Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including iPhone Pro camera details, the iPhone SE challenge, Apple Silicon M5 improvements, Apple’s AI strategy, and Apple’s intervention in the Google Anti-Trust case.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple during the quiet festive week. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.
Next iPhone Pro Camera Improvements
The camera remains a battleground for smartphones. Apple has traditionally leaned heavily into imaging, and the latest innovations from the company suggest that a variable aperture will be coming to the iPhone, but it’s going to take one more generation to get there:
INFO With variable aperture, users would be able to control the amount of light that passes through the camera’s lens and reaches the sensor.
“In a blog post today, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated that the main rear camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, which would be a first for the iPhone. The main camera refers to the 48-megapixel Fusion camera, which was also known as the Main or Wide camera on older iPhone models.”
(MacRumors).
The iPhone SE’s Awkward Challenge
As an earlier-than-expected release date in Q1 2025 is suggested, Apple faces several strategic challenges with the iPhone SE. While they have all been navigated before, the increased competition in the mid-range, and Apple’s lack of comprehensive AI sotfware, will raise the difficulty:
“With a mid-cycle release, a remit to offer value for money, and a reputation of elegance and luxury to maintain, the iPhone SE is a challenging release for Apple. It needs to thread a very narrow path of being an outstanding handset while not damaging the reputation of the iPhone brand. It has accomplished this before, but this fourth iteration of the SE promise has to deal with a more competitive landscape with a smaller margin of error than any of the previous handsets.”
(Forbes).
MacOS M5 Improvements
With Apple Silicon, Tim Cook and his team brought a new level of performance to the consumer and professional market. With the Windows-based competition now catching up, is there a new frontier for Apple to explore? While “server-grade” is a loosely defined measure, that’s the next target for the M5. How will that be unlocked? By splitting the CPU and GPU to allow for easier upgrades during assembly:
“According to Kuo, however, Apple is going to change this for the M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra. Only the M5 will remain as a single unit. Instead, the M5 Pro and other chips will use manufacturer TSMC’s latest chip packaging process. Called the System-in-Integrated-Chips-Molding-Horizontal (SoIC-mH), it puts together different chips into one package.”
(Apple Insider).
Why Is Apple Not Charging For AI?
While Apple’s ambitions to bring generative AI to all its hardware are lagging behind the competition, AI is still seen as a key part of Apple software for the future. Why? An interesting theory on the positioning has been raised by 9to5Mac’s Ryan Christoffel.
“So yes, Apple Intelligence is technically free as part of iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2. But that’s only because Apple first sold you an iPhone. And Tim Cook knows that very well. Apple can give AI away, at no extra charge, because it’s doing just fine selling us all new iPhones.”
(9to5Mac).
And Finally…
The impact of Google’s Anti-Trust case contiune to reverberate around Silicon Valley and beyond. This week Apple approached the courts with a request to speak around the proposed remedies, stating that it cannot rely on Google to act in Apple’s best interests:
“Apple wants to call witnesses to testify at an April trial. Prosecutors will seek to show Google must take several measures, including selling its Chrome web browser and potentially its Android operating system, to restore competition in online search.”Google can no longer adequately represent Apple’s interests: Google must now defend against a broad effort to break up its business units,” Apple said.”
(Reuters).
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