Apple just seeded the first beta of iOS 27.2 to developers for testing. Yes, you read that correctly: iOS 27.2, not iOS 27.1.


Why no iOS 27.1 beta? The answer likely relates to the iPhone Duo.

Apple previously announced that the iPhone Duo will ship with iOS 27.1, which means that software version will contain all sorts of references to the device hidden within the code. If an iOS 27.1 beta were to have been released today, it could have spoiled some smaller iPhone Duo details that did not make it into Apple's event.

The earlier iOS 27.2 beta versions at a minimum will likely have little to no iPhone Duo references within the code to prevent leaks.

Eventually, the iOS 27.1 and iOS 27.2 codebases will presumably converge, but we will have to wait and see how Apple goes about this exactly.

iPhone Duo launches on Friday, October 23.
This article, "Here's Why Apple Just Released an iOS 27.2 Beta Instead of iOS 27.1" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Last week, our team discovered code in the iOS 27 Release Candidate that revealed there will be a new NFC-based way to redeem Apple gift cards by tapping them on the back of a compatible iPhone, and now a demo of the feature has surfaced.


While the functionality does not appear to be live yet, Karta co-founder David Anderson figured out a workaround to get the new gift card interface to appear on iOS 27 and shared a video of it in action on his LinkedIn page today.

Apple's new gift cards will have fine print on the bottom of the card that says "hold iPhone here to redeem," and then a redemption flow will automatically pop up on iOS 27. You can then proceed to check the balance of the card and redeem it. Alternatively, the fine print says that customers can still visit apple.com/redeem for manual redemption.

Specifically, customers will be instructed to hold the top, rear side of their iPhone near the bottom of the Apple gift card to initiate NFC-based redemption.

NFC-based redemption will seemingly help to combat Apple gift card scams, but we do not have all of the details yet. During the redemption process, Apple will verify that the card is authentic and unspent, according to iOS 27 code. For security reasons, the interface may show "this card has been blocked" or "cancelled" if necessary.

iOS 27 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, all of which support NFC, so this new Apple gift card redemption method should be widely available. However, the feature has yet to be announced by Apple and we do not know when it will launch.
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The new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have hardware changes that allow for faster charging, but you will need to use the new version of the Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger included in the box in order to achieve this boost. If you need extra ones for your own charging stands or travel or so forth, Apple released the new version of the charger on its online store last week, with U.S. pricing set at $29.


We have confirmed that the new version of the Apple Watch charging puck — model A3277 — can deliver up to 10W of power to enable the faster charging speeds. The previous version of the charger is limited to 5W. Accordingly, you will also need to use a USB-C Power Delivery charger that is rated 10W or higher for the fastest charging.

With just 15 minutes of charging, Apple said the new charger can add 12 hours of battery life to the Series 12 and 18 hours of battery life to the Ultra 4.

The previous Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 can get 8 hours and 12 hours of battery life respectively with a 15-minute charge, according to Apple. Using the new charging puck will not speed up these times, as the Series 12 and Ultra 4 have hardware changes, so you need both a new watch and the new charger for the fastest charging.

Model	New Charger	Previous Charger
Apple Watch Series 12	12 hours of battery life in 15 minutes	8 hours of battery life in 15 minutes
Apple Watch Ultra 4	18 hours of battery life in 15 minutes	12 hours of battery life in 15 minutes
Apple Watch Series 11	8 hours of battery life in 15 minutes	8 hours of battery life in 15 minutes
Apple Watch Ultra 3	12 hours of battery life in 15 minutes	12 hours of battery life in 15 minutes

As mentioned, the new 1-meter Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable is available to order for $29 U.S. on Apple's online store.
This article, "Here's Why a New Apple Watch Charging Puck Was Just Released" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max reviews have been published today by selected tech websites and YouTube channels, ahead of the devices beginning to arrive to customers and launching in stores this Friday, September 18.


While the iPhone 17 Pro models featured a major design overhaul last year, the iPhone 18 Pro models look the same overall and have a set of more incremental year-over-year upgrades related to the cameras, battery life, and performance.

With the new A20 Pro chip, the first 2nm chip in a smartphone, Apple said the iPhone 18 Pro models deliver up to 20% faster CPU performance and up to 40% faster graphics performance compared to the A19 Pro chip in the iPhone 17 Pro.

