Spooky Szn

Apple is getting in the spirit

Brandon Butch
October 27, 2023

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Good morning! ☀️ *Tim Cook voice*

Today, we’re discussing the surprise Apple event next week, more price hikes, the latest software, and more!

Estimated reading time: 3.7 minutes

📊 Poll

In the last poll, I asked: Do you want a bigger iPhone than 6.7"?

Here were some of my favorite replies:

Yes - “When choosing a phone, simplicity of one handed use was never a criteria for me. I choose the biggest iPhone because I enjoy larger content. I’m already using two hands to navigate my phone, and I’m used to it, so having a slightly bigger display wouldn’t change anything, except for my increased euphoria.”

No - “I like to put my phone in my back pocket. Don't make me carry a "purse" because it's too big for my pocket!”

No - “If it’s bigger than 6.7”, then it would feel like an iPad. I would only consider it if it gets into the fold or flip category like Samsung did.”

Yes - “Yes. But not by a whole lot, I'd like them to increase ever so slightly & get rid of the bezel entirely. I think we're in the sweet spot with the frame for the 15 PM, my wife and I just upgraded (from 12 minis!) and love it.“

This week: When do you plan to buy your next Mac? More on this below.

When do you plan to buy your next Mac?

🎃 Spooky Event Incoming

Next week. 8PM EST. Apple Event.

Yes, 8PM EST. That is the latest Apple Event in history!

The event, titled Scary Fast, is going to be primarily focused on the Mac. And according to Mark Gurman & Ming-Chi Kuo, here's what we should see on Monday:

iMac with M3 chip
13-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip
14-inchMacBook Pro with M3 Pro & M3 Max chips
16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro & M3 Pro chips

Don’t be surprised if we see something not mentioned above, though! Maybe AirPods Max with USB-C? Maybe a new iPad? We shall see!

Why is the M3 chip special?

Apple’s M1 and M2 chips used the same 5-nanometer technology, but the M3 chips will use TSMC's newest 3-nanometer chip technology.

The small the node size, the more transistors that can fit inside the node/chip. So, that means we can expect better efficiency and performance, perhaps up to 35% more efficient than M2.

Let’s not forget that Qualcomm just announced their latest chip and based on benchmark tests, it crushes Apple’s M2 Max chip in CPU performance and consumes 30% less power.

I’d imagine that this slide from Qualcomm’s event won’t age well, as Apple’s M3 Max chip will likely score higher and consume up to 35% less power than M2 Max. Gotta love competition, though! It keeps Apple on their toes.

Gaming on a Mac might be a reality

Since the M3 chip will be built on a 3nm process and have hardware-accelerated ray tracing, we should expect a focus on gaming at this event, just like Apple did with the iPhone 15 Pro’s and its A17 Pro chip.

Not to mention, we did just receive the new “Game Mode” feature with macOS Sonoma. Are you connecting the dots here?

If not, MacRumors makes some additional points that lead us to believe gaming will be a big focus at this event:

Apple hinted at more AAA games launching on the Mac in a recent interview with IGN
Game developer Capcom announced that Resident Evil Village will be available on the iPhone 15 Pro on October 30th, which just so happens to be the same day as Apple's event
At WWDC 2023 in June, Apple released a new toolkit that makes it easier for game developers to port Windows games to the Mac

And while it’s exciting to hear, I’m personally not getting my hopes up yet. Even if Apple does launch a few triple A titles for the Mac, the most important part will be the adoption of gaming on the Mac and when/if Apple follows up these games with more in the coming years.

Do you think Gaming will ever be a thing on the Mac?

Everyone’s confused

It seems that even the 2 most prominent Apple leakers/reporters were confused and surprised by this event because as of last week:

Mark Gurman said that Apple is “unlikely” to host an event in October, said new M3 Pro/Max Macs were coming in Spring 2024
Ming Chi Kuo said not to expect any new Macs until 2024

And now, we have an event PLUS new Macs coming!

The lesson? Even the most accurate reporters are wrong sometimes and nothing is official until Apple says so themselves.

Anyways, are you pumped for this event!? Don’t forget, I will be live streaming it on YouTube!

💻 Fresh Software & Price Hikes

The “Journal” app, in iOS 17.2 Beta 1

This week, Apple released a ton of new software. Here’s a brief recap:

iOS 17.1, iOS 17.2 Beta 1
watchOS 10.1, watchOS 10.2 Beta 1
macOS Sonoma 14.1, macOS Sonoma 14.2 Beta 1
tvOS 17.1, tvOS 17.2 Beta 1

The .1 updates included a few noteworthy changes on all platforms, but the .2 updates will be much more significant across the board. Videos on these updates can be found below this section.

Apple Price Hikes

Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+ prices are about to go up in the US - here’s the old price vs the new price:

Apple TV+: $6.99 per month → $9.99 per month
Apple Arcade: $4.99 per month → $6.99 per month
Apple News+: $9.99 per month → $12.99 per month

If you subscribe to Apple TV+ on an annual basis, the price has increased from $69 per year to $99 per year.

Prices for Apple One bundles that include these services are also increasing:

Individual: $16.95 per month → $19.95 per month
Family: $22.95 per month → $25.95 per month
Premier: $32.95 per month → $37.95 per month

Be sure to check your subscriptions (Settings > iCloud > Subscriptions) and cancel these services if the prices now go beyond your budget!

🎨 New Wallpaper Collection

I just released my latest wallpaper collection OPULENT and it is the largest one yet, with more than 100 dark-themed wallpapers for your iPhone!

Discord users loving OPULENT

It’s the first time I’ve done a dark collection, so I hope you find them as sleek and awesome as I do!

You can grab the wallpapers here and feel free to share your favorite Home Screen setups with me over on Instagram or X!

📺 Get Caught Up

If you missed any of my videos from this week, here’s your chance to catch up on them! And don’t forget, members get early access to all videos, sick premium wallpapers, and more.

📰 Quick News Bites

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