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Samsung this week kicked off a new springtime sale, which includes savings on monitors, TVs, Galaxy products, and more.

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

One of the best overall deals during this sale is on The Frame TVs, which are available for up to $1,800 off, depending on the size of the model you purchase. Every size is being discounted during this event, with the popular 65-inch The Frame TV available for $1,299.99, down from $1,999.99.

The best monitor deals include the popular 27-inch ViewFinity S9 5K Smart Monitor for $999.99, down from $1,599.99. At $600 off this is a solid second-best price on the display, which has a matte display, modular 4K SlimFit camera, and support for Thunderbolt 4.

Of course, there's a lot more on sale than just monitors. This sale also covers the newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, The Frame TV, and Samsung's line of home appliances, including refrigerators and washer/dryers. We've accumulated some of these deals in the lists below, but be sure to check out Samsung's website for the full sale.

TVs

• The Frame - Save up to $1,800
• 85-inch Crystal UHD TV - $799.99, down from $1,099.99
• 65-inch QLED 4K TV - $1,099.99, down from $1,599.99
• 65-inch OLED S90C TV - $1,399.99, down from $2,599.99
• 65-inch Neo QLED 4K TV - $1,399.99, down from $2,699.99
• 85-inch QLED 4K TV - $1,179.99, down from $2,799.99
• 85-inch Neo QLED 4K TV - $1,749.99, down from $3,999.99

Monitors and Storage

• 990 EVO 5.0 NVMe SSD 2TB - $129.99, down from $239.99
• 2TB Portable SSD - $149.99, down from $284.99
• 27-inch Odyssey G6 Gaming Monitor - $549.99, down from $799.99
• 43-inch Odyssey Neo G7 Smart Gaming Monitor - $569.99, down from $999.99
• 49-inch Odyssey G9 (G95C) Curved Gaming Monitor - $849.99, down from $1,299.99
• 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9 (G95SC) Curved Gaming Monitor - $1,099.99, down from $1,699.99
• 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9 (G93SD) Curved Gaming Monitor - $1,299.99, down from $1,699.99
• 55-inch Odyssey Ark 2nd Gen Curved Gaming Monitor - $1,799.99, down from $2,699.99

Refrigerators

• Large Capacity Side-by-Side Fridge - $1,099.00, down from $1,666.00
• 4-Door French Door Fridge - $1,799.00, down from $2,899.00
• Mega Capacity 3-Door French Door Fridge - $2,399.00, down from $3,499.00
• Bespoke 4-Door Flex Fridge - $2,499.00, down from $4,099.00
• Bespoke 4-Door Flex Fridge - $3,099.00, down from $4,999.00

Galaxy Products

• Galaxy S25 Smartphone - Save up to $850
• Galaxy S25+ Smartphone - Save up to $850
• Galaxy S25 Ultra - Save up to $1,000
• Galaxy Z Fold6 - Save up to $1,300
• Galaxy Ring - Get up to $100 trade-in credit
• Galaxy Watch Ultra - Save up to $325
• Galaxy Watch 7 - Save up to $175
• Galaxy Buds3 Pro - Save up to $125

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple Arcade gained six more games today as promised, including RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic, Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE, The Game of Life 2, Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Space Invaders Infinity Gene Evolve, and puffies.

Notably, the Apple Arcade version of RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is available on the Mac:

Combining features from two of the series' most successful and beloved games, RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, this new game invites players to create and run amazing parks with the most outrageous rides imaginable. Enhanced for iPhone and iPad, RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic+ delivers the same depth of gameplay and unique graphical style of Chris Sawyer's original best-selling PC games. It also includes three expansion packs — Wacky Worlds, Time Twister, and Toolkit — and is playable across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

The first original Katamari game in nearly eight years also arrived on Apple Arcade today, across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

Here is how Apple describes that game:

In this quirky action game — an Apple Arcade exclusive — players expand their Katamari by rolling up objects scattered across the earth. Featuring unique and whimsical gameplay, and a captivating soundtrack that blends different genres, the game invites players to energize the king's "live stream" by rolling their Katamari to create stars. As users advance, comments from in-game fans appear, and the longer they play, the larger their audience grows. By completing the king's challenges and boosting their subscriber count, players can unlock dynamic new stages.

More details about all six games can be found in Apple's announcement from last month.

