Top Stories: Apple Car Rumors, Windows on an M1 Mac, AirPods Max Compared

[MacRumors]

The holiday season is in full swing, and we'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers for having joined us in another year that was jam-packed with Apple news and rumors.

The calendar will shortly be turning over to 2021, and Apple has a lot more on its plate, as we've seen in rumors over the past week about the long-rumored Apple Car, next year's iPhone 13 lineup, and a new Apple TV. For highlights on these stories and more from the past week, read on below!

Apple Car Production Slated for 2024 With 'Next Level' Battery Technology

Apple's long-rumored electric vehicle plans made headlines again this week. Shortly after a questionable supply chain report out of Taiwan claiming that the so-called "Apple Car" will debut next year, Reuters reported that Apple is targeting 2024 for production of the vehicle.

The report claimed that Apple's self-driving vehicle will feature a unique "monocell" battery design that "frees up space inside the battery pack by eliminating pouches and modules that hold battery materials," potentially resulting in longer range per charge.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacted to the news on Twitter, claiming that a "monocell" battery is "electrochemically impossible." Musk also claimed that "during the darkest days" of Model 3 production, he reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla for a fraction of its current value, but Cook apparently declined the meeting.

Meanwhile, in a LinkedIn post, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess said "we look forward to new competitors who will certainly accelerate the change in our industry again and bring new skills."

iPhone 13 Lineup May Support Wi-Fi 6E, Larger iPhone SE Unlikely in Early 2021

Following discussions with multiple Apple suppliers, Barclays analysts this week outlined a few expectations for future iPhones and iPads.

First, the analysts said iPhone 13 models may support the new Wi-Fi 6E standard, which offers the same features and capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 — higher performance, lower latency, and faster data rates — extended into the 6 GHz band. The additional spectrum will provide a lot more airspace beyond existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, resulting in increased bandwidth and less interference for devices that support Wi-Fi 6E.

As for the iPhone SE, the analysts believe Apple has no plans to refresh the device in the foreseeable future. While they had heard about a larger iPhone SE, rumored to feature a 5.5-inch or 6.1-inch display, the device was not mentioned in any of their discussions with Apple suppliers. In April, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the larger iPhone SE was delayed until the second half of 2021.

Last, the analysts said that an iPad with an OLED display is unlikely to launch until 2022 at the earliest. Apple is still expected to release at least one iPad Pro model with Mini-LED backlighting next year.

Video: Testing Windows on an M1 Mac With Parallels 16

Last week, Parallels launched a preview version of its virtualization software with support for Apple Silicon. Paired with a preview version of Arm-based Windows available through the Windows Insider program, it is possible to get Microsoft's operating system up and running on M1 Macs.

In a recent YouTube video, we installed Parallels on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip and tested out Windows, but it didn't exactly go smoothly. Of course, there are some issues to be expected with beta software that is still in development.

It remains unclear if Microsoft will ever make a licensed release version of Arm-based Windows available to customers.

Comparison: AirPods Max vs. Sony/Bose/Sennheiser Options

It's been a little over a week since the AirPods Max launched, marking Apple's entry into the higher-end over-ear headphones market.

Priced at $549, the AirPods Max are hundreds of dollars more expensive than many highly-rated noise cancelling headphones from other brands, which can make for a tough purchase decision.

In a recent YouTube video, we compared the ‌AirPods Max‌ to Sony's WH-1000XM4s, Bose's Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, and the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless to see if they're worth the premium price tag. In a separate video, we covered five reasons you might want to consider buying AirPods Max despite their high price tag.

AirPods Max still face lengthy shipping estimates on Apple.com, although delivery times have improved somewhat to mid-February for the Space Gray and Silver colors and 8-10 weeks for the Pink, Green, and Sky Blue options, compared to 12-14 weeks for all of the colors recently.

Apple's A14 Chip Outperforms New Snapdragon 888 Chip Coming in Future Android Phones

Qualcomm this week shared benchmark results for its new Snapdragon 888 chip that will be used in flagship Android smartphones coming out in 2021, and not only is it unable to keep pace with Apple's A14 chip in iPhone 12 models, but it is even slower than the last-generation A13 chip used for the iPhone 11 lineup.

While the Snapdragon 888 delivers significant performance improvements over the previous-generation Snapdragon chip, this means that future Android smartphones like Samsung's rumored Galaxy S21 will be slower than already-released iPhone models.

Apple's mobile processors have led the industry in performance for years, and the company recently extended this expertise to the Mac with its new M1 chip, which also delivers industry-leading performance per watt.

New Apple TV With Gaming Focus, Updated Remote, and Faster Chip Expected Next Year

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this week briefly reiterated that Apple plans to release a new Apple TV with a stronger gaming focus, an updated remote, and a new processor at some point next year.

