Apple

m3-macbook-air-refresh-boosts-storage-speeds-for-256gb-models

M3 MacBook Air refresh boosts storage speeds for 256GB models

13-inch MacBook Air, 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple, Apple M2, Apple M3, MacBook Air, Tech / /

in a flash —

For the M2 Air, getting better storage speeds required a 512GB (or larger) SSD.

–

The 13- and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air.

Enlarge / The 13- and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air.

Andrew Cunningham

When Apple upgraded its Macs with the M2 chip, some users noticed that storage speeds were actually quite a bit lower than they were in the M1 versions. Both the 256GB M2 MacBook Air and the 512GB M2 MacBook Pro had their storage speeds roughly halved compared to M1 Macs with the same storage capacities.

Teardowns revealed that this was because Apple was using fewer physical flash memory chips to provide the same amount of storage. Modern SSDs achieve their high speeds partly by reading from and writing to multiple NAND flash chips simultaneously, a process called “interleaving.” When there’s only one flash chip to access, speeds go down.

Early teardowns of the M3 MacBook Air suggest that Apple may have reversed course here, at least for some Airs. The Max Tech YouTube channel took a 256GB M3 Air apart, showing a pair of 128GB NAND flash chips rather than the single 256GB chip that the M2 Air used. BlackMagic Disk Speed Test performance increases accordingly; read and write speeds for the 256GB M2 Air come in at around 1,600 MB/s, while the M3 Air has read speeds of roughly 2,900 MB/s and write speeds of about 2,100 MB/s. That’s roughly in line with the M1 Air’s performance.

For the other M3 MacBook Airs, storage speed should be mostly comparable to the M2 versions. Apple sent us the 512GB configuration of the 13- and 15-inch M3 Airs, and storage speeds in the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test were roughly the same as for the 512GB M2 Airs—roughly 3,000 MB/s for both reading and writing.

Though this appears to be good news for M3 Air buyers, it doesn’t guarantee that any given 256GB MacBook Air will come configured this way. Apple uses multiple suppliers for many of the components in its devices, and the company could ship a mix of 128GB and 256GB chips in different 256GB MacBook Airs based on which components are cheaper or more readily available at any given time. (The Max Tech channel speculates that a single 128GB NAND chip costs Apple more than a single 256GB NAND chip, though Max Tech doesn’t cite a source for this, and we just don’t know what prices Apple negotiates with its suppliers for these components.)

Though it’s nice that the M3 Air’s baseline storage speeds are increasing, it’s too bad that a new Air is still offering the same storage speed as the M1 Airs released over three years ago. It’s frustrating that Apple can’t improve storage speeds along with CPU and GPU performance, especially when the standard M.2 SSDs in PCs are getting faster and cost less money than what Apple sells in its Mac lineup.

M3 MacBook Air refresh boosts storage speeds for 256GB models Read More »

apple-and-tesla-feel-the-pain-as-china-opts-for-homegrown-products

Apple and Tesla feel the pain as China opts for homegrown products

Apple, Cars, china, Policy, syndication, Tech, Tesla / /
Domestically made smartphones were much in evidence at the National People’s Congress in Beijing

Enlarge / Domestically made smartphones were much in evidence at the National People’s Congress in Beijing

Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images

Apple and Tesla cracked China, but now the two largest US consumer companies in the country are experiencing cracks in their own strategies as domestic rivals gain ground and patriotic buying often trumps their allure.

Falling market share and sales figures reported this month indicate the two groups face rising competition and the whiplash of US-China geopolitical tensions. Both have turned to discounting to try to maintain their appeal.

A shift away from Apple, in particular, has been sharp, spurred on by a top-down campaign to reduce iPhone usage among state employees and the triumphant return of Chinese national champion Huawei, which last year overcame US sanctions to roll out a homegrown smartphone capable of near 5G speeds.

Apple’s troubles were on full display at China’s annual Communist Party bash in Beijing this month, where a dozen participants told the Financial Times they were using phones from Chinese brands.

“For people coming here, they encourage us to use domestic phones, because phones like Apple are not safe,” said Zhan Wenlong, a nuclear physicist and party delegate. “[Apple phones] are made in China, but we don’t know if the chips have back doors.”

Wang Chunru, a member of China’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said he was using a Huawei device. “We all know Apple has eavesdropping capabilities,” he said.

Delegate Li Yanfeng from Guangxi said her phone was manufactured by Huawei. “I trust domestic brands, using them was a uniform request.”

Financial Times using Bloomberg data

Outside of the US, China is both Apple and Tesla’s single-largest market, respectively contributing 19 percent and 22 percent of total revenues during their most recent fiscal years. Their mounting challenges in the country have caught Wall Street’s attention, contributing to Apple’s 9 percent share price slide this year and Tesla’s 28 percent fall, making them the poorest performers among the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks.

