Today The Information published an extensive report on future iPhone models, and it included an exciting new detail about the forthcoming iPhone 17e. MagSafe support is reportedly coming.

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Apple's internal code suggests the iPhone 17e may ship with Apple's first-generation C1-series cellular modem technology, while omitting Apple's N1 wireless chip, and it indicates Apple is still deciding between the C1X and C2 for the iPhone 18 Pro.


These details came from a version of a Kernel Debut Kit for macOS that was not supposed to be released to the public — it was later pulled by Apple.

For the ‌iPhone‌ 17e, the code showed the device may be equipped with either the C1 or C1X modem, but no N1 wireless chip. The Information today reported that the device will use the C1X modem, which would be a natural progression over the C1 chip in the iPhone 16e.

The omission of the N1 wireless chip may be consequential, since without N1 the ‌iPhone‌ 17e may lack Thread support, even if it uses an Apple-designed cellular baseband.

For Apple's next Pro iPhones, the internal code points to a less settled picture. The ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro is listed in separate rows with both C1X and C2 basebands, indicating Apple had not fully committed to the C2 across all configurations at the time the kernel debug kit was created. Apple seemingly intends N1 to be present on in the Pro models even while the baseband choice was still being evaluated.

Since this information was sourced from Apple's internal code, there is no guarantee these are the finalized specs. The ‌iPhone‌ 17e is expected to launch in the spring of 2026, while the ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max are expected to launch in the fall.
This article, "iPhone 17e and iPhone 18 Pro Modem Specs Leak Online" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple and Amazon are facing a new UK opt-out class action seeking more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) over claims that the companies struck an unlawful deal that pushed independent Apple and Beats sellers off Amazon and kept prices higher for consumers.


The claim centers on an agreement from October 2018, from which point it is alleged that Amazon restricted third-party sellers from offering Apple products on Amazon's marketplace, while Apple gave Amazon better wholesale terms for Apple products sold directly by Amazon as a retailer. The lawsuit claims that by January 2019, most independent Apple resellers had effectively disappeared from Amazon, reducing discounted listings and leaving consumers paying closer to full price.

The proposed class includes UK consumers who bought new Apple products since October 2018, whether from Amazon or other retailers, on the basis that the alleged conduct affected prices more broadly. It covers Apple hardware and Beats products, plus accessories, but it excludes Apple products bought as part of mobile network contracts.

This is not the first attempt at a case over the same issue. A similar case was triggered in the United States in 2022. Collective action was brought forward in the UK in 2023, but the tribunal did not allow it to proceed. The new filing argues the core competition allegations remain strong and should be heard with a different proposed class representative and structure.
This article, "Apple Hit With Another Lawsuit Over Alleged Collusion With Amazon to Keep Prices High" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu.


As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen.

Nevertheless, the devices will look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro models, the report said.

Apple is also planning to add a mechanical iris to at least one rear camera on the iPhone 18 Pro models, enabling variable aperture, according to the report.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said the main 48-megapixel camera on iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, meaning that users will be able to adjust the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens and reaches the sensor.

The main cameras on all of the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro models have a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, and the lens is always fully open and shooting with this widest aperture. With the iPhone 18 Pro models, users would be able to manually change the aperture, which would provide greater control over depth of field.

However, given that iPhones have smaller image sensors due to size constraints, it is unclear exactly how meaningful this improvement would be.

iPhone 18 Pro models are widely expected to use an A20 Pro chip fabricated with TSMC's latest 2nm process. The report said Apple plans to use TSMC's Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) chip packaging technology, and this would result in RAM being integrated directly onto the chip's wafer with the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, rather than being adjacent to the chip and connected with a silicon interposer.

This packaging change could contribute to a wide range of benefits for the iPhone 18 Pro compared to previous models, including faster performance for both overall tasks and Apple Intelligence, longer battery life, and improved thermal management. The change could also result in the A20 chip having a smaller footprint than previous chips, which could free up some space inside the iPhone 18 Pro models for other uses.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro models in September 2026.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is highlighting some of the best Apple holiday deals you can still land under the tree. Those include down at $30 (nearly 25% off), up to 25% off TechWoven cases for iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and the new Last-Minute Savings sale at Best Buy. Check it all out below.

