MacRumors

The highlight of Apple deals this week is Best Buy's and Amazon's pre-order discounts on the just-announced M3 iPad Air, 11th generation iPad, and M4 MacBook Air. You'll also find great, record-low prices on AirPods Pro 2, Apple Watch Series 10, and the previous generation M2 MacBook Air.

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

New iPads and MacBook Air Pre-Orders

• What's the deal? Save up to $50 when pre-ordering Apple's new products
• Where can I get it? Amazon and Best Buy
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

This was a big announcement week for Apple, with the introduction of the new M4 MacBook Air, M3 iPad Air, 11th generation iPad, and updated Mac Studio. We've been tracking pre-order discounts at Best Buy for My Best Buy Plus/Total members for most of the week, and Amazon is matching some of these deals for all shoppers.

AirPods Pro 2

• What's the deal? Take $79 off AirPods Pro 2
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

The AirPods Pro 2 returned to $169.99 this week, which is a match of the best price we've seen so far in 2025.

M2 MacBook Air

• What's the deal? Take $300 off M2 MacBook Air
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Following the introduction of new M4 MacBook Air models, Amazon has discounted the previous generation 13-inch M2 MacBook Air (256GB) to just $699.00 this week. That's $300 off and a new record low price.

Apple Watch Series 10

• What's the deal? Take $100 off Apple Watch Series 10
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week has numerous all-time low prices on Apple Watch Series 10, including both GPS and cellular models. You'll find $100 off both 42mm and 46mm GPS Series 10 models in multiple case colors and band styles, and this time the deals do not require any coupon codes.

Apple Studio Display

• What's the deal? Take $299 off Apple Studio Display
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon has the Apple Studio Display for $1,299.99 this weekend, which is $299 off and the match of the all-time low price on the display.

Samsung

• What's the deal? Save on TVs, monitors, and more
• Where can I get it? Samsung
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Samsung's Spring Sale is still going on this weekend, with big savings on TVs and monitors. You'll also find great deals on home appliances and Galaxy devices, and our original post has all of the details on this sale.

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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There was definitely "something in the air" this week as Tim Cook promised, with Apple making a number of product announcements to breathe new life into several of its Mac and iPad products.

Some aspects of the announcements were expected while others were a bit of a surprise as was Apple looking to entice potential customers with some interesting choices for its new products, so read on below for all the details!

Everything Apple Announced This Week

It was a busy week for Apple with multiple new products announced on both Tuesday and Wednesday. We're now caught up on what's been rumored for a spring launch, so check out our recap and video going over everything Apple announced.

All of the new products are available for pre-order now and will launch on Wednesday, March 12.

Apple Announces New MacBook Air With M4 and 'Sky Blue' Color Option

Apple on Wednesday announced refreshed 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models featuring the M4 chip, an upgraded Center Stage camera, and a new Sky Blue color option to replace Space Gray.

The M4 chip features a 10-core CPU, an up to 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of unified memory, and Apple says the new ‌MacBook Air‌ is up to 2x faster than the M1 model.

The M4 MacBook Air also comes with a lower $999 starting price, allowing Apple to simplify the lineup by eliminating both the M2 and M3 models.

Apple Announces New Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips, Thunderbolt 5, and More

Wednesday's other big announcement was an updated Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chip options, Thunderbolt 5 ports, and more.

The M4 Max chip was already released last year in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and it can be configured with up to a 16-core CPU, up to a 40-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory. The all-new M3 Ultra chip features up to a 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, up to 80 GPU cores, and up to 512GB of memory.

Apple Announces New iPad Air With M3 Chip, Updated Magic Keyboard

Apple on Tuesday introduced new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models with the M3 chip, along with an updated Magic Keyboard for the device.

With the M3 chip, the new iPad Air should offer up to 20% faster performance compared to the previous-generation model with the M2 chip, which was released in May 2024. In addition, the M3 chip brings hardware-accelerated ray tracing to the iPad Air for the first time, providing improved graphics rendering in games.

The new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air features a larger trackpad and function keys for easy access to features like display brightness and volume controls.

