News on the margin week 8 - November 14

Mass production of the new iPhone SE components will begin in December, iOS 18.2 will be released on Monday, December 9, the iPhone 18 Pro will get a major camera update with a variable aperture, the iPhone 17 Air may not be much thinner than the iPhone 6, a lawsuit over a crackling issue with AirPods Pro headphones, and other exciting news on the sidelines…

Apple Won't Make a Smart Ring Because It's 'Hard to Do'

Oura CEO Tom Hill doesn’t think Apple will enter the smart ring market, suggesting that an Apple smart ring could hurt Apple Watch sales. He explained in an interview with CNBC that Apple probably “doesn’t believe in the value of combining a ring and a watch,” adding that this category of product is very difficult to manufacture.

Apple has reportedly considered the idea of ​​a smart ring in the past, but has no plans to launch it at this time. Reports say it fears it could hurt Apple Watch sales, as the smart ring would share many of the watch’s features. Although Apple’s industrial design team has suggested a smart ring as a low-cost alternative to the Apple Watch, executives have shown little interest in the idea.

Sued over crackling AirPods Pro issue 

Three Apple customers this month filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, alleging violations of California consumer protection laws and misleading advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro earbuds that have been plagued by persistent crackling and distortion issues. The issue began just months after the product’s launch in October 2019, with users complaining of crackling, rattling and distortion noises when the earbuds were moved.

Despite Apple’s attempts to fix the issue with updates and a repair program in October 2020, many customers found that their replacement earbuds were experiencing the same problem. The lawsuit accuses Apple of misleadingly advertising features like “superior sound quality” and “clear, crisp sound” despite knowing about the crackling and distortion issue, and the court will have to decide whether the arguments made are valid and whether the case deserves to be classified as a class action.

AI companies are said to be struggling to improve their latest models.

Leading AI companies including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic are facing increasing challenges in developing their new models, with reports of “diminishing returns” on their costly efforts. OpenAI’s new Orion model has failed to meet performance expectations, especially in programming tasks, Google is facing similar hurdles with its upcoming Gemini program, and Anthropic has delayed the launch of its Claude 3.5 Opus model.

Industry experts attribute these challenges to the difficulty of finding new and untapped sources of high-quality human-generated training data, as well as the enormous costs associated with developing and running new models. Companies have begun to explore alternative approaches, such as post-training and developing AI tools that can perform specific tasks.

In this context, Apple’s more conservative approach to developing specific AI features may prove to be valid. The company is focused on integrating AI capabilities into its existing products and services, while keeping privacy a priority, and plans to expand Apple’s AI features next month with the release of iOS 18.2 and through additional updates throughout 2025.

Apple launches the gold Link Bracelet for its smartwatch at a price of $350

Apple has launched a new Link Bracelet in gold for $349, which was first introduced when the new Apple Watch Series 10 was introduced in September. Made from 316L stainless steel with a custom butterfly closure, the band is identical to the natural and space gray versions, but is designed to match the Apple Watch Series 10 titanium in the same gold color.

The gold band is available in 42mm and 46mm sizes to fit all Apple Watch models, with the 46mm version fitting 44mm to 49mm models and the 42mm version fitting 38mm to 42mm models. Apple also sells a set with additional bands for larger wrists. If ordered online today, the gold band should arrive between December 20 and 30.

Apple is preparing to launch an artificial intelligence-powered home “control center” in March 2025

Apple plans to launch an AI-powered smart home display in March 2025. The device will be about six inches in size, feature a square design with thick bezels around the edges, have a front-facing camera for FaceTime calls, built-in speakers for music playback, and a rechargeable battery. The device will be available in silver and black, with a touch interface and an operating system that combines the iPhone’s StandBy mode with watchOS.

The device will feature a customizable home screen with widgets to display information like the weather, upcoming appointments, photos, and important home controls. It will also have built-in sensors to determine how close someone is to it and adjust features accordingly. For example, it might display the temperature when no one is around, but it could switch to an interface to adjust the thermostat when someone is near.

Apple plans to position the device as a “control center” to bolster its position in the smart home market. The device will require an iPhone to set up and will support Apple’s core apps like Safari, Apple News, Apple Music, Notes, Calendar, and Photos, but there won’t be a dedicated App Store. Apple is reportedly planning a robotic version of the device in the future that can move the screen.

iFixit reveals the components of the new Mac mini with the M4 processor

Repair site iFixit has taken apart the new Mac mini with the M4 processor, revealing that the device features a compact internal design with minimal space between components, shrinking its size to 5 x 5 inches compared to 7.5 x 7.5 inches in the previous version. The device uses a power supply unit that extends across the top of the chassis, a design Apple previously used in the HomePod, and it has a fan in the middle that works with a redesigned thermal management system.

iFixit gave the device a 7 out of 10 for repairability, thanks to the ease of removing components, the SSD being replaceable, and Apple providing detailed repair guides. The site confirmed that storage can be upgraded after purchase, as it was able to swap out a 512GB SSD for a 256GB one, but noted that the M4 and M4 Pro models use different NAND modules that are not physically interchangeable. The site expects users to be able to benefit from the device for at least ten years.

