Apple Magazine №551 2022

["which raised eyebrows but also reignited the spark for Apple computers, and a successful launch of the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max, which gave experts the confidence to return to macOS full-time. Next up is the MacBook Air, and Apple is readying the release of a redesigned range of entry-level computers inspired by the iMac\u2019s all-new design language. Ever since Apple launched the new 24-inch iMac with its colorful design, the rumor- mill has been in overdrive in regards to the MacBook Air. Ross Young and Ming-Chi Kuo have both suggested that Apple has been working on a new-look device and though both first thought that the firm would add a miniLED display to the notebook, it\u2019s now thought that it\u2019ll feature an LCD panel and a redesign with white bezels and colorful options, similar to the new iMac. Apple reportedly wants to right the wrongs of some of its recent MacBook design changes; for example, it removed the highly- controversial Touch Bar from the high-end MacBook Pro models and bought back popular features like ports and MagSafe charging. The same is expected on the MacBook Air, though it\u2019s unlikely we\u2019ll see the same number of ports as we do on the new MacBook Pro, with experts suggesting two Thunderbolt ports - one on each side - as well as an all-new M2 chip. The company has already confirmed it won\u2019t introduce another M1-series chip, paving the way for the transition to M2 to begin. It\u2019s thought that the new chip will be faster than the base model M1 chip, but not quite as powerful 51","52","53","as successors like the M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra, making it the ideal choice for day- to-day computing. It\u2019s thought that the new M2 chip, which has been codenamed Staten inside Apple HQ, will be based on the A15 chip and feature an eight-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, unlocking a whole host of possibilities for users who want a speedy laptop without the bulk of the Pro. Other features expected to be added to the new MacBook Air include a 1080p FaceTime camera, and perhaps improved battery life thanks to better efficiency with the M2 chip. It\u2019s also possible that Apple could add some unexpected features to the MacBook Air such as Face ID, though these features could be reserved for the high-end models. It\u2019s also been suggested Apple could drop the Air 54","tag entirely and label the new range simply \u2018MacBook\u2019 to simplify the Mac range, though this is pure speculation. TESTING BEGINS ON NEW MACS With so many insiders leaking information, it\u2019s almost impossible for Apple to announce a new Mac that hasn\u2019t been endlessly teased or speculated about online. The features we\u2019ve outlined above are more than likely to be included in the 2022 MacBook Air, and what\u2019s perhaps most interesting is that Apple is also working on a number of other MacBook models. According to a report by MacRumors, first shared by the Apple insiders and specialists at Bloomberg, Apple is working on new devices with M2 chips across the board, and then will follow on 55","56","Image: Ian 57","with M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra chips in due course. According to the report, Apple is already testing the new MacBook Air with an M2 chip that features an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, as well as a Mac mini with the M2 chip and a variant with the M2 Pro chip. An entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 chip is also reportedly being tested ahead of a release later this year, and preliminary testing has begun on 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. The M2 Max chip features a 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU, along with 64GB of memory, though it\u2019s unlikely that these will be released in 2022, and instead next year. Apple is also working on a Mac Pro that will include a successor to the M1 Ultra used in the Mac Studio, likely to be released later this year. Apple could even decide to announce the new MacBook Air at its upcoming WWDC event to tease M2, and then show off some of the possibilities of combining two M2 chips into the M2 Ultra and offering an insight into the Mac Pro. The company began teasing the Pro device at its March event with a \u2018one more thing\u2026\u2019 label, suggesting the model would be released in the coming months. Bloomberg has suggested that the internal testing at Apple Campus serves as a \u201ckey step\u201d in the development process, and signals that the machines could be coming in the months ahead. What\u2019s perhaps most interesting is that virtually every product on Apple\u2019s Mac lineup is currently in development, suggesting a far more aggressive approach to MacBook and iMac 58","Image: Kenny Eliason 59","60","61","releases in the years ahead, keeping Apple at the cutting edge of computing. We\u2019ve also recently seen the release of the Mac Studio and Studio Display, and Apple is reportedly planning a new 27-inch iMac Pro in the years to come with more advanced features, though many see the new Mac Studio as the successor to the 27-inch model, offering flexibility and allowing users to change out their desktop machine and hold onto their display, cutting costs. 