Category: Apple Insider

 

By Mikey Campbell
Thursday, March 26, 2020, 08:43 pm PT (11:43 pm ET)

Apple is predicted to integrate its custom ARM processors into multiple Mac models in 2021, with designs spanning both Mac desktops and MacBooks, according to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, Kuo says Apple is moving forward with an “aggressive processor replacement strategy” that should bear fruit in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021. As part of the movement, the tech giant will bring its ARM chips to a wider selection of Mac desktops and laptops next year.

With Apple in control of chip design and manufacturing, the company will be able to introduce new Mac models at peak market demand, Kuo says. Importantly, Apple will no longer be held to the whims of Intel, which has in the past delayed development, manufacturing and shipment of promised silicon.

Further, switching to in-house designs will reduce processor costs by about 40% to 60%, Kuo estimates. Cheaper parts equate to cost structure flexibility and, perhaps, more competitive product prices.

Finally, ARM-powered Macs will enjoy market differentiation from Windows PCs, which almost exclusively rely on processors from Intel or AMD.

Just as Apple transitioned from Samsung-manufactured ARM chips to its own TSMC-fabricated A-series system-on-chip designs for iOS devices, Mac, too, should benefit from a distinct competitive advantage in pricing and supply. By “owning the stack,” the Cupertino tech giant will be able to customize its processors to define Mac’s unique hardware and software capabilities, whether it be a pro-minded MacBook Pro or iMac Pro workhorse, or a consumer-oriented thin-and-light like MacBook Air.

During the transition period, Kuo estimates annual Mac shipments will increase to 25 million to 30 million units, up from the current 20 million units.

Kuo also believes Apple will formally adopt USB 4.0 technology in 2022. Finalized last year, the protocol incorporates assets from Thunderbolt 3 and supports data throughput of up to 40Gbps, power delivery of up to 100W, and backwards compatibility with older USB formats and Thunderbolt 3.

Apple has been speculated to switch its Mac platform to ARM for nearly a decade, with initial rumblings coming shortly after the company debuted its first A-series chip with iPhone 4’s A4 SoC in 2010. Concrete rumors of an ARM-powered Mac arrived in February, when Kuo pegged hardware to debut in the first half of 2021. He more recently moved up that timeline, saying a MacBook with an Apple-designed CPU would reach market by the end of 2020.

Apple on Wednesday unveiled two new iPad Pro models that come equipped with a LiDAR Scanner, which will offer major improvements to ARKit and photography.

The new 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models are the first of Apple’s devices to feature the 3D laser system, but they likely won’t be the last. Here’s what you need to know about LiDAR, how it improves current iPad Pro models, and what other future Apple devices could feature it.

What is LiDAR?

At the most basic level, LiDAR is a time-of-flight system that shoots low-power lasers at an environment. Using the reflections, it calculates the distance to objects and points in the environment, and creates an accurate 3D depth map or rendering based on the results.

Apple’s own proprietary take on it, simply dubbed the LiDAR Scanner, likely has a few more tricks up its sleeve. Apple says it can measure the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away and operates “at the photon level at nano-second speeds.”

The iPad Pro LiDAR Scanner is used to create depth mapping points that, when combined with camera and motion sensor data, can create a “more detailed understanding of a scene” according to Apple.

What could a LiDAR Scanner be used for?

Among Apple’s existing features, LiDAR will have the biggest impact on augmented reality (AR) and Apple’s own ARKit framework. Apple says the new LiDAR Scanner will allow for instant object placement, indicating that users wouldn’t need to “scan” their environment before an AR app loads.

Along with improvements to motion capture and people occlusion, the LiDAR Scanner will also make the Measure app much faster and more accurate. Measure will now include a new Ruler View for more granular measurements going forward, too.

While Apple didn’t specifically mention it, LiDAR will improve photography too. Take Portrait Mode, which the 2018 iPad Pro only supported in front-facing mode. With an actual 3D depth map of an area instead of using lens-based calculations to determine depth, Apple could add rear-facing Portrait Mode to the iPad Pro and improve the feature’s accuracy and speed.

