WWDC24 and Apple Intelligence
I found WWDC24 to be a mixed bag.
I’m excited about the quality-of-life updates across Mac and iPhone, including the new Passwords app, updates to Mail, and continuity from the phone to the computer. I’m also interested but cautious about some of the intelligence Apple showed off.
I’m disorganized when it comes to the things on my phone and computers (ex, I have documents spread across 3-4 different apps), so having a more personalized (and private) “assistant” on my phone could be beneficial. I like the ability to teach Siri how to use apps to automate repetitive tasks, like what Rabbit was promising for the R1. Lastly, our household uses Siri a lot via the HomePod in our living area, so the improvements there will be nice.
On the flip side, the image generation stuff looked awful, and the whole idea felt very un-Apple to me. I honestly believe the presentation would have been better received without any of that included. It’s also a shame to see these sorts of features announced without any mention of how this impacts Apple’s environmental efforts.
Above all, it’s nice that Apple will be rolling this out in stages as a beta rather than forcing all sorts of half-baked AI “updates,” as we’ve seen from Microsoft and Google.
Apple AI pin
Watching reviews for Humane’s AI pin, I can’t help but wonder why someone hasn’t just clipped an Apple Watch to a shirt.
I remember back around 2016, I backed a Kickstarter project that created watchbands for the fourth-generation iPod Nano (I got the “TikTok” if you’re curious), and I loved it. I wore my “iWatch” until the Nano’s battery fried. How hard would it be to make an “unofficial” Apple AI pin?
Look, I know that Siri on the Apple Watch often isn’t anywhere near helpful, but it’s clear that Humane’s version isn’t either. So, unless you wanted that low-res neon display for your palm, you can get practically the same experience on something you might already have.
Food for thought.
Rumours suggest a $100 price increase for iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
The analyst is expecting the base model iPhone 15 price to remain unchanged, but sees $100 price bumps for both the 6.1-inch Pro and 6.7-inch Pro Max. This would be the first time Apple has increased pro iPhone prices since the iPhone X debuted at $999 in 2017.
The last time this happened, nobody cared. Customers finance phones through their carriers, through Apple directly, or have enough disposable income to buy it outright and, at that point, don’t care about $100.