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.

Wild dream of the day: what if a silent yet unannounced feature of the ARM-based Mac is touch support? Looking at one of the WWDC session video called “Adopt the new look of macOS Big Sur”, spacing of many UI elements certainly feels in preparation of touch support introduction. Plus, iPhone apps running unmodified on these machines would feel at home with touch support.

Taken out of one of @gruber recent post. In red: the Cancel button looks like being disabled. Very bad. The menu bar transparency, why? Is Apple trying to make us forget about this distinctive UI element? In yellow: the window title being no longer at the center, to make room for buttons (that look less and less like buttons)…
In green: a depth effect with surrounding shadow, thumbs up. General look of the refresh popup dialog, very iOS is refreshing on the Mac.

Today, it will be interesting to see how Apple is positioning its move from Intel to ARM.

To me, one thing is clear: this could be another game changer move. Apple has proven many times in the past that you don’t need to own a market (PC sales) to create new inflection points on its trajectory. Remember when Apple legitimize the use of the USB ports in its original iMac? Now, they could legitimize the use of ARM on traditional computers.

If I was Intel, I would be scared.

From Brent Simmons:

The best part of the App Store, years ago, from this developer’s point of view, was that it was easy to charge money for an app. No need to set up a system — just choose the price, and Apple takes care of everything. So easy!

And

for many developers, the very best thing about the App Store — the thing that actually helped their business — is gone.

And this

I can’t reconcile in my mind the tension between Apple as the think different company, the pirates, the rebels, the company at the intersection of tech and liberal arts — and Apple the company that runs this legalistic, nitpicky, greedy, inhuman, happy-face Kafka App Store.

And finally this

If I could distribute my iOS app outside of the App Store, I would. I’d switch in a heartbeat. Even though it’s free and money isn’t my issue. It would make my work as an app maker easier.

Ouch. Coming this guy, it means a lot.

WWDC20 already has a special feel to it, even before the start… not only because it is digital only, but also because I feel (many) developers are simpky fed up with the Apple way.