shownotes_20230112

Opening
  Pre-roll: ZocDoc
    This episode of the Maccast is brought to you by ZocDoc. More on them later in the show.
News
  2023 Apple’s focus on the headset
    Year has started off with a bunch of Apple AR / VR headset rumors, some conflicting info.
    We have “The Information"
      Dial, like digital crown, for “scrolling” between AR / VR modes
      Battery pack you wear on your waist that only lasts 2 hours
        Seems “awkward” and sucky.
      A design that uses aluminum, glass, and carbon fiber to reduce its size and weight.
      Support hand gestures and voice recognition for controls (likely no hand controllers)
        Though Apple has tested “thimble” and “wand” controllers
      Speakers in the headband, but may also use AirPods and the H2 chip for “privacy”
        Says the H2 chip “secretly” has a low-latency transmission mode
      Special alternate headband for developers to hook up to a Mac
        Headbands were swappable, but have electronics, like speakers and batteries, so Apple may have abandoned that idea.
      4K micro-LED displays for each eye
      Magnetically attachable custom prescription lenses for glasses-wearers.
      Outside screen that can display the wearers facial expressions (creepy mode)
      Uses an M2 processor and “dozens” of cameras and sensors
      Says it won’t have a gaming focus as Apple sees “video conferencing” as the “killer” app
        Really?!! for a USD $3K device?
        Also 3D tabletop maps drug off your Mac screen
    Name might be “Reality Pro”
    We’ve heard the OS that powers the headset might be called xrOS or Reality OS
      Apple just launched Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Device apps on the Windows Store
      Prior to that they had posted “preview” versions and developers found references in the code on the Windows apps to both “ xrOS” and “Reality OS”
    Kuo thinks development delays have pushed the release back to the 2rd or 3rd quarter of this year.
      Specifically with drop testing and software dev tools
      Announcement at a Spring event or maybe reserved for WWDC
    Gurman thinks a Spring announcement of the device followed by additional details and software development tools a WWDC
      Apple has had to shift some resources internally to focus on getting the headset launched. Could impact other projects and timelines.
      Specifically Gurman claims the next OS updates, like iOS 17 and macOS 14
  2023 might be lackluster for upgrades
    More and more we’re seeing signs that this year will be pretty tame for Apple hardware outside possibly that new headset
    Analysts like Mark Gurman and indicating that the iPad will see minor enhancements and refreshes this year
      Spec bumps might be pretty much it until 2024
    The plans look pretty much the same for this years 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro updates
      M2 Pro and M2 Max chips bringing slight performance increases
      And to make it worse… DigiTimes claims that the original “early 2023” release dat might be delayed.
    Gurman says the new Mac Pro will have the same design as the current model, but not have expandable memory (due to Apple Silicon’s unified memory architecture)
      The case will have two spare SSD slots, slots for graphics cards, media, and networking
    Updates for the 24-inch iMac are not expected until the M3, so that likely means nothing this year.
    One small hope is there might be a 15-inch update to the MacBook Air, but a rumored 12-inch design may not happen
      Design of the 15 would be similar to the 13-inch design and it would offer M2 and M2 Pro chip options
    Ming-Chi Kuo also said that the next gen updates for AirPods Max and AirPods likely won’t be here until the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025
      The AirPods will be Apple’s most affordable version yet though, coming in at USD $99
  Larger iPad Pro may no longer be
    According to display analyst Ross Young Apple was exploring the idea of a larger 14.1 iPad Pro, but they seem to have shelved the idea for now.
    They still may have slightly larger iPad Pro models slated for 2024
    11.1 inch and 13 inch models with OLED displays in fact. Physical sizes would probably remain the same with the bezels being tightened up to make room for the extra screen.
    Young also thinks Apple may bring OLED to a 13-inch MacBook Air in 2024 and Ming-Chi Kuo mentioned this week that he believes Apple will have OLED in a MacBook in 2024 though didn’t specify which model
  Qi2 developed with Apple’s help
    The Wireless Power Consortium has announced Qi2 is coming in 2023 and that they’ve been working with Apple to develop the next gen of wireless charging based on MagSafe
    The Qi2 tech for perfectly aligning your device to the wireless charger is called, “Magnetic Power Profile” and is compatible with MagSafe
    Getting a better alignment gives you improving energy efficiency and faster charging
  Dynamic Island sinking after 15
    Mark Gurman says all iPhone 15 models will feature the Dynamic Island
      But here’s the odd thing about this move… there have been reports this week from sites like “The Elec” that Apple plans to leave the island with the release of th iPhone 16 in 2024
      They claim Apple will move to under display tech for the TrueDepth camera system but sill leave a hole punch for the camera
      Could start with just the Pro models so maybe the Island gets one more year on the non-Pos before sinking?
    Will also move to USB-C
    Have solid state haptic buttons and a titanium frame (at least on Pro models)
      This has been said and re-iterated by Ming-Chi Kuo as well
      They would use additional Taptic Engines to simulate that “clicky” feel
    Also reports that the Pro models could have a titanium frame, instead of stainless steel.
    Reports on next iPhone pricing
      A Twitter leaker with a somewhat reliable track record, “Yeux1122”, said Apple is considering a price cut on the iPhone 15 Plus (and likely iPhone 15) models.
