Highly Troubling—Ops are Taking Over Apple My Friends

Don’t bother reading too much into the latest Apple financial numbers. They’re not too bad. What you should be paying attention to is this:

Apple is eliminating one of its most high-profile executive positions. According to a new report today, Apple is eliminating the role of “industrial design chief” as part of a broader shake-up. This role was once held by Jony Ive, and most recently held by Evans Hankey.

More specifically:

Under this new structure, the design team will report to Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams. Source: Apple is eliminating its iconic ‘industrial design chief’ position

This comment by one of the 9To5Mac staff members is not reassuring at all:

I think it’s important to keep in mind, however, that Williams has been involved with the design team for several years at this point. Hankey has reported to Williams since 2019. The difference now is that the middle ground between Williams and the rest of the design team is being removed.

Maybe Hankey saw this coming and couldn’t adhere to this direction. Here’s my take: ops are taking over Apple, and design is no longer the top priority. It is utterly troubling to read rumours of Williams possibly replacing Cook which looks like being more of the same if you ask me. Maybe Williams has more design experience, but not as a first-party involvement. Troubling.

CarPlay in 2023 will see its most significant upgrade since its launch. I don’t know when we’ll actually be able to get this in a real car, but I certainly look forward to it.

I recently spent some travel time in a high-end Mercedes. The Dashboard was very impressive. Still, the future CarPlay version seems a bit pale in comparison.

Why did Apple choose to make this early announcement?

Wow, I spent 10 minutes searching for “how to save an email into a .EML file on the iPad”. It’s not in the action menu. The only way is to do a “drag & drop” of the mail into Files.app (or any app that understands this file format, for that matter). Who knew it could be that hard to discover such a simple thing. It should really be in the action menu too.

9to5Mac reporting about a short Financial Times article on a silent war between Apple and Google:

Former Apple engineers say that Apple still holds a grudge over how Android allegedly copied iOS, and is steadily working to remove Google from the iPhone. Source: Apple is engaged in a ‘silent war’ against Google, claim engineers | AppleInsider

If there is something that I’d like to see Apple do: Apple (oops, Siri) Search for the web. No user tracking, no ads, full integration within Apple’s ecosystem. Imagine the possibilities.

More details are emerging about the rumoured Apple’s headset… and this is troubling…

Using the headset will “feel familiar to Apple users,” with an interface that is close to identical to the look of an ‌iPhone‌ or an ‌iPad‌. There will be a Home screen with app icons that can be rearranged, as well as customizable widgets. Source: Apple’s Mixed Reality Headset to Feature iOS-Like Interface, Advanced Hand Tracking, and Will Work as Second Display for Mac - MacRumors

Oh boy… I would expect a brand-new metaphor for the brand-new form factor. Otherwise, by using a familiar interface, it’s as if Apple is locked into their own creation.

Likely to be named “Reality Pro,” the headset will be able to switch between augmented reality and virtual reality. Augmented reality will overlay virtual objects on the real world, while virtual reality is an entirely virtual environment that shuts out the wearer’s surroundings. Augmented reality functions will work through a pass-through mode that will use the exterior cameras on the headset, and swapping between AR and VR will be done with a Digital Crown-like control knob.

“Reality Pro”!!!?? Someone must be kidding about that one, right? What an awful name! What about “viewPod”? Or something less “Macintosh Performa 620”-type of thing, please.

For those who wear glasses, Apple will provide custom lenses that are able to sit within the enclosure, and Apple is expecting users to wear AirPods to get an audio experience on par with the visual experience that the headset provides, though it will have built-in speakers.

I do.

As previously rumored, the headset will have an external battery pack to prevent it from overheating on a user’s face due to the high-end Mac chips used for the device. The battery is approximately the size of two iPhone 14 Pro Max models stacked on top of one another, and it will power the headset for around two hours. An external battery will allow users to swap one battery and charge another to use the device for a longer period of time.

No. Just no. It’s a proof of concept sold to consumers.

For 2023, Apple is reportedly working on a larger 15-inch MacBook Air to join its Mac lineup. The new MacBook Air will feature the upcoming M3 chip, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The 15-inch MacBook Air is expected to feature the same design as the current 13.6-inch model but with a larger display and longer battery life thanks to the efficiency of the M3 chip and the inclusion of a larger battery. Source: What’s Next for the Mac: M3 iMac, 15-Inch MacBook Air, Mac Pro, and More - MacRumors

The possible 15-inch MacBook Air makes a lot of sense from a product line perspective (non pro machine with high portability but a larger screen). Where I disagree with Gurman is the possibility of the device getting an M3 chip. This is way too early. The rest of the product line is still on the just-released M2. When the Mac Pro finally makes the switch, then the M3 is a higher probability. In other words, I expect to see the 15-inch MacBook Air to get the same M2 chip as the current but smaller ones.

The new HomePod, as well as the mini, can measure room temperature and humidity. I don’t want to sound cynical but, what a clever way for Apple to trigger more HomePod sales. I want temperature and humidity readings in all my house!

The new chips are yet another example of Apple’s chip division being so far ahead of the rest of the company. The reason iPad suffers is not that it isn’t good; it is because it is too good, and very few applications take advantage of its hardware to the maximum. Source: Apple launches new (M2) chips – On my Om

As an owner of an M1 Mac mini, I’m pretty much sure that none of the software I depend on would take advantage of the M2 or M2 Pro. Lightroom? Nope. Screenflow? Nope. Teams? Nope. What else? The same goes for my aging 2018 iPad Pro.

Is there such a thing as a local version of ChatGPT?