Apple's 2023 iPhone event came and went almost in the blink of an eye. As always, the company had a bunch of new devices to show off during the "Wonderlust" showcase but thanks to long-standing rumors, there weren't too many major surprises.
On the phone front, we have the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. There's no new iPhone SE just yet, unfortunately, while the rumored iPhone Ultra may join the lineup next year. Though it was widely expected, the biggest news is that Apple has ditched the Lightning port across the entire iPhone 15 lineup. USB-C is the way of things now.
Elsewhere, we have an Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, along with AirPods that have a USB-C port in the charging case. In addition, we learned just when iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS Sonoma will arrive.
As mentioned, Apple is sending the Lightning port sailing into the sunset. After gradually phasing out the port in favor of USB-C on iPad over the last few years, the company is making a more immediate switch with the iPhone 15 lineup. The European Union has forced Apple's hand here, due to legislation that requires mobile devices sold in the bloc to have a USB-C charging port.
On the downside, that means the collection of Lightning cables, dongles and accessories you've amassed over the years will become less useful. On the other hand, there should be far greater compatibility of cables and other devices with the latest iPhones. It'll probably be easier for you to find a charging cable when you need one — the same cable can power up your Mac, iPad, iPhone or new AirPods Pro case. Those who still plug their phones into computers may be pleased, since USB-C data transfer rates are far faster than what Lightning cables are capable of. In a pinch, you can also charge your AirPods case or Apple Watch from your phone.
Apple hasn't changed the screen sizes of this year's iPhones. The base iPhone 15 and the Pro have 6.1-inch displays, while the Plus and Pro Max have 6.7-inch screens.
The iPhone 15 has an all-new design with rounded edges, Apple said. The most obvious consequence of that is the dynamic island that debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro is coming to this year's entire lineup. There's a 2,000-nit Super Retina XDR display in the iPhone 15 that's twice as bright as the one on the iPhone 14. You'll get up to 1,600 nits of brightness while viewing Dolby Vision video and other HDR photos and videos.
Apple has introduced a new camera system to the iPhone 15 that includes a 48MP main camera, an ultrawide lens and TrueDepth front camera. With the rear cameras, you'll be able to take more details "next-generation portraits," Apple says. You won't have to manually switch to portrait mode either, since the phone's machine leaning capabilities will be able to tell when you're focusing on a person, according to Apple. You can even switch the focus to a different person after the fact when you're editing the image.
The iPhone 15 runs on the same A16 chip as the iPhone 14 Pro and it has a second-gen ultra wideband chip. Apple says the latter can help you find your friends' exact location when you're looking for them in a crowded place. The company also claims that the latest iPhone does a better job of filtering out background noise on calls.
If you're in a remote location and need roadside assistance, satellite connectivity can help you contact who you need to. You'll be able to use satellite connectivity to contact first responders in an emergency too.
The iPhone 15 is available in pink, yellow, green, blue and black. It starts at $799 and the iPhone 15 Plus starts at $899. Pre-orders start on September 15. Both phones will arrive in stores on September 22.
Apple has a significant change in store with the iPhone 15 Pro designs this year too: a titanium body for durability. That also makes these the lightest iPhone Pro models to date. Apple says the iPhone 15 Pro has the thinnest screen borders of any iPhone as well. Another interesting thing to note is that Apple says an updated internal architecture makes the device more repairable.
Perhaps of more interest to many folks, however, is the introduction of an Action button on an iPhone for the first time. You can think of it as an upgraded mute switch. While you can still use it to put your phone in silent mode, you simply hold it down to activate Action button mode.
As is the case on the Apple Watch Ultra, you can customize the Action button. You might set it to launch the camera app instantly, activate a voice recording, turn on an accessibility function or even trigger a shortcut.
A new A17 Pro chip powers the latest iPhone Pro models. It's a 3nm chipset that has 19 billion transistors. It has a six-core CPU with two high-performances cores and four high-efficiency cores, along with a six-core GPU that supports hardware-accelerated ray-tracing that's four times faster than before, Apple claims.
There's also a 16-core neural engine on the A17 Pro, along with dedicated ProRes engines, support for an always-on display. Video streaming should get an upgrade too, thanks to an AV1 video decoder. All of that power means that the iPhone 15 Pro can natively run modern AAA games such as Assassin's Creed Mirage, Death Stranding and Resident Evil Village.
As for the iPhone 15 Pro's camera system, that can capture 3D spatial videos that will be compatible with Apple Vision Pro headsets. What's more, if you opt for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, you'll get a 5x telephoto zoom lens with a 120mm focal length equivalent.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max start at $999 and $1,199, respectively. Pre-orders open this Friday (September 15), and the phones will ship on September 22.
The major change in the Apple Watch Series 9 is an upgraded chipset. The S9 chip has 5.6 billion transistors and a GPU that Apple says is 30 percent faster than before. There's a four-core neural engine and machine learning capabilities that are up to twice as fast on those seen in the Series 8.
These power more advanced Siri experiences, Apple says. Siri requests are now processed on-device, which should make them faster as Apple won't need to send them to the cloud and back. You'll be able to log and ask for health data with Siri too.
There's a second-gen ultra wideband chip to help you find a misplaced iPhone with more precision (as long as the phone has that chip too). The display reaches 2,000 nits, making it twice as bright as the Series 8 and as bright as the Apple Watch Ultra. The brightness can also drop as low as one nit, which should be useful for when you're at the movies and don't want to bother other people with the always-on display.
On top of that, Apple is introducing a new gesture called Double Tap. By tapping your thumb and index finger together twice, you'll carry out the primary action in an app — answering or ending a call, playing or pausing a song, stopping a timer and so on. The S9 chip's neural engine powers Double Tap (so don't expect to see it on earlier models) and the feature will be available in October. This builds on accessibility features that have been available on Apple Watch for some time.
The Apple Watch Series 9 starts at $399 for a GPS model and $499 if you want cellular connectivity. You can pre-order the new wearable today. It will ship on September 22.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has the same S9 SIP, Double Tap, on-device Siri and ultra wideband features as the Series 9. It has the same battery life as the first Ultra (up to 36 hours and 72 on low-power mode). That's despite having a far brighter display.
The screen is 50 percent brighter than the previous model at 3,000 nits. An ambient light sensor will be able to automatically switch the display to night mode.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799 for GPS and cellular connectivity. Pre-orders go live today and it will ship on September 22.
Those of you who aren't convinced about getting the latest iPhone or Apple Watch won't miss out on all the new stuff entirely. More features are coming to recent iPhones and Watches thanks to iOS 17 and watchOS 10, both of which will drop on September 18.
That's not all, though. Apple has announced that iPadOS 17 and tvOS 17 will arrive on September 18 as well. As for those of you with an Apple desktop or laptop, you can upgrade your operating system to macOS Sonoma on September 26.
While storage capacity is a factor for iPhone price, CIRP focused on what models consumers are buying in its latest study.
In its 2022 June quarter data, CIRP found 46% of sales were the iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max with the 13 mini and 13 making up 30%.
In what could be the start of a shift in US iPhone sales, CIRP discovered for the 2023 June quarter that 43% of customers picked an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max while 36% went for a 14 or 14 Plus.
That may not seem like a big change, but there’s a notable flip – a year ago CIRP saw the 13 Pro as the best-selling iPhone (29% of the share).
This year for the June quarter, the iPhone 14 had a higher share of sales at 24% than the 14 Pro at 21% and 14 Pro Max at 22%.
The iPhone 14 at a base MSRP of $799 is $200 less than the 14 Pro and $300 below the 14 Pro Max, so it doesn’t take a big change in sales volume to make an impact on the average selling price.
No doubt the iPhone 14 Plus replacing the iPhone 13 mini helped keep the average selling price from dropping more in the 2022 to 2023 June quarter compare. But not enough to balance out the shift away from the pro models.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on the average selling price and model mix for Apple’s September and holiday quarters to see if the trend continues or if the iPhone 15 Pro models will be more enticing.
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Have a Meta Quest sitting around? You can now experience a rough estimation of what using visionOS on an actual headset will be like. No need to spend $3,500 on Vision Pro or whatever the going rate for a time machine to next year costs these days.
After years of progress and anticipation, Apple unveiled Vision Pro one month ago ahead of its US launch in early 2024. Developers preparing apps for the mixed reality headset can run a two-dimensional simulation of visionOS on the Mac. Apple will also be holding special sessions around the world so developers can try their apps on actual hardware before the product reaches customers.
If you’re not one of these developers or Chance Miller, the folks at Supernova Technologies have created a basement bargain discount version of “visionOS” that runs on the virtual reality headsets.
Aside from doing this for science, Supernova is showing off its Nova user interface framework for Unity developers and designers. David Heanley at UploadVR has the story:
The demo places the app grid seen in the Vision Pro introduction video in front of you with Quest Pro’s color passthrough as the background, and replicates Apple’s gaze and pinch based interaction system.
The demo leverages Quest Pro’s eye tracking to let you select apps or the menu items on the left, and its controller-free hand tracking to let you pinch to “click”.
The knockoff version of visionOS won’t run on the cheaper Quest 2 or pre-announced Quest 3, however, because it relies on Meta’s eye tracking feature, which is only available on Quest Pro hardware.
If you don’t already have a Quest Pro handy, we wouldn’t recommend running out and buying the thousand-dollar headset just for this demo. It sounds like an interesting way to see and control something that looks like visionOS, but the use of controllers to replicate air gestures for selection will break any illusion.
As reported by Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing to launch a USB-C case for the AirPods Pro, presumably alongside the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup lineup this fall which will switch from the Lightning port to the USB-C port.
Gurman says Apple is also testing a new hearing test feature, in addition to the other iOS 17 AirPods features Apple announced at WWDC.
The hearing test feature will reportedly play different tones in the user’s ear. Based on the user responses, it will be able to screen for possible hearing issues.
The company is working on a new hearing test feature that will play different tones and sounds to allow the AirPods to determine how well a person can hear. The idea is to help users screen for hearing issues, not unlike how the Apple Watch ECG app checks for heart problems.
Longer term, Gurman says Apple is working on adding additional health sensors to AirPods hardware, such as body temperature via the ear canal.
Apple previously announced that AirPods Pro would gain an Adaptive Audio feature later this year, which dynamically switches between Transparency and Noise Cancelling mode depending on the audio of the environment.
Apple revealed its major new version of iOS at the WWDC keynote and launched the first developer beta within hours.
iOS 17 includes iPhone upgrades and changes like a new StandBy smart display mode, new Messages features, Live Voicemail, Contact Posters, new health features, and much more.
And for the first time, Apple also made the developer beta free for anyone by signing into its Apple Developer site with an Apple ID.
With the ability to sign-up and install iOS betas right within iPhone Settings on iOS 16.4 and later, it’s easier than ever to test out the new OS this summer.
Are you planning to run the upcoming beta or will you wait for the polished, public release? Share down in the comments!
Apple announced iOS 17, the next major update to the iPhone operating system, bringing numerous new features, including NameDrop, StandBy mode, more Lock Screen customization options, and a smarter keyboard. But not all of these features will work with every iPhone model supported by iOS 17. Read on as we detail which features work with which iPhones.
First of all, iOS 17 changes requirements compared to iOS 16, which works with iPhone 8 and later. With iOS 17, Apple is dropping support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, so the minimum requirement to install the update is to have an iPhone XR or later.
