Welcome to the latest edition of Jeremy’s 5, my latest quick roundup of 5 interesting little things that aren’t big enough for full articles, but are still worth sharing with you.
This week, I’m following up my pre-CES predictions with quick post-CES thoughts, discussing a classic game emulator, mulling Apple News, and offering a few thoughts on future Apple products: the Apple Watch 2 and second-generation 12″ MacBook…
1. Post-CES Thoughts. I skipped CES this year, and from what my colleagues have said, this was a good year to miss: there were fewer Apple product announcements than I can recall in five or six years, and really nothing of note across any of Apple’s major product lines. Even iOS software initiatives were modestly represented — there were a few HomeKit product launches, and only a little on CarPlay, with Apple supposedly asking Volkswagen not to demonstrate wireless CarPlay functionality for some reason.
Unlike prior years, where developers were tripping over themselves to show accessories for new (and sometimes even unreleased) devices, I struggled to find anything really compelling for the iPad Pro or Apple Watch, though there were a lot of announcements of USB-C accessories that work with the 12″ MacBook. It saddens me to see Apple’s influence (even from a distance) fading at CES, but as I mentioned last week, this isn’t surprising; unless Apple comes in and curates part of the show, it’s going to be a large, needlessly wasted opportunity for both Apple and its developers.
2. SDLMAME and OpenEMU. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about OpenEMU 2.0, a free multi-console game emulator that’s really easy for Mac users to enjoy. If you’re a fan of classic arcade games, and you haven’t seen it recently/already, it’s time to check out SDLMAME, which supports an absolutely incredible collection of classic arcade machines. With a powerful enough Mac, SDLMAME is actually capable of running Sega Model 3 arcade games such as Virtua Fighter 3 — once considered to be so cutting-edge that only one or two companies could program for it — which is pretty incredible to see on a MacBook screen. Check it out for yourself and see what your Mac is capable of emulating.
3. Apple News: Does Anyone Really Care? Apple admitted yesterday that it has been miscounting the number of Apple News users — previously pegged at 40 million — although it has suggested that it may have been undercounting users. I don’t have access to the raw numbers, but I personally don’t know anyone who uses the News app, and as a content creator, I’m not sure that it’s worth my time to reformat anything specifically for Apple News. Granted, I’m a long-time RSS reader user (Reeder for Mac, Reeder for iOS), but nothing about the Apple News experience has been great enough to convert me.
If you’re using or no longer using Apple News, share your opinions. I’d like to know what you think. Is it worth 9to5’s time to create content for News, or should we just skip it?
4. Apple Watch 2: Your Views, And Mine. I was dragged into Apple Watch ownership last year kicking and screaming — it was the first major Apple product in years that I wouldn’t have even considered buying if it wasn’t for my job. Yet I’ve worn it literally every day since I got it, which a lot of Apple Watch owners can’t say. As I’ve said in prior articles, the happiness turning point for me was adding the awesome Milanese Loop, which makes it super-easy to put on in the morning, and the worst part was spending months on the buggy, battery-killing watchOS 2 beta.
The fact that I wear the Apple Watch daily doesn’t mean I’m fully (or even substantially) happy with it. It does little more for me than tell the time, let me know when my phone’s ringing, and occasionally alert me to a notification I might have missed; I actively dislike the selection of watch faces, don’t make or receive calls on it, and find most of the notifications uselessly non-actionable. My favorite (but far less used) feature is Apple Pay, which works exactly like it should, and saves me fishing for my wallet or iPhone. Because they’re so slow, I actively dislike using Maps and third-party apps on it, both of which should have been signature features of the device.
We’ve done reader polls to ask what features people most want from a next-gen Apple Watch, and the top picks are “new health sensors” and “improved Wi-Fi” to free it from iPhone dependence. While I’d love those things, I’m convinced that the Apple Watch 2 really needs to get better at the tasks the Apple Watch was supposed to handle: running apps (quickly), acting as a useful communications device, and serving as a timepiece for longer between recharges. That said, I don’t know that “doing the things promised in 2015” is enough to sell the Apple Watch 2 to people who held out last year.
