Chinese company Huawei, a major Apple competitor in China, today introduced the launch of the MateBook Fold, an ultra light and thin folding computer. Huawei tends to be fond of Apple aesthetics, so the MateBook Fold and the marketing materials that go along with it have an Apple vibe.


Apple is rumored to be working on a device that's not too far off from what Huawei is showing off, with rumors suggesting that Apple will come out with some kind of dual-screen foldable that's around 13 inches. Some rumors call it an iPad, and some call it a MacBook, but it'll come down to operating system.


Huawei says that the MateBook Fold brings "ultimate aesthetics" and represents the "peak of creation" with an "amazing opening and closing" mechanism. The MateBook is 13 inches when it's closed, but it opens to a dual-layer 18-inch OLED display with a 3.3K resolution and 1600 nits peak brightness. It features what Huawei calls a "water drop" hinge, that's able to open up to lay flat or hover at different angles so the device can be used as a tablet in landscape or portrait mode or as a dual display notebook.

While the MateBook Fold comes with a separate keyboard, it also has an on-screen version that can be activated by touching eight fingers to the display. The virtual keyboard can be used when the device is flat or when it's folded in a notebook orientation.


The MateBook Fold is just over two and a half pounds, and it is 7.3mm when unfolded and 14.9mm when folded up. When open, it's thinner than an iPhone 16 Pro Max, but not as thin as Apple's 13-inch iPad Pro.

Huawei is selling the MateBook Fold starting at 23,999 Chinese Yuan, which equates to about $3,330. It's not for sale in the United States, and you can only get it in China right now.


As for Apple's foldable notebook or ‌iPad‌, it's rumored to be coming sometime around 2027. It too is expected to have a screen that's over 18 inches when unfolded, and it will be able to function as either a display with an attached keyboard, or a more traditional notebook when folded in half. More rumors can be found in our Apple foldable iPad guide.
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If there’s one constant in the lustrum-long Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit, it’s that Tim Sweeney, Epic’s CEO, tends to… get creative when it comes to publicly interpreting and promoting the company’s legal wins.

Late last Friday, Epic once again tried to spin a limited courtroom victory into a public-relations campaign. Now, it has been granted a chance to make the antics fly in court.

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At last year’s WWDC, Apple Intelligence certainly stole the show. I personally believe iOS 18 still would’ve been a very substantial software upgrade, even without a single AI upgrade.

One of the large non-AI upgrades in iOS 18, besides the fully redesigned Photos app, is actually a subtle yet massive win for user privacy. Here’s why.

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Earlier this year, Nomad came out with a unique universal cable that's able to charge the Apple Watch while also charging USB-C devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.


I took the Universal Cable for Apple Watch with me on a recent trip as my only charging option, and it ended up working well to charge the Apple Watch, Steam Deck, ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and MacBook Pro that I had with me on the trip.

This is a USB-C to USB-C cable, but it has an Apple Watch charging puck added to the end below the USB-C connector on one side. Either side can be plugged into a USB-C power adapter that's then plugged into the wall, but a power adapter is not included and you'll need to supply your own. Since this is a cable that can be used for charging a Mac, a 100W power adapter works best if you have a ‌MacBook Pro‌.


The cable is 1.5 meters, which was fine for charging at night, but I prefer a longer cable during the day just in case I'm not close to a power outlet, so the cable length was a bit inconvenient when trying to use it as my sole travel cable.


Nomad uses a sturdy, kevlar-reinforced braided design for its cables, and the Universal Cable feels like it's going to hold up to a lot of abuse. In fact, I have a cat that likes to take a nibble on cables now and then, but the Universal Cable hasn't suffered damage. There's a silicone tie attached to the cable, which is nice for wrapping it up when it's not in use.


I used the cable with the Apple Watch charger at the power adapter and at the end plugged into a device, and it was fine either way. I have a Braided Loop watch band, so when the cable was plugged into the wall on one end and plugged into a device at the other, my Apple Watch band couldn't go around the charger, but I ended up just flipping the band up and sticking my watch on the charger.

