O'Grady's PowerPage

  • Rumor: Apple sends some of its engineering development team to AI bootcamp, restructres larger team for Siri overhaul

    Rumor: Apple sends some of its engineering development team to AI bootcamp, restructres larger team for Siri overhaul

    Apple is apparently sending a large portion of its Siri engineer base to a multi-week bootcamp to learn to code using AI.

    Per The Information, Apple’s decision to teach its programmers to better use AI for coding comes just two months before Apple is expected to unveil a smarter, more capable version of Siri at WWDC.

    While a number of employees are attending the bootcamp, it’s said that around 60 members of the Siri development team will remain on hand to work on Siri, while an additional 60 engineers will evaluate how Siri is performing. It’s thought that this will be to test that Siri is meeting its safety standards and is able to interpret and execute commands from users.

    It’s also rumored that while coding with AI is becoming the standard, Apple’s ‌Siri‌ team apparently isn’t taking full advantage of AI coding tools. It’s been noted that some teams within Apple have allocated large parts of their budgets to Claude Code, but the ‌Siri‌ team has a “reputation as a laggard inside Apple.” The criticism may not be unfounded, as the Siri team was unable to produce the Apple Intelligence of Siri that was slated to debut with iOS 18, which led to an organizational shakeup. Apple replaced AI chief John Giannandrea, who stepped down from his position in late 2025 and is set to retire this week following the final vesting of his stock on April 15.

    In the meantime, Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi took over and is overseeing the company’s AI development, while Mike Rockwell, who developed the Vision Pro, has become the Siri team lead. Under Federighi, Apple inked a deal with Google that will see ‌Siri‌ and other AI features powered by Google’s Gemini models.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and The Information

  • Some users report crashes and bugs following watchOS 8.8.2 update

    Some users report crashes and bugs following watchOS 8.8.2 update

    About three weeks ago, Apple quietly released updates for its older watchOS 5 and watchOS 8 operating systems. The updates featured renewed security certificates and enabled iMessage and FaceTime to carry on working.

    Unfortunately, a number of users across various channels have reported that the watchOS 8.8.2 update is causing problems with their Apple Watches. The most common issue appears to be an inability to install apps. Even Apple’s own apps, such as Maps and Weather, have experienced issues.

    Other users have reported random crashing and pairing issues, and one affected user was forced to shut their Apple Watch down, despite its battery being at a healthy 80 percent charge. Several users who’ve unpaired their Apple Watch and then paired it again have reported that this fix is less effective and that the connection sometimes fails.

    At present, there’s no permanent solution to the crashes or app installation issues, and a number of users stated they’ve contacted Apple Support, but this hasn’t led to a fix or explanation of the issue. It’s also difficult to revert back to a previous version of the operating system, which only makes the situation that much more difficult.

    Please let us know if you’ve experienced these issues from your end in the comments.

    Via Macworld, discussions.apple.com, and Reddit

  • Rumor: Next-gen iPad Air tablets to incorporate OLED panels later this year/early next year

    Rumor: Next-gen iPad Air tablets to incorporate OLED panels later this year/early next year

    Apple’s iPad Air tablets could gain access to OLED displays a bit earlier than expected.

    Citing industry sources, Korea’s ET News has stated that Samsung Display will begin mass production of OLED panels around the end of 2026 or January next year, with a view to supplying panels for Apple’s next iPad Air, expected to be released in early 2027. Apple last updated the iPad Air in March 2026 with an M4 chip.

    The current iPad Pro models incorporate OLED displays, while the iPad Air units still use the more affordable LCD displays, which Apple has dubbed the “Liquid Retina” displays. These displays do not support 120Hz ProMotion display technology and are limited to 60Hz refresh rates.

    OLED panels individually control each pixel, resulting in more precise color reproduction and deeper blacks compared to LCD. They also provide superior contrast, faster response times, better viewing angles, and greater design flexibility.

    The OLED display, in turn, feature two-stack low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED panels‌, while the iPad Air‌ is expected to use single-stack low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) panels. This would indicate that the displays may be dimmer and continue to lack ProMotion.

    Rumors have also circulated that Apple is planning to transition its iPad mini displays from LCD to OLED, with reports hinting that the iPad mini 8 will adopt OLED later this year, albeit using the same cheaper single-stack LTPS panel.

    Once the iPad mini and iPad Air receive the display upgrade, the entry-level iPad will be the only model in Apple’s tablet lineup without an OLED panel.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and ET News

  • DaVinci Resolve 21 public beta released, offers new editing and AI-based tools

    DaVinci Resolve 21 public beta released, offers new editing and AI-based tools

    If you’re not enamored with Adobe’s business practices, Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve, which has presented itself as an excellent alterative to Adobe Premiere, has just received a major update.

    Per MacRumors, DaVinci Resolve 21’s new feature set includes a Photo page that extends the application’s color grading toolset to still photography for the first time, meaning photographers can now apply primary color correction, curves, qualifiers, power windows, and node-based edits to stills, with changes held at the original source resolution. An additional LightBox view displays whole albums with grades applied, and Sony or Canon cameras can be tethered for direct capture into albums.

    A good amount of this update centers on AI, and a new tool, entitled “IntelliSearch,” can index media, allowing editors to search for objects, spoken keywords, or specific faces. A new CineFocus feature also allows users to shift a shot’s focal point after recording and add bokeh, while a set of facial tools can age or de-age subjects, reshape features, and remove blemishes.

    The new UltraSharpen and Motion Deblur, can help salvage soft or blurry footage.

    Other new features include four-point Bezier easing, the ability to adjust multiple clips simultaneously, and Fusion effects that can now be altered from the Cut and Edit pages. Text elements have gained a multi-language spell check, a font browser, emoji support, and character-level styling. The Cut page now has smart bins, while a new MultiMaster trim manager lets colorists generate multiple HDR and SDR deliverables from a single timeline.

    Finally, DaVinci Resolve 21 now offers support for Ograf HTML graphics and Lottie animations, wherein users can now drag .json and .lottie files directly into the media pool, where they will be treated like fully rendered animation clips. There’s also a Picture in Picture effect, and expanded IntelliScript support for Final Draft and plain text screenplays.

    The DaVinci Resolve 21 public beta is available now to download for free from the Blackmagic Design website, albeit there’s no official announcement as to when the final version will be released to the public. The software requires a Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later, or an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 or later to install and run.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Blackmagic Design