We used to be excited about new iOS releases, weren’t we? Even for small bug fixes releases like iOS 16.5 today, we would be drooling about any small improvements or additions to what constitutes the logic that brings the iPhone experience to life! The excitement over the slow progress bar on a black screen he behind us.

Apple's Headset — Alarming or Not?

A recent report on Apple’s upcoming headset:

Key figures including software chief Craig Federighi have also kept their distance from the headset during its development and have seemed wary of it. Apple’s senior vice president for hardware technologies, Johny Srouji, is believed to privately be a skeptic of the device, comparing it to a science project. He has warned that designing the high-performance chips that the headset requires could distract from new iPhone chips that drive more revenue. Source: Report: Apple Executives Cautious of Mixed-Reality Headset Amid Compromises - MacRumors

Everything will be fine, right? If Mr. Srouji is skeptical because the current product is too far from the original vision, I wouldn’t call this alarming. But overall, the signals coming out of these reports aren’t encouraging either. Is Apple headed in a bad direction?

On Android Switchers Coming in Drove to the iPhone

Report reveals Android users switching to iPhone at 5-year high

15% of new iPhone owners report having an Android device as their last smartphone. That’s a 4% increase from what CIRP saw last year, and 5% higher than the data seen in 2020 and 2021.

The last time new Android switchers made up 15% of new iPhone buyers – according to CIRP – was back in 2018. The highest rate of switchers in the last nine years was 21% back in 2016.

The market is full of previously-owned iPhones for sale. You can find used iPhones from 2 to 3 years ago at reasonable prices these days. People who were using an Android phone probably can now afford to buy an iPhone much cheaper than a brand-new one. Moreover, according to this chart, iPhones from the last few years can still run the latest releases of iOS with most of the features available. It’s very tempting for switchers. This is how I would explain this phenomenon. The study covers the US market. The dynamics might be different in other parts of the world.

One question: what percentage of iPhone owners who buy a new iPhone are returning their iPhone to Apple to get a credit instead of selling their iPhone themselves?

Two Thoughts On Apple’s New Upcoming Accessibility Features

Today, Apple announced upcoming features for people with critical disabilities. Here are some thoughts.

First, Personal Voice is incredible! I can’t wait to try this out. I always feared being diagnosed with ALS, but I can see this new accessibility feature, coupled with Live Speech real game changer for people with ALS.

Second, looking at some user interface samples, especially the iPhone with iMessage (see below), we can see the return of shadows, depth, and better contrast, compared to what we have now. So my question is: why not have these UI traits everywhere instead?

By making FCP finally available on the iPad, is Apple getting ready to bring more flexibility to iPadOS audio handling too? I read somewhere that there are missing pieces on iPadOS to make it comparable to macOS for handling complex audio setups. Answers are probably coming in iPadOS 17.

Watch this space. This week is FCP and Logic for the iPad, next week? If Apple keeps releasing new things each week leading to WWDC, it certainly could mean that they have a packaged agenda for the Keynote. We already know that iOS 16.5 is coming out next week, but what else?