Originally published at: https://appletalk.com.au/2018/09/friday-morning-news070918/
Supply chain sources say that this year’s iPhone revisions are set to lead the tech industry in at least one key area: the fabrication process used for making chips that power the iPhone. With this year’s iPhone widely expected to use a 7nm process for its A12 SoC, Digitimes reports that four other major chipmakers have delayed their own plans to use 7nm processes, giving Apple a potential edge when it comes to power consumption and heat output.
As an iPhone X owner, it’ll probably be difficult to convince me to upgrade to whatever Apple announce next week. But there’ll be plenty of other cool stuff to look forward to, particularly as someone still rocking a Series 0 Apple Watch. And whatever else besides that — I can’t imagine Apple would just announce new iPhones, Apple Watch devices, and call it a day, and Macworld has the list of other things we should be looking out for.
For example, they’ll probably be something about Apple’s previously-announced updates to its software platforms: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Judging by the number of betas, iOS 12 is coming soon, and the iOS 11 Tips app is telling users about upcoming features. Even if you’re not getting a new device, improvements to notifications, Siri Shortcuts, and Screen Time to help you limit how much time you’re spending on your device should keep you occupied for at least a few months.
Apple is looking to hire a “senior systems neuroscientist”, with the candidate described as one capable of “building transformative neurotechnology”. Such a position doesn’t seem to be tethered to any one particular product, instead joining the Technology Development Team and working closely with scientists and engineers from other teams.
CNBC has words from former Apple special health projects manager Robin Goldstein, who says that the tech industry’s “fast-failure” approach to health tech won’t work because when it comes to health devices, companies only get one chance with each customer. Health technology is different in that you can’t chalk failure up to being an early adopter and go back to the drawing board, because it’s not about one bad user experience or one bad product — it’s about life and death.
Apple has announced it will be launching a dedicated web portal for law enforcement agencies to manage their data requests. The portal will allow authenticated users to submit requests for data, track previous requests, and obtain data from previous requests, slated to launch by the end of the year, with Apple quick to remind law enforcement agencies about its commitment to protect the security and privacy of its users.
Split View and Slide Over on iOS are fundamental features if you want to do any kind of multitasking, and AppleInsider has tips on getting the most out of them. An entire class of apps have slid over to take advantage of Slide Over, and with Split View’s ability to let you see more than one thing at a time, it’ll almost be like you have two screens.
Accessories company Satechi has new wired and wireless keyboards, designed with the iMac and iMac Pro in mind. While the silver versions are out today, the space gray, gold, and rose gold options are available for pre-order.
The Verge says everyone can now buy Logitech’s Crayon stylus, previously only available to education customers, but that’s not quite true. While anyone can pre-order the Crayon today, it won’t ship or be available at Apple Retail until September 12, which just happens to be the same day as Apple’s September event. Does Logitech know something we don’t, that has to do with how the Crayon only works with the sixth-generation iPad, and not the iPad Pro or other iPad models?
Jeff Geerling’s review of the 13-inch Dell XPS from a lifelong Mac user points out that despite all the advances Windows hardware has made, or how good, relatively speaking, Windows 10 is, and despite how terrible the current crop of Mac laptops are, “a lot of the finer details are still lacking compared to Apple’s hardware”. Isn’t that why we’re all Mac users?