The Deepdive

Why Apple Isn’t Cool (And Why They Like It That Way)

• Allen & Ida • Season 2 • Episode 9

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The tech world is abuzz with Apple's next wave of innovation, and we're cutting straight through the noise to give you the complete picture. From radical hardware redesigns to an ambitious software overhaul, Apple is orchestrating a comprehensive transformation of its ecosystem that will impact how we interact with technology for years to come.

Leaked reports suggest the iPhone 17 Pro is getting a striking metal makeover. Moving away from the all-glass design of recent models, the new metal chassis and camera surrounds promise enhanced durability and a more premium feel. What's particularly fascinating is the level of regional customization happening behind the scenes – different battery shapes for different markets depending on whether they support physical SIM cards or are eSIM-only.

The company's augmented reality strategy is equally ambitious, with plans for seven new AR wearables over the next few years. A tiered approach includes the premium Vision Pro line alongside a more affordable "Visionaire" headset aimed at mainstream adoption, and sleek smart glasses projected for 2027. These devices showcase Apple's methodical approach to spatial computing – not necessarily being first to market, but perfecting the technology for widespread use.

Unifying this hardware is "Liquid Glass," Apple's biggest design shift since iOS 7. This cohesive visual language will span across all operating systems, creating seamless transitions between devices whether you're using an iPhone, Mac, or Vision Pro. Paired with Apple Intelligence, the company's privacy-focused AI strategy featuring on-device foundation models, the user experience promises to be both more intuitive and more powerful.

Yet beneath the surface of these innovations lies a complex reality. Some Mac users feel macOS has stagnated, with common complaints about window management and UI inconsistencies. Meanwhile, Apple's global manufacturing network reveals the intricate balance of economic, political, and sustainability factors that go into creating these devices. While assembly happens in China, the highest-value components come from American, Japanese, and Taiwanese firms – demonstrating that the simple phrase "Assembled in China" barely scratches the surface of modern tech production.

Join us as we explore this fascinating intersection of design, technology, and global manufacturing. Subscribe now to stay informed about the forces shaping the devices we rely on every day.

Leave your thoughts in the comments and subscribe for more tech updates and reviews.

Allan:

Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're here to you know. Cut to the noise and really get to the core of what's happening in tech.

Ida:

Yeah, straight to the good stuff.

Allan:

And today we're plunging right into Apple. There's always a buzz, right, yeah, but we're looking beyond just the shiny new gadgets. We're exploring how these things actually get made. It's this like world of amazing innovation, but also surprising challenges, these deep global links.

Ida:

Absolutely, and our job today is basically to give you the shortcut you know, help you get properly informed, find those aha moments, so you really get the tech you use every single day.

Allan:

Right.

Ida:

We've pulled together insights from well all over leaked reports on the iPhone 17 Pro, the big WWDC 2025 announcements, new OS stuff, ai, a deep look at Apple's whole manufacturing game and even some pretty heated online debates about macOS.

Allan:

OK, so we're cutting through the jargon, getting you the key takeaways. Let's, let's unpack this, starting with what might be coming to your hand, maybe even your face, eventually.

Ida:

Sounds good. Yeah, let's start with hardware, the future stuff, iphone 17 Pro specifically. The latest leaks are pointing to a well, a pretty striking redesign.

Allan:

Okay.

Ida:

For both the 17 Pro and the 17 Pro Max. Expected launch probably around Friday, September 19th.

Allan:

And what's this about? A big material change. I heard something metal.

Ida:

Yeah, that's the really interesting bit. Reports say they're moving to a metal chassis, metal camera surrounds, metal camera panel even.

Allan:

Wow, so that's quite different from the glass on the 16 Pro right. What's behind that? Just looks, or is it durability, maybe something else?

Ida:

It's probably a mix. You know, durability is definitely part of it, especially for the camera bump that gets knocked around. It's true. But it could also be about that premium feel, moving away from the all glass which, let's be honest, felt a bit fragile sometimes. What's also interesting is this continued push for eSIM only designs getting more common. Right, but not everywhere, I heard, Exactly, and here's where it gets kind of wild. Reports where it gets kind of wild. Reports claim different metal covered battery shapes depending on where you buy the phone.

