As a daily Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch user, I know the first impulse when receiving something new from Apple is to open the box and start setting the device up right away — it’s exciting to get something new and shiny! So if you’re lucky enough to get one of those packages during this week’s holidays, that’s awesome, and you should enjoy it.
Unless, of course, you’re interested in waiting just a little while longer for something noticeably better. There’s every reason to believe 2020 will be a big year for new Apple products — possibly one of the biggest in the company’s history. Major changes are afoot for several existing product families, including iPhones and Macs, and there’s even some potential for a brand new Apple device category (AR glasses) to at least get publicly previewed this coming year.
Here’s what you need to know before you decide to hang onto an Apple product purchased or gifted in late 2019.
iPhone 12
Although the details all fall into the “rumors and speculation” category, Apple’s iPhone lineup is widely expected to receive a massive overhaul in 2020, including the major feature improvements that typically kick off upgrade “supercycles.” Today’s flagship iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro are expected to be redesigned into iPhone 12 models with larger screens, 5G cellular capabilities, and better cameras. There’s even a rumor that Apple might get rid of the front screen “notch” on these devices. Separately, the iPhone 8 has been tipped to evolve into an entry-level “iPhone SE2” or “iPhone 9” with internal chip improvements.
Should you hold out for one of these devices? That’s up to you. But if I were going to upgrade to a 2019 or 2020 phone, I would personally wait on an iPhone 12, as I wouldn’t want to spend the next several years using a phone that didn’t support faster, increasingly available 5G networks.
iPad Pro
Very little is known for sure about Apple’s next-generation iPad Pro tablets, but they’re typically on a 1.5-year upgrade cadence. Since the current iPad Pro was released in 2018 with no updates or price changes during 2019, that virtually guarantees new and improved models are coming in 2020 — quite possibly in the first half of the year.
Above: Apple’s third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro (left) and 11-inch iPad Pro.
Image Credit: Jeremy Horwitz/VentureBeat
Historically, the company has been comfortable reusing prior industrial designs for years if they’re working well for users, and the current iPad Pros have been widely praised for their relatively compact sizes, light weights, and notchless Face ID implementations. In the coming year, they’ve been tipped to follow iPhones in getting multiple rear cameras and are likely to see fairly major performance bumps, moving from last year’s A12X Bionic to a next-generation A14-series chip based on a 5-nanometer process.
There’s also the potential of a move to 5G cellular capabilities in 2020, as well as a possible shift to a superior screen technology — either mini LED or OLED. In any case, as much as I love the 11-inch iPad Pro I bought in 2018, I would certainly hold off for the updated model at this point rather than buying old hardware so close to 2020.
Apple Watch Series 6
Last year’s Apple Watch Series 4 was the family’s first huge top-to-bottom redesign — everything from screens to chips and sensors received upgrades. This year’s Apple Watch Series 5 was one of the smallest updates in the product’s history: no CPU bump, no design bump, and only two new features.
Above: Apple Watch Series 5.
Image Credit: Dean Takahashi
No one’s sure what’s coming to the Series 6 model, but rumors have suggested that there could be a new micro LED screen enabling either thinner Watch designs or longer battery life, plus brighter and more color-accurate visuals. Apple’s uncharacteristic skipping of processor improvements in 2019 sets the stage for big gains in 2020’s S-series chip, as well.
Wild card: Apple TV 8K or 4K+
It’s really hard to know what Apple is going to do with the next-generation Apple TV. The last two generations — currently called Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K — remain on sale together at price points ranging from $149 to $199, where they seemingly haven’t made much of a dent in the marketplace. Rather than bringing the entry price (like the third-generation Apple TV) back to $69 or $99, or releasing a Roku/Amazon Fire TV-style streaming stick, Apple has stuck to higher-priced devices that just don’t sell as well.
Assuming Apple remains in the streaming TV hardware business, a possible next move would be to support 8K video output as televisions begin transitioning to the higher-resolution standard. Doing so would require a faster CPU/GPU than the current A10X Fusion — perhaps the A12X or A13 Bionic — as well as a refresh of the current tvOS interface and apps to support these screens.
I call this a “wild card” because rumors have suggested that an Apple TV hardware refresh is in the works for early 2020, but it still feels too early for Apple to jump on the 8K bandwagon, given how few TVs and 8K content providers are out there — something that’s expected to change starting with the 2020 Summer Olympics. The company could release another 4K model with long-awaited teleconferencing features akin to Facebook’s Portal TV, or it could do nothing this year.
