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10 reasons why I’ll miss Phil Schiller

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As Phil Schiller steps down from his role as Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing, it's clear the company won't be the same without him.
It won't be the same without him.
Photo: Globovisión/Flickr CC

For long-time Apple fans like myself, Tuesday marked the end of an era. Phil Schiller stepped down from his role as VP of worldwide marketing.

Schiller was the last of the OG — a stalwart onstage companion to Steve Jobs, long before it was fashionable to watch Apple keynotes. Schiller was there at all the seminal moments in Apple history, including the launch of iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Back in the day, he and Jobs were a remarkable double act. Jobs would announce the products, and then Schiller would stride in to perform the demos.

Fortunately, Schiller’s not gone for good. In his new role as an Apple Fellow, he will still keep an eye on the App Store and Apple Events. But I wanted to take this opportunity to remember the man, the legend, that is Phil Schiller. Here are the top 10 reasons why I’ll miss him.

Phil Schiller’s new role as Apple Fellow means big promotion for Joz

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Phil Schiller
Schiller has guided Apple's marketing efforts for more than 30 years.
Photo: Apple

Apple on Tuesday said that Phil Schiller, the company’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, will move on to become an Apple Fellow.

Schiller continues to report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook in his new position, which involves leading the App Store and Apple Events. Greg “Joz” Joswiak takes up Schiller’s previous role.

New iMac may be on the way, but don’t expect Apple Silicon or redesign just yet

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IMAC-G4_render_04 1
Don't expect a futuristic redesign just yet.
Photo: Xhakomo Doda

Apple could (possibly) debut its iMac refresh as soon as this week. But those hoping for the much-rumored iMac redesign and Apple Silicon integration likely will need to wait a bit longer.

The suggestion that Apple will update the iMac was first mentioned in a tweet by leaker @Soybeys that has since been deleted. Apple leaker Jon Prosser, who also has been known to be pretty accurate in the past, said new iMacs are on the way, but suggested they will debut in August instead.

Prosser also said not to expect a major iMac redesign until the first Apple Silicon Macs arrive further down the line.

Apple could keep us waiting until 2021 for AirPods upgrades

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AirPods Pro with black background discounts
AirPods and AirPods Pro will get their next update next year.
Photo: Apple

People waiting to get their hands on next-generation AirPods will be waiting until 2021, a report published by Digitimes on Wednesday suggests.

It claims that Apple will launch its third-gen AirPods in the first half of 2021, before introducing the next-gen AirPods Pro in the second part of the year. Apple last updated its regular AirPods line in March 2019, while the AirPods Pro were released in October 2019.

Apple plans to make its app developer language more inclusive

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iOS 13.5 golden master is available only to developers.
Apple is changing terms to make them more inclusive.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple has made plenty of public-facing moves to show its push for diversity in tech. But it’s making some behind-the-scenes changes, too — like tweaking the terms in its developer ecosystem to remove words the company no longer considers appropriate.

Examples include switching “master” code repository to “main” code repository, and changing “blacklist” to “deny list.” Here’s what Apple had to say in its announcement:

Apple Silicon MacBook Pro and MacBook Air will ship by end of 2020

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16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019
Are you excited about the first Apple Silicon MacBooks?
Photo: Apple

Apple will release its first MacBook Pro and MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon by the end of 2020, a report published Thursday claims.

According to Digitimes, Apple manufacturers will start shipping components such as backlit units (BLUs) for the next-gen MacBooks in the third quarter of 2020. That could be any time between now and September.

watchOS 6.2.8 brings digital car keys to Apple Watch

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watchOS 6.2.8 is out now!
Digital car key support in watchOS 6.2.8 has the potential to make Apple Watch much more useful.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Starting Wednesday, an Apple Watch can be used to unlock a car, replacing the key, thanks to the release of watchOS 6.2.8. But it’s early days yet for this feature, as it doesn’t yet have wide support.

In addition, this software update enables people in a handful of additional countries to take advantage of the ECG in Apple’s wearable.

Apple Silicon could be powering MacBook Air by the end of 2020

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Your old MacBook Air might be worth a pretty penny.
Coming soon to a MacBook Air near you.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash CC

Apple will ship its first Apple Silicon-based MacBook Air late 2020 or early 2021, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed in a note published Friday.

Kuo has previously said a 13.3-inch Apple Silicon MacBook Pro will ship before the end of the year. However, this is the first time he has talked about the future of the MacBook Air line.

The (potentially) best news of all? Kuo thinks the switch from Intel CPUs could make the MacBook Air even cheaper than current models.

iOS 14 could allow Apple Pay users to pay up by scanning QR codes or barcodes

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QR codes
That's a whole lot of QR codes.
Photo: Thomas Leuthard/Flickr

iOS 14 will allow users to make payments using QR codes with Apple Pay, a hidden feature in the Wallet app discovered by 9to5Mac suggests.

While the feature isn’t functional yet, it will allow users to point their iPhone camera at a QR code or barcode in order to pay bills. Apple didn’t make any mention of it at WWDC 2020, but that could potentially be transformative for scan-as-you-go shopping and other scenarios.