The Sad Reality of Apple’s iPhone 17 Announcement

Josh: Apple just concluded the Super Bowl of hardware events for the year. Josh: This is their biggest event of the year. Josh: They unveiled their new flagship devices, being the iPhone, the watches, and the AirPods. Josh: It just concluded. There was a lot of very cool tech that I think I'm pretty stoked about. Josh: EJS, we might be going to war on a few topics and things you might find interesting or not.

Josh: But before we do, I mean, I want to talk about the thing that they notably didn't Josh: really announce or excluded a lot from this event, which is AI. Josh: It felt like this was, and granted, this is a very hardware-focused episode, Josh: a very hardware-focused announcement. Josh: But last week when we covered Google's announcement, it was a mostly hardware Josh: unveiling, but all of the software on top of it was enabled by AI.

Josh: And Apple really didn't seem to have a lot of the AI, but they did have some Josh: interesting features. So I kind of want to jump in with those.

Josh: What was Apple's AI presence like, Ejaz, during this hardware unveiling episode? Ejaaz: They released a new pair of AirPod Pro 3s, which do live AI translation. Ejaaz: So you could be speaking Spanish right now, Josh, and I'd be hearing English in mine. Ejaaz: In fact, there's a really cool demo that I want you to see right here. Josh: When both people are wearing AirPods Pro. Josh: I agree, yeah. Eu concordo, sim.

Josh: Vamos incluir as principais descobertas na apresentação de sexta-feira. Josh: Definitely. The client will love that. Josh: I'll let the strategy team know to prepare that immediately. Ejaaz: So what you're watching here is basically two people having a conversation. Ejaaz: They're both wearing, maybe kind of dystopianly, the AirPod Pro 3s.

Ejaaz: But they're able to communicate and converse with each other in a completely Ejaaz: different setting, environment, and language, which I thought was just super cool. Ejaaz: We saw Google release something similar to this, but that was over something Ejaaz: more formal like Google Meets, right? Ejaaz: So you have to set up a call and do this. This seems much more casual.

Ejaaz: And I also know, Josh, that you could wear the AirPods Pro 3 and speak to someone Ejaaz: who isn't wearing this and the live translation will occur on your iPhone. Ejaaz: So you can kind of like show them a kind of transcript of what you're trying Ejaaz: to say and converse that way. Ejaaz: But Josh, do you find this as cool as I did? Josh: Yeah, okay. I found it cool when I saw it first unveiled by Google like six months ago.

Josh: But I do find this cool because it's built into the ecosystem that I use. Josh: So in that extent, I'm very excited. AirPods, I think, are the device that I Josh: do not leave home with. Like people always say phone while it keys. Josh: For me, it's phone and AirPods. I adore them. I bring them everywhere. Josh: Having an upgraded version that includes this live translation seems very cool. Josh: I think it's important to note they were both wearing AirPods.

Josh: In the wild, most times when you converse with someone, it's going to be one-sided AirPods. Josh: So they did have a feature where you can actually speak and it will listen and Josh: then share the words on a screen so someone who's outside of the conversation Josh: without AirPods can hear. For Josh: me, Apple has largely lost my trust when it comes to software delivery.

Josh: So in this case, I need to see it to believe it. If it does work with low latency Josh: like they demoed, this is incredible. Josh: This would be such a cool feature where you can talk in near real time with Josh: anyone in the world in any language. Josh: And that's like a pretty remarkable thing from something so small that just sits in your ears.

Josh: I fear that that will not be the case and that this live demo is in a very controlled Josh: environment and it is optimized for a perfect experience. Josh: Noticeably, AirPods, I mean, And even the microphone quality of AirPods, Josh: if you've ever tried to talk to someone, Ejaz on the phone, has been horrendous. Josh: It leaves. It's amazing. It's an incredible demo for an incredible product. Josh: These AirPods are awesome and I will absolutely be buying them.

Josh: But again, we'll test it. I'll believe it when I see it. Ejaaz: Josh, buddy, did you have your coffee this morning? You've got your Duma hat Ejaaz: on. You're meant to be the fanboy of this show. Ejaaz: Okay, let me step into your shoes for a second and just say that it comes at Ejaaz: the same price, which is a very un-Apple like thing. Ejaaz: Normally they hike the price up hundreds of dollars for every single new model,

Ejaaz: but it's the same price, $249 and no 99 cents. They've just kept it rendered off there. Ejaaz: Eight hours of battery life, built-in heart rate sensor, which is something new, Josh. I don't know. Ejaaz: Does AirPod Pros 2 have a heart rate sensor? Ejaaz: It's basically where my head is going here is I think they're starting to build Ejaaz: a new kind of smart device and it's kind of starting with the AirPods, Ejaaz: this live AI translation feature.