Macs: Fixed MacBooks, ARM chips, and 2020 iMac
As a Mac user with growing kids, this was a particularly tough holiday season since I received requests for Mac computers that I’m not willing to purchase. My eldest daughter is ready for a MacBook laptop, but after multiple Butterfly keyboard repairs, I won’t buy or recommend that anyone else buy another MacBook until that’s been fixed — something Apple belatedly began with the 16-inch MacBook Pro last month and will supposedly fix in other models starting in 2020.
The bigger issue looming over Apple’s entire Mac lineup is a transition from Intel chips to Apple’s own ARM processors, a move that’s expected to yield major performance and power efficiency boosts. Though this will supposedly start in 2020, it’s unlikely to happen all at once like a thunderclap, instead beginning with consumer machines (such as MacBook Airs) before scaling up to Pro models.
On the positive side, if you have a Mac with an Intel chip, you’re able to run classic Windows apps either through Boot Camp or emulation, something ARM-based Macs probably won’t be able to do. But otherwise, Mac laptops with Apple-designed chips will likely achieve much longer battery life, faster boot times, and — finally — iPad- or better-quality graphics, even in entry-level machines.
How the Intel/Apple transition will impact other machines, such as Apple’s all-in-one desktop iMac, remains unclear. Rumors of a major iMac redesign have persisted for years, and adoption of A-series or similar chips could enable the next all-in-one to be thinner and lighter than Apple’s last consumer monitors. Whether that happens in 2020 or 2021 remains to be seen.
Wild card: Apple AR Glasses
The company hasn’t confirmed this, but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest Apple is working on augmented reality glasses that will depend on iPhones, mirroring Qualcomm’s support for AR glasses that rely on Android phones. Though a late 2017 report suggested the hardware would likely debut in 2020, more recent claims have pointed to 2022 or later — something that’s hard to square with the AR headset support found in iOS 13. But anything’s possible.
Regardless of when the hardware actually hits stores, Apple typically uses a multi-month reveal period to build hype, corral developers, and secure regulatory approvals ahead of debuting a new product category. If the AR glasses are coming in 2021, we may well see them at an event in 2020, just like the Apple Watch’s 2014 reveal ahead of 2015 availability. But if they’re really not coming until 2022, the official reveal might not happen until 2021.
It’s clear from all of the other likely products above that Apple won’t need AR glasses to generate excitement during 2020. But as Qualcomm-backed companies such as Nreal line up deals with Chinese, German, and Japanese cellular carriers to get phone-tethered AR headsets into the marketplace in 2020, Apple will need to decide whether it wants to show up early and be perceived as an “innovator,” or show up later with the resulting consequences.
In any case, there will be plenty of good reasons to save those Apple Store gift cards and your extra dollars for 2020. Hold off if you can!
Verizon’s 5G network covers parts of 31 cities, matching 2019 goal
Above: Verizon shows off its 5G network in Los Angeles, California at Mobile World Congress L.A.
Image Credit: Jeremy Horwitz/VentureBeat
Back in February, Verizon said its 2019 plan was to offer mobile 5G in over 30 cities — a non-trivial task for a carrier focused on the short-distance, millimeter wave flavor of 5G service. Today, the carrier announced it has met its goal with a week to spare, though the accomplishment comes with the caveat that its 5G service is only available in small parts of each city.
As of today, Verizon’s mobile 5G network is launching in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, as well as the coastal area of Virginia known as Hampton Roads, with each deployment focusing on downtown areas and major landmarks. The carrier notes that it’s now offering 5G at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, the “first U.S. airport with live, commercially available 5G Ultra Wideband service,” as well as Cleveland’s Progressive Field football stadium and multiple shopping centers in Virginia.
Verizon’s 5G rollout has been somewhat quixotic throughout 2019, with the carrier rolling out the fastest version of 5G in relatively few and sometimes unusual locations, a strategy it branded “5G Built Right.” In addition to covering some streets in major cities, Verizon installed 5G in parts of select NFL stadiums, offering high-speed cellular service to users in certain seats and lending devices to demonstrate 5G-powered AR and its 2Gbps peak network speeds. The company says Progressive Field is the 15th NFL stadium with 5G service, though coverage is only available “in part of the lower seating area.”
Other U.S. carriers have relied on lower speeds but further-reaching towers to blanket larger areas of cities with slower 5G coverage. T-Mobile now operates a nationwide low-band 5G network that can deliver 20-300% better performance than 4G, depending on the city, while Sprint and AT&T are offering consumer 5G in fewer cities, using mid-band and low-band, respectively. Verizon’s consumer network unquestionably delivers the fastest 5G speeds, but it may struggle to work indoors and in vehicles, depending on where its small cell hardware is installed.
