Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 10/29 – A Whole Bunch Of New Macs

Episode Date: October 29, 2024

A whole bunch of new Macs plus the first dribbles of Apple Intelligence. Apple is taking a big step in weening itself off of China reliance for manufacturing. Microsoft accuses Google of astroturfing. And potentially the return of startups buying startups? Here’s what you missed today in the world of Tech. Links: Apple Announces iMac With M4 Chip, Upgraded Camera, Nano-Texture Display Option, and More (MacRumors) New Mac mini shrinks down, gains M4 and M4 Pro chips (SixColors) Apple Intelligence goes live with iOS 18.1 update (TechCrunch) Apple Taps India to Learn How to Build New iPhone (The Information) Microsoft says Google is running ‘shadow campaigns’ in Europe to influence regulators (CNBC) Sequoia to Rake in More Than $100 Million From Crypto Acquisition (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Tuesday, October 29th, 2024. I'm Brian McCullough today. A whole bunch of new Macs, plus the first dribbles of Apple intelligence. Apple is taking a big step in weaning itself off of China reliance for manufacturing. Microsoft accuses Google of astroturfing and potentially the return of startups buying startups. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. So I have a bit of a dilemma. We know Apple is releasing a bunch of stuff this week and they're breaking it up into individual days. Like as I was finishing up editing yesterday, Today's episode, Apple released, as expected, a refresh of the 24-inch iMac. But I had given up waiting for them. Usually they released things at 9am or 10-am, but once nothing came, I went with

the show. So something is coming today, likely the new Mac Mini, but again, I don't know when, so we'll see if I wait for it. I'm going to go with what we know now, though. First up, the iMacs, quoting Mac Rumors. As expected, the M4 chip in the iMac is available with up to a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU. Apple says the iMac with the M-4 chip is up to 1.7x faster for daily productivity tasks and up to 2.1x faster for demanding workflows like photo editing and gaming compared to the IMac with the M-1 chip. In the iPad Pro, the M-4 chip is up to 25% faster than the M-3 chip, and this year-over-year improvement should be similar for the IMA. All variants of the M-4 chip have a faster 16-core neural engine that boosts the performance of

Apple Intelligence, but keep in mind that Apple Intelligence is also available on previous generation IMac models with the M1 and M3 chips. The new IMac comes with a minimum of 16 gigabytes of RAM compared to 8 gigabytes for the previous base model, which likely confirms a rumor that 16 gigabytes of RAM will be the new minimum for many or all new Macs going forward. The computer can be configured with up to 32 gigabytes of RAM, and it continues to be available with up to 2 terabytes of SSD storage. Apple has upgraded the IMA with a 12 megapixel front camera with center stage support that keeps you centered in the frame. There was also a desk view feature that shows your face and an overhead view of your desk at the same time. While the iMac

has not received any major design changes, Apple has introduced new color options for the all-on-one desktop computer, including fresh shades of green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and blue alongside the classic silver. In addition, the iMac can now be configured with a nanotexture display, which has a special coating that better scatters light, to further minimize glare on. the screen. Apple had previously offered the 2020 model of the Intel-based 27-inch iMac with a nanotexture display option, but this is the first time it has been offered for an Apple Silicon version of the computer. All four rear USBC ports on higher-end iMac configurations with the 10-core M-4 chip, now support Thunderbolt 4 compared to two Thunderbolt 3 ports and two USBC ports on the previous model.

The base model iMac with the 8-core M-4 chip has two Thunderbolt 4 ports. When configured with the M-4 ship with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, the new IMAX supports up to an 8K external display at 120 hertz, or two 6K displays at 60 hertz, end quote. Alongside this, Apple updated its magic keyboard, magic mouse, and magic trackpad with USBC, keeping the same pricing but finally ditching the lightning port. Is there any Apple stuff still with lightning? Some of the lower-end older models, I guess. Though I also want to note, the Magic Mouse, yes, the USB-C-charged.

