ layout. This week’s leaks, by tweeter ShrimpApplePro depict slightly moved buttons and a new SIM tray and 5G antenna design. The leaks also give very detailed dimensions of the phone too. This leaker, was the first to tweet about the new dual hole punch design on iPhone 14, so should be taken pretty seriously. I am actually thinking of saving money and buying outright an iPhone for the first time this year. Over two years, I’d save a fortune in carrier uplifts. How do you get your iPhone?
Dub-Dub is coming
By the time you read this, much will have been written and spoken about this year’s developer’s conference. WWDC will be held on Monday 6 June, and is mainly an online event. The invite said entirely online, but that is actually a little misleading, as a handful of journalists, developers & students can apply to be there in person. Being a developer’s conference, its main focus is on software. We can almost certainly expect to see and hear all about iOS & iPadOS 16, Watch OS 9, macOS 13 and the latest tvOS as well. It is also possible we may get a glimpse at some hardware too. The brand-new AR/VR headset could see the light of day for the first time. I expect it not to be available until next year, but making it available to developers seems sense, as it is to have its own App Store. The final link in the Apple Silicone transition could be unveiled as well. The Mac Pro, currently the last of the machines with an Intel chip, could make its debut this summer. This is not unprecedented, as the current Mac Pro line-up was first shown at WWDC in 2019. Although I am sure Apple would rather have shown these to a live, packed audience, it is just possible, time scales will beat them. How quick will that Mac Pro be?
And finally
I have mentioned Apple TV a few times this week, I know, but that is because I am hooked! Well, here is a rare, very truthful look at where Apple are ranking in the US, France & Japan. Comparing themselves to the favourite streaming services in those countries, it makes for an interesting view. Apple, are clearly serious about becoming a major player in the streaming arena. By the way, last night I watched CODA on Apple TV+. Please, please, please make time to watch this Oscar winner. It’s a tear-jerker, but wholly-molly, what a remarkable movie. Let me know what you make of it.
Let me know if I have missed any news and I will cover it next week – with a credit to yourself, of course!
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Originally published at http://talkingtechandaudio.com/blog on April 8, 2022.