Ejaaz: Maybe they stick a camera on it in future versions maybe i'm being too much Ejaaz: of a moon boy about this but i found that pretty cool and and maybe i'm being too hopeful but yeah.

Josh: Yeah health will be important i think if you're interested in the airpods the Josh: only things that you care about are active noise cancellation is better it has Josh: live translation um and it can read your pulse in the case that you don't have Josh: a tracker like an apple watch or an aura ring and that's pretty much the only thing there so Ejaaz: What are you excited about josh. Josh: Yeah there's a ton of stuff i'm actually stoked for and it is all hardware related stuff.

Josh: They released a bunch in the iPhone department, which I think we can get into Josh: right now, starting with the iPhone Air. Josh: The iPhone Air is awesome. We have this really beautiful designed video that Josh: shows the thinnest iPhone they've ever made, Josh: Ijaz, one of the things that I got really excited about is for me, Josh: this was the first time in a long time that Apple felt like they released a Josh: very Apple-esque device.

Josh: It's new, it's innovative, it's different, it's beautiful. I think we see it Josh: from the marketing video. Josh: They tried to do like a knockoff Johnny Ive promo video where they had some Josh: designer with a European accent start talking about it. Josh: But I think the most remarkable thing about this phone is the design. Josh: And the reason why I believe they made this phone, which I'm not sure you will Josh: agree with nor know about Ijaz, but I do want to get into it in a second.

Josh: First, the actual hardware of the phone. I think, what, 85% of this phone is battery. Josh: So the entire backside of the phone is basically a slab of glass with a battery Josh: behind it and a back shell. Josh: And all of the hardware, all of the compute, all of the camera sensors, Josh: the microphones, the speakers, they're all found in this single array that exists Josh: on top of the phone that they call the plateau.

Josh: The actual limitation of what made this as thin as it could be is the USB-C port. Josh: The USB-C port is actually the thickest part of the phone. And they've kind Josh: of run up against this, this like natural limitation of thinness. Josh: And I just found this really inspiring to me because it's a new form factor Josh: of a device that we've come to know and love for so long, but they've really Josh: done an interesting job of stacking it all in this tiny, tiny little thing and

Josh: creating something that feels new. They use this polished titanium. Josh: And then as I'm watching this, I'm thinking, well, why, why would they do this? Josh: What's the reasoning to make a thin phone? Like no one really asked for a thin Josh: phone. I'm stoked they did it. I think it's beautiful.

Josh: It's amazing. But I mean, if you ask the average person, what they want in a Josh: new iPhone, they're going to tell you, well, I just kind of want better battery Josh: life, maybe a little bit better cameras. Josh: And in fact, this battery is 48% less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Josh: So it's a significant hit to battery life. But what's interesting is this very Josh: much feels like it was a product made for the manufacturers more than it was Josh: made for the consumers. Because what?

Josh: There was a leak a few weeks ago where Apple was looking to make the iPhone Fold next year. Josh: And in order to make the iPhone Fold next year, it requires a series of very Josh: thin components, a very small components, a very compact tech to be able to Josh: squeeze two very thin displays into a single piece of hardware that fits in your pocket.

Josh: So to me, this feels like this was a dry run, a short production run to get Josh: the supply chain and manufacturer set up to create this next generation of thinner devices. Josh: And when I also think about what we talk about frequently, Ejaz, Josh: which is this next level of compute through augmented reality and ambient intelligence, Josh: where computers kind of exist on your face in the form of glasses or the Vision Josh: Pro goggles, I think you really need smaller components.

Josh: And this very much feels like a test for manufacturers to create smaller components Josh: to fit in smaller, more confined spaces. Because if you look at the video on Josh: the screen right now, it's gorgeous. Josh: It's this tiny, thin little sliver. And then at the top, it has all the compute Josh: in And to me, it's a remarkable phone. Josh: Really beautiful. If I didn't care so much about cameras, this would be a no-brainer for me to buy.

