Month: June 2022

A second generation of Apple computer chips is born.

Apple broadened its processor ambitions on Monday with the new M2, a chip that improves core processing performance 18% over the M1 without hurting battery life in the company’s new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro laptops.

The 18% speed boost comes from the M2’s redesigned central processing units. The processor has four fast CPU cores and four efficient cores, a hybrid approach drawn from the smartphone world. And by increasing the number of graphics processing units up to a maximum of 10 instead of eight for the M1, GPU performance is 35% faster. Overall, the new MacBook Air is 38% faster at Final Cut Pro video editing, Apple said.

“We continue to have a relentless focus on power efficient performance,” Johny Srouji, Apple hardware team leader, said at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Power efficiency is crucial to shrinking laptops since the biggest component is the battery. The new MacBook Airs take up 20% less volume but still have a long, 18-hour battery life, Apple said. The company also is using the M2 in a new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The M2 processor also has a significant memory boost, reaching up to 24GB instead of 16GB for the M1. Memory is important, especially as software gets bigger and laptops have years-long lifespans. M series chips build memory directly into the processor package for fast performance, but it’s not upgradable.

Apple debuted the M1 at 2020’s WWDC and began shipping it later that year in the earlier version of the MacBook Air. The M1, along with beefier successors called the M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra, struck an effective balance between performance and battery life and earned strong reviews.

The M2 doubles down on the same balanced approach, offering updated processing cores that are variants of the chips at the heart of newer iPhones. The new chips continue the gradual ejection of Intel processors from the Mac family of personal computers and could enable the last Intel-powered member, the Mac Pro, to switch to Apple chips.

Designing processors is an expensive, difficult undertaking. But with the M series chips, Apple takes advantage of the A series chip design work it already does for its iPhones and iPads and pays Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build the chips on its advanced product lines.

The M2 is built on TSMC’s 5nm (5 nanometer) manufacturing process, but it’s an improved version to the one used for the M1. TSMC is working on a more advanced 3nm process that should let customers squeeze in somewhat more transistors, the core electronics element that processes data on a chip.

The M2 has 20 billion transistors, a 25% increase over the M1, Apple said.

One use of the new transistors is the increased GPU count. Another is an upgraded neural engine — a chip block used to accelerate artificial intelligence workloads. The new 16-core neural engine can perform 15.8 trillion operations per second, Apple said.

With its own chips, Apple gets more control over the technology foundation of its products — a principle important to Chief Executive Tim Cook — and we get better Macs.

Apple’s M series and A series chips are members of the Arm processor family. UK-based Arm licenses designs that companies can customize to varying degrees. Arm chips from Qualcomm, Apple, MediaTek, Samsung, Google and others power just about every smartphone for sale.

Because Apple doesn’t offer its chips to others, and because the majority of PCs use Intel processors, Intel is somewhat insulated from Apple’s shift. Intel is working to modernize its manufacturing, spending tens of billions of dollars on new chipmaking fabs. Intel aims to reclaim its lead over rivals TSMC and Samsung in 2024.

The most important part of Apple’s upcoming announcements on Monday may already be in your pocket.

At the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC as it’s called, Apple is expected to announce an array of software upgrades for its iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, in addition to, potentially, a new performance-focused Mac Pro computer and fresh TV-related features.

For iPhones, the new software is expected to include small “widget” apps on the lock screen, according to reports from Bloomberg and others. Apple is also expected to add features to improve multitasking and running apps side by side, particularly on the iPad. Those changes for Apple’s tablet would be welcomed by CNET reviewer Scott Stein, who’s criticized the device for its lack of PC-like features.

“The hardware seems just about perfect,” Stein wrote in his review of last year’s iPad Pro, which is now powered by the same M1 chips as the company’s MacBook laptops. “If Apple starts updating its iPadOS to add new features, more multitasking and monitor support, more Pro apps, and maybe even some sort of Mac compatibility mode using the M1 chip it now shares with all those new Macs, this could be an amazing machine.”

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Though Apple may show off some hardware at this year’s WWDC, the event is primarily focused on the company’s plans for the future. It’s an opportunity for Apple to tease ideas that will power key new features in its devices. In the past, the company has used WWDC to announce revamped looks for its iPhone software, new coding languages for its devices and new initiatives like its transition to home-made chips to power its Mac computers.

Apple has also expanded its subscription offerings over the past couple of years. Those now include the $5 per month Apple TV Plus for movies and TV shows, the $5 per month Apple Arcade gaming service and the $10 per month Apple Fitness Plus. People have so far responded well to them, Apple has said, pointing to the 825 million accounts with paid subscriptions on its platform at the end of March. That’s an increase of 17% from the prior year.

“The pandemic has underlined even more how much we rely on this stuff,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies.

More, more, more
There’s a chance Apple will announce new computers at WWDC this year, particularly its already teased next Mac Pro performance desktop. But even if the company doesn’t produce a wow-worthy moment, Milanesi said, she’ll be watching for the seemingly small software changes Apple will undoubtedly announce that, over time, add up to big shifts in how its devices work.

