Opinion pieces & commentary

While we were very confident beforehand that we wouldn’t be seeing a larger iMac this week, there are still plenty of people waiting impatiently for at least a new 27-inch iMac. Many are hoping for 30-inch, 32-inch, or even bigger.

But while I do still think that’s in the works, the launch of the M4 Mac mini relieves a lot of the time pressure, for a couple of reasons …

It’s officially the end of an era. Apple on Wednesday held the last day of its super week of Mac announcements, this time with the launch of a new generation MacBook Pro with an M4 chip. But the company also did something else: it upgraded all Macs with 16GB of RAM as standard, putting an end to 8GB Macs.

Apple on Tuesday introduced a new generation of the Mac mini, and it’s impressively mini – much more compact than its predecessor. But the new Mac mini isn’t just about a new design, it’s also about incredible engineering. It shows how Apple still excels at building the best computers.

A report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests that Apple’s upcoming smart home display might bear more than a passing resemblance to one of the most iconic Macintosh models, the iMac G4.

This is something I suggested might happen back in the summer, though personally I was hoping for a magnetic attachment for an iPad …

While the narrative around Apple Intelligence is that the company is leaning heavily on “coming later” asterisks, and we’ll have to wait a long time for any of it to actually launch, yesterday’s iOS 18.2 beta release tells a somewhat different story.

Now, sure, we have to include an asterisk of our own here – just because a feature is available in the current beta doesn’t mean it’ll make it into the release version in December – but it’s still a good pointer to the intended pace of the Apple Intelligence rollout …

At a time when you can ask AI to modify an existing photo in almost any way you please, or even ask it to generate a completely artificial image, can we ever trust photos again?

Apple is working to address the issue in two ways, and many of us are hoping it will also join an emerging new standard for content authenticity …

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported over the weekend that some Apple employees believe that the company is about two years behind the curve on artificial intelligence.

Tim Cook didn’t directly address that during an interview with the WSJ, but did say that the company’s aim is always to be best, not first – and that this includes AI …

Apple Vision Pro went on sale in February, but the product has struggled to gain traction. With a starting price of $3,500 in the US, most of its customers are tech enthusiasts. For Apple, this also means that there aren’t many developers interested in building apps for visionOS – and perhaps only a cheaper model would change that.

Yesterday saw the announcement of the new iPad mini 7, and the biggest news here is that, three years after the launch of its predecessor, it’s not much of an upgrade.

It feels like Apple did pretty much the minimum necessary here, which includes using the oldest possible processor capable of running Apple Intelligence …

A Russian YouTuber allegedly provided a first ever unboxing video of an unannounced Mac, and claims to reveal specs for the M4 MacBook Pro we’re expecting Apple to reveal later this month.

Judging the authenticity of the video is a tough call, but it’s not such a challenge to make an informed guess about the likely accuracy of those specs …

Did you recently watch Wolfs and need more recommendations for Apple TV+? Or are you just always on the hunt for good TV, whichever service might have it? Let me recommend three excellent shows currently airing on Apple TV+.

Some developers yesterday argued that a change to iPhone contact privacy in iOS 18 made it harder for new social media apps to compete.

But I think they’re wrong, and that the more granular privacy control offered in iOS 18 actually makes it more likely that we’ll be willing to grant contacts access to apps …

iPhone 16 may not seem like a huge upgrade compared to the previous generation, but the new phones come with some cool tricks. For instance, Apple has revamped the Photographic Styles feature, and the new version has already become my favorite part of the iPhone 16.

The Meta Quest Pro headset has been discontinued, with the company officially bidding goodbye to its most expensive headset while selling off remaining units. This follows an earlier decision to abandon work on an even more expensive Vision Pro competitor.

Meta had already slashed the price of the Pro from $1,499 to $999 within months of launch, but has now completely given up on the four-figure market …

My colleague Filipe Espósito yesterday said that the prototype Meta Orion glasses are what he wants for the future of Apple Vision, and I agree that they are an incredible step in the right direction.

I’ve long said that an Apple Glasses product is what I really want to see, but as impressed as I am by what Meta has shown us, I still think it will be a few years before any of us will be wearing a pair of Apple Glasses …

Apple’s latest theft-prevention measure went live for beta testers yesterday: Activation Lock for iPhone components.

The move is likely to generate some controversy, as it introduces another barrier to DIY repairs using parts harvested from broken devices, but the company is also working on a solution to that …

Apple’s announcement about the upcoming AirPods hearing aid capability hasn’t just upset the share price of existing brands – it’s also likely to lead to some social norms being challenged.

In addition, the uncertainty of whether someone wearing a pair of AirPods means that they either can or can’t hear you is likely to create some comedic moments …

The Mac mini is Apple’s most affordable desktop computer, and it has become known not only for its price, but also for its versatility – it’s a full Mac in a small box. But despite now having an Apple Silicon chip, it’s been a long time since the Mac mini was given any real attention. Luckily, rumors suggest that the Mac mini is about to get a lot more interesting.

Suggestions that Apple plans to launch an iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air are gaining ground, with most reports now pointing to a compromise device.

One big compromise we might see is for Apple to limit the model to a single camera – but there may be a creative solution to this problem, which could give us the equivalent of an entire camera bag full of lenses right there in our pocket …

The court ruling that Google is no longer allowed to pay Apple $20B+ a year to be the default search engine raises the question: What now? One potential answer being suggested is that the iPhone maker create its own Apple search engine.

But much as many of us might like to see that, it seems like an unlikely prospect – and just not worth the potential risks …

We’ve seen various claims about Apple’s interest in robotics, from a fully-fledged domestic robot to what we might think of as a robot iPad screen that can turn to face you.

I’ve already expressed my skepticism about the domestic robot, and at first glance it’s a little hard to see how the latest report could pass the “say no to a thousand things” test …