Apple and Tesla are the latest foreign companies to feel the pain of China’s shift toward local brands. Sales of Nike and Adidas clothing have yet to return to their 2021 peak. A recent McKinsey report showed a growing preference among Chinese consumers for local brands.

Apple and Tesla feel the pain as China opts for homegrown products Read More »

apple-backtracks,-reinstates-epic-games’-ios-developer-account-in-europe

Apple backtracks, reinstates Epic Games’ iOS developer account in Europe

Apple, epic games, Europe, gaming, iOS / /

Never mind —

After EU began investigation, Apple repaves path for Fortnite on European iOS.

–

Artist's conception of Epic Games celebrating their impending return to iOS in Europe.

Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Epic Games celebrating their impending return to iOS in Europe.

Epic Games

Apple has agreed to reinstate Epic Game’s Swedish iOS developer account just days after Epic publicized Apple’s decision to rescind that account. The move once again paves the way for Epic’s plans to release a sideloadable version of the Epic Games Store and Fortnite on iOS devices in Europe.

“Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to follow the rules, including our DMA policies,” Apple said in a statement provided to Ars Technica. “As a result, Epic Sweden AB has been permitted to re-sign the developer agreement and accepted into the Apple Developer Program.”

Apple’s new statement is in stark contrast to its position earlier this week when it cited “Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple” as a reason why it couldn’t trust Epic’s commitments to stand by any new developer agreement. In correspondence with Epic shared by the Fortnite maker Wednesday, Apple executive Phil Schiller put an even finer point on it:

Your colorful criticism of our [Digital Markets Act] compliance plan, coupled with Epic’s past practice of intentionally violating contractual provisions with which it disagrees, strongly suggest that Epic Sweden does not intend to follow the rules… Developers who are unable or unwilling to keep their promises can’t continue to participate in the Developer Program.

A new regulatory world

Apple’s quick turnaround comes just a day after the European Commission said it was opening an investigation into Apple’s conduct under the new Digital Markets Act and other potentially applicable European regulations. That investigation could have entailed hefty fines of up to “10 percent of the company’s total worldwide turnover” if Apple was found to be in violation.

“We have the DMA coming into compliance [Thursday], so the demand of compliance is… listen, you need to be able to carry another app store, for instance, and you cannot put in place a fee structure that sort of disables the benefits of the DMA for all the market participants,” European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Bloomberg TV Tuesday.

In an update on its official blog, Epic linked Apple’s decision to “public backlash for retaliation” and said the whole affair “sends a strong signal to developers that the European Commission will act swiftly to enforce the Digital Markets Act and hold gatekeepers accountable. We are moving forward as planned to launch the Epic Games Store and bring Fortnite back to iOS in Europe. Onward!”

In a social media post celebrating Apple’s move, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said that “the DMA just had its first major victory” and called the move “a big win for European rule of law, for the European Commission, and for the freedom of developers worldwide to speak up.”

Apple’s apparent retreat on the issue preempts what would have likely been a lengthy legal and public relations battle between the two corporate giants, much like the one resulting from Epic’s 2020 decision to violate Apple’s developer agreement by adding third-party payment options to Fortnite on iOS. But that battle, which played out primarily in a series of US courts, differed in many particulars from the new conflict that was developing under the new enforcement regime surrounding Europe’s DMA rules.

Epic said last month that it plans to launch the Epic Games Store on iOS sometime in 2024.

Apple backtracks, reinstates Epic Games’ iOS developer account in Europe Read More »

visionos-1.1-tries-to-make-personas-less-unsettling,-plus-other-apple-os-updates

visionOS 1.1 tries to make Personas less unsettling, plus other Apple OS updates

Apple, macOS, Tech, tvos, visionOS, watchos / /

persona non grata —

Apple starts picking low-hanging fruit in visionOS; other OSes see minor improvements.

–

A blurry, ghostly Persona in visionOS 1.0. They should at least look less bad in visionOS 1.1.

Enlarge / A blurry, ghostly Persona in visionOS 1.0. They should at least look less bad in visionOS 1.1.

Samuel Axon

Apple has released a long list of medium-sized software updates for most of its devices today. The macOS Sonoma 14.4, watchOS 10.4, tvOS 17.4, and visionOS 1.1 updates are all available now, and most of them add at least one or two major features as they fix multiple bugs and patch security vulnerabilities.