Apple Unveils 11th-Gen iPad With A16 Chip and More Storage

Alongside the M3 iPad Air, Apple on Tuesday also announced the 11th-generation iPad, now featuring the A16 chip and more storage.

While the new iPad won't support Apple Intelligence, the A16 chip represents a significant upgrade over the A14 Bionic chip in the previous model, and the new iPad offers a better value as Apple has doubled the starting storage to 128GB. There's also a new 512GB tier at the high end.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Apple announced the Mac Studio and Studio Display three years ago today.

The ‌Mac Studio‌ and Studio Display were unveiled as the final major announcements of Apple's "Peek Performance" event. Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced them as a completely new Mac product category and a powerful new display designed for creative professionals.

The ‌Mac Studio‌ is positioned between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. The first model featured the M1 Max or the newly introduced M1 Ultra chip, offering the best performance of any Mac at the time. The base ‌M1 Max‌ model started at $1,999, while the ‌M1 Ultra‌ variant began at $3,999. Fully configured, the ‌M1 Ultra‌ model could exceed $8,000. Many saw the ‌Mac Studio‌ and Studio Display as the spiritual successor to the 27-inch iMac, which was discontinued on the same day as the ‌Mac Studio‌'s launch.

In June 2023, during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced M2 Max and ‌M2‌ Ultra chip options for the ‌Mac Studio‌. Enhancements included support for up to six 6K monitors and improved connectivity options, such as Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E.

Earlier this week, Apple introduced the latest iteration of the ‌Mac Studio‌, now featuring the M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips. The M4 Max offers a 16-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU, starting with 36GB of RAM, while the M3 Ultra boasts a 32-core CPU and up to an 80-core GPU, with configurations supporting up to 512GB of RAM. Both models include Thunderbolt 5 ports.

The Studio Display marked Apple's reentry into the consumer display market after more than a decade of absence. Prior to its release, Apple only offered one high-end professional monitor in the form of 2019's Pro Display XDR, which was aimed at a niche audience with a price tag of $4,999, without a stand. The Studio Display introduced a more accessible option for the wider range of users looking for a high-quality, premium external monitor that works well with Apple devices.

Rumors suggest that Apple is developing a new Studio Display model with mini-LED backlighting, expected to be released later in 2025 or early 2026.

Apple is delaying some of the Apple Intelligence Siri features that it expected to be able to introduce as part of iOS 18, and it's not clear what that means for the rumored smart home hub that the company is working on.

The hub has been described as a "Command Center" for controlling Wi-Fi connected smart home products, and rumors suggest that Siri's planned feature set is meant to play a major role in the device's functionality. ‌Siri‌ is supposed to be getting smarter, able to learn more about users and to do more in and between apps, which would go a long way toward making a smart home control device more appealing.

Back in November, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the device had been designed around App Intents, the more advanced app and task control feature set that is delayed. Gurman also said that it would be marketed as a way to chat with ‌Siri‌, and that the device is "designed to bring ‌Siri‌ and Apple Intelligence to life in a way that hasn't happened before."

Gurman initially said the device could launch as soon as March 2025, but in January, he suggested Apple would not make that timeline due to ‌Siri‌ delays. With the ‌Siri‌ ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features being pushed back even further, it's entirely possible Apple's "Command Center" won't be ready to go until 2026.

Apple's acknowledgement of the delay suggests that the ‌Siri‌ capabilities aren't going to be introduced until iOS 19, and the timing remains unclear.

The smart home hub is expected to look something like a mini iPad, and it will be square in shape with a six-inch display. In addition to controlling smart home products, it will have a selection of Apple apps so people will be able to make video calls, look up recipes, listen to music, access their calendars, view photos, and more.

Apple today shared a somewhat vague statement announcing that some of its planned Apple Intelligence Siri features will take longer than expected to develop, and it's sounding like those ‌Siri‌ capabilities aren't going to be implemented until iOS 19.

Apple's statement, for context:

"Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we've made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We've also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It's going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year."

