Cupertino News

Rumor roundup. This piece summarises a Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman, as relayed by MacRumors on October 8.

The report said Apple would unveil smart home hardware on October 13: a new HomePod mini with new colors and a newer chip, an Apple TV 4K with an A19-class chip and an updated remote, and an entirely new hub with a square display of around 6 inches. Apple did announce a hub, an Apple TV and a HomePod mini on that day, though the final hub display size was 7 inches, which shows how details in rumors can shift.

Apple sells its tablets in four families: iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad Pro. Model details change from year to year, so check Apple's current tech specs before buying. The logic of choosing between the lines stays fairly stable.

Start with size. The iPad mini is the most portable. It fits in a coat pocket or small bag and is popular for reading, travel and note-taking. The standard iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro sit in the 10- to 13-inch range and suit video, drawing and more serious work. A larger screen helps with split-screen multitasking.

Apple has acknowledged that some iPhone 18 Pro Max owners on AT&T have lost cellular service, which blocks calls, texts and mobile data. MacRumors reports that thousands of owners described the problem on Apple's Support Community and elsewhere.

In a statement, Apple said the issue affects "a small number" of iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the AT&T network. It said iOS 27.0.1 and an AT&T carrier settings update are intended to prevent it from happening in the first place.

For phones already affected, a software fix does not work. Apple says they must be replaced. Owners can contact Apple Support or AT&T, or visit an Apple Store or AT&T location. MacRumors says Apple Stores appear likely to replace affected units at no charge.

Apple introduced the first iPod on October 23, 2001. It stored 5GB, or about 1,000 songs by Apple's pitch, used a mechanical scroll wheel and connected through FireWire. It cost $399 and worked only with Macs at first.

Sales grew slowly until Apple widened the audience. A second generation worked with Windows, and the iTunes Store, opened in April 2003, offered legally licensed downloads at 99 cents a track. Together, hardware, software and store formed the model Apple would later repeat with other products.

The line then diversified. The iPod mini, a smaller aluminum player, arrived in 2004. The iPod shuffle, a screenless flash player, and the iPod nano followed in 2005.

Face ID debuted with the iPhone X in 2017 and replaced Touch ID on most iPhones. It relies on a set of sensors collectively called the TrueDepth camera system, housed in the notch or Dynamic Island area.

When you glance at your phone, a flood illuminator sends out infrared light so the system can detect a face even in darkness. A dot projector then casts a pattern of more than 30,000 invisible infrared dots onto the face, and an infrared camera captures how that pattern is distorted. The distortion encodes the three-dimensional shape of your features.

Shortly before the iPhone Duo's pre-orders, Gadget Review summarised what Apple has and has not published about service costs for its first foldable. Several of the figures come from other outlets and we could not check each one independently.

In the United States, the report says the Duo falls under Apple's generic iPhone fee schedule: $29 for screen or back-glass damage, $99 for other accidental damage and a $149 deductible for theft or loss. A standalone U.S. AppleCare+ price for the Duo was not listed. The report cites the AppleCare One plan at $19.99 a month for up to three devices, with extra devices at $5.99 each.

Unconfirmed: this article is based on a report that does not name its original sources, and Apple has made no statement on the claims below.

NeoTeo reports that Apple is assembling the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in India for sale worldwide ahead of the September 18 retail launch. The report says chartered flights left Chennai carrying phones for the US and other markets.

Two Indian factories are said to be involved, one run by Foxconn and one by Tata Electronics, and assembly could reportedly grow to nearly a dozen lines depending on demand. Local work is described as final assembly, testing, enclosures, some mechanical parts, battery packs, chargers, cables and packaging, while displays, camera modules, advanced chips and memory are still imported.

The original iPhone of 2007 had a 2-megapixel rear camera with fixed focus, no flash and no video recording. It was serviceable for casual snaps and little more.

Progress came in steps. The iPhone 3GS added autofocus and video in 2009. The iPhone 4 in 2010 brought a 5-megapixel sensor, an LED flash and a front camera for FaceTime. The iPhone 5s introduced a two-tone flash in 2013, and the iPhone 6 Plus offered optical image stabilization in 2014.

In 2016 the iPhone 7 Plus added a second, telephoto lens, which allowed optical zoom and a software-driven Portrait mode that blurred backgrounds. The iPhone X in 2017 added Portrait Lighting effects, and the TrueDepth camera brought portrait shots to the front.

Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 at its September 9 event. Both are built around a new S11 chip, which Ubergizmo says handles on-device machine learning more efficiently.

On health, the watches get an updated sensor system that improves heart-rate accuracy and adds hypertension notifications. A new Functional Strength Training mode covers resistance workouts. Existing features such as sleep apnea detection and stress and cycle tracking remain.

Software additions lean on Apple's new AI features, including on-wrist translation, summaries of messages and notifications, and voice requests that can work without a paired iPhone.

Apple will release macOS 27, named macOS Golden Gate, on Monday, September 14. It arrives on the same day as iOS 27 and the other 27 platform updates. A developer beta appeared in June and a public beta followed in July.

The update requires a Mac with an M1 chip or newer. According to MacRumors, supported systems include the MacBook Neo, Apple-silicon MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from 2020 onward, the 2021 iMac, the 2020 Mac mini, the 2022 Mac Studio and the 2023 Mac Pro.

Four Intel Macs that run macOS Tahoe cannot upgrade: the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 27-inch iMac and the 2019 Mac Pro. Apple says Intel Macs will receive security updates for three years.

Apple has confirmed that Siri AI will have a daily usage limit, and that limits will also apply to other Apple Intelligence features. The details appear in Apple's published terms, which MacRumors read.

When a person reaches a limit, the feature becomes available again after a time-out. Apple says the limits can vary by feature, by the complexity of a request, by system demand and by system policies, so there is no single number users can expect.

Apple also says expanded access will be offered for a fee at some point. It has not said how much this will cost or how it will be billed. At WWDC in June, Apple indicated that higher iCloud+ tiers would include expanded access to the limited Apple Intelligence features.

Apple has introduced the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone. Pre-orders begin on Friday, October 16 at 5 a.m. Pacific time, and the phone goes on sale on October 23 in the United States and more than 70 other countries and regions. Another 28 markets follow on October 30.

U.S. pricing starts at $1,999 for 256GB, then $2,199 for 512GB, $2,599 for 1TB and $3,199 for 2TB. It comes in Star White and Night Sky.

The Duo uses a book-style design. It has a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner display, and MacRumors reports a matte nano-texture finish intended to cut glare and make the crease less visible. The rear cameras are a 48-megapixel main and a 48-megapixel ultra wide, with a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera on the outer display.