Summary

The article suggests that the most significant announcement from the recent iPhone event was not about the new iPhones themselves, but rather the implications of the A17 Pro chip for future Mac performance and gaming capabilities.

Abstract

The author of the article expresses a somewhat underwhelmed reaction to the iPhone event, noting that the majority of the presentation felt empty and repetitive, with a heavy focus on environmental initiatives and minor updates to existing products. However, the introduction of the A17 Pro chip, the world's first 3nm chip, is seen as a game-changer for the Mac lineup. The A17 Pro promises significant improvements in CPU speed, neural engine performance, and the inclusion of hardware AV1 support. The GPU in particular is highlighted as having a "breakthrough" design, offering a 20% performance boost and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The author speculates that these advancements in the iPhone's chip will translate to the upcoming M3 chips for Macs, potentially revolutionizing gaming on Apple devices, as evidenced by the showcasing of high-end games like Resident Evil Village and Assassin's Creed Mirage during the event.

Opinions

The iPhone event was criticized for being too much spectacle with not enough substantial product announcements.
The environmental segments were seen as excessive, particularly the discussion about "high quality" carbon credits, which lacked clarity.
The author is skeptical about the significance of the Apple Watch Ultra's new features, considering it largely the same as the previous model.
There is a sense of disappointment that the M3 chip for Macs was not announced as expected, and its delay was only briefly mentioned.
The author is underwhelmed by the 20% improvement in GPU performance, expecting a more significant leap in performance.
Despite some reservations, the author acknowledges the potential of the A17 Pro chip to significantly enhance Mac gaming experiences.
The article suggests that the focus on gaming during the event, particularly console-level games, indicates a strategic shift towards making Apple devices more appealing to gamers.
The author believes that the improvements in iPhone graphics and the porting of console engines to Apple's platform will have a positive impact on gaming on the Mac.

The Biggest News At The iPhone Event Wasn’t The iPhones, It Was The Mac

And No, I Don’t Mean That 1 Minute Update At The Beginning Of The Keynote

I have been rewatching the iPhone keynote and what struck me is how empty it was. We got this Apple Watch segment which was basically, “It’s the same as last year’s version with a new chip and new gesture.”

Then after that we get this environmental segment I liked. I know a lot of people don’t but I found it entertaining and it was nice knowing all the things Apple is doing for the environment, especially as it seems like half of the planet has been on fire this summer.

But then they had a second environmental segment which is just too much and they kept on talking about ‘high quality carbon credits’. Now I don’t think carbon credits are inherently a scam like other people say. They’re just not implemented well. Apple says their carbon credits are ‘high quality’ but they never really explain what that means which is worrying.

And then we got an Apple Watch Ultra segment which was basically, “It is the same as last year but with a brighter display.” But I guess it has a new watch face now.

Then they talked about the base iPhone 15 for 20 minutes. That’s a long time to say, “Same as iPhone 14 Pro just not as good.”

So the first 54 minutes of this event were pretty dull. Probably why this one writer complained about the event being ‘too-slick’. It wasn’t too slick, it was just too much spectacle, not enough announcements. In my opinion they should have just launched the iPhones with a Nintendo Direct approach like they did with the new iPads and Mac Mini. However they probably didn’t want to risk the marketing hit because the iPhones are still Apple’s best selling product category.

But there was one announcement that caught my eye. Buried deep in the iPhone 15 Pro discussion there was a discussion of the chip that powers it: the A17 Pro. This is the world’s first 3nm chip and it could mean big things for the Mac.

So there was another chip we were expecting to see about now, the M3. Like the A17 this would be a 3nm chip, only for the Macs not the iPhone. And then we got news that the M3 chip was delayed. But all is not lost because I suspect the M3 will be very similar to the A17. Why wouldn’t it be? They’re not going to redesign M3 from scratch when they already have A17. And that means that any improvement we see between A16 and A17 will likely be similar to the change between M2 and M3. So what do we see?

