We're now in April, believe it or not. Seriously, it has felt like this entire year is just flying by so far, and that's not a bad thing at all. I look forward to the day that things can return to normal, and it feels like things are certainly on the right track.
With the recent rumors, we should be expecting an April Apple Event in a few weeks, hopefully. Yeah, I was hoping for this last month too, but hey, better late than never? We're expecting those AirTags to drop, as well as a new iPad Pro, at least. However, we also think that the Apple TV needs a refresh sooner rather than later, and what about a new iPad mini? I mean, that thing is two years old now — I know that the mini often has years between new iterations, but it's getting left in the dust at this point. I honestly would like to see an updated iPad mini soon because it's a great size, especially if you want to read eBooks. Plus, it would be great if the iPad mini got the Pro-like makeover with the flat edges and bezel-less display. One can hope, I suppose.
Even though we've yet to hear from Apple about an event this month, we did get the official announcement that WWDC 2021 will be happening in June, once again in an all-digital format. Though we usually don't get hardware announcements during WWDC, we definitely will be seeing iOS 15, along with the next iterations of software for the iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. I'm always excited for WWDC because of a new version of iOS, and there are a few things that I'm already hoping to see in iOS 15 once they unveil it in a few months. Namely, please, for the love of god, make it easier to customize app icons and themes! We already have a solid foundation with iOS 14's ability to customize app icons through Shortcuts, so make it possible to change the app icons through the app's settings or in the Settings app. Seriously, this one little thing would totally make my entire year. That and interactive widgets, or an Always-On Display, actually.
Since we're on the topic of iOS 15, there are some new iPhone 13 rumors afoot as well. First off, the A15 chip that will most likely be going in the iPhone 13 series will start being produced by late May, which isn't at all surprising. It seems that Apple may be on schedule to release the iPhone 13 in September, instead of October like last year. I am on the iPhone Upgrade Program, though, so I have to wonder how that will work if we purchased an iPhone on launch day last year since you need 12 payments before you can upgrade. Either way, I definitely plan to get a new iPhone, regardless. But I'm not exactly pleased with the news that it seems that the iPhone 13 Pro Max (or whatever it's going to be called) will be the only one getting the wide-angle camera upgrade. Not all of us want to get the largest and most uncomfortable phone to use one-handed to have the best camera, Apple! I really wish that we can go back to the days where the iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max models were basically the same in terms of features, besides battery life and screen size. Those were certainly the days...
As we round out the week, there has been a huge expansion to Apple Arcade, which brings 30 new games to the service including some old App Store classics. I have Apple Arcade as part of my Apple One Premium Bundle, but I haven't used it as much as I had hoped. However, seeing classic games like Monument Valley, Threes!, SpellTower (just to name a few excellent titles) is pretty exciting, as these amazing games are now available to an even wider audience. Additionally, there are some other brand new Apple Arcade originals, like Fantasian, that are now available for your enjoyment.
However, all of my time lately has been going into Monster Hunter Rise on the Nintendo Switch. Monster Hunter is one of my favorite game franchises out there (my first Monster Hunter was 3 Ultimate), and I've poured hundreds of hours into 3U, 4 Ultimate, World, and Generations Ultimate. Monster Hunter Rise is definitely the most accessible entry point for any newcomer and gives veteran fans more of what we love the game for. I highly recommend it if you want a game packed with content, has an immense amount of depth, and a play style that is suitable for everyone with 14 different weapons to choose from (each one is unique with strengths and weaknesses).
Until next week, folks!
-Christine Romero-Chan