Gizmodo's Raymond Wong benchmarked the A20 Pro chip:

I ran Geekbench 7's CPU benchmark on the iPhone 18 Pro and compared results with the iPhone 17 Pro. Both phones were running the official iOS 27 release. The iPhone 18 Pro scored 4,027 for single-core and 11,540 for multi-core, and the iPhone 17 Pro mustered 3,258 on single-core and 9,167 on multi-core. That works out to a 24% boost for single-core performance and a 26% boost for multi-core.

A revamped vapor chamber cooling system in the iPhone 18 Pro models is three times larger than the one in the iPhone 17 Pro models, for better heat dissipation. This allows the A20 Pro to achieve peak, sustained performance for longer.

Wong on the iPhone 18 Pro's thermal management:

I don't think the iPhone 18 Pros got hot once doing anything normal that would cause it to heat up. Not even shooting 4K resolution video at 60 fps under the heatwave that baked Cupertino during the Apple launch event could overheat it.

Both of the iPhone 18 Pro models have longer battery life compared to the previous generation — especially the iPhone 18 Pro Max. If we go by Apple's offline video playback metric, the iPhone 18 Pro Max has up to 15% longer battery life compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Fast charging to 50% now takes 15 minutes, down from 20 minutes.

Tom's Guide published its typical battery life test, in which the iPhone 18 Pro Max achieved around half an hour longer battery life compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max:

• OnePlus 15: 25 hours and 13 minutes


• iPhone 18 Pro Max: 18 hours and 27 minutes


• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 17 hours and 54 minutes


• Galaxy S26 Ultra: 16 hours and 40 minutes


• iPhone 18 Pro: 16 hours and 17 minutes


• iPhone 17 Pro: 15 hours and 21 minutes

iPhone 18 Pro models have a slightly smaller Dynamic Island at the top of the screen that supports up to three Live Activities at once, up from two.

9to5Mac's Chance Miller on a related Dynamic Island change:

In my testing, what I've actually appreciated most is what happens when you have two Live Activities running at the same time. Thanks to the smaller Dynamic Island, the second Live Activity that appears on the right side can now show more information.

The popular flight-tracking app Flighty showed this off:The main 48-megapixel Fusion camera on both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max has variable aperture, allowing you to adjust the amount of light that reaches the image sensor for greater control over depth of field. Apple says this upgrade will allow for improved low-light photography and crisper details in the back of group photos.

Variable aperture options include ƒ/1.48, ƒ/1.8, ƒ/2.8, and ƒ/4.0.

PetaPixel's Jaron Schneider on the variable aperture:

I think Apple's choice not to lock us to the wider aperture was very smart, because sharpness takes a hit when shooting wide open. We noticed that while the center is about as sharp as last year's iPhone 17 Pro when shooting at night, the edges quickly degraded — this is not unusual for a wide-open lens, even on a full-size camera. When you're that wide open, image quality tends to fall off without a bunch of additional glass elements to counteract it. However, the image cleans up nicely at f/1.8 and sharpness peaks at f/2.8. At f/4, sharpness dips again, this time from diffraction, but not substantially. In order from sharpest to softest, it goes: f/2.8, f/1.8, f/4, and f/1.48.

In the Camera app, iPhone 18 Pro users can manually adjust shutter speed, white balance, and aperture, and there is an option to use a histogram. These new "Pro controls" are exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

CNET's Patrick Holland on the Pro controls:

I enjoy these controls, as I have when they've appeared on Android phones. My big criticism is how they're accessed: I use the lens aperture and shutter speed controls quite a bit, but they are located at the bottom of the camera controls drawer. When shooting one-handed, I have to tap, then expand the drawer to get to the bottom. I wish I could customize the position of the icons like I can with settings in the phone's control center. Also, why can't I assign any of these to the Camera Control button on the side of the phone? Imagine focus pulling in a video recording by sliding your finger.

For 5G and LTE, the iPhone 18 Pro is equipped with Apple's second-generation C2 cellular modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max has the C2 modem in every country except the U.S., where it is reportedly still equipped with a Qualcomm modem, perhaps for contractual reasons. Apple said the C2 modem delivers "meaningfully faster uploads" compared to its previous C1X modem while consuming 15% less energy. In the U.S., the C2 is Apple's first modem with mmWave 5G support.

