Apple plans to launch a monitor that stays on when you shut down your Mac

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Apple Is Reportedly Working on a Mac Monitor That Becomes a Smart Home Display When Idle

Apple is working on a new external monitor for Macs that also functions as a kind of smart home display while not in use, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.


Writing in the subscriber version of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that Apple is developing multiple new monitor offerings, some of which are likely to be successors to its Studio Display and Pro Display XDR, and one that could have smart standby features powered by an onboard iOS chip.

If Gurman's claim is accurate, it would not be the first time Apple silicon has been used in an external display. Apple already includes a dedicated A13 chip in its existing 27-inch Studio Display, but its functionality is limited to handling camera and speaker features like Center Stage and spatial audio when the display is in use.

Using an iOS device chip to power independent smart features when a monitor is idle would be an evolutionary next step, and could possibly rely on an expanded version the new Standby feature in iOS 17, which turns a charging iPhone in horizontal orientation into a home hub with full-screen widgets. As for when we could see the smart monitor, Gurman says not to expect a release until 2024 "at the earliest."
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Gurman: Apple to Release USB-C AirPods Pro Case, Likely Alongside iPhone 15 Launch

Apple is likely to release a USB-C charging case for AirPods Pro alongside the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup this fall, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said the shift was in line with the same switch from Lightning to USB-C that is expected to happen across the iPhone 15 series this year.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in March that Apple would release a second-generation AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case later this year. Kuo said it was unclear if any other hardware changes are planned for AirPods Pro in 2023. Gurman's report suggests not.

Meanwhile on the software side, Gurman said Apple is developing a new hearing test feature for AirPods Pro that is designed to detect possible hearing issues. The new hearing test feature, which is coming in addition to other AirPods features arriving as part of iOS 17, will "play different tones and sounds to allow the AirPods to determine how well a person can hear," said the Bloomberg reporter.

Looking further ahead, Gurman also reiterated previous rumors that Apple is working on developing additional health sensors for future generations of AirPods. One is the ability to read body temperature from the ear canal, a method believed to be more accurate than reading temperature from the wrist, which is what Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra models do while users sleep.

Separately, Gurman says Apple is exploring how it could better position AirPods as a hearing aid by building on existing features like Conversation Boost and Live Listen. Neither feature has regulatory approval yet, but the FDA last year eased hearing aid purchase rules, which has reportedly spurred Apple to hire engineers from traditional hearing aid makers and take advantage of the opening in the market.
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Gurman: AirPods to Gain Hearing Health Features Over the Next Two Years

Apple's AirPods could gain more prominent hearing health features in the next year or two, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that he believes Apple will "upgrade the AirPods to become a health tool in the next year or two," adding "the ability to get hearing data of some sort."

Apple has already added several hearing-focused features to the AirPods in recent years such as Live Listen and Conversation Boost, but Gurman noted that such features are not yet FDA approved or designed to serve as a hearing aid replacement. Given Apple's health objectives, he expects AirPods to take on these sorts of functions "more officially" in the near future.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously highlighted the company's intention to add biometric health monitoring capabilities to future AirPods models. Apple patent filings have described an earbud-based fitness monitoring system that integrates an advanced biometric sensor to detect physiological metrics including temperature, heart rate, perspiration levels and more, through skin contact and via built-in motion sensors. Apple's vice president of technology, Kevin Lynch, has also hinted that AirPods could be a source of additional health data in the future.

New hearing health capabilities would not necessarily be contingent on new AirPods being released, since current models already contain speakers and microphones to support such features, and they could be pushed to existing devices via a firmware update.
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Apple VP Overseeing iCloud, iMessage, and FaceTime Infrastructure Leaving Role

Apple's vice president of cloud engineering Michael Abbott plans to leave the company in April, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The report notes that Abbott oversees Apple's cloud infrastructure for services like iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and others.


Abbott joined Apple in 2018 and was previously an executive at tech companies such as Twitter, Microsoft, and Palm. The report claims that his team at Apple had invested heavily in building out the company's in-house cloud infrastructure, but scaled back the efforts in favor of using servers hosted by Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.

Apple's vice president of services Peter Stern, who oversaw iCloud as a whole, also left the company earlier this year. Stern worked at Apple for over six years and was viewed as a potential successor to Apple's longtime services chief Eddy Cue.

Update: The role will be taken over by Jeff Robbin, a longtime Apple engineering VP known as the creator of iTunes, according to Gurman.
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Gurman: Apple Headset Could Feature 'In-Air' Typing for Text Input, No iPhone Pairing Required

Apple's first mixed-reality headset may feature "in-air" typing capabilities and can be used independently without an accompanying iPhone, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.