"In the coming year" isn't exactly concrete, and could be interpreted as in the next 12 months, or as 2026. If it's taken as in the next 12 months, that leaves room for a launch that's still part of iOS 18, but 2026 is firmly ‌iOS 19‌. Direct Apple acknowledgements of product delays are uncommon, and if Apple was on track to introduce the ‌Siri‌ features in ‌iOS 18‌, would the company bother to make a delay announcement at all? It seems unlikely. For that reason alone, there's a good chance Apple has pushed the feature set to ‌iOS 19‌.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber has come to a similar conclusion, suggesting Apple's "years" refer to product years that start at WWDC. It is his opinion that Apple is subtly suggesting an ‌iOS 19‌ launch timeline.

Reading between the lines, and based on my PhD-level fluency in Cupertino-ese, what Apple is saying here is that these "more personalized Siri" features are being punted from this year's OS cycle to next year's: to iOS 19 and MacOS 16. Apple's years in this context aren't calendar years, but Apple's OS product years. Those years effectively start at WWDC.

Further, both Reuters and CNBC interpreted Apple's statement as a delay of the ‌Siri‌ features until 2026, and wrote headlines stating as much. If Apple was only counting on a delay of a couple of months, it's likely the company would correct the 2026 assumption, but Apple has offered no further clarification nor has it asked for those sites to change their wording.

We'll get the first ‌iOS 19‌ update in September 2025 alongside new iPhones, so if 2026 ends up being accurate, the ‌Siri‌ features might not even come in the ‌iOS 19‌ release. They'll instead be slated for a future ‌iOS 19‌ update, perhaps iOS 19.2 or iOS 19.3.

The vague wording of Apple's statement gives it some runway to tweak launch timing. The company has up to 12 months to provide the promised ‌Siri‌ functionality after admitting to a delay, so there's a good chance Apple is aiming for the September ‌iOS 19‌ release, but tempering expectations in case it takes longer.

Apple announced the personalized ‌Apple Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ features at WWDC 2024, and initially said the functionality would come in ‌iOS 18‌. Rumors suggested Apple was aiming for an iOS 18.4 release, but couldn't meet that timeline. Until now, there was still hope for a launch in iOS 18.5 or iOS 18.6, but there are strong implications that the feature set is going to be bundled into ‌iOS 19‌ or an update to ‌iOS 19‌.

The ‌Siri‌ features that we're waiting on include personal context to allow ‌Siri‌ to keep track of emails, messages, files, photos, and more, and deeper app integration that lets ‌Siri‌ do more in and across apps.

Apple is also working on an LLM version of ‌Siri‌ similar to ChatGPT and Google Gemini, and while that was initially planned for the ‌iOS 19‌ update, it now seems Apple is going to hold it until iOS 20.

Update: Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that the ‌Siri‌ features "won't be released until next year at the earliest." Some people in Apple's AI division think the features could even be "scrapped altogether and rebuilt from scratch.

There are some concerns that fixing ‌Siri‌ could require more powerful hardware, which would mean Apple needs to reduce its feature set or make the models run more slowly on current devices.

Apple today scored another victory in the ongoing lawsuit that AliveCor levied against it in 2021, with the federal appeals court confirming the invalidation of three patents that AliveCor claimed Apple violated with the Apple Watch. As a result, the court has vacated an ITC ruling that could have led to an Apple Watch import ban.

In a statement to MacRumors, Apple thanked the court for its work and said that it will continue to develop new Apple Watch health features.

We thank the Federal Circuit for its careful consideration in this case. Apple's teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop industry-leading health, wellness and safety features that meaningfully impact users' lives, and we intend to stay on this path."

After AliveCor sued Apple, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initially found that Apple had violated three AliveCor patents related to heart rate monitoring and ECG technology. Apple then asked the USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to review the patents, and the board found that several claims were not patentable, ultimately invalidating the patents and weakening AliveCor's case against Apple.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) still went on to recommend a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist for the Apple Watch, which Apple appealed given that the patents involved in the case were invalidated. The order was suspended while appeals on both sides played out, with Apple seeking an appeal of the ITC ruling and AliveCor appealing the PTAB ruling invalidating the patents.

The federal appeals court upheld the ruling invalidating the patents, and vacated the ITC's decision as a result, so there will be no Apple Watch import ban in the AliveCor case. In a statement to MacRumors, AliveCor said it was disappointed with the decision.

