eXtensions - Sunday 15 March 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
I was able to order some of the new Harman Switch Azure film and that arrived just before the weekend. There has been much information about the new and updated devices Apple announced last week as they arrive in users hands and the first reviews are put out. Most positive comments are for the A18 powered MacBook Neo. The consensus seems to be, forget it is a smartphone chip. Netflix and AppleTV are both putting out some good series currently, with a few interesting movies also arriving soon.
I had another look on the Harmon website to see if there had been any additional retail outlets where the new Azure film was available. Nothing in this region of the world, but I did see three shops in Taiwan, one of which had a website. I book-marked this for later. However, I did have a look at my normal ordering source, Camera Film photo in Hong Kong. Their Harmon page now shows the new film in 35 mm and 120 rolls. I reached for the order button immediately. I also added a few rolls of black-and-white films because the film boxes in my fridge are running low. I will report on the Azure film when it arrives.
Delivery only took two days and the films were in my hands late Thursday afternoon. As my film magazines are all full (the Hasselblad has live-swappable containers), I realized I would have to take a dozen photographs before I could load up the Azure so made a special effort. By the time I took the BTS train from Bang Wa, I had completed the roll (Ilford HP5). I loaded up the Azure, taking the first shot in a relatively dim Siam station, just to see how the ISO 125 film coped with the poorer light conditions. I took three or four more shots round Chidlom BTS station on the walkway there for comparison with other shots I had taken, then completed the roll on the way to the film shop in Siam Square Soi 2.
Several early reviews about the devices that Apple announced last week are appearing online. The MacBook Neo is one of the stars of the show and orders so far are fairly encouraging. So were reviews (see below). The M4 iPad Air has also caused a stir, particularly for those updating from the M1 version. Om Malik who like me uses the M4 iPad Pro, will take some 4 weeks to examine this new iteration carefully. He has some useful early comments, however, he notes that the speed increase is not much compared with the iPad Air with the M3 chip, but those coming from the M1 version will see much improvement.
The number of positive reports on the Macbook Neo suggest that, once again, Apple has found the sweet spot here. Remember, for example, how tablet computers were to be the next big thing, although sales were fairly low. Then in 2010 Apple announced the iPad and many, including some who had never owned computing device before lined up when the device went on sale. Many people, including myself, thought of the iPad as a way to consume text and other media, as well as producing some writing. I thought this was cemented when Apple signed a deal with Murdoch and The Daily appeared, but like other news organizations they could not lose the shackles of paper-based news. Eventually The Daily died. By that time, developers had begun to produce new types of apps for the iPad: music creation, tools to teach music, apps for the deaf, photo-editing and image creation apps. Phil Schiller once said that the range of apps that appeared surprised even the teams at Apple.
I ran the presentation video for the iPad (and for the iPhone) this week as I plan to use these in teaching units for University library staff, who need to build confidence when making comments in English during seminars. I will start with the iPhone introduction as part of the way to show my familiarity with the content will be to say, "I was there. . .". Comparisons were made between the new device and other phones current at that time to show what was missing, especially with regard to the keyboard. From reported comments in the tech press, particularly from Microsoft fanboys, they clearly did not understand the tectonic shift that the software keyboard on the iPhone introduced. That was a hard lesson for some, particularly Blackberry and Microsoft.
iPad introduction - YouTube screenshot
Similarly, comparisons between other current devices were made in the slides that preceded the drop-down of the iPad (exactly 9 minutes into the original presentation). Most notable was the put down of the netbook. The MacBook Neo seems poised to dent the market for the Chromebook as it does not need an internet connection to work and apps are installed on the device, not in the cloud. The CEO of Asus, S.Y. Hsu, recognizes the significance of the new Apple device, coming out early. He praised the quality at the price Apple is selling it for, but questions the "productivity firepower" Marcus Mendes (9to5Mac): "He pointed to the laptop's 8GB of "unified memory," or what amounts to its RAM, and how customers can't upgrade it". I think he forgot Apple silicon which, even as far back as the iPhone 6 had similar power to a Mac Book Air. And now, the A18 Pro chip has more power than some of the first Macs with M1 chips. As a reminder, the A18 first appeared in the iPhone 16 series and I could edit 4K video on my iPhone 15 Pro (A17 Pro). I can also do this on my iPad mini that has the A15 Bionic chip (I checked Sunday morning) so the MacBook Neo should manage that just fine.
As I have been looking through the early reports, I have been increasingly impressed by what is possible. Marcus Mendes (again) reports on a photographer who decided to throw everything he could at the MacBook Neo. The report outlines a video from Tyler Stalman, a photographer. To start with, he opened every app on the Mac, something I remember doing with the first OS X computers I had. To be fair, they are open, but are not drawing much (if any) power when not in use. He follows that by running a 4k video in Final Cut Pro with no effect on playback smoothness. Then, "[he] throws increasingly demanding tasks and workflows, and it takes him a while to finally get the MacBook Neo to struggle." This suggests that the target user group is not likely to see any faltering in daily use; and this pretty much answers the reservations of S.Y. Hsu.
