Apple held its annual developer conference, WWDC, yesterday and we got a few interesting announcements.
The star of the show was the…
Vision Pro headset
This Honda Fit-priced headset is a step up from current mixed reality headsets out there.
What is it? It is a mixed-reality headset designed to be used for gaming, entertainment, and productivity. Mixed reality meaning both augmented reality (a real-world environment enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information) and virtual reality (a simulated experience).
The Apple Vision Pro features two 4K displays, a high-resolution front-facing camera, and a powerful processor. The processor in it is the M2 chip which is in Apple’s high-end computers, a powerful chip.
There is also a new chip in it, the R1 chip. It processes all the other headset inputs from 12 cameras, five sensors and six microphones and sends it to the M2 to reduce lag and get new images to displays within 12 milliseconds
The headset also features eye-tracking and hand-tracking technology. This technology allows users to interact with the virtual world using their eyes and hands.
A user simply looks at something they want to interact with and touches two of their fingers to select. There are multiple cameras tracking the eyes to see what you are looking at and more cameras tracking the hands to see if you make the ‘select gesture.’
Those that played around with it say it feels next-level even if it has its downsides.
The biggest being the price – $3500. There is also the fact that battery life is estimated at around two hours which is not enough to finish a movie, these new movies run much longer than two hours.
You can find out more about the Vision Pro here.
iOS 17
iOS, like Android, is mature now and we rarely get new features that wow us. It’s just neat little improvements that make the experience a little better, and that’s it. However, depending on how you use your phone, some of these might be game changers.
iMessage
iMessage sees some improvements that have been available on WhatsApp for years. You know how you can swipe on a message to reply to it, iMessage is getting that now.
The messaging app will also transcribe voice notes for you. That would be pretty useful for me if it weren’t for the fact that the voice notes I get are at least 50% in Shona. iMessage can’t transcribe that.
The transcription treatment will also be available for voicemail but how many of us receive voicemail in Zimbabwe?
Check In
It sends a note to a selected contact when you reach a location – for example when you get home after late-night travel. Instead of you texting to say ‘Hey, home now,’ the phone will do it for you. Day by day we remove the personal touch, it’s now phones talking to other phones.
When using Check In, you estimate the time you think the trip is going to take and when that time is up, your contact is alerted that you’ve made it home or wherever you were going. If you’re not yet home, your phone knows where home is, you can extend the timer rather than alert your contact.
Apple says we sometimes forget to send those ‘Home safe’ text and this would help. I have to admit I have been known to forget to text that so maybe the feature will change the quality of my relationships. Now I can’t wait for the feature.
Contact cards
Contact posters is a new feature in iOS 17 that allows you to customize the font, image, and background of your contact card. You can customise your contact card to your heart’s content. There are four poster types – camera, photos, memoji, and monogram. Your creativity is the limit.
Interactive widgets
Apple will finally allow you to do stuff right from a widget, making them much more useful like the Android ones. Right now on iOS 16, you can’t even skip a song from a widget, the moment you tap on a widget it opens the app in full-screen mode.
On iOS 17, as Apple puts it, you’ll be able to “Play music, turn off the lights, and more. Right from a widget.”
Text predictions
There will be predictions inline as you type. You know how the likes of Gboard, Swiftkey and most other keyboards will predict the next word you want to type and suggest it to you?
Well, Apple’s keyboard will not only predict the next word but the full sentence. Not only that, you will see the suggestion in the app you’re using, right in the message box or on the note you’re taking. So, with a tap of the space bar, you can have a predicted sentence filled out for you. Kind of like how Gmail does it.
We can’t go through all the iOS 17 features. Find out more here.
Devices
MacBook Air 15
This is a 15-inch MacBook Air, something fans of the ultra-light Air range will appreciate. Apple launched a 13-inch variant last year and the 15 is pretty much that laptop but with a bigger screen and battery.
The MacBook Air 15 is powered by an M2 chip and has support for up to up to 24GB of memory and up to 2TB of storage.
Now, the efficiency of the M2 chip and the bigger battery in the 15 means the laptop can go for a ridiculous 18 hours on the battery. My friend, if you slept for 6 hours a day and charged this laptop whilst you slumbered, you could use the laptop for the rest of the day, unplugged.
This laptop was made for Zimbabweans. You wouldn’t care about ZESA doing its load-shedding thing with this beast.
The only thing stopping us from all flocking to Apple’s website is the $1300 starting price. It’s not too bad though, if you think about it. The Zim Parliament bought US$9200 laptops last year if you recall. The Macbook Air 15 is a bargain in comparison.