We are deeply disappointed by the Court’s decisions this morning and that the Court did not review the available secondary considerations, which the ITC found to be persuasive in their finding of validity. Today's ruling does not affect our business or ability to continue innovating for our growing base of millions of customers.

These cases go beyond AliveCor; these cases represent every small company and every future innovation that is at risk of being suppressed by a Goliath. Our fight against Apple is necessary to preserve innovation, fair competition, and the ability to ensure that inventors - both today and of the future - have the IP protection needed to build and scale new technologies.

We will continue to explore all available legal options, including potential appeals, to defend our position that our patents are valid and that Apple infringed our intellectual property rights. As we move forward, our focus remains on transforming the industry with clinically validated, AI-powered solutions that help democratize access to cardiac care.

Last year, AliveCor's antitrust lawsuit against Apple was also dismissed, a decision that AliveCor is appealing.

Apple has not been as successful in a different legal battle against blood oxygen company Masimo, and Apple Watch models in the United States are still subject to an import ban. Apple has disabled blood oxygen sensing technology in Apple Watch models sold in the U.S., and has not yet been able to reinstate it.

It's been a week since Apple released the iPhone 16e, its new low-cost (but not as low-cost as before) smartphone. The ‌iPhone 16e‌ has many of the same capabilities as Apple's flagship iPhones, but it is lacking in some key areas to save money. So, is it worth the savings? MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera spent a week with the ‌iPhone 16e‌ as his main iPhone to see what he could live without.

At $599, the ‌iPhone 16e‌ is quite a bit more expensive than the ‌iPhone‌ SE 3 that it replaces, but it offers a current-generation A18 chip, an all-display design with Face ID instead of Touch ID and OLED technology, a 48-megapixel single-lens rear camera, long battery life, USB-C, and safety features like Emergency SOS via Satellite and Crash Detection, all of which were not in the ‌iPhone‌ SE.

Most iPhones have had two or more cameras for several years now, so the single-lens camera on the ‌iPhone 16e‌ is surprisingly subtle and makes for a clean, minimal design where the camera isn't the dominant feature drawing the eye. There's also less weight with the slimmed down camera setup, so it doesn't feel heavy in the hand. You can only get the ‌iPhone 16e‌ in black or white, but they're classic colors.

Since Apple slimmed down the bezels with the flagship iPhone 16 lineup, the bezels on the ‌iPhone 16e‌ are more noticeable, but that's something that will mostly only come up when it's right next to an ‌iPhone 16‌. Apple modeled the ‌iPhone 16e‌ after the ‌iPhone‌ 14, so it's also got a notch instead of a Dynamic Island. The OLED display doesn't support 120Hz, and it's not quite as bright as what you get with the ‌iPhone 16‌. You're also not going to get the always-on display, and if that's something you're used to, you might miss it. But if you've never had that functionality, you won't know the difference.

There's no Camera Control button, but you do get an Action Button and support for all of the Apple Intelligence features, including Visual Intelligence. It's just activated from the Control Center or Action Button instead of Camera Control. The Camera Control button isn't something most people will likely care about. The A18 chip is basically the same chip you get in the ‌iPhone 16‌, but with one less GPU core, a change that's not super noticeable.

Apple added a USB-C port for charging, but one major absence is support for MagSafe and Qi2. There is no magnetic ring in the ‌iPhone 16e‌, so it does not work with all of the magnetic accessories that have come out for iPhones over the last several years. It's also limited to 7.5W charging speeds instead of the 15W you can get with ‌MagSafe‌ or Qi2, and that's a big downside.

If you've never had ‌MagSafe‌, you won't mind charging primarily with a cable, but if you have ‌MagSafe‌ accessories already, it's going to be a downgrade.

The 48-megapixel camera is about the same as the camera in the ‌iPhone 16‌, and it can take 1x and 2x photos. You don't get a Telephoto lens with 5x zoom or an Ultra Wide lens with 0.5x zoom and macro photo capabilities, but those are more niche camera features that are more nice to have than essential.

