O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: engine

  • Apple’s Eddy Cue confirms that Apple is working to blend AI search options into future versions of Safari

    Apple’s Eddy Cue confirms that Apple is working to blend AI search options into future versions of Safari

    Not surprisingly, Apple is looking at reworking its Safari web browser to directly support AI-powered search services.

    Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, today disclosed that Apple is “actively looking at” reshaping its Safari web browser around AI search as part of testimony in the lawsuit against Google from the U.S. Justice Department. The dispute centers on the $20 billion deal between Apple and Google that makes the latter the default search engine on Apple devices.

    Cue stated that searches on Safari fell for the first time in April 2025, something he attributed to users switching to AI services. Cue also stated that he believes AI services such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude will eventually replace conventional search engines like Google. As a result, Apple will need to add them as options in Safari in the future. Cue said the company had already held discussions with Perplexity.

    According to Cue, the AI options “probably won’t be the default,” but Apple will add them “to the list” of available options.

    He also offered the following comment:

    “You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now as crazy as it sounds. The only way you truly have true competition is when you have technology shifts. Technology shifts create these opportunities. AI is a new technology shift, and it’s creating new opportunities for new entrants.”

    Cue stated that AI services need to improve their search indexes, and even if this doesn’t happen quickly, users are likely to switch rapdily given that AI services could offer compelling features that are “so much better.” Large language models will continue to improve over time, giving users more reason to switch from traditional search to AI. “There’s enough money now, enough large players, that I don’t see how it doesn’t happen,” he said.

    Finally, Cue stated that he believes that Google should remain the default search option in Safari. The deal now includes Google Lens integration in Visual Intelligence.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Bloomberg

  • Open source marathon trilogy available for iPhone, iPad

    Open source marathon trilogy available for iPhone, iPad

    “Somewhere in the heavens…they are waiting.”

    These were the words that inspired an entire generation of Mac gamers throughout the mid-90’s as Bungie released its sci-fi Marathon trilogy first-person shooter epic. The game, which would influence the company’s work on Halo and Destiny, showed what was possible on the Mac with a rich space opera story to boot.

    Developer Dustin Wenz and Dome-C Studio LLC appear to have brought this to the iPhone and iPad as part of an open source project, and the ports of Marathon, Marathon 2: Durandal, and Marathon: Infinity are now available for free on the App Store.

    The games look amazing from the trailer, and while there may be a bit of a learning curve to get used to playing Marathon on an iPhone or iPad, all the elements are there to dive back into Bungie’s epic trilogy.

    Per Wenz, “Just prior to the Microsoft acquisition, Bungie released the Marathon 2 engine source code to the public, which resulted in an enhanced version of that engine dubbed Aleph One. This has been used for over two decades for community-created Marathon projects and ports. Daniel Blezek ported the original Marathon to the iPad as a side project, and we have been improving it ever since.”

    The Marathon series is available for free and require iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or later to install and run. If you’ve had a chance to try the games, please let us know about your experience in the comments and happy gaming!

    Via Dome-C Studio, Aleph One, App Store (Marathon), App Store (Marathon 2: Durandal), and App Store (Marathon: Infinity)

  • iFixit posts teardown of M4 iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, discusses components and assembly

    iFixit posts teardown of M4 iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, discusses components and assembly

    If you’re looking to get to the components of the new Apple Pencil Pro, it’ll take time, patience, and an ultrasonic cutter. Apple’s new M4-based iPad Pro, on the other hand, got quite a bit easier to repair.

    Per a new video teardown posted by the cool cats at iFixit, the Apple Pencil Pro required quite a bit of work and what the outfit called “destruction” of the stylus. The video shows significant changes to the design of the iPad Pro that make it more repairable, but the new Apple Pencil Pro’s design is quite the opposite.

    The video cites a “massive improvement” in replacing the battery of the new iPad Pro over previous versions of the tablet, as it no longer requires removing all the other components first.

    Following the iPad Pro teardown, the focus shifts to a teardown of the new Apple Pencil Pro. After trying to remove the “eraser” top of the Pencil Pro by cutting it off, the host is forced to use an ultrasonic cutter to slice open the plastic body of the stylus, rendering it un-restorable.

    The device’s components are eventually removed for closer examination, and include two sets of magnets as well as an inductive charging coil.

    The screws to separate the main circuit board are extremely difficult to find and remove. The taptic engine that provides the feedback on the device, however, is able to be separated from the rest of the electronics by simply breaking the micro-weld points.

    Where the Apple Pencil Pro’s repairability comes into question, the video cites a “slight” improvement over the first-generation Apple Pencil, which had all its parts epoxied into the body of the device. Still, the video cites the new Apple Pencil Pro as “an unrepairable pile of e-waste” once it is disassembled. iFixit, however, does praise Apple for its general “baby steps” towards more consumer repairability overall in its recent devices.

    If you’ve gotten your hands on the new Apple Pencil Pro and/or the new M4 iPad Pro, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via AppleInsider and iFixit

  • iMore notes 13-inch M4 iPad Pro HDR screen glitch, Apple says software fix is en route

    iMore notes 13-inch M4 iPad Pro HDR screen glitch, Apple says software fix is en route

    The new M4 iPad Pro is out, it’s impressive, but several users have reported that a screen glitch has been identified with the high-end tablet.

    The cool cats at iMore noted that while testing the 13-inch model, a niche issue that some users may never notice appeared in the device.

    The glitch should only be noticeable when the user viewing HDR content. “In a relatively specific set of circumstances,” iMore reports, “HDR highlights are blown out on certain blue shades including navy and indigo to a point that they almost appear white on screen.” The site says the effect can seem like a shimmering web over the screen, or like an inky blob. iMore has speculated that the image processing engine is getting confused in some way.

    At present, iMore stated that it couldn’t replicate the issue on numerous other displays, placing the fault with the M4 iPad Pro’s screen. Apple, in turn, has acknowledged that the company is aware of the issue and is working on a software fix. The iPad Pro already had a day-one software update to fix issues with the new document scanner.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via Macworld and iMore

  • Apple announces M3-based 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air notebooks

    Apple announces M3-based 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air notebooks

    If you’ve been hankering for an M3 MacBook Air, it’s just around the corner.

    Apple on Monday announced its new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air notebooks, complete with an M3 chip, improved external display support, Wi-Fi 6E, and other features.

    The company has stated that the M3 MacBook Air is up to 60 percent faster than the M1 MacBook Air and up to 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air. The new hardware also offers an AV1 decode engine to provide more efficient and higher-quality video from streaming services.

    Other new features include Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes, enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls, and a more fingerprint-resistant finish with the Midnight color option. It also now supports up to two external displays when the notebook lid is closed, increasing from just a single external display on the previous Apple silicon models.

    Pre-orders for the new unit began on Monday, with orders arriving to customers on Friday, March 8. It continues to be available in Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver with a starting price of $1,099.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Apple