Tim Hardwick rounded up what M2 Macs are still for sale after the MacBook Air’s update to the M3. Spoiler alert: it’s all desktops.
Category: Apple
More of a Good Thing →
Jason Snell has spent some time with the new M3 MacBook Air, and his review says exactly what I hoped it would: that the Air continues to get better and better, and is the Mac for just about everyone.
A More Charitable Take on Apple’s Self-Driving Car Ambitions
I’m still reeling a bit from Bloomberg’s reporting on what Apple was hoping to achieve with its self-driving car project. Even though $1 billion a year isn’t much on Apple’s scale, it’s clear that a lot of time and energy went into this project over the last ten years.
Many of Apple’s ideas around the future of the car were just too far-fetched to ship anything in the near future. However, I think there are at least three benefits to what the company was working toward with Project Titan.
Consumer Safety
In the United States, car crashes are a leading non-natural cause of death for people up to the age of 54, and some 1.4 million people are killed on roadways around the world each year. Those numbers are staggering.
The promise of a self-driving future is that far fewer people will die in automobile accidents. Autonomous vehicles don’t fall asleep behind the wheel, get distracted by looking at their phones, run red lights, or drive while under the influence.
Reducing — or entirely eliminating — deaths caused by car crashes is a noble goal. It’s clear in both the “Bread Loaf” and “I-Beam” designs that Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett reported on that this was at the heart of Apple’s work.
Better Cities
Some people pitch their vision of the future as one defined by robotaxis. Hail a car, hop in, and the computer will take you where you need to go, without human intervention or interaction. While I think that is an exciting possibility, it seems to me that it is merely a stepping stone toward something bigger.
If cars are autonomously delivering people to work, school, and more, people can begin to rethink infrastructure on a broader level. Mass transit could become more easily accessible to everyone, with cities like mine embracing it for the first time in a meaningful way. It may start with replacing human-driven vehicles with computer-controlled ones, but it doesn’t have to stop there.
Services
Lastly, we come to services. I am sure Apple wants to be a player in the robotaxi future comes, if it comes to fruition, but the opportunities are more fundamental than that. A car that doesn’t need a driver can become anything ranging from a mobile office to a rolling movie theater. Apple already offers services — and devices — that serve those markets, and could continue to expand its ecosystem in new and interesting ways.
Granted, this more of a benefit to Apple than society, but I’m sure folks at the company were thinking about what they could do.
Ahead of its Time
As I wrote earlier today, much of what Apple was hoping to accomplish with its car project was just out of reach of what is possible today. Honestly, if Apple couldn’t pull this off, I am not sure who else can at this point. Part of me feels disappointed at that, but it doesn’t mean Apple’s work here was completely in vain. I have no doubt their work in some of the areas required to build a self-driving car will (or already have) proved to be beneficial to products like the iPhone or Vision Pro.
Should Apple have pulled the plug on the car project years ago? Probably, but sometimes barely-kept-secret projects are not just about the destination.
Apple’s Car Project Was Far More Bonkers than We Ever Knew →
For a decade, we’ve all wondered what an Apple-designed car would be like. Thanks to Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett, we now have an idea:
Around the beginning of 2020, Apple Inc.’s top executives gathered at a former Chrysler testing track in Wittmann, Arizona, to try out the latest incarnation of the car the technology giant had been trying for years to make. The prototype, a white minivan with rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors and whitewall tires, was designed to comfortably seat four people and inspired by the classic flower-power Volkswagen microbus. The design was referred to within Apple, not always affectionately, as the Bread Loaf. The plan was for the vehicle to hit the market some five years later with a giant TV screen, a powerful audio system and windows that adjusted their own tint. The cabin would have club seating like a private plane, and passengers would be able to turn some of the seats into recliners and footrests.
The Bread Loaf, so far, sounds very much like something Jony Ive would be into, at least in terms of looks… but then things get weird:
Most important, the Bread Loaf would have what’s known in the industry as Level 5 autonomy, driving entirely on its own using a revolutionary onboard computer, a new operating system and cloud software developed in-house. There would be no steering wheel and no pedals, just a video-game-style controller or iPhone app for driving at low speed as a backup. Alternately, if the car found itself in a situation that it was unable to navigate, passengers would phone in to an Apple command center and ask to be driven remotely.
I read that last part about four times before it truly sank in. Pushing self-driving technology forward was clearly important to Apple, but this sounds like the company was reaching for pure science fiction, with a 1-800 number as a safety net.
According to this reporting, Tim Cook and Jeff Williams rode in the Bread Loaf and liked where things were heading, but after Doug Field left Apple for Ford, things got weirder still:
Under Field’s successor, Kevin Lynch, who also runs Apple’s smartwatch software group, the car’s design continued to evolve. It had become pod-shaped, with curved glass sides that doubled as gull-wing doors, and the company considered including ramps that would automatically fold out to make heavy cargo easier to load. The front and the back were identical, and the only windows were on the sides, a design choice with potentially dire consequences in the event that a human needed to do any driving. (Front and rear windows were later added.) Some people on the project called it the I-Beam.
