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Apple Loop: iMac’s Apple Silicon Choice, Apple Music Classical Arrives, Latest Apple Watch Leaks

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Taking a look back at another week of news and headlines from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes new iPhone 15 Pro design leaks, disappointing iPhone specs, Apple’s new iPhone 14 upgrade, MacBook Air’s big update, iMac chip choice, Apple Watch processor leaks, and Apple Music Classical finally arrives.

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 my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).

New iPhone 15 Pro Design Choice

Apple’s next iPhone 15, while not going completely buttonless, is moving closer towards that goal with a unified volume button and a change to the physical mute option. That’s according to recent leaks which show Tim Cook and his continuing on their quest to make a ‘sealed unit’ without any external ports or options:

"One of the biggest changes arriving with the iPhone 15 handsets could be the physical button setup – and new leaks suggest that Apple is going to switch to a unified volume button and a new type of mute button, at least on the Pro models…. we had heard numerous reports that certain iPhone 15 models would do away with physical buttons in favor of solid-state ones that use haptic feedback to register a press rather than an actual mechanism."

(TechRadar).

iPhone 15 Screen Disappointment

Meanwhile, the smaller entry-level iPhone 15 is going to be missing some key features found in the iPhone 15 Pro models, presumably to create some spacing between the two models and hand sales teams n option to upsell to the larger phones:

"According to an industry source cited by news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Korean Naver blog, just like last year, only the Pro models in the iPhone 15 series will be equipped with the LPTO panels required for ProMotion, indicating that the feature will remain exclusive to Apple's higher-end models."

(MacRumors).

Apple’s Refreshed iPhone 14 Option

Apple’s mid-cycle refresh of the iPhone was launched this week to increase the customization options for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models. The internal specs - including the ceramic cover, dual cameras, emergency SOS, and crash detection are still there… but Apple has pulled out all on the stops on the visual stakes:

“It’s yellow."

(Next With Tech).

Bigger Screen And Bigger Chip

There’s a lot of discussion around M2 and M3 in the MacBook world. The highly anticipated 15-inch version of the MacBook Air - which to be fair is still unconfirmed - was expected to carry a similar spec to the existing M2 equipped MacBook Airs… was being the operative word:

"In the past, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple could release the 15-inch MacBook Air powered by the M2 and M2 Pro chips in “early April.” However, our sources say that the 15-inch model will get the same entry-level M3 chip as the new 13-inch MacBook Air. The chip will have an 8-core CPU just like M1 and M2.”

(9to5Mac).

The iMac Skips A Chipset

Meanwhile, details on Apple’s update to the iMac are booming clear. WHil the macOS desktop did launch with an M1 chipset, it has not picked up an M2 version. With Apple expected to announce the M3 at WWDC 2023 in May, the next iMac - due at the end of the year - is going to skip the even-numbered Apple Silicon option and go straight for the M3:

"This would skip over the M2 chipset completely…a twenty percent lift over the performance of the M1 is not to be sneezed at, but going with an M2 iMac after the M3 is announced feels unlikely. It’s also worth noting that Apple’s order book for the M2 may have been disrupted by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and supplies of Apple Silicon may have been prioritized to the macOS laptops."

(Forbes).

The Small But Important Watch Update Leaks

How much change will we see in the next Apple Watch? The latest leaks around the wearable, due in September, look to be based around the processor, rather than any big steps forward. How important is that?

“...For a start, processors from Apple tend to be increasingly power-efficient, so a new chip, probably to be called S9, could add battery lifer or, and I think this is more likely, add features while maintaining battery life. Though there’s no mention of a new sensor, Apple has a track record for wringing more out of existing hardware. So, the sleep tracking capabilities have improved over time, thanks to improved processors, for instance."

(Forbes).

And Finally...

We finally have a date for Apple Music Classical streaming service. Following the purchase of Primephonic in 2021, their classical streaming was expected to show up as an Apple product. We’ll finally see that happening on March 28th:

"“Apple Music Classical makes it quick and easy to find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog with fully optimized search, and listeners can enjoy the highest audio quality available, and experience many classical favorites in a whole new way with immersive spatial audio,” Apple wrote in a press release."

(The Verge).

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.

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