Good insights by Federico Viticci of MacStories about iPadOS 14. One theme stands out: with iPadOS 14, Apple is no longer taking it’s inspiration from the iPhone but from macOS to push the iPad in its very distinct path.

Exhibit A: the Sidebar in applications like Music, Photos, Files. Exhibit B: the redesigned Search bar.

Still to be improved, though: multitasking. Next year.

www.macstories.net/stories/t…

One of the unexpected side effect of Apple introducing widgets in iOS 14 is that I’m reconsidering my stance against big iPhone like iPhone 11 Pro Max.. when widgets invade our landscape this fall, we may find the iPhone 11 screen too small for all of them.

If Apple was willing to add the same flexibility to the iPad it would be another matter, though.

I’m one of those who was thinking discreet GPU would provide much better performance. When watching Apple’s transition to Apple Silicon, I asked myself about discreet GPU options in future Macs. This article goes on to report that not only integrated GPU (thanks to SoC) will be faster, it could be easier to support and help Apple reduce costs. Apple never offered discreet GPU in iPad Pro. Why would it be different with Apple Silicon-based Mac? Will future Mac support external GPU? Probably but performance gain will be marginal.

ARM Mac graphics performance could beat discrete GPUs - 9to5Mac

Excellent visual comparison between macOS Catalina and Big Sur (see link below). Here are a few observations:

• Big Sur design is a step back in clrity in many areas. Ex.: Icons and segmented controls in top portion of windows.
• More padding around items lists. I’m not sure why. I prefer Catalina’s version.
• Dark Mode is slightly better looking in Big Sur.
• Battery panel in Settings is horrible.
• Gone are popup alerts at the top of windows, they now look to be centered within window content and movable. Catalina is better.
• Menu bar is translucide. Catalina is better too.
• Safari is much better looking in Big Sur.
• Notes is much improved in Big Sur.
• Big Sur icons shapre are much more uniform. Advantage to Big Sur here.
• Big Sur Side Bars in many apps like Maps is better looking too.

Who wins? Well, the jury is still out.

www.andrewdenty.com/blog/2020…

Which Mac will transition first to Apple Silicon? Will Apple start with the desktop or the portables? That is the question. I would say, the desktop, but…

On the first Mac to be converted to ARM: my bet goes on the Mac mini, a lower volume, utility orientated machine for the Mac enthusiasts. Next, the iMac redesign where any perf discrepancies with the MacBook is more easily explanable (desktop versus laptop, you know). But…

…my confidence level in this theory will be negatively impacted by the actual release of a rumoured redesigned iMac but with an Intel processor instead. Rumors are circulating about a published benchmark with a 10 cores Intel CPU in a new iMac design. If Apple did release this machine, it would send a clear message: they will continue to support Intel machines for a long time. But…

…launching an iMac redesign with an Apple Silicon inside would make a much better marketing story: something like a powerful Apple Silicon powering a brand new design with unique features (fan-less design, FaceID, or even… touch input support?). But…

…I concede the fact that price/watt ratio is much more useful and lends much more practical advantages on a portable product than on the desktop where space and energy are less constrained which puts some doubts on my take.

Finally, about the Mac Pro conversion to ARM. My gut feeling is that it will be the last to be converted… with A16 CPU? Who knows.

PS: I would expect Apple to re-introduce their illuminated logo on the MacBook. A sign of Apple’s enthusiast returning to the Mac.

Daring Fireball: On Ming-Chi Kuo’s Report of a 24-Inch ARM iMac

They are the ones who will suffer the most from Apple’s iOS 14. Good for them. If they want to show ads, the burden of finding new ways is on them, not on Apple’s shoulders or on ours. In other words: fuck them. European advertisers critical of iOS 14 warning users about ad tracking - Appleinsider

I’ve been thinking a lot about the limited support of widgets in iPadOS 14. While waiting for an answer from Craig Federighi (see previous posts), I think I know why. The way Apple introduced widgets in iPadOS 13 kind of put themselves in a “bad design choice” corner.

Take an iPad with iPadOS 13 in landscape orientation with widgets showing on the left, now look what happens when rotating the iPad in portrait mode. See? Imagine widgets all over the home screen. How could the iPad handle this orientation change gracefully? You tell me.

If iPhone 12 launch is effectively delayed by a few weeks or months, could Apple decide to release iOS 14 for currently shipping devices while we wait for iPhone 12? It would be a first for Apple, but I certainly hope so. #iphone12 9to5mac.com/2020/07/0…

I like the new Siri design but I don’t like it after all. The animated sphere placement feels wrong as it leave space on top of it on which we cannot interact. Siri answers and feedbacks onscreen position feel very inconsistent. Sometimes it will appear at the top with another smaller banner at the bottom. Sometimes only a banner at the top.

Following the reveal of widgets support on iOS 14, I’m feeling anxiety over how I’will “design” my home screens coming this fall. The same kind of feeling related to my Apple Watch watch face design, btw.

What role will play the App Library? Will I reduce my reliance on folders for organizing my apps and add more pages that I can hide as needed? How many pages reserved for widgets only will I create and for which use case?

Decision, decision, decision.