We have not yet found any reviews that tested the C2 modem in a scientific way, but anecdotally most reviewers found 5G performance to be very adequate.

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max color options: a classic Silver, the return of Black, and special new Burgundy and Glacier finishes.

In our view, there is no massive reason to upgrade to the iPhone 18 Pro models if you are coming from an iPhone 17 Pro or perhaps even an iPhone 16 Pro. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or older, though, upgrading to the iPhone 18 Pro is worth it to catch up on years of enhancements and bump up to a model that supports the new-and-improved Siri, which truly is a lot better and is available on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer.

That's the reality with most iPhone launches nowadays: the devices remain excellent, yet the year-over-year upgrades can sort of feel "meh."

The Verge's Allison Johnson described the iPhone 18 Pro as "excellent and utterly iterative."

And there is the iPhone Duo to consider this year, too.

Engadget's Cherlynn Low:

In the iPhone Duo's shadow, the iPhone 18 Pro certainly feels like an "S" device. But S-year iPhones were never bad iPhones. They were simply unexciting. Similarly, while none of the iPhone 18 Pro's latest features are things you should run out the door to spend money on, it's certainly a meaningful improvement for anyone on an iPhone 16 Pro or older. Of all the iPhones you can buy now, it has the best camera setup, and anyone with the slightest interest in manual photography will appreciate the new variable aperture controls.

Videos

This article, "iPhone 18 Pro Reviews: Excellent Yet... Meh?" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first unverified benchmark result for Apple's new M5 Ultra chip surfaced in the Geekbench 7 database today, offering a look at the chip's impressive performance gains. The new Mac Studio will be Apple's first device to be equipped with the M5 Ultra.


Here is how the highest-end M5 Ultra chip with a 36-core CPU scored:

• Single-core CPU score: 3,774


• Multi-core CPU score: 52,516

Apple never released an M4 Ultra chip. Here are the average scores for the highest-end M3 Ultra chip with a 32-core CPU on Geekbench 7:

• Single-core CPU score: 2,920


• Multi-core CPU score: 39,059

Unsurprisingly, the M5 Ultra is Apple's fastest chip ever. If this Geekbench result is accurate, it has up to around 30% faster single-core CPU performance and up to around 35% faster multi-core performance compared to the M3 Ultra. But, it comes at a steep cost. In the U.S., the Mac Studio with a 36-core M5 Ultra starts at $6,799.

Apple said the M5 Ultra has up to 1.25× faster single-threaded CPU performance and up to 1.3× faster multi-threaded CPU performance compared to the M3 Ultra, so the benchmark result roughly aligns with or even beats those advertised claims. However, keep in mind that there wil be some variance in scores as additional results surface.

Here is where the M5 Ultra slots in for maximum multi-core CPU performance:

• M5 Ultra: 52,516


• M3 Ultra: 39,059


• M5 Max: 35,119


• M5 Pro: 33,593


• M4 Max: 29,047


• M2 Ultra: 28,789


• M4 Pro: 24,894


• M3 Max: 24,649


• M1 Ultra: 23,328


• M6: 22,783


• M5: 17,948


• M2 Max: 17,387


• M3 Pro: 16,880


• M2 Pro: 16,725


• M4: 15,477


• M1 Max: 14,299


• M1 Pro: 13,914


• M3: 11,650


• M2: 9,809


• M1: 8,582

Based on these scores, the M5 Ultra is up to 2.25× faster than Apple's original M1 Ultra chip and up to 6× faster compared to the regular M1 chip.

As always, real-world performance varies.

The new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips and the new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chips launch on Tuesday, September 22.

We are still waiting for GPU results for the M5 Ultra to appear in the Geekbench 7 database.
This article, "M5 Ultra Chip's Impressive Performance Boost Revealed in First Benchmark Result" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first unverified benchmark result for Apple's new M6 chip surfaced in the Geekbench 7 database today, offering a look at the chip's performance gains. The new Mac mini will be Apple's first device to be equipped with the M6 chip, which is 2nm.


