Computerworld.com [Hacking News]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed the chip industry since its mainstream arrival over the past two years, driving demand for specialized processors, accelerating design innovation, and reshaping global supply chains and markets.

The generative AI (genAI) revolution that began with OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT in late 2022 continues to push the limits of AI inference, large language models (LLMs) and semiconductor technologies. In short order, traditional CPUs, insufficient for AI’s parallel processing needs, have given way to specialized chips: GPUs, TPUs, NPUs, and AI accelerators.

That prompted companies such as Nvidia, AMD, and Intel to expand their portfolios to include AI-optimized products, with Nvidia leading in GPUs for AI training and inference. And because AI workloads prioritize throughput, energy efficiency, and scalability, the larger tech industry has seen massive investments in data centers, with AI-focused chips like NVIDIA’s H100 and AMD’s MI300 now powering the backbone of AI cloud computing.

At the same time, companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have developed custom chips (such as AWS Graviton and Google TPU) to reduce dependency on external suppliers and enhance AI performance.

In particular, the AI revolution propelled has propelled growth at Nvidia, making it as a dominant force in the data center marketplace. Once focused on producing chips for gaming systems, the company’s AI-driven hardware and software now outpaces those efforts, which has led to remarkable financial gains. The company’s market capitalization topped $1 trillion in May 2023 — and passed $3.3 trillion in June 2024, making it the world’s most valuable company at that time.

The AI-chip industry, however, is about to change dramatically. Over the past several years, semiconductor developers and manufacturers have focused on supplying the data center needs of hyperscale cloud service providers such Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure; organizations have relied heavily on those industry stalwarts for their internal AI development.

There’s now a shift toward smaller AI models that only use internal corporate data, allowing for more secure and customizable genAI applications and AI agents. At the same time, Edge AI is taking hold, because it allows AI processing to happen on devices (including PCs, smartphones, vehicles and IoT devices), reducing reliance on cloud infrastructure and spurring demand for efficient, low-power chips.

“The challenge is if you’re going to bring AI to the masses, you’re going to have to change the way you architect your solution; I think this is where Nvidia will be challenged because you can’t use a big, complex GPU to address endpoints,” said Mario Morales, a group vice president at research firm IDC. “So, there’s going to be an opportunity for new companies to come in — companies like Qualcomm, ST Micro, Renesas, Ambarella and all these companies that have a lot of the technology, but now it’ll be about how to use it.

“This is where the next frontier is for AI – the edge,” Morales said.

Turbulence in the market for some chip makers

Though global semiconductor chip sales declined in 2023 by about 11%, dropping from the previous year’s record of $574.1 billion to around $534 billion, that downturn did not last. Sales are expected to increase by 22% in 2025, according to Morales, driven by AI adoption and a stabilization in PC and smartphone sales.

“If you’re making memory or making an AI accelerator, like Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD or even Marvel now, you’re doing very well,” Morales said. “But if you’re a semiconductor company like an ST Micro, Infinium, Renesas or Texas Instruments, you’ve been hit hard by excess inventory and a macroeconomy that’s been uncertain for industrial and automobile sectors. Those two markets last year outperformed, but this year they were hit very hard.”

Most LLMs used today rely on public data, but more than 80% of the world’s data is held by enterprises that won’t share it with platforms like OpenAI or Anthropic, according to Morales. That trend benefits processor companies, especially Nvidia, Qualcomm, and AMD. Highly specialized System on a Chip (SoC) technology with lower price points and more energy efficiency will begin to dominate the market as organizations bring the tech in-house.

“I think it’s definitely going to change the dynamics in the market,” Morales said. “That’s why you’re seeing a lot of companies aligning themselves to address the edge and end points with their technology. I think that’s the next wave of growth you’re going to see along with the enterprise; the enterprise is adopting their own data center approach.”

Intel will continue to find a safe haven for its processors in PCs, and its decision to outsource manufacturing to TSMC has kept it competitive with rival AMD. But Intel is likely to struggle to keep pace with other chip makers in emerging markets.

“Outside of that, if you look at their data center business, it’s still losing share to AMD and they have no answer for Nvidia,” Morales said.

While Intel’s latest line of x86 and Gaudi AI accelerators are designed to compete with Nvidia’s H100 and Blackwell GPUs, Morales sees them more as a “stop gap” effort —not what the market is seeking.

“I do believe on the client side there’s an opportunity for Intel to take advantage of a replacement cycle with AI working its way into PCs,” he said. “They just received an endorsement from Microsoft for Copilot, so that gives their x86 line an opening; that’s where Intel can continue to fight until they recover from their transformation and all the changes that have happened at the company.”

To stay relevant in modern data centers — where Nvidia’s chips are driving growth — Intel and AMD will need to invest in GPUs, according to Andrew Chang, technology director at S&P Global Ratings.

“While CPUs remain essential, Nvidia dominates the AI chip market, leaving AMD and Intel struggling to compete,” Chang said. “AMD aims for $5 billion in AI chip sales by 2025, while Intel’s AI efforts, centered on its Gaudi platform, are minimal. Both companies will continue investing in GPUs and AI accelerators, showing some incremental revenue growth, but their share of the data center market will likely keep declining.”

Politics, the CHIPS Act and what happens after Jan. 20

Geopolitical and economic factors such as export restrictions, supply chain disruptions, and government policies, could also reshape the chip industry. President-elect Donald J. Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has signaled he plans to impose heavy tariffs on chip imports.

The CHIPS and Science Act is also promising billions of dollars to semiconductor developers and manufacturers who locate operations in the US. Under the Act, $39 billion in funding has been earmarked for several companies, including TSMC, Intel, Samsung and Micron — all of whom have developed plans for, or are already building, new fabrication or research facilities.

But in order for tax dollars to be divvied out, each company must meet specific milestones; until that time the monies remain unspent. While the promise of billions of dollars in incentives are unquestionably helping reshore US chip production, Morales pointed to the CHIPS Act’s 25% tax break as a greater benefit.

“Even a company like Intel…is getting about $50 billion dollars [in tax breaks], which is unheard of. That’s where the winning payouts are,” he said.