Live Voicemail transforms the way users interact with Visual Voicemail, which lets you access your mailbox from a message list instead of having to call a number. With iOS 17, voicemails are transcribed in real time on the Lock Screen. However, while this feature works with any iPhone running iOS 17, it’s only available in the US and Canada.
FaceTime has a lot of new features with iOS 17. For example, users can leave a video message when someone misses their call. There are also new 3D reactions that detect your hand movements to show effects such as hearts, confetti, and fireworks. This, however, requires an iPhone 12 or later.
With both iOS 17 and tvOS 17, users can wirelessly connect their iPhone to the Apple TV to start a FaceTime call on the big screen. This feature also works with any iPhone model running iOS 17 but requires a second-generation (2021) Apple TV 4K or later.
With NameDrop in iOS 17, users can share their contact with other iPhone users just by holding it close to the other person’s iPhone. This feature is available for every iPhone model running iOS 17. It also works with Apple Watch, but only for Series 6 and later.
iOS 17 uses machine learning to better understand how you type on your phone, making autocorrect more accurate and personal. Words are temporarily underlined to show what’s been changed, and you can revert back to the original word with just a tap.
This system is only available for iPhone 12 and later in the following languages: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Korean, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Thai. English, French, and Spanish.
Another new keyboard-related feature is inline predictions as you type. The system predicts the words or sentences you’re typing and autocompletes them for you with a tap of the space bar. Keyboard predictions also require an iPhone 12 or later and currently only work in English.
Apple has demonstrated some great enhancements coming to AirPods. These include Adaptive Audio, which dynamically mixes Transparency and Active Noise Cancellation according to the external environment. While there are no limitations on compatible iPhone models, this feature only works with the second-generation AirPods Pro.
The same requirements apply to Faster Automatic Switching.
During a call, you can now press the stem of your AirPods to mute or unmute a call. This feature works with third-generation AirPods and both generations of AirPods Pro. It also works with AirPods Max through Digital Crown.
Since the iPhone 6s, users can talk to Siri hands-free just by saying the command “Hey Siri.” This command was later added to pretty much every Apple device and became crucial for HomePod – Apple’s smart speaker. But now, with iOS 17, macOS 14, and other updates, users no longer need to say “Hey Siri” to talk to the virtual assistant.
The new command works with any iPhone running iOS 17, but only in English for now. When it comes to AirPods, only second-generation AirPods Pro are compatible.
Siri finally has back-to-back requests. This means that once you’ve activated Siri, you can ask for multiple requests without having to reactivate it. As an example, you can say, “Siri, text Emma I’m on my way,” and then, “Remind me to water the plants when I get home,” without having to say “Siri” again. This feature also only works in English.
One of the new accessibility features in iOS 17 is Point and Speak, which makes it easier for people with vision disabilities to interact with physical objects that have text labels. You can point your iPhone camera at something, and then the system will read the detected texts for you. However, this feature is only available for iPhones with a LiDAR scanner (iPhone 12 Pro and newer Pro models)
The new Activity History in the Home app lets you see who locked or unlocked the door – and when. It also shows recent activity for garage doors, contact sensors, and your security system. While this will work with any iPhone running iOS 17, you’ll need to update your Home app Architecture before enabling this feature.
iPhone has a new StandBy mode with iOS 17, which displays an alternative interface with full-screen widgets when the iPhone is positioned horizontally and connected to the charger. StandBy mode is available for any iPhone with iOS 17, but only iPhone 14 Pro keeps the information on the screen all the time because of Always-on Display.
]]>The Apple Vision Pro is Apple's first official mixed reality headset. let's be clear — when we say mixed reality, we mean it. While the headset may look like a contender for the best VR headset on the market, it is not designed to keep you immersed in a virtual world. Features such as EyeSight and Digital Persona ensure that not only are you still engaged with the physical world, but the physical world remains able to engage with you.
Here's everything we know about the Apple Vision Pro.
According to Apple's launch presentation during the WWDC keynote, the Vision Pro will cost $3,499 at launch. The headset will initially be available in the U.S. only, so we do not have pricing for other countries at this time.
Interestingly, one leaker claims Apple only spends $1,509 for each headset it builds. That would be quite a profit margin if true.
While the Vision Pro headset can't be pre-ordered right now, you can sign up for a notification from Apple so you can be alerted to when the headset will be available to pre-order. With such a high price tag (more on that below) don't expect the Vision Pro to be a device for the masses. Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper version for the Vision Pro for 2025 with some of the more premium features removed.
This is good news, because the current version of the Vision Pro may have serious supply chain constraints. According to a rumor, Sony, which makes the headset's Micro OLED displays, can only produce 100,000 to 200,000 displays per quarter. That means it's possible Apple can only manufacture 400,000 headsets per year due to the premium displays its chosen.
Apple Vision Pro still doesn't have an official release date, but it does have an official release date window. Apple says that the headset will become available for purchase in early 2024, which tracks with a rumor we saw just before launch that the headset could get pushed into next year.
As previously mentioned, at its release the Vision Pro will only be available to U.S. customers, though other countries are expected to get a rollout not too long after the U.S. launch.
At first glance, the Apple Vision Pro doesn't look incredibly dissimilar from a traditional VR headset or even a mixed reality device like the Meta Quest Pro. But once you turn it on, there are some distinct differences.
The biggest one is that the front of the visor features a display underneath a curved pane of 3D laminated glass. This allows the Vision Pro to use EyeSight, a feature that shows others around you your eyes so they feel like they're interacting with you like they would normally.
This glass pane also serves as a lens for the Vision Pro's camera array, which is extensive. The Vision Pro includes 12 cameras and six microphones so that users do not need controllers to control the device. Instead, you will use a combination of eye tracking, hand gestures and voice commands.
But the front display isn't all that is crafted using Apple's typical eye for details. The mixed reality headset features a custom aluminum alloy frame that is curved to fit your face. Apple takes this focus on custom fit further by using a modular design so the Light Seal (what Meta calls a facial interface) fits to your face as perfectly as possible. The Light Seal comes in several shapes and sizes and is made of a soft fabric for improved comfort while using the Vision Pro.
Apple also continues its focus on fit with the Head Band, which is also available in a variety of sizes. It is made of a 3D knitted fabric and attaches via a simple locking mechanism at the front of the headband. It's around here that you'll also find the speakers, which Apple dubs "audio pods." These pods provide Personalized Spatial Audio that is designed to be as immersive as possible.
The Vision Pro has two buttons on the top of the headset. One is an action button that allows you to take spatial photos and videos. And for those worried about being unwittingly photographed, Apple promises that the front display will use EyeSight to signal that a photo or video is being taken. The other button is a crown similar to the Apple Watch, which can control the level of immersion you are in while wearing the headset.
Finally, there's one last major design note. The Apple Vision Pro can be used all day when plugged in but otherwise needs an external battery to work. This battery lasts for about two hours and connects to the headset via a woven cable. Unfortunately, that means you'll need yet another proprietary Apple charger. What looks like a USB-C adapter was recently spotted attached to the headset in a WWDC developer video. However, it's unclear at this point whether the adapter (which appears to attach to the other side of the headset from the power cable) will be available to all or merely used as a developer tool.
The Apple Vision Pro displays are leaps and bounds ahead of anything Meta offers so far. It features two Micro OLED 4K displays, one per eye. A leak following WWDC estimates these 4K displays will have a display resolution of 3800 x 3000 per eye once Apple reveals its official spec sheet.
Each display is the size of a postage stamp, which produces incredible pixel density. The two 4K displays combined have 23 million pixels, which Apple says is 64 times the pixel density of an iPhone. These incredible displays are a big way that the Apple Vision Pro beats the Meta Quest Pro, at least on paper.
Apple says that the twin displays feature "wide color and high dynamic range" though it's unclear if that means the displays support HDR content in formats like HDR10 or Dolby Vision. And thanks to the new R1 chip developed by Apple, content will get to those displays in just 12ms. The refresh rate for 2D content is 90Hz according to Apple, with the ability to peak at 96Hz for content created at 24fps.
If you need glasses though, we do have some bad news for you. Due to its design, the Apple Vision Pro will not work with glasses. Instead, Apple has collaborated with ZEISS for optical inserts to replace your glasses while using the headset. It is unclear what these inserts will cost or if they impact the visual fidelity of the headset in any way, though Apple says they will ensure the headset works as intended.
Apple Vision Pro wasn't the only new product introduced by Apple at WWDC. It also introduced visionOS, a brand new operating system specifically designed for the Vision Pro. It allows developers to build apps natively for the mixed reality headset and introduces some new features as well.
The biggest new feature? EyeSight. We've talked about it already, but EyeSight could either be the coolest thing or the creepiest thing about the Vision Pro headset. It displays your eyes to the world around you or hides them if you're immersed in the headset. If you are immersed in a particular app or workflow, EyeSight also will bring you slowly out of that immersion and into the physical world when someone enters your direct field of view. As that person fades into the twin 4K displays, your eyes will simultaneously fade in on the front display of the Vision Pro.
The Vision Pro is all about staying in the physical space as much as possible, even if you can turn the crown on the top of the headset to make yourself more immersed in the virtual world. And visionOS works on the assumption of coexisting with your physical space. It creates a 3D user interface that responds to natural light and casts shadows and allows for apps to be expanded and moved with just a hand gesture.
Speaking of apps, the Apple Vision Pro should come with a surprising amount out of the box. While native visionOS apps are still relatively few and far between, the mixed reality headset works with iOS and iPad OS apps as well to provide you with a ton of options all in one App Store.
Apple showed off a few examples of how these apps operate on the Vision Pro. Photos can be viewed in a massive display right in front of you or in a panoramic view. The Mindfulness app expands into a full-room experience for some meditative bliss. And you can watch movies and shows through Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus on a massive theatre-sized screen.
The Vision Pro may not be aimed at playing the best VR games, but that doesn't mean you can't game with it. Apple Arcade provides over 100 games — including NBA 2K — that will be playable on day one. And you can even use a Bluetooth controller to play your games since the Apple Vision Pro has no first-party controllers.
Typical productivity apps that you use on your other Apple devices are available on the Vision Pro too. Safari is viewable in a massive display and you can expand it to see all your open tabs at once. FaceTime is there too, and you can move people's video feeds to one side of your display while keeping other apps in view.
You, however, won't be visible in FaceTime. At least, not the real version of you. Instead, the Apple Vision Pro will create a Digital Persona to represent you in FaceTime that will simulate your face and hand movements.
But the biggest productivity upgrade? You can expand your Mac display into a larger 4K display just by looking at a compatible machines. This wirelessly beams the Mac's display to your headset, letting you view things in the same view as other visionOS apps.
With this in mind the Vision Pro is compatible with Bluetooth devices like the Magic Keyboard or Magic Trackpad, though it does have onboard tools to handle productivity — including voice and sight, and a virtual keyboard.
We don't know the full spec sheet for the Apple Vision Pro yet, but Apple did confirm some key details.
First, let's take a look at the outside of the headset. The headset features 12 cameras, six microphones and five sensors to allow for eye tracking, hand tracking and voice commands to be all you need to control the device. Then inside the headset is a ring of LED lights that project invisible patterns onto your eyes to assist with the eye-tracking. These LED lights also power Optic ID, which is the Vision Pro's version of Face ID.
Under the hood, the Vision Pro is powered entirely by Apple silicon. An M2 chip does most of the heavy lifting, but a brand-new R1 chip handles the sensor inputs and ensures the display doesn't lag behind. Apple says the R1 chip keeps the input lag of the twin 4K Micro OLED displays at just around 12ms — on par with a lot of the best TVs.
