O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: 2022

  • Apple releases macOS Ventura public beta

    Apple releases macOS Ventura public beta

    If you’re feeling curious and/or somewhat brave, Apple released the macOS Ventura public beta on Monday.

    The beta, which was previously only available to the developer community, offers an assortment of new features including Continuity Camera, Stage Manger, Safari Passkeys and more. The release version is expected in the fall.

    To install the macOS Ventura public beta, you must be enrolled in the Public Beta program, which you can do through the Apple Public Beta Software Program website.

    Just sign up and use the following directions:

    1. Click on the Sign Up button. 

    2. Enter your Apple ID information. If you don’t have an Apple ID, click on the “Don’t have an Apple ID? Create yours now” link.

    3. A “Guide for Public Betas” page will appear after entering your Apple ID. If you are on a Mac, this will default to the macOS section. You can read the page for information on the program.

    4. Click Enroll You Devices at the top of the page or click the enroll your Mac link in the Get Started section of the page.

    5. This should take you to the “Enroll you devices” webpage. Follow the instructions. In step 2, you will download the “macOS Public Beta Access Utility” which will enroll your Mac into the program. Then the utility will launch Software Update to download and install the Ventura beta.

    Depending on your Internet connection speed, the installation can take roughly 40 minutes or longer.

    If you’ve tried the macOS Ventura Public Beta, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via Macworld and beta.apple.com

  • Happy Fourth of July from O’Grady’s PowerPage!

    Happy Fourth of July from O’Grady’s PowerPage!

    Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Fourth of July, and the staff of O’Grady’s PowerPage will be taking the day to spend time with friends, family, amazing food, and patriotic explosions.

    We suggest you do the same.

    Happy a safe and happy Fourth, and we’ll be back tomorrow with all the Mac, iOS, and device news, rumors, and features we can get our hands on. Get out, see your friends, watch the fireworks, and we’ll be back soon!

  • Apple may be facing legal/patent-based issues with Qualcomm over use of its in-house 5G chip

    Apple may be facing legal/patent-based issues with Qualcomm over use of its in-house 5G chip

    The delay holding up Apple’s anticipated 5G chip developed in-house for the iPhone 15 may not be due to design issues, but could in fact stem from legal concerns.

    For years, Apple has used Qualcomm modem chips within the iPhone. When the iPhone 12 brought new 5G capabilities in 2020, Cupertino looked to Qualcomm to provide the chip.

    Although Apple and Qualcomm worked together for years, this was not always a harmonious relationship. Apple accused Qualcomm of “double-dipping” by selling the company a chip while also demanding a patent royalty fee for the rights to tech use within the same chip.

    From there, Qualcomm accused Apple of blackmail, the CEOs of both companies consistently arguing with each other. Eventually, Qualcomm would refuse to sell Apple chips for the iPhone XS and XR. While there were talks of settling the issue, the spat soon became a full-blown multibillion dollar legal battle.

    Apple in turn moved away from Qualcomm and approached Intel for modem chips as it worked on its own in-house designs. Unfortunately, Intel would soon leave the 5G smartphone modem business, and Apple eventually purchased Intel’s modem division. It would still take Apple a few years to develop its own chip, and the company found itself approaching Qualcomm for its wares again, the two sides reaching an out-of-court settlement.

    However, a new report suggests that it is actually a legal problem, one concerning patents. Rather than development issues, Apple needs to invalidate two Qualcomm patents. While Apple has tried, going so far as to get the Supreme Court involved, Apple is currently losing the fight.

    According to Patently Apple, Apple may risk infringing on Qualcomm’s patents with its own 5G chip. It’s also been suggested that if Apple stepped forward with its own design, Qualcomm might be able to sue Apple and win.

    While presently, Apple does still have Qualcomm patent licenses in place, the two sides are nowhere near ready to approach an agreement concerning adequate payments for renewing.

    To top this off, July 27 saw Apple’s attempt to invalidate Qualcomm’s patent get thrown out in court, Apple the very next day scrapping plans to use its in-house 5G chip.

    This remains a complicated situation, and Qualcomm may be holding all the cards where legality and patents are concerned. Apple, in turn, may have to pay Qualcomm the fee for the patents, and then finally be able to use its own 5G chips in its forthcoming devices.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer, Patently Apple, and Foss Patents

  • Apple may switch to three nanometer production process for M2 chip and its variants

    Apple may switch to three nanometer production process for M2 chip and its variants

    Apple may be switching from a five nanometer production process to a three nanometer process for its M2 variant process.

    According to a new report from DigiTimes, Apple has “booked TSMC capacity for its upcoming 3nm M3 and M2 Pro processors.”

    It’s also thought that the M2 processor (and its variants) will arrive in a 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro as well as the Mac Studio, high-end Mac mini, and possibly an updated Mac Pro.

    A switch to three nanometers could offer significant improvements for upcoming projects. Back in 2020 when TSMC outlined the technology behind the 3nm process, it said the mode “promises to improve performance by 10-15 percent at the same power levels or reduce power by 25-30 percent at the same transistor speeds.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via Macworld and DigiTimes

  • Analyst: Apple may resort to using Qualcomm 5G modem for 2023 iPhone models following in-house development frustrations

    Analyst: Apple may resort to using Qualcomm 5G modem for 2023 iPhone models following in-house development frustrations

    It pays to have a backup source for your 5G modem.

    Per noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, supply-side surveys have indicated that Apple has been unable to develop a custom 5G modem of its own, in time for the 2023 iPhone series, or the iPhone 15.

    Kuo has stated that he believes Apple will resort to using Qualcomm models for the 2023 model iPhones. Previously, Qualcomm executives had warned investors that it expected to lose up to 80 percent of the Apple business by 2023, as Apple planned to use its own chips instead.

    Other reports have suggested that Apple has been on track and is talking with suppliers about 2023. While it’s possible that both these things could be true, Apple’s in-house modem may arrive first in a less risky lower volume product, like an iPad for instance, before powering the iPhone juggernaut.

    It’s expected that Apple’s eventual goal is to create its own custom-designed 5G modem for the iPhone. This would likely yield both performance and power efficiency gains as well as help to improve the company’s profit margins, as it would be able to keep things in-house while bypassing Qualcomm as a supplier for the component. Even so, standards-essential patent royalty payments to Qualcomm would continue regardless.

    Apple’s silicon teams have been developing its own modems for about five years, accelerated by the $1 billion acquisition of Intel’s modem business in 2019. 

    The April 2019 settlement meant that Apple and Qualcomm entered a six year licensing agreement, with an option to extend for an additional two years. This essentially gave Apple until 2027 to develop and engineer an in-house solution. Meanwhile, Intel exited the modem business altogether, and sold off its assets and employees to Apple.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and @mingchikuo