Allan:

Like different shapes.

Ida:

Yeah, like L-shaped for the models that still have a physical SIM slot and rectangular for the eSIM only ones. Imagine custom fit batteries for different regions. That's pretty detailed customization.

Allan:

Custom fit batteries. Okay, that is unexpected, but Apple's clearly thinking bigger than just phones. This whole augmented reality thing, the long game what's the real strategy there?

Ida:

Oh, it's definitely a long game, Super ambitious. You look at Ming-Chi Kuo's roadmap the Analyst. He's mapping out like seven new AR or wearable products in just the next few years Seven yeah. And the key thing seems to be this tiered approach Different products for different people, so a vision headset family, this tiered approach different products for different people, so a Vision headset family kind of.

Allan:

what does that look like?

Ida:

Well, first up, probably Q3 2025, there's a minor update, the M5 Vision Pro, mostly just a chip upgrade. You know, keep it premium.

Allan:

Standard refresh.

Ida:

Right, but the big one, the one aimed at, like everyone, that's the Visionaire slated for Q3 2027.

Allan:

Visionaire. Okay, that sounds like their attempt to make this stuff mainstream.

Ida:

Exactly. It's expected to be way lighter, maybe 40% less than the current Vision Pro Wow.

Allan:

Built with cheaper materials plastic, magnesium alloy not the fancy titanium and glass, powered by a top-end iPhone chip, fewer sensors it's their direct shot at MetaQuest, really trying to bring spatial computing to more people make it comfy, make it more affordable, makes sense.

Ida:

And for the pros.

Allan:

They get an upgrade too. Second gen Vision Pro, probably second half of 2028. New design, lighter, still Mac level power, maybe even a lower price.

Ida:

So yeah, definitely distinct lines there. But what about something less headset-y, like smart glasses?

Allan:

Yep, they're on it First gen Apple glasses projected for Q2 2027. Think of them as Apple's take on those meta-ray bands. Features like voice and gesture control, taking photos videos discreetly, some AI smarts for sensing your environment, audio, probably through AirPods. And you know Apple multiple frame styles that signature polish.

Ida:

Right.

Allan:

We might see a couple more XR glasses with actual displays later, maybe 2028. Though one project like a tethered display for your Mac or iPhone apparently got paused Too heavy, hmm. So the big picture here is trying to take this from niche tech to something lots of people use.

Ida:

Totally. The belief is Apple jumping in could push the whole smart glasses market past 10 million units shipped in 2027, turning it from a curiosity into a real trend. Apple might not be first, but they often aim to be the ones who get it right for the mainstream.

Allan:

Okay, so we've got this future hardware picture phones, headsets, glasses but you know, hardware is nothing without the software, right? How is Apple changing the actual experience? Let's get into that big WWDC 2025 software stuff.

Ida:

Yeah, this is massive. It's called Liquid Glass and it's not just a facelift. It's Apple's biggest design shift since iOS 7. The goal seems to be a truly unified spatial computing experience across everything.

Allan:

Unified. So Liquid Glass isn't just for the iPhone, then?

Ida:

Nope, not at all. It's coming to iOS, ipados, macos, watchos, tvos the whole family. Think about your apps, your interface, not just looking the same but feeling like they belong together, flowing smoothly whether it's on your watch or a vision pro, blurring the lines between the systems. They're even dropping version numbers for years, like MacOS 26, ios 26, just to make it all feel consistent.

Allan:

And AI. There had to be AI right Apple Intelligence.

Ida:

Of course, wwdc brought Apple Intelligence System-wide AI features. You've got live translation, visual intelligence, stuff, better image playground.

Allan:

Okay, standard AI upgrades.

Ida:

Well, yes and no. The really key detail is this foundation models framework for on-device large language models.

Allan:

Right, break that down. What does on-device really mean for me and for developers?