Finally, Apple promises spatial audio thanks to a speaker on each side of the headset, near where it connects with your Head Band. These speakers — or audio pods — provide what Apple calls "the most advanced Spatial Audio system ever." The individually amplified drivers inside each audio pod can even be fine-tuned to deliver Personalized Spatial Audio based on your head and ears.
Here's arguably the biggest knock against the Apple Vision Pro, aside from the other-worldly price tag. While headsets like the Meta Quest 3 are true standalone headsets that can also tether to a PC, the Vision Pro needs to be attached to something to work.
Now thankfully, you do have options. Option one, you can plug in the headset and use the Vision Pro all day long. Unfortunately, Apple didn't say if that works if the headset is plugged into a Mac or MacBook, so the assumption is you'll need to plug straight into the nearest wall.
If that doesn't appeal to you though, there is an alternative. Apple has designed an external battery pack that connects around the temple of the headset via a woven cable.
The good news? The battery is slim enough to fit in your pocket, at least according to Apple. The bad news? It only lasts for two hours and does seem to be a proprietary charger. Oh, and you may need to buy it separately, which would add to the Apple Vision Pro's $3,499 price tag.
While the battery may be one of the lamer aspects of Apple's first headset, the controls are not. That's because Apple ditches controllers entirely with the Apple Vision Pro, instead using the headset's many sensors and cameras to allow you to control the device using just your eyes, hands and voice.
And these intuitive controls are meant to feel natural as well. Apple says all it takes is turning your head to shift the focus of the display, or a simple tap of your fingers to simulate a mouse click. You can even keep your hands in a natural position rather than holding them in front of you when making gestures. Glancing at a search bar and speaking will even allow you to type into the search bar for easy use.
Aside from these new methods of controlling the mixed reality headset, there are two familiar features. First, Siri is back, giving you Apple's famous voice assistant right out of the box. Second, the headset does work with a range of Bluetooth products. In addition to supporting controllers like the PS5 DualSense, it also supports the Apple Magic Keyboard, Mouse and Trackpad in case you don't want to rely on hand gestures or a virtual keyboard.
According to reports, the Apple VR/AR mixed reality headset — which we now know as the Apple Vision Pro — was designed to be a precursor to Apple Glass.
And now that we've officially seen the Vision Pro, it's clear that Apple wanted to have a true mixed reality device rather than a VR headset. The Vision Pro at times feels like an AR glasses copycat, particularly with features such as EyeSight that allow others to see your eyes while you're using the Vision Pro.
Based on everything we've heard, Apple wants the Apple Glass to look and act like an ordinary lightweight pair of glasses rather than adopt the Vision Pro's approach. That means glasses that are able to project information, and presumably imagery, onto the lenses. Unfortunately, Apple Glasses may not arrive for a long time, with Apple reportedly delaying the project due to technical challenges.
Still not sure what the difference between mixed reality, augmented reality and virtual reality actually is? We have an explainer that tells you exactly what mixed reality is and what Microsoft, Meta and Apple have planned for it.
Both Apple and Meta have announced new headsets touting mixed reality features, but the two headsets are definitely different. Granted, that should be expected when the Apple Vision Pro is nearly seven times the price of the Meta Quest 3, but it's more than that. Both headsets tackle the issue of experiencing mixed reality in notably different ways, and each makes a case for being the better headset for most people. Check out our Apple Vision Pro versus Meta Quest 3 face-off for the full breakdown.
The Meta Quest 3 isn't the only Meta headset that Apple has to contend with. The Meta Quest Pro is also a mixed reality headset, with a more professional user base that will definitely be interested in the Apple Vision Pro as an alternative.
And unfortunately for the Quest Pro, the Apple headset is the clear winner between the two — as long as you can stomach the $2,499 price difference. We found seven ways Apple Vision Pro beats the Meta Quest Pro, from superior specs to a better software ecosystem for productivity.
As regular as the tides, Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) has become a big and highly anticipated part of our calendar. As is usual, this year’s keynote announcements will include all the usual improvements for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and more — but this year is also different, thanks to the reveal of a brand new area for Apple, the Vision Pro headset.
The keynote was jammed full of content, as usual, and there’s plenty to talk about. Here’s a recap of everything Apple announced at WWDC 2023!
An Apple-branded augmented reality/virtual reality has been rumored for years and years, but it’s finally here. The final part of the WWDC keynote was dedicated to the Vision Pro AR headset, and Apple really went in-depth, offering insights into the many possible uses for the new product — which is understandable, as it’s one of Apple’s biggest new launches since the original Apple Watch.
It’s important to note that this product is not the long-awaited Apple-branded smart glasses, which are a purely AR experience and will probably look like a regular pair of glasses. Instead, the Vision Pro is a VR headset set to compete with the Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2 and sports a similar style, with a broad visor and full head strap.
Except, it’s not exactly the same as its competitors. Most VR headsets are big and heavy items, and it’s clear a slim build and light weight were top of Apple’s goals with this headset. Light materials have been used wherever possible, with more premium and heavier materials only used where absolutely necessary — like the front of the device, which is entirely glass. There’s a Digital Crown on the Vision Pro, too, borrowed from the Apple Watch to provide a small element of physical control. The headset’s frame bends slightly to fit around your face, while the band has been designed to be as comfortable as possible. Inserts can be added for those who use glasses, while the battery is connected by wire and can be slipped into a pocket so it doesn’t weigh down the headset. There are no controllers. Instead, the Vision Pro is controlled by your voice, hands, and eyes.
This headset is an extremely high-end entry in VR headsets, too, with each of the two displays containing more pixels than a 4K TV for unmatched crispness. It’s powered by Apple’s powerful M2 processor., the same chip you’ll find in the latest Macbook Pro 13-inch laptops, and it’s backed up by a new R1 chip created especially for the Vision Pro. It makes sure images are sent to the display in a seamless manner, eradicating frame lag that would impair the experience and freeing up the M2 to handle the other processing.
A blend of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), the Vision Pro is the first Apple product you look through rather than at. Apple is clearly intending the headset to be an extension of your existing Apple ecosystem. As such, the Vision Pro has all the same Apple apps as your iPhone and can access your photos, videos, and call contacts.
The array of sensors and cameras on the front of the device means you can see your home through the Vision Pro, much like the Meta Quest’s Passthrough feature. Apple intends for you to use this around your house as a place to construct your own augmented reality space. Apps can be placed in physical space and expanded or shrunk to your needs, and they can be anchored in place so they don’t move when you do. Would you rather the real world fade away? You can add an immersive landscape experience instead of the real world, transporting yourself to a number of places, and can fine-tune your immersion level (i.e., whether you want it to be slightly transparent or not) using the Digital Crown.
Incredibly, that passthrough of information extends to you. Using internal cameras and sensors, a live feed of your eyes can be displayed on the Vision Pro and indicates when you’re using Eyesight to see through your headset’s cameras. This means those around you can see your eyes, even while using the Vision Pro. This is a massive deal in the VR space, as it stops users from being as locked out as they are in other headsets … even if it does look a little “uncanny valley.” Those same cameras and sensors are also being used for security, which is, as ever for Apple, a big part of the Vision Pro. The headset will use your eye’s unique iris information to unlock your device, a feature Apple is calling Optic ID.
As you’d expect, the Vision Pro works well with existing Apple accessories. The Magic Keyboard functions within Vision Pro, and incredibly, so does your Mac. Load up your Mac, and it can spring to life within Vision Pro, giving you a much larger screen to work with. Apple boasts this will work well within an office environment, whether in person or when working from home. After work, you can load up a streaming service and immerse yourself into a 3D movie on an incredibly rendered 100-foot screen.
3D motion on videos and spatial audio means memories and experiences will be even more immersive than ever on Vision Pro and can be captured directly from the Vision Pro for experiencing later. Vision Pro also supports Apple Arcade games and comes with PlayStation DualSense controller support, making it the one-stop space for work and play. Over one hundred games will be ready for Vision Pro on launch.
Another surprise guest for the keynote, Disney’s Bob Iger, dropped by to endorse the Apple Vision Pro and announce Disney support. Disney Plus app support will be available from day one, but for now, the deeper implications of Disney’s and Apple’s partnership remain to be seen. A speculative video teased some features that Disney is apparently working on and included additional context windows when watching Disney shows, special Disney VR environments, the ability to watch sports games from inside the arena, interact with Marvel’s What If series, and more.
Apple clearly has a vision for the Vision Pro, with the presentation being chock full of people using the Vision Pro while packing for trips, fetching drinks from the fridge, and even playing with their kids. The small dimensions and weight of the device mean Apple is clearly hoping this will be a device people will be able to put on and keep on for a long time and not just use in short spurts. In short, Apple wants the Vision Pro to be as big a part of your life as your iPhone.
The price is a big hurdle for that goal, though. The Apple Vision Pro starts from $3,499, a far cry from the much more reasonable price of other AR/VR headsets. The Apple Vision Pro will be available in 2024.
Apple kicked off WWDC by introducing a new Macbook Air, a 15-inch variant of the regular 13-inch Macbook Air. Apple claims it’s the world’s best 15-inch laptop, with a thin and light but durable design, an extremely powerful Apple M2 processor, and a gorgeous 15.3-inch Retina display. If you’ve seen and used an M2 Macbook Air 13-inch, then imagine that, but bigger. It comes in four colors and comes with the MagSafe charging port, two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack. The display tops out at 500 nits of brightness and has a 1080 webcam above and six spatial speakers below. Apple claims it will have 18 hours of battery life.
The Macbook Air 15 will cost $1,299 ($1,199 for educators). The M2 Macbook Air 13 will get a small price drop to celebrate, falling to $1,099, while the M1 Macbook Air will fall to $999.
The professional-but-tiny Mac Studio is getting new versions using Apple’s most powerful new cores. There’s now an M2 Max and M2 Pro version of the Mac Studio, but the new Mac Studio will also sport a brand new Apple chip — the Apple M2 Ultra. Basically, two M2 Pro processors stuck together, the M2 Ultra is a stunningly powerful chip and is capable of 22 streams of 8K ProRes footage in Final Cut Pro, and is 6x faster than the fastest Intel-powered Mac Pro.
The Mac Studio isn’t the only Mac product getting the M2 Ultra. There’s a new Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra as well, giving the Mac Pro a much-needed and powerful upgrade to a 24-core CPU and a 76-core GPU. This new Mac Pro has eight Thunderbolt ports, six expansion slots for customization, and it comes in both tower and rack mount enclosures.
The M2 Mac Studio starts from $1,999, while the M2 Ultra Mac Pro starts from $6,999. Preorders open today, with shipping starting next week.
As has become tradition, the new version of iOS was a key part of the WWDC keynote. There’s no big headline-grabbing feature this time around, with Apple focusing largely on quality-of-life improvements over fancy new additions, but even with that in mind, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about iOS 17.
iOS 17 will add personal contact “posters” when called by specific contacts, giving you the ability to customize your contact screen the same way you’d customize your lock screen. That’s not the only part of the Phone app being updated, as Apple is also adding Live Voicemail. This feature, similar to the Google Pixel’s Call Screen, offers a real-time transcript of a voicemail, so you can choose whether or not you want to pick up a call. Finally, FaceTime is also getting video voicemails, so you can leave a message for someone even if they’re not available at that moment in time.
