The last full month of summer is now in full swing, and the vacation season will soon give way to new Apple products as the kids go back to school. Our Tuesday Morning Report has some insight on what to expect, including details on the latest OS builds, transitioning from Aperture and speculation on the future of Intel-powered Macs. It’s all just a click away!
Apple Releases Fifth Betas of iOS 8, OS X Yosemite
iOS and Mac developers greeted the first week of August with fresh new beta operating system builds from Apple on Monday. According to MacRumors, iOS 8 Beta 5 continues Cupertino’s refinement of the software powering the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with a new Spirometry data option for the built-in Health app, which tracks the volume and flow of air while inhaling or exhaling. iCloud Photos now includes a setting to keep device-optimized or full-resolution images, while the keyboard gains a toggle to turn on Predictive text. Last but not least, SMS Relay has also been activated as part of the new Continuity features between iOS and Mac.
Likewise, OS X Yosemite Beta 5 gains a number of smaller visual tweaks, including a “slightly redesigned” top bar on System Preferences, new download progress bar for Launchpad, an updated look for volume and brightness controls, a slightly more transparent look for Calculator and a new Safari setting that allows users to display the full website address instead. The builds are limited to developers, but with iOS 8 expected next month and OS X Yosemite rumored for October, it’s just a matter of time until the software touches down on users’ devices and computers.
Adobe Publishes Guide on Moving from Aperture to Lightroom
Speaking of OS X Yosemite, Apple has already made it clear that iPhoto and Aperture are being put out to pasture with the arrival of a new Photos app for Mac early next year, so Adobe is doing everything it can to get shutterbugs to make the move to Lightroom, including publishing a handy guide on how to make the jump.
Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photography plan includes Lightroom for desktop and mobile as well as the more robust Photoshop CC for only $9.99 per month with a free 30-day trial available. Adobe has confirmed the company is working on a tool to migrate from Aperture to Lightroom, but in the meantime has posted an extensive PDF guide for properly exporting original images from Apple’s software, then importing them into Lightroom — including a list of metadata and other information that won’t make the transition, at least for now.
Could It Soon Be Curtains for Intel-Powered Macs?
By all accounts, Apple appears to be gearing up for an eventual switch away from Intel-powered Macs, much in the same way the company abandoned Motorola’s PowerPC platform. Former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée appears to agree, suggesting the Mac maker could switch to some kind of “homegrown” ARM-based processor, not unlike the 64-bit A7 chip that currently powers iPhone 5s and iPad Air. Cost and power usage would be among the chief reasons to make such a change, which was forecast by the late Steve Jobs years ago: “I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do.”
The most obvious reason for the switch would be that Intel simply isn’t on the same road map as Apple: Case in point, recent rumors that upcoming Mac products are being held up by Intel’s tardy delivery of Broadwell processors, a delay that will surely ding the $20-billion-per-year market for Apple’s notebooks and desktops, at least temporarily.
“By moving to ARM, Apple could continue to increase its PC market share and scoop much of the profits — it currently rakes in about half of the money made by PC makers,” Gassée concludes. “And it could do this while catering to its customers in the Affordable Luxury segment who like owning both an iPad and a Mac.”
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