Taking a look back at another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes some disappointing iPhone 15 choices, confirmed iPhone 14 problems, the iPhone SE’s potential cancellation, the Mac Pro days may be over, an important AirTags update, an Apple Watch Ultra stress test, and Apple’s search engine plans.
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).
Disappointing iPhone 15 Design Choice
While Apple continues to work on its own 5G modem and in turn, be able to control this part of the supply chain and tailor the design to iOS, the upcoming iPhone 15 design looks set to continue using Qualcomm’s 5G technology:
“DigiTimes(opens in new tab)’ industry sources claim that Apple’s placed a significant order for 5G modems designed by Qualcomm and produced by TSMC for the iPhone 15 series, as well as radio-frequency (RF) chips. The specific 5G modem is thought to be the Snapdragon X70, announced earlier this year, but the main point is that this isn’t Apple’s own modem design.”
(Tom’s Guide).
TOKYO, JAPAN – 2022/10/20: iPhone 14 lineup (14 Plus, 14 pro and 14 Pro Max) on display inside Apple … [+]
Apple Confirms iPhone 14 Display Problems
Apple has confirmed that a display issue with horizontal lines appearing on switching on is not a hardware issue and can be addressed in software at the next update, so those experiencing the problem can rest easy. Although Apple hasn’t confirmed when the software fix is due:
“If you’ve found your iPhone 14 showing horizontal lines across the screen when waking from sleep or starting up, Apple says you can rest easy: It’s not a hardware issue. The glitch – which mostly appears to affect the iPhone 14 Pro Max – is apparently a software issue, so it’s just a question of waiting for an iOS update to fix it …”
(9to5Mac).
Your Next iPhone SE May Never Arrive
Apple’s fourth-generation iPhone SE looks to be at risk, according to the latest industry reports. Previously expected in 2024 and to feature the first ‘full screen’ design of the budget SE range. The iPhone SE now looks in danger of being canceled:
“[Analyst MIng-Chi Kuo] also said that the full screen design that Apple has in mind for the iPhone SE 4 will require higher costs and selling prices, so Apple may need to “reconsider the product positioning and return on investment” for the iPhone SE 4. Reducing unnecessary product development costs will also help Apple navigate the “challenges of the global economic recession in 2023,” according to Kuo.”
(MacRumors).
Have We Seen The Last Mac Pro?
The Mac Pro is running late. Very late. But is it needed? Andrew Cunningham argues that Apple needs to commit to the Mac Pro in a way that has been notably absent in previous models. And if it’s not going to do this, then the Mac Pro should be loudly and definitely canceled:
“The Mac Studio is probably the single best argument against the continued existence of the Mac Pro. It’s the first truly new Mac design of the Apple Silicon era, and it takes full advantage of the M1 (and soon, hopefully, the M2) series’ performance and power efficiency. It’s small, it’s incredibly efficient, it runs relatively cool and quiet, and it manages to outperform maxed-out 2019 Mac Pro configurations in many workloads for less money.”
(Ars Technica).
Important AirTags Update
Apple has updated the AirTag software with a number of personal security improvements, including alerts if an unknown AirTag is following you. This will address the issue of stalking someone with an AirTag – the update not only allows precision finding on the AirTag, but also force it to ring its alert:
“…if you have the recently launched iOS 16.2, you can now enjoy boosted protection from nefarious users of AirTags. That’s because Apple has released Firmware Update 2.0.24, which enables a Precision Finding feature to “locate an unknown AirTag” if it detects one moving with you.
(Forbes).
How Ultra Is Ultra?
The Apple Watch Ultra may be fashionable, but it was designed to be tough. How tough? Victoria Song has been finding out, by putting Apple’s wearable through various tests in the great, dangerous, rough outdoors:
“The $799 Ultra was billed as the Apple Watch for outdoor adventurers and triathletes. So we spent the last three months devising a series of mini-reviews targeting several of the Ultra’s marquee features.”
(The Verge).
And Finally…
One area where Apple is still reliant on outside suppliers is search. It’s no small matter to build up the equivalent of a Bing or a Google Search, but it’s not something Apple is ignoring:
“The team is still at least four years away from launching an outright replacement to Google search, according to one person involved with the team speaking to The Information. While Google pays Apple around $15 billion per year to stay as the default search engine on Apple devices, Apple developing an in-house rival to Google search could increase its leverage during its periodic negotiations with Google over the deal.
(MacRumors).
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.