It’s clear Apple thought it could pull off self-driving at a level that no one on Earth has been able to do so. It’s also clear that there was a staggering lack of decisive decision making concerning how the technology should be turned into a product.
There’s inherent tension in product design. If people can’t imagine the future, they can’t build it. With the car project, Apple’s dreams seem to have been too big, and its vast resources let work carry on far too long.
True self-driving cars will be here one day, and maybe Apple’s work will make them possible sooner than otherwise possible. However, at the end the day, companies like Apple have to ship products. It seems that someone at Apple finally remembered that real artists ship.
Update: Don’t miss my follow-up post discussing this in more detail.
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro to Receive Multi-Monitor Support →
Zac Hall, writing at 9to5Mac:
Apple introduced the M3 MacBook Air with a headlining new feature. For the first time, the Apple silicon MacBook Air will be able to simultaneously drive two external monitors. The only compromise is that the MacBook Air lid must be closed. Still, that’s a big win for users who appreciate portability on-the-go and large displays at the office.
The new feature also raises an interesting question: will the M3 MacBook Pro that was introduced in October also gain multi-display support in the same way? It shares the same version of Apple silicon and has Pro in the name, after all.
It turns out the answer is yes! Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that a software update for the 14-inch MacBook Pro will gain the ability to drive two external displays with the lid closed. The feature will work identically to how it works with the new M3 MacBook Air.
No details yet on which software update, although macOS Sonoma 14.4 is still in developer and public beta. The M3 MacBook Air in 13- and 15-inch sizes hits stores on Friday.
Federico Viticci: ‘I Created the Hybrid Mac-iPad Laptop and Tablet That Apple Won’t Make’ →
We all know Federico as the iPad guy, but the truth is that he experiments with tons of different hardware. He has spent time with convertible PCs, iPads, Macs, and most recently, the Vision Pro.
But today he has truly outdone himself:
For the past three weeks, I’ve been using something I call a “MacPad” as my new laptop. The MacPad is a hybrid device that serves multiple purposes:
- It’s a keyboard and trackpad for my Vision Pro;
- It’s a Mac with a detachable display;
- It’s an iPad Pro with an external keyboard and trackpad.
You know where this is going. These aren’t three separate devices: it’s one computer made of, well, two computers working together thanks to the magic of Apple’s ecosystem. It’s a Mac with an iPad display that I can detach and use as a tablet whenever I want; it’s an iPad that transforms into a Mac when docked. And, it’s the ideal keyboard and trackpad accessory for the Vision Pro.
In researching keyboard options for the Vision Pro, I ended up building the convertible Apple laptop-tablet that I so desperately want the company to make.
Let me explain how.
When I read a draft of this article last week, I laughed and gasped several times. What’s he been able to pull off — both on the hardware and software fronts — is breathtaking. Do not miss this article.
EU Fines Apple $2 Billion →
The Verge’s Jon Porter and Jess Weatherbed:
In a press release on Monday, the EU Commission said its investigation found that “Apple bans music streaming app developers from fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app,” in addition to preventing app providers from sharing instructions on how to subscribe to such offers.
“For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy. “They did so by restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules, so today we have fined Apple over €1.8 billion.”
Apple issued a statement this morning, right before releasing new notebooks:
Despite that success, and the App Store’s role in making it possible, Spotify pays Apple nothing. That’s because Spotify — like many developers on the App Store — made a choice. Instead of selling subscriptions in their app, they sell them on their website. And Apple doesn’t collect a commission on those purchases.
All told, the Spotify app has been downloaded, redownloaded, or updated more than 119 billion times on Apple devices. It’s available on the App Store in over 160 countries spanning the globe.
Apple goes on to list a bunch of ways it says they have helped Spotify achieve success, including features like CarPlay, access to Apple’s APIs, and fast App Store Review times. No one should have expected Apple to take this without a fight.
Apple Updates Watch Bands, iPhone Cases for Spring →
If you are surprised there are no new FineWoven options, you haven’t been paying attention.
MacBook Air Updated with M3 →
Apple today announced the new MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip, taking its incredible combination of power-efficient performance and portability to a new level. With M3, MacBook Air is up to 60 percent faster than the model with the M1 chip and up to 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air. And with a faster and more efficient Neural Engine in M3, MacBook Air continues to be the world’s best consumer laptop for AI. The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air both feature a strikingly thin and light design, up to 18 hours of battery life,1 a stunning Liquid Retina display, and new capabilities, including support for up to two external displays and up to 2x faster Wi-Fi than the previous generation. With its durable aluminum unibody enclosure that’s built to last, the new MacBook Air is available in four gorgeous colors: midnight, which features a breakthrough anodization seal to reduce fingerprints; starlight; space gray; and silver. Combined with its world-class camera, mics, and speakers; MagSafe charging; its silent, fanless design; and macOS, MacBook Air delivers an unrivaled experience — making the 13-inch model the world’s bestselling laptop and the 15-inch model the world’s bestselling 15-inch laptop. Customers can order starting today, with availability beginning Friday, March 8.