Mac Studio and Mac Pro
Both these devices can be had with the new M2 Ultra chipset. This beast of a chipset has the following specs:
- 24-core CPU
- Up to a 76-core GPU
- 32-core Neural Engine
- Up to 192GB of memory
- 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth
One of the crazy things you can do with the M2 Ultra is stream 22 videos at 8K ProRes resolution at once. That’s bananas.
The Mac Studio can be had with the M2 Ultra. The Studio starts at $2000.
The Mac Pro is Apple’s high-end desktop and it too can be had with the M2 Ultra. It has 8 thunderbolt ports, two HDMI ports and dual 10GB ethernet ports, with six open PCIe Gen 4 slots. It starts at $7000.
There’s plenty more that Apple announced, including:
- iPadOS 17 – the latest iPad software allows for personalization like never before.
- macOS Sonoma – Apple promises this latest software for their computers will boost gaming performance among other things
- watchOS 10 – Apple says its the biggest update since the introduction of Apple Watch
You can find out more about all that here.
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40 comments
My personal top picks are the macs, or more specifically, how they cleaned up the line up. The macbook air was well overdue, but i’ll give apple one last free ‘covid supply chain issues’ card. Mac pro is ridiculous in every meaning of the word😅 Ridiculous for being an un-upgradeable souped up Mac Studio in a repurposed chassis with no (current) way to expand compute power. Ridiculous for having insane capability and expandability.
Vision Pro is interesting, but it must have Apple holding its breath (did you see their stock😬). Hardware looks to be on point but the rest of their success hangs so much on third party developers and building enough mass appeal outside their ecosystem. So many rabbits need to be pulled out of that hat to make it more compelling to corporates (Hololense beware) and people who would normally find paying so much for one piece of kit problematic. No doubt, theyve been on it since before the first prototype landed on Tim Apples desk.
I am with u on vision pro,yes it is interesting but their stock mmm. l don’t know what they need us to do.
Great review and analysis👍
<This is awesome>
alert(“sorry”);
What did those alert mean
Under MacBook Air 15
This laptop was made for Zimbabweans. You wouldn’t care about ZESA doing its load-shedding thing with this beast.true on this one. But guys don’t forget were we are maybe lot of people forget were we are lm reminding u forget ladies and gentlemen’s lm reminding you again that we are in Zimbabwe. Unless u work outside the country it’s pretty cool but if u work in Zimbabwe did you see the price$1300, one thousand three hundred in United States Dollar not in ZWL.
In Zimbabwe cevil servants are payed in ZWL form u no that and some of workers are payed according to were they leave lm talking about rent if he or she is renting a place to stay also according to transport he or she use when coming to work , according to which school his or children go if he or she have children and food there. Already the money people are payed is already not enough for them on top of that they are payed in ZWL, so how do u except some people like that buying the laptop cost $1300 US dollar not ZWL.
The Zim Parliament bought US$9200 laptops last year u say that, guys did anyone of notice which currency was used to buy those laptops US dollar and cevil servants are payed ZWL and u want him or her to buy MacBook Air 15.
Most of Zimbabweans can afford to buy MacBook Air 15 but not all Zimbabweans who can buy MacBook Air 15.
So what do you say guys about what l say are u on my side or not.
It seems he just learnt about XSS 😂
Who
James Bond 🤣
Yeah maybe I just learnt it….maybe I’m just testing this platform and of which Ive found some interesting stuff
<alert(“testing”);>
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Vision Pro seems to be an awesome product
<<
Though innovation seems to be lacking!!!>>
Yeah it seems what can we say
<<
Though innovation seems to be lacking!!!>>
3.5K for 2 hours or 1.3K for 18 hours, the choice is yours
Anyone else following the US NAVY Aliens story by that whistle blower?
https://twitter.com/NewsNation/status/1665872307401760768?s=19
Me l don’t follow but l like those aliens stories,l will try to find those stories and read then l will follow after going through them.
Not me l don’t know to others, the choice it’s now yours or want to give the choice to your mother u can pass the message to her.
Ok, here is the proper proposition from apple’s perspective:
3.5K for a compact portable computer, 100 inch 3D home theater, 3d camera, multi monitor workstation, immersive game console, 3d mapper, virtual conferencing system, positional audio system, fully VR capable with really time emulated AR stand alone headset with 2 hours battery and optional mains operation or 1.3K for a laptop with 18 hours battery and optional mains operation
I’d say 3.5K for more than 20 camera you’ll use as one and probably never noticed 😂
Is it possible to install windows in a mac
Yes, it is. Through Bootcamp or Parallels on intel machines and through Parallels on apple silicon. It’s actually a good experience, just be sure to get enough storage from the start.
But Isaac why didn’t u reply me on gold tokens article, now lm fearing maybe l write bad things.Is it possible to delete your comment on techzim, if it’s possible help me coz write l have big big fear inside myself.
