However, the criticism of Apple’s declining innovation ability is also growing. This year’s new iPhone 12 has returned to the classic vertical middle frame and double glass design. Although the fruit powder is once again dominated by the law of "real fragrance", it has to be admitted that the iPhone 12 is far from the sensational effect produced by the iPhone 4. What kind of strategy will Apple adopt to create more glories after reaching Gaofeng? Today, we will share with you some latest rumors about Apple’s products.
According to Bloomberg News on January 15th, Apple recently started testing the folding screen iPhone. Although this rumor seems to be quite credible, Apple has never made public the plan of folding screen iPhone. Moreover, the current research and development work is limited to the screen, which means that there is no prototype of the folding screen iPhone in Apple’s lab.
Apple now has several folding screen size schemes, one of which is 6.7 inches consistent with iPhone 12 Pro Max. If the research and development is successful, the future iPhone will have a large screen and a lot of smaller size. Bloomberg reported that the hinge design of Apple’s folding screen is so ingenious that it is almost invisible. This makes the screen of the iPhone wrap the fuselage in the future, instead of connecting two separate screens with hinges like some folding screen devices that have been introduced.
However, rumors are rumors. Even if such an iPhone goes on the market, it will definitely take years of research and development, or it will eventually sink into the sea with a high probability. The appearance of iPhone 13, which will be launched in 2021, will probably not change. It will be the "S" version of iPhone 12, that is, it will only be upgraded in performance.
Even so, it is rumored that the new iPhone is testing another major upgrade: the off-screen Touch ID. Although the Face ID of recent generations of iPhone claims to be safer and faster than Touch ID, this year’s epidemic has made masks the biggest killer of Face ID. In this case, the advantages of Touch ID under the screen have become very obvious.
In other respects, the new iPhone may cancel the charging interface and can only charge wirelessly instead.
According to the latest news from Bloomberg on 16th, Apple will launch a newly designed iMac, which will be the biggest upgrade since 2012. According to the report, the screen border of the new iMac will be greatly reduced, the chin will be cancelled, and the back will be flat, which is similar to the Pro Display XDR display released in 2019.
Like the existing 21.5-inch and 27-inch versions, the new iMac will also have two versions, one of which is between 23 and 24 inches. Like the new MacBook Pro, the new iMac will also use Apple’s self-developed chip. It is said that the new generation of Apple Silicon chips adopted by iMac will have 16 high-performance cores and 4 energy-efficient cores, while the high-end version may have 32 high-performance cores. Apple is still developing a new generation of GPU, which will have 16-32 cores, and the high-end version will have 64-128 cores.
And the Mac Pro is about to usher in an upgraded version, and there will be two versions of the upgraded Mac Pro. One is the iterative version of Mac Pro, which went on sale in December 2019. The appearance is consistent, but the internal hardware is upgraded. Moreover, it is rumored that this version of Mac Pro is likely to continue to use Intel processors, which may be the only hardware in the new Mac family that uses Intel processors.
The other Mac Pro will be a greatly upgraded version, which will adopt a brand-new design and adopt an aluminum body. The overall size is a little larger than the Mac mini, less than half of the current Mac Pro. Bloomberg believes that this design may "arouse people’s nostalgia for the Power Mac G4 Cube".
The current MacBook Pro has been in use for 5 years, and the last appearance update was in 2016. According to the recent prediction of analyst Guo Ming, this year’s new MacBook Pro will have a brand-new design with a flat edge. Cancel the Touch Bar and change back to the Fn function key, and Magsafe cancelled in 2016 will return.
The new MagSafe will become an independent port and will not replace the original USB-C port. The design of the new magsafe connector is similar to that of the previous magsafe connector, and the charging speed is faster than that of USB-C.
Speaking of MagSafe, let’s review the development of MagSafe here. MagSafe? made its debut in January 2006, when Apple introduced the first MacBook Pro, which was also the first Mac laptop with an Intel chip. There are two magsafe versions, and the original magsafe connector is used in the 2006 MacBook Pro.
The first generation "MagSafe" ports were characterized by a square design with five holes, which were magnetically connected to the attached connectors. The purpose of this design is that if you drag the connector, it will separate quickly and smoothly without damaging the ?MagSafe? port or pulling the MacBook Pro off the table.