Gurman has previously indicated that Apple is working on a new remote with Find My-like capabilities, which would make it easier to find when misplaced. As part of the gaming focus, there have also been rumors that Apple may introduce a dedicated gaming controller for the Apple TV.

Earlier this year, an anonymous leaker known as "Fudge" on Twitter indicated that Apple has prototyped new Apple TV models with variants of the A12 and A14 chips for faster performance; if true, it's unclear if Apple will ultimately settle on one chip or release two different models. The new Apple TV may also have larger 64GB and 128GB storage capacity options.

The current Apple TV 4K model was released over three years ago, so odds are looking good for an update next year.

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Article Link: Top Stories: Apple Car Rumors, Windows on an M1 Mac, AirPods Max Compared

 

[mozumder]

Are WiFi 6E routers or access points even available yet? Seems like they should come first before clients do.. clients last only a few years. Routers/Access points last a decade or more.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗]

2021 is going to be a great year. Let’s hope.

 

[velocityg4]

What would be better than an Apple Car is just an Apple Infotainment Tech package for car manufacturers. Possibly with auto drive capability. More importantly using their clout for a standardized form factor and connection system. So it could be upgraded aftermarket as the computer/screen becomes outdated. Yet still interface with all the cars buttons and systems as it did from the factory. Also some sort of Car Kit. Allowing people to add features to the car with Car Kit enabled devices.

One can always dream.?

 

[DaveN]

I can see the squirm in Microsoft engineering. They probably have a M1 native version of Windows running in the lab and it beats any of their ARM or Intel versions. It would be cool to release it but it would burn too many bridges and no way does management want to do that.

 

[TVreporter]

Really curious what they roll out with the next Apple TV - likely give an indication how serious Apple will take gaming.

I’m not getting my hopes up too high.

 

[MarkAtl]

An updated Apple TV with a remote actually able to turn on and off the TV and control volume would be a plus. I’d upgrade a couple and reposition old ones to other rooms where I have Fire TV Sticks now.

 

[wood1208]

I can see the squirm in Microsoft engineering. They probably have a M1 native version of Windows running in the lab and it beats any of their ARM or Intel versions. It would be cool to release it but it would burn too many bridges and no way does management want to do that.

Interesting thought. That may be reason Microsoft announced or leaked that Microsoft in house building it's own ARM processor like M1. Unless Apple said no, Microsoft should just port Windows natively on M1.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would be shocked if Microsoft agreed to release a Arm flavor.

Really curious what they roll out with the next Apple TV - likely give an indication how serious Apple will take gaming.

I’m not getting my hopes up too high.

I am not getting my hopes up too high, either. I am short and have a fear of heights.

 

[ghanwani]

I would like to see a lightweight iPhone with no PWM and a 2 lb MacBook.

 

[V.K.]

Would really like some experts to comment on Musk's claim that a "monocell" battery is "electrochemically impossible."

 

[Juicy Box]

Earlier this year, an anonymous leaker known as "Fudge" on Twitter indicated that Apple has prototyped new Apple TV models with variants of the A12 and A14 chips for faster performance;

If it is just an A12, this wouldn't really be an upgrade for gaming over the A10X.

Benchmarks have the A12 about on par with the A10X when it comes to GPU performance.

The 12 GPU cores of the A10X outperforms the 4 GPU cores of the A12 in real world GPU performance.

I am hoping for the A14 or better for the next ATV.

if true, it's unclear if Apple will ultimately settle on one chip or release two different models. The new Apple TV may also have larger 64GB and 128GB storage capacity options.

Yes please, I have been having storage issues for a long time with 64GB. I am thinking that even 128GB might be too small if Apple is serious about gaming on the ATV.

An updated Apple TV with a remote actually able to turn on and off the TV and control volume would be a plus.

Out of all the problems with the Siri Remote, this is the first time that I have seen your issue.

I have used the ATV4 and ATV4k on many different TVs, and never had an issue with volume nor TV power.

On my current main TV, my Apple TV 4k's Siri Remote controls the volume on a sound bar and power of the TV.

Of course, everyone's situation and equipment could be different, but maybe check out the support page from Apple on how to control your TV with the Siri Remote:

If you can't control your Apple TV with your home theater or universal remote

Get help using a home theater or universal remote to control your Apple TV.

support.apple.com

 

[BornAgainMac]

Yes please, I have been having storage issues for a long time with 64GB. I am thinking that even 128GB might be too small if Apple is serious about gaming on the ATV.

A workaround is to have multiple Apple TV’s to get around that storage limitation. I had to do that with iPads in the early days.

 

[Juicy Box]

A workaround is to have multiple Apple TV’s to get around that storage limitation. I had to do that with iPads in the early days.

