MacRumors: Server Updates, Site Support, Contributions
New Database Server
If you haven't noticed already, the site has been handling increased user loads very well over the past 4-5 days. We've successfully migrated to three servers at this time. MacRumors' front page, forums and database now reside on individual dedicated servers.
This will provide much needed horsepower to allow lively discussion during the most amazing and disappointing Apple announcements.
As well, we've developed a dramatically improved Keynote webcasting system to be able to handle very large user loads with much more frequent updates.
How to Support MacRumors
While our servers were struggling with the increasing popularity of the site, many users asked how they could help support the site. Here are the primary ways to support MacRumors and Forums.
Spreading the Word
As counterintuitive as it may seem due to the recent server loads, we still actively encourage you to continue to spread the word about this site. The forums will continue to be upgraded to handle any additional load required.
We would ask those with blogs/websites to actively link to MacRumors and our associated sites. The ongoing success of the site depends on interested users.
Participate
Join the forums, post questions, comments and answers. We also have active SETI and Folding distributed computing teams which would be happy to get any further assistance.
New Shop Links
New shop links to popular Mac-related stores are now provided near the top of the forums. These shop links provide quick links to popular online vendors such as Amazon and MacMall.
Members are encouraged to regularly utilize and refer others to these sponsored links to support ongoing costs.
Subscriptions
Based on user requests, the site subscription/contribution system is back in place. Registered forum users can contribute to the site through the Paid Subscriptions link found in the User Control Panel. Cost of the contribution for $25/year and provides users with an ad-free MacRumors front page as well as access to private forums. Currently payment is only accepted via PayPal/Credit Card.
Popular Stories
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones.
Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3.
Notification Summary Changes
Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries
Apple Intelligence...
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes.
While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner.
Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri ...
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today.
A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device.
The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes.
The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.
On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models.
...
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch.
In each of the past four years, ...
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year.
Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...
