Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes the leaked release date of the iPhone Mini, a review of the new MacBook, thoughts on Apple dropping the 3.5mm headphone jack, why the Surface Pro 4 beats the iPad Pro, Tim Cook's warning to the UK's Government, support for Live Photos in Facebook and Tumblr, a transcription of Apple's '60 Minutes' appearance on CBS, and a curious tip to save battery life in OSX.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read the weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).
Leaked Dates For The iPhone Mini
MacRumours covers a China Mobile presentation that suggests April 2016 as the launch date for the presumptively titled iPhone 6C. The four-inch variant of the current handset family would tie in with previous rumors and presumably be announced alongside the Apple Watch 2 in March. I'm not convinced, but Apple is going to disappoint followers if it releases a 6C... or if it never appears.
Professional gamblers have a phrase that is appropriate here. Thanks to trading markets and multiple bookmakers, the basic strategy is to bet on wins and losses so that no matter the result you will turn a profit. This is ‘greening up’, so named because of the profit/loss coloring on the major trading sites. When that happens, an event is no longer about a gamble, because it’s win-win.
Apple has managed to do the exact opposite with the iPhone 6C, the company has ‘redded up’. Release the iPhone 6C and you have disappointment and negative press. Don’t release the iPhone 6C and you have disappointment and negative press.
More on the Hobson's Choice Apple finds itself in here on Forbes.
The New MacBook Reviewed
Apple's MacBook broke new records for the company with its thin design, retina display, and force-touch trackpad. I suspect it will have been under many Christmas trees this year. As to what people will have found, Brooke Crothers has reviewed the ultraportable for Forbes with an eye on portability:
And, believe me, this thing is about as light as a laptop gets without being a tablet. As I said above, it does this without sacrificing speed or battery life. No, it’s not the fastest ultra-portable on the planet and doesn’t have the longest battery life. But I haven’t run into any performance bottlenecks yet (I’m not a gamer and don’t watch a lot of video). And with moderate use during local travel (roughly the equivalent of eight hours of constant use), I recharge, on average, once every two days.
You can read the full review here.
Music By Lightning
There has been a lot of discussion recently around the potential of Apple ditching the industry-standard 3.5mm headphone jack and running audio through the lightning port (or relying on wireless) in an upcoming iPhone redesign. Gordon Kelly has never been quite sure, but recent reports have convinced him... Apple is ready to drop the port.
But why would Apple want to abandon the headphone jack? After all, as a variation of the original phono connector which has been around since 1878, it is the oldest common technology standard still in use today. The answer is simple: practicality and profit.
On the practical side, Apple would be able to do away with the largest and deepest connector it uses. This would free up space for it to fit either in a larger battery or (given past attempts to cut the width of the receptor) allow it to make even thinner products. Furthermore it would open the doors to making a device like the iPhone 7 waterproof.
Do you agree with Kelly? Let him know.
Surface Pro vs iPad Pro
The iPad Pro has a lot of potential, with its large screen and digital pencil. It is also lacking some hardware that should arrive in the next generation, has poor third-party app support, and is not (yet) a laptop replacement. Not to worry, suggest Tommi Smeli on Medium, there's a device that has all of the promise of the iPad Pro but is available now:
Redmond put on, arguably the most exciting tech event of the year, announcing a genuinely impressive line-up of devices. The new Surface Pro 4 continuous the relatively successful design of it’s predecessor, while the brand new SurfaceBook pushes the bar of what a 2 in 1 device can be (Tim Cook has some objections!). These devices are not only meant to showcase what Windows 10 was meant to be but also push a surge of innovation in the stagnant PC market.
Moving away from it’s old business model and offering the new Windows 10 for free has driven higher adoption rates for the new operating system while winning some excellent reviews. Office is now supporting Dropbox integration and together with Onedrive can now be used for free on all major operating systems, pushing Microsoft’s productivity lead even further.
Surface Pro 4 or iPad Pro? You decide!
Apple Takes On The United Kingdom Government
Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken the unusual step of speaking out against the UK Government's upcoming legislation. As the drafts of the Investigatory Powers Bill stand, companies such as Apple would now be labelled as 'Internet Providers' by the Government and could be compelled to reveal encrypted messages and content by the UK authorise. Alex Hern at The Guardian:
Apple highlighted the main areas of the bill that it wants to see changed. It told the committee that passages in the bill could give the government the power to demand Apple alters the way its messaging service, iMessage, works. The company said this would weaken encryption and enable the security services to eavesdrop on iMessage for the first time.
The government argues that the proposed legislation does no more than incorporate previous powers granted under Ripa, an earlier piece of legislation. However, technology firms fear that key differences in the language used in the legislation widen the scope of the powers considerably when compared to Ripa, which only affected traditional internet service providers.
More coverage online at The Guardian.
Live Photos Get Social Media Support
Both Tumblr and Facebook this week have taken steps to integrate the 'Harry Potter' like Live Photos of iOS into their respective iOS clients. Live Photos - which include a few seconds of video automatically shot when a picture is taken - can now be uploaded to the social networks through the mobile apps. Why is this important? Over to TechCrunch's Greg Kumparak:
It’s easy to write off Live Photos by saying “LOL, moving photos with sound. Isn’t that called a video?”. And that’s not wrong! But it’s not the complete picture, either.
When you say “Video”, most people conjure up an idea of something that considers extra thought, framing, and effort. If a video is 3 seconds long, it feels like an accident. Live Photos are more like a bonus — something created passively, and with no extra effort. You still get that still photo you lined up so carefully… but now there’s an extra little bit of potential. Most of the time, the Live Photo ends up being silly or blurry… but sometimes — just sometimes — they capture something wonderful.
It's a staged roll-out at the moment so it's not a global option yet, but that's sure to happen in the near
That Sixty MInutes Show
CBS' Sixty Minutes profiled Apple this week, which saw CEO Tim Cook sitting down with Charlie Rose as the cameras were shown round Cupertino (to meet all your favourite characters from the keynotes). There were well-timed discussions from Cook over the US tax system, encryption, labour conditions, and the ghost of Steve Jobs.
The spirit of Steve Jobs hovers over Apple. He was a founder like no other: a volatile visionary capable of creating products people wanted before they even knew it. Cook is a measured and passionate engineer from Alabama. On the Apple campus, employees still talk about Steve Jobs in the same way that Tim Cook does.
The transcription of the show is now available direct from CBS.
And Finally...
Got some battery life issues on your Mac laptop? Kirk McElhearn has one potential problem and an easy cure. Stop looking at iTunes.
If you use a laptop, and your battery dies quickly, check and see if you accidentally left iTunes open on an iTunes Store page, even in the background. Look how much CPU it uses to simply display a front page, and rotate graphics in the carousel at the top of the page.
Short, sweet, and simple. Now, back to the Christmas holidays!
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
