eXtensions - Tuesday 8 October 2024
By Graham K. Rogers
Apple released bug-fix updates for its operating systems, but the update that brings AI is at the end of the month. New Macs are expected soon, with the M4 available in some Macs. More M4 versions may be coming next year. There is some interesting TV with the Clooney-Pitt Wolfs now available, plus Slow Horses, Bad Monkey and La Maison, while Netflix has season 3 of Heartstopper. Application developers should learn when to leave well alone.
As anticipated, there were updates late last week (Friday morning here) for iOS 18.0.1, iPadOS 18.0.1, macOS 15.0.1, tvOS 18.0.1 and watchOS 11.0.1 (for the Watch, update iOS first). The iPad update fixes the problem for some owners of the iPad Pro when the device failed to start after the 18.0 installation (mercifully not for me). However, when my iPad Pro restarted after the 18.0.1 update I was shown a panel that reported an unknown part. As this iPad Pro had been ordered directly from Apple and no repairs or replacements have been done since April, I had my doubts. I restarted the iPad and there was no further report of this anomaly. I used Feedback to report this to Apple.
Apple has announced that its Q4 2024 financial report will be available on 31 October, which Joe Rossignol (MacRumors) tells us, is Halloween. It is noted that this "will likely be Maestri's final earnings call at Apple, as he will be succeeded by Kevan Parekh" in the new year. It is time to cue the negative rumors about Apple to ensure the share price is lower. Before I had time to finish this off and upload to the website, MacDaily News reports on analyst Edison Lee who is concerned about iPhone 16 sales.
MDN reports that Apple stock declined following this. Patently Apple adds, "a Jefferies analyst said investors have overly optimistic expectations for the company's latest iPhones. . ." and that the high expectations for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 are unrealistic. However, Lee does recognize the long-term potential in AI, with Apple perhaps the only hardware-software developer that can integrate this fully, noting that this is a long-term prospect.
With the iPhone 16 now on sale there have already been a number of good reviews, but I was pleased to see a camera-centered report from Sebastiaan de With, whom I have mentioned before in connection with his work on the Halide camera app and his clear writing on RAW images. However, it is time to turn attention to what else Apple could be pulling out of its hat in the next week or two. There is a window that Apple needs to work in to generate the most income. The cut-off point is the American Thanksgiving holiday: 28 November this year. The day after is Black Friday and that is when the sales begin. There are other complications this year: the Presidential Election (5 November - Guy Fawkes Day in the UK); and a recent fire at a Tata plant in India, which may mean some production shifting back to China. A dock strike on the US East Coast, which some suggested might interfere with Apple's supply chain was resolved fairly quickly.
Most commentators had been predicting October as the most likely time for Apple to announce new products, which sounds sensible. That would give a good margin for early orders to be serviced and supplies delivered to stores. There is time before the Thanksgiving cut off if there is an early October announcement. As there are expected to be new Macs and iPads, this could be better done with two events, depending on just what is announced. Tim Hardwick (MacRumors), repeating Gurman, writes that the next version of iOS, with the first of the AI components, will be available on 28 October this year. As yet there is no mention of macOS, but, also citing Bloomberg as source, Charles Martin (AppleInsider) reports that there will be new Macs on 1 November so we may anticipate that a new version of Sequoia will be made available at about the same time.
When the M4 iPad Pro was announced in April, it was clear that the next Macs would probably also have M4 chips. Most likely to see updates are the notebooks: MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (13"/14") we could except the basic M4 chip; and with the larger MacBook Pro (15"/16") the M4 and M4 (Plus/Pro) might appear. The Mac mini is also expected to be updated with the M4 chip and a revised ports layout.
The 24-inch iMac has not been updated since November 2023 with its M3 chip. The 27-inch iMac (Intel) ceased to be produced in March 2022 and Apple has been reported as saying the 27-inch model would not reappear. That would not, of course, preclude a 26-inch iMac with M4 or M4 (Plus/Pro/Max) chip. Apple would do good to have a Pro-level iMac again. The Mac Studio could also see an update soon. It was last updated in June 2023 and currently has the M2 Max or M2 Ultra. The M4 Max or Ultra (if they exist) would be suitable here. However, a late report from Juli Clover (MacRumors) suggests that the Mac Studio and Mac Pro will not be available until next year as the "M4 Ultra chips . . . have yet to be announced"
The iPad Pro was updated in April, making it the first device with the M4 chip. The iPad Air with its M2 chip was updated at the same time, but the iPad mini has not seen an update since September 2021 (A15 bionic). With these now being offered at reduced prices in some markets, this is a good indication that this may also be updated in the near future. Whether it comes with an A-series chip (like the iPhones) or M-series, is up for speculation, although I doubt the M4 would be used. But who knows?