Messages is getting a few upgrades too. You’ll be able to create search filters and get a catch-up arrow to jump to where you left off in a particular chat, so you don’t have to keep scrolling to get back to where you left off. Messages is also getting a live location feature, which comes hand-in-hand with the new Check-In feature. Check-In is a safety-conscious feature that lets specific contacts know when you get home safely, and it’ll also let specific contacts know if it seems as if something has gotten wrong on your way home.
On a lighter note, the Sticker feature has been expanded with a new Sticker drawer, the conversion of all emojis into Stickers, and the ability to use Stickers anywhere on iOS.
AirDrop on iOS 17 will support NameDrop, a new way of transferring contact information between iPhones. To use it, simply place your iPhone near another and choose which contacts to transfer. It’ll even work with an Apple Watch. AirDrop will now also continue transferring over mobile internet if you leave AirDrop range.
The keyboard’s autocorrect is getting supercharged, with more intelligent corrections and automatic word learning for a more personal touch. Dictation will also benefit from these changes, making it more accurate.
Apple leaned hard into the lock screen changes last year, and iOS 17 is building even further on that. In iOS 17, your iPhone’s lock screen will morph into a smart home display-like state called Standby. When it’s not in use and in a horizontal orientation, it’ll show the weather, upcoming appointments, notifications, and other important information. Apple’s aim is to make your iPhone more useful even when you’re not using it, and it helps to fill a smart display-sized hole in Apple’s Homekit offerings. Siri works in Standby by just saying “Siri,” and it adapts for nighttime as well, shifting into a less intrusive red light.
The developer beta for iOS 17 is available today, with a public beta coming next month and a full release in the fall.
One of the more surprising additions to iOS 17 is the Journal app. Essentially a diary app cranked up to 11, Apple’s new app will use machine learning to prompt users to add the details of their day, along with their thoughts and feelings.
Photos and Maps will be integrated into the experience, providing additional prompts and content for your daily entries. All processing will be done on-device in order to ensure user security. Journaling is a well-known mindfulness technique, so it’s easy to see this as Apple pushing further into the physical and mental health world. We’re excited to try this out.
Apple iPadOS 17 will be getting a lot of the same updates and tweaks as iOS 17 but with a few additions just for the large-screened operating system.
Widgets are getting improvements in iPadOS 17, and you’ll be able to quickly interact with any widget on your home screen without needing to shift to the widget’s app. Lock screen customization is also arriving on iPadOS 17, and it means you’ll be able to customize your iPad’s lock screen to match or contrast with your iPhone’s lock screen, with the benefit of seeing it on a much larger screen. Live Activities is also coming to iPadOS’s lock screen, as well as the ability to show multiple timers at once.
One of the biggest and best improvements to iPadOS, though, has to be the addition of the Health app. Apple provides a lot of health data, so it’s great to have the large screen of an iPad to really dive deep into your latest workouts, health reports, and more.
PDF support is getting improved too, and now iPads will be able to detect the text entry portions on a PDF, giving you the ability to quickly and easily fill in the entries you need to complete before sending it off. PDFs will now also be stored within the Notes app, giving you unparalleled ability to store multiple PDFs within a single note or work with someone else on the same information using Live Collaboration.
The developer beta is releasing today, while a public beta will come next month, and the final release dropping in the fall.
As expected, the new version of macOS debuted at the WWDC Keynote. Named macOS Sonoma, this new update includes a lot of the new additions coming to iOS and iPadOS. Sonoma includes a number of stunning new video screensavers which slowly scroll across gorgeous scenes from around the world.
Do you love widgets? We do, and so does Apple. Sonoma is adding the ability to add widgets directly to your desktop. You can add them wherever you like, and they intelligently adapt to what you’re doing on your Mac at any time. They’ll change color depending on your wallpaper, and when you’re using an app, they’ll fade into the background so they’re less distracting. Like iPhone and iPad, Sonoma’s widgets are fully interactable directly from the desktop.
Gaming hasn’t traditionally been macOS’s strong suit, but Apple’s M-series processors are changing that. Sonoma is getting a Game Mode, which optimizes your Mac to run games, reducing non-game processes to make sure your Mac runs your games in tip-top condition. That wasn’t everything on the gaming side, too. Legendary game director Hideo Kojima made a surprise appearance to announce that the Death Stranding Directors Cut would be coming to Macs later this year.
MacOS isn’t all play and no work, too. A presenter overlay will pop up during video presentations, giving you more immediate feedback on your current presentation, while watchers will be able to respond to your presentations with interactive reactions. These will work on most video presenting platforms, including Zoom and FaceTime.
Some additional updates for Safari will now allow for secure password sharing and introduce a new Profile system, which will allow you to separate your browsing history and cookies between work and play or just between users on a single machine. If you use specific websites a lot, the new WebApp feature can turn those websites into a pseudo-app interface, removing the website from Safari and giving it its own specific window.
Sonoma’s developer beta is available today, while the public beta comes in July. As with the other software announced today, a full release will arrive in the fall.
The most popular headphones in the world, the AirPods, are getting new abilities. Adaptive Audio combines Noise Cancellation and the Transparency mode to intelligently adapt and swap between audio modes when required. So distracting noises will be tuned out, while anything important will be highlighted. Conversation Awareness plays into this by automatically lowering the music volume when it detects you’re starting to talk to someone and focusing the Transparency mode on the person you’re talking to.
AirPlay is also being improved. AirPlay will learn when and where you tend to use your different Airplay devices and will start to offer AirPlay ahead of time. AirPlay in Hotels is another new addition, which will allow for quick and easy pairing to specific hotel sound systems.
Apple’s TV operating system, tvOS, wasn’t left out. tvOS’s control center has been improved, making it easier and quicker to use. Your iPhone can also be used to find your Siri Remote, reducing that annoying time spent hunting for a remote. The most exciting addition to tvOS, though, is the addition of FaceTime to Apple TV. You can quickly and easily send your FaceTime calls to your Apple TV, and all the usual features, like Center Stage, will work great on Apple TV’s FaceTime. You can even use SharePlay for the ultimate viewing experience with friends.
Did you think you’d had enough customization? Well, you haven’t — because watchOS 10 is getting customization options too. The new version of watchOS will allow you to change any of your watch faces for your own personal needs by adding Smart Stacks with widgets that are accessible by just moving your Digital Crown. You can add or remove widgets with a long press, and you can quickly access your favorite apps directly from the Smart Stack.
Apple has also been working on cycling tracking, and watchOS 10 will now support Bluetooth bike sensors, so you can track your cadence and power using your Apple Watch. This is a big addition for cyclists, as it helps cut down on the number of devices needed when going out for a long ride. Apple Watch cycling workouts will now show up as a Live Activity on your iPhone automatically, so you can put your iPhone in a bike mount and keep updated with your Apple Watch’s stats as you cycle.
The Compass app is getting some great new safety options, including a pair of features that show where you last accessed cell connection, as well as the nearest location that can be used to send an SOS message. There’s also an elevation view and the ability to search for nearby facilities and hiking trails.
The Apple Watch will also now be able to analyze your tennis or golf swing and keep you updated as to how you’re progressing in your chosen sport.
Having conquered the world of physical health, Apple now wants to shine a light on mental health. The Mindfulness app in watchOS 10, iOS 17, and iPadOS 17 will now be able to record how you’re feeling at any particular moment, as well as record what you think might be causing that mood.
Mindfulness will also use clinical questionnaires to help you stay on top of your mental health and will even let you know if it thinks you may need to speak to someone about your health.
Myopia (short-sightedness) has been a particular focus for Apple this year, and now, watchOS 10 will track the time spent in daylight for kids, which has been proven to help reduce the chances of myopia development in children. Also included is a feature that will measure the distance at which your child uses their iPad or iPhone, another key indicator of potential myopia.
Apple's also rumored to be introducing a version of Made For iPhone (MFi), its licensing system for compatible accessories, to this rumored USB-C port. MFi currently allows, among other things, Lightning cables made by approved manufacturers to use the highest available power and data speeds, which aren't available to items that haven't been rubber-stamped by Apple.
MFi's presence on the iPhone 15 is disputed, as some rumormongers claim Apple's ditching MFi with its move to USB-C. But if Apple is indeed adapting MFi for a new era of connectors, the EU will clearly have something to say about it.
The iPhone being forced to leave Europe would be a huge deal, that goes without saying. But for now, it’s important to note we (and the quoted EU officials) are still only dealing with rumors about what Apple has planned. There's no need for panic just yet
Also, the U.K., now famously not a part of the European Union, in theory wouldn't be affected by the EU forbidding iPhone sales. There could still be secondary effects from Apple needing to pull huge amounts of stock from Europe, though.
If Apple is introducing MFi, it could still try and sell the iPhone 15 in the EU and hope that it can win a legal victory down the line. As we can see from the Apple vs Epic Games battle over the App Store, or its opposition to a potential U.K. antitrust investigation into Safari on iOS (via AppleInsider), Apple's not afraid of fighting in the courtroom.
Equally, the EU ruling on standard charging ports doesn't come into force until December 2024. Since next year's iPhone will presumably launch in September as usual, that gives Apple until the iPhone 17 in 2025 to be fully compliant, and a decent amount of time for MFi to in theory still be legal.
If there is a ban, we'll be here to help recommend you the best iPhones that are still available, or even the best Android phones if you're willing to ditch the Apple phone way of life. Right now though, it's best to just sit back and see how things play out
This September, we should see the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max all arrive, along with their alleged USB-C ports. More exciting features like a new curved design, a higher-powered zoom camera on the Pro Max and a mighty 3nm chipset for the Pro models have been tipped too.
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Apple's also rumored to be introducing a version of Made For iPhone (MFi), its licensing system for compatible accessories, to this rumored USB-C port. MFi currently allows, among other things, Lightning cables made by approved manufacturers to use the highest available power and data speeds, which aren't available to items that haven't been rubber-stamped by Apple.
MFi's presence on the iPhone 15 is disputed, as some rumormongers claim Apple's ditching MFi with its move to USB-C. But if Apple is indeed adapting MFi for a new era of connectors, the EU will clearly have something to say about it.
The iPhone being forced to leave Europe would be a huge deal, that goes without saying. But for now, it’s important to note we (and the quoted EU officials) are still only dealing with rumors about what Apple has planned. There's no need for panic just yet
Also, the U.K., now famously not a part of the European Union, in theory wouldn't be affected by the EU forbidding iPhone sales. There could still be secondary effects from Apple needing to pull huge amounts of stock from Europe, though.
If Apple is introducing MFi, it could still try and sell the iPhone 15 in the EU and hope that it can win a legal victory down the line. As we can see from the Apple vs Epic Games battle over the App Store, or its opposition to a potential U.K. antitrust investigation into Safari on iOS (via AppleInsider), Apple's not afraid of fighting in the courtroom.
Equally, the EU ruling on standard charging ports doesn't come into force until December 2024. Since next year's iPhone will presumably launch in September as usual, that gives Apple until the iPhone 17 in 2025 to be fully compliant, and a decent amount of time for MFi to in theory still be legal.
If there is a ban, we'll be here to help recommend you the best iPhones that are still available, or even the best Android phones if you're willing to ditch the Apple phone way of life. Right now though, it's best to just sit back and see how things play out
This September, we should see the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max all arrive, along with their alleged USB-C ports. More exciting features like a new curved design, a higher-powered zoom camera on the Pro Max and a mighty 3nm chipset for the Pro models have been tipped too.
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The arrival of the iPhone 15 this fall will mean a chance to get familiar with Apple's latest handset. But it's also a time to bid farewell to some current models, which will likely drop out of Apple's iPhone lineup to make way for the new models.