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It’s going to be an exciting two years for iPhone users. A new report from The Information details the eight new iPhones in the works inside Apple, including the highly-anticipated iPhone Fold and iPhone 20.

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Rumors indicate Apple has a packed lineup of new Macs coming next year, and the latest leak indicates there could be a surprise reappearance of the iMac Pro with M5.

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Apple TV just unveiled an early look at Widow’s Bay, a new series starring Matthew Rhys, who most recently gave a chilling performance in Netflix’s ‘The Beast in Me.’ Here are the first details and release date for Widow’s Bay.

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Apple is developing a high-end iMac featuring the M5 Max chip, according to information from leaked internal software.


The finding comes from leaked kernel debug kit files used by Apple engineers. These kernel debug kit files enumerate unreleased Apple hardware by internal identifiers, such as codenames and platform names, and they can also include separate references that map platform identifiers to chip codenames and marketing names. Secondary summaries and screenshots referencing the same internal code have also circulated in the Chinese tech community over the past week, including posts on Weibo and BiliBili.

The software contains references to an ‌iMac‌ with the identifier J833c running platform H17C. H17C is associated with the codename "Sotra C," which relates to the expected marketing name "M5 Max." This suggests that an ‌iMac‌ with the M5 Max chip is in active testing.

The software refers to a number of devices believed to be used exclusively for internal testing, such as iPad minis running tvOS and MacBooks with the A15 chip, so there is a chance that the M5 Max ‌iMac‌ is used for testing only. However, since the M5 Max chip is expected to be introduced next year and there have been rumors about Apple reintroducing a high-end "Pro" ‌iMac‌ for several years, it may well be destined for launch. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believed that Apple was still "working on a larger-screened ‌iMac‌ aimed at the professional market" following the launch of the Apple silicon ‌iMac‌, a rumor supported by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Beyond the ‌iMac‌ entry, the kernel debug kit lays out several additional future Mac configurations. It lists 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro variants with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the M6 chip, and 14- and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with the M6 Pro and M6 Max chips. There are new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, Mac mini models with the M5 and M5 Pro chips, and new Mac Studio models with the M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips. The leak also lists a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, which is widely believed to be an all-new, low-cost model.
This article, "Apple Developing iMac Pro With M5 Max Chip" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Sonos this week introduced a last-minute holiday sale, offering up to 25 percent off the company's most popular devices. This includes the Sonos Ace headphones, Arc Ultra soundbar, Move 2 speaker, and more, with many prices matching the deals we saw over Black Friday.

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

All discounts in this sale have been automatically applied, so you don't need to enter a coupon code in order to see the final sale prices. We've collected all of the deals in the list below, but you can also find a few bundle discounts on sale on the Sonos website.



In terms of holiday delivery, many of the products in the sale have an estimated delivery by this Friday, December 19. Sonos also offers same-day pickup at select Best Buy locations, so there are a few options that should get you your gear in time for December 25th.

• Ace Headphones - $279, down from $399


• Arc Ultra Soundbar - $879, down from $1,099


• Beam (Gen 2) Soundbar - $369, down from $499


• Ray Soundbar - $199, down from $219


• Era 100 Speaker - $169, down from $219


• Era 300 Speaker - $379, down from $479


• Roam 2 Portable Speaker - $139, down from $179


• Move 2 Portable Speaker - $399, down from $499


• Sub Mini - $399, down from $499


• Sub 4 - $759, down from $899

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, "Sonos Kicks Off Last-Minute Holiday Sale With Up to 25% Off Ace Headphones, Arc Soundbar, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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CarPlay is widely available across most vehicles, with Tesla and Rivian among the most prominent holdouts. Now, Tesla is rumored to be adding support, and in a new interview Rivian’s CEO addressed criticism about its CarPlay stance.

