WWDC24: System Requirements for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, Etc…

⌘ Permalink

There are new operating systems, but Apple has made some slight changes to the base system requirements for each OS:

iOS 18

iOS 18 brings no changes in compatibility:

  • iPhone 15 line
  • iPhone 14 line
  • iPhone 13 line
  • iPhone 12 line
  • iPhone 11 line
  • iPhone XS and XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

iPadOS 18

iPadOS 18 seems to drop the 6th-generation iPad. RIP, buddy.

  • iPad Pro (M4)
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)
  • iPad Air (M2)
  • iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad (7th generation and later)
  • iPad mini (5th generation and later)

macOS Sequoia

Sequoia drops support for the 2018 MacBook Air, which can run Sonoma:

  • iMac Pro (2017)
  • Mac mini (2018 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (2018 and later)
  • iMac (2019 and later)
  • MacBook Air (2020 and later)
  • Mac Pro (2019 and later)
  • Mac Studio (2022 and later)

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence is a wide ranging set of features across these three operating systems, with its own set of system requirements:

  • iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (A17 Pro)
  • iPad Pro (M1 and later)
  • iPad Air (M1 and later)
  • MacBook Air (M1 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (M1 and later)
  • iMac (M1 and later)
  • Mac mini (M1 and later)
  • Mac Studio (M1 Max and later)
  • Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)

Apple says:

Apple Intelligence is free to use and will initially be available in U.S. English. Coming in beta this fall.

watchOS 11

The new version of watchOS drops support for the Series 4, Series 5, and original Apple Watch SE.

  • Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
  • Apple Watch Series 6
  • Apple Watch Series 7
  • Apple Watch Series 8
  • Apple Watch Series 9
  • Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2

tvOS 18

The new version of tvOS drops no older models:

  • Apple TV HD (2015)
  • Apple TV 4K (2017)
  • Apple TV 4K (2nd Generation, 2021)
  • Apple TV 4K (3rd Generation, 2022)

Sponsor: Unite 5 Turns Web Apps Into Supercharged macOS Apps ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Unite 5 for macOS takes your web experience to the next level, transforming websites into feature-rich Mac apps. Powered by a completely redesigned WebKit browser, Unite 5 offers a more immersive and customizable browsing experience.

Unite 5

What sets Unite 5 apart? We’ve gone beyond just app conversion. Our new intricate link-forwarding rules give you unparalleled control over web interactions, making your web apps smarter and more integrated than ever before.

Some highlights of Unite 5:

  • Advanced Link-Forwarding: Navigate your web apps like a pro.
  • Revamped Browser Engine: Faster, more reliable, and tailored for macOS.
  • Enhanced Customization: More ways to make your web apps truly yours.

Create powerful web apps in seconds, such as:

  • A Gmail client that integrates seamlessly with macOS.
  • A resource-efficient Slack or Discord app with full notification support.
  • A dedicated AI app for ChatGPT or Claude.AI
  • A Robinhood or Figma app that feels native on your desktop.

512 Pixels readers get an exclusive 20% off this week! Use the promo code 512Pixels at checkout or visit bzgapps.com/unite512.

Experience Unite 5 for yourself with a 14-day free trial, or access it as part of a Setapp subscription.

Humane in Acquisition Talks with HP ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Tripp Mickle and Erin Griffith, at The New York Times:

About a week after the reviews came out, Humane started talking to HP, the computer and printer company, about selling itself for more than $1 billion, three people with knowledge of the conversations said. Other potential buyers have emerged, though talks have been casual and no formal sales process has begun.

Humane retained Tidal Partners, an investment bank, to help navigate the discussions while also managing a new funding round that would value it at $1.1 billion, three people with knowledge of the plans said.

Two jokes came to mind:

  1. The Humane Pin does kind of look like something Palm may have eventually made.
  2. Wow, the AI hardware scene is really heating up.

2024 ADA Winners Announced ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Apple Newsroom:

“It’s inspiring to see how developers are using our technology to create exceptional apps and games that enhance the lives of users,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “This year’s winners have demonstrated how apps can create powerful and moving experiences — and we’re excited to celebrate their hard work and ingenuity at WWDC this year.”

Seven different categories recognize one app and game each for delight and fun, inclusivity, innovation, interaction, social impact, visuals and graphics, and a new spatial computing category. Winners were chosen from 42 finalists.

There are some great apps on this list. Congrats to the winners!

Bartender Sold ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Ben Surtees, the original developer behind the excellent macOS utility Bartender, concerning the recent sale of the app:

After the release of Bartender 5, I came to the realization that supporting all the users and maintaining the app at the high standard I expect and you deserve was too much for one person. It required a dedicated team that could provide continuous support, innovate, and keep up with the fast-evolving macOS landscape. This realization led me to make a difficult decision.

Three months ago, I sold Bartender to Applause, a company with the resources and expertise to take the app to new heights. Applause shares my vision for Bartender and is committed to maintaining its core values while bringing in new features and improvements. I truly believe they are the right team to continue the journey and ensure Bartender remains a valuable tool for all of you.

