Apple Users Await Release of Apple Silicon
Ever since WWDC 2020, Apple users wants to know when Apple is going to release Apple Silicon Macs. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims to know the sequence that the MacBooks will be released. According to Apple Insider, he believes that the 13-inch MacBook Pro will be released by the end of 2020, the MacBook Air will be released by the end of 2020 or the start of 2021, and the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros will be released later in 2021. He made no mention of the iMac.
These dates make sense, as the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air have a similar hardware complexity to the MacBook Mini. The MacBook Mini has already proven to be successful with the new Silicon chips, so there is likely more minimal alteration required to suit the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, while the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros may take a bit longer.
Apple Insider states that Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassee implied that the move to ARM processors may cause other companies in the PC industry to follow suit. Gassee specifically mentioned Microsoft, who has attempted to transfer to ARM processors in the past, but has yet to succeed.
Apple Employees Remain at Home
When COVID-19 cases had temporarily started decreasing in the US, Apple began to reopen stores. However due to a spike in COVID-19 cases they have since had to close many of them, primarily in California, Florida, and Texas.
Now they are saying that reopening will vary based on local conditions, and that they shouldn’t expect all employees to be back in the office by the end of 2020. Depending on location, Apple will begin to welcome back employees who prefer to work in the office as well as those who are working on projects that are hindered by working from home, while still strictly limiting the number of returning employees.
Phone Usage Way Up for Apple Users
Due to stay at home orders activities are limited, causing people to spend more time on their phones than ever before. This is clearly seen by comparing mobile app usage from the second quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020, which experienced a 40% increase.
Much of this time has clearly been spent playing games, considering that in the second quarter of 2020 there were 14 billion game downloads and the average weekly downloads was over 1 billion, up 20% from the second quarter of 2019. The primary categories of increased app downloads are entertainment, business, fitness, education, and photo & video. These categories make complete sense for people trying to move all aspects of their life into their home, which strongly benefits Apple as they are able to supply Apple users with the apps and products that they need to that.