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It looks like we could be seeing the launch of a PayPal Bank in the US after the company took advantage of looser conditions in order to make its application …

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With the new Voice Typing Dictation feature, users can now speak naturally and have Speechify’s new Mac app turn that recording into clean text across any app on macOS. Here’s how it works.

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iOS 26.3 beta 1 arrived yesterday for developers, bringing some expected changes but also one small surprise: the wallpaper gallery has expanded with a new dedicated Weather section.

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Next year’s flagship iPhone is widely expected to be a folding phone branded as the iPhone Fold. With a great deal of consistency across leaks and other reports, we do now have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

The latest post by a Chinese leaker with a pretty decent track record differs from previous ones in a few small respects, but the fundamental elements remain the same …

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Market intelligence company Counterpoint Research has predicted that iPhone sales will fall next year compared to this – and that Apple’s manufacturing costs will increase substantially.

Global smartphone shipments as a whole are expected to fall in 2026, with Apple being among the worst hit …

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Apple and Samsung are best equipped to handle rising memory chip costs that could drive down global smartphone shipments by 2.1% in 2026, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.


In its latest projection for the smartphone market next year, the firm has downgraded its forecast from a previously expected 0.45% growth, citing a memory shortage that has pushed component costs up 10% to 25%. Chinese brands like Honor and Oppo are said to face greater pressure due to lower profit margins, particularly in the entry-level segment where costs have jumped 20% to 30% since early 2025.

"Apple and Samsung are best-positioned to weather the next few quarters," said Counterpoint senior analyst Yang Wang. "But it will be tough for others that don't have as much wiggle room to manage market share versus profit margins."

The memory crunch is being caused by chip manufacturers prioritizing advanced memory for AI servers over basic DRAM used in smartphones. The shift has already created supply constraints, and Counterpoint expects they will persist through 2026.


Based on the data, Counterpoint says average smartphone prices could rise 6.9% globally next year as manufacturers pass costs to consumers or push buyers toward premium models. Some brands may downgrade other specs like cameras or ship devices with less memory to offset the impact, but ultimately Apple's supply chain clout and vast cash reserves are expected to shield it from these more extreme compromises. Analysts expect Apple to absorb higher DRAM costs in the short term without immediately adjusting retail prices.
This article, "Apple Best Positioned to Weather DRAM Price Surge, Says Counterpoint" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Backend code spotted a couple of months ago showed that General Motors was preparing to support Apple Wallet digital car keys, and the company has now confirmed those plans.

The news follows the discovery yesterday that Toyota was also making its own preparations for car key support …

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Apple will debut next-generation under-screen camera technology in its first foldable iPhone expected next year, before adapting the tech for its all-screen 2027 iPhone, according to prolific Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station.


The Weibo-based account claims Apple is adopting this strategy – foldable first, 20th anniversary iPhone second – to gauge consumer reaction to the under-screen camera, where the lens is literally concealed behind the panel with no visible cutouts in the display.

Apple's foldable is also understood to be utilizing side-button integrated Touch ID over Face ID for biometric authentication due to internal space constraints. This means the "iPhone Fold" will have the first all-screen display of any Apple device – a design goal the company is known to have been working on for years, as several patents testify.

Why now? Two factors stand out. First, Apple is believed to have perfected an under-screen version of its TrueDepth camera system – the technology behind Face ID that lives in the Dynamic Island on current iPhones. According to one leaker, Apple is using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display that allows Face ID's infrared sensors to pass through the panel unimpeded. Several rumors suggest this technology will debut in next year's iPhone 18 Pro models, potentially reducing the size of its Dynamic Island.

Under-screen Face ID is likely seen by Apple as a lower-risk first step, since biometric sensors are more tolerant of display interference than front-facing cameras, where even minor image degradation would be immediately noticeable to users.

