Thursday, January 25, 2024

Apple to Get TSMC's First 2-Nanometer Chips

Apple will be the first company to receive chips built on the TSMC's future 2-nanometer process, DigiTimes said today. According to sources that spoke to the site, Apple is "widely believed to be the initial client to utilize the process."


The report comes from ‌DigiTimes‌ "Tomorrow's Headlines" alert, so additional details may be available in the full news story.

TSMC is expected to begin producing 2nm chips starting in the second half of 2025. Terms like "3nm" and "2nm" refer to the specific architecture and design rules TSMC is using for a family of chips. Decreases in node size correspond to a smaller transistor size, so more transistors can fit on a processor, leading to boosts in speed and more efficient power consumption.

This year, Apple adopted 3-nanometer chips for its iPhones and Macs. Both the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 series chips in Macs are built on the 3-nanometer node, an upgrade over the prior 5nm node. The jump from 5nm technology to ‌3nm‌ technology brought notable 20 percent faster GPU speeds, 10 percent faster CPU speed, and a 2x faster Neural Engine to the iPhone, and similar improvements on Macs.

TSMC is building two new facilities to accommodate 2nm chip production, and working on approval for a third. TSMC generally builds new fabs when it needs to increase production capacity to handle significant orders for chips, and TSMC is expanding in a major way for 2nm technology. The transition to 2nm will see TSMC adopting GAAFET (gate-all-around field-effect transistors) with nanosheets instead of FinFET, so the manufacturing process will be more complex. GAAFETs allow for faster speeds with a smaller transistor size and lower operational voltage.

TSMC is spending billions on the change, and Apple will also need to make chip design changes to accommodate the new technology. Apple is TSMC's main client, and it is typically the first to get TSMC's new chips. Apple acquired all of TSMC's 3-nanometer chips in 2023 for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, for example.

In between the ‌3nm‌ and 2nm nodes, TSMC will introduce several new ‌3nm‌ improvements. TSMC has already come out with N3E and N3P chips that are enhanced ‌3nm‌ processes, and there are other chips in the works such as N3X for high performance computing and N3AE for automotive applications.

Rumors suggest that TSMC is already starting work on more advanced 1.4-nanometer chips, which are expected to come out as soon as 2027. Apple is said to be looking to reserve TSMC's initial manufacturing capabilities for both 1.4nm and 1nm technologies.
Tags: TSMC, 2nm

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Jon Stewart Returning to 'The Daily Show' After Apple TV+ Series Cancelation

Jon Stewart is set to return to Comedy Central series "The Daily Show" eight years after he stepped down and handed the reins over to Trever Noah. Stewart plans to host the series every Monday starting on February 12, with a rotating lineup of regular correspondents handling the other days.


The news comes three months after Apple TV+ series "The Problem With Jon Stewart" was canceled due to alleged creative differences between Stewart and Apple executives. Apple was reportedly unhappy with some of Stewart's planned guests for season 3 of the series, as well as topics related to China and artificial intelligence.


Apple initially inked a multi-year deal with Stewart in 2020, and there were two seasons of the show. Stewart explored "problems" on the current affairs series, and episodes varied from news in the national conversation to issues that were part of Stewart's advocacy work.

Stewart will be hosting the series through the 2024 election cycle. In a statement, Paramount Media Networks CEO said that Stewart is the "voice of our generation" and that he will help "make sense of the insanity and division roiling the country as we enter the election season."
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Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Apple Received 13 Academy Award Nominations for Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon

Apple scored 13 Academy Award nominations for Apple TV+ movies Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, doubling its record for Academy Award nominations in a single year.


Directed by Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Lily Gladstone), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, and Best Cinematography.

Scorsese has now received 10 total lifetime Academy Award nominations for Best Director, making him the most-nominated living director.

Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Joaquin Phoenix, received Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Visual Effects.

Killers of the Flower Moon will compete against movies that include Barbie, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and Maestro for Best Picture. It was previously nominated for nine BAFTA awards, and was named Best Film of the Year by the National Board of Review.

Apple won a 2022 Academy Award for CODA and short film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse.