5. 12″ MacBook, Mark II. From my standpoint, Apple’s single most intriguing upcoming product for 2016 isn’t from a “new category,” but rather what I’d describe as a “finished” version of the 12″ Retina MacBook it released last year. As much as I wanted a super-slim laptop with a Retina screen, I felt like the MacBook was rushed out last year: the ultra-slow processors, single USB-C port, and weirdly limited availability all suggested that the machine was hurried through development to plant Apple’s flag in the soil, with plans to fix the issues in a second-gen model. So although I was very excited by the concept of the MacBook, the execution made me wait.
What am I waiting on? A few things. At least one more port — USB-C would be fine — is mandatory to me. Faster processors at more reasonable prices are similarly key; there’s no way I’m paying $1,300 for a 1.1GHz machine. Better battery life would be great (Apple’s “9-hour” claim is off by a factor of 2), as would be an improved FaceTime camera, but they’re not priorities for me in the same way as the processor, port, and pricing improvements are. If Apple gets those things right, it gets my money, but if not, I’m holding off for another year.
Just curious: what would push you over the edge to buy the new MacBook?
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yea, I agree about the speed and another USB-C port- especially dedicated to charging. That way the other one can be mainly used for expansion. Also, better pricing would be great.
MacBook: Personally, I’d love to see Apple improve the processor more than anything. Otherwise, I hope they add a second USB C port to the other side and drop the audio jack, which I expect considering the latest iPhone 7 news.
Apple Watch: The primary target market should be the fitness crowd. 9 to 5 Mac’s readers are right in that improved health sensors should be the focus on Apple Watch 2. Athletes, aspiring athletes, and fitness enthusiasts of every shape and size wear watches. The general population does not. Apple wasted a to of time and effort seeking approval from the fashionista crowd. It was stupid. To say that is an unsustainable market is an overstatement.
As a note, I’ve (slowly) started using Apple News as my main source of general news. I used to use Google News as my “aggregation source,” but I find the lack of cutter in Apple News less stressful. That said…I come to 9to5 before I even open News and I want to be able to make sure my very important opinion ;-) is heard in the comments.
So, maybe your hardcore, commenting readers aren’t reading you in News, but I’d guess that your more causal readers might?? You’re in my Apple News Feed, but I’ve already been here and read the article by that point, so I’m not clicking there.
I’m curious (rhetorically, I’m not that nosy), how News is affecting your ad revenue. Additionally, is it “that much” work to prepare your content for AN?
I am hoping for redesigned Retina Macbook Pros. Better Display with higher Resolution, Standard 256GB SSD and 16GB on the 13″ base model would be very nice …
You and I both know that this is not happening any time soon… at best, 2018. Until then, we’ll need to pay for extra 8GB RAM and for 256 SSD :)
What would push me to replace my MacBook Pro 17inch, is a 17 inch MacBook Air. This would be a great seller.
I always read 9to5 Mac and a few other sites in the browser.
I do use Apple News, but mostly when I’m looking to discover something fresh. In this regard it often delivers. For my primary news source I still go to the BBC website.
Apple News: Really?? You don’t know anyone who uses it? That is how I get my content from this site. I rarely ever come to the site anymore. Sometimes I do get notifications on my work machine and I will click on it and follow it to 9to5, but for the most part, Apple News is my goto for all my news now. I have channels for all my various interests. I used to use Flipboard for this, but I don’t use it at all anymore. We have created a channel for our school that we push out to all the students iPads and also send instructions out to parents on how to subscribe to the channel to stay up-to-date with current events, athletics, and important information.
Apple Watch: I’m with you 100%.
MacBook: I share the sentiment with the processor. Although, it being SSD, it is already a pretty quick machine. I would like to see a MacBook Pro in gold though. I would buy that in a heart beat.