Second, Apple is said to have developed an industry-first 24-megapixel under-screen camera for the inner screen of its foldable. Under-display camera technology has been used on some Android phones, but they tend to have lower resolution sensors (4 or 8 megapixels, for example) because the image quality suffers due to being behind display layers.

If accurate, the jump to a 24-megapixel camera (with six plastic lens elements, per the report) would be a significant technological advance, potentially resulting in clearer, sharper images with more detail. The rumor suggests Apple has achieved a breakthrough in greatly improving light transmittance and image quality compared to previous designs.

So in Apple's roadmap, the under-screen Face ID arrives with the iPhone 18 Pro, the under-screen selfie camera debuts in the iPhone Fold, and then the two technologies converge in its celebratory 20th anniversary iPhone.

Coming 10 years after the iPhone X, the radically redesigned 2027 iPhone is rumored to feature a completely bezel-less display that curves around all four edges of the device, closely resembling what was former Apple design chief Jony Ive's ultimate dream: a phone made from a single slab of glass.
This article, "How Apple May Be Lining Up an All-Screen iPhone for 2027" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.

In this episode of Apple @ Work, Eric Bickford from MacWeb joins the show to talk about their new US-East rollout, Apple’s hardware for AI workloads, and much more.

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If you’ve already watched “The Gap”, which is the seventh episode of the first season of Pluribus, you can probably guess what it is.

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Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas.


We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features.

Transfer to Android

Apple is making it simpler for iPhone users to transition to an Android smartphone in iOS 26.3, introducing a new transfer tool that lets an ‌iPhone‌ user place their device next to an Android device to initiate a transfer process.


With the two smartphones connected, users can opt to move over photos, messages, notes, apps, passwords, phone number, and more. Data transfers occur with no need to download and use a separate app, making the process simpler.

Health data, devices paired with Bluetooth, and protected items like locked notes are not transferred over to the new device. Google has also implemented a similar feature for transferring data from an Android to an ‌iPhone‌, so it is a two-way process between the two platforms.

Notification Forwarding

iOS 26.3 has a new "Notification Forwarding" setting that allows incoming notifications on an ‌iPhone‌ to be forwarded to a third-party wearable device like an Android smartwatch.


The setting is located in the Notification section of the Settings app under a new "Notification Forwarding" option. Apple says that notifications can only be forwarded to a single device at a time, so if Notification Forwarding is enabled with a third-party wearable, the Apple Watch won't be able to receive and display notifications.

Apple is adding this feature to address antitrust complaints suggesting that third-party wearables should have the same access to notifications and other features as the Apple Watch. It is only available in the European Union.

Weather Wallpaper

There is a new Weather wallpaper section in the Lock Screen customization options. Previously, Apple had a combined section for Weather and Astronomy, but Weather was split out into its own category.


There are now three pre-designed Weather wallpapers with different fonts for the time and different weather widgets to give people a better idea of how the Weather wallpaper can be used.

More Features

Know of a feature we left out? Let us know in the comments below.

Compatibility

iOS 26.3 is available on all iPhones that support ‌iOS 26‌.

Release Date

We're expecting Apple to release iOS 26.3 in late January.
This article, "iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code.


In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more vague and harder to interpret. We've included the feature flag and a short explanation of what it might reference, but keep in mind that Apple doesn't provide full explanations because this is all internal code. We're working off of titles and internal organization, but there are still hints of what may be coming in the future.

Products

• Unknown home accessory - There's a reference to J229 architecture. J229 is a home accessory, but we don't know what it is. It might be the camera that Apple is rumored to be working on, but it could also be something simpler like a standalone base for the home hub. Code references a sensor manager and sensing predict models.


• AirTag 2 - There are several references to future AirTag features, including Bluetooth improvements, low battery state improvements, and crowdsourced location improvements. Unknown references include AirTag2025_Phone_Finding, AirTag2025_Watch_Finding, Distribution, Battery, and Switchover. Note that it mentions 2025, suggesting Apple planned to release the ‌AirTag‌ 2 in 2025 and pushed it back.


