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As we draw nearer to the release of the new jewel in Apple’s crown (that’s Vision Pro for all you under-rock dwellers), other news from Cupertino becomes less exciting. What would usually be front-page updates, like a new M3 Ultra chip, fall to the wayside.
But that’s what I’m (or Mark) is here for…every week! Join me for this week’s Apple news roundup.
M3 Ultra
Surprisingly, there hasn’t been that much talk around an M3 Ultra chip. With how impressive the release of the other M3 chips was, you’d think people would be keen to see just how far you could push them.
For those who don’t know, Apple’s ‘Ultra’ series of chips are basically two ‘Max’ chips smooshed together. Using UltraFusion architecture (as Apple puts it), the specs of the Max chips are effectively doubled.
Seeing as the M3 Max is already an incomprehensibly powerful beast, the M3 Ultra feels like overkill. But it has a specific use.
The M3 Ultra, like the M2 Ultra before it, isn’t for standard MacBooks. Instead, their power is intended for their desktop offerings like the Mac Studio or Mac Pro.
Rumours from various supply chain analysts like this one suggest Apple is ramping up 3nm chip production in the coming months, ready to launch the M3 Ultra inside a new M3 Mac Studio.
Notably, the eternally neglected and largely unjustifiable Mac Pro isn’t going to get an M3 upgrade. At least not yet.
We’re expecting to see the new M3 Ultra range released at WWDC 2024 in June.
Improved Siri AI Coming At WWDC 2024
Now to something Apple has needed to improve for a long time.
Siri has been noticeably poor, especially on smart speakers, when compared to things like Alexa and even Google Assistant. The latter of which is already going to be improved with Google Gemini.
Siri is less responsive, less helpful, less integrated and less accurate than other competitors. And that is in part down to Apple’s neglect of AI.
So it is good news that Apple is going to juice Siri up with generative AI based on their bespoke ‘Ajax’ large language model. This should mean Siri is far better at communicating, and able to more easily retrieve necessary information.
If we’re lucky, it could also mean Siri comes equipped with things like image generation and integration with apps like email and notes.
Apple still seems reluctant to commit to a full-blown AI strategy, but we can bank on getting an update on whatever they do have to show us at WWDC 2024.
Vision Pro Release Date Almost Certain
Again, we’ve got those wiley supply chain analysts to thank for this one. What would we do without them?
For a few months now, the end of January has been as specific as we’ve got in terms of a Vision Pro release window. Now, we can say something more concrete.
January 26th is looking like the Vison Pro release date, according to Chinese analysts and Mark Gurman. This could be wrong, but even if it is, it will only be by a few days. It’s almost certain that we will see Vision Pro before February.
Interestingly, customers will also have to physically attend an Apple Store fitting in order to buy one. This is reassuring more than anything as it shows Apple aren’t just throwing headsets out there hoping they impress.
Due care and attention are being paid. We should expect nothing less. Perhaps more interesting to the non-millionaires among us is the announcement of a cheaper version of Vision Pro.
We don’t know much about what this would entail, probably things like no exterior front-facing screen and reduced screen resolution, but it’s a good sign from Apple. VR must be affordable if it is to ever become mainstream. So hopefully a cheaper Vision Pro will actually be cheap, and not just $300 less.
Round up
We are in the calm before the storm. Apple is gearing up for one of its most pivotal years since it released the iPhone. If they stick the landing with Vision Pro then society could genuinely be changed forever.
A tad sensationalist? I don’t think so. Apple has repeatedly led tech revolutions that define decades. If Vision Pro makes VR more seamless, useful and comfortable, then it will be a large step towards mass adoption.
I’m excited for the coming weeks. Are you?