The visionOS 1.1 release is the first major update for Apple’s newest operating system, and as our coverage of the headset has demonstrated, there’s still plenty of low-hanging fruit to fix. Most notably for people who are trying to use the headset for work meetings, Apple says that there have been multiple changes to the look of Personas, the 3D avatars that show up in your place when you’re video chatting with the Vision Pro on your face. The update improves “hair and makeup appearance,” “neck and mouth representation,” and “rendering of the eyes,” and while it’s clear that it’s an improvement over the 1.0 release of Personas, the core uncanniness still seems to be intact. The Persona feature is still labeled as a beta.

Apple has also made tweaks to the appearance and functionality of the headset’s virtual keyboard, improved the Virtual Display feature’s Mac connectivity, and added a handful of mobile device management features for IT administrators.

Apple’s headlining feature for macOS 14.4 is the addition of new Unicode 15.1 emoji, plus podcast transcriptions in the Apple Music app. It’s unclear whether this release enables multiple external displays for users of the $1,599 M3 MacBook Pro, a feature that Apple announced alongside the new M3 MacBook Airs.

Apple Watch owners can look forward to the resolution of one annoying bug I’ve run into a few times on my own watch: a bug that would make the screen act as though it was receiving touch input even when you weren’t touching it. Sometimes referred to as a “ghost touch” or “phantom touch” bug, the only way to get it to go away was to reboot the watch. I haven’t noticed the bug since I installed one of the later watchOS 10.4 betas a couple of weeks ago.

Version 17.4 of the HomePod operating system now allows users to set their preferred music service, so telling Siri to play music will automatically use whatever service you want instead of defaulting to Apple Music unless you specify. The tvOS 17.4 update doesn’t appear to include any particular features or fixes of note.

All of the new releases follow iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4, which came out a few days ago with mostly minor changes unless you happened to live in the European Union. For European users, that update ushers in Apple’s first attempt at compliance with new regulations that require the company to allow the use of third-party app stores, alternate browsing engines, and sideloaded apps. These changes come with plenty of conditions and caveats, as Apple seeks to remain the ultimate arbiter of what software can and can’t run on iPhones and iPads.

visionOS 1.1 tries to make Personas less unsettling, plus other Apple OS updates Read More »

apple’s-treatment-of-epic-games-draws-the-eye-of-eu-regulators

Apple’s treatment of Epic Games draws the eye of EU regulators

Apple, epic games, EU, gaming / /

We’re watching you —

Apple could face massive fines if it’s found in violation of new rules.

–

Artist's conception of Apple attempting to dodge the concerns of EU regulators.

Enlarge / Artist’s conception of Apple attempting to dodge the concerns of EU regulators.

Epic Games

European Union regulators are investigating whether Apple’s recent revocation of an Epic Games iOS developer account puts the iPhone-maker in violation of the Digital Markets Act and other rules in the continent. If Apple is found in violation, the European Commission could impose significant fines as part of its effort to put some force behind its sweeping tech regulations.

“We have requested further explanations on this from Apple under the DMA (Digital Markets Act),” a European Commission spokesperson told Reuters late Thursday. “We are also evaluating whether Apple’s actions [regarding Epic Games] raise doubts on their compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act) and the P2B (Platform to Business Regulation), given the links between the developer program membership and the App store as designated VLOP (very large online platform).”

More than just the DMA

Apple’s plans for what Epic calls “malicious compliance” under the DMA, which goes into effect today, have gotten plenty of attention in recent months. But the European Commission’s statement suggests its investigation could encompass other regulations as well.

The Digital Services Act, which went into effect in Europe last year, is mainly focused on transparency in algorithmic recommendations and “systemic risks” in platforms promoting misinformation. But the act also stipulates that platform moderation, including account suspension or termination, must be enforced “in a diligent, objective, and proportionate manner (emphasis added).” Whether Epic’s apparently indefinite ban from iOS development fits that proportionality standard is something the EU is seemingly interested in investigating.

The EU’s platform-to-business trading regulations, meanwhile, require major platforms like Apple to meet certain guidelines for transparency in their communications with other businesses. That includes detailed instructions for “specific preliminary steps” that have to be taken before a large platform terminates a business account.

“Listen, you need to be able to carry another app store…”

Earlier this week, the European Commission imposed a significant $2 billion fine on Apple over the company’s treatment of competing music subscription services on its devices. That penalty, which Apple is appealing, could be seen as a sign that European regulators plan to enforce violations of their major tech regulations with more than a slap on the wrist. The available penalties for DMA violations can run up to “10 percent of the company’s total worldwide turnover” for a first offense.

“The fine is there to punish past behavior and of course to be a deterrent for it not to be repeated,” European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Bloomberg TV Tuesday. “We have the DMA coming into compliance [Thursday], so the demand of compliance is… listen, you need to be able to carry another app store, for instance, and you cannot put in place a fee structure that sort of disables the benefits of the DMA for all the market participants…”

In a statement Wednesday Apple cited “Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple” in its decision to rescind Epic’s Swedish iOS developer account. Apple also cited US legal cases establishing its “right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion.'”

