Latest Apple News: iPhone 16 leaks, AI Integration, M4 Chips for MacBook, and more

The latest news about Apple is all filled with new leaks on iPhone 16, AI Integration, and the release of M4 Chips for MacBook.

The past few days have been hectic for Apple. Someone leaked news about the iPhone 16, rumors spread about Siri getting upgraded with Apple Integillence, talks about a new M4 Macbook Pro, and a lot more. In this article, we will be getting into the beef of each of these hot topics. Let’s get started!

iPhone News

iPhone 16 Case Leaks

Earlier this week, a bunch of photos of iPhone 16 cases were spotted. Not a big leak, you might say, as they probably tell us next to nothing about the specifications of the device. True, but the images do give us clues about the camera and its uses as well as Apple’s Spatial Computing plans.

A new report tells us that the photos of the iPhone 16 cases suggest a slightly upgraded design of the device. The two vertically aligned camera lenses visible might be following Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset, even on the base models.

This makes sense because the best arrangement of the lenses for a great photo is horizontal. Just like our eyes.

iPhone lags in AI

Apple’s AI program, called Apple Intelligence, will only run on iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. This is officially confirmed. The reason is a mix of memory, processor, and bandwidth on the board. Apple’s John Giannandrea explained this in detail on a podcast by Forbes recently.

The AI model is called inference when it is run at run times. Now, inference of large language models requires a boatload of computing capabilities. So, for AI models to run fast enough so that users don’t scratch their eyes out, the device’s bandwidth, the size of the Apple Neural Engine, and the device’s hardware all need to be heavy. Older devices simply do not have enough oomph.

When will AI feature on the iPhones?

Apple does not seem likely to release Apple Intelligence any time this year. The earliest we can hope for is the beginning of 2025. However, there is some relief. The iOS 18 launching in September, releasing the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, has decked out Siri with some new features. This includes a new interface that softly lights up the edge of the screen. The iOS update of 2025 will probably feature the Apple Intelligence add-ons to the virtual assistant.

Speaking to the Financial Times, an Apple spokesperson laid out some sad news regarding the Apple AI. Apple Intelligence will not fully release in the European Union and the reason for this is the regulations.

The Digital Markets Act is not specific about whether the AI service will satisfy the statutes of the Act or not. Only after it has been released and proper investigations have been undertaken will this be determined. If Apple disregards the DMA, it could face severe litigations and fines. And it is not willing to take this risk. The same goes for iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements.

Now, the next question that comes to our mind is, whenever the Apple AI arrives, would it trigger such a state of the market?

Some say yes. Currently, there are 1.5 billion Apple users with 270 million iPhones circulating in the world. Most of these iPhones have not been upgraded in more than 4 years. So there is a strong likelihood that with the watershed release of Apple AI, many users will rush to upgrade their devices.

MacBook News

M4 MacBook Pro could be released before Christmas

The latest chipsets released by Apple usually feature first in Mac laptops and then in other devices. However, Apple upturned this tradition with the M4 chip launched in May 2024 by implementing it first in iPad Pro, and not in any Mac. Of course, it shouldn’t be long before M4 arrives in the Macs.

The first laptop to feature the M4 chipset should be the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro. Soon after, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models ought to be updated to the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. The Mac mini would also get M4 and M4 Pro chips.

Sadly, MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro models will not feature the M4 chips until 2024. As for the iMac, it is still unknown when that device will get updated. These were the predictions of MacRumors, and most of them are on the mark.

Apple released the official M4 schedule soon after the above speculations. The MacBook Pro line-up will integrate the M4 chipset in late 2024. That is the good news. The bad news is that MacBook Air will not see the face of the new technology until the spring of 2025.

Other Apple News

Apple on the open-source AI front

Till now, Apple does not have a dedicated open-source AI service. However, it is hard at work on Apple Intelligence and has even made some of its efforts public.

For example, Hugging Face is an online open-source service for sharing machine learning models and datasets. Huge models were uploaded to this service in early 2024 and Apple has uploaded 20 more models and 4 datasets already, called Core ML models.

From “i” to “Apple”: A change of tactics

Apple is famous for the ubiquitous “i” popped in front of all of its devices’ names. Well, that used to be the case. Now, there has been a transition, and “Apple” has replaced the “i”.

Such an important move cannot be done and dusted without its fair share of internet discussions of its motives. For example, many Reddit users speculate that this is a marketing tool. Apple wants everybody to remember its brand name. The car company Acura made cars in the 1990s that were simply named Legend, Integra, or some other single word. And that led to nobody knowing who made the cars. To avoid such embarrassment, Apple is doing away with the “i” and bringing in the “Apple”.

And that is what is going on in the Apple world. The next few months are going to be pivotal for Apple.