Techmeme Ride Home - Detailed Summary Episode: Tue. 03/11 – Biggest Changes To iOS Since 2013
Release Date: March 11, 2025
Host: Brian McCullough

1. Major Overhaul of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS

Brian McCullough kicks off the episode by discussing rumored significant updates to Apple's operating systems. According to sources like Mark Gurman from Apple Scoop, Apple is preparing a substantial interface revamp for iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16.

• Quote:
  “The changes are coming as part of iOS 19 and iPadOS 19, codenamed Luck and macOS 16, which is dubbed Cheer. They go well beyond a new design language and aesthetic tweaks.”
  (Timestamp: 00:04)

These updates are inspired by Vision OS, aiming for a more unified and consistent design across Apple's ecosystem, simplifying navigation and enhancing user experience. This would be the most significant upgrade since iOS 7 in 2013 for the iPhone and would mark the biggest Mac OS revamp since Big Sur in 2020.

The overhaul is anticipated to be a highlight at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, potentially shifting focus away from Apple's challenging ventures into artificial intelligence. Notably, Apple has indefinitely delayed AI enhancements for Siri, as reported by Bloomberg News, putting their AI strategy in question.

Apple's strategy focuses on maintaining separate operating systems to encourage consumers to purchase multiple devices, rather than merging them. This approach contrasts with other tech giants who have opted for unified systems.

Vision OS introduces features like circular apps, simplified window management, translucent navigation panels, and enhanced 3D depth and shadows. However, due to the immersive nature of Vision Pro's hand gesture interface, certain elements won't translate directly to the 2D environments of iOS and macOS.

2. AI Chip Competition: Nvidia's Dominance Challenged

The podcast delves into the competitive landscape of AI chips, highlighting efforts by companies like Meta to develop in-house AI training chips, potentially undermining Nvidia's market lead.

• Quote:
  “But in the case of AI, it's the customers of the AI chips. Specifically Nvidia chips. It's those customers themselves that want to eat Nvidia's lunch or at least cut down on how much they're paying for lunch.”
  (Timestamp: 04:15)

Meta, aiming to reduce dependency on Nvidia, is testing its first in-house AI training chip. This move is part of a broader strategy to lower infrastructure costs amid heavy investments in AI-driven growth, with projected 2025 expenses between $114 billion and $119 billion, largely due to AI infrastructure.

The new training chip, a dedicated accelerator, offers greater power efficiency compared to traditional GPUs. Meta is collaborating with TSMC for production, having completed the initial tape out, a critical step in chip development. The company aims to implement these chips by 2026, enhancing their AI systems for both training and generative applications like Chatbot Meta AI.

Meanwhile, other competitors are targeting AI inference, the process where AI models make predictions based on training data. Barclays projects that inference-related capital expenditures (CapEx) will surpass training by 2026, reaching $208.2 billion. This surge is driven by the increasing demand for AI applications beyond chatbots, such as Xai's Grok.

Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras, emphasizes the growing opportunity in optimizing chips for inference over training:

• Quote:
  “Training makes AI and Inference uses AI,”
  (Timestamp: 06:45)

Vipul Ved Prakash, CEO and co-founder of Together AI, notes:

• Quote:
  “Running inference at scale will be the biggest workload on the Internet at some point.”
  (Timestamp: 07:20)

This shift presents a lucrative avenue for competitors to challenge Nvidia, especially as Morgan Stanley estimates that over 75% of US data center power and computational demands will center on inference in the near future.

3. AI-Powered Enhancements in Gaming: Sony's Prototype Aloy

Sony is reportedly developing an AI-enhanced version of Aloy, the protagonist from Horizon Forbidden West, enabling interactive voice communication with players.

• Quote:
  “We watched Raghobarjudal demonstrate an AI powered version of Aloy that can hold a conversation with a player through voice prompts during gameplay.”
  (Timestamp: 09:10)

An internal video shared with The Verge showcases Aloy's ability to engage in real-time conversations using a combination of OpenAI's Whisper for speech-to-text, GPT-4 and Llama3 for conversational AI, Sony's Emotional Voice Synthesis (EVS) for voice generation, and Mockingbird technology for facial animations.

