Benjamin Mayo

Apple today unveiled the new generation of 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, powered by the latest M2 Apple Silicon chips. The M2 chip made its debut in the 2022 MacBook Air and 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro, and this update brings that same performance to Apple’s lineup of pro tablets as well.

Alongside the M2 performance boost, the iPad Pros can now detect when the Apple Pencil is hovering above the display. This means UI elements can expand and respond as the user approaches the screen with the stylus.

Apple’s mixed reality headset is set to feature iris scanning biometrics features, enabling capabilities similar to the Face ID biometrics system found in modern iPhones and iPads. According to a report from The Information, ‘Iris ID’ would allow the user to authenticate payments without entering a password, and would enable seamless user switching.

Apple’s augmented reality and virtual reality capable device has been in the works inside the company for many years, and is finally expected to be unveiled to the public sometime in 2023.

Microsoft today announced that desktop Apple TV and Apple Music apps will be available on Windows PCs next year, downloadable from the Microsoft Store. Early beta previews of these apps will launch on the Microsoft Store soon.

The Apple partnership also expands to personal media, with the news that the Windows 11 Photos app is adding iCloud integration. This means Windows users can smoothly browse their iCloud Photo Library inside the stock Windows Photos app.

According to Digiday, Apple is looking to sell video ad inventory beginning in early 2023. This follows early talks with media agencies where Apple has discussed preliminary plans to sell video advertising space against its original content and live sports ventures.

The move would bring Apple TV+ in line with the strategies of other streaming services. All major streaming services, except Apple, have announced or already offer ad-supported plans. Market leaders Netflix and Disney+ will launch ad-supported tiers in the next couple of months. The cheaper price attracts price-conscious consumers during this period of inflation and a weak economy climate.

Apple’s overall deal with WildBrain sees Apple TV+ as the exclusive streaming destination for all things Snoopy and Peanuts, including archive classics and wholly new specials and series.

For the last two years, Apple allowed PBS to air the iconic Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas Peanuts specials. This year, they are Apple exclusive however. Apple will stream them for free for everyone — no subscription needed — for a limited time (dates below). The service is also premiering brand new holiday specials and original movies for the festive season …

Apple appears to be rolling out a wide-reaching branding change about how it refers to its Mac portable lineup. Up until recently, Apple officially referred to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro as “Mac notebooks” or just “notebooks,” leaning on the relatively outdated industry terminology of notebook computers.

But now, everything user-facing appears to be slowly converting to using a “laptop” nomenclature. Updates to the Apple Online Store product pages, articles in the Apple Support knowledge base, and even the Mac operating system is beginning to reflect this branding update …

The Greatest Beer Run Ever is the latest Apple Original Film, now streaming on the Apple TV+ streaming service. The movie stars Zac Efron as Chickie Donohue, telling the incredible true story of a man who volunteers to go to Vietnam, during war time, just to give his allied soldiers a beer. It’s based on a written memoir of the same name.

Logitech is today launching a new ‘Designed for Mac’ brand, presenting a range of keyboard and mice aimed at Apple users. 

This includes a new MX Mechanical Mini for Mac keyboard, with low-profile tactile switches and backlighting activated by proximity sensor, available in Space Gray and Pale Gray finishes. A color-matched MX Master 3S mouse is also on sale now. Logitech is also releasing a new vertical ‘Lift’ mouse and a new blueberry colorway for their circular keycap K380 keyboard.

Apple is widely expected to land rights to stream NFL Sunday Ticket on the Apple TV platform, but with an estimated price tag in the $2.5 billion range, it is taking a while for the deal to be finalized.

In the meantime, likely as an offshoot of those negotiations, Apple Music has been announced as the new sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show, in a multi-year deal starting with Super Bowl 57 on February 12, 2023.

Apple TV+ has scored one of the hottest TV packages of the year, landing Vince Gilligan’s new project, via Deadline. The Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator’s new project was naturally hotly contested, with Apple ultimately securing the series with a two season upfront order.

Details about the untitled project are naturally being kept under wraps. So far, it is described as a “grounded genre drama”. The series will star Better Call Saul lead actress Rhea Seehorn.

The iPhone 14 Pro always-on display does not work like most Android phone always-on display modes (consisting of mostly black pixels with an always-visible clock). It works more like the Apple Watch, where the always-on mode is almost identical to the standard lock screen – the same colorful wallpaper and information-rich widgets, just dimmed.

Many people getting their hands on the new iPhones were surprised by this. In fact, some of the initial reviews suggest disabling the always-on display feature altogether because it was too distracting. It turns out, though, there’s a hidden way to try a black-and-white always-on display on your iPhone …