The iPhone 15 release date is still months away at this point, so we have no special insight into Apple's plans. But the company does stick to a few tried and true approaches to filling out its phone lineup, giving us a pretty good ideal of what iPhones will still be around come September and which ones will be put out to pasture.
And that's important to know ahead of time. While Apple is certain to drop some older phones to make room for the iPhone 15 models, some more current devices are likely on the chopping block, too — including some of the best iPhones you can buy right now. If you're considering whether to get one of those models now may be the time to act, particularly if you can lower the price even further through an iPhone 14 deal.
Below, you'll find our best guesses for what the iPhone lineup will look like this fall after the iPhone 15 arrives. That includes the current models we think Apple plans to drop later this year.
As a reminder, here's what the current lineup of iPhones looks like. Note that this reflects the phones available directly from Apple — you may find other models on sale at wireless carriers and retailers.
So Apple currently sells eight different iPhone models — four that came out last fall with the iPhone 14 release, plus another 2022 model in the form of the iPhone SE. The iPhone 13 models came out in 2021, while the iPhone 12 will be celebrating its third birthday in the fall.
Initial iPhone 15 rumors predicted a new model joining the iPhone lineup this year — an iPhone 15 Ultra that would supposedly offer even more premium features than Apple's Pro models. Subsequent reports contend that while an Ultra device is under consideration at Apple, it won't arrive until 2024 at the earliest.
That leaves us with four likely iPhone 15 models — and they're the usual suspects from recent Apple iPhone launches.
It's all but certain we're going to see a 6.1-inch iPhone 15 model that's the entry-level flagship in Apple's lineup. We're also hearing a lot of iPhone 15 Pro rumors, with a 6.1-inch Pro model and a 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max very much in Apple's plans. As with the iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro models figure to get the most premium features to distinguish themselves from Apple's regular phones. (Our iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro comparison goes into greater detail.)
That leaves a fourth slot in the iPhone 15 lineup that will likely be filled by an iPhone 15 Plus. With iPhone 14 Plus sales reportedly lower than other models, there had been some speculation Apple might drop its other 6.7-inch device. But recent reports include a Plus model in the iPhone 15 lineup, so it sounds like Apple's keeping that option for at least another year.
With four new iPhones arriving in the fall, Apple will have to do some trimming if it decides to keep its lineup at or around its current size. So which models are on the chopping block?
Start with the most obvious drop — we can't remember the last time Apple kept a three-year-old iPhone around, so September will likely mean the end of the road for the iPhone 12. Its position as an older discounted model will likely be filled by the iPhone 13, which we imagine Apple would keep around but at a lower price than before.
Two other likely goners include the iPhone 14 Pro models. That's no reflection on quality, as the iPhone 14 Pro Max in particular ranks highly on our list of best phones. Rather, it's an acknowledgement that Apple usually drops its Pro models after one year of sales — a practice likely to continue even though this year's Pros are rumored to be Apple's top sellers, thanks to all their features.
We'd imagine the standard iPhone 14 to stay around, though Apple will likely drop the price by $100. That's typically what happens to the base model iPhone every year, making the iPhone 14 a prime candidate to remain as Apple's $699 option.
That leaves us with the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 13 mini, with the fate of either phone anyone's guess. We'd imagine the iPhone 13 mini is likely to be eliminated from the lineup — reports claim the mini phones haven't sold particularly well over the years, and the iPhone 12 mini was dropped two years after its initial release.
The only reason Apple might keep the iPhone 13 mini around longer is that it would give the company a $499 option, assuming the usual $100 price cut, and it would serve as an option for the handful of small phone fans. Otherwise, though, there's no reason to expect the iPhone 13 mini holds out for another year.
The iPhone 14 Plus' fate is harder to determine, as this is the first time Apple's offered such a phone. However, with an iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max coming in the fall, a third 6.7-inch phone seems superfluous. Plus, a $100 price cut to the iPhone 14 Plus would put it at the same likely starting price as the iPhone 15. Apple can eliminate a lot of confusion just by dropping the iPhone 14 Plus.
All of these comings and goings leaves us with just seven iPhones on sale through Apple this fall — four new iPhone 15 models joined by the iPhone SE and the discounted iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 offerings.
As a reminder, that's all guesswork — Apple could surprise us by keeping extra iPhones around. And our likely iPhone lineup assumes the new iPhones will cost the same as their predecessors. If the iPhone 15 Pro models go up in price, for example, it's easier to imagine Apple keeping around an iPhone 14 Pro as a discounted option.
Until we hear more concrete rumors about iPhone 15 pricing, though, we're pretty confident that Apple's fall iPhone reshuffle will feature the usual additions and subtractions. Stay tuned to see if we're right.
]]>Whether it’s something recurring in your daily life or an unexpected event, we all experience stress and anxiety. You may not have thought about it, but if you have an Apple Watch, there’s a useful tool on your wrist to help find some peace and calm. Follow along for 4 ways to reduce stress and relax with Apple Watch.
A lot of the spotlight for Apple Watch as a health-focused device lands on features like the heart rate sensor, ECG app, heart rate notifications, and activity tracking. But Apple Watch is a handy resource to relax in a variety of ways.
Let’s dive into some native options as well as some third-party apps to relax with Apple Watch, even when you’re right in the middle of a stressful situation.
Built into watchOS is the Mindfulness app. Formerly called the Breathe app, the Mindfulness app includes two options: Reflect and Breath. It’s a simple yet really well-done app that uses a proven technique to reduce stress and help you relax.
The Breathe sessions use nice haptics to signal when to inhale and exhale, and it also records your heart rate. And Reflect sessions use a question to help you focus your energy along with a nice visualizer.
Here’s the science behind focused breathing to relax from Headspace:
By shifting our breathing rate and pattern, we can stimulate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, and trigger a calming response, which decreases our heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension.
The Mindfulness app on Apple Watch has a light blue overlapping circle icon. Tap it to get started.
To customize the app, head to the Watch app on your iPhone to set up alerts, haptic feedback preferences, and more. You can also adjust the session length by tapping the three-dot icon in the right corner of the Mindfulness app.
Going further with mindfulness, there are some great meditation apps for Apple Watch. Two of the most polished and robust are Headspace and Calm.
They both feature some limited free content with subscriptions to unlock everything.
A really neat feature in the Headspace Apple Watch app is an SOS three-minute “Feeling Overwhelmed” meditation that you can quickly pull up anytime you need it.
Headspace and Calm are free downloads from the App Store.
If you’d like to incorporate some full-body movement to find some calm (and don’t have anything memorized), you can access yoga right on your wrist. Daily Yoga is a nice option that offers both free and paid plans.
If none of the above sounds like the right fit at any given moment, don’t forget about the power of music or background sounds.
Use your Apple Watch to play a song or album you love. It’s amazing how listening to a track you associate with positive feelings can quickly line you up with them and melt away your stress.
If music doesn’t feel right, perhaps listen to one of your favorite comedians or a background soundscape to shift how you’re feeling.
Do you have another way you like to deal with stress? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Believe it or not, iOS 17 is coming in just a few months. This represents Apple’s biggest software update for iPhone users, and it’s usually packed full of new features and changes. Read on as we round up what the rumors currently say about iOS 17 new features and more.
Apple will announce iOS 17 at WWDC in June. WWDC is Apple’s annual developer conference where it unveils the newest versions of its operating systems for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. Apple has officially announced that WWDC 2023 will kick off on June 5 with a special keynote address focused on its newest announcements.
After Apple announces iOS 17 at WWDC in June, it will immediately release a beta version of the update to developers. Sometime in July, it will release a public beta that all iPhone users can try out. Then, Apple will release iOS 17 to everyone sometime in September, likely alongside the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro lineups.
Whereas Apple hardware products leak months – or even years – ahead of time, software leaks are less common. This is because most hardware leaks come from Apple’s massive supply chain, rather than from inside Apple itself. The company is able to keep software leaks to a minimum because only a small number of people inside Apple actually have knowledge of the company’s plans.
With that being said, the “big picture” of iOS 17 this year appears to be that it will be a relatively modest update in terms of new features, but there’s a focus on “nice to have” changes.
Bloomberg has reported that iOS 17 (and Apple’s other software platforms) is taking a backseat as the company focuses on the development of its AR/VR headset. The headset could also be announced at WWDC and marks Apple’s first major new hardware and software platform since the Apple Watch.
Apple is believed to be pulling hardware and software engineering resources from throughout the company to focus on headset development.
iOS 17 is reportedly codenamed “Dawn” and is in continuous development and testing inside Apple ahead of WWDC. Bloomberg says the update “may have fewer major changes than originally planned” due to the focus on the Reality Pro headset “along with iOS 16 snags.”
With that in mind, however, Bloomberg also reports that iOS 17 will have “nice to have” features that are intended to address some of the most-requested features from users. The specifics here are unclear, but at least one rumor suggests one of Apple’s focuses in iOS 17 will be on Control Center.
As we’ve explained, Control Center on iOS hasn’t received any notable changes since iOS 11 and the launch of the iPhone X. This rumor claims that Apple is prepping “major changes” to the iPhone’s Control Center in iOS 17.
Currently, Control Center is currently accessible by swiping down from the top right of the iPhone’s display. It features quick access to settings for things like Wi-Fi and airplane mode as well as the “Now Playing” interface. You can also customize the tiles at the bottom to include your most used settings.
There are two conflicting rumors on which devices will support iOS 17, and both rumors come from sources that have previously been accurate.
The first rumor suggested that iOS 17 will drop support for the following devices:
Shortly after that rumor was published, another source came out of the woodwork to say that all devices that supported iOS 16 will also support iOS 17. This source cited an anonymous person on Apple’s iOS development team.
As we approach WWDC in June, it’s possible that new leaks and rumors will shed additional light on what’s to come with iOS 17 this year. In general, however, Apple is able to keep a lot of things under wraps until WWDC itself.
What are you hoping to see in iOS 17 this year? Are there any particular features at the top of your wishlist? Let us know in the comments.
Starting in March, Apple raised prices for iPhone battery replacements. Whether you’re just curious how your battery health is holding up or you’re having issues with battery life or unexpected shutdowns, it’s easy to check the status in iOS Settings. Below we’ll cover how to see iPhone battery health, tips on when it’s time to get a replacement, charge cycle expectations, and more.
The iPhone 14 lineup launched with a higher cost for out-of-warranty battery replacements of $99. However, the change as of March 1 saw Apple bump battery replacements for all of its older iPhone models by $20. That pushed iPhone 13 through iPhone X up to $89 and iPhone SE, iPhone 8, and earlier to $69.
If you upgrade your iPhone every year or two, you hopefully shouldn’t have an issue with a degraded battery, unless you end up with a defective one. But for those who have iPhones that are two years old or older, low battery health ends up being an inevitability at some point due to chemical aging along with how many charge cycles they’ve gone through.
If you’re in the US, replacements are covered under the one-year included warranty or with AppleCare. However, if you’re out of warranty coverage, Apple charges a $69-99 fee for the iPhone battery replacement service.
When an iPhone battery drops below 80% of its original capacity, a feature called “performance management” may be automatically applied. This works to help prevent unexpected shutdowns.
However, it is possible to turn the performance throttling off. Looks for the small “Disable” button at the end of the text below “Peak Performance Capability.”
If you see a message that says battery health degraded or unknown, head to an Apple Store, reach out to Apple Support, or an Apple Authorized Service Provider if you want to get a certified Apple battery replacement.