Out of curiousity, have you ever tried RSS feeds? I feel like Flipboard and Apple News is for those who don’t know how, or just don’t like, RSS feeds. Just an theory.
I think you’re absolutely correct. I’d also add to that list that it seems more attractive to people who just want to be feed a few big stories a day as opposed to someone who needs to keep up on many specific areas of news.
Certainly. I use RSS feeds. I manage several sites that provide RSS feeds as well. Until Apple releases the finalized format specifics for Apple News, all channels are currently using a sites RSS or ATOM feed. For specific dynamic feeds I still use Flipboard or Newsify but I mostly only use RSS feeds on my Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. I find that reading news on my iPhone or iPad is primarily when I have a short amount of downtime while waiting for a meeting to begin, traveling, or in the mornings while getting ready and Apple News provides me with the recent stories from my various Apple related blogs and major news sources.
I don’t see how any of these are measurably going to change. The physically dimensions of the MacBook limit the ability to put anything but a Core M processor inside of the laptop. The Core M Skylake is faster but clock for clock only 17% faster than last years models. The battery literally covers every inch of the inside that’s not logic board.
I think the only way that they solve this issue is to offer a larger 14″ version of the MacBook, but we’ve not seen a single rumor to suggest that happens. Although if they did they could at least do something about the battery life concerns partly.
What I would really like to see is for them to build a product around the Skylake U CPU. I feel like Core M is really not ready for people who demand a daily driver, workhorse machine. I’m hoping the rumors of the 13″ / 15″ redesigned MacBook Air (maybe pro) are true. Jermey or Mark G. are these true?! :)
Especially if they cant get a 14″ screen in a body about the same size as the current 13″ models (reduced bezels)
I doubt we’ll see a second USB-C port, though the Skylake-M chipset supports it. We may see it upgraded to Thunderbolt 3, like on the newer Dell XPS line and some of the announced PCs at CES (HP EliteBook Folio). Also, the MacBook will have Skylake-M, so as the other poster pointed out, speed enhancements will be modest. But I think that would be sufficient. There are more accessories for USB-C now, after CES, including portable drives, and battery chargers. Plus, it’s easier to avoid plugging anything in than it was even a year ago.
Wait, are you saying that the current Broadwell Core M in the 2015 rMB is only capable of 1 USB-C port? If so, that would really explain a lot.
There isn’t really anything Apple could do to the MacBook to get me to buy one. Maybe I’d buy one for a family member, but I’m still using my 2011 17″ Macbook Pro and will as long as I can because I’m thinking I’ll never see a new 17″… maybe a 16″.
Last year was the year of the prototypes being launched into the wild. Some products seemed rushed indeed (MacBook but moreover the Apple Watch). It screamed beta all over it. And that’s not what we came to expect from Apple. Personally I love my Apple Watch. And no, going for fashion minded people was not the wrong turn. But it needs to be more fashionable then it is now although they didn’t do a really bad job. It was ok and a good starting point. Which is how Apple always starts a great product. The first gen is ok but never a killer product that the masses need or buy. It was true for the iPhone, it was true for the iPad and it even was true for the iPod. The second gen will be way better and the third might be appealing for the masses. It will be the same thing for the iPad Pro and 12 inch MacBooks (although the iPad Pro targets a relatively small market). Apple needs to laser focus on making the soft- and hardware top notch again with better performance and expand on the current models (besides the MacBooks pro and iPhone which need their mandatory updates).
I love the News app… but it is insanely slow loading new stories
That’s improving in iOS 9.3,
Macbook 2: they need to include a processor faster than the one in the 2012 MacBook Air and lower the price. They should add a second USB port, which I’m guessing they will accomplish by losing the headphone jack.
Even with these changes, I won’t buy one. The 11″ Air is a better choice for me. It’s cheaper, more powerful, not quite as slim but portable enough for me. If Apple would give it a Retina display I’d be in heaven. Until then, I’m happy to use it with an external monitor.