Josh: I think it is an awesome show of Apple manufacturing strength, of design capability. Josh: This is super cool. And if anyone asks me what they should buy, Josh: if they don't care about photography, get this phone. It's awesome. Josh: Did you have any takes when you watched this about what you thought about it? Ejaaz: Okay, listen, as a professional Apple hater, I was super impressed by the engineering behind this.

Ejaaz: I mean, what we're showing on the screen here is nothing short of genius, right? Ejaaz: So you've got the entire brain, body, limbs of a phone in the tiny little camera Ejaaz: component of the top section of your phone. Ejaaz: I would say that this is probably like, what, not more than 15% of the actual Ejaaz: phone body and the rest is just clean, smooth, slick glass, as you said.

Ejaaz: And I kind of want to pick up on the point that you're making, Ejaaz: which is, I think, over decades since the mobile phone was created. Ejaaz: It's kind of been on a trend towards getting smaller, thinner, Ejaaz: right, being able to fit into your pocket, being able to kind of like slide Ejaaz: into your bag or handbag or whatever that might be.

Ejaaz: And I think this is like the first major leap that we've seen in a while, Ejaaz: where we're kind of like taking a very aggressive move, right? Ejaaz: You mentioned folded phones, right? Samsung's been doing that for God knows how long. Ejaaz: But this is like, this feels like a net new thing. Ejaaz: It feels like, as this tweet says, practice for whatever future hardware comes next.

Ejaaz: And you and I, Josh, have spoken about, or hypothesized rather, Ejaaz: about what the new AI consumer hardware device is going to look like. Ejaaz: Is it going to be a puck that sits in your pocket or on your table? Ejaaz: Is it going to be a necklace? Ejaaz: Is it going to be AirPods with cameras in it with sensors in it? Ejaaz: We don't know, or is it going to be glasses? We don't know exactly what it's Ejaaz: going to be. But I feel like this is kind of like a hint towards that future.

Ejaaz: And my personal take is I love that it's small. I love that it's tiny. Ejaaz: And I love that it's going to be kind of like hidden in the background so that Ejaaz: I can just continue doing what I do. Ejaaz: Ironically, tech permeates so much of our life, but I kind of want a breather from it. Ejaaz: I kind of want it to be subtle in the background. And I love the engineering that went into this. Ejaaz: But like I said, I'm a professional Apple hater, Josh.

Ejaaz: So I kind of want to bring up two images for you. And OK, I don't know, Ejaaz: just just get your take on this. Right. Does this look familiar to you, Josh? Josh: Yeah, that was actually one of my favorite phones. I had this in college. Josh: This was the iPhone 5S. Gorgeous, gorgeous device. Why? What's your point? Josh: What do you what do you want to say?

Ejaaz: Listen, I'll just these little words here, you know, 33 percent lighter, Ejaaz: you know, I'm I just want to point out, but listen, what's better than a picture? Ejaaz: What's better than a picture is a video demo. Look at this. Ejaaz: Look at the iPhone 6, Josh, compared to your fancy Air device that's, Ejaaz: you know, whatever, half glass or blah, blah, blah. It's thinner. Ejaaz: It's sleeker. It's cooler.

Ejaaz: Obviously, I'm jesting here. The phone that we're talking about in question, Ejaaz: the iPhone Air, is so much more functioning performance than these phones. Ejaaz: But I just want to point out, it's not the thinnest or smallest phone that Apple's ever created. Ejaaz: So yeah, I just rest my case there. It is the thinnest. Oh, it is the thinnest.

Josh: Perhaps not the smallest. And yeah, I mean, to your point, the hardware they're Josh: packing into this thing, the capability of this phone is equivalent to 100 iPhone Josh: 6s. I mean, this thing is a monster. Josh: And it all fits very neatly in this tiny little package. So actually, Josh: when you look at the array of compute, between these two phones.

Josh: The iPhone 6 has this whole system on chip architecture that expands through Josh: the entire vertical length of the phone, and it expands horizontally at the Josh: top and bottom, leaving a small rectangular section for the battery. Josh: This actually fits all of the compute, which is probably, I mean, Josh: I'm not even exaggerating, at least 50 times the processing power of an iPhone Josh: 6 into a tiny plateau that is a fraction of the size of the iPhone 6.

