MacRumors

Audi has enabled support for Apple's digital car key feature in its latest A6 Avant e-tron model, bringing Apple Car Keys to the automaker's electric car platform for the first time (via Mac4Ever).

audi avant a6 e tron
Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch with NFC capabilities or Ultra Wideband to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done simply by holding an Apple Watch or ‌iPhone‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

A tap on the door handle is enough to initiate an unlock. Face ID authentication is a security option, but Apple also offers an Express Mode that eliminates the need to authenticate for a faster unlocking process.

The Audi A6 e-tron is the second model on on Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platform. Audi shares its PPE with Porsche, and it is expected that all the next vehicles in the group will support digital car keys.

Code changes discovered last October by MacRumors in Apple's Wallet app backend indicated that Apple has been preparing support for digital car keys for certain Volvo, Polestar, and Audi vehicles.

Apple introduced ‌digital car key support‌ in 2022, and select car brands like BMW, BYD, Hyundai/Genesis/Kia, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, and RAM have implemented support for the feature‌. Apple maintains a full list of vehicles that support ‌car keys‌ on its CarPlay model availability webpage.

Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn plans to begin assembling AirPods at its factory in Hyderabad, India in April, the Press Trust of India said today.

airpods 4 new purple
The report did not indicate which AirPods models will be manufactured in India, but it did say that all units produced will be exported to other countries.

In 2023, Foxconn agreed to start assembling AirPods in India, and it is now ready to start.

AirPods production in India will further diversify Apple's supply chain. The company and its manufacturing partners have been gradually assembling more products in countries such as India and Vietnam in recent years, including select iPhone and Mac models.

Even with the push into additional countries, Apple still heavily relies on China and Taiwan for manufacturing.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

Apple's first two foldable devices recently entered the New Product Introduction (NPI) phase at Foxconn, according to analyst Jeff Pu.

FoldPad Redux 24 Magenta and Blue
In a research note today with GF Securities, Pu said mass production of the foldable devices is slated to begin in the second half of 2026.

The analyst believes the foldable devices will enter an early prototyping stage this April.

Pu did not provide any specific details about the two foldable devices. He is likely referring to Apple's first foldable iPhone, which is rumored to have up to an 8-inch inner display, along with a foldable iPad with up to a 19-inch screen.

Pu said the iPhone shipment outlook in 2025 is expected to be "lukewarm," due in part to Apple delaying personalized Siri features until some point "in the coming year." Looking ahead, he expects the foldable devices to boost Foxconn's business in 2026.

Rumors about foldable iPhones and iPads have been circulating for many years, and it appears that the devices are finally getting closer to launching, barring major setbacks. Depending on exactly when mass production begins in the second half of 2026, the devices could launch either later next year, or at some point in 2027.

Australian tech enthusiast Sonny Dickson today shared photos of dummy models for all four iPhone 17 models launching later this year.

iPhone 17 Air Size Feature
Dummy models are often based on leaked designs and dimensions, and they allow accessory makers to prepare cases for upcoming iPhone models.

In line with previous rumors, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max each have an elongated rear camera bump, housing three camera lenses, an LED camera flash, and a microphone. The so-called iPhone 17 Air has a similar rear camera bump, but with only a single lens. Last, the regular iPhone 17 has the same design as the iPhone 16.

These designs are starting to look like the real deal, based on several reports, mockups, leaked CADs, and dummy models over the past few months.


Notably, these dummy models reveal a few potential features for the iPhone 17 Air that we had yet to hear about, including MagSafe and the Action button. There were some concerns that the iPhone 17 Air might lack MagSafe due to its ultra-thin design, but it appears the device will offer the feature after all, if these dummy models are accurate.

The inclusion of an Action button instead of a Ring/Silent switch is not much of a surprise, but it is still good to see the first evidence of this change.

A report earlier today said the iPhone 17 Air will also have a Camera Control button, and the dummy model reflects that.

A side-by-side view of the dummy models reveals that the iPhone 17 Air will look noticeably thinner than the other three iPhone 17 models.

As usual, Apple should announce its new iPhone lineup in September.

Apple today shared a trailer for Someday, an upcoming short film by Spike Jonze. The full-length video will be available to watch on YouTube starting on Tuesday, and it serves as an ad for the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.


The film stars actor Pedro Pascal, who is known for his roles as The Mandalorian in the Disney+ series of the same name, Joel Miller in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us, Javier Peña in the Netflix crime series Narcos, and more.

AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation launched in September.