The ‌iPhone 16e‌ has one unique component, and that's Apple's C1 modem. So far, it seems to be performing about the same as Qualcomm's modem chip, though there is no support for the faster mmWave 5G networks. We didn't see any notable speed difference between the ‌iPhone 16‌ and ‌iPhone 16e‌ when testing the devices on Verizon's network, but the C1 modem actually seemed to be more reliable in some instances where signal was low.

Did you get an ‌iPhone 16e‌? Let us know what you think of it in the comments.

Amazon is offering numerous all-time low prices on Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch SE, including both GPS and cellular models. You'll find all-time low prices for both watches, and in regards to the Series 10, we're tracking $100 discounts for the first time ever.

Apple Watch Series 10

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.

Amazon has the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 10 for $299.00, down from $399.00, as well as the 46mm GPS model for $329.00, down from $429.00. Both of these are new record low prices on the Apple Watch Series 10, and they're available in numerous case colors and band styles, all of which you can find in the lists below.

42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 10

• Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band (S/M) - $299.00, down from $399.00
• Jet Black Aluminum Case with Ink Sport Loop - $299.00, down from $399.00
• Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Plum Sport Loop - $299.00, down from $399.00
• Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Loop - $299.00, down from $399.00
• Silver Aluminum Case with Blue Cloud Sport Loop - $299.00, down from $399.00
• Silver Aluminum Case with Denim Sport Band (S/M) - $299.00, down from $399.00

46mm GPS Apple Watch Series 10

• Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band (M/L) - $329.00, down from $429.00
• Jet Black Aluminum Case with Ink Sport Loop - $329.00, down from $429.00
• Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Band (M/L) - $329.00, down from $429.00
• Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Plum Sport Loop - $329.00, down from $429.00
• Silver Aluminum Case with Blue Cloud Sport Loop - $329.00, down from $429.00
• Silver Aluminum Case with Denim Sport Band (M/L) - $329.00, down from $429.00

Apple Watch SE

In addition to Series 10 deals, Amazon is discounting the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE to $169.00 today, down from $249.00. This is the best price we've tracked so far in 2025, and it's available in Starlight, Silver, and Midnight Aluminum color options.

Amazon has nearly every 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE at this price, including multiple sizes of the Sport Band model and many Sport Loop models. Most are in stock and available to be delivered by early March.

Additionally, you can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE at an all-time low price of $199.00 today on Amazon, down from $279.00. This one is also available in Midnight, Silver, and Starlight Aluminum colors, and multiple band sizes.

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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Apple is delaying some of the Apple Intelligence Siri features that it expected to release in iOS 18, an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Daring Fireball.

Apple says that it is going to take longer than expected to roll out the more personalized ‌Siri‌ experience, and that these features will be rolled out "in the coming year."

"Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly, and in just the past six months, we've made Siri more conversational, introduced new features like type to Siri and product knowledge, and added an integration with ChatGPT. We've also been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps. It's going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year."

The personalized ‌Siri‌ features that Apple is talking about were demonstrated at WWDC when introducing ‌iOS 18‌, and they were expected to come out in an update to ‌iOS 18‌. The functionality includes personal context, onscreen awareness, and improved app integration. A quick summary:

Personal Context

With personal context, ‌Siri‌ will be able to keep track of emails, messages, files, photos, and more, learning more about you to help you complete tasks and keep track of what you've been sent.

• Show me the files Eric sent me last week.
• Find the email where Eric mentioned ice skating.
• Find the books that Eric recommended to me.
• Where's the recipe that Eric sent me?
• What's my passport number?

Onscreen Awareness

Onscreen awareness will let ‌Siri‌ see what's on your screen and complete actions involving whatever you're looking at. If someone texts you an address, for example, you can tell ‌Siri‌ to add it to their contact card. Or if you're looking at a photo and want to send it to someone, you can ask ‌Siri‌ to do it for you.

Deeper App Integration

Deeper app integration means that ‌Siri‌ will be able to do more in and across apps, performing actions and completing tasks that are just not possible with the personal assistant right now. We don't have a full picture of what ‌Siri‌ will be capable of, but Apple has provided a few examples of what to expect.

• Moving files from one app to another.
• Editing a photo and then sending it to someone.
• Get directions home and share the ETA with Eric.
• Send the email I drafted to Eric.

