Apple is preparing to launch several products and services during 2023including the long-awaited mixed reality headset and a new one loan system which will integrate into Apple Pay. But not only; this is the year in which the topic of artificial intelligence is more topical than ever, with more and more companies ready to bring the first ones to market commercial products that exploit the potential of advances made in these fields.
The latest edition of Power Onthe newsletter edited by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, addresses all these aspects from the point of view of what is happening inside the Cupertino house. Let’s see what were the highlights of this week.
- APPLE’S FIRST SUMMIT AI: LITTLE SUBSTANCE
- AR HEADSET: THIS IS WHY THE LAUNCH AT WWDC MAKES SENSE
- APPLE PAY LATER: THE DATA THAT APPLE WILL USE
Let’s start with the most interesting event, as it was the first entirely face-to-face appointment, for a few years now, that Apple has made with its employees. The AI ​​summit, according to Gurman’s report, it wasn’t a particularly substantial appointmentbut seems to have limited itself mainly to consolidating the ranks of the various teams that deal with these aspects.
With Microsoft and Google increasingly present in this sector – the first with the integration of ChatGPT in Bing and the second with the official presentation of Bard -, Apple too is called to the challenge represented by the evolution of artificial intelligence, however it was not the summit of the past few days that represented a turning point.
The testimonies speak of an event that hosted some discussions regarding the evolution of Apple in fields such as machine learning and AI, underlining that “machine learning is moving faster than ever and the talents we have here are truly cutting edge“. Considerations that, according to Gurman, they were not accompanied by any announcements game changer by the house of Cupertinowhich still seems to be far from being able to present its product in this sector.
The most important novelty to emerge from the summit could instead concern the success of the meeting from an organizational point of view, since it could be the first appointment that will kick off the return to face-to-face eventsmaybe just starting from WWDC 2023.
The WWDC is also the protagonist of the second important theme treated by Gurman, namely the already discussed presentation of the Apple headset at the next edition of the Worldwide Developer Conference.
All the previous rumors suggested that the Cupertino house was intending to hold an event dedicated to its viewer during the spring, with a appointment very focused on the consumer aspect of the product, which was to be held between March and April. TO turn the tablesaccording to Gurman, were some hardware and software problems (now resolved) which forced the company to postpone the appointment, but this could also be linked to other much more important needs, including the need to put some meat on the fire at WWDC and of speak to the real audience of this first version of the viewer.
Starting from the first point raised by Gurman, the question seems to be very simple: none of the next operating systems – according to what the Bloomberg journalist has learned – will bring with it revolutionary innovations and easily salablewhich is why the stage must also be shared by an ad capable of catalyze attention. This should be the new headset and its operating system, which at the moment continues to be called xrOS internally, while the hardware should be marketed under the brand Reality.
As for the target issueInstead, it seems that Apple is taking note of that the first version of the viewer will not be a product designed for the general public; not only because of its extremely high list price – close to $3,000 – but mainly because of the general skepticism which is being created around the theme of virtual and mixed reality. Apple, as already highlighted in the past, is not particularly interested in bringing the discourse to the field of the metaverse, especially in a historical period like the current one which, having disposed of the initial enthusiasm of the end of 2021, showsto a public largely uninterested in this matter.
The decision to focus on WWDC – which we recall does not end with the opening keynote, but goes on for almost a week with workshops and thematic sessions dedicated to developers – can be a strong sign of how Apple first wants to speak to its audience potentially most interested in the producti.e. exactly those developers who will have to build the applications third-party that will make or break this new category of devices.
However it could be years before an Apple viewer becomes something really attractive even for the general public; in addition to the already mentioned prohibitive price of the first version, it must be emphasized that what has emerged so far is not particularly exciting. Although Apple intends integrate cutting-edge technologies – such as eye tracking, hand gestures, super high resolution display and so on -, the use cases that have emerged so far concern the mixed reality use of applications such as FaceTime, Messages, Mapsdisplay of immersive videos and the ability to use the viewer as a VR monitors for macOS.
All things that certainly do not push the general public towards mass adoption, for which a series of high-quality experiences capable of justifying the very existence of this product category will be necessary. Then there is also the theme of the App Store, since that of xrOS must certainly be presented in better conditions than those present in other Apple devices and services, including Apple Watch, Apple TV and Messages.
In short, according to Gurman the decision to bring the launch of the viewer inside WWDC is certainly the safestalso because it is the one that also offers the public the most threadAppletherefore the one most inclined to positively welcome the launch of a new product which at the moment belongs to a category that is certainly not much loved by the mass public.
We conclude with Apple Pay Later, the loan service that the Cupertino house seems to be about to launch in the coming weeks, as also suggested by Tim Cook himself. The latest news reported by Gurman mainly concern what will be the criteria chosen by Apple to evaluate the creditworthiness of its users, an aspect that has already emerged in recent days and is now further expanded with new details.
The main change compared to other financial services offered by Apple – such as Apple Card – concerns the fact that Apple Pay Later does not rely on an external intermediary, but the loans granted are disbursed directly by Apple, which therefore its capital at stake. Recall that the service will allow defer payments in 4 tranches divided into 6 weeks and that, according to what has emerged so far, the minimum fundable threshold should be around 1,000 dollars.
To understand if a user has a good degree of solvency, so if he will be able to repay the debt without problems, Apple will adopt the following policies:
- Which devices are associated or have been associated with your Apple ID
- History of purchases made in the Apple Store, Apple.com and from the Apple Store app
- Information about cards registered to Apple Pay, including card issuer, country of issue, and any unsuccessful attempts to add cards
- How the loan was applied for and whether or not an Apple Card was offered
- Transactions made using Apple Cash within Apple Payments Inc., such as the amount of transactions and whether you usually send or receive funds
- Transactions on the App Store, such as the purchase of subscriptions, the payment method used and whether you usually download financial-related apps
This is very precise information, which revolves around the ecosystem of services offered by the Cupertino company and which can help understand the user’s spending habits and financial availabilitya crucial aspect for the sustainability of an upcoming service offered directly by the company. It will be interesting to understand whether Apple will also rely on other external criteria, in addition to those over which it has direct control; meanwhile we remind you that the beta of the service is already being tested by some Apple employees who deal with the retail channel, so the launch seems to be really imminent.
