News on the sidelines for the week of March 8 - 14

Leaked CAD drawings for the iPhone 16 Pro reveal changes in the design of the buttons, and both the iPad Air and iPad Pro could feature a camera on the side. The new iPads will be launched at the “end of March” or April, and Zuckerberg is underestimating once again. With Vision Pro glasses, the start of iPhone 15 assembly in Brazil, and other exciting news on the sidelines...

Disassembling a MacBook Air with an M3 processor reveals a serious flaw in the M2 model

iFixit shared a video showing the internals of the 13-inch MacBook Air, with an M3 chip and a storage capacity of 256 GB. He revealed that instead of one storage chip with a capacity of 256 GB, this model contains two chips, each with a capacity of 128 GB, which makes the SSD work faster. Another YouTube channel tested the speed of the M3's SSD against the older M2 and found that the M3 was significantly faster, with up to 33% faster write speeds and up to 82% faster read speeds compared to the M2's SSD. Apple still sells the slower M2 model, so if you want the fastest SSD, choose the M3. Aside from this change, the teardown revealed that the interior of the M3 and M2 is largely the same.

Report: Most subscription-based apps don't make money

A recent analysis by RevenueCat revealed some interesting findings about the financial performance of subscription-based apps. The analysis included data from more than 29 applications and 18 developers. Although some apps are very successful and generate significant revenue, the majority struggle to make money. In fact, the average monthly revenue for apps after one year is less than $50. Only a small percentage of apps managed to exceed $1000 in monthly revenue, with health and fitness apps achieving the best financial performance. Conversely, travel and productivity apps tend to have more challenges generating revenue. Despite the overall increase in subscription prices, there has been a decline in subscriber retention over the past year, indicating a changing landscape in consumer behavior.

The value of the iPhone SE 4 is expected to decrease significantly

According to SellCell, the value of the iPhone SE 4 may depreciate quickly, as previous iPhone SE models have shown a rapid decline in resale value compared to premium iPhones. For example, the third-generation iPhone SE saw a massive 42.6% drop in resale value during the first month after its launch in March 2022. In contrast, the iPhone 13 saw a drop of only 18.7% in the same period. The iPhone 14 and 15 models also retained their value better than the third generation iPhone SE. This suggests that the upcoming iPhone SE 4 may face a similar drop in value, despite the rumored upgrades. Perhaps what contributes to this is the perception of users of the iPhone SE models that they are primitive mid-range models, and that the user prefers advanced features. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have a design similar to the iPhone 14, including a larger OLED screen, Face ID, a USB-C port, and no home button. It is expected to be released in 2025.

Zuckerberg once again disparages Vision Pro glasses

Meta CEO Zuckerberg said he believes the $3500 Apple Vision Pro is not as good as the $3 Quest 500. Although some analysts and Meta VR engineers say that Vision Pro's technology is what Meta aims to achieve in 3-5 years, Zuckerberg disagrees, saying that Quest is currently the best. Vision Pro was criticized for its weight, motion blur, and lack of precise inputs. Zuckerberg also argued that Quest isn't just for gaming, highlighting social media, browsing and video player apps. He said that although Vision Pro has higher resolution, it comes at the cost of weight and motion blur, which he believes are not necessary. Additionally, the Quest 3 was praised for its technical capabilities, affordability, comfort, controllers, and rich content library compared to Vision Pro's higher resolution and heavier weight.

New iPads will be launched at the end of March or April

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing to release new iPad Pro and iPad Air models at the end of March or April. These new models are expected to feature various upgrades, including the introduction of a larger 12.9-inch iPad Air. Gorman also mentioned that Apple is preparing a special version of the iPadOS 17.4 update for these new iPads. Upcoming announcements may include two new iPad Pro models with the M3 chip, OLED displays, redesigned cameras, and possibly MagSafe charging, as well as two new iPad Air models with the M2 chip. In addition, new accessories such as the Magic Keyboard and an advanced Apple Pencil are expected to accompany the release. Gorman suggests that instead of a dedicated Apple event, these products might be introduced through a press release on Apple's newsroom website, similar to recent MacBook Air launches.

Both the iPad Air and iPad Pro could feature a camera on the side

Rumors indicate that the redesigned OLED display iPad Air and iPad Pro models may feature a front-facing camera placed on the side of the device in landscape orientation. Currently, iPads have the front camera at the top, making it off-center during landscape use. Code in the latest iOS notes this change, suggesting that the next iPad Pro could adopt a similar design. Leaks indicate that the new iPad Air models, in sizes 10.9 and 12.9 inches, will also contain this feature. It is unclear how Apple will achieve this transformation, especially since the current Apple Pencil connects to the same side as the camera. But, with rumors of a new Apple Pencil alongside updated iPads, Apple may have a solution. The new iPad Air and iPad Pro models with OLED screen are expected to be launched soon, perhaps this month.

CAD drawings of the iPhone 16 Pro reveal changes in the design of the buttons

The new CAD drawings shared by 91Mobiles show the alleged design of the iPhone 16 Pro, which resembles the iPhone 15 Pro with minor changes to the buttons. The action button is slightly longer and wider, while a new “Capture” button replaces the mmWave antenna on the left side, consistent with the device. The main rumored change for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max is the larger screens, with some other design tweaks expected after the major redesign of the iPhone 15 Pro last year.

Miscellaneous news

◉ Apple has begun assembling the iPhone 15 in Brazil to avoid high import taxes and to make iPhones cheaper for Brazilians. Currently, the price has not been reduced and the 128GB model still sells for R$7300 (about $1460), which is almost double the price in the US. The standard 15-inch iPhone 6.1 is only assembled in Brazil. You can check if your iPhone 15 was assembled in Brazil by looking at the model number: “BR/A” means it is made in Brazil.

◉ Apple has stopped signing the iOS 17.3.1 update, which means it is not possible to downgrade or downgrade to this version of iOS.

◉ Apple is testing a new tool that uses artificial intelligence to automatically place ads within the App Store. This is similar to what other companies like Google and Meta do. Advertisers can set their budget and target audience, and the AI ​​will choose the best places to show ads, such as search results or app suggestion areas. This could be a sign that Apple plans to expand advertising to other apps and services it offers, such as Apple News or Apple TV Plus.

◉ A new tool called Speedometer 3.0 has been released to measure how well web browsers perform. It is better than previous versions because it was created in cooperation between all major browser companies. This will help improve web browsing for everyone. Speedometer 3.0 takes into account more modern websites and can measure a wider range of tasks performed by browsers. It is also easy to use. You can try Speedometer 3.0 on a website called BrowserBench.org.

◉ Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Apple's canceled car project would have had an extremely powerful computer and a separate safety-focused operating system. Gurman also mentioned that Apple may be working on a new MacBook Pro with an M4 chip, which could be released by the end of 2024. Apple releases new M chips every year and a half, and the M4 chip is expected to be faster and more efficient than the M3 chip.

◉ Apple has begun granting early access to a special version of the iOS 18 update (called VendorUI) to relevant factories and companies. This release is used for quality testing before the official release and contains glimpses of new features and settings. The distribution of VendorUI means that more leaks about iOS 18 may appear soon because more people have access to it now. Even without this Early Access release, some information about iOS 18, such as its focus on AI and new accessibility features, is already out there.

◉ The AirPods Pro may get a “hearing aid mode” or a hearing aid mode in the iOS 18 update. This will not be a replacement for real hearing aids, but it may help people with mild hearing loss hear better. It is not yet clear whether Apple will need a special license to announce this feature.

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