In August, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg suggested the carrier would offer 5G service across 50% of U.S. land in 2020, a dramatic expansion made possible by dynamic spectrum sharing. This uses existing 4G mid-band towers to deliver both 4G and 5G service as demanded by devices. It’s unclear at this point how fast Verizon’s mid-band 5G service will be, but the carrier subsequently warned that it might “approximate to a good 4G service” in performance. New 5G devices beyond the seven currently offered by the carrier will likely be needed to access its combined mid- and high-band network assets.
Oculus Quest gets dynamic fixed foveated rendering
The Oculus Quest now has a Dynamic Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR) feature, which developers can use instead of manually setting the FFR level.
Fixed Foveated Rendering is a rendering feature that developers can use on Oculus Quest. It renders the peripheral of the lenses at a lower resolution than the center, making it easier for the software to maintain a consistent and comfortable frame rate by shaving down detail in places that are less noticeable. There are four levels of FFR developers can choose from: Low, Medium, High, and High Top.
FFR can make it easier for developers to port their PC VR games to Quest. However, the High and High Top can be very noticeable for the user. As we stated in our review of the Quest headset:
In the game’s opening training montage I couldn’t help but point my eyes down and see two blurs for feet running on a treadmill. Tilting my head up over text to move it into the foveated area revealed the scale and size of the effect.
Dynamic FFR allows developers to let the Oculus system dynamically adapt the level of foveation based on the GPU utilization. This means that unless it is needed at that time for performance, users won’t see the pixelation and blur seen in some Quest titles today.
The feature is off by default, however, so developers will need to add it to their games via a software update to get the benefits.
The feature doesn’t seem to be available yet for the main game engines used by developers — Unity or Unreal Engine — but as with most native software development kit (SDK) features it will probably arrive in the next update.
This story originally appeared on Uploadvr.com. Copyright 2019
The promise of 5G will have to keep waiting
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Image Credit: d3sign/Getty Images
The hype surrounding 5G has been building for years. Now, it’s finally becoming a reality. The fifth generation of cellular network technology is being rolled out in cities across the United States and around the world, and phones are slowly but surely coming equipped with 5G capabilities.
Without question, the opportunities this new technology presents are immense and exciting. But for developers looking to innovate 5G solutions and apps, it feels more like limbo than a revolution. And for business leaders making bold claims about what they’ll do with 5G capabilities, this poses a serious problem.
Waiting to launch
It’s not surprising that companies like Walt Disney Studios and the New York Times have announced they’re getting in on the 5G action soon. They need to catch the attention of the public and stay competitive.
Some companies have gone even further, making big promises about 5G and assuring customers those changes will come within a short time frame — despite experts’ predictions. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson recently said he envisions 5G becoming a fixed replacement for broadband within three to five years, promising consumers faster speeds than most cable and DSL connections.
However, with the struggles 5G developers are facing, there is serious reason to be skeptical about this timeline. Developers will innovate with 5G by way of apps, but the app ecosystem in its current state doesn’t have access to 5G infrastructure. That’s holding us back. We’re playing a guessing game because we can only simulate a 5G experience, not actually create one.
Only the most prominent telecom companies currently have access to 5G kits, which bars smaller development firms and entrepreneurs from innovating and building applications. These major players roll out 5G technology in highly populated urban areas, often near stadiums or in major downtowns, to reach the most people and get the most out of their PR efforts.
Until coverage extends far beyond those concentrated areas and impacts people outside of those limited spaces, the power of 5G technology will remain out of reach for most of us. And it’s critical for businesses to understand that this limited access to 5G is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what developers are dealing with.
Carriers are providing vastly different versions of 5G as they try to provide coverage to as many people as possible as quickly as they can. But they simply don’t have the capabilities to extend consistent, widespread coverage at this time. And because of this, developers can’t define what this new network actually is and build for it.
Beyond that, the significant costs of installing this infrastructure and software also present a barrier for innovators. For 5G to be effective, it needs hundreds of thousands of cell sites, new software and mobile devices, and up-to-date connective nodes and switches — all of which costs hundreds of billions of dollars.
To be clear, none of this is to say that the next generation of wireless isn’t coming — it is. In fact, almost 20% of all data traffic will be over 5G networks by 2023. But this transition will require a paradigm shift in the way we test and validate networks. At present, 44% of telecoms say they don’t have the tools for testing and managing 5G applications. More than that, the current generation of modems developed by Qualcomm and its competitors are expensive and largely unavailable.
To be sure, some providers are trying to move too quickly and producing no tangible results. AT&T phones, for instance, feature a “5G E” icon in the upper corner, but that icon doesn’t actually indicate a 5G connection. In many cases, 5G E might even be slower than 4G LTE networks, which doesn’t give users or developers any steady ground to stand on.