Though Trump has signaled that government funding to encourage reshoring is the wrong tactic, industry experts do not believe the CHIPS Act will be drastically cut when he regains office. “We expect modest revisions to the CHIPS Act, but not something drastic as cutting funding yet to be dispersed,” Morales said. “The CHIPS Act received bipartisan support and any attempt to revise this would face pushback from states that stand to benefit, such as Arizona and Ohio.”

Though high-end processors to power energy-sucking cloud data centers have dominated the market to date, energy-efficient AI processors for edge devices will likely continue to gain traction.

“Think about an AI PC this year or a smartphone that incorporates AI as well, or even a wearable device that has a smaller, more well-tuned model that can leverage AI inferencing,” Morales said. “This is where we’re going next, and I think it’s going to be very big over the coming years.

“And, I think AI inferencing, as a percentage of the companies, will be as big if not bigger than what we’ve seen in the data center, so far,” he added.

From LLMs to SLMs and edge devices

Enterprises and other organizations are also shifting their focus from single AI models to multimodal AI, or LLMs capable of processing and integrating multiple types of data or “modalities,” such as text, images, audio, video, and sensory input. The input from diverse resources creates a more comprehensive understanding of that data and enhances performance across tasks.

Over 80% of organizations expect their AI workflows to increase in the next two years, while about two-thirds expect pressure to upgrade IT infrastructure, according to a report by S&P Global.

Sudeep Kesh, chief innovation officer at S&P Global Ratings, noted that AI is evolving towards smaller, task-specific models, but larger, general-purpose models will still be essential. “Both types will coexist, creating opportunities in each space,” he said.

A key challenge will be developing computationally and energy-efficient models, which will influence chip design and implementation. Chip makers will also need to address scalability, interoperability, and system integration — all of which are expected to drive technological advances across industries, improve autonomous systems, and enable future developments like edge AI, Kesh said.

In particular, as companies move away from cloud-based LLMs and embrace smaller language models that can be deployed on edge devices and endpoints, the industry will see increased interest in AI inferencing.

“It’s an environment where it’s feast or famine for the industry,” IDC’s Morales said. “What’s in store for the coming year? I think the growth we’ve seen in the data center been phenomenal and it will continue into 2025. What I’m excited about is enterprises are beginning to look at prioritizing IT spending dollars in AI, and that will break a second wave of demand for processors.”

Virtually every aspect of technology has been affected, and potentially improved, by artificial intelligence (AI). PCs are no exception. While the meaning of “AI PC” is still evolving, it generally refers to a computer specifically designed to excel at AI-powered tasks. These beefed-up computers typically feature: 

• High-end CPUs and GPUs to handle the demanding computational requirements of AI applications such as AI assistants that automate tasks, schedule meetings, answer emails, and provide personalized recommendations and data analysis and visualization.
• Dedicated AI accelerators like Neural Processing Units (NPUs). These specialized chips are optimized for AI tasks such as machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. 
• Pre-installed AI-powered software such as AI assistants (like Microsoft Copilot), creative tools, and AI-enhanced productivity applications. 

Will AI PCs play a big role in 2025 and beyond?

As AI becomes more integrated into daily use, the demand for powerful computers capable of handling AI workloads will grow and provide new levels of productivity by automating tasks, generating creative content, and providing intelligent assistance.  AI PCs are also designed to improve the user experience with AI-powered features like voice assistants, intelligent search, and personalized recommendations to enhance the overall user experience.

Key players in the AI PC market

• Intel is building CPUs with built-in AI acceleration capabilities.  
• AMD is heavily investing in AI-powered processors with its Ryzen AI processors designed for AI-driven experiences. 
• Nvidia, arguably the leader in GPU technology,  continues to drive AI performance with its powerful processors. 
• And Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors, which allow for on-device AI processing. are increasingly integrated into Windows PCs.

Related AI PC coverage Just what the heck does an ‘AI PC’ do?

November 25, 2024: AI-optimized PCs have been announced by virtually every system maker and chip producer, but the functions AI PCs offer will vary depending on the hardware. And users face a learning curve trying to figure out the new features.

2025: The year of the AI PC

October 24, 2024: Forrester has tagged 2025 “the Year of the AI PC” — and if the number of recent product announcements is any indication, that’s likely to be the case. Gartner Research projects PC shipments will grow by 1.6% in 2024 and by 7.7% in 2025. The biggest growth driver will be due, not the arrival of not AI PCs, but to the need by many companies and users to refresh their computers and move toward Windows 11.

How soon will AI PCs replace traditional PCs in the enterprise?

Sept. 25, 2024: There’s much anticipation among enterprises and consumers alike for AI PCs, However, as with any new technology, it’s unclear when AI PCs will finally have their moment. Gartner forecasts that 43 million AI PCs will be shipped in 2024. IDC predicts even more — 57 million units — will be shipped in 2024. And by 2028, AI PCs will represent 92% of all PC shipments worldwide.

What does Qualcomm’s interest in buying Intel’s chip design business mean for the future of PCs?

Sept. 11, 2024: Qualcomm, Intel, AMD, and Apple have been in a fierce battle for domination of the chip market for AI PCs, which are touted as the future of computing. Further ramping up competition in this fiery landscape, Qualcomm has reportedly explored buying portions of Intel’s design business, most notably client PC design, as Intel looks to spin off units ahead of an upcoming board meeting, anonymous sources told Reuters.

Copilot+ AI PCs are finally here. You don’t want one — yet

July 9, 2024: The AI hype keeps on coming. The latest news is the arrival of an entirely new line of Windows computers, Copilot+ PCs, which are specifically designed with AI in mind. Microsoft claims they’ll dramatically speed up AI, offer new features unavailable to other PCs, and deliver improved battery life. The new machines point the way to the future of Windows and of AI.

Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI PCs: Still a privacy disaster waiting to happen

June 12, 2024: Many security pros say Microsoft is opening a Pandora’s Box with its AI-powered Copilot+ Windows PCs. Microsoft argues those new PCs, available as of June 18, will make it easy for users to find files and remember things you’ve done on your computer using the new Recall feature, which takes screenshots, stores them in a database, and uses AI to help you find and use whatever you want. Despite warnings by security pros, Microsoft claims rock-solid security is baked directly into the new feature.

