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Prepare for Insanity

Prepare for Insanity

Apple is about to blow our socks off (hopefully)

Brandon Butch
June 02, 2023 • 📖 Read time: 16 minutes

Good morning! ☀️ *Tim Cook voice*

Why WWDC 2023 might be the best ever, intriguing iPhone 16 leaks, surprise Macs incoming, Reddit selling out, and more.

Estimated reading time: 4.5 minutes

📊 Poll

Last week, I asked how much iPhone storage you need..

Close call! I’m personally in the 256GB camp

Here were some of my favorite replies:

1TB - “I need all my photos and videos 100% on device. Over 8k items and many of them videos (4k60). Plus it’s good to have at least 50% free space, so we need a 2TB iPhone asap!” Why not get the 2TB iCloud plan?

128GB - “Most of my storage is used for downloading music to play when out of cell service on road trips. I have all my files & photos on iCloud” This is also where the majority of my internal storage goes.

128GB - “With services like iCloud, I prefer to keep my data stored elsewhere. This way, I can have a lower priced iPhone and keep my data in case of loss or theft. Also, iCloud+ is a must with HomeKit Secure Video.” I’m with ya there, imagine losing your phone and all of your photos/videos are now also lost..

256GB - “I’m kicking it old school. I still prefer manually adding music I own from iTunes to my phone. Streaming services and their licensing issues, exclusive releases, and contracts with labels/artists are a non-factor this way.” This gave me instant nostalgia of the Limewire/iTunes days 😅

This week: What are you most excited for at WWDC? And why?

What are you most excited for?

😦 WWDC 2023 Might Make History

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is where Apple shows off their new software & prepares developers for the future of building.

It’s uncommon for them to unveil any hardware at these events, but it is rare for Apple to unveil more than 2 new products alongside the new software.

As a matter of fact, it’s only happened twice in the past 10 years, in 2017 and 2013.

But next week, history could be made!

What Hardware is Expected?

Apple AR/VR Headset
15” MacBook Air with M2 chip
“Several new Macs”

That last bullet point is key. Gurman has not only said to expect “several” new Macs at WWDC, but he also just recently said that Apple is testing new high-end Macs with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips.

Does this mean a new Mac Studio or new Mac Pro?

My bet is on a new Mac Studio, as I’m not convinced that a Mac Pro is ever coming at this point…

Now if we do get the headset, along with a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro - that is 5 products!

That would be the most (aside from 2017) in 10+ years!

What do you think - will it actually happen? Cast your prediction below!

How many products will get announced?

Oh, and Gurman also said this: “With all of the new hardware and software, I expect the keynote to be one of Apple’s longest ever and easily exceed two hours.”

So if you want your 2+ hours to be infinitely more enjoyable, join my live stream on YouTube on June 5th! We know how to have a great time.

🥽 Biggest Headset Leak Yet - It’s Insane

Just when I was getting sick & tired of hearing about this damn Apple headset, the specs leaked. And now I’m intrigued again.. even more-so than before! Here’s why:

Micro OLED screen technology (OLED on SIlicon)
1.41-inch display (measured diagonally)
4000 pixels per inch
4K in each eye
More than 5000 nits of brightness

Not only is the PPI infinitely higher than what is seen on the “competitors” aka Meta Quest Pro and Sony PSVR 2, but that peak brightness of 5000 nits is absolutely bonkers! Here’s the comparison:

Meta Quest 2 = 100 nits
PSVR2 = 265 nits
Apple Headset = 5000 nits

That is just pure domination. No competition when it comes to display quality and brightness, and that’s likely why Apple will be charging around $3,000 for the headset.

…But There are Challenges

The Information reports that Apple's mixed-reality headset will be the most complicated hardware product ever made by the company, due to the unusual design that has led to unprecedented manufacturing challenges.

The headset reportedly features an "unconventional curved design, thinness, and ultralight weight"
The renders seen by The Information show a “piece of curved glass with edges wrapped in a smooth aluminum frame that appears to be slightly thicker than an iPhone"
The thin profile requires users who wear glasses to buy prescription lenses that magnetically clip into the headset
Apple had to develop a first-of-its-kind bent motherboard to fit inside of the headset's curved outer shell
Carbon fiber is used inside the headset to reinforce the structure without adding additional weight

A small dial is located above the right eye, allowing users to transition between augmented and virtual reality, and a power button is located above the left eye.

A round connector that looks similar to an Apple Watch charger attaches to the headset's left temple and runs down via a cable to a waist-mounted battery pack.