Ida:

So Foundation Models are like those big AI brains pre-trained. Putting a framework for them on your device means Apple can offer really smart AI features without sending your personal stuff to the cloud constantly.

Allan:

Ah, the privacy angle.

Ida:

Exactly, it's a big differentiator Plus for developers. Xcode 26 is getting LLM support built in, like ChatGPT, to help with coding testing. That's a big productivity boost.

Allan:

So AI for us users and AI to help build the apps Makes sense.

Ida:

Pretty comprehensive. Now. Most of this AI stuff is coming this fall, but Siri's big upgrade Apparently still delayed. Maybe spring 2026. They're tweaking the quality.

Allan:

Oh Siri, Always the bridesmaid.

Ida:

Yeah, but when it does arrive, it's supposed to be much smarter. Understand your personal context emails, messages, files, recognize what's on your screen to take action. Integrate deeper with apps.

Allan:

Like asking where's that recipe Eric sent, and it actually knows.

Ida:

That's the dream a Siri that actually works for you.

Allan:

Right that I could get behind. So, with liquid glass setting the visual tone and Apple intelligence adding the smarts, let's get practical. What does this mean for your phone, your watch, your Mac? This fall? Give us the highlights.

Ida:

Okay, let's run through it For iOS 26,. Besides the new look and AI, there's a real focus on like communication control.

Allan:

Oh so.

Ida:

Features like call screening, hold assist, message filtering Feels like Apple's trying to help you manage the digital noise. Fight spam. Smarter, Plus polls and messages, custom chat backgrounds. You know the fun stuff. Carplay gets cleaner too, less distracting, and this is clever. An AI-powered adaptive power mode learns your habits to stretch battery life.

Allan:

A personalized power saver Actually sounds useful. What about the Watch OS 26?

Ida:

Liquid glass comes to the watch face, naturally Redesigned workout app smarter, smart stack. But the headline act Workout Buddy.

Allan:

Workout Buddy yeah.

Ida:

First of its kind, fitness companion uses your deity and voice motivation.

Allan:

Wait, my watch is going to cheer me on.

Ida:

Apparently Like personalized encouragement during a run. It's bold Leaning into AI for emotional support, almost Huh.

Allan:

Okay. Is that something people actually want, though, or could it be annoying?

Ida:

Fair question. Success depends entirely on how well it's personalized right, not intrusive. It's definitely an experiment. Could be amazing, could be a gimmick. We'll see Also on watchOS, live translation and messages. Finally, a notes app and a new wrist flick gesture to dismiss notifications.

Allan:

Okay, what about the big screen tvOS 26.

Ida:

Liquid Glass makes the Apple TV app feel more cinematic better profile switching, easier logins using your Apple account and they're enhancing Apple Music Sing you can use your iPhone as a karaoke mic now with real-time lyrics Plus FaceTime gets contact posters.

Allan:

Karaoke night just got serious. And for the early adopters, with Vision OS 26.

Ida:

Right For Vision Pro users. Spatial widgets become fully customizable, anchored in your space. Spatial photos get more lifelike depth using generative AI and personas your avatar getting super realistic rendering.

Allan:

How realistic are we talking?

Ida:

Like highly detailed individual hairs, over a thousand glasses options. The goal is making your digital self feel uncannily real, Plus sharing spatial experiences. Multiplayer gaming support with PlayStation VR 2 controllers.

Allan:

Okay, bringing it all together and finally the Mac, Mac OS 26 Tahoe. How does liquid glass land there?

Ida:

Mac gets the liquid glass treatment too, translucent materials, refined dock, customizable folder colors. But the practical stuff is probably the expanded continuity A new phone app on Mac. See your recent calls, voicemail, use, call screening and live activities from your iPhone pop up in the Mac menu bar. It's all about making the devices feel even more connected.

Allan:

Seamlessness.

Ida:

Exactly, spotlight Search gets a major boost to smarter filtering. Direct actions makes it much more of a central hub and of course, the AI features like Genmoji and Image Playground arrive, plus tools to, say, pull action items from notes or auto-sort reminders.