For example, the company began experimenting with widgets, or small apps, in 2014 with iOS 8. At the time, those widgets were limited, and only visible in the Notification Center. After six years of refinement, Apple added widgets to the home screen with iOS 14.

Those software upgrades, which Apple makes freely available for iPhones and iPads produced within the last five years or so, are unusual. Most other companies don’t keep adding features years after their devices are sold.

The new software also offers an opportunity for Apple to present something fresh that doesn’t rely on manufacturing, which has struggled to keep up with demand, and that isn’t hit hard by the costs of inflation.

“With software, Apple has a unique ability to refresh products in a way that others don’t,” Milanesi said.

Big Apple
Another set of changes Apple has increasingly offered for its smartphones, tablets and computers is how well they work with other devices that the company doesn’t make. Over the years, Apple has, for example, added software technology that allows its Apple Watch to communicate with workout equipment. The company has also expanded its near-field communication technology, primarily built for Apple Pay wireless credit card payments, to serve as keys to get into a car, and soon driver’s licenses to use at an airport too.

“All of this translates not just to Apple playing better with their devices, but also with other devices,” said Bob O’Donnell, an analyst at Technalysis research.

This year in particular, O’Donnell will be watching for any mention of industrywide initiatives that Apple will back. In the past couple of years, Apple notably partnered with Fast Identity Online, or FIDO, to improve login security across the web. It also joined Matter, a consortium of device makers including Amazon, Samsung and Google, who are hoping to make it easier for smart home devices to talk to one another.

“That’s where you move beyond the basic, ‘Here’s a new version of iOS with X, Y and Z features,'” O’Donnell added.

There’s still always a chance Apple could pull a surprise announcement of its long-rumored AR glasses, expected to maybe go on sale next year. But analysts say that at a time when manufacturing is struggling and the broader economy is shaky, it’s a good opportunity for Apple to focus on the software that helps its devices stand out.

“With an unparalleled installed base of 1 billion iPhones worldwide and 1.8 billion iOS devices for Cupertino this continues to remain Apple’s unique advantage over other technology stalwarts,” Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a recent message to investors, referring to Apple’s hometown of Cupertino, California.

Ives added that though a quarter of those phones haven’t been upgraded in more than three years, demand for Apple’s devices is still strong, in part because of those regular software upgrades. “The stickiness of the iPhone upgrade cycle is being underestimated,” he said.

Commentary: WWDC 2022 is just days away. Here’s everything we want Apple to add and fix in its next big iPhone update.

Commentary: WWDC 2022 is just days away. Here’s everything we want Apple to add and fix in its next big iPhone update.

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off Monday, and with it we’re expecting an early look at iOS 16 — likely the name of Apple’s next software version for the iPhone. Apple is expected to share previews of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, WatchOS 9, MacOS and other software. We’re most excited about the next version of iOS, since it usually includes a few impressive changes for the iPhone.

Rumors for iOS 16 are relatively sparse, which is typical for unreleased Apple software. So it will truly be a surprise to see what new iOS features are revealed.

The last three versions of iOS have been similar. iOS 15 feels like a riff on iOS 14, which felt like a continuation of iOS 13. Any visual changes are able to be turned on and off instead of being forced onto your iPhone. For example, if you don’t like home screen widgets or Focus mode, you don’t have to use them. Even if you opt out of the more conspicuous changes, running iOS 15 brings a bunch of background improvements to keep your iPhone running smoothly and securely. And that will likely be the case with iOS 16.

iOS 15 has been out for seven months and the operating system has been relatively stable with very few bugs. Some features, such as Universal Control and SharePlay, took a while to roll out, but everything seems to be up and running now. iOS 16 will likely continue where iOS 15 leaves off, adding new features to the existing design.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t things Apple needs to add or improve. My colleagues and I came up with a list of improvements, additions and fixes that we’d like Apple to make for iOS 16. Some are big, like adding support for the Apple Pencil, and others are small but significant, like giving home screen widgets more functionality. We’ll have to wait until June to see what Apple actually does.

Change comes amid rebranding to focus on building the virtual world of the metaverse.Facebook parent company Meta Platforms said Tuesday its stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol META on June 9, replacing the FB symbol it went public with a little more than a decade ago.

The ticker symbol change comes roughly seven months after Facebook announced its rebranding to Meta to reflect the company’s focus on building the metaverse, a virtual world where people work, play, learn and connect with their friends and family.

At the time, Facebook announced it would start trading under the new stock ticker MVRS but later said it would delay the change until the first until the first quarter of this year.

Roundhill Investments had used the META stock symbol for its Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF but relinquished it in January, allowing Meta to take over ownership.

The change comes at a challenging time for the social networking giant. In February, the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and a drop in daily users, underscoring how much the company relies on social media as it develops its metaverse ambitions.