A few quick things that jumped out at me reading all of this:
- It sounds like the fingerprint-happy Midnight finish is now getting the same coating the Space Black MacBook Pro gets to help reduce smudges.
- Don’t miss the entire section dedicated to how the new machine performs at AI-related tasks. I did have a chuckle at Apple boasting the notebook “supports cloud-based solutions.” Ah yes, browsers.
- There’s a business push in this press release too. Apple boasts how fast this new notebook is for “working in Excel spreadsheets,” whatever that means.
- Wi-Fi 6E support is sweet.
Additionally, the new MacBook Air bring good news on the display support front:
MacBook Air with M3 now supports up to two external displays when the laptop lid is closed — perfect for business users, or anyone who requires multiple displays for multitasking across apps or spreading out documents at the same time.
That is going to make a bunch of people happy.
The M3 MacBook Air goes on sale today and the M2 13-inch Air now anchors the bottom of Apple’s notebook line, starting at $999. Both the 15-inch M2 and 13-inch M1 MacBook Air models are gone.
Apple Reverses Course on PWAs in EU →
Chance Miller with some big news over at 9to5Mac:
Last month, Apple confirmed that iOS 17.4 would remove support for Home Screen web apps in the European Union. At the time, Apple said this decision was due to requirements under the Digital Markets Act related to support for alternative browser engines on iPhone.
Apple is now walking back that decision and says it will “continue to offer the existing Home Screen web apps capability in the EU.”
Here is Apple’s full statement to Miller:
Previously, Apple announced plans to remove the Home Screen web apps capability in the EU as part of our efforts to comply with the DMA. The need to remove the capability was informed by the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps to support alternative browser engines that would require building a new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS.
We have received requests to continue to offer support for Home Screen web apps in iOS, therefore we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen web apps capability in the EU. This support means Home Screen web apps continue to be built directly on WebKit and its security architecture, and align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS.
Developers and users who may have been impacted by the removal of Home Screen web apps in the beta release of iOS in the EU can expect the return of the existing functionality for Home Screen web apps with the availability of iOS 17.4 in early March.
When Apple said it was pulling support for PWAs in this release, it said it was because of the new rule that allows third-party browsing engines to run on iOS. Apple claimed that giving those third-party codebases all of the access that “Home Screen web apps” need to work would make the iPhone less secure.
Now, they are here to stay, but it’s important to note that these PWAs will still run atop WebKit, the engine that powers Safari. If you install Firefox or Chrome, and those browsers are using their own rendering engines, those engined will not power any PWAs a user has installed.
This is a move in the right direction. Even though PWAs aren’t widely used among iOS users, cutting them off in the EU with iOS 17.4 was a bad move. I’m curious if this last-minute change is at the behest of the EU, or if Apple is just trying to get ahead of things here. I’m also curious to see if PWAs being tied to WebKit will stand the test of time.
Apple’s Self Service Repair Program Expanded to Include M3 iMac and MacBook Pro →
Apple today announced an expansion of Self Service Repair for MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by M3, with support available today. Since April 2022, Self Service Repair has given customers access to the same manuals, genuine Apple parts, and tools used at Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Service Providers.
Apple is also making Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair available for MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by M3 in the U.S. early next month. Launched late last year for iPhone and Mac, Apple Diagnostics troubleshooting sessions give customers the same ability as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Independent Repair Providers to test devices for optimal part functionality and performance, as well as identify which parts may need repair.
Gurman: Apple’s Car Project is Done →
Mark Gurman, with some big news:
Apple Inc. is canceling a decade-long effort to build an electric car, according to people with knowledge of the matter, abandoning one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the company.
Apple made the disclosure internally Tuesday, surprising the nearly 2,000 employees working on the project, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the announcement wasn’t public. The decision was shared by Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, a vice president in charge of the effort, according to the people.
Personally, I’m a little relieved that Apple isn’t going to be shipping a car. It always seemed too far-fetched for me to imagine, and I don’t think any part of Apple was ready for what servicing cars is like in the real world.
Gurman goes on to report that many of those 2,000 folks will report to John Giannandrea and work on Apple’s generative AI efforts, and I’d imagine some others will be let go once the project is wound down. Hopefully that latter number is small. I am sure a bunch of the work done to build a self-driving car has already paid dividends when it comes to the Vision Pro and whatever iOS 18 will bring.