With a 100W power adapter, my phone was able to fast charge with USB-C and my watch was able to fast charge with the Apple Watch adapter. Note that the cable is limited to 100W charging speeds, so it is not one of the cables that supports 240W. There's not too much else to say because it's just a cable with an Apple Watch charger attached, but it worked well as my only travel charging option for a week where most of my devices were in heavy use.


Separately, I've also been testing Nomad's USB-C ChargeKey, which came out earlier this year. It's a cable that I've been keeping with me all the time because it's so small and portable. It attaches to a keyring with the loop at the top, and the two USB-C ends are magnetic and stick together when not in use.


I use this for connecting a power bank to my ‌iPhone‌, but I've also used it for connecting an ‌iPhone‌ to my Mac and for connecting my Fujifilm camera to my Mac and my ‌iPhone‌. It supports up to 10Gb/s data transfer, so it can be used for connecting an SSD to an ‌iPhone‌ for shooting ProRes video.


The ChargeKey is pretty useful for any situation where a small cable will do, and it's nice to have a cable on hand wherever you are.

Bottom Line

If you're looking for an all-in-one charger that's portable and no bigger than a cable and power adapter setup, Nomad offers a solid solution. The cable is able to charge the Apple Watch, but it also has enough power for even Apple's 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.

As with many of Nomad's products, the main downside is the price. It is a well-designed cable that's probably nicer than any other cable on the market, but $80 is expensive and pricier than some more traditional two-device chargers.

As for the USB-C ChargeKey, it's more reasonably priced and makes for a super convenient addition to a keychain.

How to Buy

Nomad's Universal Cable for Apple Watch can be purchased from the Nomad website for $79.

The ChargeKey can be purchased for $25.

Note: Nomad provided MacRumors with a Universal Cable and Charge Key for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.
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Apple’s Sports app has evolved into a powerful way to track your favorite teams and leagues. In a new update this week, the app has added easier access to league standings, a new Sports Newsletter, and more.

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The Ultra suffix is a relatively new addition to Apple’s lexicon but is becoming increasingly common. For years, there have been rumors and reports about Apple preparing to launch an iPhone Ultra, possibly replacing the Pro Max at the top of the lineup.

As of last week, that feels more likely than ever.

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Apple today updated its Apple Sports app with several tweaks to improve the user experience, including at-a-glance standings on league pages, highlighting of goal scorers at the top of NHL game pages, and support for the upcoming Relegation Playoff in the German Bundesliga.


In addition to the feature changes, the Apple Sports app is now also promoting a new Sports Newsletter, allowing users to subscribe to a personalized weekday email newsletter with general sports news and items specific to the teams you follow. "The stories fans are talking about - plus, the latest updates on your favorite teams," reads the newsletter tagline.

Sports is one of four newsletters managed through Apple News, including a daily Good Morning newsletter to get your day started, a weekly Best of ‌Apple News‌+ that shares "the week's most fascinating stories" as selected by ‌Apple News‌ editors, and a weekly Popular newsletter rounding up the most-read stories of the week.

Full release notes for the Apple Sports app update:

• Two matches, one winner. Follow the Relegation Playoff to find out who keeps their place in the Bundesliga.


• Standings are now available on league pages. See how your teams stack up at a glance.


• Goal scorers are now highlighted at the top of every NHL game for faster and easier updates.

Launched in February 2024, the Apple Sports app shows scores, stats, standings, upcoming games, and more for a variety of leagues. The free app is currently available only on the iPhone in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

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Apple today released iPadOS 17.7.8, an update that is designed for iPad users who are not able to install the latest iPadOS 18 update.



iPadOS 17.7.8 comes a few days after Apple stopped signing iPadOS 17.7.7, the prior version of iPadOS that was available on older iPads. iPadOS 17.7.7 was preventing some users from being able to log into their apps, and iPadOS 17.7.8 presumably addresses the issue.

According to Apple's release notes, the update includes security fixes.

