Technology

What's Up with Apple: Larger iPads, Warning on Medical Devices, and More

Paul Ausick

Published: June 28, 2021 7:51 am

Last Updated: June 28, 2021 7:54 am

The new iPad Pro introduced new miniLED display technology and a new chip, the M1, along with a host of other improvements to the top of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) tablet device. As is often the case, though, people want more.

In this case, a larger display may lead the wish list. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, both a 14-inch and a 16-inch iPad could become available in a “couple of years.” Gurman, who wrote his weekly newsletter on a new iPad Pro, thinks that a larger screen “would be the perfect device” for a lot of people and could, someday, replace laptops. Gurman also has a wish list of other improvements, like more multitasking capability and the ability to run Mac apps on an iPad.

Gurman also named some of the technical talent the company has hired to work on its self-driving Apple Car. Beginning with the hiring of Doug Field, the Tesla engineer who led development of the Model 3, in 2018, Apple also recently added a former BMW engineer to its car team following the departures of three top team members. The point is, Apple appears still to be committed to its self-driving plans.

Last week, Apple updated its list of products that may interfere with implanted medical devices like pacemakers and defibrillators. In its updated support document, the company warns:

Under certain conditions, magnets and electromagnetic fields might interfere with medical devices. For example, implanted pacemakers and defibrillators might contain sensors that respond to magnets and radios when in close contact. To avoid any potential interactions with these types of medical devices, keep your Apple product a safe distance away from your medical device (more than 6 inches / 15 cm apart or more than 12 inches / 30 cm apart if wirelessly charging). Consult with your physician and your device manufacturer for specific guidelines.

The full list of Apple products that may cause magnetic interference is included in the document. MacRumors noted that a recent, small study of different types of pacemakers and defibrillators, the American Heart Association found that 11 of 14 devices “experienced interference when an iPhone 12 Pro Max was held close to the cardiac device (within 1.5 cm), even when the medical device was still in the manufacturer’s sealed package.”

Also last week, Apple filed a brief in the case currently being decided by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers over a complaint by Epic Games that Apple’s App Store is anticompetitive. The Apple brief claims that last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in the NCAA case “provides guidance” for the Epic Games complaint.

Finally, MacRumors reported last Thursday that Apple has sent a warning letter to a China-based leaker known as “Kang” among other known leakers of information about unreleased Apple products. The letter “cautioned leakers that they must not disclose information about unreleased Apple projects because it may give Apple’s competitors valuable information and ‘mislead customers, because what is disclosed may not be accurate.'”