It’s a short Apple World Today News Update podcast today. Here’s what we have for our listeners:
- We’ll be hosting a special pre-eclipse episode of the live AWT TV show tonight starting at 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET. Be sure to join Steve & Marty as they get you ready to observe an amazing celestial event
- Developer and Public Beta 6 of all of Apple’s operating systems were released today
- Swift inventor Chris Lattner is now working on Google’s AI project
- Inventec says that supplies of the Apple HomePod will be constrained in December
The text version of the podcast can be read below. To listen to the podcast here, click the play button on the player below. Apple News readers need to visit Apple World Today in order to listen to the podcast.
Text Version
This is Steve Sande for Apple World Today, and you’re listening to the AWT News Update for August 14th, 2017.
One week from today millions of Americans will be able to see a total solar eclipse. Be sure to watch the live AWT TV show tonight as we discuss the eclipse, review apps that can help you get the best view of the eclipse, and viewing and photography techniques. The show starts at 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET on the AWT YouTube channel, which can be found at https://youtube.com/c/appleworldtoday
It’s getting pretty obvious that Apple’s nearing the release of the next versions of all of its operating systems. Today, the company released the sixth developer and public betas of iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, tvOS 11 and watchOS 4. In the past few years, there have been only seven or eight released betas prior to the Golden Master — that’s the version of each operating system that goes into general release. Several of the changes to iOS 11 were rather minor. For example, the Maps app icon now shows Apple Park rather than 1 Infinite Loop, and there’s a new stylized App Store icon. Apple is expected to release iOS 11 alongside the next generation of iPhones, and we’re anticipating an Apple event sometime in the first two weeks of September. Only a month to go!
It is getting quite common for Apple employees to go to work for Google and vice-versa; after all, those companies hire some of the best tech minds in the world and they’re located in the same area. Today’s big employee swap is interesting only because of the person who has left Apple to join Google. That’s Chris Lattner, who is best known for developing the Swift programming language while at the fruit company. He’s now part of the Google Brain AI program, having worked for a few months at car maker Tesla in the interim. Lattner announced his new job on Twitter, sending out a note that said “I’m super excited to join Google Brain next week: AI can’t democratize itself (yet?) so I’ll help make it more accessible to everyone!”
Considering camping out in front of your favorite Apple retail facility in December in order to be one of the first to get a HomePod? Apple’s supplier for the device — Inventec — reported that the device will have little impact on the company’s finances as there will be product constraints at launch. The remarks were made by Inventec CEO David Ho, who confirmed that the device would ship to Apple in its fourth fiscal quarter, but with tight constraints. It’s expected that only a half-million units of the new $349 smart speaker will ship in 2017, and rumors have it that some production may shift to Apple’s primary supplier — Foxconn — in 2018.
That’s all for today; I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon with another edition of the AWT News Update.
