Taking a look back at another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes Apple choosing the iPhone over the iPad, iPhone 14 loses chip battle, Apple Watch secrets, the security community needing more support, comparing the new M1 Max and M1 Pro, macOS bricking older Macs, Apple discontinuing the 21-inch iMac, a brighter iPad Pro future, and how much Apple damaged Facebook.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
iPhone Over iPad In Chip Battle
The ongoing silicon chip shortage is impacting Apple just as much as other manufacturers, and decisions on supply and priorities need to be made. The latest reports suggest that Tim Cook and his teams will be focusing on the iPhone 13 family over the iPad family in the run up to Christmas:
“Demand for iPads has actually risen on a yearly basis due to remote working and learning amid the pandemic. Nikkei Asia quoted a 6.7% increase to 53.2 million devices last year, securing almost a third of the total tablet market in the world. However, now Apple is prioritizing iPhone 13 production because expectations are for stronger demand in Western markets such as Europe and the Americas.”
(GSM Arena).
OMOTESANDO, TOKYO, JAPAN – 2021/09/27: iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro smartphones seen … [+]
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
iPhone 14 Hit By Chip Shortage
That same shortage is impacting not only production volume just now, but plans for the future. The next casualty looks to be the A16 system on chip. Gordon Kelly explains the problems:
“In a pair of leaks, respected tech site The Information and supply chain experts DigiTimes both report that Apple has had to scrap plans to use three nanometer (3nm) fabrication, a radical new chip manufacturing technology that would have powered the A16 chip inside the iPhone 14. Apple’s primary chip supplier, TSMC, is cited as the source of the problems, for what would have been a potentially game-changing upgrade. “
(Forbes).
A Watch That’s Bigger On The Outside
Lots of details from the Apple Watch design team in David Phelan’s interview with Apple VP’s Alan Dye and Stan Ng. They touch on a number of features, includes the quiet mission goal to get a bigger display without necessarily increasing the size of the wearable:
“So, the design team were faced with questions such as how you maximize screen area without significantly growing the overall case size. “It’s a unique challenge. It required completely re-engineering the display, the front crystal, the internals and the internal enclosure. And these changes resulted in reducing the border from 3mm on Series 6, to just 1.7mm on Series 7.””
(The Independent).
Security Community Warns Of iPhone 13 Concerns
Apple is facing a number of security issues across the iPhone platform, with a rise in reports over the last few months shining a light on one of Apple’s traditionally strong selling points. Worse than the impact on consumers is Apple’s lack of engagement with the security community. Rather than credit researchers with notes and bug-hunting bounties, Apple is not acknowledging the work and efforts of this group:
“A combination of late security fixes and poor treatment of security researchers is a recipe for disaster, especially for a company which heavily markets its commitment to security. Attacks are also on the rise. Google disclosed in July that there have already been more zero-day exploits of browsers in 2021 than in the whole of 2020. Apple needs researchers on its side more than ever.
“Things need to improve. Right now your iPhone is vulnerable to two zero-day hacks that Apple has known about for seven months.”
(Forbes).
M1 Pro vs M1 Max
Apple skipped over the expected naming of the uprated M1 system on chip – everyone was expecting the Apple Silicon in the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros to be the M1X. Instead we have the M1 Pro and the M1 Max. What’s the difference? Over to Juli Clover:
“In Final Cut Pro, a video export test saw the M1 Max machine export a 6-minute 4K video in one minute and 49 seconds, a task that took the M1 Pro 2 minute and 55 seconds. When it comes to 8K RAW footage, both machines were able to handle the load. The M1 Max MacBook Pro performed close to flawlessly, while the M1 Pro had a few issues with dropped frames and stuttering, but was ultimately able to keep up.”
(MacRumors).
Your Mac, Your Brick
There’s problems for older Macs as well. The latest version of macOS, Monterey, is proving as troublesome as last year’s Big Sur release on older Intel-based Macs, with reports that updating older machines has led as some being bricked. As always, make sure you have a recent backup before updating:
“Given this is the first public release of macOS Monterey, the advice would be to wait for an update to the code before upgrading your own Mac (and when you do upgrade make sure you have a full backup of all your data). Last year’s introduction of macOS Big Sur – the first macOS to support the ARM-based Apple Silicon chipset – had similar issues that were ironed out in the months that followed.”
(Forbes).
Goodbye 21-Inch iMac
Apple has confirmed it is discontinued the Intel-powered 21.5 inch iMac. It was the last iMac of this size in the inventory, and with the seventh-generation Core processor was showing it’s age.
“A single 21.5-inch iMac configuration remained part of the iMac lineup following Apple’s “Unleashed” event last week, but Apple has confirmed it is being discontinued and will no longer be sold through its online store or in Apple retail stores. The 21.5-inch model will remain available through third-party providers while supplies last.”
(MacRumors).
There’s A New iMac Pro In Town
Meanwhile… Noted Apple watcher Dylandkt has been looking at the new desktop Mac options for next year, with a potential iMac Pro waiting in the wings.
“Dylan says this iMac Pro will feature mini-LED technology and ProMotion, which are two functions available with the new MacBook Pro. The leaker also backs up what display expert Ross Young said about a 27-inch display for this product. Dylan posted that it will have a similar design to the 24-inch iMac and the Pro Display XDR.”
(9to5Mac).
A Brighter Future For The iPad Pro
Apple is planning to up the brightness and the accuracy of the iPad Pro and the MacBook family next year, thanks to a new construction method that layers OLED displays on top of each other.
“According to Korean site The Elec, Apple is in talks with Samsung and LG to utilize OLED displays with a two-stack tandem structure on future iPads and MacBooks. It sounds like a weird thing to do, but it does mean those screens can be even brighter than they are now.”
(Tom’s Guide).
And Finally…
Apple’s move to make app tracking opt-in rather than opt-out that started in April meant the online advertising market has lost one its most powerful tools, at least on Apple hardware, to target consumers. How much of an impact? According to the FT in London, nearly $10 billion of revenue has been “lost” due to the changes.
“Facebook notably criticized the move with a full-page newspaper ad, and thanks to the FT’s report, now we know why company leaders were so frustrated. According to the report, Facebook lost the most money “in absolute terms” when compared to other social platforms due to its massive size. Meanwhile, Snap “fared the worst as a percentage of its business” because its advertising is mainly tied to smartphones, which makes sense for a product that doesn’t have a desktop version.”
(FT via The Verge)
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