• AirPods - Several AirPods features are listed with a spring 2026 launch: ContextualReminders, ConversationBreakthroughVQA, and Visual Lookup. There are also mentions of "Precise outdoor location understanding" and "Room Aware Connect Controls." There's a second fall 2025 label for "Extended_Precision_Finding_Core_Tech," and a "SRAudioMixing - Mix audio with the active streaming device" mention that could be related to the AirPods.


• Vision Pro - There's a "Enable AUSM Enhanced Room Spatializer" feature flag, which may be released to the Vision Pro. It has a spring 2026 label.

Software Features

There are mentions of several previously rumored software features that are coming in updates to ‌iOS 26‌ and in iOS 27.

• Health+ - This is listed with a spring 2026 date. Rumors suggest it's a new AI-powered health-related subscription service. There are references to another health feature called "Gumdrop," but it's unclear what it is, plus a mention of a "Geronimo" feature with a date of 2030.


• Live Captions - Live Captions will expand to more languages, with this code labeled WWDC 2026.


• AutoFillUI - Third-party apps will be able to access autofill credit card information in fall 2026. Currently, you can take a picture of card details when checking out or use Apple Pay, but you can't autofill your credit card details when buying something in an app.


• Siri - There are several mentions of Siri features for the smarter version of ‌Siri‌ Apple is working on. IntelligenceFlow, PlanOverrides, SpotlightPersonalAnswersSiri, SpotlightSearchToolLLMQueryUnderstanding, and SpotlightExtSemanticSearch are some of the strings. The ‌Siri‌ mentions have a spring 2026 label.


• Freeform - Freeform is getting folders, with a spring 2026 date listed.


• Journal - Followup prompts are coming to the Journal app, also in spring 2026.


• Wallet - There are BankConnectUpcomingPaymentNotifications and AppleCardUpcomingPaymentNotifications strings with a WWDC 2026 date.


• Photos - Apple's code mentions Photos Connections and Shared Collections as features coming in fall 2026.


• - There's a mention of Dynamic Sports Tier Manager for spring 2026.

2027

There are a handful of health features that have a WWDC 2027 label attached.

• sleepCloudKitManatee


• sleepCloudKitSync


• sleepOnIpad


• sleepOnMac

Accessibility

There are multiple accessibility features, some of which have WWDC 2026 or fall 2026 dates, and some with no dates.

• Live Captions - Labeled as LiveCaptionsForAll, unclear what it is.


• Background Sounds - A Version 2 is coming.


• macOS Keyboard - Full Keyboard Access VoiceOver Support for macOS. Mac is also getting extended font size range.


• Magnifier - There are Announce Stairs, Find My Item, and Human Hand Pose mentions.


• Live Listen - The software references Live Listen controls from watch, Live Mic levels on watch, and a Rewind 30 seconds feature for Live Listen.


• Tilt to Scroll - There's a mention of a Tilt to Scroll feature.

Other Features

• CallKit - CallKit mentions a Push-to-Talk option.


• ConversationKit - There's an "Experimental_CallScreening_LiveActivity" string.


• FinHealth - This section mentions reverse lookup, habitual spend, and spending summaries. Possibly something Apple Card related.


• Mail - There's a CatchUpHighlightsV2 string with a winter 2025 date.


• Podcasts - Podcasts references enabling the Home ‌Siri‌ assistant cell for CarPlay, enabling the Connected Subscriptions Account settings page, adding a button to translate a transcript, and tapping a translated paragraph to hear it spoken.


• Vision Pro stickers - There are mentions of a sticker creation feature for visionOS. Sticker effects and emoji creation are also mentioned.

Keep in mind that Apple's plans can change, so while this is a glimpse of what Apple was working on around the June 2025 timeline, it may not be accurate any longer. Features can be scrapped, launch dates can be pushed back, and this list definitely doesn't include all of the new features that Apple has in the works for future software updates.
This article, "Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The White House announced plans to recruit “an elite group of ~1,000 technology specialists” from companies such as Apple to serve two-year terms across federal agencies. Here are the details.

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