Review: The M4 iPad Pro — an amazing AI PC

May 17, 2024: The M4 iPad Pro is designed to provide the best possible performance thanks to the M4 chip inside. Apple suggests it needed to use this processor because it wanted to make the iPad Pro thin and to drive the amazing display. The move to M4 also means you get a huge leap in processor performance (1.5x faster than the last model) and graphics (4x faster rendering). Deploying this chip means the iPad Pro with M4 could become the world’s ultimate AI-driven tablet.

Enterprises want AI PCs, just not yet

April 23, 2024: While the employee benefits of using an AI PC are intriguing, they may not be enough to convince IT buyers to go all in just yet. Despite the enthusiasm generated  by advanced AI-driven functionalities, enterprises are expected to adopt a more measured approach over the next year, according to Forrester.

Microsoft is holding back the ‘AI PC’ revolution

March 13, 2024: The PC industry has a big problem. And it’s not hardware makers’ fault — it’s Microsoft’s responsibility. The hardware is here: Intel, AMD, Nvidia, and PC makers have delivered on their end. Now, everyone is waiting for Microsoft to catch up and make Windows truly shine on these AI PCs. Can the company deliver something compelling in time?

Dell ramps up ‘AI PC’ plans with Latitude and Precision refresh

Feb. 27, 2024: Dell unveiled a range of new laptops and PCs featuring neural processing units (NPUs) designed to run AI workloads on-device for improved video call quality and better laptop battery life.  Dell is one of several hardware vendors looking to benefit from growing interest in AI PCs.

Before you buy a Windows 11 AI PC, read this

Jan. 17, 2024: AI PCs were everywhere at CES 2024, and companies like Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm are all touting how great their hardware is at running AI tasks.  But since these “AI PCs are already on shelves and you can buy them before CES 2024, we need to cut through the hype and focus on what you’re getting for your money. They might one day deliver a lot of cool features — just not yet.”

The reintroduction of neutrality rules for network providers is looking increasingly unlikely, at least for the next five years, after a US appeals court blocked efforts by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reinstate them.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit court upheld its earlier stay on the FCC’s May 2024 Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet Order, effectively pausing the policy’s return.

The net neutrality rules require that providers of telecommunications services treat all traffic equally, but give providers of information services more freedom to filter or prioritize what they transmit. The FCC’s view on whether internet service providers (ISPs) provide telecommunications or information services has flip-flopped over the years.

Originally, the FCC classified ISPs as information services, exempt from the most stringent rules, but under the Obama administration it shifted position to treat them as telecommunications services. During President Trump’s first term of office his appointee as FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, reversed that shift — only for President Biden’s appointee, Jessica Rosenworcel, to attempt to bring ISPs once again under the net neutrality provisions.

That move foundered on January 2 with the appeals court’s ruling.

“We hold that Broadband Internet Service Providers offer only an ‘information service’ […], and therefore, the FCC lacks the statutory authority to impose its desired net-neutrality policies through the ‘telecommunications service’ provision of the Communications Act,” the court order read. “Nor does the Act permit the FCC to classify mobile broadband — a subset of broadband Internet services — as a ‘commercial mobile service’ […] and then similarly impose net-neutrality restrictions on those services,” the order stated. “We therefore grant the petitions for review and set aside the FCC’s Safeguarding Order.”

The appeals court based its argument, in part, on the ending of the so-called Chevron deference principle. This principle, which once required courts to defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws, was ended by a US Supreme Court ruling in June 2024, and has widespread regulatory consequences for IT departments.

With Rosenworcel’s term of office drawing to a close, it seems unlikely that the FCC will continue to pursue the reinstatement of net neutrality rules for ISPs. Trump’s pick as her replacement, Brendan Carr, favors market-led innovation over federal oversight.

Implications for enterprises

With net neutrality off the table for now, enterprises face an unregulated internet landscape that could favor large ISPs. ISPs can legally prioritize or throttle specific traffic, forcing businesses to pay premiums for reliable, high-speed access to cloud services, SaaS applications, or online collaboration tools. Without rules preventing practices like throttling or prioritizing traffic, companies reliant on stable, fast internet connections may face increased operational costs.

The absence of net neutrality is particularly concerning for smaller businesses. These businesses may struggle to compete if ISPs offer premium services to larger firms at higher prices. The lack of affordable, equitable access also risks disrupting digital transformation plans across industries.

For enterprises, the Sixth Circuit’s ruling is a clarion call to adapt to an increasingly market-driven internet landscape. It underscores the growing importance of proactively securing reliable and cost-effective internet services, as policy uncertainty looms over digital commerce and operations.

A longer timeline for reinstatement

The court’s ruling suggests net neutrality rules return will remain stalled for at least the duration of the Trump administration. As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, his administration is expected to maintain the deregulatory trajectory set under the Biden administration. Trump has aligned with Carr’s market-driven vision, opposing federal oversight of ISP practices.

Analysts predict that with Trump’s re-election priorities, policies like the suspended FCC ruling will take a backseat to broader economic goals. The absence of net neutrality for another five years is all but assured.

Broader implications: a geopolitical lens

The absence of net neutrality also carries global implications. The US decision sets a precedent for other nations grappling with the balance between regulatory oversight and market freedom. In regions where state-controlled internet infrastructure dominates, the delay in net neutrality restoration in the US may limit policy inspiration for protecting smaller stakeholders in the internet economy.

This context places additional pressure on US enterprises that compete globally. Their ability to innovate, streamline operations, and scale may be hampered without equitable internet access.

When it comes to artificial intelligence development, Apple seems more interested than usual in seeking out good acquisition targets, potentially building on the small acquisitions it makes most months. The company has, in fact, led the industry when it comes to strategic AI acquisitions since 2023.

Why? Because it must.

And the reason is pretty straightforward: the company is putting huge resources into Apple Intelligence development, but it can’t get the staff it needs for the big push.

It takes a village

A quick glance at Apple’s recruitment website today revealed that it currently has 399 open roles in its machine learning and AI teams. That’s almost enough people to form a small village.

Apple’s search for villages of AI professionals isn’t unique; everybody’s doing it. OpenAI lists 149 jobs. Google has 277 machine learning jobs. One year ago, AI accounted for 27% of all open UK tech roles. Given that the hype and expectations in the sector have only grown since then, it’s hard to believe there’s been any decline in demand.

