Apple Loop: iPhone 17 Pro Design Leaks, Happy Birthday iPod, Explaining Apple’s AI Delay

Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including iPhone 17 Pro leaks, MacBook Pro launch dates, iPad Mini review, iOS 18.1 details, Apple’s AI delay, hearing health on AirPods, and Happy Birthday to the iPod.

Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.

iPhone 17 Pro’s Dynamic Design Change

Apple is planning to shrink the physical size of the front facing sensor trya, which in turn will reduce the absolute need for the dynamic island While it will still be part of the OS, with less to cover up it can be more… well… dynamic. And it all comes down to a new lens technology:

“While a traditional iPhone camera has curved lenses that redirect light towards the image sensor, a metalens is a thin and flat lens with microscopic patterns etched onto it that can focus light more precisely. In [Jeff Pu’s] research note this month, Pu did not provide any specific details about how Apple plans to use a metalens for the Face ID system, nor did he explain how the change would result in a narrower Dynamic Island.”

(MacRumors).

The Macs Are Coming

While not saying the phrase that pays (“MacBook Pro launches on Monday”), Apple SVP Geg Joswiak walks right up to the bar without saying “MacBook Pro launches on Monday” in his latest Tweet. I guess everyone back here Monday to see what it all means.

“Mac your calendars! We have an exciting week of announcements ahead, starting on Monday morning. Stay tuned… “

(Greg Joswiak on X neé Twitter, via The Verge).

iPad Mini Review

Last week’s seemingly early launch of the iPad Mini by press release means this week, we get our first reviews (ahead of Wednesday’s retail release). It’s a curious mix of specs, as David Pierce explains in his review:

“It’s a bunch of new and not-that-new parts smushed together, without any new specs or features to really set it apart — aside from a lot of grand promises about how Apple Intelligence is going to change everything and you’re absolutely going to need a device that runs Apple Intelligence. As far as I can tell, that’s the whole pitch. “

(The Verge).

iOS 18.1 Launch Confirmed

Apple has confirmed that iOS 18.1 will be released on Monday 28 October. This, the first notable update to the latest version of the iPhone operating system covers two important areas. The first is to (hopefully) address various showstopping bugs introduced in iOS 18 and impacting many iPhone 16 and 16 Pro users. The second is the much trailed debut of Apple Intelligence… at least the first few morsels for those using US English:

“The first features of Apple’s personal intelligence system are almost here. There’s more to come over the next few months but initial features include writing tools to let you improve what you’ve written. You can proofread your text, and the iPhone can rewrite or summarize what you’ve said. These tools are available across the iPhone, including in Mail, Notes, Pages and in some third-party apps.”

(Forbes).

Will AI Delayed Be A Footnote?

Apple is making a concerted effort to get its top leadership out to the mainstream pres and to push a message of “best not first” in regards its technology. It’s a statement that Apple and its community has leaned into heavily in the past—such as the lack of wireless charging in the iPhones while the Android competition defined the space. Both Tim Cook and Craig Federighi have offered interviews to the Wall Street Journal to lay out the defence. Here’s Cook:

“At that moment, it was neither first nor best. Despite the sleek “Hello, Apple Intelligence” ads plastered around the store, the iPhone’s most enticing new feature wouldn’t be available for another month, with more updates rolling out next year. But it didn’t seem to bother customers—or Cook. “In the longness of time,” he says, “I don’t think it will be even a footnote.”

(Wall Street Journal).

Health And Hearing For Almost Everyone

One of the surprise additions to the AirPods software revealed in September was the ability use the audio devices as hearing aids and to offer other health-related functions. These require iOS 18.1 on the host device, which should be arriving in the next week for many, but not all, users:

Not all features will be available at launch; a genuine case of check local listings for details”:

“The new Hearing Health features are only compatible with the second-generation AirPods Pro. However, there is another requirement between the lines. According to a footnote on Apple’s website, the new Hearing Protection feature will only be available to users located in the US and Canada. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features, however, will be available in more than 100 countries and regions, including the U.S., Germany, and Japan.”

(9to5Mac).

And Finally…

As The Beatles woudl say, it was 23 years ago today, that Apple Inc (famously not Apple Corp) launched the iPod. William Gallagher looks back at the iPod’s history and how it defined Apple’s future:

“You don’t have an iPod any more. It’s possible that there’s one in a drawer somewhere, but in another light switch, this treasure of our age went from everywhere to nearly nowhere except for some stalwarts that have removed the hard drives in place of flash media.

“When Apple announced the end of the very last iteration of the iPod, it did so with a headline that was meant to celebrate the device, but felt more like a dismissal of it. “The music lives on,” was the whole headline for the May 2022 announcement that first admitted the iPod was dead, and then spent more time talking up Apple’s AirPods.”

(Apple Insider).

Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.