You can read more specifics about iPhone battery and performance in Apple’s full support document. Thanks for reading our guide on how to see iPhone battery health!
]]>The new patent is titled "Self-retracting display device and technology using drop detection to protect the screen", and part of the patent description reads as follows:
Mobile devices with foldable and rollable displays can use sensors to detect vertical acceleration (for example, relative to the ground) to determine if the device has been dropped.
If sensors detect that the mobile device has been dropped, the foldable device could retract at least partially to prevent the fragile display from hitting the ground.
A release mechanism of the hinged connection between the first display and the second display of the electronic device may be activated when the vertical acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold. The reel device retracts automatically.
]]>[Men Prefer Pro Model, Women Prefer Standard Model] According to a report released Wednesday by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), U.S. male users prefer the iPhone Pro model; while U.S. female users prefer the iPhone Plus model. type.
The full title of the report is <Men Are iPhone Pro, Women Are iPhone Plus>, written by two experts from the agency, Michael Levin and Josh Lowitz.
The report examines who will buy an iPhone during 2022 and breaks it down by gender. IT House learned from the report that 41% of American men will buy an iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max or 14 Pro/Pro Max in 2022, compared to 33% of women.
The report pointed out that 12% of female customers bought an iPhone 14 or 14 Plus, compared with 8% of male customers. For the oldest older model, 11% of female customers purchased an older iPhone 11 compared to 7% of male customers.
Historically, Apple has tried to give its iPhones a sales boost with a fresh new color halfway through their first year — and right around the launch of Samsung's newest flagship. For the iPhone 13 last March, this was a green hue, while the iPhone 12 got a vibrant purple shade back in April 2021.
Now, Macotakara(opens in new tab) reports that Apple will be freshening up the iPhone 14 this week with a fresh new color.
So what will be joining the existing five iPhone 14 colors? It’s reportedly going yellow, the first time Apple has adopted the sunny shade since 2019’s iPhone 11.
While the green shade found its way onto both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro (the latter with the fancier sounding ‘Alpine Green’ moniker), the report suggests that this new shade is exclusively for the regular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
We should find out soon enough: the site reports that a briefing will be held this week to introduce the new color. Given the iPhone 14 launched 170 days ago, we’re pretty close to the halfway point between the current model and the upcoming iPhone 15, so it does seem a sensible time to give it another sales push.
Plus, we're sure that Apple would be happy to try to steal at least a little thunder from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Plus.
It’s true that few people will be suddenly motivated to buy an iPhone thanks to a new color — iPhone 14 cases will likely hide the design, after all. But sprucing up the lineup is still helpful in generating attention for a handset six months into its life, after the initial sheen has worn off a bit.
But if it’s true that the iPhone 14 Pro series won’t be getting a new shade to match, that’s perhaps an indication of the contrasting fortunes of Apple’s two handset tiers.
According to display analyst Ross Young, in November the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max handsets accounted for 64% of iPhone 14 units sold — up from 51% of the iPhone 13 era split. Or to put it another way, they only accounted for 36% of sales this time around, as opposed to 49% last time around.
Perhaps that’s unsurprising given how limited an upgrade the iPhone 14 is — as I’ve written before, it makes sense to just buy a discounted iPhone 13 Pro instead.
In short, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max handsets likely don’t need any extra sales help. But whether a yellow shade will give the iPhone 14 Plus a much-needed boost remains to be seen.
Last year Ross Young, a leading display industry consultant, said that Apple would adopt an under-screen Face ID on the iPhone 16 Pro model in 2024, followed by an under-screen Face ID and an under-screen front-facing camera on the iPhone 18 Pro model in 2026.
According to a new report from The Elec, given the current state of smartphone production processes, Apple shouldn’t have much trouble securing the technology needed for external light to penetrate the display and enter the TrueDepth camera system.
The report says, “From a display perspective, under-screen Face ID works on the same principle as the UPC (under-screen camera) that Samsung Display is using in Samsung Electronics’ foldable Galaxy Z Fold series. The camera lens hole is not visible when the camera function is not in use. Currently, in order to implement UPC, the camera module can only be specified at the 4-megapixel level. This is because the UPC space must be divided so that part of it supports the display function and another part supports the camera function by receiving external light, and today’s premium smartphones have front-facing camera specifications well in excess of 10 megapixels.”
“If current trends continue,” the report added, “Apple could have off-screen Face ID in the non-Pro iPhone lineup by 2025, and UPC in the Pro iPhone lineup by 2026. “
Apple’s iPhone Pro Edition models will generally be the first to adopt the new display technology, and just as the iPhone 14 Pro Series had the exclusive Dynamic Island last year, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus retained the bangs, this year the Dynamic Island is expected to appear on all iPhone 15 models.
In a surprise reversal, iPhone SE 4 development is reportedly underway, with the rumored affordable Apple phone tipped to get a larger OLED display as well as a 5G chip designed in-house by Cupertino.
That’s according to Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo who tweeted(opens in new tab) that Apple has “restarted the iPhone SE 4” after the analyst had claimed work on that phone was put on pause at the end of 2022.
This would be a change in fortune for the SE line, as it was previously rumored that Apple may have canceled the more affordable iPhone after poor sales of the iPhone SE 2022. However, going by the rumors so far, the next-generation iPhone SE looks set for a 2024 reveal, which would stick to the release cadence of every two years established by the iPhone SE 2020.
An OLED display would be a significant upgrade from the LCD screens of previous iPhone SE models, offering a more colorful and potentially brighter panel than the current iPhone SE.
Kuo also noted that the SE 4 would be a “minor modification” of the current 6.1-inch iPhone 14. Renders of the iPhone SE 4 have shown off a design that’s a lot like the iPhone 14 only with curved sides; just take such renders with a pinch of skepticism.
More significantly, if Kuo’s claims are on the money, the iPhone SE 4 will be the first iPhone to have a 5G modem designed by Apple and based on a 4-nanometer process node. However, what’s curious here is Kuo reckons the chip will only support the sub-6GHz spectrum rather than the faster but less widespread millimeter wave frequencies. Nevertheless, this would mark a departure for Apple from using Qualcomm’s modem chips, and such changes could pave the way for future iPhones to use Apple-designed modems (if not the iPhone 15, which is set to debut this fall with a Qualcomm-supplied modem).
Other specs for the iPhone SE 4 remain more open to speculation. We’d expect there to be an upgraded A-series chip, potentially the A16 Bionic if the phone ships next year, and to have storage that starts at more than 64GB of memory. Improved cameras would also be welcome, especially the addition of a night mode, which was a rather large omission in the iPhone SE 2022.
With a new design, there could be a concern that the iPhone SE 4 would be more expensive than its predecessors, which came in at the $400 mark in 2020. The SE 3 jumped up to $430, but that’s still a competitive price for an iPhone. We only hope Apple can keep the next iPhone SE below $500 so it remains competitive with affordable Android phones.
The lot, held by LCG Auctions, opened on February 2 and ended on February 19. After receiving 27 bids, the iPhone sold for $63,356.40, over 105 times the device's original $599 retail price.
According to Business Insider, the iPhone's original owner was given the device as a gift from her friends in 2007, but never used it since iPhones at the time could only be used on AT&T's network. She simply left the phone unopened for the following 15 years. The auction listing read:
Highly desirable factory sealed first-generation original Apple iPhone from 2007.
One of the most important and ubiquitous inventions of our lifetime, the iPhone was first introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007 at MacWorld San Francisco. Just over five months later it was released at retail for $499/$599 on June 29th. The original iPhone included 4/8 GB of storage, an innovative touchscreen, a 2-megapixel camera, and a web browser. The iconic box featured a life-size image of the iPhone with 12 icons on the screen. It quickly became Apple's most successful product, forever changed the smartphone industry, and was named the Time Magazine Invention of the Year in 2007.
The original first-release iPhone in factory sealed condition is widely regarded as a blue-chip asset amongst high-end collectors. Impressive public sales of $35,414 in August and $39,339 in October of last year resulted in widespread media coverage from major outlets including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fox Business, and others. There's little doubt that interest in culturally relevant collectibles is rapidly increasing, and despite the impressive sales numbers, many believe the space is still in its infancy.
We are pleased to present an iconic factory sealed, first-release iPhone in outstanding condition. Our offering was consigned by the phone's original owner, Karen Green, and is coupled with a great backstory that was first shared on the Treasure Hunt segment of the syndicated television show "The Doctor & The Diva". Almost 16 years old, the phone presents magnificently, showcasing sharp corners front and back, rich color, and "case fresh" features. The labels on the reverse are pristine beneath the seal and shelf wear is minimal. This is the first original iPhone in acceptable condition to hit the auction block since the record-breaking sale in October. A truly remarkable piece with great appeal to both collectors and investors alike.
In August and October last year, a similar original iPhone sold for $35,000 and $39,000 at auction, becoming of the highest ever sums paid for the device. The $63,356.40 selling price of the latest listing is therefore a record-breaking new high for a sealed iPhone at auction.
9to5Mac has obtained exclusive renders of the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro, based on a CAD model provided to 9to5Mac by a reliable case manufacturer and 3D Artist Respective Render Man Ian Zelbo. The renders show some significant changes to the design and features of Apple’s flagship smartphone, which is expected to launch later this year.
CAD files like the ones these renders are based on are given by Apple to factories in Asia to prepare phone cases ahead of launch. This is to ensure that cases are available when the device launches.
The specific CAD here comes from a factory out of China that is seemingly the first to get these files. Historically, CAD files are accurate to the final device in terms of both dimensions and design, as having inaccurate ones would be costly to case designers and factories.
The most noticeable change is the switch from the Lightning port to USB-C, which would mark a major departure from Apple’s proprietary connector that has been used on iPhones and most Apple accessories since 2012.
This could be due to the pressure from the European Union, which has been pushing for a common charging standard for all smartphones and devices. Unfortunately, this might be limited to cables approved for Apple’s MFi program for data transfer speeds and charging speeds.
Another change is the curvature of the edges, both on the glass and on the metal frame. The glass curves slightly around the edges, creating a more seamless transition to the frame. The frame itself is also more curved than before, resembling the design of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and new M2 MacBook Air. This could make the phone more comfortable to hold and less prone to accidental touches.
The camera bump on the back is also thicker than before, indicating that Apple may have upgraded the camera system with new sensors or lenses. The camera layout remains similar to the iPhone 14 Pro, with three lenses and a LiDAR scanner arranged in a square module. The camera lenses are thicker in this generation, likely hinting at larger image sensors.
On the side of the phone, we can see some changes to the volume rockers and the mute switch. The volume rockers look like capacitive buttons instead of physical ones, which has been rumored. Given the renders we can not say this for certain, but it seems very likely. The mute switch also looks redesigned, with a smaller and rounder shape similar to that of the capacitive buttons.
The renders do not show any details about the resolution of the iPhone 15 Pro, but we expect it to be similar to the iPhone 14 Pro. The body of the device is a few mm smaller with a thinner bezel, so it’s likely we’ll see the same 6.1-inch display in a slightly smaller body. The Dynamic Island is still present and looks to be about the same size as the iPhone 14 Pro.
These renders are based on an early CAD model and may not reflect all aspects of Apple’s final design. However, they do give us an idea of what we can expect from one of this year’s most anticipated smartphones and all of the important changes, like a more comfortable frame and USB-C.
