A couple of speculative reports have come out about what plans Apple might have for its ARM-based processors in the coming year. Apple is rumored to be a major architectual licensee for ARM. This would offer Apple an added level of control and ownership over its processors. Apple presently uses the ARM processor in the iPhone and iPod Touch. Additional evidence has pointed to the fact that Apple acquired P.A. Semi specifically for their expertise in low-power processor development.
Computerworld blogger Seth Weintraub recently spoke with Bob Morris, director of platform enablement for ARM's mobile processor group, and believes that Apple will incorporate ARM processors in future netbooks and/or tablets. The newest ARM processors are said to have equal performance to Intel's Atom processors but dramatically lower power consumption:
We are talking Apples and Oranges here. Not double, but an order of magnitude better for ARM. Some ARM chips routinely use 10-20 times less power than Intel for similar operations. Battery usage with ARM chips in prospective netbooks could be measured in days, not hours much like smartphones.
Meanwhile, Global Equities Research analyst takes it a step further by claiming that Apple will launch "a completely new device category" in the second half of 2009 based on chips produced by P.A. Semiconductor. Unfortunately, the credibility of the report is somewhat marred by the seemingly nonsensical statement that the new processors "will have the Objective-C instruction set built into the chip".
Regardless, Apple seems to have made some major moves in terms of custom processor development in 2008. While it's been assumed that these investments have been directed at the iPhone and iPod Touch, it's conceivable the technology will trickle to future devices.
Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update.
Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far.
Redesigned Camera App
A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19.
On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April.
From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now.
Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by Juli Clover
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April.
Priority Notifications
Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone.
According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
With the iPhone 16e now in the hands of customers, Apple reportedly plans to move on to its next product announcement in the coming days.
Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models with the M4 chip "as early as this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"I expect the M4 MacBook Air to be introduced as early as this week," said Gurman, in a post shared on X today. "Inventory has ...
Saturday March 1, 2025 10:00 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Apple offered a line of Wi-Fi routers that it referred to as AirPort base stations. There was a standard AirPort Express, a higher-end AirPort Extreme with more advanced networking features, and an AirPort Time Capsule that doubled as an external storage drive for backing up a Mac with Time Machine.
Apple discontinued the AirPort line in 2018, but the company...
Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected.
While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...
Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by Joe Rossignol
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year.
The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time.
Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
