Apple is making many big moves: launching new products in new categories, creating completely new chip architectures, and offering many major updates to its software platforms in just a few weeks.
But sometimes it’s interesting to look at a company. less solutions. Those that may go unnoticed, but may still indicate changes that may affect the entire product line of the company. Apple released several new iPads and an updated Apple TV this week, and while they may seem like empty announcements, they all contained details hinting at big changes to come.
The future of USB-C
Apple has been putting USB-C ports on its devices for years; the first Mac to have it installed was a 12-inch MacBook back in 2015. Since then, the port has gradually replaced the classic USB-A connectors in the Mac line, and more recently in the iPad. It’s rare these days to have an Apple device with one of those old rectangular ports.
Apple
The European Union recently passed a regulation requiring most consumer electronic devices to standardize with a USB-C port by 2024, fueling rumors that Apple plans to move its most important product, the iPhone, to the connector next year.
But Apple uses its own proprietary Lightning port in smaller devices that not Mac, iPad or iPhone. Case in point: The Apple TV 4K update last week included a new version of Siri Remote that uses USB-C instead of a Lightning port. Of all the smaller Apple devices, the Siri Remote is probably the easiest to transition, as its USB-C port appears to be solely used for charging.
There are a few other devices that will need to be replaced within the next year or two: Magic Keyboard for Mac, Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse, and various AirPods cases. But if the Siri Remote is any indication, it’s the Lightning port on the wall.
Beautiful landscape
The iPad is an amazingly versatile device, and since the first model was released in 2010, users have been able to freely rotate it and use it in any orientation. This feature was one of the best subtle aspects of the device: there really is no wrong way to pick it up and use it.
Apple
Except when it comes to the front camera. Anyone who’s ever used an iPad for video chat (or, say, FaceTimed someone on an iPad) has experienced the annoyance of seeing themselves or the person they’re talking to off the center of the screen thanks to the in-display camera. a shorter device edge, or worse, succumbed to the dreaded thumb-over-camera problem.
The point is that even though the iPad as a whole can work well in any orientation, 12 years later it seems pretty obvious that most people using FaceTime, Zoom, or other video chat apps use the device in landscape mode. Similarly, with the introduction of iPad keyboard cases, including Apple’s own set of Magic Keyboard accessories, the iPad looks more and more like a traditional laptop.
But the camera stubbornly stuck to that shorter edge… until this week’s release of the tenth generation iPad, which, quite sensibly, moved it to the longer side. This change was also anticipated by the horizontal loading screen for the iPad, which first appeared in iOS 14.5.
Unfortunately, the new iPad Pro models released this week retain the traditional short-edge front-facing camera, which may be partly to avoid conflict with the device’s speakers and Apple Pencil charging hardware, or simply because they were minor updates rather than major alterations. But it’s likely that the landscape camera will eventually make its way to the rest of the iPad. In the end, this confirms what we all know: the iPad is indeed a predominantly landscape device, just like the iPhone is a portrait device.
Apple
Colors are here to stay… deliver
The history of Apple and color is not an easy one. The Apple II helped popularize color displays in the personal computer market; perhaps the company’s most famous logo is its classic six-color design (although it has largely been supplanted by a monochrome variant in recent years); and the early iMac line was known to come in an assortment of candy colors that were widely copied by PC makers. But in recent years, Apple has become better known for sleek devices in silver, white, and various shades of space grey.
However, the color has started showing up again in Apple’s lineup, making its way back to the iMac lineup and even making occasional appearances on iPhone and iPad models. The tenth-generation iPad, unveiled this week, comes in a number of bold colors – blue, pink and yellow – suggesting that Apple isn’t about to swing the pendulum all the way back to silver and space gray.
But like everywhere else in the company’s lineup, the colors are reserved for more “consumer” offerings, with the Pro models sticking to more desaturated options – even the iPhone 14 Pro’s purple offering looks gray in most lighting situations.
Apple doesn’t seem ready to use color across its entire lineup just yet, which is a shame as pros love bold color options just as much as the average consumer. Apple has always had a strong streak of individualism and iconoclasm – it’s a shame it didn’t reach the upper echelons of the company’s product line; this is one place where you pay more to get less.
Apple TV 4K
iPad (2022)