62","63","64","However you use your Mac, and whichever model you prefer, it\u2019s hard to imagine a better time to be involved with the Apple ecosystem. Cutting-edge hardware allows users to rely on their devices and become more productive, whilst features like Project Catalyst, allowing iOS developers to port more of their applications over to the Mac is unlocking more opportunities. The future is incredibly bright for the Mac, and we can\u2019t wait to see what Apple drops next. Image: Hussam Abd 65","","","68","A BEZOS-BIDEN SQUABBLE: CAN CORPORATE TAXES TAME INFLATION? 69","Jeff Bezos this weekend became the latest centibillionaire to launch a political fight on Twitter by denouncing a tweet from President Joe Biden about corporate taxes as \u201cdisinformation\u201d and \u201cmisdirection.\u201d The White House quickly retorted Monday that Bezos \u201copposes an economic agenda for the middle class.\u201d And then Bezos fired back, arguing that the Biden administration would have made inflation worse if its $3.5 trillion economic and social spending bill, known as \u201cBuild Back Better,\u201d had made it into law. \u201cThey failed, but if they had succeeded, inflation would be even higher than it is today, and inflation today is at a 40 year high,\u201dBezos tweeted. The dispute marks an unusually high-profile one for Bezos, who has generally sought to avoid political fights in public. Bezos is the second- wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $150 billion, behind Elon Musk, whose wealth has reached $268 billion. Musk, the Tesla founder who is seeking to purchase Twitter, has frequently used the social media platform to attack his perceived critics and to pick fights about free speech. The spat began on Friday, when Biden\u2019s account tweeted: \u201cYou want to bring down inflation? Let\u2019s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.\u201d Biden has often accused Amazon, the ecommerce giant that Bezos founded and led for nearly a quarter-century, of failing to pay its fair share in taxes. In 2017 and 2018, Amazon paid no income tax despite earning billions in profits. Since then, the company has made modest tax payments. 70","71","72","\u201cRaising corp taxes is fine to discuss,\u201d Bezos tweeted in response. \u201cTaming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection.\u201d On the actual policy question \u2014 whether raising corporate income taxes would in fact restrain inflation \u2014 most economists give Biden the edge, with a caveat. Larry Summers, a Harvard economist who served as Treasury secretary during the Clinton administration, tweeted, \u201cI think Jeff Bezos is mostly wrong in his recent attack\u201d on the Biden administration. \u201cIt is perfectly reasonable to believe, as I do,\u201d Summers added, \u201cthat we should raise taxes to reduce demand to contain inflation and that the increases should be as progressive as possible.\u201d Indeed, raising corporate taxes would reduce corporate spending, lowering overall demand \u201cand put downward pressure on prices,\u201d said Michael Strain, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Still, Strain and other economists caution that it would take many months for any rate increase to have much impact, and even then, would not reduce inflation by much. \u201cOf all the things I would do to rein in inflation, the corporate income tax is a long way down the list,\u201d added Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust, an asset management firm in Chicago. Alan Auerbach, an economist and tax expert at the University of California, Berkeley, suggested that Bezos has a point when it comes to the longer-run impact of higher corporate taxes. 73","A higher corporate income tax would leave companies with less money to invest in extra capacity, Auerbach said. Over time, this financial burden would increase their production costs. \u201cIn the long run, it would be true that you\u2019d expect prices to be higher as a result of a higher corporate tax,\u201d Auerbach said. Neither the White House nor Bezos mentioned one curious backdrop to their dispute: A year ago, Bezos endorsed a Biden proposal to raise the corporate income tax rate to pay for more infrastructure investment. \u201cWe recognize this investment will require concessions from all sides \u2014 both on the specifics of what\u2019s included as well as how it gets paid for (we\u2019re supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate),\u201d Bezos wrote on Amazon\u2019s website in April 2021. 