I’m tempted to start a sticker collection and put them on my M2 MacBook Air. I’ve never done such a thing because I always keep in mind that I’ll resell my Mac, and my sticker taste might not match the buyer’s taste. I’ll probably start with the M-Series stickers from Basic Apple Guy.
Apparently, if rumors are any indication, Apple’s next AI provider for integration into Apple Intelligence is Google’s Gemini, or a derivative of it. It would go along with Apple’s own LLM models running on Private Cloud Compute.
I wonder if Google’s contribution is free for Apple or part of a larger deal, tied to the Google search agreement, where Google is the default search engine on the iPhone.
Imagine that1, Apple probably said: “You know what, I’ll reduce your cost for this search deal, but you accept to build a specific version of Gemini LLM for use on Private Cloud Compute and develop a conduit for Gemini on-device that integrates with Apple Intelligence.”
Matters are probably more complex than that. ↩︎
Apple’s strong quarter in services revenue shows that people are willing to pay for additional storage, among other things. I don’t think Apple will feel the need to increase the free storage tier beyond 5 GB anytime soon.
I tend to be super loyal. I’ve been an Apple fan forever (read “The Roots of my Passion for Apple”), even though there are things that put me off (too many to list here). The same is slowly happening with OpenAI. I’ve tested alternative services but always come back to OpenAI’s offerings. They’re far from perfect—just like Apple—both from a corporate point of view and in terms of products and services. And yet, I’m increasingly hooked on ChatGPT, Atlas, and their LLM “personality.” The conversation memory in ChatGPT and the browser memories are helping build this relationship on the knowledge OpenAI is slowly building on me. It’s scary.
If Apple were to introduce a new MacBook (not in the Air or Pro line), smaller than the 13-inch Air, in the 12-inch range, with an iPhone-class processor, I would probably buy one. Why? Because for me, having an ultra-portable yet powerful macOS-based machine for travelling would be a killer.
John Gruber is asking:
But even if Apple is correct about that, at some point, after being handed loss after loss in rulings from courts and regulatory bodies around the globe, shouldn’t they change their strategy and start trying to offer their own concessions, rather than wait for bureaucrat-designed concessions to be forced upon them?
I’m glad he is asking this question. If Gruber is fed up with this attitude, I guess it’s time to think differently, Apple.
It appears that Apple will go ahead with paid ads in Maps sometime next year. I’m not happy about this for a few reasons. One is that Apple is becoming… less and less… Apple. Two, I hate ads. I despise the implications behind a platform that supports ads (user tracking, data collection, etc.). I hate the business model behind that, too. I hope that it’s a false rumors, but if recent years are any indication, it’s going to be a thing.
Why would an Android developer would use Apple’s Swift language now that it’s available for Android? Single code base?
In “Creative neglect: What about the apps in Apple?” Joe Rosensteel from SixColors discusses the lack of attention and updates for Apple’s creative apps. Of particular interest to me: Photomator. It didn’t receive meaningful updates since its acquisition. Don’t get me started with the Apple Intelligence support, it’s a gimmick. At the same time, I’m afraid of the Liquid Glass treatment Photomator will eventually get. It’s a strange vibe, not to be excited about any impending updates.
**OpenAI acquired Software Applications Inc **— a startup building an AI-powered user interface for Mac desktops. I’m not to aware of the product that company was building, but I wonder how portable it was. OpenAI is a multi-platform company, so focusing on a Mac-only app is strange. As a Mac user, I’m very curious to what will happen with this.