I already do this with two 64GB ATVs. Turned off One Home, and started deleting games from one but not the other, freeing up as much space as possible.


Although, the situation is very different with ATVs than with iPads.

At least iPads can be backed up and restored. Once you lose something from tvOS, it is gone forever.

tvOS 14.2 update deleted the static storage of all the apps I had installed on my 64GB ATV4K. The app data wasn't deleted, just the apps themselves.

After the update, all of the apps redownloaded from the App Store. I suspect that the OS deleted all the apps due to running low of storage.

The problem with this is that I had about 30 games that were no longer on the tvOS App Store, and then they were lost forever.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Interesting thought. That may be reason Microsoft announced or leaked that Microsoft in house building it's own ARM processor like M1. Unless Apple said no, Microsoft should just port Windows natively on M1.

Apple can't say no to that, as you don't have to go through the Apple app store to provide software for macOS. Same as Apple can't say no to porn sites being loaded on Safari.

 

[bmpwe]

Would really like some experts to comment on Musk's claim that a "monocell" battery is "electrochemically impossible."

I know enough to know I’m not an expert, but I can understand musk’s comment. Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries chemically produce 3.2v. Larger single batteries still produce 3.2v, just more of it (amperage). This is just like your alkaline AA batteries produce 1.5v and a D size still produces 1.5v, they just last longer.

All electric cars I’m aware of run off of high voltage (like 240+), so the batteries have to be ran in series so the voltages are added.

Elon‘s comment is that you can’t run a car motor off 3.2v and there is no battery tech available to produce the high voltage from a single cell, therefore requiring many batteries in series and making the battery not a single mono cell.

I agree with his speculation that what is really going on is that Apple may just be removing some structure between the cells making it more compact... which
tesla is already doing, so this rumor is not really a big deal.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Would really like some experts to comment on Musk's claim that a "monocell" battery is "electrochemically impossible."

Electrical engineer here. The voltage per cell is determined by the type of chemicals used for the battery. For example, to get a car battery up to 12V, it has to have 6 cells. If you make each cell bigger, the battery lasts longer (more Wh or mWh), and although it can then provide more current, there is no extra voltage supplied. High power electric car motors need both a pretty high voltage and high current to create enough power efficiently, so for example, Tesla car motors are around 350V. There is no battery chemical reaction that can provide anything close to that voltage with a single cell.

That all said, I have no idea what Apple is working on, but I'd be more willing to bet on Elon Musk's opinion, the man is the modern equivalent of Steve Jobs.

 

[Williesleg]

I can't wait for the Apple Car and the Apple VR headset! And running Windows on a brand new M1 Mac will be the bees knees! Let's just call the M1 the "Velocity Engine" since it's so fast! Connectix, are you there????

 

[rubaxter]

Please don't show the current AppleTV controller in an article concerning a possible new AppleTV as if it is 'good enough'.

I just want the old controller back, but made about 50% bigger so it won't get lost. I've bought the new Shield controller for my Shield unit for that very reason, along with the motion sensing backlight.

 

[George Dawes]

So many exc things

Tim is really a great ceo , delivering on his promises

 

[damphoose]

I thought we were told that Windows on Apple Silicon was super difficult and may be several years away? Several years apparently means right now.

Also I find it hard to believe that the Apple Car is even real.

 

[Spinnetti]

An updated Apple TV with a remote actually able to turn on and off the TV and control volume would be a plus. I’d upgrade a couple and reposition old ones to other rooms where I have Fire TV Sticks now.

confused? I don't have the newest ATV, but it turns on and off the tv and controls volume...

 

[Spinnetti]

Electrical engineer here. The voltage per cell is determined by the type of chemicals used for the battery. For example, to get a car battery up to 12V, it has to have 6 cells. If you make each cell bigger, the battery lasts longer (more Wh or mWh), and although it can then provide more current, there is no extra voltage supplied. High power electric car motors need both a pretty high voltage and high current to create enough power efficiently, so for example, Tesla car motors are around 350V. There is no battery chemical reaction that can provide anything close to that voltage with a single cell.

That all said, I have no idea what Apple is working on, but I'd be more willing to bet on Elon Musk's opinion, the man is the modern equivalent of Steve Jobs.

I'm guessing "monocell" is just more apple marketing hyperbole and that it would be "mono package" where its big flat cells in many layers, much like a cell phone battery instead of round cells. That gives you one package with many layers with separators to get the required voltage.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

I'm guessing "monocell" is just more apple marketing hyperbole and that it would be "mono package" where its big flat cells in many layers, much like a cell phone battery instead of round cells. That gives you one package with many layers with separators to get the required voltage.

That would make sense. A bit weird and confusing to brag about upcoming "monocell" technology though.