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What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

Apple's Health app keeps evolving, with aspirations to be a complete combination personal data archive, medical liaison and insight engine. But the goals, while ambitious, aren't fully realized yet. iOS 16 and WatchOS 9 are adding medication management and multistage sleep tracking to a growing list of features. But what comes next, and will it start to become a tool that interfaces with doctors even more than it has?

Apple just published a multipage health report (PDF), which aims to detail where the company sees its health focus heading on the iPhone and the Apple Watch. The report covers the app, research studies and initiatives with medical organizations.

As Google prepares to release a Pixel Watch that will connect to Fitbit's features and services, Apple looks to be strengthening its position by expanding beyond the watch to a larger spectrum of health services. Already, Apple Health and Fitness Plus are evolving into services you don't need an Apple Watch to use.

When will Health start to become an extension of how I connect with my own doctors? Will sleep tracking offer a doorway to other health insights? And why doesn't Apple have its own equivalent of the "readiness score" used by Fitbit and Oura?

Apple's vice president of health, Dr. Sumbul Desai, spoke with CNET about the goals of Apple Health and where goals are being set next. She sees the blend of lifestyle with clinical data, medication data and an increasing number of metrics in one place as helping future insights in other health measurements over time. 

"You have to do it in a really thoughtful and meaningful way," Desai said. "Because there are also correlations you can make that are incorrect. That's where the work is, making sure that when you make those connections that they are correct, grounded in the science and make sense to the user."

Medication tracking on iOS 16 looks like another step to bring medical histories onto Health.

Apple

Where does Apple Health meet your doctor?

As I've found over the last few months, over several surgeries and doctor visits, my own medical care doesn't often connect with my wearable and phone apps. Apple's been aiming to make strides to connect Apple Health with medical providers, but the framework isn't fully there yet for digital health platforms. A lot of Apple's promised benefits are in identifying long-term data patterns and insights.

"I do think how they interact with each other is really important," said Desai, who points to the new tracking of atrial fibrillation patterns over time in Watch OS 9. "We are actually taking how much time you're in AFib and correlating it to your lifestyle. How much you're sleeping. How much you're moving, you'll see the changes in AFib. If you're using Mindful Minutes, do you see a change."

Apple has tried making data sharing easier with doctors, but right now it still doesn't go far enough. At the medical group where I'm a patient, for instance, there's no obvious way to share the data I'm collecting in Apple Health through the patient portal.

Sleep tracking is gaining sleep stages in WatchOS 9. Will that bring a wave of other health insights down the road?

Apple

Sleep as the next frontier?

Apple's addition of sleep stage-based sleep tracking in the upcoming Watch OS 9 looks to close the gap on other fitness trackers like those from Fitbit, Samsung and Oura. Apple's been pulling new features for the Apple Watch from work in some of the company's ongoing heart research studies, and sleep could end up being a place that evolves next.

"What I'm really excited to learn from a scientific standpoint is, does the amount of sleep that you're getting in certain stages, like core [replenishing sleep], does that actually translate to benefit during the day when you're moving?" Desai said. "Are there certain phenotypes of certain people who have more benefit versus others? There's so much to tackle from a research standpoint there. We would never put anything out until we knew we kind of had some scientific grounding. The whole causation-correlation thing can get very tricky."

Desai suggested future research combining sleep stage data with Apple's ongoing heart and move data from its ongoing study will possibly provide more insights, "but we're still a ways away from that."

Could Apple ever develop its own readiness score?

One thing Apple's evolving and elaborate set of Health insights currently doesn't have is any sort of attempt at a distilled score, or personal health rating. Fitbit, Oura, and a number of other wearables have daily personal scores derived from a variety of individual metrics. I asked Desai whether Apple might pursue a similar idea anytime soon. While it sounds like a direction Apple Health could head in, it also seems like Apple is still trying to lock down the best path to get there.

"It's a really good question. I think the answer is, to be honest, is we don't have a firm POV yet," Desai said. "We want to understand the science behind that, and what can we understand and glean from a scientific standpoint."

Desai suggests that the health measurements, and their meanings, can vary. "HRV [heart rate variability] is a great metric. I'm super fascinated by HRV. But HRV can be changed based on multiple reasons." She suggested that Apple's eventual evolution of its insights will need to come with clear guidance, too.

"I think for us, we want to be able to provide actionable information. So to understand to do that, you actually have to be able to draw it back to, what we think is actually causing that? We are really trying to understand the science behind all of these different metrics and focus on how we provide insights that we know we can back up."

On whether Apple Health could come to other non-Apple devices

Apple's aiming for Health to be a comprehensive, secure system for anyone to use, but it still flows through Apple hardware, which means a portion of the population will always be left out. I asked Desai whether Apple Health might ever be available beyond iPhones.

"We're always looking at ways to support the ecosystem. We just want to make sure we can support that in a private and secure way. That's fundamentally what drives our decision making," Desai said. "We have a ton of things in the App Store ecosystem that are super interesting that people are doing, and we're very supportive of supporting that work.

"Honestly, we make a lot of decisions driven by privacy. And there's a lot of things we choose not to do and choose to do, based upon that."

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

---

Source

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What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

Apple's Health app keeps evolving, with aspirations to be a complete combination personal data archive, medical liaison and insight engine. But the goals, while ambitious, aren't fully realized yet. iOS 16 and WatchOS 9 are adding medication management and multistage sleep tracking to a growing list of features. But what comes next, and will it start to become a tool that interfaces with doctors even more than it has?

Apple just published a multipage health report (PDF), which aims to detail where the company sees its health focus heading on the iPhone and the Apple Watch. The report covers the app, research studies and initiatives with medical organizations.

As Google prepares to release a Pixel Watch that will connect to Fitbit's features and services, Apple looks to be strengthening its position by expanding beyond the watch to a larger spectrum of health services. Already, Apple Health and Fitness Plus are evolving into services you don't need an Apple Watch to use.

When will Health start to become an extension of how I connect with my own doctors? Will sleep tracking offer a doorway to other health insights? And why doesn't Apple have its own equivalent of the "readiness score" used by Fitbit and Oura?

Apple's vice president of health, Dr. Sumbul Desai, spoke with CNET about the goals of Apple Health and where goals are being set next. She sees the blend of lifestyle with clinical data, medication data and an increasing number of metrics in one place as helping future insights in other health measurements over time. 

"You have to do it in a really thoughtful and meaningful way," Desai said. "Because there are also correlations you can make that are incorrect. That's where the work is, making sure that when you make those connections that they are correct, grounded in the science and make sense to the user."