Rumors suggested that Apple initially planned to introduce these features in iOS 18.4, but ahead of the first iOS 18.4 betas, there were reports that the functionality simply wasn't ready. Apple will debut an iOS 18.5 update after iOS 18.4, so we could see the new ‌Siri‌ features in that update, but it's possible we'll be waiting even longer. "In the coming year" is a bit vague, but it looks like the new ‌Siri‌ functionality will come sometime in the next 12 months.

Apple did already update ‌Siri‌ with a new Type to ‌Siri‌ feature, a refreshed look, ChatGPT integration, and more natural language understanding as part of its ‌Apple Intelligence‌ improvements, with more to come in the future.

Update: According to Reuters, the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ features have been delayed until 2026.

Amazon and Best Buy are discounting Apple's 13-inch M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage down to $699.00 in a few colors. This is a $300 discount on the previous generation M2 MacBook Air, and a new record low price for the computer.

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

Although this is a previous generation device, it will work great for anyone who doesn't need the performance gains introduced with the newer Apple silicon chips, especially at this discounted price. Apple just announced the new M4 MacBook Air, and anyone shopping for those models can get $50 off if you're a My Best Buy Plus/Total member.

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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Apple's new M3 Ultra chip can be configured with a massive 80-core GPU, and an early benchmark result offers a look at its graphics performance.

In one Geekbench 6 result for the new Mac Studio, the M3 Ultra with an 80-core GPU achieved a Metal score of 259,668, up from 222,582 for the M2 Ultra chip with a 76-core GPU in the previous-generation Mac Studio. If that single result is accurate, then the M3 Ultra offers up to 16% faster graphics performance than the M2 Ultra.

This means the M3 Ultra offers the best graphics performance of any Apple chip ever.

In the 16-inch MacBook Pro, the highest-end M4 Max chip with a 40-core GPU has an average Metal score of 187,460, so the M3 Ultra appears to offer up to 38% faster graphics performance than the M4 Max based on the one result.

A few other Geekbench 6 results for the M3 Ultra chip with an 80-core GPU show Metal scores in the 195,000 range. We believe those results are inaccurate, as it would not make any sense for the score to be that low.

As for CPU performance, we previously reported that the M3 Ultra is up to 10% faster than the previous-fastest M4 Max chip.

The new Mac Studio is available to pre-order now on Apple's online store, and it will launch in stores on Wednesday, March 12. In the U.S., pricing starts at $1,999 for M4 Max configurations, and at $3,999 for M3 Ultra configurations.

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of Apple's latest announcements for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineups.

Now that the iPhone 16e is available, we explore first-hand impressions of the device, including its design, camera, display, and custom modem. Apple this week unveiled a new iPad Air featuring the M3 chip, a refreshed entry-level ‌iPad‌ with the A16 chip, and a redesigned Magic Keyboard for the ‌iPad Air‌. The MacBook Air now offers the M4 chip and an all-new "Sky Blue" color option, now starting at just $999. Meanwhile, the Mac Studio has been refreshed with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chip options.

We take a look at why the ‌iPad Air‌'s refresh is relatively small and who should buy it, the entry-level ‌iPad‌'s peculiar omission of Apple Intelligence support, and differences between the ‌iPad Air‌'s Magic Keyboard and that of the iPad Pro. We also discuss thoughts on the ‌MacBook Air‌'s unexpected new finish, as well as the unusual chip generation difference among the new ‌Mac Studio‌'s options.

The MacRumors Show also has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.

If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our answers to your listener questions.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kevin Nether, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.

Amazon this week has Apple's AirPods Pro 2 for $169.99, down from $249.00. This is the lowest price that we've tracked so far in 2025, and Amazon is providing an early March delivery estimate for most residences in the United States.

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.

Although we saw a better deal over the holiday season, it's very unlikely that all-time low price will return any time soon. Amazon's price today is still a solid deal on the AirPods Pro 2, which feature USB-C charging and Active Noise Cancellation.

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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Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, and new MacBook Air and Mac Studio models with M4 and M3 Ultra chips, we thought we'd provide a quick recap of what else we are expecting from the company in the summer months ahead.

