By John Moltz
February 24, 2023 2:00 PM PT
This Week in Apple: A stopped Watch
Is the Apple Watch about to become as scarce as woke liberal elites at Elon Musk’s birthday party? Meanwhile rumors about the iPhone 15 and the Apple headset are heating up, hopefully not like the devices themselves.
Apple Watch fracas
Like squirrels storing nuts, is it time to buy up and stash away Apple Watches?
Well, that’s one strategy. A strategy employed by rats with good hair style. If you want to go that way. I’m not here to judge your role models.
If things continue apace, the U.S. International Trade Commission could ban imports of most Apple Watch models due to a patent ruling in favor of a company that makes electrocardiogram technology. ECG technology is in every currently shipping Apple Watch model except the SE.
Is this game over for the Apple Watch, one of the most successful Apple flops ever?! Before we even get the recently rumored blood glucose testing?! Say it isn’t so!
OK, I’ll say it. It’s probably not so.
Consider the fact that Apple spent $9.4 million on lobbying the U.S. government in 2022, an amount that John Gruber points out is about what the company makes in profit every hour. There is a way to solve this impasse and that way is sweet, sweet lucre. You know it, you love it, it’s the thing that sadly makes the world go ‘round.
I’m not saying AliveCor, the company holding the patent Apple has been charged wth infringing, is solely in it for the money. But this is capitalism we’re talking about, so they’re probably north of 95 percent in it for the money, just like Apple is. Expect a deal to be struck, the details of which will not be made public.
It’s possible Apple will let it drag out and maybe Apple Watch supplies will get tight for a while, but don’t bother stashing any in a tree. Because I’m not sure if that’s covered by AppleCare.
iPhone 15 rumor time
When the iPhone 15 comes out, you can have any size screen as long as the screen is larger.
According to CAD files obtained by 9to5Mac, the next iPhone Pro will have a 6.2-inch display rather than the 6.1-inch display on the iPhone 14 Pro.
A tenth of an inch isn’t a lot and 9to5Mac doesn’t reveal whether or not the iPhone 15 gains the increase through reducing the bezel size even further or increasing the size of the body.
The iPhone’s body, not yours. You can increase the size of yours the old fashioned way, if you’re so inclined.
Either way, as the #1 iPhone mini superfan, it’s going to be too big for my tastes.
Speaking of the body (again, the iPhone’s), another rumor indicates that the iPhone 15 could come in new colors: a dark red as well as pink and light blue. Given Apple’s predilection for making these colors just barely noticeable, I wouldn’t expect a real blood red. Most of their Pro colors are like someone softly whispered the name of a color at you from across a field.
“Bluuue.”
“WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU. DID YOU SAY ‘SHOE’?”
Ming-Chi Kuo also weighs in to tell us that the 15 Pro models will have an improved LiDAR scanner which is more power-efficient. That sounds great, but I wish someone would tell me what I’m supposed to do with the LiDAR camera I already have in my iPad. I saw a Nova episode where they used them to find evidence of ancient civilizations in the rainforests of South America, but so far I haven’t found any in my backyard. Maybe I’m holding it wrong.
Don’t let it go to your head
For a device that hasn’t been announced yet, there sure are a lot of rumors about the upcoming Apple headset.
Excuse me. Headsets.
Yes, Apple is expected to announce two high-end headset models this year, with guesstimated high-end price points between $3,000 and $5,000. Foxconn is now reportedly already working on two cheaper models with price points, uh, lower than the high-end models. These cheaper models could arrive in 2024 or 2025. Apple will reportedly make the devices more affordable by using cheaper components such as “lower-resolution lenses”.
I will have to remember to stock up on dramamine.
Maybe the company can also cut back on the number of cameras in the device, as the high-end models are expect to have a dozen. And here’s me, already not knowing how to make use of the cameras I have.
[John Moltz is a Six Colors contributor. You can find him on Mastodon at Mastodon.social/@moltz and he sells items with references you might get on Cotton Bureau.]