Medication tracking on iOS 16 looks like another step to bring medical histories onto Health.

Apple

Where does Apple Health meet your doctor?

As I've found over the last few months, over several surgeries and doctor visits, my own medical care doesn't often connect with my wearable and phone apps. Apple's been aiming to make strides to connect Apple Health with medical providers, but the framework isn't fully there yet for digital health platforms. A lot of Apple's promised benefits are in identifying long-term data patterns and insights.

"I do think how they interact with each other is really important," said Desai, who points to the new tracking of atrial fibrillation patterns over time in Watch OS 9. "We are actually taking how much time you're in AFib and correlating it to your lifestyle. How much you're sleeping. How much you're moving, you'll see the changes in AFib. If you're using Mindful Minutes, do you see a change."

Apple has tried making data sharing easier with doctors, but right now it still doesn't go far enough. At the medical group where I'm a patient, for instance, there's no obvious way to share the data I'm collecting in Apple Health through the patient portal.

Sleep tracking is gaining sleep stages in WatchOS 9. Will that bring a wave of other health insights down the road?

Apple

Sleep as the next frontier?

Apple's addition of sleep stage-based sleep tracking in the upcoming Watch OS 9 looks to close the gap on other fitness trackers like those from Fitbit, Samsung and Oura. Apple's been pulling new features for the Apple Watch from work in some of the company's ongoing heart research studies, and sleep could end up being a place that evolves next.

"What I'm really excited to learn from a scientific standpoint is, does the amount of sleep that you're getting in certain stages, like core [replenishing sleep], does that actually translate to benefit during the day when you're moving?" Desai said. "Are there certain phenotypes of certain people who have more benefit versus others? There's so much to tackle from a research standpoint there. We would never put anything out until we knew we kind of had some scientific grounding. The whole causation-correlation thing can get very tricky."

Desai suggested future research combining sleep stage data with Apple's ongoing heart and move data from its ongoing study will possibly provide more insights, "but we're still a ways away from that."

Could Apple ever develop its own readiness score?

One thing Apple's evolving and elaborate set of Health insights currently doesn't have is any sort of attempt at a distilled score, or personal health rating. Fitbit, Oura, and a number of other wearables have daily personal scores derived from a variety of individual metrics. I asked Desai whether Apple might pursue a similar idea anytime soon. While it sounds like a direction Apple Health could head in, it also seems like Apple is still trying to lock down the best path to get there.

"It's a really good question. I think the answer is, to be honest, is we don't have a firm POV yet," Desai said. "We want to understand the science behind that, and what can we understand and glean from a scientific standpoint."

Desai suggests that the health measurements, and their meanings, can vary. "HRV [heart rate variability] is a great metric. I'm super fascinated by HRV. But HRV can be changed based on multiple reasons." She suggested that Apple's eventual evolution of its insights will need to come with clear guidance, too.

"I think for us, we want to be able to provide actionable information. So to understand to do that, you actually have to be able to draw it back to, what we think is actually causing that? We are really trying to understand the science behind all of these different metrics and focus on how we provide insights that we know we can back up."

On whether Apple Health could come to other non-Apple devices

Apple's aiming for Health to be a comprehensive, secure system for anyone to use, but it still flows through Apple hardware, which means a portion of the population will always be left out. I asked Desai whether Apple Health might ever be available beyond iPhones.

"We're always looking at ways to support the ecosystem. We just want to make sure we can support that in a private and secure way. That's fundamentally what drives our decision making," Desai said. "We have a ton of things in the App Store ecosystem that are super interesting that people are doing, and we're very supportive of supporting that work.

"Honestly, we make a lot of decisions driven by privacy. And there's a lot of things we choose not to do and choose to do, based upon that."

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

---

Source

What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

What the Future of Health Looks Like for Apple

Apple's Health app keeps evolving, with aspirations to be a complete combination personal data archive, medical liaison and insight engine. But the goals, while ambitious, aren't fully realized yet. iOS 16 and WatchOS 9 are adding medication management and multistage sleep tracking to a growing list of features. But what comes next, and will it start to become a tool that interfaces with doctors even more than it has?

Apple just published a multipage health report (PDF), which aims to detail where the company sees its health focus heading on the iPhone and the Apple Watch. The report covers the app, research studies and initiatives with medical organizations.

As Google prepares to release a Pixel Watch that will connect to Fitbit's features and services, Apple looks to be strengthening its position by expanding beyond the watch to a larger spectrum of health services. Already, Apple Health and Fitness Plus are evolving into services you don't need an Apple Watch to use.

When will Health start to become an extension of how I connect with my own doctors? Will sleep tracking offer a doorway to other health insights? And why doesn't Apple have its own equivalent of the "readiness score" used by Fitbit and Oura?

Apple's vice president of health, Dr. Sumbul Desai, spoke with CNET about the goals of Apple Health and where goals are being set next. She sees the blend of lifestyle with clinical data, medication data and an increasing number of metrics in one place as helping future insights in other health measurements over time. 

"You have to do it in a really thoughtful and meaningful way," Desai said. "Because there are also correlations you can make that are incorrect. That's where the work is, making sure that when you make those connections that they are correct, grounded in the science and make sense to the user."

Medication tracking on iOS 16 looks like another step to bring medical histories onto Health.

Apple

Where does Apple Health meet your doctor?

As I've found over the last few months, over several surgeries and doctor visits, my own medical care doesn't often connect with my wearable and phone apps. Apple's been aiming to make strides to connect Apple Health with medical providers, but the framework isn't fully there yet for digital health platforms. A lot of Apple's promised benefits are in identifying long-term data patterns and insights.

"I do think how they interact with each other is really important," said Desai, who points to the new tracking of atrial fibrillation patterns over time in Watch OS 9. "We are actually taking how much time you're in AFib and correlating it to your lifestyle. How much you're sleeping. How much you're moving, you'll see the changes in AFib. If you're using Mindful Minutes, do you see a change."

Apple has tried making data sharing easier with doctors, but right now it still doesn't go far enough. At the medical group where I'm a patient, for instance, there's no obvious way to share the data I'm collecting in Apple Health through the patient portal.

Sleep tracking is gaining sleep stages in WatchOS 9. Will that bring a wave of other health insights down the road?

Apple

Sleep as the next frontier?

Apple's addition of sleep stage-based sleep tracking in the upcoming Watch OS 9 looks to close the gap on other fitness trackers like those from Fitbit, Samsung and Oura. Apple's been pulling new features for the Apple Watch from work in some of the company's ongoing heart research studies, and sleep could end up being a place that evolves next.