Josh: So, I mean, it's pretty, but this new phone is, it's running laps around the Josh: old iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5. Ejaaz: So one thing I keep hearing about, Josh, is this new kind of venting architecture Ejaaz: that comes either through the chip or the phone device itself. Ejaaz: Can you tell me a bit more about that?

Josh: Okay. So before we do that, let's introduce the phone that it's involved in, Josh: which is actually the iPhone 17 Pro. This is the new flagship device. This is the new guy. Josh: And before we do anything, Ejaz, oh my God, I actually had a meltdown last night.

Josh: I have to confess to you and the listeners, I had a mental breakdown halfway through this Josh: Announcement episode because i saw them unveil this phone Josh: and i saw it unveiled in three colorways none of Josh: which are black and if you know me i Josh: have all black everything the blackest of Josh: blacks for everything i own is is my default and for the and in the case of Josh: apple actually black has been the default color of pro whenever there's a macbook

Josh: pro they offer the black the apple watch ultra they offer the black the pro Josh: models always get black and for this time for some reason they wanted to go Josh: with orange, navy, and silver. Josh: So I'm having an existential crisis, but that's not here nor there. Josh: Whoever did that, you should be fired. Anyways, let's get into what makes this so special. Josh: So one of the things you mentioned is the cooling, right? So the cooling is

Josh: really, really interesting. This is something I found super fascinating. Josh: It's called vapor chamber cooling. And basically the way vapor chamber cooling Josh: works is it has a small amount of liquid. Josh: It's some sort of water that is tightly sealed inside of a metal ceramic packaging.

Josh: And what it does is the water actually just kind Josh: of sits there and it's absorbed by this this porous Josh: thing that kind of holds it right near the processor so if you're imagining Josh: kind of like a sponge in a water bottle is is Josh: a good way that i could describe this and the sponge holds the water and as Josh: the chip heats up the sponge it kind of evaporates the water a little bit and Josh: because water particles have way more surface area than solid metal it allows

Josh: it to dissipate the heat quite a bit so as this water evaporates from your sponge Josh: in your bottle it moves to the far end of the bottle and it cools down. Josh: So the further it gets away from the heat source, which in this case is the Josh: chip, the cooler it gets. Josh: And then when it cools down, it turns back into a liquid and it gets reabsorbed by the sponge. Josh: So it's this kind of closed circuit system made for cooling hot devices.

Ejaaz: They've recreated the rain system in a phone. Josh: That's insane. So this is not novel technology, but it is novel in the sense Josh: that they were able to package this incredibly in a super small form factor Josh: and squeeze it into a phone without really increasing the thickness very much at all. Josh: And I mean, frequently, I have problems with overheating because I do a lot Josh: of graphic intensive work on my phone. I do some video editing. Josh: I do a lot of photo editing.

Josh: The phone frequently gets very, very hot and it overheats if I'm charging while I'm also working. Josh: They did two things to help with Josh: thermal cooling here. One is that vapor chamber that I just described. Josh: But the second one is actually moving away from titanium to aluminum, Josh: which is interesting because, Ejaz, if you remember just two years ago with Josh: the iPhone 15 Pro announcement, the leading headline for the phone was titanium.

Josh: They were so proud of this new metal. It was very lightweight. Josh: Weight. It was very Apple. Josh: Very difficult to work with. And it turns out, it actually just like sucks at Josh: thermal insulation and it is not as durable as aluminum and it's just expensive. Josh: And yeah, okay, it's a little light, but it's not that impressive. Josh: So what they did with this phone is they went back to aluminum.

Josh: Aluminum, I believe, has either a six or a 10 times multiple in its ability to dissipate heat. Josh: So this combined with the vapor chamber will allow the phone to run hot for Josh: a very long time without actually getting hot. Josh: I think another thing that I noticed about this phone that we're kind of seeing Josh: in this little demo here, is you'll notice that it's two-tone on the back. Josh: So what they did here is they made a unibody aluminum casting.

Josh: So it's actually one solid piece, the entire phone, instead of multiple pieces. Josh: And they placed this ceramic glass on the back to allow for wireless charging Josh: and wireless communication that wouldn't work for aluminum. Josh: So we're getting kind of the best of both worlds where we have aluminum, Josh: which is more durable, it's better heat resistance, but it's not titanium.

