By John Moltz
October 4, 2024 2:00 PM PT
This Week in Apple: A preview of things to come
A lot of news in headsets this week, plus Apple is prepping new Macs, iPads, an iPhone SE… and other things.
What’s New in Goggles?
Yes, it’s time again for another edition of “What’s New in Goggles?”, where we discuss all the goggle news that’s new in Goggletown.
Would it kill you to just play along and pretend we’ve been doing this forever? Do you always have to be so difficult, Ian?
The man I married wasn’t so difficult. There. I said it. It had to be said and I said it.
After all the hubbub about Meta’s Orion prototype glasses, at least one competitor has checked out.
“Microsoft Is Discontinuing HoloLens 2, With No Replacement”
But don’t worry, our dystopian future is still on track.
While HoloLens 2 is being discontinued, Microsoft tells UploadVR it remains “fully committed” to the militarized HoloLens IVAS.
Uh, cooool? So, Microsoft makes militarized goggles and has a nuclear reactor to fuel its AI aspirations? Has anyone checked to see if they also bought property under an extinct volcano?
In more great goggle news, some students have taken Meta’s Ray Ban smart glasses and made them suuuper creepy.
“Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta’s Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers”
Yayyyy technology. Whooooo. Yeah.
Finally, the Vision Pro, not exactly awash in new apps, now has one fewer.
“Juno YouTube App for Vision Pro Removed From App Store”
Back in April, YouTube emailed Selig and said that Juno was violating the YouTube Terms of Service and the YouTube API by modifying the native YouTube.com web user interface, and used YouTube trademarks and iconography that could be confusing to customers.
Please do not confuse people by giving them a convenient way to use our service. Very rude.
Well, that’s it for “What’s New in Goggles?” Please tune in next week when I pretend this supposedly ongoing feature never existed.
[Modem sounds]
The iPhone 16 is so last month. It literally came out last month. How much more last month can you get? Sure, we’ve all enjoyed the Camera Control button and, you know, the other stuff. But it’s October now! Now about something new, Apple? How about something fresh?
Well, Apple fan who’s just like Prince’s mother, (she’s never satisfied) you’ll be happy to know that new MacBook Pros, iMacs, and all-new Mac minis—all with M4 processors—are still on schedule to ship this year. A new iPad mini may “potentially” ship by the end of 2024 as well, according to Mark Gurman, who has dialed back the confidence on that a bit.
If those devices don’t float your boat, then first learn something about buoyancy, and second, check out what Apple has in store for early next year.
“Bloomberg: New iPhone SE with Face ID and updated iPad Air launching early next year”
And are you the kind of weirdo who cares who makes the modem in your phone? Well, you’re in luck, because the next SE will reportedly feature the debut of Apple’s own, long-awaited 5G modem. We didn’t get a car, but by gum they’re gonna ship that damn modem!
One more thing…
If after that you were thinking, “Well, my dance card is now full! I shan’t need any further amusements, thank you very much!” then you may be an early 20th century debutant. Also, don’t look now because:
“‘Ted Lasso’ to Return to Apple TV+ as Season Four Allegedly ‘Confirmed’”
Yes, according to Sigmund Judge of MacStories, pre-production on a new season of the beloved Apple TV+ show will begin in January. Apple has not confirmed this nor explained how a new season would play out, with Ted having returned to his home planet at the end of season 3. Still, I believe they’ll figure something out. They’re not just going to leave good money sitting on the table like that.
[John Moltz is a Six Colors contributor. You can find him on Mastodon at Mastodon.social/@moltz and he sells items with references you might get on Cotton Bureau.]