There are at least three product categories that we are hoping to see some movement in before summer is over, but of course, nothing is guaranteed. Keep reading to learn what they are.

Smart Home Command Center

Apple is working on a new Home accessory that is designed to serve as a central hub or "Command Center" for smart home management. Apple's upcoming iPad-like smart home accessory could be released as soon as early 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman‌. However, he recently said that Apple might not be able to launch it until later in the year due to its reliance on features coming in iOS 18.4 and iOS 19. Kuo believes the device will not be released until the second or third quarter of 2025. In February, Gurman said that the smart home hub launch is "still months away."

Mac Pro

Apple will refresh the Mac Pro in the summer of 2025, according to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The next-generation Mac Pro was expected to use a new M4 Ultra chip, but the recent debut of the M3 Ultra chip in the Mac Studio has put that claim into question. Apple has already said that its M4 Max chip lacks an UltraFusion connector, which would eventually have allowed for a doubled-up M4 Ultra chip in the future. As things stand, the next Mac Pro could end up getting the M3 Ultra chip, which Apple says is the fastest Mac chip it has ever released.

AirTag 2

Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, while another leaker has claimed Apple will launch the device in May or June this year. The next-generation AirTag will include an upgraded chip that enhances location tracking, claims Gurman. This could mean Apple plans to equip the device with the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, first introduced in the iPhone 15 lineup last year.

As part of its efforts to prevent stalking, Apple is also expected to make the AirTag's built-in speaker more difficult to remove. However, the overall design is likely to remain largely unchanged, so major visual differences from the current model are not anticipated. Additionally, the new AirTag is rumored to offer improved range, potentially extending the effectiveness of the Precision Finding feature over greater distances.

iOS 19

Apple plans to unveil iOS 19 at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2025, but the official release won't happen until sometime in September, when the new iPhone 17 lineup is expected to be announced.

Rumors suggest that Apple's continued work on iOS 18 features is pushing back development on iOS 19, so we may see new capabilities come out on a rolling basis like we did for iOS 18. iOS 19 could feature a revamped Camera app with a design inspired by visionOS, according to one rumor. The design of Apple's most recent apps, Invites, Apple Sports, and Apple Playground, hint at the visionOS-like redesign we could see in iOS 19. The apps have more translucent user interface elements, expanding buttons, and an emphasis on content. We could also see other visionOS-style app redesigns, but the Camera app is the only redesign rumored as of now.

Apple is developing a much smarter version of Siri that utilizes advanced large language models or LLMs, allowing the personal assistant to better compete with AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT. However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently said Apple is no longer planning to unveil the more conversational Siri at WWDC 2025 in June this year, and it appears that the feature is no longer on track to launch as part of iOS 19.4 in March or April next year. Instead, he said that some Apple software engineers believe that the Siri overhaul will not launch until at least iOS 20.

In the meantime, iOS 18.5 should be released in May, and with it, Siri is expected to gain on-screen awareness, understanding of personal context, and deeper per-app controls.

In a move that probably won't make headlines but should delight detail-oriented Mac users everywhere, Apple has quietly corrected a 26-year-old design inconsistency on its keyboards.

The Mute key, a staple on Mac keyboards since the PowerBook G3 'Lombard' debuted in 1999, has finally received a logical redesign on the new MacBook Air with M4 chip. As spotted by iCulture, the key now displays a speaker with a strike through it – matching the actual on-screen indicator that appears when you press it in macOS.

For over two decades, the Mute key has confusingly shown just a speaker icon, providing no obvious visual indication that it silences your Mac. Meanwhile, pressing it would display a completely different but more accurate symbol on screen: a speaker with a line through it. To be fair, it is a toggle key that both mutes and un-mutes audio, but the new mute icon more recognizably informs what the key does – just like on the Apple TV Remote.

This small but meaningful correction resolves a surprising design inconsistency that has persisted through countless keyboard iterations across dozens of Mac models.

The redesigned Mute key isn't limited to the ‌MacBook Air‌, either. The new iPad Air's Magic Keyboard also incorporates the corrected icon. In fact, you could call this a "double upgrade" for ‌iPad Air‌ users, as previous Magic Keyboard models have lacked function keys entirely.