Josh: And we also get the glass back. These were two interesting things did you have Josh: any other interesting things that were noteworthy to you about the flagship phone? Ejaaz: Well, interesting is questionable, but I kind of think it looks uglier than Ejaaz: the previous phones that they've launched. Josh: Don't love the design. Ejaaz: That might be a controversial take. I don't like the two-tonedness. Ejaaz: I kind of like hide that stuff away.

Ejaaz: Like I like the wireless charging, but like hide it away maybe. Ejaaz: Also, orange is like such a bold color to go for. Ejaaz: But one of the main things that is ugly, but I know contributes quite well to Ejaaz: this phone's success, Josh, is that big camera hunk, which if I hold up my current Ejaaz: phone right now, has just kind of expanded across the top of the phone. Ejaaz: Tell me what I'm getting in exchange for that, because I'm expecting a sick camera.

Josh: Yeah, this is the reason why I'm actually going to be upgrading because I love Josh: taking photos with my iPhone and I need the flagship camera. Josh: Otherwise, I would absolutely buy a iPhone Air with no questions asked. Josh: The cameras are better slightly, particularly with the telephoto and wide angle lens. Josh: Now, what's cool is it has 348 megapixel camera arrays, which is the same as Google now.

Josh: And what that means is you're going to get really high quality on the wide angle lens in low light. Josh: You're going to get amazing quality, as you always do on the 1X lens. Josh: And for the telephoto lens, you actually get two lenses in one, which is pretty cool. Josh: So for the wide angle, you get the 0.5 and the macro. Josh: With the 1x zoom, you get 1x, 1.25 and 1.5. Josh: Now you get 2x and you get 4x and 8x optical zoom with digital zoom up to 40 times.

Josh: So what this gives basically is you get another camera built into your phone. Josh: So in the previous iPhones, you get a 0.5, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 2 and 5.

Josh: Now all those you keep but in Josh: addition you get a eight times telephoto lens which is Josh: pretty cool so you can reach out further you have better optical abilities Josh: in low light because the sensors are a bit larger they're a Josh: bit higher megapixel count and overall it's a solid upgrade there's a lot of Josh: pro features that are good they shoot in pro res it has really good color grading Josh: capabilities a lot of people aren't going to take advantage of that i think

Josh: if you are going from a 16 pro to a 17 pro the advantage is marginal i think Josh: the big upgrade really is that optical zoom came out to eight times. Josh: But when we're speaking of cameras, there is something that I really want to Josh: mention because this to me feels like the most exciting upgrade in terms of Josh: cameras, and that's on the front of the iPhone. Josh: So the front of the iPhone got an upgrade in camera sensors.

Josh: And what they did is actually changed the shape of the camera sensor from rectangular to square. Josh: Why is this important? Well, it is when you're holding a phone sideways, Josh: you could picture kind of like a 16 by nine aspect ratio rectangular box. Josh: So that means it's seeing the world through basically what you're looking at Josh: right now, which is a display, and it's showing it horizontally.

Josh: If you were to extend that screen upwards and turn it into a square, Josh: well, then it doesn't quite matter the orientation you're holding your phone Josh: at because the sensor array is the same orientation regardless of the way that you tilt your phone. Josh: So if you hold your phone vertically, it's the same as holding it horizontally Josh: because the sensor is a square. It's not a rectangle.

Josh: And this is a big unlock because it allows you to shoot horizontal content while Josh: holding the phone vertically. Josh: And I think, I mean, this is kind of a, just it's a cute thing for people who Josh: like to take selfies or who like to take vlogs and videos. Josh: But I did find this interesting for just consumer applications because you never Josh: really have to turn your phone again to shoot anything forward facing.

Josh: And what I love is they not only increased the resolution of the camera, Josh: but they included stability in the front facing camera as well. Josh: So if you ever did want to record a video or take a selfie or whatever, Josh: it will not only be stable, but it can be captured while holding your phone vertically. Josh: So that was a nice, cute little feature. I'm like, okay, I like that.

Josh: I never have to turn my phone to take a wide angle selfie because actually here's Josh: another instance where there's AI, it will detect where the people are in the Josh: image and it will automatically create a wide angle version. Josh: If it detects people are on the sides of you that don't quite fit in the frame. Josh: And this is also true in their FaceTime feature where it will track the location Josh: of your head and kind of follow your head. So you don't really lose the framing.

Josh: So I thought that was interesting in terms of camera upgrades for the phone.

