Soundbyte 368 – October 2025

ChristopherNews, SoundByte

iPhone Air

Welcome to Soundbyte!

In this issue:

October Meeting

Join LMUG on Monday, October 13 at 7pm BST to talk about gifts! Depressingly, Christmas food is in the supermarkets already, but maybe that’s a reminder to start thinking about Christmas presents, especially as Black Friday deals are on the horizon next month. We’ll present some cool gift ideas and maybe you can share yours (or reveal what you really want for Christmas).

Check the email this newsletter came in for the Zoom link to the meeting. You can also find the link in our Slack Meetings Channel. 

You can now follow the London Mac User Group on Bluesky! Come and say hello 👋 over there 👉🏾 https://bsky.app/profile/lmug.bsky.social. Read more about it here.

iPhone 17 – better than ever!

On time, Apple delivered this year’s new iPhone. The iPhone 17 has some significant upgrades. The selfie camera has a new 18 megapixel sensor which can crop in 2-axes. The crops enable you to take a landscape orientation (wide) selfie, while the phone is held upright in portrait position! This in addition to it having Centre Stage functions to automatically zoom in or out makes the selfie camera uniquely versatile in such an obvious way that other smartphone makers will rush to copy it. It can also record both cameras at the same time (imagine recording yourself blowing out your birthday cake candles AND your family’s reaction behind you at the same time!).

It gains a new bright screen with additional durability and a fast and variable refresh rate from the iPhone Pro. As well as snappier gaming and smoother scrolling, this slows right down, enabling an always on display at 1Hz, like Apple Watches. Apple’s website (by default) compares the 17 against the 13 (giving a hint as to whom Apple is nudging to upgrade). For many the new screen alone is enough to upgrade from any iPhone. Have a look at this review from Marques Brownlee:

Sometimes when getting a new phone, you get some new accessories as well. One in particular seems to have caused a market disruption. When you have Apple Pay and store loyalty cards in the Wallet app, how often do you use your actual wallet/purse? I now only use my wallet when I need my ID. Otherwise it can stay safe at home. MagSafe seems tailored for this new situation. Have a look below:

The more pro iPhone Pro

The iPhone Pro has received a significant redesign with new professional features. While the regular iPhone gets the always on-display technology from the Watch, the iPhone Pro gains aluminium unibody design technology from the Mac. This (thicker) new design creates space for more battery and features a vapour chamber to draw heat from the A19 Pro processor for uncompromising high performance.

The A19 Pro Processor gains a big AI power boost from its new graphics engine. iPhone Pro also gets a new 4X zoom lens with an updated 48 megapixel camera sensor. It also has the new innovative orientation switching selfie camera.

Video support is now extended to record Apple Pro Res Raw video. A new pro-level accessory has emerged to complement this:

See how it’s now usable for sports broadcasts! All these are improvements made for professionals.

In terms of design, iPhone Pro is more Pro and maybe less bling than ever. No polished titanium rails here 👀. Instead there’s a striking and rugged orange colour called cosmic: perfect to accessorise with that orange ring on the Apple Watch Ultra 3?

There’s also a deep blue (but no black option) and for the purists, what looks like raw aluminium (silver). Have a look at the tear down video below to see if this new design is more repairable.

Back to the Future – iPhone Air

iPhone Air © Apple

Or you could switch to something completely different! For several years now, Apple has been responding to consumer pressure for longer battery life with thicker phones. At the same time, they have set a baseline of ‘all day battery life’. This was the big bet from the original iPhone, that everyone would be happy to charge their phone nightly rather than weekly. Apple must have had a thought experiment with that 🤔. If the original vision for iPhone was just a thin sheet of glass, how close could they get to that with all the latest Apple technologies.

The answer is the iPhone Air, which is exceptionally thin and light, but with “all day battery life’. Aside from the ‘camera hump’ which now contains most of the phone (almost everything else inside is battery), this is the thinnest iPhone yet. Thinner than the iPhone 6 and almost as thin as the old iPod Nano! To make room for more battery, the iPhone Air is eSim only, so that’s going mainstream. Have a look here at a quick primer on eSims shared by our Chairman.

Unlike the ‘bendgate‘ 2014 iPhone 6, this iPhone is made from polished titanium and toughened glass. It combines beauty with robustness. It gets a slightly cut down iPhone Pro processor so it is powerful as well as sleek. This is pared with a 6.5 inch screen which sits between the iPhone and iPhone Pro Max in size. Apparently it’s a joy to hold.

Unlike those iPhones however, it only has 1 camera. This loss is mitigated somewhat by it being a Fusion camera that provides a high quality digital zoom. It has the same innovative selfie-cam as the other iPhone 17s but unfortunately it only has one speaker (and it’s the headphone speaker🙉). But is anyone going to buy this who doesn’t have AirPods already?

The wider story is what this phone replaces and what it is trying to address. When I bought my iPhone 16 Plus last year, I thought, wow big screen, big battery, it’s bound to be popular. Apparently Apple thought so too and we were both wrong. Apple was wrong about the previous iPhone minis too. Reports indicate that sales of both model types barely exceeded single figures percentage wise against other iPhones. Consequently there is no iPhone 17 Plus this year and instead we get something radically different. Different enough to change purchase decisions?

We will see in the street, the mall, the train and the plane whether the Air succeeds. There is something about a radical new iPhone design that might tempt fashion-conscious buyers, and Apple already has an answer to the obvious question.

