Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast pillar , which includes all the Apple tidings you miss last hebdomad in a handy bite - sized roundup . We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes outstanding with a Monday break of the day cupful of coffee berry or tea , but it ’s coolheaded if you need to give it a read during tiffin or dinner party hours too .
Surface tension
Those who miss the day of full - time Apple / Microsoft beef will have been recreate last hebdomad by bold claims that the late Surface gadget arefaster than the M3 MacBook Air . It ’s fun to see Microsoft ’s marketing section in a combative humor , but part of me wishes the caller would stop try on so hard to show it ’s better than Apple .
For one thing , it ’s unmanageable to imagine that Apple takes this peculiarly seriously . The whole matter gives off the same energy as that lift tantrum fromMad human race . ( Ginsberg : “ I finger bad for you . ” Don Draper : “ I do n’t conceive about you at all . ” ) Surface devices have done passably well with reviewers and customer alike , but they ’re not probable to tap the MacBook off its perch anytime soon . And the fact that Microsoft , not Apple , is rush to make the comparison rather gives that fact away : as beleaguered British prime curate Rishi Sunakunderstands , it ’s the underdog , not the favorite , who benefits from the harsh and tumble of debate .
The claim , like most stunt comparisons , also feels a little forced , not least because Microsoft is comparing its own brand - new gadget to a four - month - sometime laptop computer that is n’t top of its own orbit or fit with the latest chip coevals . “ It ’s going to outperform any gadget out there , ” says Microsoft VP Yusuf Mehdi , before settling on the M3 MacBook Air rather than the M3 Max MacBook Pro or even the M4 iPad Pro . I get that the Air is a closer match cost - wise , but maybe do n’t use the words “ any gadget out there ” if you ’re then going to snub the Pro - shaped elephant in the way . Or the existence of the M4 chip , which is currently confined to the iPad Pro but is potential to seem in a Mac before long .
That ’s before we even get to the fact that upper tests do such a poor line of work of summing up the Mac ’s attraction . Most Macs , especially since the arrival of Apple atomic number 14 , are extremely fast . But that is n’t why the great unwashed buy them — or at least not the principal ground . It ’s about beautiful design , a report for fantabulous security and privacy , and the smooth intuitiveness of macOS .
But this is about more than nitpick the item . It ’s about underlying strategy , and understanding a troupe ’s topographic point in the world . orchard apple tree grasps that it is n’t 2006 anymore , and that Mac vs PC is no longer the sound way to approach customer decision - fashioning ; Microsoft needs to move on too . And peradventure even accept that its good policy would be to workwithApple , rather than against it .
After all , these are two very unlike company with very unlike skill sets . Apple currently has a big reward when it come to design , and probably always will . Microsoft , on the other hand , has more experience act with business users . ( If it sounds like I ’m dropping back into the Mac vs PC mentality , I do n’t just mean spreadsheet . Just consider the success of HoloLens in a wide chain of mountains of enterprise applications , from health care to the military . ) The two are n’t really aim the same client , and it makes more sentience for them to collaborate rather than contend straight . Ensuring that their apps work cleanly on one another ’s platforms , for a start , would benefit everyone .
In the past , company would either refuse altogether to let their software package run on rival platforms or earmark it to run but make certain that platform had an older or less - optimized adaptation – like the ancient version of iTunes you ’d regain on Windows for years . The thinking was presumptively one of customer retention , with Apple in this case fearing that have accession to all the same software would make Mac owners more likely to swop to a Windows machine . But while it still makes sense to follow this strategy on Mobile River , where iOS / Android switching is very much a thing , the Apple and Microsoft camp have moved so far apart that this is for certain no longer an issue in the laptop market . Very few gamers or enterprisingness users are going to buy a Mac on a impulse ; nor are many designers and music producers croak to be tempt into buying aSurfaceon the strength of tenuous claims of high speeds .
Ultimately , of course of action , comparative marketing safari like Microsoft ’s are n’t about rationally presenting the pros and cons of a purchasing decision , they ’re about bring up up controversy and grab free packaging . ( You ’re welcome , Satya Nadella . ) I ca n’t really be mad about that . Just as long as everyone concerned interpret that a publicity stunt is all this is and that Microsoft is never die to beat Apple on these term .
Foundry
Thefuture of the iPhoneis get , but it’llcost you dearly .
We round up12 unbelievably useful waystorepurpose your old Mac miniskirt .
9 - centre vs. 10 - sum M4 : Is it worthpaying morefor the iPad Pro ?
Podcast of the week
We have n’t even reached the midpoint of 2024 , and Apple ’s Worldwide Developers Conference is in a few week , but we ’re already check unofficial reports on some ofApple ’s plans for 2025 . So we ’re talking about those reports on today ’s episode .
you may get every instalment of the Macworld Podcast onSpotify , Soundcloud , thePodcasts app , orour own site .
Reviews corner
The rumor mill
Here are thenew AI featurescoming to your iPhone withiOS 18 .
Aclassic iPhone coloris looking more potential than ever toreturn this twelvemonth .
Apple want to price theiPhone SE 4 under $ 500 . Googleshould be frightened .
Next twelvemonth ’s iPhonecould have a lean , redesignedultra gamy - end model .
Do n’t expect theMac Studio and Mac Proto be updated at WWDC – or any clip in 2024 .
report card : Anew AirTagis coming next year ( but not much is change ) .
Software updates, bugs, and problems
AppleWi - Fi meshing vulnerabilitycouldleak your locationin real clip .
iOS 17.5.1 updatefixes rare microbe that caused somedeleted photos to devolve .
Yay!Systems Settingswill get aninterface tune - upin macOS 15 .
Beet , exhausted face , splatter emoji could becoming to your iPhone .
