Michael is 9to5Mac’s Associate Editor, leading all of our Apple news coverage on Saturday and Sunday, and contributing to reporting from Monday to Wednesday. He got started in the world of Apple news during the pandemic, and it became a growing hobby. He’s also an indie iOS developer in his free time, and started the weekly Indie App Spotlight series, which has covered dozens of indie apps since it launched.
According to the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, some employees at Apple believe that the company is around two years behind in artificial intelligence development. We also get some insight on a few internal studies, and a look ahead at Apple’s strategy.
Expand Expanding Close
Some new images of iPhone SE 4 dummy units have been shared by Japanese Apple blog Macotakara today, showcasing a similar form factor to the iPhone 14, as we’d been expecting. The blog also highlights compatibility with existing iPhone 14 cases, and an alleged larger size option – which is unlikely to come to fruition.
Expand Expanding Close
It’s been about a month since Apple released the iPhone 16 lineup. As an iPhone 15 Pro Max user, I was honestly quite disappointed keeping up with the rumors, as it sounded like Apple had nothing interesting in store other than just larger displays.
However, there was one key upgrade with the iPhone 16 lineup that didn’t necessarily appear in the rumors, and it got me to pull the trigger.
Expand Expanding Close
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.
Qewie is a new iPhone app that allows users to generate unique, eye-catching QR codes in a breeze, providing a clean interface for the whole experience. It’s ad-free, simple, and easy to understand. The developer calls it the best and last QR generator you’ll ever use.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple announced a new Apple Card offer starting today, offering up to 6% cash back at Walgreens and Duane Reade through November 15th.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is expected to hold their next keynote in October, probably towards the end of the month. Theres four major products we’re expecting to see this time around, and they’re expected to be released on November 1st.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is preparing some additional vision based products, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. We’re expecting smart glasses, similar to Meta’s collaboration with Ray-Ban, as well as AirPods with cameras. These products won’t launch until at least 2027, if they do at all.
Expand Expanding Close
According to the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is still on track to launch the lower end Apple Vision headset as early as next year. He says it’ll cost around $2000.
Expand Expanding Close
Shortly after the release of macOS Big Sur back in 2020, Apple faced widespread server outages. The outage affected macOS installations, iMessage, Apple Pay, and most notably: the notarization service. This meant that users had major issues opening apps, revealing a flaw in how Apple handles app verification on the Mac.1
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is preparing to ship two new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.2 beta shortly, at least according to two new backend references spotted by Aaron Perris on X.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has officially contacted the California DMV to request cancelation of its Autonomous Vehicles Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit, effective September 27th. Their permit would’ve been active until April 30th, 2025 if they hadn’t requested a cancelation (via macReports).
Expand Expanding Close
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.
Long Ago is an iPhone and iPad app with a unique design, that aims to help users track habits, medicines, habits, or anything you’d like to do more often. The app aims to help users establish routines, and start doing things more regularly.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is expected to unveil a new iPad mini this month, for the first time in three years. The keynote will likely take place later this month, and the iPad mini is expected to be released on November 1st.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple leaker Sonny Dickson has posted an apparent image of a case designed for the upcoming iPhone SE 4, which is expected to launch next spring. Although the images don’t showcase any groundbreaking new details, they do highlight some things that we should expect with the iPhone SE.
Expand Expanding Close
According to recent reports from Bloomberg, Apple will be releasing another iPad Air with “internal improvements” as early as spring 2025.
The iPad Air was just refreshed with M2 earlier this year, meaning there’d be around 12 months between refreshes, rather than the typical 18-24 months between iPad Air refreshes. With such a short turnaround time, it leaves you wondering: what will Apple actually be updating in these iPads?
Expand Expanding Close
For the first time, starting in iOS 18.1, Apple will allow users to change their iCloud email address entirely. Previously, users could set an alias to send emails from, but there was no way to outright change or remove whatever you first set your iCloud email as. Now, you can.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is expected to hold another Apple Event later this month, with potential updates to various Mac and iPad models. One of those updates is the MacBook Pro, which is expected to have a number of small, but meaningful changes. Reportedly, the new MacBook Pro will be in customers hands starting November 1st.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple has made a lot of promises for iOS 18, yet a good chunk of them aren’t available in the current betas of both iOS 18.0 and iOS 18.1. Since most of the promised features are coming “later this year”, we should expect them in iOS 18.2 – assuming theres no delays.
Expand Expanding Close
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to release iOS 18.1 to the public on October 28th, which will include some of the first Apple Intelligence features.
Expand Expanding Close
In this weekend’s Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has unveiled the potential release date of Apple’s anticipated late fall hardware releases. The keynote will still be in late October, but the products will potentially launch on November 1st.
Expand Expanding Close
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.
GroceryBot is a new iPhone app that aims to simplify your grocery planning and shopping experience, making it a one stop shop for meal prep and food planning.
Expand Expanding Close
Highlighted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, custom configurations of M3 MacBook Pro, M2 Mac mini, and M3 iMac are currently facing extensive shipping delays. If you order one today, they won’t arrive until nearly the end of the month.
Expand Expanding Close
Although Apple didn’t release iOS 18.1 beta 6 this week for whatever reason, they did release new betas of watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS, which can occasionally give hints on Apple’s plans for other platforms.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple is expected to hold another keynote this fall, likely in October. The company will likely update some Mac and iPad models, including the iMac. Here’s everything you should expect with Apple’s next iMac refresh.
Expand Expanding Close