This update provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/100100

iPadOS 17.7.8 is available for the sixth-generation ‌iPad‌, 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and the second-generation 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. It can be downloaded by going to the Software Update section in the Settings app on eligible devices.
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Apple has just released iPadOS 17.7.8, a critical security bug fix release targeted at iPad models that are too old to be able to update to iOS 18. The new release is a follow-up to iPadOS 17.7.7, which was pulled after users reported consistent issues where various App Store apps kept getting logged out.

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Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report.


Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn ‌Siri‌ into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of ‌Siri‌ has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent versions of ChatGPT. Apple is also apparently discussing giving ‌Siri‌ the ability to access the internet to gather and synthesize data from multiple sources, just like ChatGPT.

The report added that Apple now has artificial intelligence offices in Zurich, where employees are working on an all-new software architecture for ‌Siri‌. This "monolithic model" is entirely built on an LLM engine that will eventually replace ‌Siri‌'s current "hybrid" architecture that has been incoherently layered up with different functionality over many years. The new model will make ‌Siri‌ more conversational and better at synthesizing information.

Google's Gemini is expected to be added to iOS 19 as an alternative to ChatGPT in ‌Siri‌, but Apple is also apparently in talks with Perplexity to add their AI service as another option in the future, for both ‌Siri‌ and Safari search.
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Here’s a little bit of positivity on Apple’s race to catch up to the competition in artificial intelligence. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple is testing its own chatbot internally and has made significant progress in catching up with ChatGPT in the last six months.

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The Amazon and Best Buy Memorial Day sales are now live well ahead of the holiday weekend and with them, a host of notable price drops on Apple gear and accessories. Firstly, Amazon has brought back the all-time low pricing on all three iPad mini 7 storage configurations starting from $399 shipped, and we also now have the most affordable 13-inch M4 iPad Pro at up to $280 off. Apple’s latest AirPods Max colors have now dropped to $480 while open-box units with full warranties are now up to $130 off, and we also spotted the USB-C Apple Magic Mouse on sale down at $68. All pf that and more await down below. 

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Peacock is offering new subscribers a chance to get a full year of its premium plan for just $24.99 for your first year, down from the regular price of $79.99 per year. This is only a $5 difference when compared to Peacock's Black Friday discount from last year, making it one of the service's best offers so far in 2025.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Peacock. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Peacock's premium annual plan is the ad-supported tier of the streaming service. This offer excludes current paying subscribers of Peacock, and after it ends the service will return to the regular $79.99 per year price (or then-current price, if a price hike happens).



If you do already have a Peacock account, but you're not a paid subscriber, you can sign in and enter the code SPRINGSAVINGS to redeem this offer. This sale will run through the end of the month and expire on May 30.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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Some new images shared on social media yesterday compare iPhone 17 Air dummy models to its direct predecessor, the – revealing how much thinner this new iPhone will be.

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Apple's primary iPhone manufacturer Foxconn has invested $1.5 billion into India, signaling a significant acceleration in Apple's efforts to shift ‌iPhone‌ production away from China, Bloomberg reports.


The investment was disclosed in a stock exchange filing by Foxconn, which has been actively expanding its manufacturing footprint in southern India in recent years. The company is also increasing its investment in the United States.

The move comes as Apple continues to diversify its production base away from China, which has long served as the cornerstone of its ‌iPhone‌ manufacturing. India has emerged as Apple's most critical alternative manufacturing hub.

Apple reportedly assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India during the 12 months ending in March 2025, a nearly 60% increase over the previous year. Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Pegatron now operates facilities in India focused on ‌iPhone‌ manufacturing. Apple is apparently aiming to manufacture the majority of iPhones sold in the United States in India by the end of 2026.
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Amazon is kicking off the week with the return of record low prices on every Wi-Fi model of the iPad mini 7, starting at $399.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $499.00. You'll also find a few deals on cellular models during this sale.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Compared to past sales, this is a match of the best price we've ever tracked on the tablet, and it's available in all four colors. You can also get the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 7 for $499.00 and the 512GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 7 for $699.99, both $100 discounts and available in all colors.





Deals on cellular models are a bit rarer on Amazon, with one color of the 128GB cellular iPad mini 7 on sale for $549.00 and a few colors of the 256GB cellular iPad mini 7 on sale for $649.00, both $100 off.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

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Apple is likely to keep discussion of Siri to a minimum at WWDC 2025 as it focuses on other Apple Intelligence enhancements, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett.