Apple Watch 2: to your wish list I would add better battery life.
iPad Air 3: make it compatible with Apple Pencil. The larger size of the iPad pro is a deal breaker for me, but I’d sure love a 10-inch iPad that could work with the Apple pencil.
iPhone 7: improving battery life is more important than making it even thinner.
No, you nailed it about he MB2. I absolutely love mine. Lose the headphone jack, which I never use, give me one more USB-C. I’ve got all the accessories I need now but would love not to have to piggy back for electricity. They’ve gotta hit the ten hour battery standard. I expect it from all my Apple products now.
Gotta have a FT cam on the next Apple Watch. So close to Dick Tracy. Been waiting all my life for that. Seriously needs two days worth of battery on it too. Just for over night travels.
After bouncing around several RSS readers, I’ve stuck with Apple News. Its differentiator is that I can more easily get both mainstream headlines and updates from my favorite tech news sites together. Perhaps it would be better for sites like 9to5Mac to embrace the layout features of AppleNews rather than sink time into dedicated apps, since I’ve never been a fan of them.
I just need a faster processor for the price, then I will buy it. Other things mentioned would just make me even happier.
Yeah my Apple Watch is a joke. Perfect example is last night I get a notification that several people I follow on Twitter retweeted the same tweet. A perfect use case to quickly see a small bit of info without digging for my phone. So I tap the notification but it just sits there trying to load the Twitter app. Several seconds go by and still nothing. Of course the Apple Watch screen turns off automatically while waiting so that requires I continually tap the screen. After probably a minute I give up and forget about it. Several minutes go by and I forget about it, but when I look at my watch I notice it’s still spinning trying to load Twitter. WTF is that? Is that an enjoyable user experience? Far from it
And let’s not forget about 4K @ 60 Hz video output. Now that 4K monitors are cheap and abundant, it’s a real shame that Apple doesn’t support 4K @ 60 Hz in all of its Mac products (MacBooks, Mac mini, etc)
I’d buy it if the 2nd gen came with a faster processor and thunderbolt 3 via USB-C. The extra port would be nice but I don’t believe apple would change that
As to when it became available:
The first thing that Tim Cook did when he took over was to hire large numbers of MBAs.Now, modern MBAs know only two things — profits and schedules. So, if a computer or bitt of software is scheduled to come out on February 28th, it *will* come out on February 28th,- ready or not.
Thus iOS versions with bugs that ought to have been caught early in quality control and computers that ought to have been more thoroughly developed before release. Eventually, maybe, these faults are corrected -only to be rplaced by others
It will, unfortunately, only get worse.
Actually, Apple has apparently delayed the release of some products because they were not ready on schedule – Apple TV comes to mind.
I don’t think things are getting worse, there are just more devices and operating systems for people to complain about.
Intel has been well behind schedule with their processors and the incremental improvements are becoming less and less significant. The processor in the MacBook is not bad, but it seemed to make sense to wait since a better processor seemed imminent.
On the other hand Apple’s processors seem set to overtake Intel and future iOS products may well out-perform the MacBook. By some measure the iPad Pro already does!
I use Apple news pretty regularly. I like it, and it has been helpful. In terms of your webpage I honestly would check the page either way, but it could draw in some new viewers.
Apple Watch: Battery is fine, I want it thinner and faster. Mostly the apps which are far too slow. A little more dependence from the iPhone would be nice. My Apple Watch screen came off and it’s getting repaired right now, and I realized I actually like my Apple Watch more than I like my iPhone.
MacBook: I agree. It looks beautiful but with its lack of speed primarily and with my iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard that is so nice to type on I may just keep my iPad desktop connection.
Thunderbolt 3 to go with that usb-c port.