For me, with my 16 Plus, I think I’d lean towards it, but I’m hoping that when I come to upgrade in a few years, that year’s Air is an easy choice (or like the MacBook Air, it evolves into the main iPhone). For now, it’s an amazing device for people ready to compromise for state-of-the-art design. Have a look at this review below:

Is that a Mac or are you just pleased to see me – iPadOS 26

MacOS has received a major software upgrade to Tahoe. We previewed this in July. Tahoe brings all-new icons and windows to the Mac using the rounder Liquid Glass design and some associated controversy. The main changes I have noticed are widgets on the desktop (fine) and a new easier to access Apps window, which contains not just Mac apps, but iPhone apps, all together on your Mac…😬

Tahoe also gains a phone app (linked to your iPhone) [ED: anyone remember iSync?]. Plain language programmable automations, a Journal, and a new Password app. See it all on Apple.com or in a future LMUG meeting. As an aside, here’s an app recommendation from committee member Craig for internet safety, he recommends looking at 1.1.1.1 from Cloudflare. Also note that those with Mac Studio should avoid the first version and install Mac OS 26.0.1 which includes an installation fix for those Macs. Tut tut Apple.

Also previewed before, the iPad got a major upgrade at the same time, which brings it closer to Mac than ever before. Indeed your editor can confirm it transforms the iPad’s productivity with Mac windows and menus, almost effortlessly, with some caveats. In fact some elements may confuse and some cursed apps may not cooperate. Perhaps the first step is to understand before we adapt for success. Have a look at this no-holds barred review from Snazzy Labs:

iPhone also got a major upgrade. Despite the controversy around the Liquid Glass redesign, I think Apple has toned down some of the changes. I think it looks fresh and works great on my iPhone 16. But in the same vein as the above, this video suggests some things to consider as you upgrade, especially if you have an older iPhone.

No more false dawns – Meta’s new Ray-Ban Display

Meta has gone and done it. Years ahead of expectations. They have put a screen into their latest smart glasses. In terms of concept I cannot overstate how major a development this is. The implication is a clock in the corner of your eye not on your wrist (goodbye Apple Watch). An AI computer, hidden in normal* glasses with vision, camera and audio resting on your nose (goodbye iPhone and AirPods)🤯. Its not just me who can see this:

That’s the future, but Apple can perhaps rest easy at the moment. Meta’s new smart glasses are perhaps similar to the first iPhone in its limitations, or more so. No Google Maps here, its…Meta maps? Messages are Meta’s WhatsApp and Facebook messenger. Rather than a Youtube app, there is Spotify for music. Other than that, no third-party apps and no App Store. It does have a party trick – on screen translations! Also like the first iPhone it comes with a new innovative input mechanism, a neural wrist band controller.

Unfortunately it only has one screen (not suitable for watching a movie or Instagram reel) and it’s awkwardly off-stage. What I mean is, you look with your eyeball to the bottom right to see the screen. Like a disaffected teenager, tutting as you get told off. *It’s also a bit big, maybe too big for some faces.

But like iPhone, this first edition might be enough of a radical and exciting shift to cause disruption. Or Meta’s reputation for scooping up personal data from users will act as a break on its popularity. We will have to see. You can bet Apple is watching closely.

In the near-term one of Meta’s other announcements (AI wraparound sports glasses with an action camera) could have an outsized impact for many athletic types. Have a look at this preview below:

Can you hear me now? AirPods Pro 3

Apple have released the third generation of AirPods Pro. The main feature is greatly improved noise isolation, snug foamy ear tips, and sound controls like auto dimming when someone is speaking to you. It also has a heart rate monitor. I find this a bit odd as I prefer to leave my iPhone at home when running. With me it’s just AirPods and the Watch, which already has a heart rate monitor. Perhaps it’s for the gym? Have a look at this comprehensive review:

It does have a party trick…live translation. Assuming you have good mobile data service where you’re travelling, does it work and how? Have a look at the video below for some test results:

The competition does not stand still however. Also released recently are new ear buds from Nothing, with a new feature for clear phone calls. If you are looking for an alternative have a look here:

Designed in California – made in…?

On to something completely different. Apple’s supply chain for a long time now has been in China. More recently Apple is trying to diversify into other countries and one of them is the United States. On the face of it, this is quite a tall order since the advanced manufacturing needed by Apple has been fostered, developed and matured outside of the US. But in a modern polarising and maybe destabilising world, there could be wise commercial reasons to try to unwind some of its most advanced supply chain back to US soil.

Apple appears to be starting from scratch with a long term plan. We can see this in their Manufacturing University opened in August. Its stated aim is to “help American companies transition to advanced manufacturing by implementing artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing techniques“. There may be carefully orchestrated smoke and mirrors here if people assume a return to large workforces, but we shall have to see how this develops and spreads.

See Tim Cook briefly talk about it below.

Good news on the mess that’s recycling in England

New rules are coming in to modernise and unify recycling rules in England. Improvements like this tend to fly under the media’s radar. But you can get ahead of the masses and learn about it below:

Choo Choo! 200 years of Railways

This month is the 200th anniversary of the railway. A British technology that quite literally changed the world, making it a smaller place and bringing goods and people together. To celebrate this in the UK a replica of the first train was brought out and run over the first railway to recreate the historic image below:

Locomotion steam engine crossing a bridge in 1825
Image courtesy of Hopetown, Darlington – Darlington Railway Museum

Here’s the video.