Epic says it has provided a “good faith” promise to abide by Apple’s terms for creating a competing App Store in the EU and that it is being punished for criticizing the iPhone maker publicly. “Apple is retaliating against Epic for speaking out against Apple’s unfair and illegal practices, just as they’ve done to other developers time and time again,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Apple’s treatment of Epic Games draws the eye of EU regulators Read More »

review:-apple’s-efficient-m3-macbook-airs-are-just-about-as-good-as-laptops-get

Review: Apple’s efficient M3 MacBook Airs are just about as good as laptops get

13-inch MacBook Air, 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple, Apple M3, Features, MacBook Air, Tech / /

Air apparent —

For Intel or even M1 upgraders, there’s a lot to like about the M3 Air.

–

Apple's M3 MacBook Airs put a new chip in 2022's design.

Enlarge / Apple’s M3 MacBook Airs put a new chip in 2022’s design.

Andrew Cunningham

Right off the bat, the M3 MacBook Airs aren’t as interesting as the M2 models.

July 2022’s M2 MacBook Air updated the design of the 13-inch laptop for the Apple Silicon era after the M1 Air’s external design played it safe. And the first-ever 15-inch MacBook Air, released over a year later, was an appealing option for people who wanted a larger screen but didn’t need the extra power or cost of a MacBook Pro. Together, they were a comprehensive rethink of Apple’s approach to its mainstream laptops, modeled after the similarly dramatic Apple Silicon MacBook Pro redesigns.

The M3 Airs don’t do any of that. They are laptop designs we’ve already seen, wrapped around a processor we’ve already seen. But they may end up being more important than the M2 Airs because of when they’re being released—as the last of the Intel Macs slowly age and break and Apple winds down software support for them (if not in this year’s macOS release, then almost certainly next year’s). Between the faster chip and a couple of other feature updates, the new machines may also be the first ones that are truly worth a look for M1 Air early adopters who want an upgrade.

Apple left us a scant 48 hours to test and use this laptop, but here’s what we’ve observed so far.

Does the design hold up?

  • The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs. Same design, but the 15-inch Air has a bigger screen and trackpad and better speakers, while the 13-inch Air is smaller and lighter. Note both the fingerprints on the Midnight finish and how the notch can be either more or less visible based on your settings.

    Andrew Cunningham

  • Air footprints compared: the 13-inch on top of the 15-inch.

    Andrew Cunningham

The M1 MacBook Air is still the one I use most days, and anyone coming from a 2018–2020 Intel MacBook Air will be familiar with the design. So the M2/M3-era MacBook Air design is still striking to me, despite being the better part of two years old.

By and large, I think the newer design holds up pretty well; I don’t mind the loss of the taper, even if it makes the laptop look a bit more boxy and less sleek. The full-height function row and tweaked keyboard are both good, and I don’t generally have issues with trackpad palm rejection on either the 13- or 15-inch models. It’s nice to have MagSafe back, though in the end, I almost always charge the Air with one of the many USB-C chargers I have strategically tucked into most rooms in the house.

Specs at a glance: Apple M3 MacBook Air (as reviewed)
Screen 13.6-inch 2560×1664 IPS LCD 15.3-inch 2880×1864
OS macOS 14.4 Sonoma
CPU Apple M3 (4 E-cores, 4 P-cores)
RAM 16GB unified memory
GPU Apple M3 (10 GPU cores)
Storage 512GB soldered SSD
Battery 52.6 WHr 66.5 WHr
Networking Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
Ports 2x Thunderbolt/USB4, MagSafe 3, headphones
Size 11.97×8.46×0.44 inches (304.1×215×113 mm) 13.40×9.35×0.45 inches (340.4×237.6×115 mm)
Weight 2.7 lbs (1.24 kg) 3.3 lbs (1.51 kg)
Warranty 1-year
Price as reviewed $1,499 $1,699
Other perks 1080p webcam, TouchID

I’m also reminded anew of just how much I like the 15-inch MacBook Air as someone who likes a big screen but doesn’t use a laptop for much gaming or anything heavier than Photoshop or Lightroom (and I generally don’t care that much about high-refresh-rate displays). The combination of size and weight really is close to ideal, and though the 15-inch Air is unmistakably larger and heavier than the 13-inch model, the difference isn’t so large in daily use that I spend a lot of time thinking about it. The improved speaker setup is also nice to have when you’re playing music or using that bigger screen to watch something.

The biggest downside of the design remains the display notch. As we and others have noted multiple times, it’s not that you don’t get used to it, and in typical desktop use (especially in dark mode and with a dark wallpaper), you can often forget it’s there. But in the absence of FaceID or some major other functional addition, it feels like a lot of space to take up for not a lot of user-visible benefit.