"What I'm really excited to learn from a scientific standpoint is, does the amount of sleep that you're getting in certain stages, like core [replenishing sleep], does that actually translate to benefit during the day when you're moving?" Desai said. "Are there certain phenotypes of certain people who have more benefit versus others? There's so much to tackle from a research standpoint there. We would never put anything out until we knew we kind of had some scientific grounding. The whole causation-correlation thing can get very tricky."

Desai suggested future research combining sleep stage data with Apple's ongoing heart and move data from its ongoing study will possibly provide more insights, "but we're still a ways away from that."

Could Apple ever develop its own readiness score?

One thing Apple's evolving and elaborate set of Health insights currently doesn't have is any sort of attempt at a distilled score, or personal health rating. Fitbit, Oura, and a number of other wearables have daily personal scores derived from a variety of individual metrics. I asked Desai whether Apple might pursue a similar idea anytime soon. While it sounds like a direction Apple Health could head in, it also seems like Apple is still trying to lock down the best path to get there.

"It's a really good question. I think the answer is, to be honest, is we don't have a firm POV yet," Desai said. "We want to understand the science behind that, and what can we understand and glean from a scientific standpoint."

Desai suggests that the health measurements, and their meanings, can vary. "HRV [heart rate variability] is a great metric. I'm super fascinated by HRV. But HRV can be changed based on multiple reasons." She suggested that Apple's eventual evolution of its insights will need to come with clear guidance, too.

"I think for us, we want to be able to provide actionable information. So to understand to do that, you actually have to be able to draw it back to, what we think is actually causing that? We are really trying to understand the science behind all of these different metrics and focus on how we provide insights that we know we can back up."

On whether Apple Health could come to other non-Apple devices

Apple's aiming for Health to be a comprehensive, secure system for anyone to use, but it still flows through Apple hardware, which means a portion of the population will always be left out. I asked Desai whether Apple Health might ever be available beyond iPhones.

"We're always looking at ways to support the ecosystem. We just want to make sure we can support that in a private and secure way. That's fundamentally what drives our decision making," Desai said. "We have a ton of things in the App Store ecosystem that are super interesting that people are doing, and we're very supportive of supporting that work.

"Honestly, we make a lot of decisions driven by privacy. And there's a lot of things we choose not to do and choose to do, based upon that."

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

---

Source

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Massachusetts Tax Refund: Who Is Eligible and When Could Checks Go Out?

Massachusetts Tax Refund: Who Is Eligible and When Could Checks Go Out?

Gov. Charlie Baker's plan to send $250 checks to middle-income residents fell apart last month, but Massachusetts taxpayers will still probably get a healthy tax rebate this year.

The $250 payout was making headway but a bill failed to pass before the July 31 deadline, in part because legislators suddenly remembered a 35-year-old voter referendum that could mean nearly $3 billion in surplus taxes will be returned to taxpayers this fall.

The 1986 statute --  which has only ever been triggered once, in 1987 -- mandates that, if the money collected in income tax reaches a predetermined dollar amount above and beyond the state budget, the excess must be returned to taxpayers.

Baker insisted there was enough in the coffers to support both his original $250 payout and any mandatory refunds.  

"The tax breaks that are currently pending before the legislature are eminently affordable," he told reporters, WBUR reported. "I mean, you're talking about a tax year, this past year, in which tax revenue went up by over 20 percent."

Legislators on Beacon Hill didn't necessarily agree.

"The fiscally responsible thing to do is to hit pause right now on all of this spending," Sen. Michael Rodrigues, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, told reporters on Aug. 1, The Boston Globe reported.

"We want to make sure we get it right," Rodrigues added. "We are committed to getting some real, long-term permanent tax relief done."

Here's what Massachusetts residents need to know about the tax rebate, including who is eligible, how much it could be for and when it may go out.

For more on tax relief, find out which states are mailing out tax rebates, pausing their gas tax and instituting sales tax "holidays."

How much will the Massachusetts tax rebate be?

The original refund proposed in Baker's budget was for $250, intended for individual filers who earned between $38,000 and $100,000 last year and joint filers who made up to $150,000.

The exact dollar amount that could go out now is still to be determined: State Auditor Suzanne Bump has to calculate what, if any, tax surplus there is, using a formula based on annual wage and salary growth.

Baker's office has predicted taxpayers would get 7% of their 2021 income taxes returned, according to MassLive. For an individual earning $75,000, that would work out to about $250.

While the state auditor hasn't determined whether tax revenue has triggered a refund yet, Gov Baker predicts that thanks to a 1986 voter referendum, taxpayers will get 7% of their 2021 income taxes returned.

Photosomnia/Getty Images

Who qualifies for the Massachusetts tax rebate?

Theoretically, anyone who paid 2021 income tax in Massachusetts would be eligible to be paid back. Residents with outstanding state tax bills may not see a check, though.

When will the Massachusetts tax rebate be sent out?

Baker's original plan would have had $250 checks in the hands of eligible taxpayers by October. The tax cap won't be calculated by the state auditor until September, though the Department of Revenue could start issuing tax credits on Sept. 21, MassLive reported.

"We're looking at what's the quickest and most efficient way to get that money back to the taxpayers," Michael Heffernan, state secretary of administration and finance, told reporters Thursday, WBZ news radio reported.

Lawmakers don't want to rush any decisions and overextend the budget with multiple rounds of tax rebates.

Pausing the economic development and tax relief package forged the "wisest choice," House Speaker Ron Mariano said at a press conference, WGBH reported.  

"We wanted to make sure to be fiscally prudent that we know what we're getting into," Mariano added. "The economy is going through some strange things with a big inflation rate [and] oil and gas fluctuations that may lead to a recession."

What other tax breaks could Massachusetts residents receive?

Lawmakers want to increase the earned income tax credit from the 30% match of the federal credit to 40%, raise the child care credit from $180  per child to $310 and increase the rental deduction cap from $3,000 to $4,000. 

Certain seniors who own or rent their primary properties in Massachusetts get a "circuit breaker" tax credit, and Democrats want to bump the maximum from $1,170 to $2,340.

---

Source

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Apple's new 2021 iPad Pro: What to expect from Apple's April 20 event

Apple's new 2021 iPad Pro: What to expect from Apple's April 20 event

The 2020 iPad Pro arrived at the beginning of a year-long (and counting) pandemic, back in mid-March 2020. It's likely due for an upgrade soon, maybe at next week's Apple event. But what can it add to make a difference this year? Think processors and accessories, based on recent reports that the hardware could get a new chip and a Thunderbolt port, and possibly a display boost too. But, what will be possible in the middle of a chip and display shortage?

