MacBreak Weekly (Audio)

MBW 1016: An Orca, a Trombone, and a Treasure Chest - AirPods Max 2 Unveiled

59 snips
Mar 18, 2026
They unpack Apple's new AirPods Max 2 and the tiny but notable Studio Display refresh. Repairability returns to the MacBook Neo and iPhone production shifts out of China. A lively detour into nine incoming emoji — including an orca, trombone and treasure chest — and debates about keyboard glyphs and macOS UI changes. AI voice cloning, Rosetta’s future, and X‑Plane on Vision Pro also spark discussion.
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INSIGHT

Apple Is Paying A Premium To Diversify iPhone Production

  • Apple is deliberately shifting iPhone assembly outside China, notably expanding production in India to ~25% of phones, as a hedge against geopolitical and tariff risks.
  • The move costs Apple more now but reduces long-term supply risk and leverages Indian manufacturing incentives.
INSIGHT

Apple's New Keyboard Glyphs Simplify Global Supply

  • Apple replaced some U.S. keyboard labels with glyphs to match international layouts and simplify global supply chains.
  • The change appears minor but streamlines manufacturing and unifies keycap design across regions.
ADVICE

Update To See New Emoji Or You'll Get Black Boxes

  • Expect new emoji in upcoming betas (trombone, treasure chest, orca, Bigfoot) and consider updating devices to see them; missing updates cause black-box placeholders.
  • Designers at Apple and Unicode coordinate art but vendors render emoji differently, so visuals can vary across platforms.
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