Related Roundup: AirPods 4
Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Buy Now)
Related Forum: AirPods

Apple is rumored to be planning a second-generation Studio Display with mini-LED backlighting for release later this year, or early next year. That monitor is codenamed J427 within Apple, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

studio display new purple
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said that Apple seemingly has even bigger plans in regards to external displays.

Specifically, he said that Apple is working on an additional monitor, codenamed J527.

However, he is not sure what this additional monitor will end up being, so it is a mystery for now. He speculated that Apple could be developing two different second-generation Studio Display models, and will eventually choose which one to launch. Alternatively, he guessed that the J527 model could be a second-generation Pro Display XDR.

The current Pro Display XDR launched in 2019, and the Studio Display followed in 2022.

Related Forum: Mac Accessories

Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:

The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater transparency and new types of windows and buttons — and that should make all Apple devices feel more consistent and familiar.

iOS 19's more transparent design has already been leaked for the Camera app, and the new look will likely extend to notifications and more.

The visionOS-like design changes have been rumored by three sources so far, so there is a good chance that this rumor is true.

Similar design changes are coming to the iPad and Mac with iPadOS 19 and macOS 16, respectively, according to Gurman.

He previously said the iOS 19 design changes will be the biggest since iOS 7.

Apple should announce iOS 19 at WWDC 2025 in June, with the first developer beta to follow shortly after the keynote. The software update will be released to the general public in September, alongside the iPhone 17 series.

Related Roundup: iOS 19

When will the iPhone get under-screen Face ID? Rumors continue to surface.

Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole
In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024, however, Young said he heard this change had been delayed until 2026. If so, that means that under-screen Face ID could debut on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max next year.

In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman offered a similar timeframe. He said that by 2026 or 2027, the Pro models should have a smaller Dynamic Island, as a result of Apple moving more components within it to under the display.

iPhone 18 Pro models with under-screen Face ID would presumably still have a pinhole at the top of the display for the front camera, similar to newer Android smartphones like Google's Pixel 9 and Samsung's Galaxy S25.

In the past, Young has said that he expects iPhones to eventually have both under-screen Face ID and an under-screen front camera. If so, the iPhone would finally have a true all-screen design, as Apple's former design chief Jony Ive dreamed of.

Apple considered launching the iPhone 17 Air without a USB-C charging port, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

iphone 16e usb c feature
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said that while Apple ultimately decided against making the iPhone 17 Air its first iPhone model without a charging port, the idea is still on the table for future iPhone models.

He said the iPhone 17 Air will "foreshadow a move to slimmer models without charging ports."

"The iPhone 17 Air represents the beginning of a sea change for Apple," he wrote. "Apple executives say that if this new iPhone is successful, the company intends to again attempt to make port-free iPhones and move more of its models to this slimmer approach."

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the first iPhone without a charging port would launch all the way back in 2021, but that did not happen. Apple has shifted from its custom Lightning port to the universal USB-C port on iPhones over the past few years, but the wait for an iPhone without a charging port at all continues.

P.S. Hopefully the iPhone 17 Air will support MagSafe, unlike the iPhone 16e.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today shared some new details about the rumored iPhone 17 Air.

iPhone 17 Air Size Feature
In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said he was told that the device may start at roughly $899 in the U.S., which means that it would occupy the same price point as the iPhone 16 Plus. This would make sense, as it has been widely rumored that the Air model will take over the Plus model's spot in the iPhone lineup going forward.

Despite its rumored ultra-thin and lightweight design, Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air will provide battery life that is "on par with current iPhones," although he did not mention any specific models. Presumably, this means that the device's battery life will be equal to the lowest-end iPhone 16 model, at a minimum. That would be surprisingly good.

Gurman said Apple has made hardware and software optimizations to make the iPhone 17 Air more power efficient. There are three rumored features for the iPhone 17 Air that should contribute to the device offering longer battery life than one might have imagined, including a higher-density battery, Apple's power-efficient C1 modem, and the lack of an Ultra Wide camera providing more internal space for a larger battery.

Gurman said the iPhone 17 Air will be equipped with the Camera Control button that debuted on all iPhone 16 models last year. This is the first time that this feature has been rumored for the device. The button provides quick access to the camera and related settings, but some people find it to be a nuisance and disable it.

He also revealed that the iPhone 17 Air's bezels around the screen will apparently be around as thin as the ones on the iPhone 16 Pro models.