That 2020 model didn't have much of a processor bump, and looked nearly the same as the model from 2018. It did introduce some new tech and accessories, though: It was the first Apple product to have a depth-sensing lidar sensor, and Apple introduced a trackpad-enabled Magic Keyboard case (that costs as much as an entry-level iPad).

Apple's recent Macs got massive performance boosts from Apple's M1 processors, which already feel like advanced versions of the chips that were already in the iPad Pro. 

2021 seems like a perfect time to give the Pro line processor boosts, and that's exactly what recent reports have indicated. But it's unclear whether the iPad Pro will get the M1 that recent Macs have used, or a different custom processor, like an A14X. The next iPads could also improve how accessories connect, possibly evolving the USB-C port to add Thunderbolt speed and connectivity. Display upgrades also seem overdue, and Mini LED seems like a lock for at least the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, according to the latest report from Bloomberg... if supplies aren't limited. Here's what we expect.

A better display

The iPad Pro display is great, and its 120Hz refresh rate still isn't available on any other iPhone or iPad. But a shift to OLED (or in the meantime, Mini LED) feels overdue. Especially since the iPad Pro is aimed at graphic designers, photo editors and people looking for perfect displays.

If the iPad Pro gets a Mini LED display, which should offer deeper black levels similar to OLED, it may only arrive on the 12.9-inch model, and could be in shorter supply for a while. But, while a nicer display would be appreciated, the existing iPad Pro display is still really, really good.

Will the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air have the same M1 processor? If so, how similar will they become?

Scott Stein/CNET

An M1 processor (or, something nearly as good)

The A12Z processor on the 2020 iPad Pro is, to be clear, still fast. But it wasn't much faster in benchmarks than the A12X processor from 2018, which points to an overdue chip upgrade. There could be an A14Z or A14X processor, that adds extra graphics cores and other boosts over the chip on Apple's recent iPhones and iPad Air. Or, maybe, Apple uses the M1 that's already in the MacBook Air. The M1 seems like the obvious choice, but it's possible Apple will choose to customize a chip more targeted at tablets, leaving out unnecessary M1 features geared towards Macs.

All indications suggest the iPad Pro will have its own A14X chip that will effectively be as fast as the M1 on Macs.

Either way, the results could end up offering an extra boost. But for what? I'd like the already-fast iPad Pro to start being capable of more advanced multitasking. Or, maybe, true second monitor support. 

iPad Pro USB-C hubs already exist, like Sanho's HyperDrive. Thunderbolt could expand options for accessories.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

An expanded Thunderbolt port

The USB-C port on the iPad Pro and iPad Air is a big improvement over Lightning: It works with standard USB charging adapters, and can connect to multiport adapters to get SD cards, or add a monitor or Ethernet. 

Yet there are limits to what the iPad Pro can do compared to a Mac. Thunderbolt would allow expanded and higher-speed external storage, improved monitor connection and more advanced docks.

That could suggest new Apple accessories. 

The Kensington StudioDock turns the iPad Pro into a desktop computer. Could Apple make its own accessory?

Scott Stein/CNET

Will there be an Apple-made dock?

Apple's transformative keyboard case for the iPad Pro took advantage of new support for trackpads in last year's iPadOS update. If the new iPads gain Thunderbolt, maybe Apple will decide to make its own iPad Pro dock. I imagined some sort of turn-your-iPad-into-a-desktop-computer accessory a few years ago. The Kensington StudioDock for iPad Pro and Air shows how the USB-C iPads can already transform into exactly that desktop device with lots of extra ports. Would Apple try its own spin, but with Thunderbolt?

5G

The iPad doesn't have 5G... yet. Since the 2020 iPhones introduced 5G, the iPad Pro would make sense as the next on deck. Apple doesn't even have LTE on any of its laptops, but iPads have had that option almost from the start. That being said, I've found my local 5G to be lacking, and mobile data is an add-on option I don't tend to use. 

A better pencil, maybe

Recent reports claimed that Apple may have a newer version of the Pencil stylus, maybe one that's more compact or have additional touch-based controls (or a new tip?). The second-gen Apple Pencil debuted back in 2018 and there's already iPad stylus fragmentation, with differing levels of support in different iPads for the first- and second-gen Pencils. 

Apple's event invite does seem very squiggly, as if drawn by a Pencil...who knows?

Could Apple shift the front camera placement? (We hope so)

The iPad isn't great for landscape-based video conferencing, because the front-facing camera ends up sitting on one side and making conversations look like I'm staring somewhere else. It would make sense for Apple to change where the front-facing camera is this year. We're all working and schooling from home more than ever, and when we do, we usually do it with the iPad held sideways. Even the Magic Keyboard assumes you're using the iPad that way.

The iPad Pro and Mac already feel like they're overlapping. Will this year's iPad continue to blur the lines?

Scott Stein/CNET

Why not make iPadOS even more expansive (and Mac-like)?

If Apple were to put the M1 in the iPad Pro, it also raises the question of whether Apple would unleash the iPad's software even further. Living with an M1 MacBook Air alongside an iPad Pro reminded me of the iPad's OS limitations, and how a more multitasking-focused, monitor-enabled iPad could feel even more like a full-fledged computer. Now that the iPad already supports trackpads, mice and plenty of peripherals, why not?

My biggest desire for the next wave of iPads isn't about hardware. It's about unleashing the software to make it as versatile as Macs already are. We might not get any closer to bridging iPad and Mac this spring, but I'd still like to see it happen. And we'll probably find out on April 20.

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Source

'Westworld' Season 4, Episode 7 Recap: 'Metanoia'

'Westworld' Season 4, Episode 7 Recap: 'Metanoia'

The second-to-last episode of Westworld season 4 aired on Sunday, setting the stage for next week's finale. It caps off with a surprising twist -- this time involving Christina -- our brunette Dolores look-alike whose story took yet another turn.

In other news, this season's big bad, Chalores, has been replaced by her second-in-command. Let's run through what else happened in episode 7, including who's still standing on both sides as we head into the final episode.

A door to The Sublime

The episode starts with Bernard and Maeve pulling up to the futuristic Hoover Dam facility we saw in episode 1 -- the one William acquired with help from our first, nameless fly victim of the season. But eventually, the show reveals we are actually somewhere else… in The Sublime. When Bernard convened with Akecheta in The Sublime back in episode 3, he viewed these events before they took place (or it's one of the many paths he viewed that could potentially happen, I guess).

