2024-04-06 15:00:00
Every month, we publish a huge variety of technology news here, especially those related to the world of Apple. There are so many news, product launches, rumors, internal uproars and government puzzles, that it is normal for one thing or another to end up going unnoticed.
Just to give you an idea, every month we publish an average of 450 articles on MacMagazineand this can become tiring for even the most eager of readers to follow along (yes, those of you in the comments, really).
Therefore, for this reason, we came up with the idea of a monthly post, concisely listing what were the biggest news in the Apple world last month. This is the first of them, and we will always publish it on the first Saturday of each new month.
So, sit back, relax and enjoy reading, as you may have missed some news, detail or curiosity during the month of March. 😊
New MacBook Air
Starting the month of March with its foot in the door, in the first week of last month Apple announced, as had been speculated for some time, new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airequipped this time with the chip M3 — which debuted late last year on MacBooks Pro.
According to Apple, the new laptops are “up to 60% faster” than the model with the M1 chip (no direct comparisons with the M2) and “up to 13x faster” than the MacBook Air equipped with the fastest Intel chip at the time.
Without many changes other than the new SoC, the new MacBooks Air have faster Wi-Fi (version 6E) and support for up to two external monitors (only when the lid is closed) — a function that should be made available in a software update future for the 14″ MacBook Pro with M3 chip.
In the United States, new models with an M3 processor start at the same prices: US$1.100 for the 13″ model and US$1.300 15″ fur. In Brazil, the same configurations became cheaper, starting from R$12.500 e R$15.000, respectively. Completing the line, Apple still kept the M2 model on sale, which is now part of US$1.000 us United States (R$11.000 No brazil).
DoJ lawsuit against Apple
Moving from product launches to government imbroglios, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and 16 other American states sued Apple for allegedly preventing rival companies from accessing certain software and hardware resources on its devices, thus violating the country’s antitrust laws.
The lawsuit cites that, in addition to creating maneuvers on its platforms to prevent the emergence of services competing with the options offered natively, Apple would be limiting competition with the multitude of App Store rules and also making it difficult for users to migrate from iPhone to Android. .
Some examples of the limitations imposed by the company would be the barriers imposed on the use of third-party smartwatches on iOS, the insistence on keeping iMessage available only on Apple devices and actions to make it difficult for developers to create apps that work on several platforms at the same time.
Not only that, but the company was also accused of using speeches to privacy and data security as a kind of “elastic shield” — which, according to the accusations, could stretch or contract to “serve Apple’s financial and business interests” and justify its anti-competitive conduct.
The DoJ also alleges the presence of an Apple monopoly in the smartphone market. According to the agency, the company would control 60% of the US smartphone market — however, it is worth noting that the department based its data on the company’s revenue, and not on the number of devices sold — something that does not take several factors into account in the analysis.
There are many accusations, including an email from Steve Jobsthe content present on Apple TV+ and even the company’s share buyback policy.
Apple, however, did not remain silent, contesting the DoJ’s accusations and classifying the process as wrong and an unfair government policy. The company claimed the positive impacts of its products and services and repeated its tired speech — which has already been refuted by the agency, by the way — that its policies aim to promote the security and privacy of consumers above all, something that could be affected by the progress of this project.
Everything that is at stake in this process is better detailed in this post, but, in any case, it is clear that this soap opera is just beginning…
Gemini no iOS 18
Another bombshell that dropped in March was the news that Apple was on the verge of closing an agreement with Googleto license your AI, the Geminito be integrated with some new features of the iOS 18.
According to rumors from Bloombergcorroborated by The New York Timesthe two companies would still be in a preliminary phase of negotiations, and Apple even contacted other companies in the industry as an alternative — such as Baidu, in China.
In any case, integrating Gemini AI models into iOS 18 could bring several cool features to iPhones, already present on other devices, such as the Pixel 8 Prowhere the Nano variant of Gemini lets you generate smart summaries in the Voice Recorder app and suggest smart responses on the Gboard keyboard.
Of course, this should (or should) be a temporary solution used by Apple to mitigate the lack of resources based on its own artificial intelligence models in the system.
According to rumors, not all AI features to be announced will be based on Google models. However, it was expected that, after more than six years working in the field of artificial intelligence, Apple would not need to turn to the Mountain View giant to bring certain features to its devices — a subject detailed in more depth by Marcus Mendes in this column.
WWDC24 date confirmed
Finally, towards the end of the month, Apple confirmed that to Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year will take place between the days June 10th and 14th.
Although the event will continue to be hosted online, some lucky developers and students will be able to participate in person in the activities on the first day of the event at Apple Park.
In terms of launches, it is expected that, as stated above, Apple will present several new features based on artificial intelligence for its operating systems.
And speaking of them, it is expected that the iOS 18 bring the biggest reformulation of the system to date, which could gain, as rumors indicate, a new interface based on the Vision Pro system. In addition, Apple should also present the visionOS 2the first major update to its spatial computing headset’s operating system since its launch earlier this year.
So, what did you think of the highlights selected for the month of March? Comment below if anything was missing and we’ll see you next month! 😉
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