Looking back at another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop features some disappointing iPhone 15 picks, confirmed iPhone 14 issues, the potential cancellation of the iPhone SE, the Mac Pro days may be over, a major AirTags update, an Apple Watch Ultra stress test, and Apple’s search engine plans.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of some of the many discussions around Apple over the past seven days (and you can read my weekly roundup of Android news here on Forbes).
Disappointing design choice for iPhone 15
While Apple continues to work on its own 5G modem and in turn can audit this part of the supply chain and adapt the design to iOS, the upcoming iPhone 15 design appears to continue using Qualcomm’s 5G technology:
“DigiTimes(opens in new tab)” industry sources claim that Apple has placed a significant order for 5G modems designed by Qualcomm and manufactured by TSMC for the iPhone 15 series, as well as radio frequency (RF) chips. modem is presumably the Snapdragon X70, announced earlier this year, but the main point is that this is not Apple’s proprietary modem design.”
(Tom’s guide).
TOKYO, JAPAN – 10/20/2022 : iPhone 14 lineup (14 Plus, 14 pro and 14 Pro Max) on display at Apple … [+]
Apple confirms iPhone 14 display issues
Apple has confirmed that a display issue with horizontal lines appearing on power up is not a hardware issue and can be resolved in the software in the next update, so those experiencing the issue can rest easy. Although Apple has not confirmed when the software fix is due:
“If you notice that your iPhone 14 shows horizontal lines across the screen when you wake up from sleep or boot up, Apple says rest easy: It’s not a hardware problem. The glitch – which seems to mostly affect the iPhone 14 Pro Max – is apparently a software issue so it’s just a matter of waiting for an iOS update to fix it…”
(9to5Mac).
Your next iPhone SE may never arrive
According to the latest industry reports, Apple’s fourth-generation iPhone SE appears to be at risk. Earlier expected in 2024 and with the first ‘full screen’ design of the budget SE range. The iPhone SE is now in danger of being canceled:
“[Analyst MIng-Chi Kuo] also said the full-screen design Apple has in mind for the iPhone SE 4 will bring higher costs and retail prices, so Apple may need to “rethink 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 2023 global economic recession,” Kuo said.
(MacRumors).
Have we seen the last Mac Pro?
The Mac Pro is late. Very late. But is it necessary? Andrew Cunningham argues that Apple needs to commit to the Mac Pro in a way that was conspicuously absent from previous models. And if it’s not going to do this, the Mac Pro should be canceled loud and clear:
“The Mac Studio is probably the single best argument against the Mac Pro’s survival. It’s the first truly new Mac design of the Apple Silicon era, and it takes full advantage of the M1 series (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 2019 max Mac Pro configurations in many workloads for less money.
(Ars Technica).
Important AirTags update
Apple has updated the AirTag software with a number of personalized security improvements, including alerts if an unknown AirTag is following you. This solves the problem of stalking someone with an AirTag – the update not only enables precise searching on the AirTag, but also forces it to sound its alarm:
“…if you have the recently launched iOS 16.2, you can now enjoy enhanced protection against nefarious AirTags users. That’s because Apple has released firmware update 2.0.24, which enables a precision search 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’s designed to be rugged. How heavy? Victoria Song found out by putting Apple’s wearable through several tests in the big, dangerous, rugged outdoors:
“The $799 Ultra was billed as the Apple Watch for outdoor adventurers and triathletes. So over the past three months we’ve come up with a series of mini-reviews that focused on several of the Ultra’s big features.”
(The edge).
And finally…
One area where Apple still relies on third-party vendors is search. Building up the equivalent of a Bing or Google search is no small feat, but it’s not something Apple ignores:
“The team is at least four years away from launching an outright Google Search replacement, according to a person involved with the team speaking to The Information. While Google pays Apple about $15 billion a year to make the default search engine on Apple devices, developing an internal Google rival for Apple could increase its clout during 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 news in the future. You can read last week’s Apple Loop hereor this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