The headset's headband is primarily made of a soft material and attached to two short, hard temples which also contain the left and right speakers.

A soft, removable cover attaches to the back of the headset for comfort against the wearer's face.

Apple is said to have debated adding additional eye-tracking cameras or further adjustments to the motorized lenses to accommodate more face shapes.

MacRumors via The Information

So, both the display specs and the design specs seem insane! Now we just need to see how Apple positions this for the average consumer who doesn’t plan to game with the headset.

Because I’m not paying $3,000 to game on a headset. Ok, I’ll still get it since I have to make videos on it, but you know what I mean. If I weren’t a tech reviewer, this would be a no-go if gaming was the main selling point.

If you’d like to support!

🦒 iPhone 16 to be Biggest iPhone Yet

The iPhone 15 isn’t even here yet but we’re already discussing iPhone 16. Typical 🤣.

Anyways, the reason it’s being brought up is because we are now hearing that it will not only be the largest iPhone yet, but the aspect ratio will also be changing, according to [nearly 100% accurate] analyst Ross Young.

The iPhone 16 Pro models will feature a taller aspect ratio of 19.6:9 (compared to 19.5:9 on the 14 series)
‌iPhone 16‌ Pro display size: 6.27” (vs 6.12” on 14)
iPhone 16‌ Pro Max display size: 6.86” (vs 6.69” on 14)

And for the iPhone 17 models in 2025..

iPhone‌ 17 and ‌17 Plus will receive the larger 6.27” and 6.86” displays
They will also have LTPO panels to support ProMotion for variable refresh rates up to 120Hz

So if you’re a fan of the base model iPhones, 2025 is looking like the perfect time to upgrade without needing to spend more on a “Pro” device.

Keep this in mind, iPhone 13/14 owners!

⚙️ First Twitter, Now Reddit :(

Sad Reddit

If we learned 3 things from Elon Musk’s decision to shut off Twitter’s free API access, it’s that: applications break, users abandon the platform, and some developer’s lose their primary income.

Now it’s happening with Reddit. And my favorite 3rd-party social media app of all time - Apollo - might be forced to shut down.

That is, unless they want to pay $20 million per year, just for access to Reddit’s API to keep the app working.

Here’s what the developer said in a thread on Reddit a couple days ago:

I'll cut to the chase: 50 million requests costs $12,000, a figure far more than I ever could have imagined.

Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year.

Even if I only kept subscription users, the average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would cost $2.50 per month, which is over double what the subscription currently costs, so I'd be in the red every month.

I'm deeply disappointed in this price. Reddit iterated that the price would be A) reasonable and based in reality, and B) they would not operate like Twitter. Twitter's pricing was publicly ridiculed for its obscene price of $42,000 for 50 million tweets. Reddit's is still $12,000.

For reference, I pay Imgur (a site similar to Reddit in user base and media) $166 for the same 50 million API calls.

For Apollo, the average user uses 344 requests daily, or 10.6K monthly. With the proposed API pricing, the average user in Apollo would cost $2.50, which is is 20x higher than a generous estimate of what each users brings Reddit in revenue.

While Reddit has been communicative and civil throughout this process with half a dozen phone calls back and forth that I thought went really well, I don't see how this pricing is anything based in reality or remotely reasonable.

I hope it goes without saying that I don't have that kind of money.

This is going to require some thinking. I asked Reddit if they were flexible on this pricing or not, and they stated that it's their understanding that no, this will be the pricing, and I'm free to post the details of the call if I wish.

u/iamthatis on Reddit

Reddit’s decision to monetize its API comes just months before Reddit is expected to file for an IPO. The company currently only makes money via advertising, so making developers pay for access to its API could will certainly make its IPO more attractive to investors.

However, what they aren’t accounting for, is how many users will abandon Reddit altogether. I’m personally such a big fan of Apollo that if it were to shut down, I would visit Reddit far less often. And I know I’m not alone, just look at the Reddit thread.

Let’s hope Reddit doesn’t sell out because of their upcoming IPO and they have some humility and flexibility with the largest Reddit client out there.

🤑 App Store Generated $1 Trillion in 2022

Apple just reported on Wednesday that in 2022, App Store developers generated more than $1 trillion in billings & sales!

Billings = app purchases, in-app purchases & subscriptions
Sales = goods & services

Here’s the breakdown:

$910 billion from sales of physical goods & services that happened outside of the ‌App Store‌
$109 billion from in-app advertising
$104 billion from digital goods & services