News

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicks off next week — but if I'm honest with myself, I’m struggling to care. I used to watch the shows with eager anticipation as to what new goodies would be coming to my Mac across the next year. But in recent years, a lot of the features highlighted either fell into the bucket marked “wait, you couldn’t do that already?” or the one marked “well, that’s not a thing I’m going to use.”

It doesn’t help the rumored slate of announcements for this year is mostly stuff I know I’m not going to need to engage with. The loudest rumor is a Vision Pro-inspired UI overhaul to bring the iPhone, iPad and Mac in line with their youngest sibling. Consistency is a fine thing to aim for, but Apple is reportedly justifying this change by saying it’s jarring to switch between platforms. I can’t say I’ve ever had an issue, and my concern is Apple will forget that each of those devices is different, and operates in a different way to its stablemates.

If a promise is made too often, there’s a risk you’ll stop believing it will ever be fulfilled. Apropos of nothing, Apple’s going to make the iPad more useful as a productivity tool. The rumors hint the slates will get better multitasking and app window management to make it more Mac-esque. But unless iPadOS gets the sort of radical changes that’ll make it operate a lot more like macOS, nothing will change. And I’m doubtful Apple would bring true multitasking to the iPad, lest it eat into Mac sales — not to mention the constraints of its form factor.

As someone who is aggressively indifferent toward generative AI and voice assistants, tweaks to Apple Intelligence and Siri leave me similarly cold. I’m not sure I would ever want a gussied up pattern-recognition algorithm writing messages and emails in my voice. Neither am I too into the idea of using generative AI to create images. I'd much rather stay in the real world. Sure, I’m a young man yelling at a cloud, I don’t care.

Apple

According to Apple, I’m clearly in the minority since the only time I ever engage with Siri is by accident. I can think, type and operate a phone far faster than I can say out loud “Hey Siri, dim my living room lights by 50 percent,” so the slowness of speech irks me. Of course, I’d love a virtual assistant that was as skilled and imaginative as a flesh-and-blood person who could marshal all of my data, organize it and keep me on track. But I don’t believe we’re close to that point, and Apple has failed to deliver on its promises in this area more than once.

The only rumored feature that excites me is the “AI-powered” battery management mode for iOS 19 (or 26, as the rumors indicate). I say “AI-powered,” since I’m not sure how much we need to oversell an algorithm that tracks your usage patterns to make power-saving adjustments. But it’s the sort of feature that, if it’s able to make meaningful improvements to the iPhone’s longevity, could be transformative.

After all, as a relatively heavy iPhone user, I rarely find my device lasting until the end of the day without a top-up charge. This isn’t a new problem, either, since the iPhone’s battery has been lackluster since the first model was launched in 2007. In a world where most Android handsets boast of multi-day battery life, the iPhone’s battery life remains embarrassing. Yes, you can take that as a not-too-subtle dig at the rumored thin-and-light iPhone Air, which feels to me like the most egregious waste of development resources imaginable.

Maybe this is a sign of my subconscious frustration with Apple that it feels so compelled to push forward rather than tidying up behind it. I groused last year that the company gave so much attention to the addition of multitrack recording to Voice Notes despite the feature already being in Garageband. I would love nothing more than Apple to do what it did in 2009 with Snow Leopard and in 2017 with High Sierra. In both of those instances, the company opted to focus on tidying up the existing code to make it smaller and run faster rather than over-extending itself with new features. That, to me, would seem like a far better use of Apple’s time than repainting the home screen with snazzier icons.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/is-it-wrong-the-iphones-ai-battery-management-is-the-only-wwdc-rumor-im-excited-about-143028037.html?src=rss

