Nobody is talking about the lack of improvements to the iPhone 18 Pro Camera Control button, probably because nobody is really using this. I’m a little bit disappointed.

Someone reacted to my argument about the iPhone Duo potential naming:

@numericcitizen @daringfireball I had a Duo 230 and loved it. The thing that made it Due was not that it was two complementary pieces of hardware. It was that it served two functions, laptop and desktop computer. This iPhone looks like it is going to serve two functions, phone and tablet. We'll know more when we see it introduced, but I think those two functions align with the Duo name.

I think he’s right, and my argument was flawed.

Apple Intelligence+

While it is true that Eddy Cue and John Ternus intend to increase revenue from services and the App Store, a new potential source of income lies in the capabilities of Apple Intelligence, especially those of Siri AI. We’re not there yet because they are just emerging from a long slump and don’t necessarily enjoy good press. But let’s let Apple regain momentum with Apple Intelligence: developers will adopt advanced features, and then, when the time comes, Apple will surely find a way to add a charge somewhere between the developer, the users, and Apple. Apple Intelligence+ will naturally emerge on its own.

Naming the foldable iPhone

I bet the foldable iPhone won’t be called the “iPhone Duo”. Why? As I shared with Gruber, the Duo reminds me of the Macintosh PowerBook Duo system from the early nineties, where you could ‘insert’ the PowerBook into a docking station to form a ‘desktop’ setup. The Duo and the docking station were two separate subsystems that could work together to form something bigger, more useful and convenient. The iPhone Duo doesn’t convey this at all.

I bet it will be called the “iPhone Ultra” because it will be premium hardware; the ultimate tech Apple can bring to the foldable phone space.

Really looking forward to Sept 9th next iPhone launch

I enjoy the weekend before the fall iPhone launch because of the unpredictability of last-minute leaks. It’s especially thrilling when it’s the year you’re planning to upgrade to a new iPhone. Upgrading from the 15 Pro Max to the 18 Pro Max will certainly feel like quite a significant upgrade. Also, I’m really looking forward to John Ternus’s first keynote. Will there be a one more thing? Would it be too easy, too early, during his first keynote to present a one more thing?

The one problem: I won’t be able to watch the live feed, and I might have a family thing at night that day… 🫤

Apple at another inflection point?

My interest in Apple’s new leadership, John Ternus in particular, is heating back up. I’m utterly excited to see how Apple under Ternus will be remodelled and transformed. Today’s Bloomberg1 article leaves no doubt that many challenges await Apple. That said, I don’t expect much change, starting with the impending iPhone launch, the last under Cook as CEO while the iPhone 18 line was under development. We have to look further.

  1. I’m sorry, I won’t link to a Bloomberg paywalled article, but it’s free to read, under a murky article sharing scam. ↩︎