Here is how the M6 chip scored:

• Single-core CPU score: 4,071


• Multi-core CPU score: 22,783

Here are the average M5 chip scores for comparison:

• Single-core CPU score: 3,641


• Multi-core CPU score: 17,948

If this single Geekbench 7 result is accurate, the M6 chip has up to around 12% faster single-core CPU performance and up to around 27% faster multi-core CPU performance compared to the M5 chip. Note that the M6 chip is in the new Mac mini, while the M5 chip scores are based on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, but performance should be similar.

Apple said the M6 chip has the world's fastest single-threaded CPU performance, and its 4,071 single-core score indeed tops all other Macs and PCs in the Geekbench 7 database, including the M5 Max chip (3,731) and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (3,396). Up to 27% faster multi-core CPU performance is in line with Apple's claim of up to 1.2× faster multi-threaded performance, so all of Apple's advertised claims hold up.

Here is where the M6 chip slots in for maximum multi-core CPU performance:

• M5 Ultra: 52,516


• M3 Ultra: 39,059


• M5 Max: 35,119


• M5 Pro: 33,593


• M4 Max: 29,047


• M2 Ultra: 28,789


• M4 Pro: 24,894


• M3 Max: 24,649


• M1 Ultra: 23,328


• M6: 22,783


• M5: 17,948


• M2 Max: 17,387


• M3 Pro: 16,880


• M2 Pro: 16,725


• M4: 15,477


• M1 Max: 14,299


• M1 Pro: 13,914


• M3: 11,650


• M2: 9,809


• M1: 8,582

Based on these scores, the M6 chip is more than 2.5× faster than Apple's original M1 chip.

As always, real-world performance varies.

The new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chips and the new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips launch on Tuesday, September 22.

We are still waiting for GPU results for the M6 chip to appear on Geekbench 7.
This article, "M6 Chip Benchmark Surfaces Ahead of New Mac Mini Launch Next Week" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple this week released iOS 27 following around three months of beta testing. If you just installed the software update on your iPhone, you might be wondering where the new-and-improved Siri AI and dedicated Siri app are. In case you missed it, you must join Apple's waitlist in order to gain access to these new features.


Keep in mind that while iOS 27 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer, Siri AI is limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and newer. This is because Siri AI requires an iPhone model that is compatible with Apple Intelligence, which we have listed below.

Fortunately, joining the Siri AI waitlist is a simple task:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone.


• Tap on the Siri menu.


• Tap on Try Siri AI (Beta).


• Follow the prompts.

Wait times seem to vary, with some users receiving access to Siri AI within a few minutes of signing up and others having to wait a few hours or even days.

You will receive a notification on your iPhone once you have received access to Siri AI, and the Siri app will automatically appear on your device at that time. You can talk or type to Siri AI in three ways: swipe down on your iPhone's Dynamic Island, press and hold your iPhone's side button to invoke the assistant, or open the Siri app.


The classic version of Siri has always been useful for basic actions like setting a timer and checking the weather, but it has notoriously struggled with more advanced requests over the years. Siri AI is much more intelligent and personalized: it is essentially a ChatGPT-like version of Siri that can respond to most questions.

Siri AI can draw on your personal information stored on your iPhone, has on-screen awareness, and can perform actions in more apps that support it.

The new Siri is limited to English to start, but Apple said support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish will be available in October, likely as part of the release of iOS 27.1. Apple said Siri AI has unspecified daily usage limits, but it noted that expanded access will be coming with select iCloud+ plans.

Siri AI is not available in the EU on iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and watchOS 27 at launch, as Apple is in a regulatory battle with the European Commission.

The following iPhone models are compatible with Siri AI:

• iPhone 18 Pro


• iPhone 18 Pro Max


• iPhone Duo


• iPhone 17e


• iPhone 17


• iPhone 17 Pro


• iPhone 17 Pro Max


• iPhone Air


• iPhone 16e


• iPhone 16


• iPhone 16 Plus


• iPhone 16 Pro


• iPhone 16 Pro Max


• iPhone 15 Pro


• iPhone 15 Pro Max

You can adjust Siri AI's pace and expressivity on these iPhone models:

• iPhone 18 Pro


• iPhone 18 Pro Max


• iPhone Duo


• iPhone 17 Pro


• iPhone 17 Pro Max


• iPhone Air

Apple still considers Siri AI to be in beta even though iOS 27 is no longer in beta overall.
This article, "Reminder: iOS 27's All-New Siri AI Has a Waitlist, Here's How to Sign Up" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple TV and HomePod mini orders continue to face extended shipping delays on Apple's online store in the U.S., amid endless rumors about new models coming later this year. These shortages have been occurring on and off for more than a year.