Accessible through the App Store, Apple Arcade is a subscription-based service that provides access to hundreds of games across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro, all free of ads and in-app purchases. In the U.S., Apple Arcade costs $6.99 per month and is bundled with other Apple services in all Apple One plans.

The business news network CNBC on Wednesday announced that its CNBC+ streaming service has expanded to the Apple TV and Roku devices.

CNBC+ is now available through the CNBC app on all Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models, providing subscribers with a live stream of the CNBC channel, along with full episodes of popular CNBC shows on demand. In the App Store, a subscription to CNBC+ in the U.S. costs $14.99 per month, or $149.99 per year.

The streaming service first launched in late 2024 on iOS, Android, and CNBC.com, according to a CNBC spokesperson.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that massive tariffs will be applied to imports from many countries, starting April 9. The tariffs will significantly impact Apple's supply chain, with iPhones and other products imported to the U.S. from China, India, and Vietnam set to face 54%, 26%, and 46% tariffs, respectively.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said that if Apple does not raise prices, its overall gross profit margin could face a significant drop of 8.5% to 9%, due to the tariffs significantly raising costs. However, he outlined five ways in which Apple can reduce the impact of the tariffs on its gross margins going forward:

• Apple can boost iPhone production in India. Kuo said if India can secure tariff exemptions through new trading agreements with the U.S., and Apple boosts its iPhone production capacity there to over 30% of its global supply, the negative impact on gross margins could shrink to just 1% to 3%.
• Apple could raise prices on iPhone Pro models. In the U.S. market, Kuo said high-end iPhones account for 65-70% of new model sales, and he believes that "high-end consumers are relatively more accepting of price increases." So, the Pro and Pro Max models could see price increases, if absolutely necessary.
• Apple could increase carrier subsidies for iPhones.
• Apple could reduce trade-in values to partially offset the costs of tariffs.
• Apple could put even greater pressure on its suppliers to cut costs.

Apple's overall gross margin was 46% in the 2024 fiscal year. Gross margin is a profitability metric that indicates the percentage of money that Apple earns on a product like an iPhone after subtracting the costs of making the product. Even if Apple's gross margin drops below 40%, Kuo believes this dip "should be short-lived."

Apple's stock price dropped more than 9% since Trump's announcement.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple is reportedly planning a major upgrade to the Telephoto camera in the iPhone 17 Pro, and while it may seem like a step back on paper, the change could actually improve real-world usability, if one leaker's claims are anything to go by.

According to Majin Bu, the iPhone 17 Pro will feature a new Telephoto lens with a 48MP sensor, up from the current 12MP sensor found in the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. This rumor isn't new – in fact it's been repeatedly claimed by several other sources. However, Bu goes further by claiming that the new lens will offer 3.5x optical zoom (85mm equivalent) instead of the 5x zoom (120mm equivalent) currently available.

This focal length is generally better suited for portraits and everyday photography, since it allows users to frame shots without having to move as far away from the subject. However, the big shift allegedly comes from the new 48MP sensor, in that the extra resolution allows for digital cropping to simulate longer focal lengths, offering less quality loss than normal digital zoom.

This is similar to what Apple already does with the main Fusion camera on the iPhone 16, where the 48MP sensor enables a 2x digital crop – marketed as "Telephoto" – that still produces a 12MP image with minimal quality loss.

Bu points out that one of the practical benefits of a 3.5x telephoto lens would be greater versatility, especially for portrait photography. A 3.5x lens would make it easier to compose portraits at more comfortable distances, particularly in indoors or other tight environments.

The alleged change would see Apple relying more on high-resolution sensors and computational processing to replace some of the limitations of traditional optics. If the report is accurate, the iPhone 17 Pro could deliver more flexible zoom options while making portrait photography more user-friendly, without sacrificing image quality.

Given that the iPhone 16 Pro models already have 48MP Fusion and Ultra Wide cameras, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max could be the first iPhone models to boast a rear triple-camera array made up entirely of 48-megapixel lenses. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 17 lineup in September.

Apple is currently evaluating a new small-sized OLED display for its next iPad mini model, according to a Chinese leaker with sources in Apple's supply chain.

Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station today made the claim in a brief preview of upcoming tablets from different brands. The leaker went on to say that the OLED display in question is made by Samsung, but that they remain unsure if it features a higher refresh rate than the 60Hz LCD display used in the existing iPad mini 7.

Reports last year claimed that Apple had requested OLED display panels designed for future iPad mini models from its suppliers.