        Reason is the extremely poor sales performance of the iPhone 14 Plus
      Then from the Chinese site Weibo… a rumor that Apple want to increase the price of the iPhone 15 Pro models to widen the gap with the ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus
    Ming-Chi Kuo says that the iPhone SE 4 has now been officially cancelled by Apple
      Thought Apple would into it’s 5G modem on that device. Now says Apple will continue to use Qualcomm for 5G chips through 2024
      Bloomberg says Apple has struggled with the 5G modem efforts and has pushed back release until at least late 2024
      Apple also wants to develop a wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, hopefully by 2025 with the ultimate goal of a single chip for cellular, wi-fi, and Bluetooth.
  Apple plans own displays
    A report from Bloomberg claims Apple is looking to develop their own display designs.
    They hope to have a microLED display for “high-end” Apple Watches by 2024 or 2025
    The idea would be to start with Apple Watch and expand to other device displays
    microLED would offer more brightness and color saturation with better viewing angles. The report describes people who seen the displays as saying the images look like they are “painted on top of the glass”
    Apple has had hopes for transitioning to microLED displays from OLED for years but fought with technical challenges and the high costs of manufacturing
    Like it does with Apple Silicon Apple would design displays and manufacturing techniques in-house but still be reliant on manufacturing partners for display production
      9to5 Mac did a great job reminding us this is a subtle change, not a massive one
      Apple already “specs” is displays and works with manufacturing partners to have them made
      So they are not getting into manufacturing their own displays
      But instead of just saying hey Samsung, design a build us a custom display meeting these features and specs… Apple will likely be giving a full detailed design spec and have it made.
      They will also provide the manufacturing processes to use.
    Interestingly… one of Apple’s main display providers, BOE, is looking to build a massive new manufacturing facility in Vietnam and Ming-Chi Kuo recently mentioned that BOE could become Apple largest iPhone display manufacturer by 2024
      The new BOE OLED facility is estimated to cost around $250 million and is expected to be completed by 2025
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Feedback, commentary, opinions
  Apple Music Sing the answer
    We’ve had some back and forth with speculation on how this new feature works
    I think Apple is leveraging their AI and machine learning tech inside Apple silicon
    Others of you think they might be leveraging the cloud and their access to source tracks. Or possibly processing separate tracks and using those in the cloud.
    All good theories, but we now have the answer from Apple, via [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/06/apple-music-is-getting-a-new-karaoke-like-feature-apple-sing/)
    Apple told them the tech uses, “an on-device machine learning algorithm that processes the music in real time” and that “the algorithm isolates the vocals from the rest of the song”
    A “Forbes” piece also noted that the processing is done “on-device”.
    The piece also says Apple used their experience in noise-cancellation for tools like FaceTime to hep develop the technology used in Sing.
    Told you about the high end plugin from iZotope
    Dan told me about an App and cloud based service called [Moises.ai](https://moises.ai)
    Let’s you upload audio tracks from your Music Library, device, or a URL and will process and separate not just the vocals, but drums, bass, other tracks and let you mix them how you want
    Can also adjust tempo and key.
    New “beta” feature shows the chord progressions too.
    I tried it, which you can do for free (limited functionality), and it’s pretty impressive.
    Do need to send the tracks to the cloud for processing and if you want advanced features it’s a USD $3.99/ mo or $39.99/yr subscription.
  Starting with a clean slate, or desktop
    A question came up in the Maccast Patreon Slack…
    A listener noted that when starting up their Mac they have a lot of apps that are already open… Slack, Chrome, Messenger, Maps, etc…
    None of these apps are part of the System Settings > General > Login Items > Open At Login…
    What’s happening is the Mac will startup with any apps you had open from before you shutdown your Mac.
    This is “default” behavior.
    But, if you look at the dialog that appears before you Shutdown your Mac you’ll see a checkbox. “Reopen windows when logging back in”.
    This is a toggle that controls this behavior. Just make sure it’s unchecked if you do NOT want your previously open apps reopening after your reboot your Mac.
    A similar behavior is within apps. You can have any previously opened windows re-open the next time you open the app (or not depending)
      This setting is in System Settings > Desktop & Dock. There is a “Close windows when quitting an application” toggle. If it’s on the when you close your apps all open windows will also be closed.
      If you one time want to reverse this setting when quitting an app hold down the Option key while quitting. This will change the “Quit” to “Quit and Keep Windows” or “Quit and Close Windows” depending on your default setting
    Another trick within the Finder or an app is to hold the Option key while click the close window icon. This will close all Windows within that app.
  Thing of the Moment: NOCO Boost Plus
    So I’ve moved to a place where it’s a bit more remote and there are icy roads and snow storms
    As part of our winter plan I prepped “Emergency Kits” for all our vehicles.
    Basically a box with water, flashlights, blankets, basic first-aid kit, non-perishable food, and these Lithium Battery jump starters
    [NOCO Boost Plus](https://no.co/products/power/boost) - USD $99.00 at Walmart
    You charge it via USB and then it’s good for up to 20 jump starts. Comes with the cables and a case and it’s really compact
    I’ve used it twice now to jump start a car and it works great.
    It also has USB out so you can use it to keep your phone charged in an emergency as well.
Closing
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