Bernard reveals to Maeve -- a version of her he's whipped up -- that "the hydroelectric server farm" they're looking at houses The Sublime. (Also called The Valley Beyond, The Sublime is a digital plane of existence we saw a bunch of Westworld hosts enter in season 2, leaving their physical bodies behind. Maeve's daughter is one of them.) In season 2, Dolores sent The Sublime -- and those in it -- somewhere out of reach. Turns out, it was here. Bernard uses the key he possesses to open the door.

Bernard tells Maeve that he's been down every possible path, and the outcome is always the same: extinction for both hosts and humans. He tells her they could escape that fate by uploading themselves to The Sublime. Maeve takes him up on the offer, and Bernard asks if that's what she would really say, or if that's just his impression of her.

Then, those events pretty much repeat in the real world (with the addition of some more on-screen action involving a big red robot). Bernard and Maeve arrive at the facility, where Bernard once again reveals it holds The Sublime and opens the door using his key. But he doesn't tell Maeve the truth about their ill-fated quest. Instead, he says that "If we get to her tower, we can save them as well as ourselves."

Chalores is shutting down the cities

Next, we spy Chalores, host William and a host version of Caleb. Like the last version of Caleb who got his neck snapped so unkindly last week, this one knows his daughter, Frankie, is alive. Chalores is a nickname for Charlotte Hale. In the past, Dolores made copies of herself -- the "self" that exists in her pearl -- and put one into a host version of Hale.

Chalores looked incredible in this episode (and has all season).

John Johnson/HBO

Chalores tells William to give them a minute, and then she reveals to Caleb that she's shutting down "the cities." (Does this mean there are more than the one we've seen?) She plans to stick humans in cold storage, mirroring how the hosts in Westworld were treated. She leaves Caleb in his confinement and tells a surprised William she's calling the human world quits because of the host/outlier issue. "If I don't do this today, there'll be less of us tomorrow," she says.

An already stressed-out host William is not happy about this news. Later, we see him visit human William again. In a long, icy spiel, human William tells his host doppelgänger that "culture doesn't survive, cockroaches do." He tells his host counterpart that if he could, he'd pull the plug on the whole world. "Only one of us needs to do what must be done," he tells the host. Host William says he understands, then stabs him.

'Dolores. Please.'

In this episode, Teddy confirms something many have probably suspected from the start: Christina is Dolores. But then the show piles on a new mystery: the version of Christina/Dolores we've been seeing in Hale's new world this season isn't actually there in the flesh. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.

The "Christina equals Dolores" reveal comes relatively early on in the episode. Teddy tells Christina that he and she are "reflections of the people who made us." He then calls her Dolores. At this point, I'm still viewing her as being the Dolores robot from last season, with a memory-wiped mind courtesy of the Rehoboam machine. After learning from Teddy that her kind is less susceptible to death, she gets into a bath, drowns and instantly regains consciousness.

Later, Christina pays a visit to Olympiad Entertainment, where she uses her storytelling abilities to get the human writers to destroy their "stories" (putting what we've learned from past episodes together, I'm pretty sure these stories are the "pre-scripted loops" humans are traveling in). We see Christina and Teddy wander through Olympiad at the same time as Stubbs and Frankie. Christina and Teddy walk through a doorway, and then we see Stubbs and Frankie emerge a second later out of the same doorway. Strange. Shouldn't the good guys have bumped into each other?

Near the end of the episode, chaos reigns outside (more on that later), and Christina/Dolores tries to intervene. Teddy tells Christina that people can't see her. Christina asks why, and he reluctantly gives it up: "You're not in this world," he says, "It's real, but you're not."

Caleb and Frankie reunite

After Maeve and Bernard regroup with C/Frankie, C's girlfriend Odina and Stubbs at the abandoned '20s theme park, the squad is ready to enter Chalores' city.

Once there, they split up -- Odina grabs a boat, Bernard and Maeve set out to confront Chalores at her tower, and Frankie and Stubbs head to Caleb at Olympiad. Bernard reveals to Stubbs that Stubbs isn't going to make it.

Aurora Perrineau (Frankie) and Luke Hemsworth (Stubbs).

 John Johnson/HBO

Thanks to Christina/Dolores' intervention, Caleb makes it out of his holding cell before Stubbs and C/Frankie arrive. Once they do, a traumatized Caleb ambushes them, locking Stubbs in the confined space and pinning Frankie up against a wall. But Caleb realizes that she's his real daughter soon enough, and the reunion is sweet. This long-awaited scene didn't disappoint.

A showdown between Maeve and Chalores

We've known since episode 5 that Chalores' plan for her kind is for them to eventually "transcend" -- undergo a procedure where they abandon their host bodies and, as she says in this episode, "evolve into the species that we were meant to become." Their pearls (aka, their minds) are taken out of their heads and placed at the top of tall, white machines. In the latest episode, she sends a message to the hosts that it's time to ditch their current bodies for good.

Maeve and Bernard approach Chalores in her tower, and they split up. But before they do, Bernard admits to Maeve what he's been hiding from her -- "No matter what we do, we can't win," he says. "There's no way to save this world. Everyone here is going to die. But we can save one tiny part of it." He asks Maeve if she's still willing to fight, and she shows him a small smile before continuing on.

Maeve finds Chalores about to transcend -- a drone host holding a whirring device near her head. Chalores grabs the device and she and Maeve battle it out. They tumble outside and continue to fight in shallow water. Then Maeve is shot in the head by host William.  Next, the host turns on his creator, offering just a few words before also shooting Chalores in the head.

We see Bernard, who's up in Chalores' tower and recording himself speaking on what looks like a tablet. He cryptically says, "If you choose to give her that choice, you can't miss. Reach with your left hand." By the end of this episode, we still don't know who the message is for.

Host William arrives and shoots Bernard in the head. He also rejigs Chalores' sound-producing tower, causing "every man and woman and child -- host and human -- to fight until no one remains but the cockroaches." Given that the humans are controlled by the sounds, he must have ordered the humans to turn on the hosts.

Who's left standing

The show pivots to Frankie, Stubbs and Caleb, and we see people around them begin to fight each other violently. The three of them manage to escape the frenzy, but a bullet wounds Frankie.

On the other side of the fight, host William is pretty much our new big bad as we head into the finale.

