Zocdoc

This episode of the Maccast is brought to you by Zocdoc, more on them later in the show.

Apple’s next “Smart” displays

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has said in a recent newsletter that Apple is working on multiple new versions of it’s Pro Display XDR and 27-inch Studio Displays

That’s not too surprising, but an interesting tidbit is that new displays from Apple might also come with a feature to allow them to work as smart home displays when they’re not actively in use.

They would have dedicated chips and software (likely based on iOS) to let them display widgets and information in a low power mode

Apple already has a dedicated A13 chip in the 27-inch Studio Display, but it is used for the video camera and audio when the display is in active use.

A lot of what is being discussed sounds like the expansion of Apple’s new “Standby” feature to allow widgets on the iPhone when it’s off and attached to power in a horizontal mode.

What isn’t directly mentioned in the reports, but I’d have to imagine would be needed, is the addition of multi-touch for the displays (unless Apple only intends the feature on desktop displays to be informational)

Gurman’s predictions on when a new “smart” display from Apple could surface is 2024 “at the earliest”

Getting an Apple Vision Pro may not be easy

There’s more and more reports that are making it seem like getting your hands on a first generation Apple Vision Pro could be harder than getting a Wonka Golden ticket

First problem seems to be the numbers that could be available at launch

There have been multiple reports that Apple is facing manufacturing and supply chain issues related to the high end components, most specifically the micro-OLED displays.

The “Financial Times” and others have noted “drastic cuts” to production forecasts for launch

Numbers are ranging from reports that Apple expects to products 400,000 headsets in 2024, to some component suppliers reportedly saying Apple has asked them for just 130,000 to 150,000 units in the first year.

There have also been reports that Apple is already delaying the launch of a lower cost version as they explore how to get the production costs down. Apparently they don’t really want to compromise with lower cost miniLED displays which could be one reason for the delay.

Apple had reportedly tasked Luxshare, the headsets assembly partner, with getting to production of up to 18 million units in the first few years and analysts estimates from predict Apple could have a user base of 20 million for the headset in the first five years.

The other possible delay in getting a headset at first could be the buying process

According to Bloomberg Apple is going to roll out with an in Apple Store only buying process at first. They describe it as Apple’s “most logistically complex rollout ever”

Part of the reason is the custom fitting of the headband to ensure the best possible light seal along with needing to get lenses correct for anyone that has prescription glasses.

Sounds like you’ll probably need an Apple Store appointment and that Apple may start with stores in major cities like LA and New Yourk first before rolling out to other locations.

And when it comes to the future worldwide rollout later in the year, that could be staggered

The prescriptioncombinations of headbands, light seals, and lenses could also add to supply issues at specific locations

Remember you may need a custom combination of all three to get the right headset. So they might have the right Zeiss lenses and headbands for you, but then be out of stock at that location for your properly fitting light seal.

Sounds like there will also be an online process using a face scanning app and the ability to upload your prescription for lenses, but not clear if the in-store and online purchasing processes will be launched simultaneously

Apple is also reportedly still working on finalizing design for the “top strap”

Reports from the Korea Herald that the Apple Vision Pro will use a specialized DRAM supplied by SK Hynix

It’s designed to support the Apple R1 chip which processes all the data from the cameras and sensors

The DRAM is a 1-gigabit low latency DRAM chip, Low Latency Wide IO, designed with extra input and output pins and uses a special packaging method called Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging

The packaging lets the chip be attached to the R1 as an integrated unit which offers double the processing speed

Gurman also recently reported on Apple’s choice of not having VR game controller support

They reportedly explored a unique finger-worn device and considered supported 3rd party controllers like the one for the HTC vision and ultimately decided “tracking hand and eye movements without an accessory was a more elegant solution.”

We’ll have to see if they stick to their guns. Some games might be hard to adapt or pull off without a controller.

They come in colors. iPhone 15 that is.

9to5 Mac mentioned a ways back that the iPhone 15 Pro models would probably come in a “deep red” color this year. That report seems to be backed up this week by a reliable leaker on the Chinese site Weibo

MacRumors has also reported from Twitter leaker @Unknownz21 that the color will be a new “dark blue” color

They also say the iPhone and iPhone Plus models will be offered in a new green color.

There are also, from 9to5 and others, reports of Apple testing a light blue and pink option for the entry level iPhone 15s

Jeff Pu of Haitong International Tech Research is saying that the iPhone 15 models should enter mass production in August

with Apple looking to produce about 84 million units by the end of 2023

For comparison that’s about 12 percent more than the number of iPhone 14 units produced last year.

He also is reporting that he expects the Pro Max model to have a higher starting price point than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which starts at USD $1099

The reason would likely be the periscope telephoto lens (up to 6x optical zoom) which is expected to be exclusive to the Pro Max model this year.