The keyboard change is typical of Apple's meticulous attention to detail, even if it took more than a quarter-century to implement.

It seems likely that all future Mac models will adopt this revised Mute key design. The next expected release, a MacBook Pro with M5 chip anticipated around October, will presumably incorporate the updated key icon.

OpenAI has updated the ChatGPT app for macOS with the ability to directly edit code in popular development environments including Xcode, VS Code, and JetBrains tools.

The new feature allows the AI chatbot to make changes to code without requiring users to copy and paste between applications. ChatGPT can now read code from these environments and make edits directly within them.

An optional "auto-apply" mode enables ChatGPT to implement changes without additional clicks. Alexander Embiricos, a member of OpenAI's product team, shared a demonstration of the feature on social media and noted that the capability will come to Windows "soon."

The direct code editing functionality is currently available to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team subscribers who update their macOS app. OpenAI plans to roll out the feature to Enterprise, Education, and free users next week.

This update builds on ChatGPT's "work with apps" capability launched in beta last November, which allowed the AI to read code from development environments but not directly modify it.

The change makes ChatGPT a more direct competitor to specialized AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot and Apple's Swift Assist, both of which offer similar functionality.

Apple has increased the thickness of the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max compared to the current generation iPhone 16 Pro Max, claims the Chinese leaker known as Ice Universe.

Apple is said to have increased the depth of the iPhone 17 Pro Max to 8.725mm, up from 8.25mm on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which would be a 0.475mm difference in thickness. The increase "surely means a larger battery," according to the leaker. Apart from depth, the iPhone 17 Pro Max's frame reportedly remains unchanged, and is otherwise identical to the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Up until now, we have not heard any rumors about a battery life increase for the iPhone 17 Pro Max or a change in dimensions, so if Ice Universe's information is accurate, this would be a new development.

iPhone 17 Pro‌ models are expected to have a large rectangular camera bump with rounded corners, though Apple apparently plans to stick with a triangular arrangement for the rear camera lenses.

Apple's premium devices are also rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame. The back of the devices will supposedly also have a new "part-aluminum, part-glass" design.

Ice Universe also claimed today that the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Apple's all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air share identical dimensions apart from the differing thickness of the devices.

Apple's all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air shares the same dimensions as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with the only difference being in the thickness of the devices, according to the leaker Ice Universe.

Posting to their Weibo account, the Chinese leaker today claimed that the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max have identical body length, width, screen size, and bezels. "The only difference is the thickness," added the leaker. "The iPhone 17 Air is 5.5mm thick, while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is 8.725mm thick."

If these dimension are accurate, they also suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will itself be substantially thicker than the existing iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Aside from the alleged 5.5mm thickness for the iPhone 17 Air, which we have heard before, Ice Universe's claims are quite a significant development and contrast with previous rumors. Last year, display industry analyst Ross Young said the iPhone 17 Air would have a 6.55-inch display, or a 6.6-inch display when rounded up.

Notably, this display size was challenged last month by YouTube creator Jon Prosser, who claimed that the iPhone 17 Air will be equipped with a larger 6.7-inch display. (Young has since reiterated his 6.55-inch display size claim for the iPhone 17 Air.)

However, if Prosser is correct and the iPhone 17 Air has a 6.7-inch display, that's still far off the expected 6.9-inch display size of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple increased the display size of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max last year, and they are expected to remain the same for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Indeed, Ice Universe today said that the frame of iPhone 17 Pro Max has not changed, and is "just like iPhone 16 Pro Max."

	iPhone 17 Pro Max	iPhone 17 Air
Depth	8.73 mm	5.55 mm
Height	163 mm	163 mm
Width	77.6 mm	77.6 mm
Display	6.9" (174 mm)	6.9" (174 mm)
Screen Border	1.15 mm	1.15 mm

Ice Universe has previously revealed accurate dimensions of iPhones before they are released, including the sizes of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Still, we are taking this particular rumor with a grain of salt for now until other sources can corroborate the claims. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17 lineup around its usual mid-September time frame.