M2 Mac Pro expected to get delayed

Apple hasn't equipped its Mac Pro line with its latest M2 chip yet. But that might change soon, or soon-ish. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company is delaying the release of an M2-equipped Mac Pro because it is reportedly developing a new next-generation M2 Ultra chip specifically for the high-end desktop. This M2 Mac Pro will supposedly sport up to 24 CPU cores, 76 graphics cores, and 192GB of RAM. It is less powerful than previous rumours, but that might be a cost-cutting measure for what's already considered a premium (a.k.a. very expensive) desktop. 

Another reason for the delay is Apple looking to move its manufacturing from Texas to Vietnam. The existing Mac Pro models are finalized in Austin, even though its main internal components are made in China. If this move is true, the internal components will continue to be made in China, while its finishing will be done in Vietnam. That should save time in the long run, but it'll affect the release for now.

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13" MacBook Air with OLED screen rumoured to launch in 2024

Source: MacRumors

If you've been waiting for a new MacBook Air with an OLED screen, you'll have to wait until 2024. At least that's what display industry consultant Ross Young suggests. He shared rumoured Apple plans to introduce a new 13-inch MacBook Air with an OLED display in 2024. Young has also mentioned an 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros with OLED screens coming in the same year. Young has previously mentioned all three devices will support ProMotion with up to 120Hz refresh rate.

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2 unreleased Mac models were found in Steam's database

A couple of unreleased Mac models were spotted in Steam's November 2022 survey. This survey gathers anonymous information from willing Steam users on details about their computers (including computer models, memory, CPU type, and more). Two unreleased Macs with the identifiers "Mac14,6" and "Mac15,4" were seen at the bottom of the list alongside identifiers for Apple devices like the Mac Studio, M2 MacBook Air, and 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro. The two devices were listed with 0% usage on Steam's platform, but their inclusion in the list suggests the company is testing the devices with upcoming Apple silicon chips on the gaming platform.

The "Mac14,6" was already spotted before in two separate Geekbench score entries with the M2 Max processor. That chip is rumoured to come out in the upcoming 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, which has been reportedly delayed to 2023.

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Apple reportedly wants you to say 'Siri' instead of 'Hey Siri' as a trigger phrase

Source: Apple

Apple is supposedly looking to swap Siri's trigger phrase. Instead of "Hey Siri," the company just wants you to use "Siri." Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that this feature has been in the works for the past several months, and it's expected to come out next year or in 2024. But Apple needs to put in a "significant amount of AI training and underlying engineering work" to get this feature to function properly. Its smart assistant will need to understand that single wake word in different accents and dialects. The "Hey Siri" two-word trigger phrase has a better chance of the smart assistant picking it up.

Changing to the single wake word will put Apple in line with Amazon's Alexa and give it an edge over Google Assistant. But the latter doesn't need the wake word when you're saying back-to-back commands. Aside from the shorter trigger phrase, Apple is exploring third-party integration for Siri and improvements in its ability to process user requests.

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