OutdoorAppDeveloper

First, thanks for mentioning the GPU mystery as I have been pointing out in my comments for some time. You left out part of the mystery which is that if Apple continues to use AMD GPUs on Apple Silicon Macs, who writes the drivers? GPU drivers are highly optimized and are not as portable to a new CPU architecture as application code. AMD does need to port to ARM in any case (and likely already supports it) but the Apple Silicon CPUs are ARM variants and will need custom optimizations. Then there is Apple's investment into GPU design. The use of an AMD GPU on a M1+ or M2 computer would feel like a step backwards compared to the M1 which was all Apple. If I had to bet, I would guess that Apple will announce a new GPU to go along with the new Apple Silicon processor. Whether it can compete with current desktop GPUs is anyone's guess. Thus far Apple has come no where close to the performance of a RX 6000 series GPU (or RTX 3000 series) gaming GPU.

However, there is another mystery. The M1 had the RAM built into the chip along with the CPU and GPU. This was a surprise when Apple Silicon was announced. No other system CPU vendor does this to my knowledge. The up side is that this allows the CPU to talk to the RAM more efficiently. The down side is that you are limited to the amount of RAM Apple built into the package. Will the M1+ have the RAM built in or will it be external and upgradable? Will it be a combination with some high speed RAM built in as another level of cache?

The main purpose of the app review process is to protect Apple's business from app developers and users of apps. Apple has automation that carefully checks that its API is being used correctly by an app developer and thereby greatly restricts what a user is allowed to do. The app review process as designed cannot determine if an app or a company is fake. If I made a new developer account and claimed to be Acme Hole Company, Apple would never contact the real Acme Hole Company to find out whether the app really belonged to them or not. Instead Apple waits for users to report apps as malicious and then takes action if there are enough complaints. Of course by then the fake app developer has already made their money and just sets up a new fake developer account and app. Always keep in mind that most of Apple's security is for Apple not for you.

Apple's problem is that since they curate apps, they have taken on the responsibility for the apps in the App Store. They would have been protected if they had allowed any app on the App Store since no user would trust them. Instead they have tried to build trust by saying that the App Store is safe because apps are reviewed. Users have no understanding that "safe" only applies to Apple's technology and not their own information.

If Apple wants to fix this problem it should do two things:
1. Identify its developers in some secure way that prevents developers from pretending to be someone they are not. Collect biometrics (voice, facial features, retina scans, etc.) of developers before allowing them to publish anything.
2. Trust developers who have a long track record of releasing safe apps and dealing with customers honestly. Use that trust to grant them additional API access to sensitive features (like being able to request access to a user's personal information).

Apple is now against free government? Great. Well I guess we know now why China loves them so much.

Note to the analyst and to Apple: The rest of the industry won't wait until 2025 for consumer AR wearables. There is already an established price point for consumer XR devices. It is $300. At that price they fly off the shelves as long as they are really good and continue to add features over time. Apple could get a higher price for a more advanced headset with a sleeker design but probably not more than $500. XR has to be affordable because everyone knows they will be throwing away their current headset in a couple of years when the next generation is released.

No problem. We can all just use Apple's wireless VR headset...