Apple's week March 28: glass everywhere

Another week down, and there's so much going on in the world that I'm having trouble concentrating on tech. Though there are some tidbits worth discussing.

Apple might finally put ProMotion-level displays in the standard iPhone 17 models, but I'm not sure that means 120Hz. My bet is that Apple defines ProMotion as variable refresh rate and limits the non-Pro models to 90Hz.

It's still good news. ProMotion should mean that the iPhone will be able to move between 1Hz and 90Hz based on what is shown on the display. That means always-on, which also means a better StandBy experience.

I know it's silly for Apple to keep 120Hz from non-Pro customers, but there's no reason for always-on not to reach everyone. It would be a great update that would make StandBy more standard.

Apple Watch upgrades

Apple seemingly abandoned the plastic Apple Watch. It makes sense considering Apple still fights for premium status, even at the low end. Apple Watch SE is still a great buy, even with rumors of a gen-3 model on the way.

I'm not so sure about rumors around a camera in the Apple Watch or AirPods. It seems as if they've got a real photographic camera confused with light sensors. Whatever they'll be used for, it won't be capturing videos or photos.

WWDC 2025

It seems Apple will reveal the usual updates on June 9, but there's a lot of debate around what exactly is expected for them. Rumors suggest a full redesign, but how full remains up for debate.

Jon Prosser burned whatever trust I had in his leaks back when he was discussing an iPhone 5 retro update, a flat-sided Apple Watch, and Steve Jobs heritage edition Apple Glasses. He's back with rumors and mockups depicting glassy iOS 19 features.

Mark Gurman has said Prosser's assessment that these upgrades are minimal is wrong, that Apple has something much more extensive planned. It's hard to say what that means, exactly, but I still doubt it means that the Home Screen will have circular icons.

The mockups offered by Prosser show what seems to be the overall updates across the operating systems. Apps will get reflective, glassy surfaces with shiny edges that catch light. Beyond that, it's not clear what Apple will do about new iOS upgrades.

visionOS can provide some clues, but it is built around 3D space. It'll be interesting to see how far Apple is willing to push its operating systems to be closer to Apple Vision Pro's interaction paradigm, but for two-dimensional displays.

Everything else

ChatGPT got an update that the internet went wild over. A very popular trend evolved around posting images of yourself or family that had been transformed into Ghibli-like art.

I'll start by saying I don't care if you decided to use AI to make Ghibli imitation images. The art was already stolen, and there was no stopping people from doing it.

I just wish more people realized that it wasn't in good fun. That Miyazaki thought that AI was an insult to life itself. It was just soulless and empty copies of the real thing.

It really doesn't bother me that people used ChatGPT to make silly images. It's just annoying that they did so without knowing what an insult it is to the art form, or knowing but being indifferent to it.

Remember, everyone is a loser in the AI race.

There's not much else going on in the world of tech beyond the usual rumors and leaks. It seems everyone is holding their breath for June and WWDC.

AppleInsider shared renders of a foldable MacBook this week. I know there are a lot of rumors and patents around such a device, but I wonder how relevant foldables will be when near-infinite screen space on a display in front of your eyes is available.

Be sure to listen to the latest AppleInsider Podcast where William and I talk WWDC and redesign rumors.

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