Three examples today: estimated delivery dates for the Apple TV with 64GB of storage are pushing into October, the HomePod mini in orange is currently unavailable to order, and the HomePod mini in yellow is facing a November delivery estimate.
This article, "Apple TV Shipping Delays Persist, HomePod Mini Unavailable in Orange" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Wallet car keys are coming to three more vehicle brands, including Lincoln, Lucid Motors, and China's Freelander, according to code uncovered by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. However, the code does not provide a timeframe for availability.

The digital key feature allows you to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. It is already offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and others.
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macOS 26.2 added an Edge Light feature to Macs with the M1 chip or newer, and it has now been rumored that this feature will expand to the iPhone.


According to pdfu, who has been digging through code in Apple's software updates in recent weeks, the iOS 27 Release Candidate contains evidence of the Edge Light feature coming to the iPhone Duo at a minimum. However, it appears that the feature is still in development, as they said the color temperature setting is not fully implemented.

On the Mac, Edge Light illuminates the borders of the screen to evenly illuminate your face in low-light conditions. The feature is essentially a virtual ring light, and there are settings to adjust the width of the white line around the screen and a color temperature slider to make the light it produces appear more or less warm.


Based on a video of the feature in action on a simulated iPhone, it appears that the feature will work in a similar manner and have the same brightness and color temperature settings on the iPhone. It is unclear if Edge Light will be available on the iPhone Duo when the device launches on October 23, or if it will expand to other iPhone models.

Some of pdfu's other Apple-related code findings have already proven to be right, so the user has an accurate track record so far.
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For many months, tech blogs like ours used the name iPhone Ultra to refer to Apple's rumored foldable iPhone, but the device ended up being named iPhone Duo.


The name iPhone Duo was not a complete surprise. Daring Fireball's John Gruber accurately guessed that the device would be named iPhone Duo all the way back in April, and the name made the rounds again on social media last week.

iPhone Ultra became the more common name in rumor coverage after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman floated it as a potentially fitting name for the device back in March, and he later reported that many Apple employees referred to the device as the iPhone Ultra. Plus, former Macworld reporter Filipe Espósito cited a source familiar with Apple's plans who said the foldable iPhone would be named iPhone Ultra. Evidently, that source was wrong.

To his credit, Gurman ended up confirming the iPhone Duo name in a last-minute report published shortly before Apple announced the device.

Apple avoiding the name iPhone Ultra makes sense, as the device now known as the iPhone Duo is not the most "ultra" version of the iPhone available. Yes, the iPhone Duo has a large 7.6-inch inner display when opened, but on the other hand the device lacks features such as a dedicated Telephoto camera, Face ID, and an Action button.

Apple has used Duo branding in the past for its PowerBook Duo line of laptops in the 1990s and the MagSafe Duo Charger in the early 2020s. In the case of the iPhone Duo, the word Duo obviously refers to the device's dual screens.

Apple does have some products and services with Ultra branding, including the Apple Watch Ultra, CarPlay Ultra, and the M1 Ultra through M5 Ultra line of chips. And with Apple rumored to be a planning a special 20th-anniversary iPhone, perhaps there will still be an opportunity for the company to use the name iPhone Ultra in the future.

For now, though, the iPhone Ultra rumor is dead.
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Ever since the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018, the larger-sized aluminum Apple Watch has started at $429 in the U.S., but that has changed with the Apple Watch Series 12.


While the Apple Watch Series 12 with a 42mm case maintains a starting price of $399, the 46mm model has received a $20 price increase and now starts at $449.

In other words, stepping up to a 46mm case now costs an extra $50 instead of $30.