Apple will apparently focus on improving existing ‌Apple Intelligence‌ capabilities and adding some new ones, such as an AI-optimized battery management mode and a virtual health coach. Google Gemini is also on track to be added as a ChatGPT alternative for ‌Siri‌ in iOS 19.

Other upgrades to ‌Siri‌, including the ones announced a year prior that include personal context and the ability to complete complex, multi-step actions, are "unlikely to be discussed much." The features are still "months away" from being released.

Apple is also reportedly planning to "separate the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ brand from ‌Siri‌ in its marketing," owing to concerns that users' negative experience with ‌Siri‌ is harming opinions about ‌Apple Intelligence‌ as a whole.

To help improve existing ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features, users' iPhones now apparently help improve Apple's synthetic data, the report explains. A set of artificial data is assessed and enhanced by comparing it to the language from users' iPhones to provide real-world reference points for AI training, without feeding in actual user information.

Similarly, in Texas, Spain, and Ireland, thousands of analysts are purportedly reviewing ‌Apple Intelligence‌ summaries for accuracy by comparing its output against the source material. The company wants to determine how often the system is producing the distorted or inaccurate responses.

Apple's ‌WWDC 2025‌ keynote is scheduled for Monday, June 9, where the company will preview ‌iOS 19‌, macOS 16, and other major software updates and features for its devices.
This article, "Siri Rumored to Take a Backseat at WWDC 2025" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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I won’t reprise the sad story of how Apple went from being at the forefront of AI technology with the launch of Siri in 2011 to being hopelessly left behind in 2025.

The company’s current approach appears to be to retain the Siri branding for simpler tasks, while using Apple Intelligence for the shiny new things – but there’s now an obvious problem with this …

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Apple will introduce a new calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users that will allow them to digitally write in Arabic script, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple plans to offer a "highly advanced bi-directional keyboard" for moving between Arabic and English on iPhones and iPads, alongside a "virtual reed calligraphy pen" for Apple Pencil users on iPad.

Gurman said that the two upcoming new features, expected to arrive in iOS 19 and iPadOS 19, "play into Apple's ambitions for the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and India," where the company has been recently expanding its retail footprint.

Gurman has previously reported on a few other features coming with iOS 19, including battery optimization powered by AI and cross-device sharing of public captive Wi-Fi network details.

Apple in iOS 19 will update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons, with plans to simplify navigation and control. Gurman has described the design change as the biggest update to iOS since iOS 7. Apple is expected to preview the new software updates at WWDC, which takes place June 9-13 this year.
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In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman outlined some of his expectations for how Apple will remain competitive in the App Store payment processing market. Late last month, a judge ruled that Apple’s 27% commission on external payments was illegal. Many large developers have already begun implementing their own payment processing systems.

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One of my favorite product lines Nomad has made over the years is their slim power adapters. They started with their 35W slim charger, which brought fast iPhone charging in this ultra-slim form factor. Then they released their 65W version that added a secondary port and was tailored to customers needing more juice. Now, they have finally launched their 100W slim power adapter for those who need to charge their larger machines on the go. Here is what you need to know.

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Twenty-four years ago today, Apple embarked on what many industry experts considered a risky venture that would ultimately transform not just the company's fortunes, but retail itself. On May 19, 2001, Apple opened its first retail store at Tysons Corner Center in Virginia, with Steve Jobs personally showing the press around the revolutionary space.


Some 500 eager visitors lined up before dawn to experience the store's hardwood floors, bright lighting, and clean lines. The aesthetic drew comparisons to trendy clothing retailer Gap. Not surprising, given that Gap CEO Mickey Drexler had been on Apple's board for two years at that point.

The decision to enter brick-and-mortar retail came at a precarious time for Apple. With a market share hovering around 2.8%, the company was struggling to effectively showcase its products through third-party retailers, where Macs were often relegated to corners and staffed by clerks with minimal product knowledge.