What’s driving this is that as the number of potential AI implementations grows, so does the demand for workers to build them. Large, small, and medium-sized players across enterprise tech share the need. 

They aren’t just being greedy. They understand the huge strategic imperative behind the AI evolution.

Nations, technology companies, a growing number of enterprises, government organizations, and start-ups are all competing to recruit the best staff. They know that, “we are at a tipping point in business and society where AI will revolutionize how we work, live and interact at scale,” Mohamed Kande, global chair for PricewaterhouseCoopers International, explained last year.

More jobs, few people

Yet they recognize that as ever more processes get digitized, the demand for people with experience will become a hindrance to AI industry development because that demand is not being met.

As McKinsey explained last year: “Our survey of 3.5 million job postings in these tech trends found that many of the skills in greatest demand have less than half as many qualified practitioners per posting as the global average.”

And yet the World Economic Forum predicts AI will create 97 million new jobs by the end of the year.

Like everything else, the global race for brains to build AI is, of course, made a whole lot harder by trade embargoes, and ever-increasing international tensions. The ever-evolving regulatory landscape forms another barrier to industry growth. The same skills shortfall exists across other critical tech areas, too: edge, cloud, quantum computing, data process management, analytics, CSR. As these sectors grow exponentially, the skills gap continues to widen. 

So, if you can’t recruit the talent, what do you do? 

If you can’t hire it, buy it

Globally, there were 245 AI-related industry acquisitions in Q1 2024 alone, said McKinsey. Apple, then, is right in the thick of it all with the acquisition of numerous AI startups in 2023 and its famous purchase of Darwin AI and at least three other AI-related firms last year (including Drishti, Mayday Labs, and Datakalab).

The company tends to be tight-lipped when making acquisitions, so it might well have secured even more companies we just don’t know about. We only know of the IP purchase from Mayday Labs as a result of an EU filing.

The thing is, this is all about scale. That means that even if Apple does recruit that village of AI experts, the acceleration in demand for AI is going to continue, and it will probably need to recruit a second village full a few weeks later. Again, it won’t be alone. That need for skill is an imperative forcing tech firms (most likely including OpenAI, and certainly including Apple) to focus their efforts on specific goals when building new generative AI (genAI) services. While effective management within scarcity has always been par for the course — Apple is really good at this — those companies who best approach development within those constraints will be best placed to make it all the way to that looming AI mountain and climb to the top. 

All the same, to outsiders focused on AI-related hype, the reality is that the challenges facing industry evolution mean innovation will soon begin to seem incremental, rather than revolutionary, as the “move fast, break things,” approach is replaced by a more business-like, objective, and slow strategic resource allocation-driven approach. Those who break through the noise to deliver the highest value tools and services will be those that win this AI space race.

As long as they can get the staff.

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Continuing education has always been important for IT professionals, but the need to keep your skill set up to date is now more important than ever. 

While it’s easy to look to enterprise vendors — or independent operations such  CompTIA — as sources for training and certification, the options for IT pros tasked with managing Macs, iPhones, and other Apple devices aren’t as well-known. But there are plethora of resources out there, if you know where to look.

Apple’s own resources

Obviously, the first place to look for training is directly from Apple, which maintains multiple resources for IT professionals — including a couple of certifications. Here’s a rundown of those you should know about.

WWDC

Let’s start with the one everyone knows about, which is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held every June. The event has become an Apple keynote event in its own right, and while most of the content is intended for Apple developers, it always includes at least a few sessions for IT pros; the exact number  varies each year, but the “What’s New in Managing Apple Devices” is a perennial option. Some years there are several others, such as when Apple unveiled declarative device management or sign in with Apple at work, or when the company opened up about how to use Managed Apple accounts in your organization. 

The topics vary, but they’re almost always a must-have option to explore every year. 

• Apple Developer Resources. Apple makes loads of additional information available to its developer community. Again, much of it isn’t strictly IT-focused, but there are a surprising number of useful references — if you’re willing to do some digging. These include:
• Device Management — This is the resource on how to manage Apple devices. There are overviews and detailed descriptions of mobile device management (MDM) payloads and everything in between.
• What’s new in Apple platform deployment — As the name suggests, this is also a must-know resource, because it covers the basic information about how to deploy Apple devices at scale across all of the company’s device lineup.
• ManagedAppDistribution — This is used for managing apps once you’ve enrolled and begun to deploy apps across your fleet.
• AppleSeed for IT — This is where you set up and manage the testing of Apple’s beta programs within your organization. I’ve more than once noted how partnering with adventurous employees can help you more effectively test and plan for upcoming releases; this is the place to get started.
• Apple Business Essential user guide — For small or medium-size businesses (SMBs), Apple offers an in-house device management solution called Apple Business Essentials. For IT pros new to Apple devices, this is a great starting place, regardless of the size of your organization and it serves as a stepping stone to Apple Business Manager, which all larger organizations and MDM solutions will require. 
• Apple Training — Apple doesn’t offer the breadth of IT training and certification it once did (and that other enterprise players continue to offer). Regardless, the company does offer significant training resources. These break down into developer training (as a class with no certification and intended for budding developers, enterprise or not) and IT training.  For IT training there are four categories, only two of which offer certifications. The first two — device support and deployment training — are the ones for which Apple provides study materials and related exercises as well as a certification exam that can be proctored online. The other two — Mac Security Compliance and Apple Business Essentials — are incredibly useful courses (the latter is especially important for SMBs) but don’t come with a certification exam or credential attached. 
• Apple developer documentation and support — Again, Apple’s developer documentation is well worth studying, but its developer support forums (and support forums) focused on the enterprise community are also important resources.

MDM and cloud vendor resources

Although Apple provides incredible device and user management capabilities across its platforms, implementing them largely requires working with one or more MDM vendors — including JAMF, Kandji, Microsoft, VMWare, Fleet, JumpCloud and SimpleMDM, to name a few. 

There are two aspects to consider: the vendor that will actually be providing the management tools and the cloud-based identity management with which they’ll need to federate (generally from Microsoft or Google, but potentially also from companies like PingIdentity and OAuth). 

