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Title: Apple’s spring event had as many missed opportunities as compelling moments Post by: HCK on March 14, 2022, 04:05:10 pm Apple’s spring event had as many missed opportunities as compelling moments
<div id="link_wrapped_content"> <body><section class="wp-block-bigbite-multi-title"><div class="container"></div></section><p>Welcome to our weekly collection of all the Apple news you missed this week, in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.</p> <h2 id="missed-opportunities">Missed opportunities</h2> <p>We were hoping it would be a big one, and Apple’s “Peek Performance” event (https://www.macworld.com/article/620765/apple-march-8-peek-performance-event-everything-announced.html) delivered in spades. We got the eagerly anticipated iPhone SE update (https://www.macworld.com/article/620266/iphone-se-2022-3rd-generation-price-specs-5g-a15-release-date.html), the iPad Air (https://www.macworld.com/article/620835/ipad-air-fifth-generation-m1-5g-center-stage.html) we waited for all of last year, and a high-power Mac (https://www.macworld.com/article/620756/mac-studio-design-chip-ports-price.html) in a compact chassis, with a fancy display (https://www.macworld.com/article/620763/apple-studio-display-design-size-specs-price.html) to go with it. There was something for everyone.</p> <p>The Mac Studio is a compelling launch, and we have few complaints on that score. But the iPhone and iPad announcements were each, in their own way, reminders of roads not taken, of opportunities missed. Observers were left to wonder what could have been, if Apple had made slightly different choices.</p> <p>The third-gen iPhone SE, as I’ve argued at length (https://www.macworld.com/article/621225/different-think-iphone-se-third-generation-price-strategy.html) elsewhere, is a budget phone that’s nowhere near as budget-minded as it should be. With a a mixed bag of tech specs and a design that pre-dates “Schitt’s Creek,” the SE should be sliding out at comfortably sub-$400 prices. Instead, the device got a price bump (which Apple presumably feels is justified by the inclusion of 5G support), and millions of potential sales in a market Apple has never successfully catered for vanished into the ether.</p> <p>The iPad Air, meanwhile, is an object lesson in the problems that can arise when one part of a company is worried about treading on the toes of another. When the last Air launched, back in 2020, it instantly ate the 11-inch iPad Pro’s lunch: why would someone buy a Pro when the Air was available, with most of the premium features at a far lower price? And when Apple refused to update the Air for the entirety of 2021 it was difficult to escape the suspicion that the company wanted to give the next iPad Pro model a chance, like the anxious parent who makes their older child wait 10 minutes before joining the Easter egg hunt.</p> <p>Second-guessing Apple is a fool’s errand, and it’s entirely possible that the alternate universe where Apple released an iPad Air in 2021 and priced the new iPhone SE below $400 is also one where a penniless Craig Federighi has to cut his own hair. Focusing on premium products has always been a lucrative strategy for Cupertino. But there’s also room for the big-selling budget device, and it’s intriguing to imagine a world in which Apple makes a real attempt at conquering that market.</p> <h2 id="trending-top-stories-of-the-week">Trending: Top stories of the week</h2> <p>The Mac Studio is the <strong>upgraded Power Mac G4 Cube</strong> we waited 22 years for, reckons Roman Loyola (https://www.macworld.com/article/621065/mac-studio-power-mac-g4-cube-design-performance.html).</p> <p>Apple finally made the Mac that puts <strong>everything in its right place</strong>, sighs a relieved Jason Snell (https://www.macworld.com/article/621545/mac-studio-power-users-27-inch-imac.html).</p> <p>Jason Cross has undertaken a deep dive (https://www.macworld.com/article/621053/m1-ultra-deep-dive-performance-power-ultrafusion.html) into <strong>all things M1 Ultra</strong>.</p> <p>And <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/620457/macalope-iphone-se-buying-survey.html" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.macworld.com/article/620457/macalope-iphone-se-buying-survey.html">just like that[/url], the next iPhone SE is already <strong>destined to be a flop</strong>.</p> <p>We’ve been poring through the <strong>fine print of Apple’s event</strong>. Michael Simon spotted 12 small but meaningful details (https://www.macworld.com/article/621419/peek-performance-event-small-details.html) you might have missed.</p> <h2 id="the-rumor-mill">The rumor mill</h2> <div class="extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" src="https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200" alt="Apple rumors" class="wp-image-340129" srcset="https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?quality=50&strip=all 2400w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=300%2C200&quality=50&strip=all 300w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=768%2C512&quality=50&strip=all 768w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=50&strip=all 1200w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&quality=50&strip=all 1536w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&quality=50&strip=all 2048w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=1240%2C826&quality=50&strip=all 1240w, https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/apple-rumors.jpg?resize=150%2C100&quality=50&strip=all 150w" width="1200" height="800" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></figure><p class="imageCredit">IDG</p></div> <p>Think we’ve had enough <strong>product-launch excitement</strong> to last a year? Wrong. Here’s what’s next for Apple (https://www.macworld.com/article/613815/every-apple-product-releasing-in-2022.html) after that exciting spring event.</p> <p>The <strong>new MacBook Air</strong> might use a recycled M1 chip (https://www.macworld.com/article/621190/macbook-air-redesign-m1-processor-rumors.html), not the M2.</p> <p>Don’t worry <strong>Mac mini fans</strong>, the model you want <a href="https://www.macworld.com/article/621737/mac-mini-2022-m2-pro-redesign.html" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.macworld.com/article/621737/mac-mini-2022-m2-pro-redesign.html">is still coming[/url].</p> <p>Did Apple just <strong>kill the 27-inch iMac</strong>? It seems so. (https://www.macworld.com/article/620883/apple-kill-the-27-inch-imac.html)</p> <p>And with that, we’re done for this week. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters (https://www.macworld.com/newsletters/signup). You can also <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=111346X1569486&url=https://twitter.com/macworld&xcust=1-1-620222-1-0-0&sref=https://www.macworld.com/feed" rel="nofollow">follow us on Twitter[/url] for breaking news stories. See you next Saturday, enjoy your weekend, and stay Appley!</p> </body></div> Source: Apple’s spring event had as many missed opportunities as compelling moments (https://www.macworld.com/article/620222/apple-breakfast-march-12-2022.html) |