The iPad Pro has more power than the MacBook. It’s slow and over-priced.
apple news: it’s fun and suprises me with content i am interested in.. we publish a bunch of small ethnic papers and I would love to both add content to AN and read similarly-based content available reom others there (small circ., hard to find newspapers, mags, etc.)
this may be available and possible now, but I don’t know how to access it.
macbook: I still use 17″ PCs because I love(need?) the screen estate on the road — how about a Macbook 17″, with medium speed components and a bunch of the extra space used for battery?? a possible 24hr battery life.. god, i am weeping thinking about it.
If anything, I imagine that they’ll add a Lightning port to the other side of the MacBook after removing the headphone jack. Apple has been on a rampage lately putting Lightning ports everywhere last year.
Off the top of my head: The Magic Mouse, Touchpad and Keyboard, AppleTV remote (and the official 3rd party gaming controller), the Apple Pencil, the Apple Watch charging dock and the iPhone 6s battery case are all new products that received a Lightning port as a charging method. Previously, there had only been Lightning ports on iOS devices.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the new MacBook had a Lightning port on the left for charging and a USB-C on the right for peripherals.
On the iPad Air 3, I expect that it’ll come equipped with either the iPad Pro’s screen technology to allow for the use of the Apple Pencil or the iPhone 6s’ screen with 3D Touch. The latter is more likely than the former so that the iPad Pro can justify its professional moniker.
The iPad Air 3 will inherit the iPad Pro’s smart connector, the 3 circles that allows for keyboards and other accessories to connect without pairing or separate battery charging. This will encourage the emergence of new 3rd party accessories. I could see a piano keyboard accessory being popular. Maybe even a MIDI dock to connect your iPad to professional piano keyboards. A non keyboard accessory that I can think of is a battery Smart Cover. Battery cells built into a snap on Smart Cover could theoretically double the iPad Air’s battery life. Of course you could already do all this with the Lightning port but having it on the side with a magnetic snap on is more convenient for certain accessories.
For Apple Watch 2, a more powerful system on a chip is absolutely mandatory. What held the existing Apple Watch back was its inability to work seamlessly with 3rd party apps (and even some of Apple’s own apps!!) in the tiny segment of time that is acceptable in the micro interaction world of a wrist based computer. It has to be instant, it has to be available the second you turn your wrist to look at it or it’s not at all worth having on a watch because then you’re able to do it faster on your iPhone.
Battery life is a non issue. People take off their watches each night. The Apple Watch lasts a day and a half if you forgot to charge it. If people like to sleep with their watches, then they’re not going to find a convenient time to charge it even if it’s lasts them 3 days. It’s just easier to get in the habit of taking it off to go to bed and put it on the charger. That said, I expect that Apple would put any battery gains towards a more powerful chip and a slimmer case.
I expect that the Watch will continue its fitness focus. We might see other sensors introduced such as skin conductivity and temperature measurements. Blood oxigentation would be great but I believe that that would fall under the medical device category and would require FDA approval, something Tim Cook has said Apple wants to avoid. It’s more likely that this year, Apple will introduce Apple Watch accessories that could be added to measure those additional health metrics. If that’s the case, we could even see blood sugar monitors built into Apple Watch straps, making it a hit with the diabetics demographic.
The second Apple Watch should see official waterproof designation. Water resistance will be a theme in Apple devices this year with the iPhone 7 expected to be waterproof. On the Watch, it’ll be accompanied with a swimming activity in the Workout app that would put the watch into an underwater mode leaving the screen on, turning off the heart rate sensor while you’re underwater and counting swimming strokes and laps using the gyroscope.
Finally, alongside the AppleWatch 2, the new AirPods, (Apple’s upcoming wireless ear buds) might be announced. They were the missing accessory in the first Apple Watch, given its focus on health but lack of first party headphones that it could work with. I imagine a sort of always on Siri, kind of like in the movie Her. With the Watch on your wrist and the AirPods in your ears, you’ll be able to be in touch with Siri at all times. AirPods might even be the place for a GPS+3G chip given that they have more room for a larger battery than in the Watch itself. It could be the perfect pairing for working out with out your iPhone.