In May 2024, it was reported that Samsung Display had started developing sample 8-inch OLED panels for a future ‌iPad mini‌, with plans to initiate mass production at its facility in Cheonan in the second half of 2025. The same report claimed that Apple will bring an OLED panel to the iPad Air alongside the ‌iPad mini‌ in 2026.

That outlook differs slightly from a December report by analyst firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) that said an 8.5-inch OLED iPad mini is planned for a 2026 launch, while 11-inch and 13-inch OLED iPad Air models are expected to follow in 2027.

OLED panels can individually control each pixel, resulting in more precise color reproduction and deeper blacks compared to other common display technologies. They also provide superior contrast, faster response times, better viewing angles, and greater design flexibility. All of Apple's flagship iPhones use OLED panels, and in May 2024 the company brought the display technology to the iPad Pro for the first time.

Unlike Apple's ‌iPad Pro‌ models, which feature two-stack low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED panels‌, the ‌iPad mini‌ and ‌iPad Air‌ may have single-stack low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) panels, meaning that they may be dimmer and continue to lack ProMotion.

Apple today provided developers with the first beta of an upcoming iOS 18.5 update for testing purposes. Work on iOS 18 is starting to wind down with iOS 19 set to be introduced in a couple of months, so iOS 18.5 has just a handful of minor new features.

We've rounded up what's new so far, but Apple could add additional features in upcoming betas.

Mail

If you tap on the three dots icon in the upper right corner of the Mail app, you can now toggle Contact Photos on and off directly from this interface. There's also an option to turn off Group By Sender.

Both of these options are in iOS 18.4, but the toggles are buried in the Mail section of the Settings app. They're easier to get to with iOS 18.5 for those who want the Mail app to look more like the pre-iOS 18 Mail app.

You can still access these toggles in the Settings app, too.

AppleCare Info

In the Settings app, if you go to General and tap on AppleCare and Warranty, there's now a banner with an ‌AppleCare‌ logo and an option to learn more about ‌AppleCare‌ coverage. There was no banner before.

If you go to your Apple Account and tap on a device in your device list, you'll now see a new ‌AppleCare‌ option that you can tap into to get info on your ‌AppleCare‌ coverage. There's also an option to Manage Plan from this interface if you have a renewing ‌AppleCare‌ plan.

More Features

Know of something new in iOS 18.5 that we left out of this article? Let us know in the comments below.

Release Date

For the last three years, the x.5 updates have come out in May, specifically the second week of May. It's likely Apple will stick to that same general release timeline, providing iOS 18.5 to the public in May.

Apple's efforts to diversify its supply chain may have been for naught with the Trump administration's new tariffs that target multiple countries where Apple sources components for its iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Apple has worked to move some of its manufacturing to countries like India, Vietnam, and Thailand, all of which are facing steep tariffs in addition to China and Taiwan. There is a minimum 10 percent tariff for all U.S. trading partners, and "reciprocal tariffs" on several countries where Apple suppliers are located. Some of the tariffs:

• Vietnam - 46%
• Thailand - 36%
• China - 34%
• Taiwan - 32%
• India - 26%
• Japan - 24%
• Malaysia - 24%
• EU - 20%

As The New York Times notes, Apple is already contending with a 20 percent tariff in China, which is set to increase significantly. Taiwan, where Apple sources the Apple silicon chips that go into all of its devices, is facing a 32 percent tariff.

The last time Trump was in office, Apple was able to get tariff exemptions or avoid tariffs entirely for some products, but Trump claims that he will not provide exemptions this time around. Morgan Stanley estimates that devices imported from China will cost Apple an additional $8.5 billion annually without exemptions, though it is not clear if Apple would pass those costs to consumers with price increases.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said in the past that the United States is not able to compete with China and other countries when it comes to manufacturing due to a lack of skilled workers with expertise in advanced tooling.

Apple stock is down 7.5 percent in after hours trading after the tariff announcements. The tariffs will go into effect on April 9, according to Trump.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple today released new 7E101 firmware for the AirPods Max with USB-C, addressing an issue that made the previously released firmware unable to be downloaded.

Apple yesterday seeded out ‌AirPods Max‌ firmware with a version number of 7E99 to enable lossless audio support, but it turned out that ‌AirPods Max‌ users were not able to download the firmware.

The new 7E101 firmware should now be available to all Apple users who have ‌AirPods Max‌ with USB-C, and the update brings lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio to the headphones.

