iPhone SE, contact tracking and Magic Keyboard for iPad

The entire world seemed to be stuck, and yet April 2020 continued to be an extremely busy month for Apple with new products like the iPhone SE, new controversies and surprises.

It was unable to move in for Apple anniversaries in April, but then we’re on the coronavirus block, so it’s not like it could move around much anyway. However, even with the world in chaos, there were these anniversaries of the iPad, iMac, Apple II, and even Apple itself. Plus, there were new products, and there were some reassuringly familiar things in April 2020.

Like Facebook having a security scandal. It wouldn’t be a month and a day if Facebook hadn’t done something a little nasty. This time it was revealed that the social media giant had attempted to track iOS user activity through spyware called Pegasus.

We’ve gone beyond being surprised by Facebook, but this month some people were relieved. Zoom should be the hero of the COVID-19 blockade, but our self-isolated world was divided into two groups of people.

There were those who had security problems with Zoom and those who did not yet. It just felt like there wasn’t a third group of people not using this video tool, unless they worked for places that banned it, like the US Senate. USA Or Google

Although there was definitely a group of people using Zoom on their new MacBook Air. After the launch of this machine last month, orders were now coming in and we were all discovering that yes, MacBook Air is the Mac to buy.

Apple reaches into her pocket

While Apple presumably continued to make money on the MacBook Air, it also spent something to help us all. During April, the company allowed Apple Card users to defer their payments without interest, for example.

He also donated $ 10 million to the COVID-19 “One World: Together at Home” fundraiser, and an unspecified amount for the BBC’s “The Big Night In”. In both cases, Tim Cook appeared on video conference to show that he is like the rest of us and that he needs a little human contact.

Speaking of contact, it was during April that we learned how a small team within Apple created a proposal for a contact tracking or exposure notification service. Working together with Google, the company devised a system that would mean iPhone and Android phones will be able to discreetly help track the spread of COVID-19.

That also meant that both companies were immediately criticized for privacy concerns. It was unusual for Apple, of all companies, to be accused of privacy risks, but Google was not out of place at all, so it was mostly balanced.

There were complaints from the US senators. USA, and also the EU, but in general it is now seen that the solution from Apple and Google is strong in user privacy.

That could be due to Apple’s calm, thoughtful and authoritative explanations, and it could be in part because of how the two companies improved the technology in response to criticism. But ultimately, people tended to accept Apple and Google technology as secure primarily because some countries around the world rejected it in favor of systems that were obviously worse.

In the UK, the NHS was using the Apple system, but then decided that it preferred its own technological expertise. Although when AppleInsider He asked them about it, his email system failed, and it seemed that both Germany and France were going to do it alone as well.

Then Germany seemed to listen to the advice and switched to supporting Apple and Google. The developer of the French app StopCovid has since claimed that Germany hasn’t really changed, no, and also that Apple may still give in to the country’s demands to loosen iOS security. It won’t happen, Apple said.

April iPhone News and Rumors

While Apple was busy doing this contact tracking technology, it was reportedly not busy doing the new “iPhone 12”. Rumors that the new phones will be delayed continue to pop up as often as claims that no, everything is scheduled.

But it appears we got a more reliable reading from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who became the first of many people to report that mass production is delayed by about a month. The new phones should be undergoing engineering verification tests at this time, Kuo says, but the labs doing this work are currently closed.

Apple could still announce the phones at the usual September time, but Kuo believes they will ship later, just like the iPhone X in 2017.

As Kuo continued to be the most trusted analyst, April saw the rise of Jon Prosser escape, too. Even before this month, he was claiming internal knowledge of Apple’s plans, and then, on April 15, it was proven he was right.

Finally the sequel to the iPhone SE

It was then that the second generation iPhone SE was officially launched. It is also fair to say that it lived up to all the hopes that had been building in recent years.

While it eschews the smaller 4-inch previous display, and some complained that its basic design was old, this was Apple’s weird thing, the instant classic.

Starting at $ 399, the new iPhone SE has much of the guts of an iPhone 11, and for its combination of price, performance, and features, it has to be a hit. We are going to sound like fans or employees of Apple’s marketing department, but no, this is direct information.

This is the cheapest iPhone Apple makes and flies the most expensive Android phones. We called it “the definition of affordable smartphone power” in our comprehensive and detailed review.

So let’s recap for a second. Perhaps Apple hasn’t released what we could call a cheap iPhone, but it has released one that is cheaper and immensely powerful. And throughout April, users received their MacBook Air deliveries and discovered that the cheapest portable Mac is immensely powerful.

It is almost enough to make you think that Apple has changed, but the wheels arose from that idea. Almost literally Along with the high-profile launch of the iPhone SE, Apple quietly released a wheelset for Mac Pro. Wheels

Four of them. For $ 699. That’s more than the $ 400 it would cost to buy the same wheels if you chose them along with your Mac Pro. And if you had made that choice, you could now change your mind and change wheels to feet for just $ 299.

If you are counting, that means the new iPhone SE is cheaper than the wheels on the Mac Pro. Still, if you bought these wheels, you know they are particularly well made. However, you may wish you had held onto your cash a bit longer, because Apple wasn’t done with the expensive products in April.

When the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro was announced in March, Apple said it would be available in May. Surprise. It was released instead in mid-April. For the cost of about two Mac Pro wheels, you can now order a $ 349 Magic Keyboard.

Apple is doomed

Apple is making wheels for high-end Mac users, an iPad Pro keyboard for some people, a MacBook Air for everyone else, and an iPhone for everyone. Somehow, in the midst of a coronavirus blockade, Apple was still pumping products and coming in at all possible prices.

Still, the massive impact of the COVID-19 blockades is hard to ignore, and analysts expected some bad news during Apple’s legally mandated conference call on the last day of the month.

And they got none. While the numbers are lower than they would have been, Apple still made more than expected.

Maybe you don’t lie awake at night worrying about this company’s fortune, but maybe we could all consider considering how Apple has done this. Especially when you think that in the 1990s this company was within days of bankruptcy, it has been a remarkable lesson in recovery.

Part of this is the company’s unquestionable and admirable focus on design, but part is also an ability that we could all emulate, to diversify. These days, when many of us see our jobs in jeopardy, it’s educational to see that Apple’s profits were made in large part due to its service and wearable divisions.

Apple is no longer the company that makes computers. It is not even the company that makes iPhones. Now it is this giant organization that provides so many services that we trust.

He didn’t focus on overnight services, he’s been planning for decades, but the financial gains of April 2020 led home that diversification has been the smart choice.

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