Apple products are getting more expensive lately. Amid a RAM chip shortage, the company raised prices on several existing iPhone models this week, after raising prices on Macs, iPads, HomePods, the Apple TV, and more in June. Plus, the starting prices of the iPhone 18 Pro models are $100 higher in the U.S. compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models have increased RAM, according to Xcode.
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Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro models just one day ago, but there are already rumors about a redesigned "iPhone 20" launching next September.


Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple plans to release a special 20th-anniversary iPhone next year with the biggest design changes since the iPhone X. Of course, there is always a new iPhone around the corner, but it sounds like the so-called "iPhone 20" will have significant changes that some customers may wish to wait for.

Unveiled by Steve Jobs in 2007, the iPhone turns 20 next year. To mark the occasion, the report said Apple plans to release a 20th-anniversary iPhone with "curved glass around all corners and edges" and thinner bezels around the screen.

"It will be the biggest overhaul to what is now the iPhone Pro line since the iPhone X," the report said, but no further details were provided.

Released in 2017, the iPhone X was the first iPhone with Face ID. The removal of the Touch ID button allowed for the iPhone X's screen to extend more towards the edges of the device compared to previous models. It seems like the 20th-anniversary iPhone would go a step further than this by truly having the screen wrap around the corners and edges of the device, for a seemingly all-glass appearance.

Rumors about the 20th-anniversary iPhone have gone back and forth, but based on Gurman's latest reporting, the device seems to be in the works still. However, it remains to be seen if Apple can fully achieve the ambitious design changes that are apparently in development, or if plans for the device will ultimately be scaled back.

As for the iPhone 18 Pro, key new features include an A20 Pro chip with up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the A19 Pro chip, a smaller Dynamic Island, variable aperture for the main 48-megapixel Fusion camera, longer battery life, and a larger vapor chamber cooling system for improved heat dissipation.

If those upgrades do not sound interesting to you, waiting for the redesigned "iPhone 20" might prove to be worthwhile, but only if rumors come to fruition.
This article, "Skipping the iPhone 18 Pro? Redesigned 'iPhone 20' is Coming Next Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which look very similar to the iPhone 17 Pro models but have several upgrades.


The devices are equipped with the A20 Pro chip and feature longer battery life compared to the previous-generation models. Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro matches the battery life of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max has the biggest generational leap in battery life ever with up to 30 hours of usage per full charge.

A20 Pro has a 6-core GPU, a 7-core GPU, and a 32-core Neural Engine. Apple says sustained performance is up to 40% faster compared to the A19 Pro chip.

The vapor chamber cooling system is three times as large in the iPhone 18 Pro models as it is in the iPhone 17 Pro models for improved thermal management.

The main 48-megapixel Fusion camera on both the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max has variable aperture, allowing for greater control of depth of field. In a darker environment, for example, the lens opens wider to let in more light.

Color options include Black, Silver, Glacier, and Burgundy, and the rear aluminum and Ceramic Shield glass area are now more color matched.
This article, "Apple Announces iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Ahead of Apple's annual iPhone event at 10 a.m. Pacific Time today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has leaked all of the color options for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the first-ever foldable iPhone named the iPhone Duo.


iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max color options:

• Black


• Light Blue


• Burgundy


• Silver

Burgundy has also been described as Dark Red or Dark Cherry.

iPhone Duo color options:

• White


• Dark Blue

Dark Blue has also been described as Indigo.
This article, "All New iPhone 18 Pro and 'iPhone Duo' Colors Leaked" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple will be holding an event today starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company expected to unveil its first-ever foldable iPhone, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, AirPods 5, and potentially more. Below, we have recapped 20 last-minute rumors about these devices.


All of the details below were reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today.

• Apple's foldable iPhone will be named iPhone Duo.


• iPhone Duo will have Apple Pencil support.


• iPhone Duo shipments to customers will begin as early as October. It is unclear if pre-orders will begin earlier.


• iPhone Duo color options: white and dark blue.


• iPhone Duo starts with 256GB of storage. U.S. pricing will start at around $1,999.


• iPhone Duo will have Apple's A20 Pro chip and C2 modem for 5G.


• iPhone Duo will have dual rear 48-megapixel cameras. No Telephoto camera.


• iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max special color: dark red.