Allan:

And anything for the gamers.

Ida:

Yeah, a new Apple Games app, probably replacing Game Center. Better game discovery and overlay for in-game settings, but the big news for performance is Metal 4.

Allan:

Apple's graphics tech.

Ida:

Right. Big upgrade Means developers can push harder. Smoother visuals, faster frame rates Good news for high-end games like Crimson Desert, cyberpunk 2077 really shows Apple's serious about Mac gaming.

Allan:

Good to hear Any other quick hits for MacOS.

Ida:

Significant accessibility updates vehicle motion cues, magnifier via continuity camera, much faster personal voice creation. Heads up, though. Tahoe is probably the last version to support some Intel Macs and keep an ear out for Charismatic, a new OS rumored for smart home hubs.

Allan:

Yeah, okay, wow, that is a ton of updates across the board. Yeah, despite all this new stuff, I keep hearing this rumbling online, especially about macOS, like a feeling it's lagging. What's that all about?

Ida:

Yeah, it's a real counter-narrative. You see, especially on places like Reddit, people asking has macOS development stagnated? A lot of users feel the yearly updates aren't adding real value.

Allan:

Just shiny looks, maybe even with liquid glass coming.

Ida:

Exactly, or features they see as gimmicks, like desktop widgets or a stage manager, although you know some people actually love stage managers.

Allan:

Right, it's divisive, yeah, but the biggest complaint seems to be window management.

Ida:

Oh yeah, Loud and clear. People call it the worst out of any desktop OS by far. It's why so many install third party apps like Magnet or Rectangle just for basic window snapping.

Allan:

It is kind of funny, isn't it? Apple the design king and basic window management is a pain point.

Ida:

That thing where full screening an app throws it into a new space, drives people crazy, messes up their whole workflow. It feels like a fundamental miss.

Allan:

Sometimes and it's not just that right.

Ida:

Other gripes yeah, bugs are mentioned a lot. Crashes with external monitors, finder quirks, memory leaks, ui inconsistencies is another common one. The Settings app gets hammered for feeling like a clunky iPad port.

Allan:

Ah, the Settings app transition yeah.

Ida:

Even the Calculator app gets called out for being unacceptable with its currency conversion, and some bring up planned aging, feeling like Apple cuts off perfectly good hardware from updates too soon. Yeah.

Allan:

So a feeling Apple's maybe coasting or just following trends, not innovating like they used to?

Ida:

That sentiment is definitely out there, but and this is where it gets really interesting there's a strong counter argument.

Allan:

From the engineering side.

Ida:

Exactly the argument is Apple has been innovating, just maybe under the hood, in ways you don't immediately see.

Allan:

Like the Apple Silicon transition.

Ida:

Precisely Moving to their own chips, arm-based, and making Rosetta 2 work so seamlessly that old Intel apps often run better. That was, frankly, miraculous engineering, but because it just worked, many users didn't grasp the scale of the achievement.

Allan:

Good point, it was almost invisible.

Ida:

Right or the new file system APFS. Features like zero copy for efficiency, better security with read-only system volumes Significant stuff, but not flashy features.

Allan:

So for you, the longtime Mac user, maybe it's this tension. You want stability and polish, but also new cool stuff. Some people point back to Snow Leopard, right, the release that was all about refinement.

Ida:

Yeah exactly, macOS is mature. Does it need new baubles every year or does it need rock rock solid stability and bug fixes? It's that classic fight between visible features and foundational work.

Allan:

A real dilemma. Ok, let's zoom out again from software debates to the physical reality. How does all this stuff actually get made? Let's unpack that Design in California, assembled in China, line.

Ida:

Right, that phrase really defined Apple manufacturing. For what a decade plus, China became the world's electronics factory, and Apple was a huge part of that.

Allan:

And the shift was massive, wasn't it Like, early on, assembly was cheap per phone.

Ida:

Yeah, back in 2009, final assembly in China cost maybe $6.50 per iPhone Tiny amount, but fast forward to 2018, and Apple was sourcing components worth $104 per iPhone directly from China. Huge investment in Chinese factories shows how deep that integration went.