Also picking up on Tyler Stallman, John Voorhees (MacStories) links to other reviews: Marques Brownlee, Chance Miller, Jason Snell, and Antonio Di Benedetto. Brownlee likes it but marked it down because of "its lower-quality display and constrained memory" although the device is not intended for such high end use. Voorhees included a couple of comments from Chance Miller who, like Stallman ended up with several tabs and apps open without any effect on the MacBook Neo. Jason Snell is cited for his comparison of the Neo to the MacBook Pro and notes that its performance is more than adequate, but in use who would guess it runs an iPhone chip? Di Benedetto also cites its performance, noting that this, with its price is going to attract a lot of students and first-time buyers. And some older users.
By this time I am having some second thoughts. Last week the M5 MacBook Air was top of my list. The MacBook Neo has now replaced that, although (and this might save me) these are not yet available here at this time. The 19,900 baht price (including 7% VAT) is reasonable, but I also priced out the Magic Keyboard with TouchID and additional storage (512GB) for 22,900 baht. As a note, Jack Rossignol (MacRumors) reports that, as a first for Apple, the keyboard is easily replaced if a repair is needed. Other reports note how easy the device is to strip down and repair. A later report from Juli Clover outlines the tear down by iFixit and includes their video. They note the lack of battery adhesive - perhaps preparation for changes in EU law - and add, "We haven't been as happy about a MacBook since 2012."
I also looked through a number of other useful reviews. Om Malik uses the words, "cute" and "want" which seem spot on for me. He recognizes that Apple is going after users of Windows and Chromebooks, referencing earlier comments and the "fortuitous" timing with "Microsoft's ham-fisted approach to grafting Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Windows 11 [which] has been an unmitigated disaster." With the price, as others have noted, this has some legs. A few days later, and after 4 days working with the MacBook Neo, Malik seems delighted. Not so much with the cuteness (that is still valid) but the usability of the new device. He comments that for so many reviewers, "The spec sheet becomes the thing. The benchmark becomes the measure" adding, "somewhere in all that maximization, the person using the machine disappears." After other somewhat philosophical comments - worth reading - he writes, "in this era of soulless hyper-capitalism, for a brief second, we can smile and experience the essence of a machine."
Apple does this from time to time. An obvious shift was when Apple silicon was announced. As soon as I was able, I bought the M1 MacBook Pro and that still works well for me. The M1 iPad Pro was a major step forward and I was ready for the M3 version, but Apple announced the M4 instead. I ordered that immediately. Similarly, I did have a M1 Mac mini, but the announcement of the M4 Mac mini, had me placing an order as soon as it was available here. The MacBook Neo seems also to be one of those steps that will have me reaching for the order button as soon as that goes live here.
Writing enthusiastically about the MacBook Neo, John Gruber a long-time Apple supporter who does express some contrary opinions from time to time, clearly loves this, with one or two minor drawbacks. Devindra Hardawar (Engadget) is not sure quite how Apple did this at the price, but clearly thinks the MacBook Neo is a winner. He is convinced that it will "peel away Windows users" noting the compromises that were made in its development, but these show more what Apple's target audience is. Like Gruber, he also comments positively on the new trackpad and the way the A18 chip surprised him in several ways with its performance. Andrew Freeman at Tom's Hardware calls it "a budget-priced game-changer." As befits this site, there is some good analysis, backed up by experience and numbers. As many others have done, he notes that "For most people doing most things - web browsing, sending emails, writing papers, shopping, even light photo editing - the MacBook Neo will do just fine."
I am not sure what is happening to Netflix at the moment, or maybe it is the other services that are making adjustments, including Apple TV which, in America at least, is sharing some of the Formula One programs. A series that I have longed to watch for ages has appeared on Netflix here: The Man in the High Castle, an alternative view of US history. That was followed this week by Dynasty, the story that surrounds the Murdoch family, or at least the bits that are public. The family did not take part in this. I would actually prefer the fictional Succession but, like Game of Thrones and its spin-offs, I doubt if that will be available on Netflix.
We also can expect the Peaky Blinders movie (just under 2 hours) to be arriving 20 March. I finished the most recent season of Formula One: Drive to Survive this week, timed perfectly for the start of the 2026 season and the anger in some quarters regarding new engine regulations. I was pleased to see newcomers Cadillac complete the first race. Even though one car failed to make the end, important data was collected. In the second race, the Chinese Grand Prix, both cars finished, so more useful data was collected. They did better than several of the regular teams, particularly McLaren and Aston Martin. Adrian Newey has apparently upset Honda with comments made before the race. This may not end well.
AppleTV just finished Drops of God this week. I think that after 2 series and with the loose ends more or less dealt with, that is a good time to end. Some series are pushed past their shelf life. Silo does not fall into that category and I am looking forward to the arrival of series 3 supposedly later in the summer. Series 4, which will be the final series, has just completed filming Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac). Marcus Mendes reports that Jeff Daniels will join the cast of The Morning Show for its 5th Season. As Mendes reminds us, Daniels played the forceful newsreader, Will McAvoy, in The Newsroom, but this time he plays a wealthy investor. A perfect disruptor. Is this Art mirroring Life again? Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac) reports on 5 upcoming releases from Apple: Imperfect Women, For all Mankind (Season 5), Your Friends and Neighbors, Outcome, and Margo's got Money Troubles. It will take the arrival of Silo, Foundation or Invasion to pry me away from The Man in the High Castle at the moment. Foundation has been renewed for a 4th series, but there is no news on when it might arrive. Invasion appears not to be continuing after Series 3.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader. No AI was used in writing this item.
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