Josh: And I mean, not enough really to get someone to upgrade, but just fun upgrades Josh: that you would kind of expect from a new flagship device like this. Ejaaz: Yeah. I mean, that's what I was about to say. I love the engineering feats that Ejaaz: they've achieved with this new phone, but I don't think it's good enough to Ejaaz: convince me at least to upgrade or to buy a new phone.

Ejaaz: What I'm noticing here, Josh, and I'm curious if you think otherwise, Ejaaz: in this flagship new phone, iPhone 17 Pro, it is a photographer's dream pretty Ejaaz: much, right? It's fully functional. Ejaaz: 48 megapixels is insane. I kind of think about the first cell phone I had and Ejaaz: the camera that I had on that looked like a potato basically and it was so chunky and large. Ejaaz: This is probably the best engineered mobile phone that is out there today.

Ejaaz: And I think that is super cool. Ejaaz: And like you said, a lot of people who take selfies, which is a ton of people Ejaaz: today, right, will benefit from this quite a bit. Ejaaz: And it's performant as well for the price that you're paying. Ejaaz: I think there's this adage of like Apple, like increasing the prices of all Ejaaz: the devices, just kind of like inanely all the time.

Ejaaz: But you're kind of getting bang for your buck here, given that what this phone Ejaaz: does, kind of stepping back for a second. Ejaaz: I'm kind of maybe putting my AI hat back on in a way. Ejaaz: I feel like they are kind of running out of ideas here, right? Ejaaz: I would love to see some kind of Steve Jobs-esque type device creation or design applicability. Ejaaz: And that could come either at the hardware level or that could come at the app design layer, right?

Ejaaz: Like we saw Google kind of like release a similar type of phone with 48 megapixels Ejaaz: as well, as you said, but they had 20 different AI apps that kind of came on top of this. Ejaaz: And not to make this all about like an AI thing, but I would love to see some Ejaaz: of the ingenuity that they're spending and effort and money that they're spending Ejaaz: on the hardware design to apply to the app layer as well.

Ejaaz: Otherwise, I think we're just going to end up plateauing, which I think we've Ejaaz: kind of been doing over the last couple of years. I don't know, what do you think? Josh: Yeah, there's definitely, there's a discrepancy at Apple currently between the Josh: software and hardware stack. Josh: I think the iPhone Air is a very respectable and really wonderful device. Josh: It's something that I would rarely say that Steve would probably appreciate

Josh: this, but it really is. It's a remarkable feat of engineering and it's beautiful. Josh: And I think the last time we really saw this was actually for the chips, Josh: the M series chips, which really created a huge unlock in terms of what types Josh: of devices were able to be made with Apple. So Apple Silicon as a technology is remarkable.

Josh: On the topic of Silicon, there is actually one other thing that I wanted to Josh: mention to you, EJS, which I thought was interesting with the new Pro phone. Josh: And that's their new A19 Pro chip. And what I heard, they snuck this in there Josh: and it said that it features these new neural accelerators, what they call the neural engine. Josh: And it's a series of cores inside Josh: of this new processor that is built specifically for handling AI tasks.

Josh: Now, they mentioned that in passing. They didn't mention any uses of these new Josh: neural cores, but they did mention that they're investing a lot of energy and, Josh: I mean, space on this tiny little chip in these neural engines, Josh: which are optimized for AI. Josh: So you could kind of think of it, if you have like a mental model to think of Josh: these, we have the CPUs, which is, you can think of it maybe like a chef.

Josh: The CPU is like the master chef. It does everything. It kind of can...

Josh: Attack any problem you have and then the gpu is kind of Josh: like a line of sous chefs right like they're all kind of there to help that Josh: cpu do a lot of the hard compute so they'll do the prep work they'll chop up Josh: the vegetables and they'll hand it off to the cpu and it'll take care of everything Josh: and then you can imagine the neural engine kind of like like a Josh: robotic slicer where it's really good at

Josh: one thing so those vegetables that i mentioned it'll just slice slice Josh: slice slice and it's amazing at that and that's what the neural core Josh: is for the a19 pro chip so it's super efficient Josh: because it uses this on-device sram it's Josh: which is not slow but it's it's very fast and it's very power efficient and Josh: they use lower precision math so i just we talk about quantized models sometimes

Josh: here um where they're kind of models that they lower the their lower precision Josh: math which is kind of like 8-bit or 16-bit meaning they don't go all the way Josh: but they get most of the efficiency at a much smaller Ejaaz: Intelligence of the models. Josh: Exactly and that's what they've kind of done here with these chips where they Josh: use 8-bit, 16-bit, low precision math in order to do a lot more computing.