Oops sorry, I haven’t read that article. Let me check it
Guys sorry pane Changa Chakandi jamba ndokumbira nenyasha dzaMwari kuti minor vhura pa article ya 1 June, Starlink intends to come to Zimbabwe between October and December 2023
Posted on June 1, 2023 by Leonard Sengere.moenda pa comment section pane kanyaya kakaiswa ipapo Kari funny or kuti zvisanetse munongonoita go through all comments aiiswa nevanhu.
Sorry it’s mono vhura
As a total Android loyalist who hasn’t used iOS since 2014, does iMessage and FaceTime now work in Zimbabwe?
Tell them Lindy, those features haana kutanga nhasi.
Some features will never work this part of the world ✓
Go deeper sanika muno there’s this another example do u know they are some games on google play store that are play in other countries but if u download the gameit in Zimbabwe and install it some games will open but not work some anotaramba paku downloader,so some of features there will not work in this country,yes some will work but not all coz of technology lacking.
Zim economy
Musoro bhangu says:
June 1, 2023 at 8:19 PM
I usually like your articles but the way this articles is so wrong and misinformed is mindblowing. Maybe find someone who actually understands to write other articles or stick to actual tech. And I only know this because I am an accountant. Makes me start to wonder if your other articles are misinforming
Reply
Samaita says:
June 1, 2023 at 9:28 PM
Instead of kuvukura pano kkkkk why not give a brief analysis of what you think as an accountant? Your knowledge, if shared that way, will help many like me who are illiterate kkkk in that area. Shooting down someone’s analysis and not giving an alternative answers is really, really dumb!
Reply
🖖🏽 says:
June 1, 2023 at 9:54 PM
👍🏽👍🏽
Reply
Bounty hunter says:
June 2, 2023 at 3:44 AM
Very true @samaita wamupindura zvandada.. nyc move
Reply
Bounty hunter says:
June 2, 2023 at 3:47 AM
@musoro bhangu utori musoro bhangu for nothing
Reply
Leonard Sengere says:
June 2, 2023 at 1:56 PM
What do you know nhai Musoro bhangu? That the CPI is reliable? You disagree with Econet who are saying these financials are mostly useless in light of an inaccurate CPI and a fast depreciating reporting currency?
We love the conversations. Let’s have them and not just say, “you’re wrong and misinformed.” Where? How? Let’s talk about it. Make your case for why you think hyperinflationary accounting is foolproof, especially in Zimbabwe.
Reply
Kim Jong Un The Emperor Of North Korea says:
June 2, 2023 at 3:21 PM
Man I hate people who think they are soo smart , always shooting down people , If you didn’t like the article then shut the faak up and shove your Accounts up your ass , Financial report this 🖕🖕you pencil pushing , number crunching aassholes , stuck on a boring aasss job , wasted your lives picking boring aaass careers.
Reply
Martin Ezekiel Ravi Charles says:
June 2, 2023 at 9:07 PM
Superb News
Reply
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Cha
Sorry Mr Sengere, vamwe vanenge vapfekwa na devil chaiiye, Musoro Bangu ngaanyarare kwete kuda kutaura zvisina basa . Mr Accountant tokumbiro kuti munyarare, ungangobve from know where wongouya kuda kuzongowisira mumwe munhu pasi hayaaaa hatina kumbokubvunza vanhu mabasa atinoshanda manzwa her Mr Musoro Bangu pane vamwe varikupa macomments vane mabasa mahombe, mamwe ma Accountant akasiyana newe arikupa macomments zvakanaka zvisina noise. God forgive Musoro becoz he did not know what he is typing and saying Amen.
I’m so confused rn
Yeat is the best rapper? Who the f is Yeat ? When it comes to rap there’s no question about it Eminem is thee best to ever hold the damn mic and he shall forever be , for literal eternity , his talent is beyond everyone’s, he’s above the human species, he’s on another level , an unreachable level
Kim what about Nf, umm l also listen to Eminem’s songs he is a good rapper.l don’t know yeat, who is yeat from you yeat is the best rapper.
Apple’s latest announcements at WWDC showcase the company’s commitment to innovation and user experience across various devices. The introduction of the Apple Vision Pro headset with mixed reality capabilities is a significant leap, especially with features like eye-tracking and hand-tracking technology. While the headset’s price and battery life may pose challenges, its potential for gaming, entertainment, and productivity is undeniable.
iOS 17 brings thoughtful enhancements like iMessage improvements and the Check In feature, streamlining communication and safety. The MacBook Air 15’s remarkable battery life of 18 hours makes it an enticing choice, especially for regions with unreliable power like Zimbabwe. Overall, Apple continues to push boundaries and deliver cutting-edge technology for users worldwide.
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