Jobs believed Apple would never shed its "cult" image unless it could control the entire customer experience, right down to the moment of purchase. In Walter Isaacson's eponymous biography of the former Apple CEO, Jobs said: "Unless we could find ways to get our message to customers at the store, we were screwed."

On Target

To lead this vision, Jobs recruited Ron Johnson, who had transformed Target's image with his designer merchandise line. Together, they crafted the store concept in a secret warehouse prototype, refining every detail from the single-entrance layout to the revolutionary Genius Bar, inspired by Johnson's experiences at Ritz-Carlton hotels.

Apple's board initially balked at the idea, especially after Gateway had just closed 40 of its own stores and Apple's sales had dropped 29% the previous year. Industry analysts were even more skeptical: Channel Marketing analyst David Goldstein famously predicted Apple would be "turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake" within two years.

Instead, by 2003, Apple recorded $3 million in profit per store, per quarter, with approximately 60,000 visitors at each location. In 2004, Apple Retail hit $1.2 billion, breaking the record for the fastest billion-dollar milestone in retail history.


Today, Apple operates 534 stores across 27 countries, with each location generating approximately $5,500 per square foot annually – among the highest in the retail industry. What began as a controversial gamble has become a cornerstone of Apple's success and a blueprint for experiential retail that competitors continue to emulate.
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Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman continues his iOS 19 tidbits streak by revealing two upcoming new features in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, which was published today.

Gurman says that iOS 19 will include a major localization focus on supporting customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India. Specifically, that entails a new Arabic-English software keyboard for iPhone and a new calligraphy pen for Apple Pencil users.

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Apple was instrumental in TSMC setting up chipmaking plants in the US – not just by offering to be the first customer, but also in lobbying for the CHIPS Act funding that persuaded the company to proceed.

The Taiwanese company takes extreme precautions to protect the secrecy of its chipmaking processes, even for the somewhat older chips made in Arizona, but BBC News was given a very rare tour of the facility …

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A WSJ piece today suggests that big tech lawyers for Apple, Amazon, Google and other industry giants are not only failing to properly advise their clients, but are “actively encouraging” them to break the law.

The piece suggests that one reason Apple was rebuked by the judge in the Epic Games lawsuit was that its lawyers encouraged the company to abuse legal privilege …

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OWC today announced its new Thunderbolt 5 Dock, a high-performance connectivity hub designed for creative professionals and power users who need expanded port options for their setups.


The dock features three Thunderbolt 5 ports offering bi-directional data speeds up to 80Gb/s and up to 120Gb/s for display needs. It can power up to three 8K displays or dual 6K displays on Macs, making it suitable for the latest M4 MacBook Pro models that support Thunderbolt 5.

With 11 ports in total, the dock includes two USB-A 10Gb/s ports, one USB-A 5Gb/s port, 2.5GbE Ethernet, microSD and SD card slots, and a 3.5mm audio combo jack. It delivers up to 140W of power, enough for the most energy-hungry notebooks.

• Thunderbolt 5 in New Macs: Features, Benefits, and Is It Needed?

The $329.99 dock includes a certified Thunderbolt 5 cable and external power supply. It's available for pre-order now from the OWC website, with shipping expected in early July. OWC will showcase the dock at COMPUTEX TAIPEI from May 20-23.
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Epic Games on Friday filed a court motion asking District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to order Apple to approve Fortnite for the US App Store, in another escalation of the ongoing legal battle between the two companies.


In the filing, Epic claims Apple is in contempt of the judge's April order that restricted Apple from rejecting apps over their use of outside payment links. Epic argues that Apple's refusal to review its Fortnite submission until after a pending Ninth Circuit ruling amounts to retaliation for its legal challenges.

According to a letter from Apple shared by Epic, Apple stated it "won't take action on the Fortnite app submission until after the Ninth Circuit rules on our pending request for a partial stay of the new injunction." Epic contends this delay violates Apple's previous assurances to both Epic and the court that it would approve Fortnite if the app complied with Apple's guidelines.

The dispute has already affected Fortnite's availability globally. Epic claims its game disappeared from the EU App Store on Friday because of Apple's decision to block its US submission. Apple countered by asking Epic to resubmit the app without including the US storefront "so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies."