A few other iPhone 17 Air specifications that he mentioned had already been rumored previously, including a 6.6-inch display with 120Hz ProMotion support, a Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip instead of an A19 Pro chip, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, the C1 modem, and the lack of a physical SIM card slot seemingly worldwide.

Unsurprisingly, look for the iPhone 17 Air to launch in September this year.

Amazon this weekend has major discounts on a few AirPods models, including all-time low prices on the AirPods 4. You can get the base AirPods 4 for $99.99 on Amazon, down from $129.00.

airpods 4 new purpleNote: 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 also has the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation for $148.99, down from $179.00. We did track these at a lower price during the 2024 holiday season, but that deal never returned and today's is the best we've seen so far in 2025.


Additionally, you can get the AirPods Pro 2 for $169.99 today on Amazon, down from $249.00. This is the lowest price we've tracked so far in 2025 on the AirPods Pro 2, and it's an overall solid second-best price.

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.


Deals Newsletter

Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

Apple this week said that it plans to add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates, and that news actually has some additional implications.

RCS Feature 1
As noted by 9to5Mac's Michael Burkhardt, Apple has indirectly confirmed that it will be adopting the RCS Universal Profile 3.0 specification, which includes not only end-to-end encryption, but also several other iMessage-like enhancements that were originally introduced in version 2.7 of the specification. iOS 18 supports RCS Universal Profile 2.4.

Here are five new capabilities to expect for RCS conversations:

  • End-to-end encryption, which will prevent Apple and any other third party from being able to read messages and attachments while they are being sent between devices, as has always been the case with iMessage
  • In-line replies
  • Edit messages
  • Unsend messages
  • Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages, ensuring they always work

iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. In addition, iMessage has supported in-line replies since iOS 14, while the options to edit and unsend iMessages were introduced with iOS 16.

Apple has not indicated which iOS version will upgrade RCS, but iOS 19 or a follow-up update like iOS 19.1 or iOS 19.2 seems like a safe bet.

Related Roundup: iOS 19

While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.

iPhone 17 Air Size Feature
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a single speaker, and an A19 chip instead of a more powerful A19 Pro chip.

While there have been some concerns that the iPhone 17 Air's thin design could result in limited battery life, the device might end up beating expectations. There are three rumored features for the iPhone 17 Air that could contribute to longer battery life than one might imagine, including a higher-density battery, Apple's power-efficient C1 modem, and the lack of an Ultra Wide camera providing more internal space for a larger battery.

Below, we recap 12 key rumors for the "iPhone 17 Air" as of March 2025:

Bookmark our iPhone 17 Air roundup to stay up to date with more rumors in the coming months.

Apple has not confirmed if its delayed personalized Siri features were anything more than conceptual when they were announced during the WWDC 2024 keynote last year, but they reportedly exist internally in at least a semi-usable way by now.

iOS 18 Siri Personal Context
Apple's senior director of Siri, Robby Walker, demonstrated at least some of the personalized Siri features in a "working" state during a recent all-hands meeting with the Siri team, according to a report yesterday from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman:

He showed examples during the meeting of the technology working: It was able to locate his driver's license number on command and find specific photos of a child. He also demonstrated how the technology could precisely manipulate apps via voice control. It embedded content in an email, added recipients and made other changes.

The above paragraph in the report was highlighted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber.

While it may sound obvious that at least some of the features are now functional within Apple, this was not entirely clear, as the company has not shown any public demos of the features being in a working state. Apple now faces the task of ensuring that the features not only work, but work well, before making them available to customers. Walker reportedly said the features were only working "up to two-thirds to 80% of the time."

Apple said it anticipates rolling out the personalized Siri features "in the coming year," but it did not provide a more specific timeframe.

Whenever they launch, the Siri upgrades will include understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, during its WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.

Apple added fine print to its iPhone 16 product pages that says the features are "in development":

Siri's personal context understanding, onscreen awareness, and in-app actions are in development and will be available with a future software update.

Gurman said the features currently "aren't expected until next year at the earliest," and recent reports from Reuters and CNBC have also mentioned a 2026 timeframe. If so, that means the Siri upgrades are unlikely to launch until iOS 19.4 or later.

While Apple launched a bunch of new hardware this week, the biggest news was on the software side where a delay for some of the previously announced Apple Intelligence Siri features has led to scrutiny of Apple's actions and uneasiness among those at the company.

top stories 2025 03 15
This week also saw revived rumors about a significant overhaul in design and functionality coming in iOS 19, while Apple's latest Mac and iPad models began making their way into reviewers' and consumers' hands, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

John Gruber Says 'Something is Rotten' at Apple Following Apple Intelligence Siri Delay

Last Friday, Apple issued a statement announcing that it is delaying certain Apple Intelligence features around Siri personalization that had originally been planned for an update to iOS 18, now noting that the features will arrive "in the coming year," which suggests they may not debut until iOS 19 or an even later update in the iOS 19 cycle.

