eXtensions - Wednesday 2 July 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
With 5 years of Apple silicon, I look at M-series devices I have bought as well as a rumor about a new Mac with the A-series chip. Apple who now own Pixelmator updated the Mac version this week incorporating AI. A look at Apple involvement with movies, including the just-released F1. And an end note on Smoke (AppleTV).
I am not a lover of rumors, with one of my least-favorite speculators being Ming-Chi Kuo who this week claims that Apple is expected to release a new MacBook with the A18 chip and color options, Benjamin Mayo (9to5Mac) reports. With a lower price (under the normal $999) this would be "uncharted territory" if it ever comes to fruition. Several sources repeated this rumor which I think is unlikely. Dennis Sellers (AppleWorld Today) also has doubts.
Others, such as Ben Lovejoy (9to5Mac) are writing about it as if it were a fait accompli. However, Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac) does note that code for this model (Mac 17,1) was spotted in a software release last summer. That still does not confirm its existence or release, but does increase the possibility slightly. A number of other reports look at this and see the potential here. Note that the first Apple sIlicon developer device was a Mac mini with the A12Z chip, so macOS can certainly run on A-series chips. Plus as Jason Snell (Six Colors) argues, there are some sound economical reasons for such a move.
As Evans reports, the first Apple silicon machines - much more powerful than the Intel versions they superseded - went on sale in November the same year, and as soon as it was available here, I ordered the M1 MacBook Pro which I am still using. Evans is still using the M1 Mac mini he bought at the same time. I also bought one of those, and the 11" M1 iPad Pro, which was even more of a leap.
That iPad Pro became a workhorse for me. It changed the way I operate. Instead of taking the MacBook Pro to the office every day, the lighter iPad Pro was far easier to carry. In almost every case I would use the iPad, but I do still prefer the Mac when making presentations. Two things made that M1 iPad Pro easier to work with: the Folio keyboard; and the Apple Pencil. The keyboard uses many of the key commands I use on the Mac, adding to the efficiency, while the keyboard (any keyboard) is better than the onscreen option. I cannot use FTP for managing my website. There are apps but these are not easy to use, especially when compared to Fetch, which I have used since System 7. Using a flatbed scanner is not possible with the iPad, so that is another Mac-specific task. Overall the M1 iPad Pro was a gem. But then there were rumors of an M3 version
I was ready for an upgrade to the iPad and was expecting the M3 chip, but the announcement skipped that and the M4 - before any Mac - was the processor used. I ordered the new iPad Pro as soon as I could. While waiting for ordering to open here, I looked for a new folio keyboard, but at that time I was unable to see this on the Apple Store. As a keyboard was a must-have, I ordered the magic keyboard and I am glad I did. It is more robust than the Folio, and the keystrokes are firmer. I also ordered the new Apple Pencil. The Pencil 2 is now attached to the iPad mini I have as spare.
The M4 iPad Pro came several months before the first M4 Macs were released. In November 2024, Apple announced a redesigned Mac mini with 2 versions: the Mac mini and the Mac Mini Pro with the M4 Pro chip. My M1 Mac mini was not immediately due for replacement, but the specifications of the basic M4 Mac mini made this a significant upgrade. I was able to help a colleague by donating the M1 Mac mini as her Mac mini, which was more than 10 years old could not handle the latest versions of macOS. Like all versions of the Mac mini I have had, the M4 version sits quietly on my desk at work and does everything I ask of it.
It became obvious when Apple began to use the A-series chips in the iPad that there was potential for it to develop a variation that would be suitable for the Mac, but this took a few years and was carried out in secret by Johny Srouji and his team. As I speculated when considering the iPad in its early days, if Apple were to do this, because it controlled the design, it could make all manner of special features available that would take other systems months (at best) to catch up to. A comparable example is when the iPhone switched to 64-bit applications starting in 2013. Other handset makers were caught on the wrong foot.
One of my favourite apps (on the iPad, the Mac, and the iPhone) is Photomator, which came from the same developer that created Pixelmator. The company was bought by Apple this year and there were some hopes that this would help improve some of Apple's photo software, particularly Photos. The first update to Pixelmator for the Mac, under Apple's stewardship, now includes Apple intelligence. I was unable to download this immediately, so wondered just how AI is to be incorporated. I am trying to avoid any use of such tools, particularly when I am working on output from my film cameras.
I try not to use the CleanUp tool in Photos, preferring Repair in Photomator for example, although inevitably the software does produce an enhanced fix as it affects pixels around the repair. Jeremy Grey (PetaPixel) reports that "users can now generate images using Apple's Image Playground technology or utilize Apple's Writing Tools to proofread or rewrite any text in existing designs".
The writing tools also include ChatGPT support like those in other apps on the Mac. I checked the App Store and the app itself, but even by lunchtime on Tuesday, this was still at 3.6.18 while others appear to have version 3.7. I did a search for the app in the App Store and it showed the new version. Instead of a download button I was shown Update. That was soon fixed. Now for the other updates, to iOS/iPadOS and especially to Photomator.
Todd Spangler (Variety) reports on the setting up of a BBC site for US viewers. For a moment I had high hopes, because of the high quality content of drama and series on the BBC, but the report adds that there are "no current plans to introduce a pay model for the website outside of North America."
