Rogue01

eightzero said:

Please tell me that this isn't because Apple wants to ram (!) AI down our collective throats. Could we please just have non-AI OS support for these machines?

You can turn off Apple Intelligence, even on Apple Silicon Macs. It is not required.

Mike Wuerthele said:

avon b7 said:

I'll wait to hear the full story from all sides but my first thought was 'Think Secret'. 

AppleInsider got sued a few years before ThinkSecret, and won too.

In this climate, though, it'll be interesting to see how this goes.

And ThinkSecret did not win their lawsuit and got shut down for the leaks they posted on their website.  I miss the days when people were actually surprised during a keynote when a new product was released, because none of it was leaked beforehand.

It is embarrassing that Apple cannot even put the same family of silicon in all of the Macs.  Instead, they waste the M4 in an iPad with the limited iPadOS.  The M4 should have been introduced in the mini, MacBook Air, base model MacBook Pro, and iMac.  Then shortly after bring out the M4 Pro and M4 Max & Ultra in the higher end MacBook Pro and Mac Studio and Mac Pro.

"That Walmart M1 MacBook Air officially sells for $699, though it has consistently been listed for $649. This has always been a steal in our opinion based on how solid Apple Silicon is.  It would be great for Apple to start selling this new machine at the same $699 price point."

The article should point out that this low price is the worthless 8/256 configuration.  This is not a 'steal'.  If this new A18 MacBook becomes reality, it does not need Apple Intelligence.  The base model new iPad doesn't have it.  So if Apple wanted to make a cheap laptop, you know they would start it at 8/256, because that is how Apple does business.  People buy these 'low cost' Macs by mistake because they don't realize the 8/256 is not upgradable.  There are hundreds of MacBook Pros, all 8/256, for sale on Facebook Marketplace that all say the same thing, 'I got this a few months ago and I barely used it'.  They realized 8/256 is a worthless machine.  So they are trying to sell them for about $500, sometimes less, and they sit on Facebook Marketplace for months with no buyers.

Apple's idea of 'low cost' is $100 less, and it would be a configuration no one wants.  Add memory and SSD, then you will be better off buying the higher performance model.

Reading the comments is always amusing.  When Apple switched to their own processor, people loved to complain about delays caused by Intel.  Yet Apple updated their products more consistently with Intel than they have done with their own chips.  The iMac had an M1 for over two years before finally getting an upgrade.  The Mac mini had the M1 for over two years before getting an upgrade, and the mini was the first model switched to Apple Silicon, then Apple ignored it for another two years before updating it again.  Apple claimed a MacBook Air with a 15" display was 'new', yet they shipped it with a year and a half old M2 chip.  The Mac Studio had the M2 for almost two years before getting an upgrade, and the Mac Pro is just an embarrassment still using an M2 Ultra.  M3 Ultra came out 4 months ago, still nothing with the Mac Pro, yet Apple still charges a ridiculous $7,000 for outdated hardware.

"Apple had initially expected to release an M5 update later in 2025, but it then shifted the schedule to be a later release."

So now this.  Delays again with Apple using their own chips, but now people seem to be okay with it...because they can't blame anyone else except for Apple.  Yet Apple claimed they would have 'better control' of their products making their own chips, but apparently they don't because they keep delaying their own product releases or flat out ignoring other models.  And rumors floating around about a MacBook using an A18 processor?  Apple will claim it is new, but it is using an iPhone SOC instead of something newer.  Just like Apple using left over iPhone 11 SOC and camera parts for the Apple Studio Display.  That is the reality of it.

Not to mention Apple charging an arm and a leg for memory and SSD upgrades.  You are far better off buying a used Mac because it won't carry over the highly inflated Apple 'Tax' for those upgrades.

davgreg said:

There is no good reason that Face ID does not already exist on the laptops and on the already quite expensive monitors

You should read the article next time.  There is very good reason why there is no FaceID.  The components won't fit in the very thin MacBook display lid.  With their overpriced monitors, the FaceID components would fit, but Apple has no interest in doing that.  Even in this 12,000 word patent, there is no mention of FaceID or lock.  This is just a camera that detects motion.  With OLED MacBooks coming next year, the display lid will be even thinner, so guarantee no FaceID.  Just use your finger since TouchID has been on the MacBooks since 2016.