port is still on the underside of the mouse, so you can't charge it while using it. So continue the memes related to the dumbest design choice of all time. They really don't want you to ever use that thing as a wired mouse. Now, here's the dilemma. It just passed 10 am. and no new announcement, but we assume something is coming at 11 because a now deleted chart on Amazon leaked the new Mac Mini. So that's what I assume is coming today. Three, two, one. And insert, time warp sound effect here, because it's after 11 a.m. And here's the expected news, quoting six colors. Just in time for Halloween, it's a fun-size Mac Mini. The redesigned M4 Mac Mini has a footprint of five inches by five inches, making it half the volume of the previous

design and easily the smallest desktop Mac ever. Following the lead of its larger silver aluminum cousin 2022's Mac Studio, the new Mac Mini features two conveniently front-facing USBC ports, but no SD card slot. On the back, there are three Thunderbolt ports as well as Ethernet and HDMI. The M4 Mac Mini starts at the same $599 price point as the previous model, despite the fact that the base model now ships with 16 gigabytes of RAM, twice the previous 8 gigabyte minimum. All M4 models come with 10 CPU and GPU cores. While the M4 Mac Mini will undoubtedly be quite a bit faster than its M2 predecessor, there are more substantial gains to be made on the higher end. Just as with previous Apple Silicon era models, the new Mac Mini will also be available in a higher-end

chip configuration. The Mac Mini with the new M4 Pro chip, which starts at $1,39, supports the upgraded Thunderbolt 5 specification, comes with 24 gigabytes of RAM, upgradable to 64 gigabytes, offers 14 CPU cores, 10 performance and 4 efficiency, and up to 20 GPU cores, and 75% faster memory bandwidth than the M3 Pro. The base model has 12 CPU cores and 6,000 gp ux2gues, a $200 upgrade gets you the full 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores. The new Mac mini models will arrive in stores and customers' hands beginning November 8th, end quote. The other announced yesterday was the first rollout of the Apple Intelligence stuff, though again, this is just the first set of features, and they're kind of meh.

Quoting TechCrunch, Apple on Monday confirmed the general availability of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and MacOS Sequoia 15.1. The Point Update is most notable for its inclusion of the first batch of Apple Intelligence features, which the company announced at WWDC back in June. However, only select Apple devices are equipped to run the new generative AI offering. This includes iPhone 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models, iPads with an A17 Pro Chip, including the new iPad Mini, or M1 and Later, or a Mac with an M1 or later. After downloading the update, Apple will ask you whether you'd like to opt into the feature.

Once you do, you'll be added to a waitlist, a process that shouldn't last longer than a couple of hours. It's an unusual move for the company owing to the remote server requirement for the LLM-based offering. Essentially, Apple wants to get its back-end ready for some big compute demands. Not every function requires off-board processing, however. One piece that makes the system unique versus offerings like ChatGPT is its small model approach. The new Apple Intelligence features are trained on a selective data set aimed at specific functions, rather than the massive black box approach employed by others. The first batch of Apple Intelligence features includes integrated writing tools, image cleanup,

article summaries, and a typing input for the redesigned Siri experience. iOS 18.2, iPad OS18.2, and MacOS, Sequoia 15.2, which are currently available as developer betas, will bring another round of features. These updates will bring an additional list of Apple intelligence updates, including Gen Moji, image playground, visual intelligence, image one, and chat GPT integration. Apple has yet to announce a time frame for GA on those updates, end quote. One more bit of detail on the Apple Intelligence front, Apple announced plans to roll out Apple intelligence to iOS and iPadOS in the EU in April of next year, 2025.

But right now, EU-based macOS 15.1 users can access Apple intelligence if you select U.S. English. One more bit of Apple news. The information is reporting that in a first for them. Apple is using an Indian factory to do the early manufacturing work for the base model of the iPhone 17. The iPhone 17 Pro will continue to be manufactured in China, but this is still quite the milestone. Quote, the choice of an Indian factory for this stage of iPhone development, figuring out how to translate a prototype design in Cupertino into a device that can be mass produced, highlights the progress Apple has made in diversifying its supply chain to India from China

and its confidence in the capabilities of Indian engineers. That's because this work is the most challenging and resource-intensive aspect of Apple's product development, say current and former Apple employees, internally known as New Production Introduction, or NPI. The work involves tweaking the iPhone's design and materials and experimenting with different types of equipment and manufacturing processes to ensure that millions of iPhones can be produced a day across different locations with minimal defects. The majority of this development typically takes place between October and May. The primary sites for development of the iPhone 17 Pro, a more complicated device than the base model, will still be in China, but development of the lower tier iPhone 17, internally codenamed V-57,

is happening at a factory operated by Taiwan's Foxcon technology in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, the people said, end quote. Both Apple and Foxcon have been hiring engineers locally, and the project has already cleared an important early phase called Proto 1, where thousands of units were successfully produced on a single production, line using various equipment and vendor combinations to match the quality standards of Cupertino-made prototypes. If development continues as planned, Apple will finalize the iPhone 17's manufacturing procedures in India by next summer before replicating them at other sites, including Foxcon's massive facility in China.