Sure, a 1080p webcam instead of a 720p webcam is nice, but I would choose a notch-less screen with more usable space every time if given the choice. (The strips of screen to either side of the notch can only really display the macOS menu bar; go into the Control Center area of the Settings and change “automatically hide and show the Menu Bar’ to “Never” if you don’t want those strips of screen to go totally wasted in full-screen mode).

  • The Midnight finish as seen on a 15-inch MacBook Air, freshly cleaned and pristine.

    Andrew Cunningham

  • This is what the laptop looked like before I cleaned it. I’ve had it for two days. You’ll definitely still see fingerprints.

    Andrew Cunningham

One design change that Apple has highlighted for the M3 Airs is a new coating for the Midnight (read: blue-tinted black) version of the Air that is said to reduce its fingerprint-y-ness. Apple did the same thing for the M3 version of the MacBook Pro last year.

The new finish looks a shade or two lighter than the old Midnight coating and does show fingerprints a bit less. But “less” isn’t “none,” and my Air was immediately, visibly fingerprint-y and skin-oily, both on the lid and in the palm rest area. It remains more noticeable than on either the Starlight finish of the 13-inch M3 Air or the space gray finish on my M1 Air. Choose your color finish accordingly.

Review: Apple’s efficient M3 MacBook Airs are just about as good as laptops get Read More »

oregon-oks-right-to-repair-bill-that-bans-the-blocking-of-aftermarket-parts

Oregon OKs right-to-repair bill that bans the blocking of aftermarket parts

Apple, Oregon, parts pairing, Policy, repair, right to repair, Tech / /

Right to repair —

Governor’s signature would stop software locks from impairing replacement parts.

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iPhone battery being removed from an iPhone over a blue repair mat

Getty Images

Oregon has joined the small but growing list of states that have passed right-to-repair legislation. Oregon’s bill stands out for a provision that would prevent companies from requiring that official parts be unlocked with encrypted software checks before they will fully function.

Bill SB 1596 passed Oregon’s House by a 42 to 13 margin. Gov. Tina Kotek has five days to sign the bill into law. Consumer groups and right-to-repair advocates praised the bill as “the best bill yet,” while the bill’s chief sponsor, state Sen. Janeen Sollman (D), pointed to potential waste reductions and an improved second-hand market for closing a digital divide.

“Oregon improves on Right to Repair laws in California, Minnesota and New York by making sure that consumers have the choice of buying new parts, used parts, or third-party parts for the gadgets and gizmos,” said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org, in a statement.

Like bills passed in New York, California, and Minnesota, Oregon’s bill requires companies to offer the same parts, tools, and documentation to individual and independent repair shops that are already offered to authorized repair technicians.

Unlike other states’ bills, however, Oregon’s bill doesn’t demand a set number of years after device manufacture for such repair implements to be produced. That suggests companies could effectively close their repair channels entirely rather than comply with the new requirements. California’s bill mandated seven years of availability.

If signed, the law’s requirements for parts, tools, and documentation would apply to devices sold after 2015, except for phones, which are covered after July 2021. The prohibition against parts pairing only covers devices sold in 2025 and later. Like other repair bills, a number of device categories are exempted, including video game consoles, HVAC and medical gear, solar systems, vehicles, and, very specifically, “Electric toothbrushes.”

Apple had surprised many with its support for California’s repair bill. But the company, notable for its pairing requirements for certain repair parts, opposed Oregon’s repair bill. John Perry, a senior manager for secure design at Apple, testified at an Oregon hearing that the pairing restriction would “undermine the security, safety, and privacy of Oregonians by forcing device manufacturers to allow the use of parts of unknown origin in consumer devices.”

Perry also noted Apple’s improved repair workflow, which no longer requires online access or a phone call to pair parts. Apple devices will still issue notifications and warnings if an unauthorized screen or battery, for example, is installed in an iPhone.

Disclosure: Kevin Purdy previously worked for iFixit. He has no financial ties to the company.

Oregon OKs right-to-repair bill that bans the blocking of aftermarket parts Read More »

macbook-airs-get-an-m3-upgrade,-while-the-m1-model-is-finally-retired

MacBook Airs get an M3 upgrade, while the M1 model is finally retired

Apple, Apple M3, Mac, MacBook Air, Tech / /

bout time —

M2 Air is the new $999 base model, M1 Air goes away after more than 3 years.

–

Apple is refreshing the MacBook Air with M3 chips but leaving everything else about the 2022 redesign intact.

Enlarge / Apple is refreshing the MacBook Air with M3 chips but leaving everything else about the 2022 redesign intact.

