Taking a look back at another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes iPhone 14 price shock, iPhone 14 Pro supply issues, latest MacBook Air problems, Mac Pro ignoring M1, Apple updates everyone’s software, keyboard class-action suit progress, and a USB-C mode for your AirPods.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
Get Ready For A Pricey iPhone 14
The Apple faithful were already bracing themselves for a price hike on the iPhone 14 family and this week saw more details on the impact of the economy on the production of the iPhone:
“We believe a $100 price increase is coming for the iPhone 14,” explained Ives. “Prices have been increasing across the whole supply chain, and Cupertino needs to pass these costs to the consumer on this release.”
(The Sun via Forbes)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Apple launches the iPhone 13 in the … [+]
iPhone 14 Facing Supply Issues
One of the other issues raised by the strained supply chain is the availability of the iPhone 14. The projected stock has been moving up and down for some time, with more analysts now coming down on reduced availability at launch. If you’re looking for a new iOS smartphone, you’ll have to be quick!
“At that time, Kuo added that “Apple doesn’t usually markedly change shipment forecasts for new iPhones (double-digit increase/decrease) before launching new models and confirming the actual market demand/feedback.” Now, Kuo follows the same line by saying there’s a supply issue but it will have “a limited impact on the coming mass production of the iPhone 14 because other suppliers can fill the supply gap.””
(9to5Mac).
Performance Issues With The MacBook Air
You might recall that the M2-powered MacBook Pro has been experiencing throttling and overheating issues when asked to work on intensive tasks compared to the M1 MacBook Pro. With the MacBook Air also running the M2 would it also be hampered with the same issue?
“Unfortunately, the M2 MacBook Air suffers from the same problem – perhaps not surprising given it is running the same M2 chipset. What is surprising is that Apple has put itself in the situation where the new machine – a machine that may be focused on the consumer but is advertised as having the power to do what you need it to do – has less potential for hard work than its predecessor.”
(Forbes).
An Extreme Option For The Mac Pro
At the other end of the portfolio, the Mac Pro remains the only Mac system not yet switched over from Intel to the ARM-based Apple Silicon. With the M2 chips now rolling out, will Apple skip an M1 Mac Pro and jump straight to the M2? Mark Gurman is reporting that it’s not just M2, but the M2 Extreme:
“According to Gurman, users will reportedly be able to configure the new Mac Pro with M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme chip options. At present, the M1 Ultra is Apple’s most powerful custom silicon chip available, featuring a 20-core CPU and up to a 64-core GPU, along with a 32-core Neural Engine. Sitting above the Ultra in the chip lineup, the M2 Extreme would presumably surpass these specs to become the top-tier Apple silicon chip for maximum performance.”
(Power Up via MacRumors).
Software Updates For All
Apple has released updates across the full range of its current hardware, specifically macOS Monterey 12.5, iOS 15.6, tvOS 15.6, HomePod 15.6 and WatchOS 8.7. There are no major additions, with a raft of software updates and security issues addressed, with the iPad fixes looking to be the most important:
iOS 15.6 includes enhancements, bug fixes and security updates; TV app adds the option to restart a live sports game already in-progress and pause, rewind, or fast-forward; Fixes an issue where Settings may continue to display that device storage is full even if it is available; Fixes an issue that may cause braille devices to slow down or stop responding when navigating text in Mail; Fixes an issue in Safari where a tab may revert back to a previous page.
Keyboard Settlement
The long-running issues over Apple’s Butterfly Keyboard, its flaws, and the approach Apple took to repairs has resulted in a number of lawsuits. Reuters reports that one is coming to a close”
“Apple Inc (AAPL.O) agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by customers who claimed it knew and concealed that the “butterfly” keyboards on its MacBook laptop computers were prone to failure. The proposed preliminary settlement was filed late Monday night in the federal court in San Jose, California, and requires a judge’s approval.
“Apple denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. It did not immediately respond [to Reuters] to requests for comment.”
(Reuters).
And Finally…
Would you like to charge your AirPods using USB-C direct, without any weird lightning connector changers? Apple model Ken Pillonel is here once more to help. After his physical tweak to the iPhone, they have all the guides you need to convert your own AirPods… although I suspect Apple will consider your warranty voided if you give this a go:
“While Pillonel notes that you can replace the AirPods’ battery from here, he takes things a step further by ripping out the proprietary Lightning connector for USB-C. Following days of research, Pillonel manages to create a custom PCB board that fits inside the AirPods’ shell. The end result is a pair of AirPods you can charge with any old USB-C cable lying around your house… Just like his open-source USB-C iPhone project, Pillonel has also made the schematics for both the AirPods case and the USB-C PCB available to download from GitHub.”
(The Verge).
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