The Clooney-Pitt movie, Wolfs, that was released on AppleTV recently (and not in movie houses) has become the most watched movie on Apple TV+ ever (William Gallagher, Apple Insider). I watched it last week after reading a lazy review on the Guardian which dismissed the pair with the giveaway line, "The joke is that, for all their personal differences, they are basically the same man." While watching I found that this was not a line made up by the reviewer, but actually delivered by one of the main characters, so integral to the movie. A better review that I read later, by Xan Brooks in the Guardian, actually identifies this piece of dialogue as delivered by the Kid: played by Austin Abrams - a high octane surprise. He starts out dead (bear with me) and during his recovery runs barefoot through Manhattan, then gives a powerful speech in a short-time hotel, and dodges death again in a shootout. The movie may start slowly, but builds to its Butch Cassidy-Sundance Kid ending in a diner, bumping into a few seedy characters on the way. There is much to like here.
Apple has apparently renewed Ted Lasso for a 4th season after all the loose ends were seemingly tied up in Season 3 (Joe Rossignol, MacRumors). There are several comments online about this and whether it will be worth it. Almost one that certainly is worth it is Sugar, which has reportedly been renewed for Season 2. The end of Season 1 left several questions unanswered so this is welcome news (MacDaily News). The 3rd season of Heartstopper has just appeared on Netflix and this has lost some of the charm of the first two seasons. It is noticeable that some of these supposedly 16-year old students are out of their teens, with height and weight gains. The writing is still fairly strong, but the season has less of the magic now. However, while the first two seasons examined the problems teenagers have with sexuality and relationships in general, this now takes a serious look at eating disorders. The target audience is young people and this is another examination of one of those problems that are so difficult for young people to discuss even with their peers, let alone parents.
Still going strong on Apple TV are Slow Horses (last episode this week) and Bad Monkey. Slow Horses has much more material to draw on and Season 5 has been given the green light. I would hope also for a second season of Bad Monkey. Another surprise from Apple TV is La Maison: far more than a supercharged Emily in Paris over on Netflix, although that does have certain charms. La Maison is a French language series. Bravo for that, but it does warn viewers (perhaps not used to subtitles) about this. This story of a (fictional) great fashion house has much energy and is enjoyable, not the least because of the dysfunctional families involved. Harking back to The Devil Wears Prada, Fashion is the only thing that is real.
A major character in La Maison is played by Lambert Wilson who gives a superb and energetic performance. I remember him from his over-the-top role as the Merovingian in Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. His reprise of the character in Matrix Resurrections, was strong - manic even - but disappointing mainly due to the writing. I also saw Wilson recently in a movie based in London and Paris, Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (2022): a cleaning lady is determined to buy a dress from Dior. Lambert Wilson plays a widowed count who meets Mrs Harris at the fashion house and provides some support: a strong but understated role.
Some users of the M1 iMac have been reporting problems with the screens. They are showing horizontal lines and these will not disappear with a simple reboot. Jodi Morales (Tom's Hardware) writes that despite several pages of negative comments from users, "Apple has yet to recognize it as a manufacturing defect or flaw". The article suggests that the connector is burning out in some cases. This is not the first time. Several years ago I had an Apple notebook with a Motorola processor that suffered a failure of the plastic circuit ribbon that joined the body with the screen. That was easily replaced in one of the repair shops in the hidden parts of Phantip Plaza, when you could do such things.
More recently (June 2019) my MacBook Pro was one that suffered from the "footlights effect". That was also due to a weak connector and was recognized as a manufacturing fault by Apple. I took it in for a replacement and the whole screen was changed plus the battery for a fault I had not known about. The way screens are connected to the main parts of some computers may be an Achilles Heel. The article from Tom's Hardware also mentions that a M3 iMac user has a similar problem, so this may need some examination by Apple to see if the specific part(s) causing the screen problem is the same as on the M1 iMacs.
There were several complaints about Apple's reworking of Photos when iOS 18 was released. Apple is not alone in being unable to resist tampering with some parts of the software, but this is sometimes not the parts that need fixing. Rather than rework the content display sections, the editing tools in Photos, especially on iOS, need a rethink. This week, eBay updated its app for the iPad and they have reworked the search display. Instead of a single screen of items searched, there is a main screen and a side panel with smaller images and text. I could search through the old design fairly easily until I spotted an item that interested me, but now scrolling down the side panel takes ages, the items are not easy to see, and if there are too many, I just get bored. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Another problem I found on the iPad Pro was that, to report a fault, the user is told "You can shake your phone [sic] right when you experience a problem in our app, or want to send us feedback about your experience on eBay." It doesn't work. I thought it was because I was on the iPad Pro, but I could not make it work on the iPhone either.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader.
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