The Apple C1 modem could be the start of something bigWe'll definitely learn more about the future on our facesA HomePod with a display would be a boon for developersMacBooks are gonna MacBook, the iPhone is gonna iPhone, but what about new Apple hardware? While the Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) 2025 won't be a bonanza for new Apple products, it may offer our best hint at the mid-term and more distant future for Apple hardware, beyond the next processor upgrades.Before I get into the exciting stuff like glasses, I'm foremost excited to hear news about Apple’s C1 chipset experiment. The Apple C1 chip is the 5G modem that powers the network capabilities for the iPhone 16e, and it may be Apple's secret weapon for future products.Most companies that make phones, tablets, and laptops rely on one or two big chipmakers to supply networking hardware. If you want a connected mobile device, you need hardware from Qualcomm, or MediaTek, or Samsung.The Google Pixel 9, for instance, uses the Google-designed Tensor G4 processor and a Samsung Exynos 5400 5G modem. Apple has tried to avoid relying on Qualcomm for years, but Qualcomm makes the most advanced 5g hardware and can produce the largest quantity.Enter the C1, the first 5G chipset designed by Apple, beholden to no other chipmakers. It isn't as powerful or efficient as Qualcomm’s modem chips, but it gets the job done and the difference may be negligible to most users.I would love to see news about the C1 chip and any possible successors at WWDC. Apple has never offered MacBook laptops with built-in cellular connectivity, so it would be exciting to see new hardware from Apple that takes advantage of the company's new networking chops.The Apple Vision Pro home screen environment (Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)Apple Vision Pro and VisionOS will always be exciting and newOf course Apple Vision Pro will be a highlight of WWDC 2025, since the singular device has the newest and most unique software, and WWDC is all about software development.Rumors suggest that Apple could launch new controllers or controller support for Vision Pro, and that would give us some idea how the platform is progressing.But what are users requesting? What does Apple need to fix for the next generation? Personally, I would love to hear more about a lite version of VisionOS, because that might lead us to hints about any upcoming XR smart glasses Apple might be working on.The Apple Vision Pro is a more robust and productivity-focused device compared to, say, Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, or the latest Google XR glasses prototypes. A pared-back VisionOS would be the first sign Apple is looking to take it's Vision Pro out of the office and into nature.(Image credit: Future)How about a new HomePod with display?I expect to hear interesting news about Apple in the home, and we could see a new HomePod device around WWDC time. Rumors suggest the HomePod might gain a display, and that would mean a new opportunity for developers. A new screen for the home would be a perfect little hardware announcement to complement the developer focus of WWDC.I wouldn't expect Apple to stop with a small HomePod. If the HomePod gets its own display, will it have it's own OS? Will it just be an iPadOS device, or could there be a new Apple HomeOS on the way? If it's the latter, we could see many new Apple Home products with display, apps, and new software to boot.(Image credit: Karen Freeman)There is plenty of room to grow WatchOS and compete with GoogleFinally, I'm expecting to hear more about my health, because there are so many innovations in health wearables seemingly on the horizon. Has Apple made any progress in glucose monitoring or metabolism tracking? Those will be watershed developments in health tracking technology, and every company is racing to that goal.Apple also needs to play catch up with Google and it's Wear OS partners. Recent Wear OS devices have added features like on-device AI models, zero pulse detection for the worst health emergencies, and even gesture controls like Apple Watch introduced.In other words, there is room for a big leap forward for WatchOS and all of Apple’s wearables. Even AirPods could get in the mix with new sensor capabilities, like rumored optical sensors on the buds. If Apple announces major new developments for health features, devices won't be far behind.You might also likeSome of Siri's delayed Apple Intelligence features are tipped to arrive in the next iOS3 things Apple needs to do at WWDC 2025 to save Apple IntelligenceWill your iPhone get iOS 26?

The first thing you do after tearing open the Switch 2's box is snap its Joy-Con 2 controllers to the sides of the console. But unlike the Switch 1, which used flimsy rails to connect its controllers, the Switch 2's Joy-Con rely on magnets. That leads to a visceral "thunk" whenever you snap them on — it's as if they leap out of your hands and right onto the Switch, ready for some Mario Kart World action. And every time it happens, I can't help but smile.

Even before you turn on the Switch 2, it's clear that Nintendo recognized one of the biggest issues of the original Switch: Those Joy-Con rails stunk. They didn't hold the controllers in place well, and they wore down over time, which could lead to Joy-Cons slipping out mid-gameplay. In my case, one bad drop just two weeks into owning the original Switch made one of my Joy-Con gamepads loose for the system's lifetime. The only fix was replacing the controller's locking buckle, or buying a new an entirely new Joy-Con set for $80.

So, at the very least, it feels nice to have a new Switch console where the controllers feel sturdy. With the Joy-Con 2 attached, the Switch 2 feels almost as solid as the Switch Lite, which doesn't have removable controllers. To put it another way, the Joy-Con 2's "thunk" is like the satisfying sound of a luxury car door being slammed shut rather than the sound of a cheap economy car closing. The "thunk" means security. The "thunk" means quality.

We still don't know if the Joy-Con 2 are completely free of the dreaded drifting problem that plagued the original controllers. One Reddit user claimed their launch system arrived with drifting controllers, and Redditor moshi_yo tore their controller apart and noticed that it uses the same joystick mechanism. But Nintendo producer Kouichi Kawamoto said in an interview that the company "redesigned everything from scratch." They added, "Compared to the Joy-Con controllers for Switch, the control sticks are larger and more durable, with smoother movement."

Less immediately noticeable than the Joy-Con 2 "thunk" is the Switch 2's wider kickstand, which I quickly learned to appreciate. That's something Nintendo brought over from the Switch OLED model, but it's still useful this time around. As I was playing Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, the kickstand easily let me balance the system on my lap in tablet mode while using the Joy-Con 2 to mouse around on my leg. Is that an ideal setup? No. But it's certainly functional in a pinch.

While the Switch 2 overall feels like a major refinement of the original, with its larger screen, dramatically faster hardware and more usable eShop, new issues have cropped up for Nintendo. The console's reliance on expensive microSD Express cards will make it tough for players to deal with increasingly large games, and similarly developers seem to be balking at actually putting games on physical carts. Instead, many titles are taking advantage of Nintendo's Game-Key Cards, which unlock digital versions of titles and can be resold like a physical used game. Unlike full-fledged carts, though, those Game-Key Cards won't work down the line when Nintendo eventually moves on from the Switch 2 and shuts down its eShop.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-switch-2s-best-feature-is-its-satisfying-joy-con-2-thunk-150031872.html?src=rss