One questionable rumor is claiming this years iPhones could contain “significantly” increased battery sizes

The rumor is allegedly from a Foxconn worker as reported on MacRumors

The claim is the iPhone 15 will feature an 18% larger battery, iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro a 14% larger battery, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max a 12% larger battery

Apple Watch with 3D printed parts

According to Ming-Chi Kuo the Apple Watch Ultra 2 could have 3D printed parts

In a report he says "Apple is actively adopting 3D printing technology." and specifically calls out Apple planning to use the technology for some of the titanium mechanical parts in the next Apple Watch Ultra

Currently the mechanical parts, like the Digital Crown, Side Button, and Action Button are CNC machined, but 3D printing could make the process faster and cheaper for Apple.

Apple has been reportedly trying to get microLED displays in a product for years. And for years it’s been thought the Apple Watch would be the first Apple product to get the tech. It likely will still be, but once again it’s likely further off

A TrendForce report now claims Apple is targeting mass microLED Apple Watch display production for May of 2025

Careful not to confuse, micro-OLED (Apple Vision Pro) and microLED terms (some sites and sources are).

I may have even mislabeled or misused the terms in the past.

OLED tech, which is in the Apple Watch, currently is expected to make it’s way to the iPad next year.

Apple could release OLED versions of the 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pros in 2024

It may also makes it’s way to laptops, but reports are now indicating that might not happen until 2027

Mac shipments grew last quarter

According to the latest numbers from IDC Apple was the only top 5 company to buck the trend and see year over year PC sales growth in the second quarter of 2023

Apple was able to increase Mac sales by 10% shipping an estimated 5.3 million Macs, vs 4.8 million in the same quarter last year.

My guess is a the release of then updated M2 models helped out a bit.

And for the fall we have expected M3 update on the horizon

Possible candidates could be a new M3 iMac, M3 13-inch MacBook Air and M3 MacBook Pro.

The M3 should have similar core counts and config in the CPU and GPUs, but will use the new 3nm manufacturing process so will still offer enhanced performance and efficiency

For the M3 iMac, it’s looking like the design would remain largely the same with a 24-inch with updated processor

There is a belief that Apple has larger versions in the works possibly with displays sizes larger than 30-inches (likely 32-inches), but it’s believed those updates are a ways off. Possibly 2024 at the earliest

Update for the security update

Apple earlier in the week pushed out a Rapid Security Response system update for macOS, iOS, and iPad OS

iOS 16.5.1 (a) and iPadOS 16.5.1 (a), macOS Ventura‌ 13.4.1 (a) was pushed out to address an issue in WebKit that allowed arbitrary code execution was being actively exploited

The problem was the update also broke some websites and apps, so Apple had to quickly pull the update

Apple later released iOS 16.5.1 (c), iPadOS 16.5.1 (c), and macOS 13.4.1 (c) which fixes the issue and addresses the original exploit.

Make sure you have run your software update and have installed the very latest “c” version of the update.

And here’s a cool example of how Apple continues to support iPods

The upcoming macOS 13.5 update is in beta testing and expected later this month.

In it it has an update to, “Fix(ed) an issue where iPod shuffle (3rd and 4th generation) cannot be synced due to an unknown error (-244).”

The iPod shuffle was discontinued six years ago in 2017.

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HomeKit Resources

On a recent show we had some discussion about HomeKit and specifically the new Matter / Thread support.

The gist was that since Apple released the updates for Matter they have not really given much additional attention or enhancements to HomeKit.

HomeKit was not even addressed or really mentioned during this years OS updates at WWDC

So the question was… is this another place where Apple pioneers a great technology only to just let it sort of languish and wither on the vine (like happened with QuickTime, or some may argue is happening with Siri)

I got some great feedback from Maccast community member Robert who is a Smart Home Technology Specialist (and Apple fan)

He says that, in his view, “HomeKit for Apple is still more of a hobby than a full product line”

He claims one of the biggest challenges with HomeKit is WiFi networks. The system needs wifi that is robust and reliable and in a lot of homes that is not always the case.

He also mentions that the situation is not helped by Apple discontinuing their AirPort routers.

So what can someone who has invested heavily in HomeKit do?

Robert recommends using an AppleTV with an Ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi for the primary HomeKit Hub

All HomePods, the original to the mini to the 2nd gen use WiFi.

I would say, in general the more of your home network you can get wired the better.

He does say that the emerging products that are leveraging Thread are showing promise as a more reliable wireless link, but it’s still early days, so we’ll just have to keep an eye on that.