Sharwin Raghobarjedal, Director of Software Engineering at Sony Interactive Entertainment, explains that while the demo runs on a PC, it has also been tested on PS5 consoles with minimal performance impact. The technology, initially showcased internally a year ago, represents a glimpse into the future of interactive gaming experiences.

4. AI Search Engines Under Scrutiny: High Error Rates Detected

A recent study reveals significant inaccuracies among AI search engines, with over 60% of queries resulting in incorrect or poorly cited responses.

• Quote:
  “A study of eight AI search engines found they provided incorrect citations of news articles and more than 60% of queries.”
  (Timestamp: 13:30)

Grok3 demonstrated the highest error rate, incorrectly answering 94% of queries, while others like ChatGPT also showed substantial inaccuracies without adequately signaling uncertainty. Unlike Copilot, which declined more questions, most AI tools failed to use hedging phrases or acknowledge knowledge gaps, leading to misinformation.

Columbia Journalism Review highlighted these findings, emphasizing the need for AI search engines to improve accuracy and reliability, especially as users increasingly depend on them for information retrieval.

5. Decline in the Global Smartwatch Market

The global smartwatch market experienced its first decline, with shipments falling 7% year-over-year in 2024. Notably, Apple saw a 19% drop, while companies like Huawei and Xiaomi grew by 35% and 135% respectively.

• Quote:
  “Apple Watch witnessed a decline in momentum on its 10th anniversary despite the launch of the S10 series.”
  (Timestamp: 14:50)

Anishka Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, attributes Apple's decline to the lack of significant feature upgrades and the absence of the Ultra 3 model, particularly in the North American market. Additionally, patent disputes and the stagnation of the Apple Watch SE lineup contributed to reduced shipments.

Conversely, the Kids Smartwatch segment showed growth, driven by parental concerns over child safety and connectivity. Brands like EMU, Noise Boat, and Google's Fitbit expanded their offerings to include children's smartwatches, indicating market diversification and future growth potential.

6. Review and Insights on the New Mac Studio

The episode concludes with a review of the latest Mac Studio featuring the M4 chip, bypassing the new MacBook Air with the M4 chip due to perceived similarities with previous models.

• Quote:
  “The Mac Studio is a fascinating product. For less than the cost of just a Xeon or Threadripper workstation processor, you can get a fully functioning macOS machine with some serious horsepower under the hood.”
  (Timestamp: 16:20)

Tom's Hardware praises the Mac Studio for its impressive performance, particularly highlighting the M3 Ultra chip's dominance in most CPU tests and the exceptional GPU performance in tasks like Blender benchmarking.

However, drawbacks include the inability to upgrade memory or SSD post-purchase and higher upgrade costs compared to PC counterparts. Despite these limitations, the Mac Studio remains a compelling choice for professionals requiring robust performance in a compact form factor.

The Verge reinforces these sentiments, noting the Mac Studio's silent operation even under full load and its suitability for demanding tasks such as Lightroom edits, Adobe AI noise reduction, and LLM model running.

• Personal Commentary:
  “That kind of makes my first-generation Mac Studio with the M1 Ultra chip have a sad. But hey, it's still performing great. And I future-proofed this thing. Hopefully, it can get me into the 2030s. We'll see.”
  (Timestamp: 18:45)

Conclusion

Brian McCullough wraps up the episode by reflecting on the advancements and challenges within the tech landscape, from Apple's significant OS updates to the evolving AI chip competition and the fluctuating smartwatch market. With the introduction of innovative products like Sony's AI-powered gaming characters and the robust performance of the new Mac Studio, the tech world continues to push boundaries while navigating market dynamics and consumer demands.

Stay tuned for more updates and in-depth analyses on your daily tech news with Techmeme Ride Home.

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