Into this mix, add the range of managed service providers, consultants, and trainers that are often part of the selection, deployment and management of enterprise systems — including those focused on Apple IT. 

Although the exact resources and guidance will often be dictated but your vendor relationships and infrastructure, many websites – vendors, MSPs, and others – offer an amazing wealth of information that is freely available. 

Vendor certifications

Just as Apple offers its own certifications, so do most MDM vendors that work with the company. Some of these are very in-depth and product-specific; others are broader and focused on integrating various enterprise and cloud solutions to achieve a secure, managed environment. 

• CompTIA – CompTIA is an industry trade group that offers many vendor-agnostic enterprise certifications. That list doesn’t include a certification specific to Apple, but it does include several that any Apple IT pro should consider – Mobility+ being the most Apple/MDM-focused. 
• The Mac Admins Foundation — One of the most wide-ranging resources for Apple IT pros is the Mac Admins Foundatation, a nonprofit focused on providing resources to the Apple IT community. Its offerings break down largely into a handful of key resources. The first is the MacAdmins slack channel which is probably the biggest community for learning and sharing Apple IT knowledge on the planet. Alongside this is the Mac Admins Open Source Project on GitHub and the Mac Admins Podcast. 
• The Mac Admins and Mac SysAdmin conferences — There are two major annual conferences that combined provide the biggest resource available to Apple IT pros whether they can attend or not. These are the Mac Admins Conference, held every summer in Pennsylvania, and the Mac SysAdmin conference, which takes place each fall in Sweden. Both conferences (and the vendors and presenters involved with them) put virtually all of the content online for free access, either as videos or slide decks or additional documentation from specific sessions. Don’t underestimate how useful these events and their content are as resources. 

Vendor user conferences 

I’ve already highlighted the resources vendors can offer in terms of documentation and certification, but many also have their own user and/or developer conferences. The best-known is probably JAMF’s annual JNUC conference (typically in mid-to-late fall), but Microsoft and VMWare events (those focused on mobile and others) are also worth researching.

In general, vendors make conference content freely available and there’s value exploring it, even if it comes from a company whose products you’re not planning to use. 

Online blogs, newsletters and podcasts

It often seems like many IT pros charged with managing Apple hardware sort of stumble onto the extensive range of online blogs, columns, newsletters, and podcasts that are out there; some come from vendors, but many admins and authors provide great insights into how best to use all of these technologies on a daily basis.  It’s impossible for me to cover all of these additional sources, but the following is a list of those I subscribe to and find the most useful. 

• 9 to 5 Mac’s Apple @ Work column and podcasts
• Alan Siu’s Blog
• Dan K. Nelson’s Blog
• Der Flounder
• HCS Technology Group – Technical Articles
• Kandji Blog
• macadmin.fraserhess.com
• MacAdmins.news
• Michael Tsai’s Blog
• motionbug
• Radical Admin Blog
• Scripting OS X
• Secret Chest
• Systems Management Squad
• The Big MacAdmin Blog
• The Eclectic Light Company
• The Mac Security Blog
• TidBITS

In recent months, companies have been forcing workers back into the office with increasing frequency. Annoyingly, many of these are big tech businesses that can most easily enable their workers to work remotely.

This trend, likely to continue in 2025, costs workers real money. As Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell succinctly pointed out: “Return-to-office mandates are, effectively, an invisible pay cut.“

Sure, it doesn’t show up as a line on your pay stub, but you save real money when you work from home. You no longer have an hour-long commute to work and all the costs that come with it. You can also choose to live (and work) somewhere far less expensive — anywhere with a decent Internet connection. 

All this adds up to serious cash savings. 

How much? Well, the numbers vary from person to person and job to job, but American workers value working from home — even two or three days a week — at an estimated 8% of their pay.

According to Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economist and remote-work researcher, more educated workers and those with kids at home value working from home even more. They equate the option is worth up to 15% of their salary. 

Actually, the parents are underestimating how much childcare costs. According to the most recent survey from Care, a child care site, respondents spent 24% of their household income on childcare. Even cutting a few hours from that is a big savings. 

It’s not just workers who see savings. That commute savings? A National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) study in 2023 found that cutting down on commute time remotely saves employees, on average, 72 minutes each day. In turn, employees return 40% of that time to their employer.

Let’s get to the bottom line. One Stanford study showed that remote employees were 22% more productive than their stay-in-the-office colleagues. And Global Workplace Analytics estimates that “organizations save an average of $11,000 per year per part-time telecommute, or 21% higher profitability.”

Why? There are lots of reasons. Remote workers are happier workers, for instance. One study found that 65% of remote workers were “extremely satisfied” with their jobs, compared to 34% of office-based employees.

Other studies show similar results. A YouGov survey found that 36% of US employees would prefer to work entirely remotely, given the choice — more than any other work model. And a recent Gallup survey found that “six in 10 employees with remote-capable jobs want a hybrid work arrangement. About one-third prefer fully remote work, and less than 10% prefer to work on-site.” 

To state the obvious: Happy employees are productive employees. 

Another win for business is that remote work can help retain talent and reduce recruitment and training costs. Let’s also not forget that if someone is working in Asheville, NC, their cost of living is 73% lower than if they worked in San Francisco. And that, my friends, is why no one has yet to talk me into moving to the Bay area for a job. I and other remote workers are a lot cheaper to hire when you let us work from home. 

So, why are businesses insisting people return to the office anyway? CEOs say it’s about increasing productivity, generating better ideas from collaboration, and improving the corporate culture. If you can believe it, some top brass claim that it’s for your own good. As IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, put it, “In the short term, you probably can be equally productive [working remotely], but your career does suffer.”

Yeah, right. For the record, I’ve been working remotely for the entire 21st century, and I’ve done very well for myself in a notoriously difficult field: Journalism.

So, what’s the real reason? Well, if you look closely enough, you will see that, in many cases, it’s not about getting better work from their employees. 

Some of it is that managers want to watch employees. You’ll see this from the lowest supervisor to Elon Musk, who infamously calls working from home “bullshit.” No matter the job title, it’s all about petty power games. 

It’s also about making more money, but not for the given reasons.  For example, suppose a company is tied to shareholders with large corporate real estate portfolios or is entangled with iron-clad long-term leases. In that case, it wants some return from its otherwise useless corporate offices. Office space is no small matter. There’s a billion-plus square feet of vacant office space out there at the moment losing money. 