If you’re tech savvy and want to dive deep and address some of the current HomeKit issues… Robert says many “advanced prosumer HomeKit users has been to use HomeKit/Siri for the interactive, voice, and manual control of smart home devices but using another automation system, such as the popular Home Assistant open source solution, for all the automation routines”

It does mean getting into YAML (Yet Another Markup Language) to do configurations and setups

But he says it’s lets you delve into automation features vastly superior to HomeKit's native commands

One of the other questions from the previous show was about resources for deeper diving into HomeKit and Robert offered some great recommendations there too:

Check out Eric Welander, https://www.youtube.com/@EricWelander, who has a YouTube channel and who also is an iOS developer

He also recommends the apps from Aaron Pearce, https://pearcemedia.app/

HomePass, which let’s you store and log all your HomeKit device codes

HomeCam, for managing your cameras

And more…

He also runs a Slack Channel, HomeKit Talk (http://homekittalk.slack.com) that you can join to discuss and get help with HomeKit

Controller for HomeKit from aces, https://controllerforhomekit.com/

This has a ton of features like Advanced Automations, but a key one is “Backup & Restore” of your HomeKit setup

How much RAM do I need?

We covered this a bit back in April, but this question has come up again in our community from Joe.

Joe is currently on a 2018 MacBook Air i5, with 16GB of RAM and checked one day at work how much RAM was being used and it was 14GB.

So naturally asks the question… “I am planning on buying a new M2 MacBook Pro (base model with 2TB of storage) within the next week. I have heard the old metrics of RAM required are out the window with the new architecture. Is it good to have extra RAM or does the new way of doing things make it not so important? I am not doing video or audio production but usually have a lot of apps open like Excel, Word, Safari, Mail and so on. My choices are 16 or 32GB. I won’t say cost is not important but I can afford it if I need 32GB.”

This is valid because with the new M-Series architecture and Apple’s new “unified memory architecture” it’s created confusion, especially with us old timers, around RAM.

The core of the issue is… it used to be the more the RAM the better, but that’s now not necessarily the case.

Really what has changed that makes the difference is a combination of things

Memory and CPU are now in the same package. This means low latency and high bandwidth access to memory

You also now have integrated SSD storage that is also extremely high throughput (so memory swapping is less of an issue)

Finally macOS has been tuned to optimize application memory usage efficiently, especially when apps are in the background.

All of these things do mean that the need, in MANY applications, for extra RAM is less of an issue.

Notice I say “less of” and not “NO issue”

For very large intense operations, say 4k or 8K video editing or very large dataset processing, more RAM is always going to be better.

I think the way to think about it now is probably if you’re going to have a single application that will be exceeding the available RAM usage then you might consider getting more.

If you’re, like Joe, just wanting to have a lot of apps open, but those apps are not RAM intensive. Then you’ll likely be fine with a stock configuration.

Another possible consideration for grabbing more RAM up front is longevity? If you keep your machine for 5 or 10 years before buying a new one you might want more RAM since you can’t add or upgrade with more later.

What are “Relocated Items”

Rick recently noticed that he has over 30 folders in Users > Shared on his Mac

What is this, why is it happening, and can I clean these items up.

There is an Apple Support Article about this, https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/a-relocated-items-folder-appears-mac-mchl8ae423a3/mac

There will also be a PDF in that folder that you can open that explains:

“"During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of your files couldn't be moved to their new locations. This folder contains these files.”

Often… at least for me… these tend to be files that are configurations or things that I have installed via the command line for my web development work.

I typically get “relocated items” when Apple changes security or other things in an OS release that changes the path where these files need to be stored on macOS.

If they are from a piece of software you installed… and you’re up to date and that app is still working chances are the app developer already addressed the change and these were just old files left behind in the old location

Typically, these files are no longer needed by your computer, and should you want to, you could delete them without consequence.

You’ll just want to review your apps related to any files in the “relocated items” folder and ensure the apps are working properly and as you expect before you delete these files.

“Thing of the moment: iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Desktops and Displays”

The “[iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Desktops and Displays](https://www.belkin.com/iphone-mount-with-magsafe-for-mac-desktops-and-displays/MMA007btGY.html)”, nice short product name.

I recently was able to upgrade my work M1 MacBook Pro to macOS Ventura and that gave me access to Continuity Camera

So now I can use my iPhone 14 Pro with my Mac as my webcam

Not only that, but it gives me the ability to use CenterStage, Studio Lighting, and Desktop View.

This works not only with FaceTime, but also with Zoom and it upped my webcam game.

But… I needed (or wanted) a way to mount my camera to my display.

That’s where this mount comes in

Attaches over the display and you can adjust the angle up or down.

It’s heavy metal construction so it stays in place and the iPhone connects to it via MagSafe so it’s secure.

It doesn’t provide power, so if you need it you have to connect a Lightning cable, but that works fine

You can mount in landscape or portrait orientation

I love it. I can easily attach and detach the phone from the mount without issue.

Important because probably my only complaint is that you do have to attach and detach your phone when you want to actually use your phone.

The price was just USD $39.99, so I’d call that moderate, but the quality is good.

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