Ugh! Monthly subscriptions.
Car makers other than Tesla are already floating the idea that some of the toys on your car - like heated seats - would be on a subscription. Vinfast is trying to make the battery in its EVs a lease, which results in you paying for the car multiple times over.
We are just cash cows to be milked.
Forget Siri, I would be happy if they made iPhoto and the cloud not suck complete ass.
Watching WWDC, and every year I am disappointed that the one thing that Apple has not added to its capabilities is a thesaurus.
Thereās the usual raft of incremental upgrades to software capabilities, but the big thing is āApple Intelligenceā. Basically unlobotomizing Siri, without giving all your data to ChatGPT. It should now understand contextual and follow on requests, and also take actions in apps.
Looks pretty powerful, and is all on-device computation unless the request needs a larger sample size. In those circumstances, the Apple walled garden is expanded to include only Apple-approved servers where your data cannot be saved or used by anyone else.
AI capabilities such as writing/improving text and creating images/artwork are now built-in to Appleās apps. It can control large data sets like your inbox or photo library. One example they gave is asking Siri for your DL number, and it will find a scan of your license, pull the number and drop it into your app.
ChatGPT stuff, but without your ass hanging out on the net.
HA! AppleGPT will allow you to search for a particular moment in a video. I hope theyāre ready for a bukkake of āunusualā requests.
Oh wow! If Siri is stumped, it will ask if you will let it phone a friend; that friend being ChatGPT.
Here are the Cliff Notes:
Apple Intelligence starts at 9:25.
Well, some of my predictions were correct (e.g. all M-series devices getting the new AI features) and some were not (only iPhone 15 Pro getting them). Kind of surprised about the latter given that there are 2-3 years worth of iPhone Pros that have neural engines on par with at least the M1. Maybe there were performance (RAM) or battery life concerns in the older devices aside from the neural engine TOPS figures. Or itās just Apple being Apple.
Good edit.
Iām sure a lot of this is just catching up to Android, but a lot of it smacks of the new AI theyāre rolling out. They were very careful not to say āAIā at any point so as not to step on Timās reveal at the end.
A very good explanation of the importance of Apple Intelligence.
The new Apple software allows AirPods Pro to perform a hearing test. The test is FDA approved, so it can be shared with your doctor to help you get treatment.
But, more than that, the test allows the AirPods to act as a hearing aid. The software will map the hearing test onto the budsā output, so that it can enhance sounds from any source specifically for your hearing issues.
As someone who has had tinnitus since early adulthood, this is very intriguing.
Other tidbits from the Apple event today:
Iām in no rush, but if the reviews of Apple Intelligence are positive, I can see myself getting a new 16. With Appleās generous trade-in allowances, itāll cost almost nothing; but if the AI features work as advertised, as someone with ADHD who has eleventy-million screenshots on my phone, I can see the potential for some very real, real-world benefits.
Do they have an iPhone 16 Mini?
Nothing announced.
Unless you consider the Apple Watch a āmini iPhoneā which, given what it can do on its own these days, it really is.
But then Iād have to wear an Apple Watch.
But you wouldnāt have to carry a phone.
I donāt mind carrying a phone. I mind wearing a digital watch
Joking aside, Iām with you on the size creep of phones. I wish they would make the base iPhone the same size as the 6S which was, for me, peak ergonomics.
Ironically, with MagSafe battery packs and the like, battery size is now far less important than it was. For most people on most days we are rarely away from the ability to charge our phones for much more than a few minutes, especially with induction charging.
Hopefully phone manufacturers (and EV makers) will realize that designing products with the battery capacity only necessary for extreme situations is a waste of space, weight and resources.
In all honesty, the peak of iPhone design, both in style and in ergonomics was the 3G. I get that most people would rather carry around a 19-inch monitor, but I donāt have to like it.
Apple (and maybe other OEMs, Iām not sure) already does this: they shrink the battery a little bit each generation due to efficiency gains in new silicon and display tech. This is why battery life claims on new iPhone and Apple Watch models have been relatively stagnant for several years.
Slashing the battery capacity as much as youāre suggesting is not wise, IMO. Most people are pretty bad at preparing ahead when it comes to their phoneās battery life and donāt want to buy additional products. The MagSafe battery pack is a step in the right direction to at least increase convenience but my understanding is that the current iteration of those products is not very good.