Lingering questions

• In last week's episode, Frankie caught on to Bernard's attempts to copy her and her friends using tech Chalores put in the '20s theme park. (He didn't deny it… or explain why.) This, combined with the fact that the door to The Sublime is sitting wide open has me thinking -- are copies of some humans (maybe those who visited the park) somehow going to end up in The Sublime?

• How is Teddy back this season? At first, I thought he must have been a host created by Chalores, like William. But now it seems like he may not physically exist in Chalores' new world either.

• Where did Maya, the roommate, go?

• Is Bernard really gone? It seems like no one can actually die on this show, but Bernard's exit seemed more final than, say, Maeve's. We see him follow Charlie, his son as part of his backstory, through a door. We also hear his voice repeat what he said to Akecheta in the Sublime: "In every scenario, I die…" It seems to nail home that he was making a real sacrifice by carrying through with the plan.

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These Technologies Could Play a Big Role in the iPhone's Future

These Technologies Could Play a Big Role in the iPhone's Future

Social distancing during the height of the pandemic in 2020 was challenging for Lucy Edwards, a blind journalist and broadcaster based in the UK. So she tried the iPhone's People Detection feature, which uses the iPhone 12 Pro's and 13 Pro's lidar sensor to detect when other people are nearby and calculate their distance from the user. 

"I'm going to have to get used to it, but I'm really excited that I can be in control again," Edwards said in a BBC video from 2020 documenting her experience. 

Lidar , or light detection and ranging, is just one example of how the technology inside the iPhone has evolved in the last 15 years. When the first iPhone launched, on June 29, 2007, it had a 3.5-inch screen that would be considered minuscule by today's standards and a single 2-megapixel camera. Now Apple's most sophisticated phones come equipped with triple-rear cameras that are advanced enough to shoot films, sensors that help people like Edwards navigate the world and powerful chips with billions of transistors. We're expecting to learn about what's next for the iPhone at Apple's upcoming event on Sept. 7. 

The iPhone often served as a catalyst for the technologies introduced within, whether it's digital assistant Siri, mobile payments or wireless charging, and helped drive the evolution of how we live our mobile lives. But in the future, the most important part of the iPhone might be everything around it. That's according to analysts who've observed the mobile industry's general trends and Apple's strategy.   

In the short term, we're likely to see incremental improvements like higher quality cameras and giant displays. But over the next decade, the iPhone could evolve into a hub for smart glasses and other devices. AirPods, Apple Watches and CarPlay-enabled vehicles may be just the start. The iPhone's core elements, like its display and charging systems, are also expected to get a significant boost. 

"The next quest for the smartphone is to figure out what it will connect to next," said Runar Bjørhovde, an analyst with market research firm Canalys. "Because the smartphone has not necessarily reached its potential yet, but as a standalone device I think the smartphone is getting closer and closer to the edge." 

Your iPhone at the center of everything

There's plenty of speculation about what's next after the smartphone. The resounding consensus seems to be smart glasses, with companies like Meta, Snap and Google all working on their own version of high-tech spectacles. 

Apple is no exception; reports from Bloomberg indicate that the iPhone maker could debut a mixed reality headset this year or next that supports augmented and virtual reality technologies. A pair of AR-powered smart glasses could arrive later this decade, according to the report. 

So what does this have to do with the iPhone? Possibly everything. Even though Apple's headset is expected to function as a standalone device, the apps and services it runs would likely stem from the iPhone. 

Think of the Apple Watch. It doesn't need a nearby iPhone to function, but a large part of its appeal involves its ability to sync closely with Apple's phone. Many of the Apple Watch's notifications are also tied to accounts and apps that were set up on the iPhone. 

Whether it's a smart headset, the Apple Watch, AirPods or HomeKit-enabled appliances, analysts expect the phone to remain at the center.  

The iPhone will likely remain at the center of the Apple experience, serving as a hub for AirPods, the Apple Watch and possibly a pair of smart glasses one day.

Scott Stein/CNET

"The phone will be the anchor," said Gene Munster, managing partner for tech investment firm Loup Ventures and a longtime Apple analyst.

But it isn't just about connecting to new personal tech gadgets. Apple is gradually turning the iPhone into a viable replacement for the wallet, weaving it even more tightly into the nondigital aspects of our lives. 

Apple has made a lot of progress on this front over the past year by rolling out new features like digital IDs for Apple Wallet and Tap to Pay, which turns the iPhone into a contactless payment terminal for merchants without additional hardware. Apple also just announced Apple Pay Later, which lets Apple Pay users split a purchase into four equal installments paid over the course of six weeks. 

"It's clear that there's a lot of momentum within financial services with Apple, and I think we will see further advancements there," said Nick Maynard, head of research for Juniper Research. 

Better lidar, more advanced AI for better spatial awareness

Making educated guesses about Apple's general direction for the iPhone is certainly easier than pinpointing specific changes that might be coming. But analysts have some ideas based on the seeds Apple has planted in current iPhones. 

Lidar will likely continue to be important as the company pushes more deeply into augmented reality. Apple added lidar on the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020 to boost the performance of AR apps, enable new camera tricks and facilitate accessibility features like the aforementioned People Detection. The technology measures distance by determining how long it takes for light to reflect off an object and bounce back. 

Yet the iPhone's current lidar sensors might not be sophisticated enough to bring Apple's augmented reality ambitions to fruition, said Munster. 

"Specifically what needs to happen is the mapping of the real world needs to be more accurate," said Munster, whose firm conducts research on topics like augmented reality, autonomous vehicles and virtual reality. "And until that happens, AR isn't really going to happen."

The iPhone's People Detection feature uses lidar.

James Martin/CNET

Lidar improves the iPhone's depth-sensing skills, but it's still up to the phone's processor to make sense of all that data. Apple has leaned into artificial intelligence -- one of Silicon Valley's favorite buzzwords in recent years -- to give the iPhone and other products more context about users and their surroundings. 

Once again, you can look to the Apple Watch to see this approach at work. Apple's smartwatch uses artificial intelligence and data gathered from its sensors for tasks such as tracking your sleep and noticing when you're washing your hands. 

Hanish Bhatia, a senior analyst for Counterpoint Research, provided a hypothetical example of how AI improvements could one day manifest in upcoming iPhones. He envisions a future in which Apple's smartphone can observe a person's habits to understand whether the phone's primary user or a family member may be using the device. 

"The way you use your phone, at what angle your smartphone is tilted ... Do you press with a particular pressure, or do you just tap it with your nails or something like that?" he said as an example. "All of these are different types of behaviors which are very unique to a user."