In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple's headset is unlikely to require a paired ‌iPhone‌, in contrast to the original Apple Watch. The device can purportedly be set up without an accompanying ‌iPhone‌ and download a user's content independently, including iCloud data. A data transfer from a user's ‌iPhone‌ upon setup will be an option rather than a requirement.

"In-air typing," Apple's method for text input using eye movements and hand gestures with the device, is apparently enabled on the latest internal prototypes. The feature is "finicky," Gurman warned, explaining that "you still may want to pair an ‌iPhone‌ to use its touch-screen keyboard... The hope within Apple is to make rapid improvements after the device is released."

Apple is still planning to unveil the first version of the headset, likely called "Reality Pro," at WWDC in June this year, with the device shipping toward the end of 2023 at the earliest. The company is also developing multiple other headset models for further in the future. There is a cheaper model with a lower-end display and processor components planned for launch at the end of 2024 or in 2025, likely under the "Reality One" name, as well as a second-generation Reality Pro headset.

The second-generation Reality Pro headset is apparently focused on performance improvements. While the first-generation model will contain the M2 chip alongside a secondary chip for AR and VR processing, it is apparently not powerful enough to output graphics at the level Apple wants. For example, FaceTime will only support realistic VR representations of just two people at a time, rather than everyone in a conference call, with the first-generation headset. The second-generation Reality Pro could have a variant of the M3 or M4 chip to bolster its graphics capabilities, Gurman said.
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Gurman: Apple Considering New High-End iPhone Alongside Pro and Pro Max

Apple has discussed selling a new top-of-the-line iPhone alongside the Pro and Pro Max models in 2024 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this timeframe, the device would be part of the iPhone 16 lineup or later.


In a September 2022 edition of his weekly "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said there was "potential" for an iPhone 15 Ultra to replace the iPhone 15 Pro Max this year. In today's edition of his newsletter, however, he suggests Apple might instead release the Ultra as a new highest-end, higher-priced model next year at the earliest.

"But instead of renaming the Pro Max 'the Ultra,' Apple could add an even higher-end iPhone above both Pro models," said Gurman. "Internally, the company has discussed doing just that — potentially in time for the 2024 iPhone release."

It's unclear how the new high-end model would differ from the Pro and Pro Max, but Gurman speculated that the device could feature additional camera improvements, a faster chip, a larger display, and perhaps a portless design without Lightning or USB-C. He said the device would be "pricier" than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099.
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Apple May Not Launch Updated Mac Studio With M2 Ultra Chip Due to Similarity With Upcoming Mac Pro

A new version of the Mac Studio with the "M2 Ultra" chip is unlikely to arrive in the near future, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that since the upcoming Apple silicon Mac Pro is "very similar in functionality to the Mac Studio," Apple may wait until the release of M3- or M4-series chips to update the machine, or simply never refresh the device at all:

I wouldn't anticipate the introduction of a Mac Studio in the near future. The upcoming Mac Pro is very similar in functionality to the Mac Studio — and adds the M2 Ultra chip rather than the M1 Ultra. So it wouldn't make sense for Apple to offer an M2 Ultra Mac Studio and M2 Ultra Mac Pro at the same time. It's more likely that Apple either never updates the Mac Studio or holds off until the M3 or M4 generation. At that point, the company may be able to better differentiate the Mac Studio from the Mac Pro.

To date, little has been rumored about the next-generation Mac Studio, so Gurman's latest remarks are the firmest indication yet that a new version of the machine is unlikely to arrive any time soon.

Last month, it emerged that Apple reportedly scaled back its plans for the first Apple silicon Mac Pro, scrapping the "M2 Extreme" chip and falling back on non-user-upgradable memory and the same design as the 2019 model. The device is now expected to offer the M2 Ultra only – a chip that would also have logically come to the next-generation Mac Studio.

The M2 Ultra chip is almost certain to double-up the capabilities of the recently introduced M2 Max chip, which is currently only available in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro. With reduced modularity and similar performance on the upcoming Mac Pro, Apple's move to hold off on updating the Mac Studio's hardware may make sense until it can work out a better strategy for the machine's positioning going forward.
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Mac Pro Enthusiasts Raise Concerns Over Upgrade Limitations of Apple Silicon

The new Mac Pro coming later this year is expected to feature the same spacious modular design as the 2019 model, but with fresh concerns over its lack of upgradeability surfacing, some users are beginning to wonder what the transition away from Intel architecture actually means for Apple's most powerful Mac.


The current Intel Mac Pro that Apple sells is popular with creative professionals because of its modular, highly upgradeable design. It accepts Xeon processors with up to 28 cores and 64 PCI Express lanes, and up to 1.5TB of high-performance memory. It also has eight PCIe expansion slots, while the APX Modules can be configured with six different GPUs. All of the components can be upgraded after purchase.