Sad Siri Feature
In the wake of the news, Daring Fireball's John Gruber shared some strongly worded comments about the situation in a blog post titled "Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino." Gruber outlined his belief that these more advanced Apple Intelligence features announced at WWDC 2024 amount to vaporware, with Apple still having shown no evidence that these actually exist in a functional form.

While Apple has in the past occasionally delayed or canceled software and hardware projects, Gruber is concerned that Apple has marketed its AI future around features that remain concept videos, threatening the company's credibility and perhaps representing deep-seated issues at Apple.

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Apple's annual developer conference is just three months away, and a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that the iOS 19 update that will be unveiled at WWDC 2025 will bring the biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 over a decade ago. macOS will see similar changes, with Apple looking to emphasize a more consistent cross-platform experience with simplified navigation and device control.

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light
While details are light, it appears design changes are "loosely based" on visionOS for Apple Vision Pro, which utilizes a lot of depth and transparency, though the 2D interfaces of more traditional devices won't be able to fully adopt those qualities.

M4 MacBook Air Reviews Are Now Out, Plus Sky Blue Unboxing Videos

Following their introduction last week, Apple's new Mac and iPad models have officially launched, with the list including new MacBook Air and Mac Studio models as well as updated versions of the iPad Air and entry-level iPad.

M4 MacBook Air Processor Pink and Teal
Apple says the M4 MacBook Air, which comes in a new Sky Blue color option, is up to 23x faster than the final Intel-based model from 2020, though only in one specific test. Still, anyone upgrading from a machine several generations old should see significant speed improvements in a variety of day-to-day tasks. For a look at our early impressions of the new MacBook Air, be sure to check out our hands-on video.

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Rumors about the designs for the iPhone 17 family continue to firm up, with a new set of mockups once again showing off the expected designs.

iphone 17 mockups idevicehelp
While the standard iPhone 17 is expected to retain a very similar design to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to see a significant redesign with a much larger camera bump spanning the entire upper rear portion of the devices. The all-new ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" should see a similar but slimmer bump given it only has one rear camera compared to three on the Pro models.

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

The upcoming iOS 18.4 update will include two enhancements that will benefit some CarPlay users: a third row of app icons on certain larger infotainment displays and new EV routing to help Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners find charging stations that use the North American Charging Standard (NACS).

ios 18 4 carplay
On a related front, iOS 18.4 will allow users in the European Union to set their own default navigation app such as Google Maps. The change, made in response to the EU's Digital Markets Act, will be a welcome one for users who prefer not to rely on Apple Maps for navigation.

Apple Introduced Its Most Controversial MacBook 10 Years Ago This Week

Apple announced the infamous 12-inch Retina MacBook a decade ago this week, an experimental new Mac that was as controversial as it was revolutionary.

2016 12 inch macbook feature
Introduced by Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple's "Spring Forward" event on March 9, 2015, as a "reinvention" of the notebook, the MacBook was extremely controversial due to its under-powered performance, single USB-C port for both charging and data transfer, short battery life, unreliable butterfly keyboard, and high price point ($1,299 starting price in 2015—the same as a MacBook Pro at the time).

However, the 12-inch MacBook offered a glimpse at what was to come in the Mac lineup. It was the first Apple device with a USB-C port, terraced battery, butterfly keyboard, and haptic trackpad. It was also the first MacBook with a design focused on efficiency, a Retina display in a non-Pro model, multiple color options, and without a fan or an illuminated Apple logo.

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's "Focus" feature is a powerful tool for cutting down on distractions and interruptions on a per-task basis, but setting up different Focus options takes some time investment and tinkering because there are a lot of features available. We've rounded up a handful of suggestions that may help you get more out of Focus.

iOS 18 Focus Modes Feature

Managing Focus Modes

You'll find the Focus section in the Settings app. Apple has some pre-made Focus options, but you can create custom modes by tapping on the "+" button in the upper right corner. Custom Focus modes are a blank slate, so you can choose your own name, icon, and capabilities.

ios focus modes
We'll go through some of the useful options below, but it is worth tapping through each section to see which functions will work best for your needs.