Another, and I suspect the biggest reason, is that many companies want to get rid of employees. Of course, if they lay them off, then they must deal with bad PR and unemployment. It’s much more cost-effective and looks better if they can get remote employees just to quit rather than return to their cubicles. 

In the long run, this will bite these companies in the rump. The future of white-collar work is remote. For now, though, I fear we will see this trend of forcing people either back into the office or out the door to continue. 

Me? Sorry, you’ll never get me back into an office. 

OpenAI has failed to release the tool to opt-out or customize data collection the company promised to make available by 2025, according to Techcrunch.

OpenAI is one of several generative AI (genAI) companies that have faced criticism for training their AI models on copyrighted material without permission from the owners. The companies have instead argued that the AI ​​training should be classified as fair use (known as the concept of “fair use” in US law).

In May 2024, Open AI said a “Media Manager” tool would be able to identify copyrighted text, images, audio and video to reflect creators’ preferences across multiple sources. According to Techcrunch, however, the tool has never been further prioritized internally at the company.

OpenAI has so far not commented on the delay of Media Manager, or given any update on when the tool might be released.

Combined with its existing solutions, Apple’s strategic approach to artificial intelligence (AI) deployment could make a radical difference to public health. Here is how it could achieve that.

Apple has already told us that achieving better health through better choices is fundamental to its approach. “Our goal is to empower people to take charge of their own health journey,” said Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health, in 2023. 

While knowledge is power, anyone who’s ever sent themselves into a tidal wave of panic when searching for information on their own symptoms online should know that applying it effectively isn’t always easy. Everyone is different, with varying polarities around health. What works for some might work more effectively if optimized and personalized for others, reflecting unique characteristics such as age, weight, or gender.

Help is coming. We’ve known for a while that Apple hopes to be part of that solution, which is why it is developing AI to optimize the choices people take.

What difference does it make?

Multiple studies show how making better choices can help keep you healthy. It has already been shown that the iPhone and Apple Watch can help identify early onset of dementia, Parkinsons, respiratory diseases, and sleep apnea. More recently, the Apple-introduced Vitals app seems to be providing people with early warnings that they’re about to get sick; the company has also created tools to empower Apple’s customers with better insights into their own mental health. Apple’s vision for health straddles all its devices, including AirPods Pro, which now act as bona fide hearing aids and hearing test systems. 

What problems might these technologies alleviate? 

The World Health Organization predicts diabetes will impact 1.3 billion people by 2050, up from 830 million in 2022. Cardiovascular disease kills 17.9 million people each year. The third biggest killer, chronic respiratory disease, affects around seven in every 100 people on earth. The estimated cost of chronic disease is expected to reach $47 trillion globally by 2030. What all three conditions have in common is that they can in part be mitigated by early intervention lifestyle changes and better self-care decisions. 

Better health, one step at a time

Sure, it’s not a panacea — people near you will still suffer from health problems. But positive lifestyle changes can mitigate, prevent, and manage these conditions, at least some of the time. But, ultimately, it’s not just the lives saved when using Emergency SOS via Satellite from a remote location that matter, it’s also the many that may never encounter problems as a direct result of taking 10,000 steps a day and closing all the Activity rings on their Apple Watch.

The Health app is a major component of all of this. Think of it as a digital hub. Not only does it gather information from all your devices, but it also sucks in data from some third-party services and has the capacity to share and ingest information with health professionals. All those insights are private and personal to you, and Apple wants to keep it that way. 

All of its systems aim to gather as little data as possible about you. When it comes to health, the intention is to ensure your data doesn’t enter the surveillance economy, (though Apple’s privacy commitment could yet be torn apart by clumsy regulation).

But is it safe?

In taking this approach, Apple is grappling with the biggest challenge to wider deployment of AI. In response to the ever-corroding experience of intrusive surveillance advertising and the challenge of privacy protection in a digital age, people are reluctant to share health data. By crafting systems that don’t require direct access to your data, Apple has an opportunity to unlock the potential benefits of personal health AI without also creating another attack surface against digital privacy. 

The risk is that if the company is forced to open up its systems, it might also be forced to open up your personal health data to third-party firms with which you don’t have the same depth of trust. With that in mind, it’s understandable the company might not introduce these systems if regulators insist on exposing personal information to outside companies less committed to privacy.

To avoid this, Apple must convince governments that the benefits of digital privacy far outweigh the costs of removing it. It needs to be able to build a health OS that can support third-party developers while also protecting user data. The prize? The opportunity to build a powerful personalized preventative AI-augmented health care anyone can hook themselves into for the price of an Apple One subscription. The risk? An incredibly intrusive exfiltration of personal information. 

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, Mastodon, and MeWe. 

Download the January 2025 issue of the Enterprise Spotlight from the editors of CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World.

Apple launched its highly anticipated Vision Pro “spatial computing” headset last Feb. 2 amid significant hype — and hopes it could finally push virtual or mixed reality into mainstream use. 

But with a price tag of $3,499 and a staggered rollout to countries outside the US, the idea of widespread adoption was always optimistic; fewer than 500,000 of the devices have been sold to date, according to Bloomberg. (Others have provided similar estimates for first-year sales, though Apple itself declined to comment.)

“When you get right down to it, the numbers aren’t terrifically huge — I wouldn’t consider that something to jump up and down about,” said Ramon Llamas, research director for IDC’s Devices and Displays team. He described the Vision Pro as a first iteration that, like other first-gen Apple devices, will take some time to find a broader audience. 

“You’ve got to start somewhere, and Apple swung for the fences,” Llamas said. “They did a very good job in terms of UI and also in terms of display. So, do I consider it a flop? Absolutely not.” 

JLStock / Shutterstock

Despite shortcomings — the high price and a paucity of use cases, chief among them — it’s too early to write off the device or Apple’s broader strategy around augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), according to Llamas. “Apple is very quick to iterate and improve, such that a Gen. 2 or Gen. 3 Vision Pro is going to make the current device look quaint,” he said.

