Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including the launch of the new iPads and Apple Pencils, the iPad Pro M4 chipset, the awkward size of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, foldable MacBook plans, iOS backdoor investigation, and Final Cut Pro’s new camera.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.
Apple’s Pen and Paper Launch
This week, we saw a virtual presentation from Apple, which featured the launch of new iPads and Apple Pencil. The headline belongs to the iPad Pro, bringing a new screen, improved chipset, and a thinner design:
“Available in silver and space black finishes, the new iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an expansive 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model. Both sizes feature the world’s most advanced display — a new breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology — providing a remarkable visual experience. “
(Apple Newsroom).
The Smaller iPads Are Renewed
Apple also refreshed the iPad Air and the classic iPad during the event. The latter sees a price cut down to $349, while the former comes with a processor upgrade that offers it more power to challenge the Mac range with an M2 variant now available:
“In contrast, the new iPad Air comes with a slightly bigger screen than before, 11 inches, and adds a second screen size, 13 inches, which has never been seen before. The previous Air had the Apple M1 chip on board, and that’s been bumped up to M2—the same processor that powers the latest iMac.”
(Forbes).
Welcome To The M4
Sitting at the heart of the iPad Pro is Apple’s new M4 chipset. This is the first M4 device to be launched, and it’s notable that it is not debuting with the Mac range, even though the specifications feel more like a desk-bound than an in-hand device:
“The M4 uses second-gen 3nm technology, and its 10-core CPU is configured with four performance cores and six efficiency cores, making it 50 percent more powerful than the M2 inside the prior iPad Pro, according to Apple. The M4’s 10-core GPU also supports dynamic caching, mesh shading, and ray tracing, plus a new display engine with four times the rendering speed compared to the M2.”
(The Verge).
Is The New iPhone A Handful?
Meanwhile, one of the big iPhone 16 Pro Max changes has been discussed this week. With recent leaks suggesting the Pro Max is getting bigger, is the largest iPhone screen going to be difficult to hold?
“How big are your hands? Same size as yesterday, right? Some of the most recent leaks about the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series have revealed that there could be noticeable size increases coming. According to the reliable Sonny Dickson on X a few days ago, it’s the iPhone 16 Pro Max which is going to be the grip-stretcher, thanks to its biggest-ever screen size, 6.9 inches, a noticeable increase from the current iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 6.7 inches.”
(Forbes).
The Foldable MacBook
How would you comfortably carry a 20-inch MacBook? According to analyst Jeff Pu, Apple’s supply chain is gearing up to ship such a device with a foldable screen that takes it closer to a 13-inch laptop… although we might have to wait a year:
“Apple is ramping up its work on foldable devices, according to a new investor note seen by 9to5Mac. The report, from Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu, says that Apple will begin mass production of a 20.3-inch foldable device in late 2025, followed by a foldable iPhone in late 2026.
“If today’s report from Pu is to be believed, Apple has “accelerated” its work on foldable devices. The report says that there is “increasing visibility” of Apple’s foldable devices based on supply chain checks.
(9to5Mac).
Investigating Backdoored iPhones
Dan Goodin is reporting the discovery of an iPhone Zero-Day Exploit for Ars Technica. This is notable both for the length of time it has been available and the process that is being used.
“Researchers on Wednesday presented intriguing new findings surrounding an attack that over four years backdoored dozens if not thousands of iPhones, many of which belonged to employees of Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky. Chief among the discoveries: the unknown attackers were able to achieve an unprecedented level of access by exploiting a vulnerability in an undocumented hardware feature that few if anyone outside of Apple and chip suppliers such as ARM Holdings knew of.”
(Ars Technica).
And Finally…
There’s a new utility in Final Cut Pro for the iPad that allows multiple cameras to be brought into the tablet Apple doesn’t call a tablet for live mixing… Say hello to Final Cut Camera, available for every camera that is called iPhone:
“Users can get a director’s view of each camera in real time, and the settings can be adjusted from the Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 app. There are options for tweaking exposure, focus, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, and zoom to get the perfect shots. Preview clips are passed through to Final Cut Pro and then replaced with full-resolution files so users can quickly move from production to editing.”
(Mac Rumors).
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