• iPhone 18 Pro models will have longer battery life — the Pro Max especially.


• iPhone 18 Pro models will have an improved vapor chamber system to reduce overheating.


• At least one iPhone 18 Pro model's camera will have variable aperture for greater control over depth of field.


• In the U.S., iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max starting prices will be $100 higher compared to iPhone 17 Pro models. This means the iPhone 18 Pro would start at $1,199, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max would start at $1,299.


• iPhone 18 Pro's smaller Dynamic Island can show three Live Activities, up from two.


• Do not expect a regular iPhone 18 model to be announced today, as Apple reportedly plans to launch that device in the first quarter of 2027.


• Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models will have new case color options.


• Apple Watch Series 12 will have a ceramic case option.


• Apple Watch Ultra 4 will have longer battery life compared to the Ultra 3.


• An all-new Readiness app for the Apple Watch will be announced today.


• The new Apple Watch models will offer a new daily summary feature.


• AirPods 5 will be unveiled today — with and without active noise cancellation.

Related: Apple Shares Mysterious Teaser Video Before 'iPhone Duo' Event Today
This article, "Apple Event Today: 20 Last-Minute 'iPhone Duo' and iPhone 18 Pro Rumors" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple will be holding an event today starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company expected to unveil new iPhones and much more.


Ahead of the event, Apple's new CEO John Ternus just shared a mysterious teaser video. The short clip appears to show a beam of light that is shining onto the edge of an iPhone. The light is coming from a hexagonal shape that changes size, which could hint at the iPhone 18 Pro's rumored mechanical aperture upgrade.

The main 48-megapixel Fusion camera on the iPhone 18 Pro and/or iPhone 18 Pro Max is rumored to have a variable aperture, which would allow users to control the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens and reaches the sensor. This would provide greater control over depth of field. However, given that iPhones have smaller image sensors due to smartphone size constraints, it is unclear exactly how meaningful this improvement would be.


In addition to the iPhone 18 Pro models, Apple is expected to unveil its first-ever foldable iPhone today. The device is reportedly named iPhone Duo.

Ternus became Apple's CEO on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook, who is now the company's executive chairman. Ternus joined Apple in 2001, became a VP of hardware engineering in 2013, and became SVP of hardware engineering in 2021.

MacRumors is in attendance at Steve Jobs Theater and will be providing live coverage of Apple's event today, so stay tuned. It will be a very busy day.
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While the iPhone 17 Pro has double the base storage compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, there will apparently be no further increase this year.


In a report this week estimating that the iPhone 18 Pro's bill of materials will be nearly 40% higher than the iPhone 17 Pro, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce said the iPhone 18 Pro will start with 256GB of storage, matching the iPhone 17 Pro's minimum capacity. The report did not explicitly mention the iPhone 18 Pro Max, but the Pro and Pro Max models have started with the same amount of storage for the past two generations.

Minimum storage capacities by model:

• iPhone 16 Pro: 128GB


• iPhone 17 Pro: 256GB


• iPhone 18 Pro (rumored): 256GB

Even though it does not expect an increase in base storage, TrendForce said that retail price increases for the iPhone 18 Pro models are "unavoidable" due to increased costs for components. RAM costs have increased significantly due to the ongoing memory chip shortage, and prices for storage and A20 Pro chips are also expected to be higher.

According to reports, iPhone 18 Pro starting prices in the U.S. could be $200 to $300 higher compared to iPhone 17 Pro starting prices. If so, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could start at up to $1,399 and $1,499, respectively.

In June, Apple raised prices on all Macs and iPads, as well as the Apple TV, HomePod, HomePod mini, and Vision Pro. The increases ranged from $30 for the HomePod mini to up to $1,300 for a high-end Mac Studio configuration.

Apple said it raised prices because of the ongoing memory chip shortage, resulting from companies building out data centers with powerful AI servers. The supply-demand imbalance has led to skyrocketing prices for RAM and SSD storage chips used in a wide range of Apple products, and Apple has now passed those costs on to customers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook previously commented that price increases were "unavoidable" due to "a hundred-year flood" on memory pricing.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.
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The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a nearly 12% larger battery compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to an apparent leak.


