eXtensions - Wednesday 20 August 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Updates to hardware and operating systems: rumors abound concerning new Macs and iPads. UK drops its demands for a backdoor after US pressure. A patent for heat control. A workaround for the Watch blood-oxygen content feature.
As the end of the year approaches, we should be expecting several releases of Apple products. Of course, the next iPhone will be coming, probably in September, which is only a couple of weeks away. That will bring updates to all of the operating systems. As we have seen since WWDC in June, particularly with reporting about the beta releases, there are several changes to the various OS versions. Despite the extensive testing, some users will find problems, apart from the learning that will be needed for new interfacing and new features. I am most excited about the update to iPadOS as this is borrowing some features from the Mac.
Examples include file displays and organization, and a proper version of Preview for the iPad. I use the current Files app on the iPad Pro a lot, particularly when examining writing of others (students, academics) and this has considerable room for improvement.
As a note, D. Griffith Jones (Cult of Mac) has an article that outlines a number of ways that Preview on the Mac can be used. Not mentioned is the way I use it to split large PDFs - some of the documents I am sent are over 100 pages - with Copy and Paste. I copy the pages I want using the thumbnails, then create a new file from the clipboard: the command is at the top of the File menu in pages when content has been copied.
After the iPhone, we are also expecting other hardware releases: Macs and iPads. Watching online sources, it is clear that several models are likely to be updated as prices for current models are being cut, at least in the United States. One persistent rumor concerns a new low-price MacBook. The idea is that while the M-series chips can work in the iPad Pro, why not put a less powerful A-series chip in a Mac and reduce the price far below the normal base price of $999? Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac) is one of several who have looked at this possibility.
There is a slight surprise in the list of potential releases as Joe Rossignol (MacRumors) reports that there is some evidence to suggest that a Mac mini with M5 chips may be in the pipeline and I note that the current M4 version is being offered at a 14% disscount by Amazon in the USA right now (Gabriela Vatu, MacWorld). When the M4 Mac mini was announced, it was an obvious upgrade for me (from the M1 version) and I ordered one as soon as the doors (figuratively) opened in the online Apple Store here. I have not been disappointed at all. Others who ordered the M4 Pro chip have similarly been pleased. That would have been too much for my needs in the office at work: the M4 was just right for me.
Apple files several patents each year. Some of the ideas are not used immediately. Some may never be used. Some, like those from Project Titan, the car that Apple eventually cancelled, have been used in other devices, so that can recoup some of the costs. Heat has always been a problem, particularly with high end computing devices. The move to Intel processors was in part due to the realization that heat generated by the G5 chip would never allow a G5 notebook computer. Since I switched to Apple silicon in my MacBook Pro, I don't think I have heard the fan. With the previous Intel-equipped devices, it sounded like a 747 taking off at times, with me rushing to shut down applications that had the processors running at 100%. I do not miss that at all.
Apple must still consider heat is a problem as Jack Purcher (Patently Apple) reports that a patent was filed recently to make the Apple logo thermally conductive as part of a heat removal system. The logo could also change color so it would indicate a problem as well as being part of the solution. The article adds, "Beyond logos, Apple envisions similar thermal-conductive structures in other components" such as handles, and more. Although Apple's current computers are able to handle heat fairly well, and I do not really push my devices, future demands for high processing power, and particularly with graphics chips, may well need such solutions.
It is not totally surprising, but several sources are reporting that the UK has now dropped its excessive demands to be allowed access to encrypted iCloud data of all users. As this included the data of US citizens as well, Washington was unimpressed.
Apple initially responded - apart from declining to offer such a backdoor to British authorities - by removing Advanced Data Protection for UK users. After some negotiations the UK has now agreed to drop its demands. Lorenzo Francesco-Bicchierai (TechCrunch) has a fair summary of the events.
One of the ways rumors begin is when the code in an OS release is analyzed and references to a new device are spotted. I like rumors like this as there is at least a firm basis for the speculation. Filipe Esposito (MacWorld) reports on the possibility of a new Mac Pro with a "surprising" M4 Ultra chip. While there has been no release so far of such a chip, we are expecting some devices soon with the M5 chip, but Apple seems to be developing its chips in several stages, so M3, M4 and M5 versions could be in production at the same time. Each chip type would have different specifications and uses. Esposito does note that Apple has "previously tested chips that never reached the public", although this still has some possibility.
My own view here is that the Mac Pro, while it looks impressive, has become a bit of a dinosaur. The earlier attraction of its expandability and potential for easy upgrades, has diminished as specifications of most mother boards are fixed during initial manufacture. It is perhaps more economical to buy a fully-equipped Mac Studio, then upgrade with a new purchase if and when necessary. Some large projects, like editing a movie, have the cost of computers factored in. New movie, new computers.
In another similar posting, Filipe Esposito (MacWorld) reports on another finding of code that suggests Apple has been testing an M5 MacBook Pro with a 5G modem. The system shows the Centuari code name used for the C1 chip in the iPhone 16e. Whether this will have the same listing or will be called a C2 is not known at this time. Nor, of course, is it known if the next MacBook Pro will have the same M5 chip (somewhat likely) or the Centuar modem, but the code reveals some potential at least. However, William Gallagher (AppleInsider) takes this a little further and his comments regarding the different model identifier point towards a C2 modem.
Other rumors concern the chips that are expected to be in the next iPad mini and iPad. Roman Loyola (MacWorld) writes that the A19 Pro, the same chip used in the soon-to-be-released iPhone 17 Pro, could well be in the iPad mini, which would be quite an upgrade for this small device (it currently has the A17 Pro). The standard iPad which uses the A16 chip now, will be updated with the A18 chip which allows use of Apple Intelligence. When these devices will be released is not known.
One of the checks I make each morning, after checking temperature, weight and other readings, is my blood-oxygen levels using the Apple Watch. Because I can. For legal reasons, when Apple was forced to drop this feature for Apple Watch users in the USA, those of us outside were not affected.
While the ban still applies in the USA, Apple has apparently managed to develop a court-approved workaround and the feature is available once more, Jack Purcher of Patently Apple explains. After an update to the iPhone and the Watch (11.6.1) a user will be able to run the process and check the reading on the iPhone. The article mentions that this applies only to the Watch in the USA so the rest of us can carry on as normal.
I checked and both the iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 updates were available here as well, although there were no updates for the iPad. Once the iPhone was updated, I put the Watch on the charger and started the upload process for that.
There is now, however, a rumor that there may be a release of iOS 18.6.2 in the near (or immediate) future, Ryan Christoffel (9to5Mac) reports. There is no information on an iPadOS release, although, if this is real, that could happen as there was no release for the iPad last week when iOS 18.6.1 appeared. This was also reported by Joe Rossignol (MacRumors). On other updates, it is widely reported that Beta 7 versions of the various 26 OS versions have been sent to developers as the time approaches for new versions of all operating systems to be released.
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.
For further information, e-mail to
Back to
eXtensions
Back to
Home Page