74","75","","","BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO RELEASE $45B FOR NATIONWIDE INTERNET The Biden administration is taking the first steps to release $45 billion to ensure that every U.S. resident has access to high-speed internet by roughly 2028, inviting governors and other leaders to start the application process. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is overseeing the distribution and said that universal access to broadband internet would be akin to the electrification of rural America during the 1930s, a recognition that the internet is a utility needed for U.S. residents to function in today\u2019s economy. \u201cThere\u2019s more than 30 million Americans who don\u2019t have internet,\u201d Raimondo said. \u201cAnd in this day and age without high-speed internet, you can\u2019t go to school, can\u2019t go to the doctor, can\u2019t 78","79","80","do simple things. Think of how many times in a day you Google something or go online.\u201d The funding is part of the $65 billion for broadband in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President Joe Biden signed into law last November. That bipartisan package is one of the policy achievements that the Democratic president is trying to sell to voters ahead of the midterm elections, though it\u2019s unclear how much the message will resonate when much of the country is focused on high inflation, cultural differences and political identity. Former President Donald Trump has dismissed the infrastructure spending as \u201cfake\u201d even though the broadband spending was one of his own priorities. His Agriculture Department said in 2020 that it had invested $744 million on rural internet connectivity, a sum that was meaningful yet insufficient. Raimondo is traveling to Durham, North Carolina. She\u2019ll announce that governors can send their letters of intent to receive the broadband money, which comes from three programs totaling $45 billion. Each state would then get $5 million to help it consult with residents and write its plan. The Commerce Department recognizes that internet needs vary by state. The money could be used to lay fiber optic cable, build out Wi-Fi hotspots or even reduce monthly charges in places where price is the main challenge. After the administration\u2019s announcement that it would provide a $30 monthly subsidy to low-income households, Raimondo noted that states could use the additional money from these programs to make the service free to some users. 81","The allocations would also be influenced by the Federal Communications Commission this fall releasing new maps that detail where people lack internet service or are underserved. Governors and other leaders would then have six months to use this data to shape their final applications. States and eligible areas are guaranteed a minimum of $100 million, though the average payment would be closer to $800 million, according to rough estimates from the Commerce Department. The goal is to have states lay out a five-year timeline to provide full internet access, while ensuring affordable internet access and promoting competition among providers. The federal government has not defined what qualifies as affordable, since that could be different around the country based on cost of living. The commerce secretary said she seen the impact that universal internet availability could have on people in her travels. She said she spoke to a widower in rural South Carolina whose late wife could only see a doctor regularly through telehealth, but they lacked a high-speed connection. Raimondo talked to a college student in Atlanta with a full-time job who had to drive back to campus for the internet to do her homework, leaving the student so exhausted that she fell asleep at the wheel and got into two auto crashes. \u201cYou close the digital divide and close the opportunity divide,\u201d Raimondo said, \u201cand we actually fulfill the American promise of giving everybody a shot at a good job, an education and health care.\u201d 82","83","","","Image: Shelley Mays 86","NISSAN MULLING THIRD AUTO PLANT IN THE US TO MEET EV DEMAND Nissan is considering adding a new auto plant in the U.S. to keep up with growing demand for electric vehicles, a top executive at the Japanese automaker said. \u201cIt may not be a surprise that we go for a third plant,\u201d Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters at Yokohama headquarters. Nissan Motor Co. now has two auto plants in the U.S. One in Canton, Mississippi makes the Titan pickup truck and Altima sedan, among other models. The other in Smyrna, Tennessee makes the Leaf electric car, Pathfinder sport utility vehicle and other models. 