Josh: That's maybe 80% as good if they used a lot more data, but also significantly more efficient. Josh: So they have now this infrastructure on device using these neural engines that Josh: is significantly better than it was last year and like 10 times better than Josh: it was two years ago with nothing to run on it. Josh: And the fact that they're investing so much, I mean, they kind of have to, Josh: but it leads me to wonder what type of AI are they planning to run on these

Josh: devices? because now they're juiced up and these phones can run local inference Josh: like really freaking good, but they have no local inference currently to run. Josh: So it leaves me with the question, who's going to fill that slot? Josh: Because it's become apparent to me that Apple is not the company that is likely going to do it. Josh: They're probably going to outsource this to someone or maybe we'll get a miracle Josh: at WWDC next year. But that is one thing I want to mention.

Ejaaz: It's just the- Yeah, I don't know if I agree with you on that, Josh. Ejaaz: So in my Moonboy thesis, which is tucked away in a dusty closet somewhere, Ejaaz: for Apple to win this AI race, Ejaaz: I think they're going to come in hard right at the end by having the most hyper-performant Ejaaz: small device that fits into your hand or on your head or whatever it might look Ejaaz: like and runs super-performant models locally, privately. Josh: I pray that you're right.

Ejaaz: And I think they might pull it off, dude, because I, again, I want to hate on Ejaaz: them, but they have so much cash that an outlandish acquisition isn't beneath Ejaaz: them or isn't going to be surprising, I would say. Ejaaz: I just think they're waiting patiently to see what kind of hardware companies Ejaaz: kind of pop up with the actual gizmo or the architecture that they need or the Ejaaz: model that they require.

Ejaaz: And then they're just going to come in and swoop in and get them. Josh: I hope they do. I really hope you're right because they have all the infrastructure Josh: now built to run local inference on these devices. Josh: And like we mentioned, this is significant because the price per token drops down to zero dollars. Josh: When you can run inference locally on a phone, the cost to serve that AI to Josh: a consumer drops to zero because you don't have to interface with any cloud server.

Josh: So it's a really big deal in terms of cost efficiency. Josh: And like we always talk about with Jevin's Paradox, the more tokens you have, Josh: the more tokens we will generate. Josh: And I think it's a win-win for everyone. If Apple can figure this the F out, I am praying for you.

Josh: Please do it you have it now in the chip make something happen deliver us some Josh: awesome ai hardware that can run locally on our phone i think for me it was Josh: a great upgrade this is what i'll be buying uh you just do you have any are Josh: you going to be buying anything if you do what are you picking Ejaaz: So i'm tempted to go for the air just because it looks so cool i want to kind Ejaaz: of like see what that device looks like i want to feel it in my hands like it

Ejaaz: being kind of top heavy i'm just kind of like how is that going to feel i just Ejaaz: think it's a really cool piece of engineering and I kind of want to own the Ejaaz: first type of device that's like that. Ejaaz: Oh, and I'm going to get the AirPods, the AirPods 3 because I want to be able Ejaaz: to communicate with my Uber drivers and the bodega guys because they always Ejaaz: crack jokes and I have no idea what they're saying.

Ejaaz: Are they making fun of me or are they laughing with me? I have no idea. Josh: Nice. Yeah, I want the AirPods just because they're a remarkable little pocket Josh: device that I take everywhere. And two times the active noise cancellation. Josh: That's all I want. Just block more of the world. Josh: That's great. I think, like, great job. I will be a purchaser. Josh: So outside of the phones, there were a few other hardware announcements.

Josh: I mean, we did have the iPhone 17, which we didn't talk about. Josh: It's another wonderful phone. They upgraded the display to 120 hertz, Josh: which is a really nice refresh rate. Josh: It's a great phone if you're on a budget and you want to buy something that's Josh: a little less expensive.

