This week we’ve been hearing a lot more about Apple’s plans for its Mac lineup this week, including the news of a redesigned high-end MacBook Air and the return of an SD card slot as part of the next redesign of the MacBook Pro. It also looks like Apple has been working on Face ID for Mac, but it won’t appear on a redesigned iMac this year as originally planned.
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This week there were also rumors that the iPhone 13 got a smaller swing and Apple is about to release a set of operating system updates, including iOS 14.4 and macOS 11.2 versions, as the versions of Release Candidate of all updates were sent to developers other testers this week. Read on for details on all of these stories from last week.
Apple is working on a high-end MacBook Air “thinner and lighter” with MagSafe, could be launched in the second half of 2021
Following last Friday’s batch of rumors, BloombergMark Gurman released a new report this week sharing some more details about Apple’s product plans. Mostly, Gurman says Apple is working on a thinner, lighter MacBook Air that could be released later this year or sometime next year. The new MacBook Air will include an updated Apple silicon chip, a MagSafe charge, and perhaps a smaller body enabled by reducing screen frames.
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The redesigned MacBook Air is said to be a high-end model that will be sold alongside cheaper models that continue to use the current design. According to reports, Apple considered making a 15-inch version of the MacBook Air to accompany the popular 13-inch size, but chose not to move forward with the model, at least for the next generation.
It is rumored that the iPhone 13 includes a smaller sensor shift camera stabilization on all models
Apple plans to combine several Face ID components into one module to allow at least a slightly smaller oscillation in iPhone 13 models, according to DigiTimes.
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The same report states that Apple plans to extend the optical image change sensor stabilization to the entire range of iPhone 13, compared to only the iPhone 12 Pro Max among current models. The technology stabilizes the camera sensor instead of individual lenses for even greater image stabilization. Along with a larger sensor, users can expect even better photo quality.
Earlier this month, DigiTimes reported that the LiDAR scanner will also be expanded to the full range of iPhone 13s, while mmWave 5G is expected to be available on iPhone 13 models sold outside the United States.
Face identification for the iMac It is likely to return to the second iteration of the next redesign
Gurman also shared that while Apple has been working on developing Face ID technology for its Mac line and planned to introduce it to the upcoming redesigned iMac it talked about last week, Apple has decided not to include it in the initial version.
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He also says that Apple has tried to offer mobile connectivity for its Mac range, but it looks like it won’t be coming soon either.
The next MacBook Pro will include the SD card reader
The redesigned MacBook Pro models are also up and running, it reported Bloomberg last week, and one of the novelties of this initial report was that the new designs will include more ports than the current models.
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This week’s report explains this statement a bit, specifically stating that the new MacBook Pro models will include the return of an SD card slot, making it easier for photographers and other users of the popular removable storage standard to Direct use of cards on your Macs without the need for a separate card reader.
The candidate for iOS version 14.4 is now available
This week, Apple has released the Release Candidate version of iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 to developers and public beta testers. This release should reflect the final version of the software updates soon.
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iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 are relatively minor updates. Apple’s release notes confirm that iOS 14.4 introduces a notification when the camera can’t be verified as Apple’s new camera on the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, and there are several other bug fixes. The update also enhances Handoff functionality with the HomePod mini.
Apple has also released Release Candidate versions of macOS 11.2, watchOS 7.3 and tvOS 14.4 to test them. All software updates should be released to the public in the near future.
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