Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro and Headset Rumors, CES 2023, Dark Sky Shutdown, and More

2023 is here, and Apple rumors are already flying about this year's iPhone 15 lineup, the long-rumored mixed-reality headset and more.

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This week is also the annual CES event in Las Vegas where all sorts of companies are showing off their latest products, while the first of the year saw Apple finally shut down the much-loved Dark Sky weather app it acquired back in 2020. Read on for all the details on these stories and more from the past week!

iPhone 15 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Titanium Frame, Taptic Buttons, Increased RAM, and More

Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will have several new features, including a titanium frame, solid-state buttons with haptic feedback, and more RAM, according to analyst Jeff Pu.

iPhone 15 Pro Blue Feature
The solid-state volume and power buttons would be similar to the Home button on the latest iPhone SE. Instead of physically moving, two new Taptic Engines would simulate the feeling of the buttons being pressed.

Apple's AR/VR Headset Said to Feature Digital Crown, Waist-Mounted Battery Pack, and More

Apple's mixed-reality headset will feature a physical dial for switching to a view of the real world, a waist-mounted battery pack, small motors to automatically adjust the internal lenses, and much more, according to a report this week from The Information.

apple mixed reality headset mockup feature orange
The headset is expected to be announced in 2023, with analyst Ming-Chi Kuo saying this week that Apple is likely to reveal it at a spring media event or at WWDC in June as continued development delays have pushed back mass production to late in the second quarter or into the third quarter of this year.

CES Video Roundup: Hyper Find My Backpack, Nanoleaf 4D TV Kit, Withings U-Scan, and More

MacRumors is at CES 2023 in Las Vegas this week for a hands-on look at all of the new Apple-related devices and accessories being announced.

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We've shared video recaps of the first, second, and third days at CES 2023, offering a closer look at new products like Hyper's backpack and Ember's travel mug with support for Apple's Find My app, an iPhone-connected urine reader from Withings, and other interesting finds on the show floor.

Apple Shuts Down Popular Weather App 'Dark Sky'

As planned, Apple has shut down popular weather app Dark Sky. The app had already been removed from the App Store in September and it stopped functioning for existing users on January 1.

dark sky hand
Apple acquired Dark Sky in March 2020 and it has since incorporated many of the app's features into the preinstalled Weather app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Earlier this month, Apple shared a support document with information on how Dark Sky users can use the Weather app.

AMD Claims Its New Laptop Chip is 30% Faster Than M1 Pro

At CES this week, AMD claimed that its new Ryzen 9 7940HS chip for Windows laptops is up to 34% faster than Apple's M1 Pro chip available in the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

amd event m1 pro
While it appears that Apple silicon competition is increasing, it is worth noting that Apple introduced the M1 Pro chip around 14 months ago and that AMD did not offer a comparison to Apple's faster M1 Max chip.

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Top Rated Comments

socialwill Avatar
29 months ago
The Dark Sky shutdown still stings.

While Apple weather is better, I miss the ease of use and ability to see the global animation of weather several days into the future that Dark Sky had. Too bad they just could not leave the data source on.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
29 months ago
The fun part of AMDs presentation was that the CES AV techs were running it on M1 MacBooks.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
phenste Avatar
29 months ago
my brain might actually explode the next time I see one of the same two Apple headset “renders” that we’ve been seeing for almost two years

(if you think that’s an overstatement: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/04/apple-mixed-reality-headset-features-report/)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anthogag Avatar
29 months ago
Apple could change iPhone “Pro” to ”Ultra”. Too many other businesses are using “Pro”; it is now ridiculous.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JimmyHook Avatar
29 months ago

It matters to a certain point. It matters a lot if you're talking 4 hours versus 8. It hardly matters if you're talking 14 hours versus 16. I think it's pretty safe to say that most people charge their devices daily.

I'm not really up to speed on today's PC laptop specs, so I did a quick search and found this article ('https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/all-day-strong-longest-lasting-notebooks') on laptops with the best battery life. Apple's 13" M2 MacBook Pro comes in at 18:20 of battery life. The Dell Latitude comes in at 18:17. Yes, MacBooks have impressive battery life. And so do plenty of PCs these days.
The Dell Latitude “achieved” that by having a display with a paltry 1920 x 1080 resolution and only 150 nits. That’s pathetic. You won’t find a PC that can match brightness, resolution, and maintain that level of battery life.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JamesHolden Avatar
29 months ago

Where the M1 excels is efficiency: performance with low power. There are plenty of x86 chips that are more powerful than an M1, but they achieve this by using far more energy. I don’t see energy usage in AMD’s charts.
Because a lot of people don't care about energy usage. They are only interested in performance.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)