This expansion builds on Apple's six-year journey in India, which began in 2017 with the assembly of older iPhone models to avoid high-import taxes on Chinese-made devices. While initially, most components were shipped from China, Apple has since been. progressed to manufacturing newer premium models in India and has encouraged suppliers to establish local factories. The strategy appears to be paying off with Apple's revenue in India growing 33% to approximately $8 billion in the year to March, with iPhones representing half of these sales. Though worth noting that this growth reflects both Apple's manufacturing expansion and rising demand from Indian consumers. Microsoft is accusing Google of running what it calls shadow campaigns

to discredit it with European regulators, including by organizing an AstroTurf group of cloud providers. Quoting CNBC, Microsoft lawyer Rima Alayli wrote in a blog post that Google hired a firm to recruit European cloud companies to represent the search company's case. This week, an AstroTurf group organized by Google is launching, Microsoft lawyer Rima Alali wrote, it is designed to discredit Microsoft with competition authorities and policymakers and mislead the public. Google has gone through great lengths to obfuscate its involvement, funding, and control, most notably by recruiting a handful of European cloud providers to serve as the public face of the new organization, end quote. The conflict represents a fresh fight between two companies that do battle in cloud infrastructure as well as online advertising and productivity software. Google faces heightened regulatory pressure in Europe and in the U.S., where it is in the midst of its second antitrust trial in a case brought by the Justice Department.

Alaley suggested in Monday's post that Google hired advisory firm DGG, a group to set up the Open Cloud Coalition. One company that opted not to participate in the group told Microsoft that the coalition would receive financial backing from Google and criticize Microsoft's practices in Europe, Allaley wrote. Alleli linked to a flyer for the Open Cloud Coalition. The overview in the attached document says the consortium was, quote, being formed to advocate for a fair, competitive, and open cloud services industry across

the UK and EU. DGA group representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. We've been very public about our concerns. with Microsoft's cloud licensing a Google Cloud spokesperson said in an email, we and many others believe that Microsoft's anti-competitive practices lock in customers and create negative downstream effects that impact cybersecurity, innovation, and choice, end quote. In September, Google said it was filing a complaint against Microsoft with the EU's executive body, the European Commission, over what Google considers unfair practices for licensing

the Windows server operating system. Microsoft says on its website that clients can save an average of 36% when they use Windows server on Microsoft's cloud instead of on Amazon Web Services. Amazon leads the cloud infrastructure market over Microsoft and Google. Alaley said Google has established a pattern of going after Microsoft. Google funded the coalition for Fair Software Licensing that in 2023 asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate Microsoft, Alali wrote. And she said Google reportedly offered around $500 million to members of another group cloud infrastructure services providers in Europe if they would reject a proposed anti-transference

a settlement regarding Microsoft. The case was ultimately settled in July, end quote. Finally today, I don't think we mentioned that Stripe acquired a stablecoin infrastructure company called Bridge for around $1.1 billion. I'm highlighting this deal because it speaks to one of the reasons VC investing is frozen at the moment. We know the IPO environment is anemic, but so is the M&A landscape. The major tech platforms can't acquire tons of young startups because the regulators won't allow it. But also, since private companies are sort of stuck without liquidity event visibility, they've not been acquiring companies either, thereby shutting off another route for startups to cash out. So here, with Stripe and Bridge, we have a rare, at least recently,

example of healthy M&A. And listen to what that sort of thing can mean, quoting Bloomberg. Firms including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Bedrock Fund Management, Index Ventures, and Han Ventures all saw their investments in the startup payoff many times over. The investments represent an unusually quick turnaround for VCs, particularly with the startup market mired in a post-pandemic slump. Bridge was less than three years old when Strip agreed to buy it. The leader of the pack was Sequoia, which owns close to 16% of Bridge, said multiple people who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Sequoia's stake in the startup is worth significantly more. than $100 million, a substantial return on the $19 million it invested when it led Bridges Series A funding less than a year ago. That deal was led by Sequoia partner Sean McGuire,

who also took a board seat at the startup. Sequoia declined to comment. Ribbitt owned close to 10% of Bridge, two people said a stake worth about $100 million. Other investors included Bedrock with a stake of more than 6% and index at about 6%. The crypto-focused venture firm, Han Ventures, had a stake of about 4%. Bridge operates a platform for stable coins, a type of crypto typically designed to track the value of currencies or assets such as dollars one for one. The startup attracted stripes attention in part because of its rapid growth. One of the people said the business recently reached about a $14 million run rate and continues to accelerate, said the person, end quote. Yeah, worth underlining that this is good news for the crypto investment space as well, though, as we've been saying,

it's stable coins that seem to be the big winners at the moment. Nothing more for you today. Talk to you tomorrow.