I don’t know if the Vision Pro will predict the future like those early computers did. But I do know that it’s so new and weird and interesting that it brings back all those feelings of wonder and enthusiasm and curiosity that I felt in those early days. Wherever this product goes, whatever it does, it’s certainly going to be a fun ride.
The Vision Pro is a flawed product, but it's certainly not empty. It's as if Apple has compiled everything it's learned from building the Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods into a single device, all in a bid to avoid the Innovator's Dilemma. It would be easy for the company to coast by slowly iterating its current products, making minor tweaks to appease investors and slight hardware hops to excite an already devoted fanbase. True vision takes risk, and I can't help but admire that.
Sometimes writing about tech all the time turns into a negative game where there are (legitimate) reasons to be upset about almost everything, so it’s great to see I still get giddy when something genuinely new comes along and rephrases Apple’s favorite question: what is a computer?
The biggest issue is cost. Sources tell Billboard that a spatial audio mix can cost around $500 per track, or anywhere between $2,500 to $5,000 per album, with one putting the cost as high as $15,000. (Cheaper options as low as $50 per track exist online, though Apple is said to discourage those options because they do not meet its standards. The reality, however, is that there is no universally accepted industry standard, and some labels are using these services anyway, justifying them as the only way to convert catalog efficiently enough.) That’s difficult for many indie labels, whose margins can often be akin to a small restaurant, where cash is at a premium and wiggle room is often extremely thin.
[...]
Even then, the return from the uplift may not offset the outlay on mixing for spatial, sources say, particularly for smaller indies, labels with younger or developing artists, or those with genres or artists that don’t typically stream very well. Several label sources also said that Apple won’t playlist songs or will withhold valuable space on the Apple Music homepage — where there is a dedicated section for new releases in spatial — if songs aren’t delivered using the format. And since spatial is an Apple Music-only initiative, those dealing with the financial issues can’t get a higher rate at any other digital service provider (DSP) for mixing tracks in spatial.
In the second beta release of iOS 17.4, which incorporates code to accommodate Europe's Digital Markets Act, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have been demoted from standalone apps that use the whole screen to shortcuts that open within the default browser.
[...]
"For PWAs to run, the browser has to create a component called a service worker," they explained. "It seems that Apple hasn't found a way to allow other browsers to create their own service workers without compromising the sandboxed nature of apps on iOS. And the only way to fulfill this DMA rule by the deadline in March is to disable PWAs for all browsers. And now all browsers are equal."
Apple says that developers who have opted into the new App Store business terms in the EU can now begin setting up and testing their app marketplaces and marketplace distribution.
Apple devices currently prioritise user privacy over supporting advertising, making them a poor source of revenue for ad-funded news publishers.
An engineer at Apple now appears to have proposed a new system named “Private Ad Measurement” (PAM) that would allow publishers and advertisers to track the performance of their online campaigns on Apple devices, via apps and on the Safari browser, whilst preserving the privacy of readers.
The bug caused words or entire lines to seem to disappear and reappear, jump around, or overwrite other text while you were typing in any app that relied on WebKit, most notably Mail, Notes, and Safari, but also including third-party apps like Mimestream and MarsEdit.
Apple is continuing to hype the upcoming Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show that's set to air this weekend, with the company sharing a full mini film for its "Where's Usher?" ad campaign.
Vision Pro Shield Case is half the size and a fraction of the cost of Apple’s travel case. It also features an exterior zipped pocket unlike other Vision Pro bags we’ve seen so far.
Ask yourself: What am I trying to accomplish with my writing? Once you’ve answered that, you can start addressing the writing itself.
One month ago, have you set a theme for the new year, or new resolutions for the new year, but have forgotten about them already? No worries. Here's your second chance.
Happy Lunar New Year, as we welcome the year of the dragon tomorrow.
:-)
~
Thanks for reading.