First they say the CPU is 10% faster. The neural engine is twice as fast. And there is now hardware AV1 support. This is the open source video codec that is taking the world by storm. It replaces HEVC which requires licensing fees to use and is more efficient too. Having AV1 in the iPhone, and likely Macs too, is big news as it means many streaming sites are going to begin sending you AV1 content instead of HEVC. Maybe I should write another post on this.

But without a doubt the biggest news on A17 Pro is the ‘breakthrough GPU’. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that word. It seems like the last time I heard of a breakthrough anything was when it was a ‘breakthrough internet communications device’. They also described the GPU as ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘the biggest redesign in the history of Apple GPUs’ so they’re pretty proud of it.

So how does it perform? It’s about 20% faster than before. Now I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty disappointed that it’s only 20% faster. I was hoping it would be at least 50% faster. But I guess GPU improvements are so minor now. It’s also more power efficient. It’s going to be interesting to see how power efficient these chips actually are. Gaming is pretty power intensive so you wouldn’t see this change reflected in any battery life estimates, but if I can game on my iPhone without it heating up or using as much power that’s a pretty big improvement.

Then there’s hardware accelerated ray tracing. Now I’m still very negative on ray tracing but it’s good that Apple GPUs finally support it. And it is possible that some games have it enabled by default. It’s not great for performance but it does make things like dynamic shadows a lot easier. A lot of games have problems with dynamic shadows such as the new Resident Evil games. They are so bad which is why the new RE 4 remake largely abandons shadows. Ray tracing could fix this. Maybe.

And then let’s talk about the games. There were quite a few games shown off in the keynote:

The Division Resurgence
Honkai: Star Rail
Genshin Impact
RE Village and RE 4
Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Now I’m not sure about the first three. But to have RE Village, RE 4 remake, and Mirage running on an iPhone? These are high end games. If these games run I think you can get any game to run on the iPhone.

And if they all run on the iPhone with it’s little bitty A17 Pro GPU you bet it will also run on an M3 Mac. And probably even better on the M3 Pro, Max, and Ultra. I mean, could you imagine if they didn’t? Bring them over to Apple but only playable on iPhone not the Mac? That would be a stupid idea. These games are coming to the Mac.

You know I was wondering why there was so much iPhone gaming talk. Especially console games. Is anyone going to buy an iPhone to play RE Village? No, get like a Steam Deck to play that. I’m actually thinking of picking one up right now because the Steam Deck is on sale until the 21st.

I think this event was supposed to have Mac news. I think the M3 chips were supposed to launch now but they couldn’t get them ready in time. But they already had presenters so they were like, “Hey, could you just port your game over to iPhone real quick?” And they did. I’m not sure if this is how it happened. But I did write about this before

What we’ve seen is as iPhone graphics have — I mean, you see the exponential chart there — to the point where now game developers can bring their console engines to the iPhone. And so if they’re bringing their console engines to the iPhone on Metal well they now have their console engine on the Mac effectively. So that investment, that effort, pays off across the line now in a way it never has before. So the aggregate Apple platform for games is, I think, a phenomenal opportunity for developers, for game developers in particular. So I expect this to be an unprecedented time for gaming on the Mac.

Actually that’s not my quote. It’s Craig Federighi’s quote. And I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s talking about.

So maybe the title is not exactly right. The Mac and the iPhone are not two completely different platforms. They are linked by shared low level code and shared silicon. So when I say ‘The Biggest News At The iPhone Event Wasn’t The iPhones, It Was The Mac’ what I’m actually saying is that I’m a little disappointed by the iPhones themselves.

I mean they still don’t have a 10x optical zoom, only a 5x. And I’m still not a huge fan of the dynamic island. But I’m very impressed by the under the hood improvements. The A17 Pro and the new games coming to Apple’s platform. It means big things for the Mac. And that is why the biggest news at the iPhone event wasn’t the iPhones, it was the Mac.

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