In the grand scheme of things, claims about 5G are not rooted in reality — yet. Business leaders making big, ambitious assertions about what they’ll do with 5G should heed the warning that 5G will be essentially unusable when rolled out if nothing has been developed for the network.
The great divide
The reality for developers is that building 5G applications simply isn’t practical. Not yet, at least. Until Apple makes serious progress in expanding its capabilities, developing iOS apps is out of the question. And only a few types of Android phones are 5G-enabled.
Most of the 5G running today is a non-standalone version that runs off a 4G core and doesn’t actually deliver most of the promised sophisticated network capabilities. So at this point in time, most investment opportunities in 5G are limited for business leaders, too.
Until accessibility increases, developers will have to make do with using tools like the Raspberry Pi and DIY kits like Framework to test ideas. Ultimately, though, even the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth systems we’re using to connect prototypes are much slower than the real thing.
None of this means developers shouldn’t be planning for 5G; the contrary is true. We have to create while keeping in mind that we’ll have a two-tier connectivity divide based on geolocation — and two types of user experiences as a result. One will seem dated and slow; the other will feel futuristic and completely different from anything we’ve built before.
Making it real
Moving from 4G to 5G networks will be significantly different than when 4G replaced 3G — because it’s not a replacement this time. 5G will build on 4G LTE by using updated software and complementing its predecessor rather than doing away with it.
Hurdles won’t disappear when 5G arrives, either. Just like you might use an extender to boost Wi-Fi coverage in certain parts of your house, developers and entrepreneurs will need to create technology to extend 5G networks if widespread use is ever going to be available. Coverage of 5G networks today essentially comes in hot spots, causing connectivity to be sporadic and undependable.
For this reason, it’s critical that the infrastructure to expand 5G’s reach exists, and it’s our job to build it. Budgets will have to be created with this in mind, and development teams should anticipate 20% to 50% more work depending on the tech stack in development.
In a 2017 article, The Economist coined the phrase “data-network effect” to describe the exponential growth of data that will take place as a result of 5G adoption. It’ll enable huge advances in AI, leading to the creation of bots that can do more than we ever imagined.
Experiences enabled by 5G will be deeply personal and fundamentally change the way we interact with technology when they come. The real-time cloud access capabilities of 5G could provide unprecedented advances in the use of AI in phones and wearables. But until we’re able to overcome the hurdles we face as developers and entrepreneurs in creating the apps that will drive those experiences, the promises of tomorrow will remain elusive.
Marc Fischer is the CEO and co-founder of Dogtown Media, a mobile technology studio based in Venice Beach, California.
Oculus Quest's controller-free hand-tracking SDK is now available
The SDK for controller-free hand-tracking on Oculus Quest is now available, so developers can start integrating the feature into their apps.
Controller-free hand tracking for Quest was first announced in September at Oculus Connect 6, and shipped last week as an experimental feature. It uses the four cameras on the Oculus Quest and advanced computer vision algorithms, powered by machine learning, to track your hands and fingers.
SDK stands for Software Development Kit. Simplified, this means the code and resources needed by developers in order to add the feature. The SDK not being released yet was why only first party apps currently support the feature.
If you’re a developer wondering about the specifics: The Oculus Mobile SDK now has an API to return a skeletal model or full mesh for the user’s hands, along with a confidence value. With the Oculus Unity Integration you can integrate the feature with a simple prefab. Both the native API and Unity API have calls for detecting pinching and returning the location the user’s pinch is pointing at.
Don’t expect to see Quest store apps updating over the next few weeks, however. Facebook told us to expect the first third-party app updates in early 2020. But integrating a new kind of input often takes weeks or months anyway, depending on the app.
There’s a chance, however, we may see Quest apps with Hand Tracking available on SideQuest, the unofficial third party store for Quest that works by automating sideloading.
Interestingly, the SDK documentation warns developers about the privacy implications of having access to user hand data:
Data Usage Disclaimer: Enabling support for Hand tracking grants your app access to certain user data, such as the user’s estimated hand size and hand pose data. This data is only permitted to be used for enabling hand tracking within your app and is expressly forbidden for any other purpose.
As VR advances, it will be able to track more and more uniquely identifiable biometric data. The SDK documentation mentions that to use Hand Tracking the developer has to declare it as a permission in the manifest, which may mean that Facebook intends to give the user an option to accept the permission for each app.
Controller-free Hand Tracking promises to increase the convenience of non-gaming VR and open it up to new audiences uncomfortable or unfamiliar with gaming controllers. Now that the SDK is released, we know of at least five apps that will start working on adding the feature, but there will almost certainly be more.
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