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Apple released iOS 16.3.1 on Monday, a few weeks after the release of iOS 16.3. While the previous release included new features like security keys for Apple ID and support for the second-generation HomePod, the latest update fixes some issues that iPhone users might have run into recently.
Here's what's included in Apple's iOS 16.3.1 update.
The latest iOS update includes bug fixes and security updates that address issues with iCloud, Siri, Find My and crash detection.
Some users on Reddit and Twitter have said they haven't been able to backup to iCloud after the release of iOS 16.3. The latest update could provide a fix for this issue.
Another issue that iOS 16.3.1 could address has to do with crash detection on iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models. Crash detection has helped alert first responders to some car crashes, but it has also been triggered when some users ride roller coasters with their phones.
Curious what display Apple has put in its iPhones over the years or the specs your current iPhone display has? Follow along for a look at the complete iPhone display list for the size, resolution, pixels per inch (ppi), brightness, and more that’s found on the screen of every iPhone model.
iPhone has seen quite the evolution over the years when it comes to displays. While Apple initially resisted using larger screens on its smartphones that were more difficult to use one-handed, it followed Samsung and gave everyone what they asked for, larger and larger displays.
Before looking, do you know the display size of the original iPhone?
Ok, here’s the full iPhone display list…
Note: An Apple News bug may cause the information below to display incorrectly.
6.7-inch – 2796 x 1290 resolution – 460 ppi – 1,000-2,000 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion
6.1-inch – 2556 x 1179 resolution – 460 ppi – 1,000-2,000 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion
6.1-inch – 2532 x 1170 resolution – 460 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
6.7-inch – 2778 x 1284 resolution – 458 ppi – 1,000-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion
6.1-inch – 2532 x 1170 resolution – 460 ppi – 1,000-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion
6.1-inch – 2532 x 1170 resolution – 460 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
5.4-inch – 2340 x 1080 resolution – 476 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
4.7-inch – 1334 x 750 resolution – 326 ppi – 625 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
6.7-inch – 2778 x 1284 resolution – 458 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
6.1-inch – 2532 x 1170 resolution – 460 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
6.1-inch – 2532 x 1170 resolution – 460 ppi – 625-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
5.4-inch – 2340 x 1080 resolution – 476 ppi – 625-1,200 nits – Super Retina XDR OLED
4.7-inch – 1334 x 750 resolution – 326 ppi – 625 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
6.5-inch – 2688 x 1242 resolution – 458 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina HD OLED
5.8-inch – 2436 x 1125 resolution – 458 ppi – 800-1,200 nits – Super Retina HD OLED
6.1-inch – 1792 x 828 resolution – 326 ppi – 625 nits – Liquid Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
6.1-inch – 1792 x 828 resolution – 326 ppi – 625 nits – Liquid Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
6.5-inch – 2688 x 1242 resolution – 458 ppi – 625 nits – Super Retina HD OLED
5.8-inch – 2436 x 1125 resolution – 458 ppi – 625 nits – Super Retina HD OLED
5.8-inch – 2436 x 1125 resolution – 458 ppi – 625 nits – Super Retina HD OLED
5.5-inch – 1920 x 1080 resolution – 401 ppi – 625 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4.7-inch – 1334 x 750 resolution – 326 ppi – 625 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
5.5-inch – 1920 x 1080 resolution – 401 ppi – 625 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4.7-inch – 1334 x 750 resolution – 326 ppi – 625 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4-inch – 1136 x 640 resolution – 326 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
5.5-inch – 1920 x 1080 resolution – 401 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4.7-inch – 1334 x 750 resolution – 326 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
5.5-inch – 1920 x 1080 resolution – 401 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4.7-inch – 1334 x 750 resolution – 326 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4-inch – 1136 x 640 resolution – 326 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4-inch – 1136 x 640 resolution – 326 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
4-inch – 1136 x 640 resolution – 326 ppi – 500 nits – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
3.5-inch – 960 x 640 resolution – 326 ppi – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
3.5-inch – 960 x 640 resolution – 326 ppi – Retina HD LED-backlit LCD
3.5-inch – 480 x 320 resolution – 163 ppi – LCD
3.5-inch – 480 x 320 resolution – 163 ppi – LCD
3.5-inch – 480 x 320 resolution – 163 ppi – LCD
What iPhone display most surprised you? Or did you find something interesting about how Apple has used displays in iPhone over the years? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Thanks for reading our iPhone display list!
]]>Apple is continuing its work on full reverse wireless charging support for the iPhone, despite engineering delays. 9to5Mac has heard from sources familiar with the matter that Apple had hoped to debut the feature with the iPhone 14 Pro lineup, but failed to meet that deadline.
Nonetheless, our sources indicate that Apple engineers are pressing ahead with the development of bilateral wireless charging alongside software optimizations for it.
Reverse wireless charging, also referred to as bilateral wireless charging, is a technology that would allow users to not only recharge a phone with a wireless charger but also use the device to recharge an accessory.
Interestingly, iPhones have had at least some of the necessary hardware for reverse wireless charging since the iPhone 12. FCC filings revealed that the iPhone 12 lineup included wireless charging hardware, but the feature was inactive.
The MagSafe Battery Pack, which also debuted with the iPhone 12, revealed some of Apple’s work on reverse wireless charging. As we noted at the time, you can plug a Lightning cable into your iPhone, then your iPhone will send power to the MagSafe Battery Pack. Still, however, Apple didn’t explicitly refer to this as reverse wireless charging.
Full implementation of reverse wireless charging would allow the iPhone to charge any Qi-enabled accessory. For Apple users, one of the most notable use cases of this feature would be for charging AirPods. If the iPhone supported bilateral wireless charging, you’d be able to recharge your AirPods just by placing them on the back of your iPhone.
In January, it was announced that Apple and the Wireless Power Consortium have been working together on a next-generation Qi wireless charging standard based on MagSafe. This partnership could help Apple advance its own MagSafe and Qi implementations, potentially also helping the company’s reverse wireless charging technology.
Apple still has bigger ambitions for reverse wireless charging than we’ve seen so far. According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to us, Apple is continuing to work on more advanced bilateral wireless charging technology for the iPhone.
The sources say that Apple had hoped to include full support for reverse wireless charging on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, but the feature wasn’t finalized in time for that launch. Despite missing this target, Apple engineers are still working on the feature and hope to debut it in a future iPhone.
Internally, Apple is developing a unique “wireless power out” firmware as the basis for the feature. The work on this firmware is a major aspect of the ongoing testing and engineering of the reverse wireless charging hardware. One of the key aspects of bilateral charging is managing the charging speeds between the iPhone and the other device, including heat dissipation and charging efficiency.
Apple is also developing a special user interface for reverse wireless charging, similar to what is currently used for MagSafe chargers and accessories. This would include on-screen animations as well as a sound effect to indicate that bilateral wireless charging had been initiated.
Finally, the sources cautioned that reverse wireless charging could ultimately be delayed again or scrapped altogether. The feature has been in the works since at least the iPhone 11 and has proven to be a challenge due to concerns around heat management and charging speeds.
]]>Sales of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are continuing to grow, at the cost of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. According to new supply chain data from analyst Ross Young, the iPhone 14 Pro models now account for 75% of Apple’s display panel shipments, and that number is only expected to grow further…
Young’s latest data indicates that there was a slight increase in panel shipments for the iPhone 14, while iPhone 14 Plus panel shipments stopped altogether. The increase in iPhone 14 panel shipments, however, did not fully make up for the drop in iPhone 14 Plus shipments.
As such, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max continue to grow and account for larger shares of iPhone 14 panel shipments. The data from Young shows that Apple further increased panel shipments for both the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The two iPhone 14 Pro models accounted for a total of 75% of iPhone 14 series panel shipments in December. Young predicts that this will reach at least 80% in data for January and February. iPhone 14 Plus panel shipments could resume in February, but would still account for less than 5% of the total shipments.
Young also shared a chart showing iPhone 14 series panel procurement in comparison to the iPhone 13 lineup. According to his prediction, the iPhone 14 lineup will fall behind the iPhone 13 in January and February, after leading from August to January.
Apple battled significant iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shortages through much of November and December. The company has resolved shortages for most of its devices, particularly as demand has slowed in the post-holiday shopping season.
Despite iPhone 14 Plus demand being much worse than expected, however, Apple is still planning to release an iPhone 15 Plus later this year. Whether or not Apple has any changes in store to help boost sales remains to be seen, but there have been some whispers of price cuts for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus both.
Rumors have also suggested price increases for the iPhone 15 Pro models. Creating a bigger delta between the two ends of the lineup could help Apple boost sales while also increasing margins and average selling prices.
You may want to skip the iPhone 15 later this year because if you can hold off on buying a new iPhone for another year or two, you could get a far superior display.
Writing in his Power On(opens in new tab) newsletter, Mark Gurman says that future iPhones will be equipped with microLED screens. He claims, these panels will be brighter, with better viewing angles and color accuracy than existing screens.
These microLED displays have previously been rumored for a future Apple Watch Ultra successor coming "the end of 2024", which Gurman says will be the first product to show off the new tech. The tipster noted we can then expect to see the screens appear on iPhones "a few years after that."
It's perhaps unsurprising that after the iPhone, Gurman claims Apple could move to add microLED to iPads and later Macs. The whole process could take up to a decade though, similar to how iPhones have OLED panels right now; but the iPad is still using LCD (or mini-LED in the iPad Pro (12.9-inch)'s case, which is a derivative of LCD technology).
The other notable thing about the microLED displays is that they have been reportedly developed (since 2017) to be Apple's first set of internally-designed displays. And these would be another step in the company's march towards total component self-sufficiency. We've already seen this with Apple Silicon chipsets in Macs and iPads over the past couple of years, with powerful chipsets like the Apple M2 chip powering top-tier devices like the iPad Pro and MacBook Air M2.
As for what we can actually expect this year, the iPhone 15, according to the most recent rumors, is expecting to stick with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch OLED displays, as we've seen on the iPhone 14 series and older models.
Other upgrades, such as a periscope telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro, and a new iPhone 15 Ultra model with a new titanium design with haptic, solid-state buttons, are rumored though, which should make the new iPhones a worthwhile purchase for most users in need of a phone upgrade.
Apple currently sells four different models of AirPods, ranging from the second-generation AirPods to the advanced AirPods Max. And while AirPods have become quite popular earphones, they’re not exactly cheap. But according to analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong Intl Tech Research, the company is now working on new “AirPods Lite” to compete with cheaper wireless earbuds.
Despite being quite successful accessories, Jeff Pu claims, based on his industry sources, that demand for AirPods is expected to drop by 2023. More specifically, shipments of AirPods are expected to drop from 73 million units in 2022 to 63 million in 2023. Part of this would be due to “soft AirPods 3 demand” and the fact that Apple may not release new AirPods this year.
The company has been working on “AirPods Lite.” At this point, it’s unclear what exactly this product is and what features it will have, but Pu describes it as a “lower priced product” to compete with non-Apple earbuds.
With the launch of AirPods 3 in 2021, Apple has kept the previous generation AirPods 2 available in stores at a lower price of $129, while AirPods 3 cost $169. Presumably, these “AirPods Lite” will cost less than $129. Another option for Apple would be to simply reduce the price of the second-generation AirPods even further, perhaps to $99.
In 2022, Apple introduced the second-generation AirPods Pro with significant enhancements, including better noise cancellation and a new charging case with the U1 chip for Precision Finding. However, there are no rumors about when Apple plans to update the regular AirPods (currently in the third generation) or even the premium AirPods Max headphones.
