Confirmed iPhone 12 Problems, Powerful iPhone Leaks, Your New Magic MacBook

Glancing at another week of Cupertino news and headlines, this week’s Apple Loop includes iPhone 12 audio issues, a powerful iPhone 13 leak, reviews of the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, the power of the chip M1, macOS Big Sur bricking older Macs, the lowest commission rate in the App Store, Apple solved the iPhone limitation case, and the M1 acquires the first ARM chip …

Apple Loop is here to remind you of some of the many discussions that have taken place at Apple over the past seven days (and you can read my weekly Android news roundup here on Forbes).

IPhone 12 audio issues confirmed by Apple

From the iPhone 12 Mini to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, Apple’s latest iPhone family has been critically acclaimed. But flaws and defects have also been noted, from MagSafe charger issues to higher repair costs. Now Apple has confirmed another. Gordon Kelly of Forbes reports:

“Apple has released an official support document confirming that iPhone 12 models have” sound quality issues “when connected to some Made for iPhone hearing devices.

“… While this may be viewed by some as a niche problem (albeit an unpleasant one), the reality is that one in eight people in the United States (13% / 30 million) ages 12 and older has hearing loss in both ears, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD, for its acronym in English). Users are understandably frustrated with long threads in the Reddit and Apple support communities.

Apple is expected to fix the flaw in a December iOS update. More here on Forbes.

The powerful surprise of the iPhone 13

Apple is expected to use new battery technology in next year’s iPhone 13, according to leading industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Their latest report points to the potential use of ‘soft plate batteries’, which allow more power to be stored in the same space, a feature that could offer more battery life in the iPhone 13 family or (more like) a smaller iPhone than it still offers “all-day battery life”. Ben Lovejoy has the details of the report:

“[Battery supplier] Jialianyi is expected to get around 40-50% of iPhone 13 and 13 mini battery soft plate orders. We predict that the iPhone 13 will be the first iPhone model to adopt battery soft plate technology, which will help save internal space and lower costs. “

More on 9to5Mac.

M1 reviews are on

Earlier this week, the review embargo on the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini was lifted. The first carefully selected reviewers all agreed; Since the only functional difference between the device is the thermal efficiency of the fanless fan, laptop fan, and desktop fan, these are essentially reviews of the M1 processor. The M1’s longer battery life and higher capacity are winners … though nothing else has changed since the Intel-powered Airs and Pros of early 2020. Jason Snell discusses the chip and positioning of the new Macs:

“It’s very easy to overlook the fact that these are low-end models, given how fast they are. But this is just Apple’s first step in what the company says is a two-year transition. The M1 chip Which looks to be a next-gen riff on the A12X processor in that 2018 iPad Pro, it has a ton of limitations that will certainly not exist on future Apple-designed Mac processors: it only supports two Thunderbolt ports and up to 16GB of RAM. “It does not support external GPUs or discrete graphics of any kind. It can drive a maximum of two displays. It is by definition a low-end chip, the slowest and least capable Mac chip Apple will ever make.”

More discussion on Six Colors.

Apple’s curious vision of Mac Vs PC

Apple’s presentation platform for the launch of the M1 chip and the resulting Macs was heavy on graphics and light on numbers. But a number has caught the attention of various commentators … Apple’s claim that the new MacBook Air is “faster than 98 percent of PC notebooks.” There is a lot of fine print surrounding this statement (it is footnote 1 and does not specify the measurements, settings or comparisons used). Gordon Mah Ung takes a closer look at the claim:

“… Apple not only doesn’t say what evidence it bases its claims on, it doesn’t even say where it gets comparable laptops from.

“Does that mean the new fanless MacBook Air is faster than, say, Asus’ stupidly fast Zephyrus G14 based on Ryzen 4000, based on GeForce RTX 2060? Does that mean the MacBook Air is faster than the updated Area 51M? Alienware? The answer, I’m going to guess is “no.” Not at all. Is it faster than the miniLED-based MSI Creator 17? Probably not either.

“… Although I have no idea what Apple is basing its claims on, I can tell you that I am 98 percent certain that any of the above mentioned laptops will ruin the MacBook Air by performing any of the tasks I just named” .

More on PC World.

MacOS Big Sur problems on older machines

With the launch of macOS Big Sur, Apple began its traditional effort to get so many Mac owners to upgrade to the latest version. Owners of older Macs, especially Mac laptops, should wait, because the update is causing some machines to crash during the update process. Hartley Charlton reports:

“Users report that during the course of the upgrade to ‌macOS Big Sur‌, their machines hang showing a black screen. Key reset combinations, including NVRAM, SMC, safe mode and Internet recovery, are inaccessible after trying to install the update., leaving no way to bypass the static black screen.

“It appears that the overwhelming number of users experiencing problems are owners of the late 2013 and mid 2014 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it is unclear exactly how many users of these models have been affected. It should also be noted that these they are the oldest models compatible with ‌macOS Big Sur‌ “.

The advice for those in trouble at the moment is to speak to Apple support, the laptop may need to visit a Genius Bar for service. More on MacRumors.

Apple cuts app store commission for smaller developers

Apple has announced a change in App Store payments for developers. The ‘Small Business Program’ will open on January 1, 2021. Offers a reduced commission of 15 percent (compared to Apple’s usual 30 percent) for companies with app store earnings of less than a million dollars a year. Josh Taylor reports:

“Existing developers who made up to $ 1 million for all their applications in 2020 will automatically get the cutoff rate. Those who made more than $ 1 million the previous year, but then lower the threshold in a later calendar year, will qualify for the year next. If a developer exceeds the threshold in a year, the 30% charge will be applied for the remainder of the year once it is exceeded “

For those of you who keep track, the developers are still locked into Apple’s own payment system. Read more at The Guardian.

Apple resolves on iPhone limitation

Previously, Apple revved up the performance of older iPhones to reduce the electrical demand of older batteries to avoid unexpected shutdowns. This affected the iPhone 6, 6S, SE, and 7. However, the iOS update that introduced this feature did not include the change, leading to the “battery door”. Apple has reached an agreement in another of the cases derived from this issue. Kate Cox reports:

“Attorneys general from 33 states and the District of Columbia have reached a $ 113 million settlement with Apple over allegations that the iPhone maker cut performance across multiple generations of the device to hide a design flaw in the battery.

“Apple withheld information about its batteries that slowed down iPhone performance, all while passing it off as an upgrade,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in announcing the agreement. “Today’s agreement ensures that consumers have access to the information they need to make an informed decision when buying and using Apple products.”

More at Ars Technica.

And finally…

Apple’s M1 processor is one of the most powerful ARM chips currently available in a computer. It’s a far cry from the first ARM chips inside Acorn Computing’s BBC Micro. How do the two ARM chips compare? About the historian Ken Shirriff on Twitter, with one of the best “How it started; how’s it going ”this week:

Apple Loop brings you seven-day highlights every weekend here at Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss out on any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s issue of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.