A bunch of “pro” camera updates according to the latest from Bloomberg
ProRes for videos
Portrait Mode for video
AI powered filters.
iPhones will precisely apply "changes to objects and people across the photos using artificial intelligence."
Confirmed the smaller notch
A survey of more than 3000 iPhone users from SellCell had some interesting findings
43.7 percent said they intend to upgrade
The iPhone 13 model was the most desired (38.2%) followed by the iPhone 13 Pro Max (30.8%)
The most desired new features were the 120Hz ProMotion, always-on display, and smaller notch
They also found that 18.3 percent were triskaidekaphobic (fear of number 13) and 74% wished Apple would use a name other than iPhone 13
Not to be left out TrendForce weighed in this week with their own predictions, though not much new
A faster and more power efficient 5nm+ chip named “surprise” the A15 Bionic
Support for mmWave technology in more counties
New “space saving” technology for internal circuits that will allow for larger batteries.
They say the new models will have similar pricing to last years iPhone 12 models and Apple should announce the new devices in September
Apple lands more big stars for TV+
Apple and Netflix were reportedly in a bidding war over a new Jennifer Lawrence project and Apple apparently won
At least that’s what deadline is reporting
The project is a new film where Lawrence is set to play legendary Hollywood agent Sue Mengers
We don’t know exactly how much Apple may have paid for the film but reports had claimed bidding had risen to as high as $95 million
Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino is reportedly signed on to direct with a script from Lauren Schuker Blum, Rebecca Angelo and John Logan
No word yet on when the film will begin production nor when it might be released.
Apple also reportedly signed a deal for a new TV series called “Bad Monkey” that will star actor Vince Vaughn
It’s a 10-episode series based on a 2013 novel of the same name.
The story is about a detective in South Florida who gets demoted to be a restaurant inspector named Andrew Yancy. When tourists find a severed arm it somehow winds up in Yancy’s freezer and that pulls him into an underground world of greed and corruption.
This will be the second series from Apple to come from writer producer Bill Lawrence who also works as a writer and executive producer on "Ted Lasso."
And Tom Hanks is about to debut his second film project on Apple TV+
The film “Finch” will premiere on the service on November 5th
The film, which is already getting some early award season buzz, is about a man, his dog, and a robot (played by Caleb Landry Jones)
Hanks stars as Finch, a robotics engineer and one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic solar event that has left the world a wasteland. After living in the bunker for over a decade with his dog Goodyear, Finch creates a robot to watch over Goodyear when he no longer can.The three odd companions embark on a journey and Finch tries to show the robot the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive.
New MacBook Pro’s enter production
According to DigiTimes
They say Apple is hoping to reach production of up to 800,000 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro’s by the end of November’
And the company reportedly expects to sell 23 million MacBooks by the end of the year.
The machines are expected to feature Apple’s next generation Apple Silicon, M1X
10 cores with eight high-performance and two energy-efficient
16 or 32 core GPUs and RAM up to 64GB
They also will come with min-LED displays, and updated design (flat edge), more ports, MagSafe, and no TouchBar.
New machine could be announced as early as September, but Apple would likely hold a separate event for the Mac, probably in October.
Ming-Chi Kuo has jumped on the updated MacBook Air in colors bandwagon with Mark Gurman and Jon Prosser
He said in a research note that Apple would update the MacBook Air with a mini-LED display and an all new design similar to the MacBook Pro models in mid 2022
He also says there will be several color options, I would assume matched to the 2021 24-inch M1 Mac colors.
Other rumors have claimed the new machines will also have an updated M-series processor (maybe M2?) and bring MagSafe back to the MacBook Air
Kuo was unclear if these new machines would completely replace the 2021 M1 models or if Apple might keep the older ones around at a reduced price point.
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
Does Apple need a living room strategy?
I absolutely love my Apple TV
Use it for videos, streaming, and gaming (Apple Arcade)
Also, now fitness. If I can get motivated?
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in a recent newsletter that Apple’s TV strategy has “become pointless” referring to their set top boxes ability to complete with Amazon and Roku
He seems to feel the Apple TV’s high price tag is particularly an issue
So does he have a point?
Is there really any need to buy and Apple TV??
The word from Apple engineers seems to be that Apple doesn’t have a strong living room strategy.
Do they need one? Their TV app and Apple TV+ service is available on many TVs and devices
You can also Airplay content.
Despite the pessimism Gurman thinks Apple is developing an AppleTV, HomePod, FaceTime product for release in 2023
Why FaceTime, bring back the router. Mesh + HomePod = win in my book.c
Is this really the device that would make a difference?
Why does Apple struggle to crack the living room?
Choosing the right M1 display adapter
Got an email from Chris who was trying to connect a new 2019 16" Macbook Pro to an old, but still very nice, Apple 27" LED Cinema Display
Chris had purchased Apple’s Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 display adapter, but when connecting the display it was not working
Now some of you may already know what happened, but I have to say connecting old displays to new Macs can be frustrating and head scratching at best. Figuring out the right adapter is a challenge. You really have to know the nitty gritty of your display specs and you have to drill down to the adapter specs.
In this case Apple, in an attempt to make thing more simple, sort of created the confusion. We see this same confusion with USB-C / Thunderbolt.
The problem is one of connector vs. data specification.
Apple used 3 different types of connectors in their Cinema Displays.
The first generation was DVI (either single-link and dual-link). This one is a bit easier to detect because DVI looks very different than what was used in the next generation…
Mini-Display Port, which had it’s own connector which was small and squarish. This was what was used on Apple’s LED Cinema Display
The third version was Thunderbolt 2 which was on Apple’s Thunderbolt Display.
The thing is… the LED Cinema Display and Apple Thunderbolt display look very similar and when Apple developed Thunderbolt 2 they used the same connector as Mini-Display Port
So now you all might be able to deduce what happened. Chris had a Mini-Display Port display, but a Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) .
There was no issue connecting the Thunderbolt 2 to the Mini-Display Port on the display (same connector), but the Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 doesn’t support MiniDisplay Port.
Now Apple does state this on their product page for the adapter, but that can easily be missed. And if your looking at the picture you’d easily think it was the right adapter.
I honestly have had a similar hard rime using an old DVI display with a new 2018 Mac mini. I had USB-C to Display Port adapter and Apple’s Display Port to DVU adapter, but that wouldn’t work for me. At least not consistently. I ended up purchasing a USB-C to DVI adapter from Monoprice.
So pay really close attention to those specs and do your research because this stuff sure can be confusing.
Thing of the Moment: wurdweb
A new word game from the one of the game designers of Hidden Folks
New on Apple Arcade
Kind of a take on crosswords and scrabble
There are several game modes and modifications you can unlock
Basically you try and place and unlock words by overlapping them in a crossword style fashion
It sounds (and looks) very simple, but it’s it’s much more challenging than you think.