Given that Apple's high-end M2 Extreme chip has reportedly been cancelled, the new Mac Pro is expected to feature a new M2 Ultra chip, which is essentially two ‌M2 Max‌ chips connected together,‌ featuring up to a 24-core CPU, up to a 76-core GPU, and at least 192GB of unified memory.

But it is just this unified architecture that is raising doubts about the Mac Pro's modularity among prospective owners. Earlier this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that unlike the current Intel-based ‌Mac Pro‌, the upcoming model will not feature user-upgradeable RAM because the memory is tied directly to the M2 Ultra's motherboard.

Now, Gurman has seemingly doubled down on this limitation of Apple's unified architecture by suggesting that the next Mac Pro "may lack user upgradeable GPUs" in addition to non-upgradeable RAM. As he points out: "Right now Apple Silicon Macs don't support external GPUs and you have to use whatever configuration you buy on Apple's website."



Apart from space for media and networking cards, that leaves only storage as the main user-upgradeable component in the Mac Pro. As for the seemingly large empty space that would remain in the unchanging tower case, Gurman suggests it could accommodate a larger cooling system, which would differentiate it from the Mac Studio by affording significantly faster performance.


It's worth noting that on the subject of non-upgradeable GPUs, Gurman appears to be reaching this conclusion based on logical reasoning rather than specific insider information. But if it turns out that he is correct, it could dissuade would-be buyers from investing so much money in a machine that does not offer the same future-proofing expandability.

The ‌Mac Pro‌ currently starts at $5,999, with the potential to price it up to over $52,000 in custom configurations. The base model Apple silicon ‌Mac Pro‌ with the ‌M2‌ Ultra is almost certain to cost more than the high-end ‌Mac Studio‌ with the ‌M1 Ultra‌, which starts at $3,999.


Apple has already teased the launch of the first Apple silicon Mac Pro, so it is undoubtedly coming regardless of the rumors. Indeed, Apple is already testing one of the new ‌Mac Pro‌ models, and it is running macOS Ventura 13.3, an updated version of ‌macOS Ventura‌ coming out later this year. Timing wise, ‌macOS Ventura‌ 13.3 is expected to come out around March or April, so we could also see the ‌Mac Pro‌ launch in this timeframe.
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Gurman: Apple Not Working on New HomePod Mini

Apple is likely not working on a new version of the HomePod mini smart speaker, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that he believes Apple is not "actively working" on a successor to the ‌HomePod mini‌:

After the debut of a new full-sized HomePod, many users started asking about an update to the mini model. But at this point, I don't believe that Apple is actively working on such as product. The latest HomePod doesn't include any major new functions that aren't already in the $99 mini, so there isn't an obvious reason to update the model. Sure, it would be nice to get more colors, a cheaper price, and better sound and microphones, but the real improvements probably need to be made on the back end — with Siri and app integration.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ was announced in October 2020 at Apple's iPhone 12 event. Less than half a year later, Apple discontinued the original HomePod, leaving the ‌HomePod mini‌ as the company's only smart speaker until this week when Apple relaunched the full-size HomePod form factor.

The newly reintroduced ‌HomePod‌ offers a large number of features that were previously exclusive to the ‌HomePod mini‌, including an Apple Watch S-series chip, a U1 ultra wideband chip, Thread support, a temperature and humidity sensor, and a larger backlit touch surface that illuminates from edge to edge.

In August 2022, Gurman said that Apple was considering launching an updated version of the HomePod mini in the future, but he did not provide a specific timeframe or details about potential new features. He said the update was unlikely to be "super-impressive," suggesting any changes to the ‌HomePod‌'s smaller sibling would be minor, but those plans now seem to have been shelved.
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Apple to Unveil New Full-Size HomePod 'Fairly Soon,' Says Gurman

Apple's next-generation HomePod will launch "fairly soon," according to well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman.


Apple discontinued the original HomePod in March 2021, reportedly due to lackluster sales, but the high-quality smart speaker still has many fans, and there have been rumors about the return of a new full-size HomePod for some time.

Gurman has previously said he does not expect the new HomePod to be "revolutionary," but it will have a more competitive price, an updated touch control panel on the top, and the S8 chip from the latest Apple Watch models.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said Apple has been working on an updated version of the HomePod that could come in the first quarter of 2023.

Gurman's latest comments came after he corroborated rumors that Apple is set to announce two new products on Tuesday. Recent rumors combined with clues found in a Canadian regulatory database suggest Apple could unveil next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, but otherwise nothing has been confirmed.
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