87","88","89","Image: Shelley Mays 90","Each of the plants employs thousands of workers and has produced millions of Nissan vehicles. The third plant would not just be an added assembly line to an existing plant but a totally new facility, although it may be built as an extension of an existing plant, Gupta said. That would add several thousand jobs in the area, although its realization would be some years down the road. \u201cThe importance of localization will increase year on year,\u201d Gupta said. Depending on the region, customers may receive incentives for buying electric vehicles, and the fluctuating foreign exchange rate may also make localized production more desirable, according to Gupta. His comments come a day after Nissan reported profitability for the first time in three fiscal years, despite challenges in the overall auto industry stemming from a shortage of chips because of restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Nissan, allied with Renault SA of France, recorded a profit of 215.5 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the fiscal year through March, a reversal from the 448.7 billion yen loss the previous fiscal year. Gupta\u2019s comments also reflect a growing shift toward ecological vehicles to support sustainable forms of energy and transportation amid worries about climate change. Gupta said Nissan, as an alliance partner, would support Renault in its recently floated idea to possibly spin off its electric vehicle division. But he made clear Nissan would not take similar action. 91","\u201cIt\u2019s too early to say we go in one direction,\u201d he said. Nissan\u2019s products were more diversified because it had the key markets of China and North America in addition to Japan and Europe, he said. Gupta declined to comment on what might be desirable for the future leadership at Nissan, stressing that special company committees were charged with that task. Nissan has focused on strengthening its corporate governance after Carlos Ghosn, who led Nissan for two decades, was arrested on criminal charges in 2018. Ghosn says he is innocent. He jumped bail and fled to Lebanon, the nation of his ancestry. Takaki Nakanishi, an auto analyst with Jefferies, said Nissan\u2019s financial results were within expectations, but he thought its target of selling 4 million vehicles this fiscal year was conservative. \u201cThere is opportunity for upside in volume, in our view,\u201d he said in a report. 92","93","","","96","MUSK WARS WITH TWITTER OVER HIS BUYOUT DEAL - ON TWITTER Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised that taking over Twitter would enable him to rid the social media platform of its annoying\u201cspam bots.\u201dNow he\u2019s arguing \u2014 without presenting any evidence \u2014 that there might be just too many of those automated accounts for the $44 billion deal to move ahead. The sharp turnaround by the world\u2019s richest man makes little sense except as a method to scuttle or renegotiate a deal that\u2019s becoming increasingly costly for him, experts said. And while such 97","hardball tactics aren\u2019t uncommon in corporate mergers, the way this is playing out \u2014 in a highly public, seemingly erratic conversation on the very platform Musk wants to buy \u2014 has little precedent. Which means that Musk is negotiating the future of Twitter ... on Twitter. It\u2019s increasingly clear that Musk realizes his offer was too high and is looking for a way\u201cto potentially walk away or negotiate the price down,\u201dsaid Brian Quinn, an associate law professor at Boston College. Early Tuesday, Musk tweeted that his deal to buy the company can\u2019t\u201cmove forward\u201dunless the company shows public proof that fewer than 5% of the accounts on the social media platform are fake or spam bots. That followed Musk\u2019s tweet that the deal was on hold pending more bot details \u2014 after which Twitter shares plunged by nearly 10% \u2014 and his Monday comments at a Miami conference suggesting he wanted a lower price for the company. Experts say Musk can\u2019t unilaterally place the deal on hold, although that hasn\u2019t stopped him from acting as though he can. If he walks away, he could be on the hook for a $1 billion breakup fee. Musk also spent much in a Twitter back-and-forth with Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who posted a series of tweets explaining his company\u2019s effort to fight bots and how it has consistently estimated that less than 5% of Twitter accounts are fake. In one tweet, Musk responded with a poop emoji. Twitter has disclosed its bot estimates to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for years, while also cautioning that its estimate might be too low. 98","99","100"]