Epic is seeking enforcement of the court's injunction, a contempt ruling against Apple, and a requirement that Apple "accept any compliant Epic app, including Fortnite, for distribution on the U.S. storefront of the App Store."

The case hinges on whether Judge Gonzalez Rogers will find Apple in contempt again, as she did in her April 30 ruling where she expressed frustration with Apple's compliance efforts.
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OWC has just announced their new CalDigit E5 in the market. The OWC dock is set to start shipping in July.

Thunderbolt 5 enables higher bandwidth, which allows the OWC dock to sport three daisy-chained Thunderbolt 5 ports, as well as power things like 2.5Gb/s Ethernet, and feed multiple high-res external displays.

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The Trump administration is scrutinizing Apple's partnership with Chinese tech giant Alibaba to bring AI features to iPhones in China, according to a new report from The New York Times.


Washington officials are concerned the collaboration could help Chinese AI providers collect data to improve their models, potentially benefiting China's military. Defense Department and intelligence officials are reportedly examining Alibaba's ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi called the lack of transparency about the agreement "extremely disturbing," questioning why Apple would choose to work with Alibaba given its alleged connections to the Chinese government.

The administration has discussed whether Alibaba and other Chinese AI companies should be placed on a list prohibiting them from doing business with U.S. companies, according to sources familiar with the deliberations cited by NYT.

Apple hasn't publicly acknowledged the AI partnership, though Alibaba's chairman confirmed it in February. The deal comes as Apple works to bring its Apple Intelligence features to the Chinese market, where the company has seen its smartphone market share decline.
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Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now.


According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight of approximately 145 grams, while the battery capacity is 2,800mAh. The details allegedly originate from a "mass production confirmed sample." The blog has previously offered accurate insights into Apple's component strategy.

The claimed weight is similar to an iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 13 mini, which are 148 grams and 141 grams, respectively. As for the battery, the capacity figure is not unlike the iPhone 12, which has a 2,815mAh battery. However, the leaker's post does note that there remains a possibility that Apple will use a high-density battery in the iPhone 17 Air, which could increase its "actual capacity" by 15-20%.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in March that device will have a "high-density" battery. More recently, a report out of Asia has suggested that the iPhone 17 Air could become the first Apple smartphone to adopt advanced battery technology, with Apple supplier TDK preparing to ship its new generation of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June.

Having said that, reports have been mixed regarding the iPhone 17 Air's potential battery performance. The Information's Wayne Ma claimed the device will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models.

In internal testing, Apple apparently determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to the report. For other iPhone models, the report said that metric is apparently between 80% and 90%.

To mitigate this problem, the report said that Apple is planning to release a battery case as an optional accessory for the iPhone 17 Air.

On the other hand, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has offered a more optimistic outlook, stating that battery life would be "on par with current iPhones" thanks to hardware and software optimizations.

The 5.5mm-thin device is also rumored to incorporate Apple's power-efficient C1 modem and lack an Ultra Wide camera, which could potentially provide more internal space for a larger battery. We'll know for sure when the device replaces the "Plus" model in Apple's iPhone 17 lineup, which is expected to launch around mid-September, per Apple's typical fall release schedule.
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Apple is working on a lighter version of AirPods Max that will enter mass production in 2027, according to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.


Kuo shared the prediction on X (Twitter). He provided no additional details on the weight reduction that Apple plans to make to its over-ear noise-canceling headphones.

Apple updated the AirPods Max in September, receiving a USB-C charging port instead of Lightning, and new color options. Bloomberg reported in November that Apple currently has "no concrete plans" to update the headphones again "in a meaningful way."

AirPods Max weigh 13.6 ounces (386.2 grams). Apple says the headband is designed to distribute weight and reduce on-head pressure, but some users find that the stainless steel and aluminum design puts weight on the ears that can become uncomfortable after longer periods of wear.

In the same post, Kuo said that AirPods may not see significant updates until 2026, when he expects IR camera-equipped AirPods to enter mass production.
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Reputable Apple leaker Sonny Dickson Powerbeats Pro 2 back in February, in four stunning colors.