Vision Pro sales represent a small fraction of the number of iPhones sold each year (passing 200 million annually in recent years). The same goes for other devices in Apple’s line-up: iPads, Macbooks, and Apple Watches sell in the tens of millions a year. But those are well-established products, whereas the market for AR/VR devices is in its infancy: around 6.8 million devices were sold globally in 2023, according to the latest IDC data available, compared to more than 1 billion smartphones. (IDC expected about 9.7 million AR/VR devices to be sold in 2024.)

IDC expects continued growth for AR/VR devices during the next few years.

IDC

It could be more than a decade before widespread adoption occurs, said Tuong Nguyen, director analyst and part of Gartner’s Emerging Technology and Trends team. “So, a few hundred thousand [Vision Pro devices sold], I think that’s plenty good,” he said. “It’s a great start to a long journey.”

Vision Pro’s growing pains 

Reviews of the Vision Pro at launch pegged it as an impressive feat of engineering with significant drawbacks that preclude regular use. Those issues included a lack of content, short battery life, the neck-straining weight, and — perhaps the biggest drawback — the price. Most saw it more as a glimpse at the future of computing rather than a mainstream device. 

Nearly a year since launch, the Vision Pro remains a devise still in search of identity, with a key use case that has so far remained elusive. 

“There was a lot of hype when the Apple Vision Pro was first announced,” said Avi Greengart, president and founder of Techsponential. “And that hype hasn’t quite been matched with a killer app, or a set of killer apps, that have made people say: ‘Forget the cost or the comfort, I must have this device.’ But that’s how platforms evolve — VisiCalc didn’t show up on day one, or Excel. So, it will take time.”

Apple has cast a broad net in offering up potential uses for the headset.

Entertainment has been a prominent one, and the Vision Pro has been praised for its immersive — albeit solitary — entertainment experience. But Apple has struggled to cultivate an ecosystem of apps and content that can keep users returning to the headset. A Wall Street Journal report in October highlighted the difficulty in attracting developers to the platform, with native apps from big names such as YouTube and Netflix missing, though HBO Max and Disney+ are available. 

“Some of the most remarkable entertainment experiences are already available for the Apple Vision Pro, but they tend to be relatively short,” said Greengart. “We don’t yet see regular sports or music content that you can experience, like a subscription to your favorite NBA or NFL team where you get 50-yard line seats.” 

The slow uptake has put some consumer-facing companies off creating Vision Pro apps, said Jan Solecki, head of product strategy and growth at Nomtek, a software development agency that focuses on mobile and AR/VR apps. “They’re just waiting to see how the platform will perform: they’re not rushing to launch,” he said. Nomtek talked to a number of meditation app providers that considered the Vision Pro “and decided, ‘We don’t really have that user base there,’” he said.

Aside from video and virtual environments, one notable feature in the VisionOS 2.0 release is the ability to turn old photos into “spatial” 3D images; it’s a relatively simple addition, yet has proven popular with users.

Google Trends shows interest in the Vision Pro peaked around the time it launched, then flatlined after.

Google

Though gaming is often a primary use for virtual of mixed reality devices, but it’s not one Apple seems particularly interested in pursuing. Apple’s eye detection and hand gesture inputs are well suited to some tasks, but most games require a controller and the Vision Pro is hampered by a lack of hardware support. To perhaps remedy that, Apple is reportedly partnering with Sony to enable the use of its PlayStation VR hand controllers.

Personal productivity is another potential use, and one Apple has leaned into in its marketing materials. Work apps available on the Vision Pro include Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint alongside Apple’s own productivity tools. 

VisionOS updates in recent months have made it easier to use the headset in conjunction with a Macbook laptop, including the ability to connect a Bluetooth mouse and view a Macbook keyboard while in a virtual setting. There’s also wide-screen mode (and with the VisionOS 2.2 release an ultrawide screen option). “You can array windows all around your space, physical space, and create the equivalent of a six-monitor setup, and that’s pretty exciting,” said Greengart. 

Apple

The weight of the device — about 1.3 pounds — makes it harder for people to use it for long periods. But replacement head straps developed by third-party vendors do promise some relief, said Greengart. 

“One of the things that has made the biggest improvement is not a software update, but a hardware one,” he said, pointing to options from the likes of Annapro and medical device manufacturer ResMed. Still, neither of them “can completely negate the fact that this is still a rather heavy computer you’re strapping to your face,” he said. “That is one of the biggest constraints of the device today. It is not the most comfortable thing to wear over long periods of time.”

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ANNAPRO says its AVP Strap for Vision Pro can reduce facial pressure by about 60%-90%.

ANNAPRO

Of course, those complaints can leveled at all mixed-reality headsets, and Apple has been lauded for the Vision Pro’s interface. “There’s no question that the price and the weight are inhibitors, but the user experience you get on an Apple Vision Pro is as of yet unmatched by anything else on the market,” said Greengart.

Apple targets the enterprise

Apple also sees the Vision Pro as an enterprise tool, and has pitched as being useful for collaboration, employee training, and remote assistance for frontline workers. 

“I would say they focus more on enterprise than they usually do with other products they’ve launched in the past, at least early on,” said Nguyen.

With a less-than-expected consumer interest in the Vision Pro, Nomtek shifted its attention to developing apps for business customers. “Very early on, we noticed a switch in Apple’s strategy to move more towards the enterprise customer.… With that in mind, we’ve been also following this strategy and targeting enterprises,” said Solecki. 

The company has worked on a variety of business-focused projects, including developing a Vision Pro app that provides step-by-step guidance and training for maintenance technicians at a jet manufacturer firm. A building material manufacturer is also exploring the development of a Vision Pro app to aid machinery maintenance for hundreds of factories around the world, Solecki said.

The arrival of VisionOS 2.0 helped broaden the number of potential enterprise use cases, he said, with a set of enterprise APIs. 

One API opens access to the main camera feed, allowing developers to create an “anomaly detection” app for a production worker to detect faulty components, according to Apple. Another enables QR code scanning and detection; that could be  useful for a warehouse worker scanning bar codes to verify packages have the correct item without the need for a hand-held scanner. It’s also now possible for developers to exceed the default limits on the Vision Pro’s processors to handle more demanding scenarios, such as rendering a high-fidelity, mixed-reality display of a race car. (That kind of use, however, can reduce battery life and increase fan noise.)