An alleged photo of a battery pack for a Chinese model of the iPhone 18 Pro Max with a SIM card tray lists a capacity of 5,391 mAh, up from 4,823 mAh for the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro Max battery. The photo was shared on the Korean platform Naver today, but it supposedly originated from the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

The identical 5,391 mAh capacity appeared in a regulatory database last month, so the capacity is looking increasingly likely to be accurate.


For the U.S. model of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, in which the lack of a SIM card tray provides more space for a slightly larger battery, the Naver post claims it will have a 5,567 mAh capacity. The equivalent iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 5,088 mAh battery, so this would work out to be a nearly 10% increase on a year-over-year basis.

Based on this leak, it appears that meaningful battery life gains will not extend to the smaller iPhone 18 Pro. In the U.S., the device will apparently have a 4,288 mAh battery, which would be less than a 1% increase over the iPhone 17 Pro's 4,252 mAh battery in that country. It was previously rumored that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be thicker than the iPhone 18 Pro, so that might help to explain the difference.

All of the alleged iPhone 18 Pro battery capacities are listed in the table below.

iPhone 18 Pro

	China	China Difference	U.S.	U.S. Difference
iPhone 16 Pro	3,582mAh	+308mAh	3,582mAh	+308mAh
iPhone 17 Pro	3,988mAh	+406mAh	4,252mAh	+670mAh
iPhone 18 Pro	4,056mAh	+68mAh	4,288mAh	+36mAh

iPhone 18 Pro Max

	China	China Difference	U.S.	U.S. Difference
iPhone 16 Pro Max	4,685mAh	+244mAh	4,685mAh	+244mAh
iPhone 17 Pro Max	4,823mAh	+138mAh	5,088mAh	+403mAh
iPhone 18 Pro Max	5,391mAh	+568mAh	5,567mAh	+479mAh

The capacities differ by region because Apple has continued to include a SIM tray on iPhones sold in some countries outside of the U.S., while U.S. models have been eSIM only since the iPhone 14 lineup. Without a physical tray taking up internal space, Apple can fit a slightly larger battery into the eSIM-only version of each device.

Starting with the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the SIM card tray is also removed on models sold in Canada, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and a few other countries and territories.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro Max's Larger Battery Capacity Allegedly Revealed" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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According to various reports from sources such as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Macworld's Filipe Espósito, Apple is planning to release up to three new products with "Ultra" branding between late 2026 and early 2027.


The long-rumored foldable iPhone is expected to be called the "iPhone Ultra." Rumored features include a 7.7-inch inner display, a 5.3-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID, and more. The device's large inner screen will be ideal for watching videos and multitasking.

Apple is expected to release the "iPhone Ultra" this September, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. In the U.S., it has been estimated that the device will have a starting price of anywhere from $1,999 to $2,499.

"AirPods Ultra" are reportedly set to be released as early as this year — it would be fitting for them to be unveiled alongside the "iPhone Ultra" this September.


"AirPods Ultra" are essentially rumored to be AirPods Pro with tiny infrared cameras that serve as eyes for Siri. The cameras will help to enhance the Visual Intelligence feature on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer, and a small LED light on the earbuds will indicate when the cameras are active, according to Gurman's reporting.

On iOS 27, Visual Intelligence is accessible through the Camera app via a new "Siri" mode. "AirPods Ultra" would provide a more hands-free experience.

"The idea is to let users ask questions about an item they might be looking at," he said. If someone is looking at ingredients on their kitchen countertop, for example, they could ask Siri for dinner ideas.

Last month, Apple's code for the second iOS 27 developer beta seemingly hinted at AirPods with cameras, so a launch could be fast approaching.


Finally, Apple is reportedly planning a "MacBook Ultra" with an OLED display that doubles as a touch screen. Other rumored features include M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a Dynamic Island, a thinner design compared to the latest MacBook Pro models, and potentially even an Apple-designed C2 modem for built-in 5G/LTE cellular connectivity.

Apple plans to release this new MacBook by early 2027, according to Gurman.

All in all, Apple is expected to release an iPhone Ultra, AirPods Ultra, and a MacBook Ultra over the course of the next six to seven months or so.
This article, "Apple Rumored to Launch Three New 'Ultra' Products by Early Next Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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