Bhatia's example is speculative and doesn't reflect Apple's actual plans. But with advancements in AI and technologies like lidar and ultra wideband giving the iPhone more spatial awareness, it's easy to imagine a scenario like this.

Displays and charging tech could get a big change

Perhaps one of the biggest questions surrounding Apple's future smartphone plans is whether the company will ever create a foldable iPhone. Samsung, Apple's biggest rival in the mobile space, has already launched several generations of phones with flexible designs. Motorola, Huawei and Microsoft have all followed suit, and Google is rumored to be working on a bendable Pixel. Shipments of foldable smartphones are said to have increased by 264.3% in 2021 compared with 2020, according to The International Data Corporation.

But experts like Munster and Maynard are skeptical about whether Apple will take a similar approach. Though the tech giant has filedpatents for mobile devices with flexible displays, those filings aren't always indicative of Apple's plans. Sales of foldable phones have been growing, but shipments still pale in comparison with regular smartphones. (Research firm IDC estimates that 7.1 million foldable phones were shipped in 2021 compared with 362.4 million phones shipped in just the fourth quarter of last year). And then there's the question of whether foldable devices bring anything truly new or meaningful to the smartphone experience. 

There are also challenges with creating a true glass screen that's foldable, says Munster. Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip has a glass screen, but that glass is also combined with "a special material" to "achieve a consistent hardness," CNET reported in 2020.

"The piece that's missing from my perspective is how [Apple] would actually do it," Munster said.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3 can fold in half.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The iPhone's charging experience is probably due for an upgrade too. Between USB-C, Lightning and MagSafe, it isn't an exaggeration to say that Apple's charging options are complicated. Maynard believes pressure from the European Union and US senators could mean a switch to USB-C might be in the iPhone's future.

But more dramatic changes could also be in the pipeline. Rumors about a completely portlessiPhone have swirled for years, and Maynard doesn't think it's totally out of the question.  

"I suspect if any vendor was going to launch a fully portless system, then it probably would be Apple," said Maynard, citing Apple's decision to remove the iPhone's headphone jack in 2016. 

Wireless charging has also been a focal point for Apple in recent years, further supporting the case for a port-free iPhone. There's Apple's relatively new MagSafe chargers, and many CarPlay-enabled vehicles also support wireless connections. Apple has also patented wireless charging systems that would be built directly into MacBooks, enabling Apple's laptops to charge iPhones, Apple Watches and iPads. The iPad Pro's Smart Connector also provides a quick and easy way to attach accessories to Apple's tablet without a port. 

"The number of systems that actually 100% must have a cable are diminishing," Maynard said. 

Apple's MagSafe battery pack wirelessly connects to the back of an iPhone.

Patrick Holland/CNET

Otherwise, analysts expect to see routine upgrades to the camera in the near term. Munster says there's room for improvement in the iPhone's front-facing camera, while Bhatia expects Apple to continue to use display size and camera quality to distinguish the regular iPhones from its Pro iPhones. 

It's impossible to know what's next for the iPhone without Apple's input. But experts seem certain on one thing: Apple is laying the groundwork for the iPhone's future today. Current iPhone features, like Apple's lidar-powered accessibility tools meant to help people like Edwards, could provide a clue about what's ahead. 

"Everything we can see that they've done over the last few years is a good hint of what's coming up next," said Bjørhovde. "Because a lot of what I think they do is setting themselves up for the systems they want to integrate the iPhone into in the years to come."

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Inflation, Interest Rates and Jobs: How Today's Economy Compares to Recessions of the Past

Inflation, Interest Rates and Jobs: How Today's Economy Compares to Recessions of the Past

This story is part of Recession Help Desk, CNET's coverage of how to make smart money moves in an uncertain economy.

What's happening

There's still debate about whether the US economy is officially headed into a recession, but the economic downturn is causing widespread stress.

Why it matters

Periods of financial volatility and market decline can drive people to panic and make costly mistakes with their money.

What's next

Examining what's happening now -- and comparing it with the past -- can help investors and consumers decide what to do next.

Facing the aftershocks of a rough economy in the first half of 2022, with sky-high inflation, rising mortgage rates, soaring gas prices and a bear market for stocks, leading indicators of a recession have moderated slightly in the past month. That could mean the economic downturn won't be as long or brutal as expected. 

Still, the majority of Americans are feeling the sting of rising prices and anxiety over jobs. The country has experienced two consecutive quarters of economic slowdown -- the barometer for measuring a recession -- even though the National Bureau of Economic Research hasn't made the "official" recession call.  

At a time like this, we should consider what happens in a recession, look at the data to determine whether we're in one and try to maintain some historical perspective. It's also worth pointing out that down periods are temporary and that, over time, both the stock market and the US economy bounce back. 

I don't mean to minimize the gravity and hardship of the times. But it can be useful to review how the economy has behaved in the past to avoid irrational or impulsive money moves. For this, we can largely blame recency bias, our inclination to view our latest experiences as the most valid. It's what led many to flee the stock market in 2008 when the S&P 500 crashed, thereby locking in losses and missing out on the subsequent bull market. 

"It's our human tendency to project the immediate past into the future indefinitely," said Daniel Crosby, chief behavioral officer at Orion Advisor Solutions and author of The Laws of Wealth. "It's a time-saving shortcut that works most of the time in most contexts but can be woefully misapplied in markets that tend to be cyclical," Crosby told me via email. 

Before you make a knee-jerk reaction to your portfolio, give up on a home purchase or lose it over job insecurity, consider these chart-based analyses from the last three decades. We hope this data-driven overview will offer a broader context and some impetus for making the most of your money today.

What do we know about inflation? 

Historical inflation rate by year

Macrotrends.net

Current conditions: The US is experiencing the highest rate of inflation in decades, driven by global supply chain disruptions, the injection of federal stimulus dollars and a surge in consumer spending. In real dollars, the 8.5% rise in consumer prices over the past year is adding about $400 more per month to household budgets. 

The context: Policymakers consider 2% per year to be a "normal" inflation target. The country's still experiencing over four times that figure. The 9.1% annual rate in July was the largest jump in inflation since 1980 when the inflation rate hit 13.5% following the prior decade's oil crisis and high government spending on defense, social services, health care, education and pensions. Back then, the Federal Reserve increased rates to stabilize prices and, by the mid-1980s, inflation fell to below 5%.

The upside: As overall inflation rates rise, the silver lining might be increased rates of return on personal savings. Bank accounts are starting to offer more attractive yields, while I bonds -- federally backed accounts that more or less track inflation -- are attracting savers, too. 