Killers of the Flower Moon is available on ‌Apple TV+‌ now, while Napoleon will be available to stream on ‌Apple TV+‌ in the future.
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Apple Car Autonomous Driving Scaled Down, Launch Planned for 2028

Apple has pivoted to simpler, less ambitious design for the Apple Car in order to actually bring the vehicle to market, reports Bloomberg. Apple initially wanted a driverless car with full autonomous capabilities, but it is now developing an electric vehicle with fewer features.


After abandoning the driverless plans, Apple aimed for a car with Level 4 autonomous functionality that would have allowed the car's system to take over driving in limited circumstances such as on highways, but even that was too ambitious. Apple is said to be focusing on driver-assistance features that are closer to how Tesla vehicles operate, and it will have a Level 2+ system. Level 2 autonomous driving includes steering and brake/acceleration support, but the driver remains in control of the car and must pay attention on the road.

Despite the scaling back of the project, Apple's launch timeline for the ‌Apple Car‌ has been adjusted. Apple wanted to introduce the car sometime around 2026, but Apple is now targeting a 2028 release at the earliest. According to Bloomberg, this marks a "pivotal moment" for the ‌Apple Car‌. If the company is not able to deliver an electric vehicle with this feature set, executives may "seriously reconsider the project's existence."

Since the ‌Apple Car‌ was unveiled in 2014, the project has shifted and evolved several times. Rumors have at times suggested that Apple had scrapped a car altogether, focusing instead on an autonomous system, but it appears that Apple is sticking with plans to debut a full Apple-branded vehicle.

The ‌Apple Car‌ project has been riddled with leadership changes and internal strife over the direction of development. Apple Watch chief Kevin Lynch took over the project, and he worked with Tim Cook to adopt a new strategy after pressure from Apple's board. Apple is now meeting with potential partners in Europe to discuss the new plan.
Related Roundup: Apple Car

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Apple Launching 2024 Swift Student Challenge on February 5

Apple will begin accepting submissions for its next Swift Student Challenge on Monday, February 5, Apple said today in news provided to developers. Apple first announced plans for an early 2024 launch in November, giving students plenty of time to prepare.


The Swift Student Challenge tasks students with creating an innovative coding project using the Swift Playgrounds app. Apple plans to select 350 winners for this year's challenge, and there will be a category that recognizes a total of 50 Distinguished Winners for standout submissions.

Distinguished Winners will be invited to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, where they will be able to connect with their peers and the Apple team, while all winners will be granted a free one-year membership in the Apple Developer program.

Apple has been holding an annual Swift Student Challenge for several years now, but it is typically announced when the dates for WWDC are announced, and past winners have been invited to attend the Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple says that this year's 50 Distinguished Winners will be invited to Cupertino "next summer."

When February 5 rolls around, students will have three weeks to submit their app playgrounds to Apple. Apple judges entries on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and content of written responses explaining the project.
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Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Apple Releases HomePod 17.3 Software

Alongside iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, macOS Sonoma 14.3, and tvOS 17.3 Apple released HomePod 17.3 software with bug fixes and software improvements.


Today's update comes over a month after the release of the HomePod 17.2 update.

Apple does not specify what's included in the ‌HomePod‌ 17.3 software, and the generic release notes only say that it brings stability and performance improvements.

‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌ unless the feature is disabled‌‌‌‌, but the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌‌‌‌‌‌‌ can also be manually updated in the Home app by following the instructions in our HomePod‌‌ update how to.
Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

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Monday, January 22, 2024

Apple Music Classical Now Available on CarPlay

Apple Music Classical was updated today with CarPlay support, allowing users to access the app from their vehicle's infotainment screen when an iPhone is connected.


Apple Music Classical first launched in March 2023, offering users with a standard Apple Music subscription access to over five million classical music tracks at no additional cost. The streaming app features advanced search functionality, exclusive artwork, extensive metadata, curated listening recommendations, and more.

The app is available on the iPhone, iPad, Android, and now CarPlay. It is built upon Primephonic, a classical music streaming service acquired by Apple in 2021.

Apple Music Classical version 1.2 is available on the App Store. The release notes only mention unspecified "stability and performance enhancements."

(Thanks, Sam Matheson!)
Related Roundup: CarPlay

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