I understand that the transition hasn’t been entirely smooth. Recently, there was a change in the signing certificate for the app, and unfortunately, this change wasn’t communicated properly to you, our loyal users. I apologize for any confusion or concern this may have caused. Please rest assured that Bartender is signed by a valid Apple ID developer and notarized by Apple, which verifies the app to ensure it is free from malware.

(I take slight exception with his explanation of Notarization. You can read more about how the process works over at The Eclectic Light Company.)

While this does clear up much of the panic that has surrounded this app for the last day or so, so much of this mess could have been avoided if Applause had communicated with its new users.

That said, I fully understand why users of Bartender feel uneasy about its future, despite what Surtees wrote about its new owner.1 Hidden Bar, Vanilla, and Ice all seem like nice alternatives. I’m currently playing with Ice myself and I suspect David and I will talk about this on a future episode of Mac Power Users once we’ve had more time to explore.

  1. Applause’s website makes me feel weird inside. ↩

Elon Musk’s xAI to Build ‘Gigafactory of Compute’ in Memphis ⇢

⌘ Permalink

xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company (no not that one) is coming to my hometown with what would be the world’s largest supercomputer, as reported by Samuel Hardiman at The Daily Memphian:

The Elon Musk-founded artificial intelligence startup — xAI — is building an AI supercomputer in Memphis, officials announced Wednesday, June 5.

The facility, when completed, could be worth billions of dollars and be one of the most advanced computing facilities in the world.

Musk recently told investors he planned to build a supercomputer for xAI but did not say where, according to a presentation obtained by business news site The Information.

Neil Strebig at The Commercial Appeal writes:

Chamber President and CEO Ted Townsend said this project represents a multibillion dollar investment and is the largest by a new-to-market company in Memphis history. Final job counts and total investment are still being calculated by the company, he said. The project is expected to open this year.

Few specifics were provided about the project, which is called “xAI’s Gigafactory of Compute,” including its location. Townsend said due to global security concerns, the location would not be announced.

The Daily Memphian reports that the deal came together very quickly, and that the location is an old Electrolux oven factory, which has been undergoing mysterious renovations for several weeks. The area where the factory is located is home to other industries, and seems well-equipped for the task. Here’s more from Hardiman’s article:

Supercomputers like the one xAI building in southwest Memphis need considerable electricity. The facility is less than a mile from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Allen Combined Cycle Plant by car and it’s even closer as the crow flies.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water said there is enough electric capacity on its system and TVA’s for the project. Power to the supercomputer would be interrupted if the system is stressed.

“They’re working on that with Tennessee Valley Authority and our team to determine how much off-peak they can come when the demand gets high, and what the terms of that will be,” MLGW CEO Doug McGowen said.

(I guess we now know where those unused H100s are going.)

Memphis is a curious choice for this. The city is in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, and we’re prone to severe weather. That said, we enjoy a low cost of living and local government officials have been working to incentivize new developments in town.

This is an exciting, if unexpected, bit of news around here. Beyond FedEx, St. Jude, and AutoZone, Memphis does not have a lot of high-paying tech jobs, and this could accelerate things… assuming it takes shape as promised. And assuming Musk doesn’t screw Memphis over.

Researcher: Windows 11 Recall a ‘Disaster’ ⇢

⌘ Permalink

Windows 11’s Recall feature has garnered a lot of attention since being announced, and much of that has focused on the potential privacy implications of software that basically tracks everything you do on your PC.

Cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumont has taken a look at the feature, and uhhhhhh:

Microsoft told media outlets a hacker cannot exfiltrate Copilot+ Recall activity remotely.

Reality: how do you think hackers will exfiltrate this plain text database of everything the user has ever viewed on their PC? Very easily, I have it automated.

He explains more in a post on Medium:

Every few seconds, screenshots are taken. These are automatically OCR’d by Azure AI, running on your device, and written into an SQLite database in the user’s folder. This database file has a record of everything you’ve ever viewed on your PC in plain text.

Tom Warren at The Verge:

Microsoft maintains Recall is an optional experience and that it has built privacy controls into the feature. You can disable certain URLs and apps, and Recall won’t store any material that’s protected with digital rights management tools. “Recall also does not take snapshots of certain kinds of content, including InPrivate web browsing sessions in Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, or other Chromium-based browsers,” says Microsoft on its explainer FAQ page.

However, Recall doesn’t perform content moderation, so it won’t hide information like passwords or financial account numbers in its screenshots. “That data may be in snapshots that are stored on your device, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry,” warns Microsoft.

Warren also notes:

Microsoft is currently planning to enable Recall by default on Copilot Plus PCs. In my own testing on a prerelease version of Recall, the feature is enabled by default when you set up a new Copilot Plus PC, and there is no option to disable it during the setup process unless you tick an option that then opens the Settings panel. Microsoft is reportedly discussing whether to change this setup process, though.

Gulp.