What's happening with mortgage rates? 

30-year fixed-rate mortgage averages in the US

Current conditions: As the Federal Reserve continues its rate-hike campaign to cool spending and try to tame inflation, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has grown significantly. In June, the average rate jumped annually by nearly 3 percentage points to almost 6%. In real dollars, that means that after a 20% down payment on a new home (let's use the average sale price of $429,000), a buyer would roughly need an extra $7,300 a year to afford the mortgage. Since then, rates have cooled a bit, even dipping back down below 5%. What happens next with rates depends on where inflation goes from here.

The context: Three years ago, homebuyers faced similar borrowing costs and, at the time, rates were characterized as "historically low." And if we think borrowing money is expensive today, let's not forget the early 1980s when the Federal Reserve jacked up rates to never-before-seen levels due to hyperinflation. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in 1981 topped 16%. 

The upside: For homebuyers, a potential benefit to rising rates is downward pressure on home prices, which could cause the housing market to cool slightly. As the cost to borrow continues to increase with mortgages becoming more expensive, homes could experience fewer offers and prices would slow in pace. In fact, nearly one in five sellers dropped their asking price during late April through late May, according to Redfin. 

On the flip side, less homebuyers mean more renters. Rent prices have skyrocketed, and housing activists are asking the White House to take action on what they call a "national emergency."

What about the stock market? 

Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index for the past 30 years

Macrotrends.net

Current conditions: Year-to-date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average -- a composite of 30 of the most well-known US stocks such as Apple, Microsoft and Coca-Cola -- is about 8.5% below where it started in January. Relative to the broader market, technology stocks are down much more. The Nasdaq is off almost 19% since the start of the year. 

The benchmark S&P 500 stock index hit lows in June that marked a more than 20% drop from January, which brought us officially into a bear market. Since then, it's bounced back up a little, but some experts warn that a current bear market rally is at odds with expected earnings and we could see even lower stock prices in the near future.

The context: Stock price losses in 2022 are not nearly as swift and steep as what we saw in March 2020, when panic over the pandemic drove the DJIA down by 26% in roughly four trading days. The market reversed course the following month and began a bull run lasting more than two years, as the lockdown drove massive consumption of products and services tied to software, health care, food and natural gas. 

Prior to that, in 2008 and 2009, a deep and pervasive crisis in housing and financial services sank the Dow by nearly 55% from its 2007 high. But by fall 2009, it was off to one of its longest winning streaks in financial history. 

The upside: Given the cyclical nature of the stock market, now is not the time to jump ship.* "Times that are down, you at least want to hold and/or think about buying," said Adam Seessel, author of Where the Money Is. "Over the last 100 years, American stocks have been the surest way to grow wealthy slowly over time," he told me during a recent So Money podcast.

*One caveat: If you're closer to or living in retirement and your portfolio has taken a sizable hit, it may be worth talking to a professional and reviewing your selection of funds to ensure that you're not taking on too much risk. Target-date funds, a popular investment vehicle in many retirement accounts that auto-adjust for risk as you age, may be too risky for pre- or early retirees. 

What does unemployment tell us? 

US unemployment rates

Current conditions: The July jobs report shows the unemployment rate holding steady, slightly dropping to 3.5%. The Great Resignation of 2021, where millions of workers quit their jobs over burnout, as well as unsatisfactory wages and benefits, left employers scrambling to fill positions. However, that could be changing as economic challenges deepen: More job losses are likely on the horizon, and an increasing number of workers are concerned with job security. 

The context: The rebound in theunemployment rate is an economic hallmark of the past two years. But the ongoing interest rate hike may weigh on corporate profits, leading to more layoffs and hiring freezes. For context, during the Great Recession, in a two-year span from late 2007 to 2009, the unemployment rate rose sharply from about 5% to 10%. 

Today, the tech sector is one to watch. After benefiting from rapid growth led by consumer demand in the pandemic, companies like Google and Facebook may be in for a "correction." Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks downsizing at tech startups, logged close to 37,000 layoffs in Q2, more than triple from the same period last year. 

The upside: If you're worried about losing your job because your employer may be more vulnerable in a recession, document your wins so that when review season arrives, you're ready to walk your manager through your top-performing moments. Offer strategies for how to weather a potential slowdown. All the while, review your reserves to see how far you can stretch savings in case you're out of work. Keep in mind that in the previous recession, it took an average of eight to nine months for unemployed Americans to secure new jobs.

§

What's happening

Home prices overall are up by 37% since March 2020.

Why it matters

Surging home prices and higher interest rates make monthly mortgage payments less affordable.

What's next

Rising mortgage rates will make borrowing money more expensive, which will lessen competition to buy homes and eventually flatten prices.

Home prices continued to skyrocket in March as buyers tried to stay ahead of rising mortgage rates. 

Prices increased by 20.6% this March compared to last year, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measures of US home prices. This was the highest year-over-year increase in March for home prices in more than 35 years of data. Seven in 10 homes sold for more than their asking price, according to CoreLogic. 

Out of the 20 cities tracked by the 20-city composite index, Tampa, Phoenix and Miami saw the highest year-over-year gains in March. Tampa saw the greatest increase, with an almost 35% increase in home prices year-over-year. All 20 cities experienced double-digit price growth for the year ending in March.

The strongest price growth was seen in the south and southeast, with both regions posting almost 30% gains in March. Seventeen of the 20 metro areas also saw acceleration in their annual gains since February. 

"Those of us who have been anticipating a deceleration in the growth rate of US home prices will have to wait at least a month longer," said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, in the release. "The strength of the Composite indices suggests very broad strength in the housing market, which we continue to observe."

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, home prices overall are up by 37%. The current surge in home prices is a result of tight competition between buyers in a low-inventory market as they attempt to lock in lower mortgage rates before rates jump even higher throughout the year, as experts predict they will.

If you're considering buying a new home -- or are actively in the market -- the news isn't all bad. Interest rates are at their highest point in more than 40 years, and one potential benefit of that may, eventually, be downward pressure on home prices. As it becomes increasingly expensive to borrow money, fewer people will seek to do so, and homes for sale may receive fewer offers leading to, eventually, lower prices. In fact, nearly one in five sellers lowered their asking price during a four-week period in May and April, according to Redfin.

"Mortgages are becoming more expensive as the Federal Reserve has begun to ratchet up interest rates, suggesting that the macroeconomic environment may not support extraordinary home price growth for much longer," said Lazzara. "Although one can safely predict that price gains will begin to decelerate, the timing of the deceleration is a more difficult call."

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