Allan:

OK, but recently we hear all this talk about China plus one yeah, companies diversifying, moving some production elsewhere India, vietnam, mexico.

Ida:

There's definitely been a lot of talk and those countries are certainly eager for the business.

Allan:

But how much is actually happening? Yeah, is Apple really pulling out of China in a big way?

Ida:

Well, the analysis suggests the shift is maybe more limited than headlines might suggest. Ah Sure, there are increases elsewhere. You see some iPhone assembly moving to India, airpods being made in Vietnam, but the vast majority of Apple's supply chain is still deeply rooted in China.

Allan:

So this raises a key question for anyone buying these products who's actually making the money here? If assembly is cheap, where's the real value?

Ida:

That's the crucial point. Final assembly is maybe $10 on a $1,000 phone Peanuts. Most of the profit, the value, goes to companies making the complex high-tech bits, semiconductors, displays and of course to Apple itself for the design, brand and sales.

Allan:

Okay. So if we break down the supply chain, lower-tech stuff versus high-tech stuff, where do Chinese firms fit in?

Ida:

Right In the lower value segments, chinese firms have made huge inroads commodity metals like aluminum They've pretty much replaced Western suppliers. Precision manufacturing things like the metal frames, camera housings that's seen a massive shift. But 2023, almost all of that was happening in China, mostly by Chinese-owned firms.

Allan:

O' Okay, dominating the lower value end, but what about the really high value complex components, the brains of the device?

Ida:

That's where it's different. For those higher tech, higher margin parts. Non-chinese firms from the US, Japan, Taiwan are still very dominant, even if their factories are physically in China. Take batteries Over half the sourcing locations are in China. Yeah, but more firms supplying batteries are actually non-Chinese Taiwanese, South Korean, German. Looks like Apple deliberately diversified its battery suppliers.

Allan:

Interesting and semiconductors the chips diversified its battery suppliers. Interesting and semiconductors the chips.

Ida:

That's maybe the highest value part. Only four out of over 30 Apple chip suppliers are Chinese. The vast majority 63%, are US headquartered.

Allan:

Wow.

Ida:

Same story with printed circuit boards, pcbs. Most factories are in China, sure, but an incredible 88% of the companies supplying Apple's PCBs are Taiwanese.

Allan:

So it's way more nuanced than just made in China. It's about who owns the tech and the value, even if the factory is there. What about bigger forces, politics, sustainability?

Ida:

Yeah, geopolitics definitely plays a part. Us tariffs, general tensions they are pushing diversification faster, but at the same time, beijing is likely pressuring Apple to keep buying from Chinese factories where possible. It's a balancing act Sustainability.

Allan:

Apple talks about that a lot.

Ida:

They do Big goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. Lots of initiatives around recycling, renewables, less packaging. So you've got this complex mix economic reality, political pressure and Apple's own corporate value, shaping where and how your iPhone gets made.

Allan:

Absolutely what a journey We've gone from, you know, the sleek metal iPhone 17 Pro, the AR glasses vision, through this whole liquid glass software world and Apple intelligence, and then, right behind the curtain, to the global supply chain dance.

Ida:

It really shows Apple pushing hard on so many fronts right Building this cohesive, smart ecosystem. But then you have those real user frustrations, like the macOS debates, showing that tension between shiny new features and just wanting things to work well and the supply chain stuff just reveals how complex and interconnected everything is hidden behind that simple device in your hand.

Allan:

Which brings us to a final thought for you to chew on. As Apple pushes for this unified liquid glass future powered by Apple intelligence, can they actually bridge that gap, the gap between the amazing innovation, the sometimes frustrating user experience and the messy global reality of manufacturing? Can they really deliver a future that's seamless, loved and truly accessible for everyone?

Ida:

That's definitely the big question, isn't it Something to watch as all this tech keeps evolving?

Allan:

Thanks for joining us on this deep drive. We'll catch you next time.

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Ida

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