Silence or Unsilence Specific People

If you're at work and want to silence personal text messages and calls to cut down on distractions, or if you're at home and want to shut out work messages, the best way to do so is to use the people muting feature.

There are two options. You can silence notifications from a list of people that you select, allowing all others, or you can allow notifications from everyone except for the people that you pick.

With either option, you have to add people one by one, and there's no intelligent grouping option that will do it for you. It can take some time, depending on what you want to set up. It's best to choose the option that has the least amount of tapping, so if you're at work, you may want to select colleagues, important family members, and your boss, while turning off notifications from everyone else.

At home, it might make sense to allow all of your notifications to come through except for people from work.

When you "silence" a person with Focus, you still receive the text message, it's just tucked away in a specific section on your Lock Screen and you don't get an audible or haptic ping when the notification comes in.

Select Apps

Similar to silencing people, you can silence or allow notifications from apps for specific Focus modes. You have the same options as you do with people, and Apple will suggest some of your most used apps.

Given that most of us have a whole ton of apps installed, it's almost always best to use the "Allow Notifications From" feature to choose apps that you want to hear from, but there are exceptions. For a home-based Focus mode, if you have a few apps like Mail and Slack that are noisy, you can mute just those while allowing all other apps.

Carefully choosing the apps that can ping you in each Focus mode is one of the best ways to manage distractions.

Apple's pre-configured Do Not Disturb mode silences all apps and people by default if you just want to turn off everything with no hassle.

Using Reduce Interruptions

If you have a device that supports Apple Intelligence, you can turn on a pre-configured "Reduce Interruptions" Focus. It blocks all notifications except for those that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ determines are "priority notifications."

Reduce Interruptions can be customized to expressly allow or silence specific apps and people, and using this feature will override AI-based sorting for those selections. Reduce Interruptions can be a good compromise between all notifications on and Do Not Disturb.

Intelligent Breakthrough and Silencing

The main feature in Reduce Interruptions, Intelligent Breakthrough and Silencing, can actually be applied to any of your custom Focus modes.

Limit App Access with Custom Home Screens

It takes a few extra steps, but Focus modes can be set up to only show you specific apps. Under the Customize Screens option, you can choose a Home Screen page to show when a Focus mode is active.

If you want to only see work apps while at work, you can set up a page with your work apps and then choose that as your main screen for the Focus mode. You can select all of the apps that you want to see, and others will be hidden from view while the Focus is active. Note that the dock stays available regardless with your selected apps, and you can also edit your custom ‌Home Screen‌ later while the Focus is on if you need to make tweaks.

While in a Focus mode, you can still open other apps by swiping over to the App Library, but by default, distractions are hidden from view.

This can be a good way to shut out distracting games and social media apps at certain times of the day as an alternative to Screen Time.

Add Focus Filters

With Focus Filters, you can really drill down into what's available in each of your Focus modes. If you have a work email inbox and a personal email inbox in Mail, you can use filters to block out your personal inbox when you're at work, or your work inbox when you're at home.

There are filters for apps where you might want to split out different accounts, like Safari, Calendar, and Messages. You can filter for specific conversations in Messages, a specific Calendar, or a Tab Group. There are filters for third-party apps, too.

Focus Modes can be linked to system settings that include Always On Display, Dark Mode, Low Power Mode, and Silent Mode, so you can do things like set up a work focus that always activates Silent Mode, or set up a Focus that blocks out all notifications and turns on Low Power Mode.

Scheduling

All Focus modes can be set to activate automatically, so that once you configure them, you don't need to manually turn them on and off. You can activate Focus modes by time of day, your location, or when an app is opened up.

If you want your Work focus on from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., that's an option, but you could also set it up to turn on when you arrive at a specific location or when you open up an app like Slack.

When manually activating a Focus from Control Center, you can select options that will turn it on for an hour, until the evening (or morning), or until you leave a specific location.

Special Focus Modes

Apple has several pre-configured Focus modes that you can't replicate with custom modes because there are unique activation features included.

Sleep

The Sleep Focus is a unique one, because it is tied to Apple Watch sleep tracking. The schedule that you set up for the Sleep Focus determines when your watch tracks your sleep, when your alarm goes off in the morning, and when you get a "Wind Down" notification to prepare for bed.

This is a Focus that's set up when you enable sleep tracking features and set a schedule, but you can edit it like any other Focus to select people and apps that can deliver breakthrough notifications.