Apple’s Butterfly keyboards weren’t just bad, they were so bad that they resulted in Apple getting sued. A class action lawsuit was filed in San Jose last year over various defects, and was eventually settled in November — with a judge approving Apple’s proposed $50 million settlement. And now you can submit a claim for your share of the payout.
Emails have already been sent out to claimants, explaining that Apple is paying $50 million into a settlement fund. After legal expenses and fees, this will be distributed among members of the class action suit — though your eligibility depends on a few factors.
The most important point is that the suit only applies to people who purchased a MacBook in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, or Washington state. Affected customers will only receive a share of the pay out if they had keyboard repairs done by Apple or an authorized service provider.
Anyone that needed their keycaps replaced (Group 3) is due $50, while a full keyboard replacement will earn you $125 (Group 2). If your MacBook’s keyboard needed to be replaced more than once (Group 1), you may be owed up to $395. In all cases that’s the maximum amount you could be owned, and you may receive less depending on the number of claimants.
Claims can be submitted through the KeyboardSettlement.com(opens in new tab) website between now and March 6, 2023. If you want to exclude yourself from the settlement, you have until February 10, 2023 to make your wishes known.
The claim site does note that “Apple denies all of the allegations made in the lawsuit, denies that any MacBooks are defective, and denies that Apple did anything improper or unlawful. The proposed Settlement is not an admission of guilt or wrongdoing of any kind by Apple. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California approved this notice.”
So no matter how poor a reputation Apple’s butterfly keyboards now have, the company denies that there was any wrongdoing on its part.
Filing your claim is pretty easy. You simply head over to KeyboardSettlement.com(opens in new tab) and click the File a Claim(opens in new tab) option at the top of the screen. If you’re already a claimant of the lawsuit, then you need to enter the Unique ID and PIN sent to you in the mail or by email to continue.
If you’re not one of those people, but believe you may have a claim to some of the settlement money, then you’ll need to take a more long-winded route. That involves filling out some forms, and providing proof that you own one of the affected MacBooks and that you had to have some kind of official keyboard or keycap replacement.
The link to this form can be found underneath the ID and PIN fields on the File a Claim page, as pictured below. From there you’ll need to provide your address, MacBook serial number (or proof of purchase) and evidence that you had your keyboard or keycaps replaced by Apple or an official service provider.
The process will take you a few minutes and is fairly self-explanatory, and there are instructions if you’re unsure what to do at certain points — like locate your MacBook’s serial number. If you have multiple MacBooks that are affected by the keyboard issues, then you’ll need to go through this process for each machine.
Before you submit your claim, you have to confirm all your details, and declare that they are correct under penalty of perjury. So make sure all the details are correct before you sign and hit Submit.
It's all fairly simple, and once your claim has been filed you simply need to sit back and wait. A hearing is currently scheduled for March 16, 2023 to decide whether to approve the settlement or not — though the site notes the dates could be changed and appeals may still happen.
If there aren't appeals then claims will be processed "promptly," though there isn't any sort of timeline on how long it might take. Updates will be available on the Keyboard Settlement website in any case.
To find for similar emails in your inbox, search by that address or "In re MacBook Keyboard Litigation Settlement," which is the subject line from all of the emails our staffer was sent.
Here's how the email begins, with our staffer's name, ID and PIN erased:
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Any look at what's ahead for Apple in 2023 has to begin and end with the iPhone 15. Apple's phones remain the biggest portion of its business, with iPhones accounting for more than half of the company's $394.3 billion in sales for fiscal 2022.
For that reason, it should be no surprise that iPhone 15 rumors are already swirling, as people try to get a bead on what Apple might plan for this year's fall phone release. But we're not in a holding pattern until that likely iPhone 15 release date — iPhone news should dominate the new year, with the potential for a spring iPhone release followed by a preview of the next version of Apple's iPhone software at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference. And it wouldn't be Apple without an additional surprise or two along the way.
So as we head into what figures to be another big year for Apple's iPhone, here are the questions hanging over Apple's upcoming releases, whether it's the iPhone 15 or other potential additions to Apple's lineup.
Long before the iPhone 15 arrives in the fall, we could see another Apple phone release. iPhone SE 4 rumors suggest that a new version of the company's low-cost handset may be in the works, with an early 2023 release a distinct possibility.
The iPhone SE 2022 came out last March, two years after the last iPhone SE update. It would be unprecedented for Apple to introduce new SE models in consecutive years, as the device has a niche audience. Likely, the main reason Apple released a new model two years after the iPhone SE 2020 was to get a 5G version of the device out in the world.
Still, there would be a good reason to introduce a new iPhone SE. The current model sports a design reminiscent of the iPhone 8, big bezels and all. And if that looked out of place in 2022, it's even more dated now. Thus, the iPhone SE 4 could adapt the old iPhone 11 design, with a notched display and minimal bezels replacing the current look. And with the iPhone SE still lacking a dedicated night mode for its otherwise impressive cameras, it's not like Apple would struggle to find features to add to a new model.
Add to that the fact that Google and Samsung are likely to produce new versions of their well-regarded midrange phones, and Apple risks getting shut out of that end of the market if the iPhone SE spends the year on the bench.
But a new rumor claims it just might do that. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple might postpone the iPhone SE 4 — or cancel it altogether — to save on the costs of producing a device when there's just not that much demand for cheap iPhones as of late. (Counterpoint: Maybe their would be more demand if the cheapest iPhone didn't look like a holdover from 2017.) Whatever the reason, Kuo doesn't think we're getting an iPhone SE 4 this year, and his track record is solid enough to cast doubt on a spring iPhone release.
One thing we're pretty sure will happen is the release of iOS 17 just about the time the iPhone 15 is ready to make its debut. But we'll know about the software update's feature long before then, given Apple's habit of previewing the new version of iOS at its Worldwide Developers Conference. This year's event likely takes place in June, with a public beta of iOS 17 to follow.
iOS 17 rumors are less pervasive than iPhone 15 rumblings at this point, largely because Apple develops its own software in-house without any loose lips in the hardware supply chain to spill details about unannounced features. Leaker Majin Bu (opens in new tab)has suggested the Messages app is due for a revamp, with a new look, a chat rooms feature and additional capabilities that tap into augmented reality.
A more recent report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims that Apple may open up the iPhone to third-party app stores, ending its App Store monopoly in response to the Digital Markets Act in the EU. According to the report, Apple could have something in place allowing for outside apps by the time iOS 17 rolls around, though one rumor suggests the feature will be trotted out in Europe first.
Other rumored changes sound like they're more in the vein of wish lists with many online Apple watchers clamoring for interface improvements, notification enhancements and interactive widgets. (Given that widgets have dominated two of the last three major iOS updates, this one might be rooted in reality.) We'd expect enhancements to Dynamic Island as well, particularly if that feature makes its way beyond just the Pro iPhone models. Expect more iOS 17 details to trickle out ahead of WWDC 2023.
OK, let's turn our attention to the star of the show — this year's iPhone 15 release. We can be pretty sure that new phones are coming in the fall. Less obvious is just how many phones Apple plans to release.
For the last three years, it's been four models, with the larger iPhone 14 Plus knocking a mini iPhone out of the lineup in 2022. Reports suggest that consumers aren't exactly embracing Apple's $899 6.7-inch phone, as it lacks the more premium features of the Pro models and doesn't really stand out from the $799 base model, except for its larger screen and better battery life.
If it's true that the iPhone 14 Plus is laying an egg, Apple could scale back its lineup to just three models — the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. It's certainly a lineup that makes sense, as that would give consumers a choice between a base model, a second 6.1-inch model with more features and a premium Pro model with a giant screen.
But rumors of an iPhone 15 Ultra model are throwing a monkey wrench into that speculation. In some rumors, the Ultra mode would simply be a rebranded iPhone 15 Pro Max, retaining the features of Apple's 6.7-inch Pro model with a less unwieldy name. But there's another rumor that maintains the iPhone 15 Ultra would be a smartphone version of the Apple Watch Ultra — a more premium device with features that exceed even the iPhone 15 Pro, and with a price tag justified by those extra capabilities.
And that leads us to our other big question about the iPhone 15 lineup: Is Apple going to continue the trend of sharply defining the differences between its different iPhone models?
You saw that movement in full-force with an iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro comparison. Changes to the base model iPhone in 2022 were very modest, with the iPhone 14 even retaining the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13 Pro models. All the big changes — a new 48MP main camera and the Dynamic Island replacing the notch on the Pro model displays — appeared on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. And that's before we recall that the Pro models still sport dynamic 120Hz refresh rates, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are stuck at 60Hz.
For what it's worth, some believe that the Dynamic Island feature will make its way to every iPhone 15 model this year. It's also likely that every iPhone 15 will make the move to USB-C connectivity. However, Apple might add a bonus for iPhone 15 Pro buyers, as the more expensive phones could get a version of USB-C with faster data transfer rates.
It's likely the split processors will continue with the iPhone 15 lineup, as the base model seems to be in line to get the A16 Bionic currently powering the iPhone 14 Pro models. A new A17 Bionic chip would then make its way into any iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra releases.
Other rumored ways Apple could make its iPhone 15 Pro models stand out from the rest of the lineup involve a periscope-style telephoto lens, haptic buttons and a titanium alloy body to make the phone more durable. That last rumor may be an iPhone 15 Ultra exclusive if Apple decides to make that model even more distinct from the iPhone 15 Pro. We should find out what Apple has planned by September, which is the most likely iPhone 15 release date, though plenty of new rumors will surface between now and then.
If Apple's going to surprise us with a new model in 2023, it may be the company's first foldable phone. Rumors have been circulating for a while about an iPhone Flip, which would reportedly adopt a clamshell-style design that opens to reveal a folding screen. Think Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 4, only with Apple design flourishes.
The trouble with an iPhone Flip surprise is that most Apple watchers don't expect that phone to show up until 2024 at the earliest. While some have raised the possibility of a 2023 release, it does seem like next year would be a more likely target — if Apple is even working on such a phone.
]]>A new iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max bug has been spotted by users on multiple forums (via MacRumors(opens in new tab)), in which various numbers of green and yellow horizontal lines appear on the screen as the phones wake up.
According to the users' accounts (mostly centered on this r/iPhone Reddit thread(opens in new tab)), this problem has been occurring at least since the arrival of iOS 16.2, but there are some reports on older versions, too.
Resetting the phone doesn't appear to make a difference either, although the problem is inconsistent, not happening with every pick-up and showing a different number of lines each time. In one instance, the user claims it happens more regularly after watching video just before locking the phone(opens in new tab).
We tried to replicate the bug on an iPhone 14 Pro Max (running iOS 16.2 (20C65)), but ours behaved normally. We also tried it with the iPhone 14 Pro always-on display turned off, but that didn't change anything.
Some forum users have said that after contacting Apple Support, they were told this is an iOS 16 issue, not a hardware problem, so we can breathe a sigh of relief there. Hopefully, this means this strange issue can be addressed with a software update in the near future, something one Reddit user claims an Apple Support worker informed them of directly.
iOS 16.3 is currently in beta, but that likely won't be released publicly until spring. Ideally, Apple will patch the problem faster than that, even if this problem doesn't seem to carry any risk to the phone from what can be seen.
Beyond this issue, and a lack of supply of the most in-demand models, the iPhone 14 series launch seems to have been pretty smooth. All four models in the family are excellent, but the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max remain our favorites, even if some of them are having a weird time with these flashing lines right now.