Teams users can join meetings using their Persona via the Vision Pro.

Microsoft

The addition of device management capabilities earlier this year also made it easier for enterprises to deploy multiple Vision Pro headsets, said Solecki, with more parameters to manage and restrict usage. “We are looking to implement this for an airline as an in-flight entertainment solution — we can really narrow down what they can do and they cannot do, to only access the apps that we’ve approved,” he said.

More generally, the Vision Pro launch served to reignite business interest in mixed reality. 

“Regardless of the actual sales of Apple Vision Pro, it has been very good for the XR scene as a whole industry,” said Solecki. “One company that came to us and wanted to build something on Vision Pro said: ‘We tried HoloLens years ago, and we didn’t like it and we just dropped it, but now Apple has released [the Vision Pro] and we want to try it.’ …People got excited again by an XR headset.”

As with consumer adoption, business demand has been cautious. An IDC survey of US-based IT managers with responsibility for purchasing AR/VR devices showed that only around a third of respondents are keen on acquiring the Vision Pro for their organization.

“I think Apple has a lot to do on both a software and hardware front before the Vision Pro will become a ‘must have’ device, even at a pilot level, at the typical US business,” Lewis Ward, senior research analyst at IDC and the report author, told Computerworld last year. 

Some industry sectors, such as finance and healthcare, remain more bullish, however. “The interest is there [from businesses], but there are still many hurdles that need to be overcome to make it viable for an enterprise,” said Nguyen. “One [is] price; two, we’ll just call it content: what can I do with this to make it worth this investment?”

If Vision Pro is just the start, what’s next?

Almost as soon as the Vision Pro launched, rumors of follow-up devices began to spread, including talk of a lower-priced version that strips out some premium features, such as the front-facing EyeSight display. 

A cheaper version could help attract a wider audience of users (and developers), at least until a “killer app” arrives that convinces people to invest serious money in a headset. “I don’t know if they will release something cheaper, but I will say they need to in order to get any meaningful adoption beyond what they’ve gotten already,” said Nguyen. 

There’s also talk of Apple developing lightweight augmented reality glasses — the Holy Grail for Apple and others. But, similar to Meta’s Project Orion prototype, any  augmented reality glasses from Apple are likely years away from release. 

In the meantime, the existence of the Vision Pro and Apple’s presence in the market could spur wider innovation. It “reinvigorated the competition” said Greengart, pointing to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who publicly talked up his company’s devices as a more affordable rival to the Vision Pro. 

In addition, Google recently announced its Android XR operating system, which will be used in a new Samsung headset due to launch this year. The device and OS bear a resemblance to Apple’s own hardware and software, with mixed reality pass-through and a multi-screen interface. 

Android XR places greater emphasis on the use of artificial intelligence — a strategy Apple’s likely to pursue, too, with potential to integrate Apple Intelligence into the mixed reality headset. 

“The competitive environment is what fosters the innovation,” said Nguyen. “That’s an opportunity for you to improve your product, your solution, your offering, whatever it happens to be.

“One thing that all can agree on is that the Vision Pro has given the market a much-needed boost. The announcement and launch advanced us a few steps closer to creating the conditions necessary for meaningful adoption growth.”

It’s the calm before the storm.

Today, on New Year’s Day, we have a brief moment to pause and prepare — and set ourselves up for success.

From a tech perspective, that means taking the time to clean up and optimize your smartphone setup. That way, when the inevitable craziness hits, you’ll be ready to tackle whatever comes your way with smart, sensible systems and all the best apps already in place and ready to serve you.

We’ve already thought through the top Android tips and Google Android app tricks from 2024 — and even the most noteworthy Pixel-specific advice from the past year. Today, it’s time to shift our focus and look at some of the most exceptional (and often off-the-beaten-path) third-party Android apps that can really expand your experience and grant you some exceptionally effective new productivity powers.

Take a peek through the following standout suggestions — 44 awesome apps to explore, spread out over a dozen different articles! — and for even more Android Intelligence, make sure you’re set to receive my free Android Intelligence newsletter, too. You’ll get three new things to try in your inbox every Friday, and you’ll get my game-changing Android Notification Power Pack as a special welcome bonus.

Here we go!

2024’s top Android app advice Meet the floating Android note app of the future

This dazzlingly different Android note app floats your most important info in an incredibly interesting way.

The secret to summarizing notifications on Android

With about 60 seconds of simple setup, you can have Google’s Gemini AI genie sum up your incoming notifications this instant — no matter what Android device you’re using.

11 Android Quick Settings additions that’ll supercharge your efficiency

These out-of-sight tiles will turn your favorite phone into an even more powerful productivity powerhouse.

3 secrets to a smarter Android status bar

A trio of quick ‘n’ easy enhancements to transform the top of your screen into a time-saving power-hub.

22 must-have Android widgets for busy professionals

The most exceptional widgets around for making your favorite device’s home screen much more useful.

Android widgets gone wild

Why stop with the home screen? This wow-worthy widget wonder will make whatever Android device you’re using infinitely more efficient — in a way that only Android could provide.

An awesome Android audio upgrade

Whether you’re dealing with mumblings from meetings, noises from notifications, or music from commute-time streaming, you’ve never experienced sound on your phone like this.

The best Android app drawer enhancement you’ll ever make

Free your phone’s app drawer from its shackles and watch your efficiency soar.

An instant Android motion sickness upgrade

Ever wish you could look down at your phone or tablet in a car without getting queasy? Here’s your answer.

60 seconds to a smarter Android screen timeout

This quick ‘n’ simple enhancement will make your day-to-day Android doings meaningfully more pleasant.

This awesome Android weather app reads the forecast out loud

A thoughtful interface, on-demand audio forecasts, and actual human meteorologists set this app apart.

Bonus: 8 AI-powered apps that’ll actually save you time

Most AI apps are buzzword-chasing hype-mongers. These eight off-the-beaten-path supertools — while not entirely Android-specific — are rare exceptions.

A very happy New Year to you. Here’s to many new geeky, Googley adventures ahead!

Give yourself the gift of endless Android Intelligence in 2025 with my free weekly newsletter — three new things to try in your inbox every Friday and six powerful new notification enhancements the second you sign up!