Apple

Apple has quietly refreshed its MacBook Air lineup, bringing new chips (and in some cases, new prices) to its most popular laptops. New 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs include Apple’s latest-generation M3 chip, while the old M2 MacBook Air now replaces 2020’s M1 MacBook Air as Apple’s $999 entry-level laptop. The new 13- and 15-inch M3 systems start at $1,099 and $1,299; they can be ordered today and will be released on March 8.

The new Airs use the same design as the M2 versions. Compared to older M1 and late-Intel-era Airs, they have slightly larger displays with a prominent notch, a non-tapered but still thin-and-light chassis, larger trackpads, modestly refined keyboards, and a MagSafe port for charging.

All of the new Airs use the M3, with no options to upgrade to faster or more capable processors (frustratingly, this means the Air is still restricted to just a single external display). The $1,099 13-inch Air does use a slightly cut-down version of the chip with 8 GPU cores instead of 10, with the 10-core GPU available as a $100 upgrade; all 15-inch models use the fully enabled M3 with the 10-core GPU.

Aside from the M3 chip, the new laptops also support Wi-Fi 6E, and hardware-accelerated video decoding for the AV1 video codec. But other specs, including RAM and storage options, stay the same as before. Both laptops start with 8GB and 256GB or RAM and storage, respectively, and top out at 24GB and 2TB. Both Airs’ performance should generally be similar to the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro that starts at $1,599, though the Pro has a cooling fan that may help it run heavy workloads a bit more quickly.

All versions of the M3 include four high-performance CPU cores and four high-efficiency CPU cores, the same as the M1 and M2, though Apple says that chip upgrades have made the M3 “up to 60 percent faster” than the M1. Performance upgrades compared to the M2 will be a bit milder.

The update gets the 13- and 15-inch Airs onto the same update schedule, though the timing is a bit awkward for the barely nine-month-old 15-inch M2 MacBook Air. That’s an even shorter life cycle than we saw with the M2 MacBook Pros that Apple replaced last November after just 11 months. But the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air originally came out in July of 2022 and was well overdue for an upgrade.

The only Macs without an M3 update are Apple’s desktops: the Mac mini, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro. Of these, the M2 Mac mini is the oldest, and Apple has already released the M3 and M3 Pro chips that would probably be used in a refresh. It’s possible that Apple is waiting to get the mini and the Studio models in sync with one another to prevent some of the awkward overlap that happened last year when the Mac mini got an M2 upgrade but the Studio still used M1 chips.

MacBook Airs get an M3 upgrade, while the M1 model is finally retired Read More »

i-worked-exclusively-in-vision-pro-for-a-week—here’s-how-it-went

I worked exclusively in Vision Pro for a week—here’s how it went

Apple, Features, Reviews, Tech, vision pro, visionOS / /

  • A close-up look at the Vision Pro from the front.

    Samuel Axon

  • There are two displays inside the Vision Pro, one for each eye. Each offers just under 4K resolution.

    Samuel Axon

  • This is the infamous battery pack. It’s about the size of an iPhone (but a little thicker), and it has a USB-C port for external power sources.

    Samuel Axon

  • There are two buttons for the Vision Pro, both on the top.

    Samuel Axon

  • You can see the front-facing cameras that handle passthrough video just above the downward-facing cameras that read your hand gestures here.

    Samuel Axon

  • Apple offers several variations of the light seal to fit different face shapes.

    Samuel Axon

You can get a lot of work done while wearing Apple’s Vision Pro and have fun doing it—but it’s not yet at the stage where most of us will want to fully embrace spatial computing as the new way of working.

I spent more than a week working almost exclusively in the Vision Pro. I carried on Slack conversations, dialed into Zoom video calls, edited Google Docs, wrote articles, and did everything else I do within my day-to-day responsibilities as an editor at Ars Technica.

Throughout the experience, I never stopped thinking about how cool it was, like I was a character in a cyberpunk novel. The Vision Pro opens some new ways of approaching day-to-day work that could appeal to folks with certain sensibilities, and it offers access to some amenities that someone who hasn’t already invested a lot into their home office setup might not already have.

At the same time, though, I never quite zeroed in on a specific application or use case that made me think my normal habit of working on a MacBook Pro with three external monitors would be replaced. If you don’t already have a setup like that—that is to say, if you’ve just been working on a laptop on its own—then the Vision Pro can add a lot of value.

I plan to explore more use cases in the future, like gaming, but this is the last major piece in a series of sub-reviews of the Vision Pro that I’ve done on various applications, like entertainment or as an on-the-go mobile device.

My goal has been to see if the Vision Pro’s myriad use cases add up to $3,500 of value for today’s computing enthusiast. Productivity is front and center in how Apple markets the device, so this is an important one. Let’s see how it holds up.