EU presses Apple to remove geo-blocking restrictions

The European Union has served notice on Apple for possible breaches of anti-geo-blocking laws on its media services, giving the company one month to respond. The notice follows an investigation led by national consumer protection authorities in Belgium, Germany and Ireland, coordinated by the European Commission, which found that Apple’s practices illegally restrict European consumers’ access to digital content based on their country of residence.

According to the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC), users of Apple’s media services, such as the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV+, face different interfaces and content depending on their country of registration. Users are also unable to download apps available in other EU countries, and are only allowed to use credit or debit cards issued in the country where their Apple account was created.

The European Commission has given Apple one month to formally respond to the findings and propose possible commitments to align its practices with EU regulations. If Apple does not adequately address the concerns raised by the CPC, the company could face enforcement action. The latest move against Apple is part of a broader effort to ensure tech giants operating within the EU comply with the bloc’s regulatory framework.

Apple Offers AirTag Location Sharing with Airlines to Track Lost Luggage

Apple has announced a new feature in iOS 18.2 for the Find My app that will allow users to temporarily share the location of their AirTag with a trusted person, and eventually with airlines. The feature will be rolled out to more than 15 airlines in the coming months, including Delta, United, Air Canada, British Airways, and others. United aims to have the feature on all its flights by early 2025, and each airline will integrate the feature into its customer support services to make it easier to find lost or delayed AirTag-equipped bags.

Users on iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 can create a “Share Item Location” link in the Find My app, so anyone they share the link with can see the item’s location on a map. To enhance privacy, Apple has partnered with airlines to ensure the security of these links, as access to the link will be restricted to a limited group of people, and the recipient’s identity must be verified via their Apple ID or partner email. Shared item location expires after 7 days or when the owner retrieves the item.

 iPhone 17 Air may not be much thinner than iPhone 6

Apple is facing technical challenges in developing the new iPhone 17 Air, according to a report from Korea by Naver account “yeux1122.” The main problem is related to difficulties in manufacturing a thinner battery, which prompted the company to return to the current battery technology due to the high cost of the new technology.

As a result of these challenges, the iPhone 17 Air’s battery is expected to be about 6mm thick, meaning the device itself will be thicker than that. Compared to the iPhone 6, which is Apple’s thinnest phone at 6.9mm, the new model expected to launch in the fall of 2025 won’t be much thinner than its predecessor released in 2014.

iPhone 18 Pro will get a major camera update with a variable aperture

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to get a significant upgrade to the rear main camera by adding a variable aperture lens for the first time. This update will come after Apple completes the process of converting the rear camera array to 48MP sensors in the iPhone 17 Pro models.

The variable aperture lens will be supplied by Sunny Optical and Largan Precision, and will allow the main camera to control the amount of light entering the lens, allowing it to adapt to different lighting conditions and provide better control over depth of field. The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in 2026.

Miscellaneous news

◉ Apple is expected to release iOS 18.2 on Monday, December 9, according to a notification from British telecoms company EE to its customers. The upcoming update will include additional Apple intelligence features for the iPhone 15 Pro and all iPhone 16 models, including Genmoji, Image Playground, and ChatGPT integration with Siri. The update will also add a new Defaults section in the Settings app and an item location sharing feature in the Find My app for all compatible iPhones. This potential date was indirectly revealed by EE’s announcement that it will discontinue the “Wi-Fi Calling on other supported iCloud connected devices” feature on the same date.

◉ Apple has released the second beta of visionOS 2.2 to developers, which adds a new feature to the Mac Virtual Display option that allows it to be set to Wide and Ultrawide modes. The Ultrawide setting is equivalent to two 4K displays side by side, which is a significant improvement over the current Mac Virtual Display in visionOS 2.1. The update can be installed through the Software Update section of the Settings app on the Vision Pro headset, as this option allows users to benefit from a larger display area when using the Vision Pro headset as a display for Mac devices.

◉ Apple releases second public beta of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates with new Apple Intelligence features.

◉ Reports from Korea indicate that LG Innotek, the supplier of camera modules for the upcoming iPhone SE 4, will begin mass production of components in December. According to the business newspaper Ajunews, the company will supply the front camera module for the budget fourth-generation device, and is now conducting final tests. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to launch in March or April 2025 with a design similar to the basic iPhone 14, and will include a 6.1-inch OLED screen, Face ID, a newer A-series processor, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of RAM to support Apple's intelligence features, and the first 5G modem designed by Apple itself, and will be priced under $500.

◉ Apple has released the second beta of watchOS 11.2 to developers, but some users have had trouble installing it, especially on the Watch 9 and Ultra 2, where they see a message “Software update failed.” While users of other models have not experienced the same problem. Apple may have to re-release the beta to fix this issue. On the other hand, the third beta versions of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2, and the second beta versions of tvOS 18.2 and HomePod 18.2 software have been released, which are expected to be released in December. The issue has been resolved, according to Nicolas Alvarez.

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