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In a new, lengthy report regarding Apple’s AI strategy, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has detailed a number of strategic failures for the launch of Apple Intelligence. As many of us have already believed, Apple was caught off-guard by the new generative AI trend.

Additionally, according to Gurman, Apple is ‘unlikely’ to spend a lot of time talking about Siri at this years WWDC. That includes future upgrades and the already announced (but since delayed) features from last years WWDC.

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Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today.


This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more personalized version of Siri, which will be powered by Apple Intelligence. Apple first previewed the promised Siri upgrades during its WWDC 2024 keynote, and at the time it said the features would be available within the following year.

Apple also missed its promised 2024 timeframe for launching next-generation CarPlay, which it first announced all the way back at WWDC 2022. The company finally announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra last week, with the software system rolling out in high-end Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada this month.
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If the word Kaleidoscope means anything to you, you’re in for a treat. As spotted by Rob Beschizza (via BoingBoing), Mac Themes Garden features a collection of nearly 4,000 Classic Mac OS GUI customizations.

The site is a collection of pixelated bliss, and whether you’re already feeling fuzzy inside or have no idea what I’m talking about, you won’t want to miss out on this.

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Apple is planning to give users in the EU the ability to set a default voice assistant other than Siri, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett.


In a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today, Gurman and Bennett said Apple plans to introduce this change across multiple software platforms, which likely means the iPhone, iPad, and Mac at a minimum.

Presumably, this means that users in the EU will be able to set options like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant as their default voice assistant on Apple devices.

Apple is working on this change in response to expanding EU regulations, the report said.

Apple already lets iPhone users in the EU set third-party apps as the default option for browsing and messaging, navigation, and much more.
This article, "Apple Will Reportedly Let iPhone Users in the EU Switch Away From Siri" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today tweeted that he does not forecast major updates to the AirPods lineup coming this year. Instead, he reiterates that new with Infrared cameras are set to arrive in 2026.

This contradicts reporting from other publications that have suggested AirPods Pro 3 will launch in 2025, including new features such as improved active noise cancellation.

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If you are a fan of Apple’s own-brand over-ear headphones, , you may be wondering when to expect a new generation model. Apple revised the headphones last fall, adding a USB-C port, but the model was otherwise unchanged. Despite costing the most, AirPods Max lack features that are available in even the cheapest AirPods 4, and are driven by the outdated H1 chip.

And if you believe analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, you’ve still got a while to wait before Apple will be ready to release a next-generation model. In a tweet, Kuo reports that next-generation AirPods Max will not arrive until 2027.

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Amazon is hosting a big collection of discounts across multiple Apple products this week, including notable deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, Apple Pencil Pro, and MacBook Air.

AirPods

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Amazon has the USB-C AirPods Max for $479.99 in Starlight, down from $549.00. This is a solid second-best price on the headphones, and it's been a few months since we last tracked an all-time low price, so if you've been waiting for a deal this is a good time to buy.

Similarly, the AirPods Pro 2 are on sale on Amazon for $188.56, which is another second-best price.

Apple Watch

For Apple Watches, you can get $100 off two models of the Series 10. This sale was much more extensive earlier in the month, but there are still a few discounts remaining on both the 42mm and 46mm GPS models.

iPad

The new 11th generation iPad is available for up to $55 off this weekend on Amazon, starting at $299.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi model.

Apple Pencil Pro

Amazon has the Apple Pencil Pro for the low price of $99.00 right now, down from $129.00.

MacBook Air

There are a few big discounts across the M4 MacBook Air lineup on Amazon, including up to $171 off both 13-inch and 15-inch models.








If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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This article, "Amazon's Sale Has Great Deals on AirPods Max, Apple Watch, iPad, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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I’ve tested a lot of gear over the years, from laptops to smart rings to the kind of random tech accessories that get buried in drawers. But out of all of it, there are just a few items I keep reaching for over and over again. There is no method to the madness in terms of the type of accessories, but just know that they work. These are non-Apple tech products I rely on every day.

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