Like USB-C, "MagSafe" allows the connector to be connected to the Mac from any direction, and charging is simpler than USB-C, because there is no need to plug the cable into the port, as long as the connector is close to the port, it will automatically stick in place by magnetic attraction. Apple has developed 45W, 60W and 85W "MagSafe" connectors for various machines.
Initially, Apple used the T-shaped MagSafe connector design to lead the cable directly out of the machine. But it was later changed to L-shaped design, and the cable was placed on the side of the computer. T-shaped design was used from 2006 to 2009, while L-shaped design was used from 2010 to 2012.
In 2012, Apple introduced a new version of MagSafe, called ?MagSafe? 2. It has a thinner and wider port and a new connector design, which restores the T-shaped design. The ?MagSafe? 2 connector is not compatible with the original magsafe port, and an adapter is required.
In 2016, with the launch of the USB-C MacBook Pro model, Apple began to stop production of ?MagSafe?. MacBook Pro models released between 2016 and 2020 do not use "MagSafe" technology, but charge through the USB-C port of the device. ?Mac? has completely eliminated the MagSafe product line, and in July 2019, Apple discontinued the last machine equipped with MAGSafe, the 2017 MacBook Air.
The iPhone 12 series products in 2020 brought ?MagSafe back to public view. The ?iPhone 12? model has a built-in magnet ring, which can support the MagSafe magnetic wireless charger option. Soon, MagSafe charging can be resumed in all product lines of Apple.
According to rumors, the MagSafe connector introduced in the 2021 MacBook Pro model will be similar to the discontinued ?MagSafe? 2 connector. However, it is unlikely to be exactly the same, because it is said to charge the new MacBook Pro faster than USB-C.
In the past, the ?MagSafe? cable was easily broken or worn near the charging connector, so Apple may consider adopting the new design of the 2021 MacBook Pro model to alleviate this problem. As Apple plans to introduce the new "MagSafe" connector for the first time, it shows that the hardware needed to charge the Mac will continue to be provided with the Mac machine. With the advent of the iPhone in 2020, Apple stopped providing power adapters, but this does not seem to extend to the Mac product line.
EETimes, a well-known American electronic industry magazine, recently published a report written by analyst Colin Barnden, saying that the long-rumored Apple Car may use the "C1" chip based on A12 Bionic processor, and has AI function, which can perform eye tracking and other functions.
The report outlines the method and licensing technology that is considered to be behind Apple’s automotive processor, which is temporarily called "C1" chip. Since Apple will need a chip foundry with experience in automotive electronics processing, the report shows that Samsung or TSMC can provide products for Apple. It is believed that TSMC has been developing 7nm automotive technology for some time, and Samsung has developed Exynos Auto V9 SoC on its 8nm technology.
Considering the supplier’s capacity, C1 may be very similar to A12 Bionic chip, and manufactured by a similar 7nm process.
Tesla’s fully automatic driving chip has 6 billion transistors and consumes 36W, which is lower than Apple’s A12, which has 6.9 billion transistors and consumes 3.5W. Because it is equivalent to the existing automobile SoC, it is speculated that C1 will be based on A12 Bionic and then modified for specific automobile applications.
If Apple Car is scheduled to be put into production in 2024, C1 with slight modification of A12 will be the best solution.
Since Apple has licensed technologies that it cannot design (such as Arm architecture technology and CPU kernel), the report suggests that Apple develop more technologies for C1 license. The most important thing is the Occula NPU core of Seeing Machines, which will enable Apple to realize various AI functions in the cab, such as driver’s eye tracking.
Seeing Machines has adopted a business model similar to Arm to license Occula neural processing unit, so that Apple can add it to its own custom chip design. Occula has AI and computer vision algorithms, expertise in human factors of natural driving data, and expertise in IR light path operation. Therefore, this technology is considered to be the first choice of AI-driven cabin monitoring system.
There is a debate about the distance between Apple’s consumer cars and the market. It is rumored that the release date will range from 2024 to 2027. Despite this, the reports about Apple Car have surged, which also shows that the project is accelerating. There are rumors that Hyundai Motor is negotiating the production of "Apple Car" recently.
Summary: Every year, rumors about Apple are a hot topic, and rumors about iPhone are the most important. Now, the attention of Mac and Apple Car is getting bigger and bigger. In addition, this year, Apple abandoned intel and turned to self-developed chips. Apple’s ambition of ecological unification has made its software and hardware in all links have strong industry dominance.