The basics

Outside the realm of entertainment, visionOS and its apps are mostly about flat windows floating in 3D space. There are very few apps that make use of the device’s 3D capabilities in new ways that are relevant to productivity.

There are two types of visionOS apps: spatial apps and “Compatible Apps.” The former are apps designed to take advantage of the Vision Pro’s spatial computing capabilities, whereas Compatible Apps are simply iPad apps that work just fine as flat windows within the visionOS environment.

Let's find out if the Vision Pro can be an adequate replacement for this, my usual work space.

Enlarge / Let’s find out if the Vision Pro can be an adequate replacement for this, my usual work space.

Samuel Axon

In either case, though, you’re usually just getting the ability to put windows around you. For example, I started out by sitting at my kitchen table and putting my writing app in front of me, Slack and my email app off to the side, and a browser window with a YouTube video playing on the other side. This felt a bit like using several large computer monitors, each with an app maximized. It’s cool, and the ability to shift between your real environment and fully immersive virtual ones can help with focus, especially if you do intensive creative work like writing.

If there’s one thing Apple has nailed better than any of its predecessors in the mixed reality space, it’s the interface. Wherever your eyes are looking, a UI element will glow to let you know it’s the item you’ll interact with if you click. Clicking is done by simply tapping two of your fingers together almost anywhere around your body; the headset has cameras all over, so you don’t have to hold your hands up or in front of you to do this. There are also simple pinching-and-moving gestures for scrolling or zooming.

I worked exclusively in Vision Pro for a week—here’s how it went Read More »

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Apple changes course, will keep iPhone EU web apps how they are in iOS 17.4

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Digital Markets Act —

Alternative browsers can pin web apps, but they only run inside Apple’s WebKit.

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EU legislation has pushed a number of changes previously thought unthinkable in Apple products, including USB-C ports in iPhones sold in Europe.

Enlarge / EU legislation has pushed a number of changes previously thought unthinkable in Apple products, including USB-C ports in iPhones sold in Europe.

Getty Images

Apple has changed its stance on allowing web apps on iPhones and iPads in Europe and will continue to let users put them on their home screens after iOS 17.4 arrives. They will, however, have to be “built directly on WebKit and its security architecture,” rather than running in alternative browsers, which is how it had worked up until new legislation forced the issue.

After the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) demanded Apple open up its mobile devices to alternative browser engines, the company said it would remove the ability to install home screen web apps entirely. In a developer Q&A section, under the heading “Why don’t users in the EU have access to Home Screen web apps?”, Apple said that “the complex security and privacy concerns” of non-native web apps and what addressing them would require “given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps,” made it so that the company “had to remove the Home Screen web apps feature in the EU.” Any web app installed on a user’s home screen would have simply led them back to their preferred web browser.

Apple further warned against “malicious web apps,” which, without the isolation built into its WebKit system, could read data, steal permissions from other web apps, and install further web apps without permission, among other concerns.

That response prompted an inquiry by the European Commission officials, who asked Apple and app developers about the impact of a potential removal of home screen web apps. It also prompted a survey conducted by the Open Web Advocacy group. Apple has until March 6 to comply with the DMA. Apple’s move to block web apps entirely suggested that allowing web apps powered by Safari, but not other browser engines, might violate the DMA’s rules. Now, some aspect of that cautious approach has changed.

Under an updated version of that section heading, Apple reiterates its security and privacy concerns and the need to “build new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS.” But because of requests to continue web app offerings, “we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen capability in the EU,” Apple writes.

The long, weird road to where web apps are now

Apple has long offered web apps (or Progressive Web Apps) that opened as a separate application rather than in a browser tab. Web apps installed this way offer greater persistence and access to device features, like notifications, cameras, or file storage. Web apps were initially touted by Apple co-founder and then-CEO Steve Jobs as “everything you need” to write “amazing apps” rather than dedicated apps with their own SDK. Four months later, an iPhone SDK was announced, and Apple declared its enthusiastic desire for “native third-party applications on the iPhone.”

While Apple does not break out App Store revenues in its earning statements, its Services division recorded an all-time high of $22.3 billion in the company’s fourth quarter of 2023, including “all time revenue records” across the App Store and other offerings.

As part of its DMA compliance as a “gatekeeper” of certain systems, Apple must also allow for sideloading for EU customers, or allowing the installation of iOS apps from stores other than its own official App Store. This week, more than two dozen companies signed a letter to the Commission lamenting Apple’s implementation of App Store rules. Developers seeking to utilize alternative app stores will have to agree to terms that include a “Core Technology Fee,” demanding a 0.50 euro fee for each app, each year, after 1 million downloads. “Few app developers will agree to these unjust terms,” the letter claims, and will thereby further “Apple’s exploitation of its dominance over app developers.”