The USB-C ‌AirPods Max‌ now support 24-bit 48 kHz lossless audio, which is designed to allow listeners to experience music the way the artist created it in the studio. Apple says lossless audio and Personalized Spatial Audio offer a "more sonically accurate, uncompressed, and immersive experience."

With lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio support, music creators are able to use the ‌AirPods Max‌ to create and mix in Personalized Spatial Audio with head tracking, with just a USB-C cable and a Mac with Logic Pro or other music creation software.

Lossless audio and ultra-low latency is only available for the USB-C ‌AirPods Max‌, as lossless quality requires a USB-C connection to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The headphones need to be running the latest firmware and need to be paired with a device running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or macOS Sequoia 15.4.

Firmware can be installed by putting the ‌AirPods Max‌ in Bluetooth range of an ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or Mac that's connected to Wi-Fi, and then plugging them in to charge. It can take up to 30 minutes for firmware to update.

You can check your firmware version by going to Settings > Bluetooth and selecting the Info button next to the ‌AirPods Max‌ when they are connected to an ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or Mac.

Apple CEO Tim Cook today earned over $24 million selling Apple stock, according to a filing with the SEC. Cook sold 108,136 shares that he received on April 1 when restricted stock units vested.

The RSUs that vested yesterday were part of a time-based stock award that Cook was granted back in 2020. One-third of the shares vested in 2023, one-third in 2024, and the final third vested in 2025. The shares that were sold today were put in Cook's trust.

Restricted stock units are given to Cook regularly as bonus compensation, encouraging him to stay on as Apple's CEO. Cook has served as CEO since August 2011, and now that his RSUs have vested, Apple may give him another grant to keep him at the company for an even longer period. Cook also regularly receives RSUs that vest based on Apple's performance, with that award typically happening in October.

Apple executives that include Jeff Williams and Katherine Adams also received and sold stock worth $7,950,684 and $8,664,682, respectively.

In 2019, Apple canceled plans to open a flagship store at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, due to public opposition. Specifically, many local residents were upset about Apple's plan to demolish the existing Yarra Building on the site, in order to make room for the new store. The local heritage authority Heritage Victoria ultimately decided that the building could not be torn down due to its cultural significance.

Six years later, graphic designer Filip Chudzinski has envisioned what Apple Federation Square could have looked like, based on a design proposal by architectural firm Foster + Partners. Given the proposal is now outdated, Chudzinski added in some modern touches, such as an Apple Pickup station for customers to collect online orders.

Chudzinski created more than two dozen beautiful 3D renders of the Apple Federation Square store that never was, offering a closer look at its multi-level pavilion design. The impressive store would have overlooked the nearby Yarra River.

Chudzinski has an Instagram account dedicated to Apple retail. He also created the Bandbreite app, which catalogs Apple Watch bands.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sequoia 15.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two days after Apple released ‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.4.

Registered developers can opt-in to the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. An Apple ID associated with an Apple Developer account is required to get the beta.

We don't yet know what's included in the macOS 15.5 update, but we are waiting on new Apple Intelligence features. It's not clear if that functionality will be in the beta, but there isn't much else that Apple hasn't added to ‌macOS Sequoia‌.

Apple will soon start transitioning to macOS 16, which is set to be unveiled at WWDC in June.

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming just two days after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4.

iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.

We don't yet know what Apple is introducing in the iOS 18.5 update, but we are still waiting on new Siri Apple Intelligence features. That functionality may not be coming until next year, though, so it's unclear if we'll get any new ‌Apple Intelligence‌ tools in the beta.

Once we download the beta and discover that's included, we'll update this article with details.

Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming visionOS 2.5, tvOS 18.5, and watchOS 11.5 updates for testing purposes. The software is available a day after Apple released the visionOS 2.4, tvOS 18.4, and watchOS 11.4 software.

The betas are available to registered developers, and can be downloaded from the Settings app on each device.

As of right now, there is no word on what's included in any of the betas, but should new features be found, we'll update this article.

Retail giant Amazon today made an offer to acquire TikTok just days ahead of when TikTok must be sold off or face a ban, reports The New York Times. Unspecified participants involved in the TikTok talks "do not appear to be taking Amazon's bid seriously," and multiple interested parties are scrambling to plead their cases for a TikTok purchase.