Josh: Amazing device. in terms of watches they were Josh: the most disappointing watch upgrades to date which really hurts my Josh: soul because i have none on my wrist and i was hoping to get one and they Josh: cannot convince me to shell out eight hundred dollars for this Josh: behemoth of an apple watch ultra what they did with the apple watch ultra is Josh: they extended the displays slightly they added the battery life a little bit

Josh: better they added i believe they added a 5g chip that has um direct to cell Josh: connectivity also noted if you listen to our last episode about starlink this Josh: device now will work with Starlink satellites, Josh: where if you're in the middle of nowhere and you have an Apple Watch 11 or Apple Watch Ultra, Josh: you can actually get data right to your wrist from anywhere in the world. Josh: So that's a pretty interesting thing that these watches now enable.

Josh: It's been there for a little while, but the chip has just been improved a little bit. Josh: I mean, the Apple Watch Series 11, this is actually a devastating upgrade. Josh: They did not even upgrade the chip this year at EJS. It is just the same exact Josh: hardware with a slightly more scratch-resistant screen. Josh: So now your screen is now twice as scratch-resistant as last year, Josh: which is the most underwhelming Apple Watch upgrade to date. Josh: They have, um, hypertension,

Josh: Which seems interesting. I think it remains to be seen if it's actually accurate. Josh: They included sleep scores to compete with companies like Whoop, Aura, and Aidsleep. Josh: And I think that's kind of interesting to gamify sleep. I would like to see Josh: them move more into that space. Josh: But that's pretty much everything they announced last night. Josh: They had some fun accessories.

Josh: They had a battery pack for the iPhone Air because the battery is a little smaller, so it extends it. Josh: They added a like side leash to clamp onto your phone and walk around as a fashion Josh: accessory. But I think that's pretty much it.

Josh: In terms of AI, to recap, I think live translation It's been around, Josh: but it's Apple-fied. It's cool. We like that. Josh: They added a ton of neural cores to the new phone with no real use of them yet. Josh: So hopefully we'll get a use case soon. Josh: And the new hardware, pretty good. I mean, I'm excited to get a new phone with Josh: the new cameras, the new vertical, the square sensing camera on the front.

Josh: And then I think the iPhone Air, it's a lovely phone. It's a gorgeous phone. Josh: And I loved it. And I think if no one's even interested, just go watch the release Josh: video because they did a really great job. Josh: It's just a really cool feat of engineering that I think is a testament to where will we be heading? Josh: And it's a dry run for manufacturers to actually figure it out and create smaller Josh: devices. I doubt we'll get an iPhone Air 2.

Josh: It's probably just a transitionary piece to get the manufacturing up to speed. Josh: But I think that covers it. That is the Apple event. Josh: It was a big event that was slightly underwhelming on the AI front. Josh: But again, it's Apple. We will be patient. We will be suckers in their closed Josh: wall ecosystem for at least one more year. Josh: And I think that's a wrap. So, I mean, thank you guys for watching. Josh: I hope you enjoyed. I am curious.

Josh: I would actually love, I want the comment section for this one, Josh: if we could just chat about the phones. Josh: Are you going to get one? If so, what are you going to get? If so, Josh: what color are you going to get? I have no idea what color iPhone 17 Pro I'm Josh: going to get because there's no black and I'm devastated. Josh: So this is a serious point of contention in my life. Ejaz, what would you pick Josh: if you had to pick a color, the navy, orange, or silver?

Josh: I think it's probably going to be navy. It's so lame. And you can't even cover Josh: the back because the freaking camera array is so big. Ejaaz: It's not even matte. Give me a matte option at least. Come on. Brutal. Josh: Brutal. Okay, but that's the event. I hope everyone enjoyed.

Josh: Let us know what your take. Are you going to be upgrading, downgrading, Josh: leaving the ecosystem happy, sad, upset that AI doesn't exist on this freaking Josh: ecosystem, even though they're the most valuable company in the world, Josh: but whatever, whatever it may be. Josh: But I mean, EJs will probably get in the iPhone Air on 17 Pro Gang by next Friday. Josh: We should have them in our pockets. So maybe we could chat a little bit more then.

Josh: But that is a wrap. Thank you so much for watching. If you have a friend that Josh: is also interested in this technology who didn't know about vapor chambers or Josh: who didn't know about neural engine cores, maybe you learned something. Josh: Share it with them. Let them know about it. It's pretty interesting. Josh: I think it's pretty cool. Josh: And yeah, that's a wrap for this episode. So thank you guys so much for watching.

Josh: I really appreciate it. Don't forget, like, subscribe, all the good things. Josh: And we will see you guys in the next episode.