Top Stories: New Battery Percentage Icon in iOS 16, USB-C AirPods Rumor, and More

This week brought some shocking news for iOS 16 beta testers, with Apple bringing back the iPhone battery percentage to the status bar after a number of years.

top stories 13aug2022
Other news and rumors this week included word that Apple has started recording portions of its media event planned for next month to introduce the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8, claims about iPhone 14 Pro pricing and Apple's plans for switching AirPods over to USB-C charging, and more, so read on for all the details on these stories and more!

iOS 16 Beta 5 Adds Battery Percentage to iPhone Status Bar

Five years after Apple introduced the iPhone X with a notch, and relegated the battery percentage indicator to Control Center, Apple has finally added the battery percentage back to the iPhone's status bar in the fifth developer beta of iOS 16 released earlier this week.

iOS 16 battery percentage
The new battery icon is available on most iPhone models with a notch. The battery percentage appears within the battery icon to save space, but not everyone is a fan of this design.

Check out our list of everything new in iOS 16 beta 5 for other new features and changes in the beta. Apple also released new betas for iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16.

Apple Reportedly Preparing Pre-Recorded iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 Event

It appears that Apple's annual iPhone event won't be a fully in-person event again this year, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this week claimed that Apple has started to produce a pre-recorded video for the event. It's possible that Apple will still invite media to the event for in-person hands-on demos with new products.

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Unsurprisingly, Apple will likely unveil its iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 product lineups at the September event, and at least five other products are expected to be announced this year.

iPhone 14 Pro Models Rumored to Be More Expensive

Apple plans to increase the prices of iPhone 14 Pro models compared to iPhone 13 Pro models, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iPhone 14 Pro Lineup Feature Purple
While higher prices would be disappointing for customers, research firm TrendForce predicted that iPhone 14 Pro models could start with 256GB of storage, compared to 128GB for iPhone 13 Pro models. Pricing for iPhone 13 Pro models currently starts at $999 in the United States.

Two New Connectors Rumored for Next-Generation iPad Pro

The next-generation iPad Pro will feature the same design as the current model, but with two new four-pin connectors on the top and bottom, according to a report from Japanese website Mac Otakara.

iPad Pro Big Ol Logo Orange
Apple is expected to release new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with M2 chips and support for MagSafe wireless charging later this year — possibly alongside the delayed release of iPadOS 16 in October.

USB-C AirPods Expected to Launch in 2023

Apple plans to switch to USB-C charging cases for all AirPods models in 2023, but the second-generation AirPods Pro launching later this year may still have a Lightning charging case, according to a recent tweet from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

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Kuo also expects the iPhone 15 to switch to USB-C in 2023, along with several accessories, such as the MagSafe Battery Pack and the Magic Mouse.

'It's Time for Apple to Fix Texting' Says New Android Website

Google's Android team has launched a new "Get the Message" website that again calls on Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services (RCS) alongside iMessage in the Messages app on iPhone.

android apple fix rcs
Google has been pushing Apple to switch from SMS to RCS for months now, with no response from Apple. RCS would allow for read receipts, audio messages, and more for conversations between iPhones and Android smartphones.

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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.

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Top Rated Comments

alexe Avatar
35 months ago
You know much the innovation around the iPhone has slowed down when a new battery status icon is one of the most discussed topics ?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Akzel Avatar
35 months ago
The slow death of the lightning connector is too slow. USB-C all the things ASAP.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3xBoom Avatar
35 months ago
"...shocking news..."? Whatever you are, guys, smoking, you better lay off that...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3530025 Avatar
35 months ago

USBC is delicate trash and harder to align than lightning.
I would honestly like to see what you are doing with the USB-C connector having these issues...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Karma*Police Avatar
35 months ago

You know much the innovation around the iPhone has slowed down when a new battery status icon is one of the most discussed topics ?
Everything old is new again... bringing back a 20 year old MBP design, MagSafe, iPod commercials for AirPods, iPhone 4 in a bigger form factor, etc.

Apple has taken on Tim’s slow, methodical, risk-averse personality and it shows. It takes years for people’s perception of things to change, and I think people are finally starting realize that Apple is no longer the innovative force they were under Jobs, but rather, what’s known in the industry as a slow follower.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1557750 Avatar
35 months ago
So… rinse and repeat
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)