Man, I totally agree with you on the MacBook. Exactly my thoughts. Hopefully this year they’ll either upgrade the MacBook Air to retina (which will be, dare I say, PERFECT for me), or they’ll bump the specs up for the 12″ to something decent and bring the prices down to more reasonable costs. Hell, the 1.3GHz 12 incher costs more than the 2.7GHz 13″ rMBP (both being 8GB/256GB).
Last year I wanted to upgrade my laptop but nothing came out that would make me make the jump. This year, I hope they do the right things and we get some good choices. March is it, where we expect things to be announced?
About the Watch, I skipped the first model. There’s nothing on it that justifies a 800€ expenditure for me (for a version with decent looks as well). I was lucky enough to try it for a while without buying it and it definitely didn’t make the cut (ok, I haven’t tried WatchOS 2). Let’s leave it at that.
Yet, I see a trend in Apple where they start releasing products aimed more at the trendy/hipster/fashionista markets, with higher prices than would be reasonable (MacBook 12, Apple Watch and bands). It looks like this comes from one of their latest managerial acquisitions and I “fear” that by going down this path, they will lose their innovative edge and market trust.
It sounds like this person said “there’s tons of money in the fashionista / hipster early 20s show-off market, people will pay silly money to buy and flaunt an Apple product, so lets go for it”.
Holding out for a Macbook class machine with a 14 inch screen. The 13 inch Macbook Air is a good computer ruined by an outdated display. A 14 inch Macbook would replace it eventually and pay off by being thinner and lighter.
Jeremy, I completely agree with everything you’ve said, particularly the piece about the Macbook and the Apple Watch 2. Firstly, the appeal of the new Macbooks far outweighed my actual wanting for the product. Without even looking at spec I was suspicious of the machine, simply on face value… I’m not sure what it was but it seemed like a ‘lesser’ product compared with the rest of the Macbook range (Pro, air). Then I looked into the specs… It was a no from me. I found myself thinking the same about the Apple Watch. For months I had longed for it and even after trying it on in store I was still captivated, but for some reason I never made the final purchase… Why? Something niggled me and to this day I’m still not sure what, but after many friend’s and colleague’s reviews, I’m glad this time around I didn’t make the plunge! So here we are, 2016 and I’m hoping that the creases can be ironed out and I can finally give Apple so more of my money!
I found something very strange with News. I’m in Canada, and I remember reading before iOS 9 was released that News wouldn’t be available in Canada right away. I have the iPhone 6, the iPad Air, and the iPad Mini 4. But the weird thing is, when I updated all my devices to iOS 9, I got the News app on my iPad Air, but not the other two. Anyone have any idea why that would be?
it’s most likely that on your ipad Air is set to this, general settings, language & region, US
USB-C is useless, put 2x thunderbolt 3 ports on the macbook, Thunderbolt 3 uses the same connector type. Then change the entire lineup to thunderbolt 3 ports shrinking down other Macbooks, while releasing a new thunderbolt monitor (with thunderbolt 3) with a 5k display (I would like to see an included graphics card in the monitor but I don’t see it happening). Thunderbolt 3 is capable of doing 4-5K video and offering 70W of power which would expand the type of power they could provide. We may see the end of the Air model or see this design take over the air model. In either case, another USB-C macbook isn’t going to cut it for me but a thunderbolt 3 macbook would.
I use the Apple News App every day on my iPad Air 2 and my 5S iPhone. I have so many topics that I have to select one or two each time I get on line to get a feel about what is going on every day. Like the App a lot, It allows me to skim and select when I find something worth lowing down to read at a slower pace. Have gotten use to it on my portable devices now.
Love using Apple News on my iPad. I check it multiple times daily. Just a cleaner way to read and find new stories that I might not see otherwise.
I’m finding if a story is not optimized for he format, I’m often hesitant about tapping into it.
– 2 x USB-C
– 1.6 Ghz Processor (Minimum!)
– Intel Iris Pro Graphics
Everything else is pretty much spot on…fix the above and you’ll have my money :)