Is the LiDAR coming to other devices?

Apple’s LiDAR scanner has launched first on the new 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, as was previously rumored. But the system is also largely expected to arrive on some 2020 iPhones, too.

The latest information, pulled from code within an iOS 14 leak, suggests that a time-of-flight camera will arrive on both the “iPhone 12 Pro” and the “iPhone 12 Pro Max” this year.

On those devices, a LiDAR Scanner will also bring the same improvements to ARKit apps and photography. But combined with Ultra Wide Band technology, it may also be useful in applications such as indoor navigation and item tracking.

LiDAR for vehicular applications

LiDAR is a new addition to Apple’s handheld devices, but the Cupertino tech company has actually been actively using them for years in other applications. Apple vehicles with LiDAR sensors have been spotted in California as far back as 2015. The technology is considered a crucial part of the development of autonomous vehicles, particularly so they can accurately analyze their environment.

Amid rumors of Project Titan and the “Apple Car,” the company appears to be steadily investing into LiDAR and other related research for vehicular applications, including a slew of patent applications related to the tech.

And in a rare public-facing example of its research, Apple also published a research paper in 2017 detailing LiDAR-based 3D object recognition systems for self-driving cars. Essentially, the system leverages the depth mapping of LiDAR and combines it with neural networks to vastly improve the ability of a self-driving car to “see” its environment and potential hazards.

 

By William Gallagher
Monday, March 23, 2020, 02:34 am PT (05:34 am ET)

Despite previously cancelling the planned AirPower charging mat, an unsubstantiated new rumor claims that Apple is revisiting the idea, and is even at the prototyping stage.

AirPowerwas a rare public failure for Apple, as it was announced in 2017, but was ultimately cancelled in 2019. At the time, Apple did not give specific reasons for why the project was dropped, though, and now a new rumor claims that it has revived its plans for the wireless charging mat.

Jon Prosser has tweeted that the project has resumed, and that it has even reached a prototyping stage. As he says, this is not evidence that Apple will ever actually release a product, but it is significant that it has gone beyond design and into testing.

Prosser, who describes himself as a tech analyst, has only a limited track record in Apple rumors. However, he did correctly report when Apple was showing AirPods Pro to media ahead of their official launch.

Also, his report comes after established analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed, in January 2020, that Apple was planning to release what he only described as a “smaller wireless charging mat,” in the first six months of 2020.

Kuo did not call this mat AirPower, and the claim that it is “smaller” suggests that it wouldn’t have the AirPower’s ability to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously.

Consequently, if there is a revised AirPower being prototyped, it may not be the same device as this smaller mat.

However, it does also fit with what Apple said when it cancelled the original AirPower. After saying that it was not going to achieve “our high standards,” and apologizing for it, Apple added one extra comment.

“We continue to believe that the future is wireless,” said Dan Riccio, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering at the time, “and are committed to push[ing] the wireless experience forward.”

 

By AppleInsider Staff
Friday, March 20, 2020, 06:39 pm PT (09:39 pm ET)

Apple on Friday confirmed customers who left an iPhone, iPad, Mac or other product at an Apple Store for repair will not be able to claim their device until the locations reopen.

When the Cupertino-based tech giant shuttered all branded retail stores outside of China on March 14 in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it granted customers a two-day window for repair pickups. As AppleInsider reported this week, that period expired on Tuesday.

Owners who were unable or unwilling to make the trip will now be left without their device until Apple Stores reopen, Apple said in a statement to Business Insider.

“We made every possible attempt to get people’s products back to them,” a company spokesperson said. “There certainly are people that, for whatever reason, did not pick up their products before we closed and their products are at our stores.”

Apple is taking a different tack with devices that were sent out to a repair center. Typically, those units are mailed back to a nearby Apple Store for pickup, but during ongoing store closures Apple is attempting to contact owners for direct return.

Apple Stores were initially scheduled to reopen on March 27. That timeline was brought into question early this week when the company published a banner on its website saying retail locations in the U.S. and abroad will remain closed “until further notice.”