One of my all-time favorite movies is The Devil Wears Prada which earned its lead, Meryll Streep an Oscar nomination. Benjamin Lee (Guardian) reports that The Devil Wears Prada 2 is about to go into production, with a release date of 2026. The original cast of Meryll Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are joined by Kenneth Branagh who plays Miranda Priestly's husband.
One of my favorite series on AppleTV has been Foundation. I read the book(s) years ago and can hardly remember any details, but the series caught my eye and my imagination immediately. It seems to have been eons since Series 2 ended. In the interim there were rumors about production problems, and at one time there was even doubt if the third season would arrive; but here it is, or at least a cast photo session, held in London, where Apple has had a busy week with its premiere of F1 AppleTV. This is due to arrive next week (11 July) and Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac) summarizes some early (and positive) previews.
There has been much news about the release of Apple's new movie, F1, as well as plenty of exposure. Apple has made full use of PR and social media to push the message out, although seems to have made a mis-step with pushing information to Apple Wallet, which is not accessible here. Some people made reference to the way Apple sent all iTunes users a copy of a U2 album a few years back, but I am not sure if the comparison is justified. If Apple Wallet is supposed to be secure, however, users may well be justified in being upset about this action.
The movie is a different matter. Apart from the way the movie team integrated with the F1 circus at certain races, and the unusual development of a formula car-specific camera using iPhone parts, first reports are positive, with the opening weekend seeing unusually good figures. I was unaware that it ha opened in Bangkok this week as well, until a friend sent me a message on Wednesday evening to tell me he had just seen the movie. I was surprised, not the least because he has never shown any enthusiasm for motor racing in any shape or form. He was looking on a cinema app for something to see and noticed that the user reviews for F1 were mainly 10/10. Despite his total neutrality on anything concerned with motor racing, he totally enjoyed this.
If Apple and Warner can convince someone with zero interest in the concept, this looks good. I wrote that I would wait until it appears on AppleTV, but that may not be as soon as I had hoped with the good sales. Benjamin Mayo (9to5Mac) speculates on the numbers and factors in the way this will be moved to take advantage of online sales and rentals (I could buy it online if it were to be available here) and then could be made available on AppleTV. He does not think this is likely until October, however. That online purchase looks more attractive right now although the online Apple movie store is missing hundreds of good movies one would expect to be available.
After the first weekend of F1 following the release, it appears that many more are taking notice. Looking at other movies produced for AppleTV, some of which were not immediately popular, Anthony Ha (Tech Crunch) suggests that F1 is on track to surpass Napoleon. With a budget of $200-$300 million, it will take a while to make a profit, but Apple always looks at the bigger picture. Charles Martin (AppleInsider) is another (of many) looking at the new movie - one compared it favorably with the 1966 Frankenheimer, Grand Prix - billing it as a Brad Pitt movie. One could also think of it as a Joseph Kosinski movie, or a movie executively produced by Sir Lewis Hamilton; but each of these have some importance in the realization of the movie, including (of course) Jerry Bruckheimer as producer. Martin did give an interesting snippet concerning the publicity, with "its trailer attracting some 845M viewers across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X and Instagram."
Another aspect of the financing is covered by MacDailyNews who note that there was some $40 million in advertising on the cars. Sponsorship has long been an important source of income for motor racing. In the 1960s tobacco was a major source, but other companies have also financed teams: Martini for Brabham, and later Parmalat. Today, as well as investment companies, several involved in computers and electronics, such as HP also put up cash for Formula One cars, so there would have been a noticeable absence if Bard Pitt's car had been without decals. This has not been seen since the Hesketh of the 1970s. The major sponsor for the fictitious team in the F1 movie, is Expensify, a San Francisco-based company that has developed an expense management system. There is also an Expensify card.
With the success that the F1 movie is apparently seeing, Apple is having a rethink about control of the process. With regard to its more traditional fare, they have long preferred end to end control of the component choice, leading to Apple silicon (M5 coming soon) and the recent release of the C-series chips that may see an end to its long-time reliance on Broadcom and Qualcomm for modem technology. William Gallagher (AppleInsider) writes that rather than cutting back on such involvement as appeared to be the case a few months ago, Apple is now looking at the possibility of running their own theatrical distribution division. It has been apparent the publicity for this movie has been rather more dynamic than is usual for movies.
Like other organizations that put out publicity for products or events, movie distributors seem to stick to the normal safe channels, with (some) social media sites being used, and that has only been a recent change. With the exception of the use of the Apple Wallet, the variety of items has caught the attention of consumers. It is not simply the straightforward scenes from the movie, or interviews with the stars, this movie has seen a far wider look at the people involved (with Tim Cook being unusually visible), the technology developed, the split-second timing and several other aspects of the making of this movie, so that the whole production seems more interesting.
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Endnote:
A new series which has just opened on AppleTV is Smoke and Marcus Mendes has a video of the first 5 minutes of the series. This series is based on a true story about a fire investigator (played by Taron Egerton). Some reports suggest that this series is slow to come alive, but if you are really after an eye-opening reveal, it is not the first 5 minutes of Episode 1 that you should watch, but the last 5 minutes of Episode 2.
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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