So it is almost a 10mm brick in your pocket for over $2,000, and like everything else that folds, there will be a crease down the display after use.  You can't avoid it.  Apple did not invent some magical display that won't show a crease over time.  I would rather look right at my phone without having to unfold it every single time.  I bet you have to unfold it every time you want to take a picture to see what is on the screen through the camera.  So now you will look like the fools holding up an iPad to take pictures.

Poaching AI talent from Apple?  Really?  Has Meta never used Siri?  Are they following the disaster of Apple Intelligence?  One would think poaching from Apple for AI talent would be the last place anyone would look.  Or, these individuals are experts in AI, but Apple's ridiculous restrictions are preventing them from demonstrating their expertise, so they happily bailed and went elsewhere.  I am not holding my breath on Apple 'fixing' Siri, especially when they claim it won't be fixed until late Spring 2026.  Apple is behind in AI and continuing to fall behind in AI.

randominternetperson said:

Rogue01 said:

Developers are not really interested in making apps for a platform that no one is interested in buying or using.  AR/VR has never been popular or something that consumers feel they need.  3DTV bombed because people did not even want to wear glasses, let alone big heavy goggles.  And consumers are not spending $3500 on a product they don't 'need' in their life.  Apple did not solve any problems with this device.  They are better off just killing it and putting the resources to improving iOS, macOS and iPadOS, the systems that consumers actually use and upgrade over time.

Even watchOS is dead and developers have pretty much abandoned that platform.  The last 5 versions of the watch were uneventful with very little to offer.  I don't even wear my Watch 5 anymore.  Just sits on a charger.  Has some cool fitness apps, but much easier to just look at my phone.

Some may not agree, but that is the reality of it.  Any time I have been at an Apple Store, people are looking at phones and Macs.  They don't even look at the Vision Pro because it is so stupidly expensive, and they don't have a need for it.

LOL

Your Visio Pro take is fine. Your Apple Watch take is bizarre. Apple Watch is ubiquitous in the wild. The fact you don't wear your 6-year old AW is irrelevant. I do wonder why you keep charging it however. Give it away or sell it.

It is not irrelevant.  It runs watchOS 10, so not that outdated.  But since I work from home, don't have any reason to wear it.  Once in awhile I might wear it, if I am going somewhere and want to track any walking distance, but there are no apps for the watch that are meaningful, so even a current Apple Watch would be useless as well.  Biggest downside, after 10 years of Apple making a watch, you still need to charge it every single day.  When Apple advertised the Watch, they were hoping for a 'killer' app, and it never happened because people would rather look at the larger screen on the phone, which is with them already, then the tiny screen on the watch.  Over the years, developers pretty much gave up on the watch.  Yes, the watch is way more popular than the Vision Pro, but it is really only good for the Apple-based apps.  The Watch 5 has zero resale value.  People are selling the Watch 9 on Facebook Marketplace for about $200 or less.  With watchOS 10, it still does pretty much everything the current model does, so no reason to ever buy a new one.  When developers have no interest, then it is pretty obvious.

cpsro said:

Lack of a blood oxygen sensor will be a killer for many people.

linkman said:

Is there a way to obtain a reasonably accurate blood pressure measurement without some sort of cuff?

The blood O2 sensor did not have any effect on sales even when it was featured on the watch.  Nor did it affect sales when it was removed.  It has been written up in medical journals confirming how inaccurate the O2 sensor is.  It does not take a constant reading, it only takes a reading once in a while and then gives you an average.  If you had a health condition that caused your blood O2 to drop, a person with that condition won't be using an Apple Watch to check it.  They would be using a real blood O2 sensor to check for sudden drops.

The watch is not a medical device.  To get an accurate blood pressure, you must be seated, feet flat on the floor, resting, and your arm horizontal with the desk and the cuff properly placed on your arm.  The watch would never be able to do this.  It would be practically impossible for Apple to get proper approval to claim the watch is a certified medical device for certain tests.  Even the ECG sensor is not medically approved.

The watch is a fitness device.  Even most developers have abandoned the watch.  So Apple just improves the fitness aspect of the watch because the past 5 updates have been uneventful, and it looks like Watch 11 will be just like Watch 6, 7, 8, and 9, offering very little.  I am not even considering replacing my Watch 5 because every version after offers very little, and I barely wear it now that I mostly work from home.  It is pretty clear that Apple can't come up with anything significant with the watch.  It still has the same design since the Watch 1, but at least the 10 has a decent improvement with screen size.  I don't think I would ever buy another one.  Charging it daily is a pain.