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Apple is more than just the iPhone manufacturer. This $2 trillion company's decisions impact many facets of technology, financials, and everyday life. When the company is rumored to be getting into something new, the entire world pays attention. And since 1997, AppleInsider has been covering this fascinating electronics maker from every possible angle. From details of the next-generation iPhone and MacBook to key indicators expected to drive the company’s stock price, AppleInsider Daily has you completely covered on a daily basis.
Welcome to the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Wednesday, February 7th, 20-24. I'm Charles Martin, and we begin today with ... iTunes!
Depending on exactly how Apple-centric you are, you may not be aware that Apple continues to offer an app called iTunes, but only for Windows users. For Apple devices, the services iTunes once offered proliferated until it became best for those disparate functions to be split into several apps.
Soon, Apple will be doing something similar with the Windows app currently known as iTunes, replacing the app on Windows with three new apps — Apple Music, Apple TV, and an all-new app called Apple Devices. The latter app replaces the syncing functions that iTunes once handled for non-iCloud users within iTunes, but which on Macs is now an integrated Finder function for manually updating, backing up, restoring, and otherwise managing a Windows user’s iPhone or iPad.
The iTunes app will remain available on Windows in the short term, but will only be able to access podcasts and audiobooks once the Apple Music app is released. It’s likely that Apple will eventually introduce Podcasts and Books apps for Windows as exists on Macs and iPhones. All the apps remain free of charge, and can be obtained through the Microsoft App Store.
In rumour news, web publication The Information says Apple is in the process of building prototypes for the long-awaited iPhone fold, but — according to this rumour — is unsatisfied with durability and screen creasing, two problems that have plagued most foldables thus far. There have been numerous reports of a possible folding iPad, but Apple appears to be investigating folding technology generally.
While foldable Android phones are more popular now than when they first came out, the biggest problems with them come down to high cost, low durability compared to non-folding phones, and screen creasing — the exact same issues Apple’s alleged research has run into, and so it seems unlikely that Apple will move forward on foldables anytime in the near future.
In a previous rumour, reports claimed that a future 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an OLED screen would cost somewhere around $400 than the current models, which uses micro-LED for its screen tech. A new report from DigiTimes, which is a mixed bag of reliability, suggests that the actual price increase would likely be more like $160 more than the current model, and possibly a smaller increase for any OLED 11-inch model. Appleinsider rates this report as “likely.”
In other Apple News, the company in collaboration with the University of California has released its own AI-based image editing model that anyone can try. The new model, M-G-I-E or “Maggie,” allows users to type or speak a description of the image they want to see, and then generates it.
Maggie is open-source, and available on GitHub for people to try out. Interested parties should remember that image generators need a whole lot of RAM and powerful hardware to get results in a reasonable time frame.
In legal news, a class-action lawsuit that claimed Apple and Google made a secret agreement to collude in the suppression of the search market has been dismissed by a judge in California, but allowed to refile the suit if the originators can come up with any actual evidence of the charge.
The group bringing the charges have thus far filed the suit three times, each making claims about collusion between Apple and Google without providing any evidence to back up their speculation. The first time, they claimed there was a secret agreement between the two companies that Apple would not enter the search market. That one was dismissed without leave to amend.
The group filed again, claiming the agreement between Apple and Google eliminated competition, which was dismissed but could be refiled if the plaintiffs could demonstrate antitrust or injury from the alleged behaviour. They refilled the lawsuit yet again, but continue to be unable to provide any evidence on which their claims or based.
Judge Rita Lin appears to be finally running out of patience, telling the group that they may refile, but if there is no evidence presented to give weight to the claims, she will dismiss it with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled. Little is known about the group, except for the fact that they don’t seem to understand that you can’t file a lawsuit claiming damages if you can’t show any actual damage, or prove at least some portion of the allegation.
In Apple Vision Pro news, editor Mike Worth-ly has written an article about the headset’s constant strobing, and what it could mean for users’ health. Mike and his family have considerable first-hand experience with this, and go into a lot of detail in the article after consulting with doctors and neurologists.
It does a disservice to that research to even try and summarise the article here, so we encourage you to read it and have linked it in the show notes. The bottom line is that if you’ve ever had negative effects from strobing light such as flicker vertigo, general photosensitivity, or photosensitive epilepsy — the Apple Vision Pro may aggravate those conditions.
As Mike says in the article, for most people the issue of possible headaches and fatigue resulting from strapping a pound and a half of headset to your face for an extended period are the main risks, and those only come after protracted use periods. But the bottom line with the Vision Pro or any other headset is that if you start feeling strange while using them, take it off immediately and talk to your doctor about it.
Finally for today, as promised our Part Two of the new shows coming to Apple TV+ in the coming months — and one forthcoming film fans of “Killers of the Flower Moon” will want to watch out for. A new series arriving on April 12th follows the adventures of Benjamin Franklin on two of his famous historical trips … the first was to convince France to support American independence from England, and the second, following the Revolution’s successful end, was to negotiate the peace treaty with England five years later.
Sci-fi fantasy “Dark Matter” will debut on May 8th, and follows Jason Dessen, a physicist who is abducted into an alternate version of his own life. If you liked films like Marvel’s “The Multiverse of Madness,” you’ll probably want to check this one out.
An eight-episode limited series called “Presumed Innocent” is based on the bestselling novel by Scott Turow. The story is about a murder case that shakes the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office, as one of its own is the suspect. It will debut on June 14th.
Later this summer sees the premiere of “Land of Women,” about three generations of women in a family that is forced to leave New York after the husband becomes wanted by the mob. A woman named Gala takes her aging mother and college-aged daughter to hide in northern Spain, where Gala’s mother swore she’d never return.
Also coming at an unspecified point later this year is a new film starring Lily Gladstone, who is now nominated for an Oscar for her role in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The new film is called “Fancy Dance,” and stars Gladstone as Jax, an indigenous woman raising her missing sister’s daughter on a reservation in Oklahoma, and the search for her missing sibling. The exact release dates for “Land of Women” and “Fancy Dance” have not yet been announced.
You can hear more news and analysis from AppleInsider on the WEEKLY AppleInsider podcast that’s out every Friday, as well as our HomeKitInsider podcast that's out every Monday -- links to both shows are in the notes for this one.
If you would like to support the AppleInsider Daily podcast, we are now accepting sponsorships. Contact information can be found in the show notes.
I've been Charles Martin, and THIS has been the AppleInsider Daily podcast for Wednesday, February 7th, 20-24. Thank you for listening.