As of January 19, the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that bans TikTok from operating in the U.S. under Chinese control has been in effect, but U.S. President Donald Trump gave TikTok a reprieve by ordering the Department of Justice to not enforce the law for a 75-day period. That window is set to expire on Saturday, April 5, and a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations must be arranged by that time or the app will be shut down again.

The Trump administration has been considering offers from companies like Oracle and Perplexity, along with individuals like Jimmy Donaldson (also known as MrBeast), Shark Tank host Kevin O'Leary, Employer.com founder Jesse Tinsley, and billionaire Frank McCourt. Trump plans to meet with White House officials on Wednesday to discuss what will happen with TikTok, and he has maintained that he will make the final decision on the app's future.

It is possible that Trump will decide on a deal that includes bringing on multiple U.S. investors, including Oracle and private equity firm Blackstone. Such a deal would not be a formal sale, and may not meet the requirements of the law.

TikTok parent company ByteDance has said that it will not sell TikTok, but it is not clear if that is still the case with a ban on the horizon. While the law is set to go back into effect on April 5, Trump could opt for another deadline extension.

A lawsuit filed against Apple in California this week accuses the company of violating the state's false advertising law and other consumer laws, by intentionally misleading customers into thinking that they are purchasing digital e-books from the Apple Books app in perpetuity, when instead they are only purchasing revokable licenses to the books.

The proposed class action complaint explains that Apple is required to pull a digital book or audiobook from the Apple Books app if and when it loses a license to that content, resulting in the content no longer being available in the app's store. As a result, the complaint alleges that some customers have unexpectedly found that digital books they previously purchased were no longer available to re-download, despite having paid for them. Apple removes books without warning, and without providing refunds, the complaint adds.

As noted in the complaint, the purchase screen in the Apple Books app does not include a link to any terms of service or licensing information. However, in order to set up and use an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other Apple device, users are required to agree to Apple's various software license agreements, which all state the following:

By using this software in connection with an Apple Account, or other Apple Services, you agree to the applicable terms of service, such as the latest Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions […]

In the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions, Apple states the following:

Purchased Content will generally remain available for you to download, redownload, or otherwise access from Apple. Though it is unlikely, subsequent to your purchase, Content may be removed from the Services and become unavailable for further download or access from Apple (for instance, because Apple loses its right from the Content provider to make it available). To ensure your ability to continue enjoying Content, we encourage you to download all purchased Content to a device in your possession and to back it up.

The lawsuit, Morehouse et al v. Apple, Inc., was filed in a U.S. district court in San Jose on Tuesday. The plaintiffs are seeking up to $5 billion in damages, with the proposed class being all individuals who purchased a digital book or audiobook from the Apple Books store within the to-be-determined class period. A judge has yet to be assigned to the case, and it remains to be seen if the class action lawsuit is certified and proceeds to trial.

The complaint was filed by law firm Siri & Glimstad LLP.

Amazon and Best Buy are discounting Apple's 13-inch M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage down to $749.00 in a few colors. This is a $250 discount on the previous generation M2 MacBook Air, and a solid second-best price.

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.

Amazon currently has this deal available only in Silver, while Best Buy has the computer at this price in Silver, Space Gray, Midnight, and Starlight. Each discount has been applied automatically and does not require any coupon codes or memberships in order to see the final deal price.

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 up to $60 off a few configurations on Amazon.

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.

Apple is still exploring solid-state buttons with haptic feedback for a future iPhone, according to a new report from a known Weibo leaker.

In a new post, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" said that Apple's work on solid-state buttons for the ‌iPhone‌ is ongoing. They said that production cost is not the project's main issue, but rather "mistouches," since a correct response is apparently not "perfectly guaranteed."

Apple is said to currently be adjusting the "tactile design" of its solid-state buttons and working on their long-term reliability, especially for mass production. Apple's current button design is integrated directly into the frame, with no rebound when clicked, but the company is apparently seeking to more closely replicate the experience of a traditional mechanical button.

The advantages of the design are simplicity and reducing mechanical wear, while enabling users to differentiate between a light press and a firm press to trigger different functions. The project is purportedly now "on hold," with the company determining that the current market is more interested in display and battery technology advancements.

It was widely reported that Apple was intending to bring solid-state buttons to the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023 as part of "Project Bongo," but it canceled the plan at a late stage. They were then rumored to come to the iPhone 16 Pro, before being shelved indefinitely. The feature is not expected to arrive in the iPhone 17 lineup, but the latest report suggests that they're likely to appear someday in the future.