In a statement provided to Ars, Apple said that its “approach to the Digital Markets Act was guided by two simple goals: complying with the law and reducing the inevitable, increased risks the DMA creates for our EU users.” It noted that Apple employees “spent months in conversation with the European Commission,” and had “in little more than a year, created more than 600 new APIs and a wide range of developer tools.” Still, Apple said, the changes and safeguards it put in place can’t entirely “eliminate new threats the DMA creates,” and the changes “will result in a less secure system.”

That is why, Apple said, it is limiting third-party browser engines, app stores, and other DMA changes to the European Union. “[W]e’re concerned about their impacts on the privacy and security of our users’ experience—which remains our North Star.”

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After a decade of stops and starts, Apple kills its electric car project

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Project Titan —

Report claims Apple leadership worried profit margins simply wouldn’t be there.

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An enormous ring-shaped building on a green campus.

Enlarge / Apple’s global headquarters in Cupertino, California.

After 10 years of development, multiple changes in direction and leadership, and a plethora of leaks, Apple has reportedly ended work on its electric car project. According to a report in Bloomberg, the company is shifting some of the staff to work on generative AI projects within the company and planning layoffs for some others.

Internally dubbed Project Titan, the long-in-development car would have ideally had a luxurious, limo-like interior, robust self-driving capabilities, and at least a $100,000 price tag. However, the ambition of the project was drawn down with time. For example, it was once planned to have Level 4 self-driving capabilities, but that was scaled back to Level 2+.

Delays had pushed the car (on which work initially began way back in 2014) to a target release date of 2028. Now it won’t be released at all.

The decision was “finalized by Apple’s most senior executives in recent weeks,” according to Bloomberg’s sources. Apple’s leadership worried that the car might never find the profit margins they previously hoped for. This development won’t surprise many who have been following closely, though. The project has been known to be troubled for a while, and Apple would have had to face high startup costs and a difficult regulatory environment even had it been able to get a product together.

The shift in focus was announced to staff by Apple executives Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch. Many employees who were working on the self-driving feature of the car will be moved under AI chief John Giannandrea to work on various projects, including generative AI. However, the fates of others who worked on other aspects of the car, like automobile engineering and design, are less certain. The report says layoffs are likely but doesn’t specify how many or on what timeline.

For a long time, it was known that Apple was investing in two major expansions: one into the automobile space and one into augmented reality. The first step in the latter was rolled out in the form of the Vision Pro headset a few weeks ago. With the car project canceled, Apple’s known areas of planned future expansion include mixed reality, wearables, and generative AI.

After a decade of stops and starts, Apple kills its electric car project Read More »

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Apple Vision Pro’s components cost $1,542—but that’s not the full story

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Headset Economics —

The OLED displays account for more than a third of the component costs.

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A render of the displays inside the headset

Enlarge / The Vision Pro has two micro-OLED displays.

Apple

Research firm Omdia has published the first publicly available educated estimates of how much the materials for each Vision Pro really cost Apple. The analysis sets an overall price tag for the materials and identifies which components cost the most money.

Omdia Senior Research Director David Hsieh estimates that the total bill of materials comes in at around $1,542. The consumer price for the headset starts at $3,499 but can be as much as a thousand dollars more than that, depending on the configuration the buyer chooses.

Vision Pro presents both the real and the virtual worlds to the user with two micro-OLED displays, one for each eye. Together, these dual displays are the most expensive component in the headset, costing $456. Another external display (the one used for EyeSight) costs around $70, Hsieh estimates. That means that Omdia estimates the device’s displays account for about 35 percent of the total cost of the device’s materials.

The runner-up category is silicon; a roll-up cost estimate of both the M2 system-on-a-chip and the R1 processor together lands at $240, or just over 15 percent of the total cost of the device’s materials.

You can see the full table of materials in Omdia’s estimate here, as first seen in one of the firm’s blog posts:

No matter how accurate that $1,542 number is, we should steer clear of the temptation to declare that Apple profits $1,957 on each Vision Pro sold for $3,499, as that’s certainly not the case.

A bill of materials like this doesn’t take into account manufacturing, shipping, or marketing, nor does it factor in the cost of research and development. There’s no way to know from these estimates how much profit Apple earns on each Vision Pro sold, but it’s definitely a lot less than the difference between the price tag and the bill of materials.

Apple has historically maintained substantial profit margins on its hardware products like the iPhone, and Vision Pro could follow in those footsteps, or it could be that Vision Pro is anomalous. Only Apple knows for sure. In any case, analysts expect some of these costs to come down with time.

Apple Vision Pro’s components cost $1,542—but that’s not the full story Read More »