Driving

The Driving Focus blocks out all communications by default, and it activates automatically when driving is detected, when your iPhone connects to your car's Bluetooth, or when CarPlay is activated. It can also be set up to turn on manually, and it can be configured to allow notifications from specific people, but not from apps.

Fitness

The Fitness Focus can be set up to activate automatically when a Workout is started on the Apple Watch.

Mindfulness

The Mindfulness Focus turns on when you start a Mindfulness session on the Apple Watch.

Gaming

The Gaming Focus activates when you connect a Bluetooth-based gaming controller to your ‌iPhone‌ or another device.

Reading and Work

The pre-configured Reading and Work Focus modes have a feature called "Smart Activation" that allows them to turn on at specific times of the day based on your location and app usage.

Both of these modes have no apps or people set up to allow by default, so they still need to be further configured or they will work like Do Not Disturb, shutting out everything. These Focus modes can activate based on your location, so if you're at work, you can get the Work Focus to come on automatically when you arrive and turn off when you leave.

Alternatively, you can have these modes activate when you open a specific app, like Books.

By default, Focuses are shared across all devices where you are signed in to your Apple Account. If you turn on Do Not Disturb on your ‌iPhone‌, for example, you are also turning it on for your Mac and your Apple Watch.

If you simply want to silence Focus modes on a single device like your ‌iPhone‌ and not your Mac, you need to turn off the Share Across Devices toggle when setting up the Focus.

On Apple Watch, if you don't want it to mirror your ‌iPhone‌ Focus mode, you can go to General > Focus > and toggle off "Mirror my ‌iPhone‌."

Conclusion

Focus can save you a lot of hassle in the long run, but only if you take the time to set it up properly. It's definitely worth doing if you want to be able to better compartmentalize your digital experiences, shutting out work at home and removing distractions while working.

If you have tips on getting the most out of the Focus feature, make sure to share them in the comments below.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Lululook to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and a Lululook Qi2 3-in-1 Wireless Travel Charger.

lululook 3 in 1 travel charger wireless
Lululook makes a wide range of affordable accessories for all of Apple's devices, including the Apple Watch. The 3-in-1 Wireless Travel Charger, available for $60, has a convenient, folding design and is able to charge the iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch all at once.

The charger supports Qi2 so it is able to charge a compatible MagSafe ‌iPhone‌ at up to 15W, while also fast charging the Apple Watch and charging the AirPods. The charger is able to fold up in thirds and tuck into an included case with a power adapter and cable, all of which fits well into a bag or backpack.

For home use, Lululook offers the $75 Qi2 3-in-1 Charging Station, which has a sleek upright design that doesn't take up too much space on a desk. There's a Qi2 magnetic charger for the ‌iPhone‌, an Apple Watch charger at the back, and an AirPods charging space on the base of the accessory.

lululook 3 in 1 charger
The charger is made from aluminum for a modern look that matches with most home decor, and it comes with a 30W USB-C power adapter and USB-C to USB-C cable.

If you're looking for an Apple Watch band for your Apple Watch Ultra, Lululook has an attractive black titanium band that's available for $100. It's was designed with the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ in mind, and it is made from 99 percent pure titanium.

lululook apple watch ultra band
Lululook says the band provides aviation-grade durability and comfort, with a diamond-like carbon coating for the black color that is scratch resistant and will hold up well during day-to-day use.

We have an ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ and a 3-in-1 Travel Charger for one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prize(s). You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, following us on Threads, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

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The contest will run from today (March 14) at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time through 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on March 21. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after March 21 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

The low-cost iPad that Apple released this week with an A16 chip is able to run Final Cut Pro for ‌iPad‌, according to the Final Cut Pro App Store page.

ipad 10th gen blue
Under compatibility, Final Cut Pro for ‌iPad‌ has been updated to say that it requires iPadOS 17.6 or later "and a device with an M-series or A16 or later chip."

Prior to the release of the ‌iPad‌, the most affordable device that was able to run Final Cut Pro for ‌iPad‌ was the iPad mini with A17 Pro chip, which is priced at $499. The 11th-generation ‌iPad‌ is cheaper, and it provides more screen space for video editing purposes.

With Final Cut Pro available on the ‌iPad‌, there is a much more affordable way for people to access professional video editing software. Affordability is increased thanks to the option to pay for Final Cut Pro on a monthly basis, with Apple charging $4.99 per month for access.

While Final Cut Pro runs on the ‌iPad‌, there are some features that are limited to iPads with more powerful chips and more advanced functions, such as recording in ProRes and editing video timelines with Apple Pencil hover.

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