MacRumors

Apple staff met with Chinese officials in recent months to discuss concerns over new rules that will restrict Apple from offering many foreign apps currently available in its China App Store, according to a new paywalled Wall Street Journal report.

China already blocks the websites of many popular Western social media apps like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp, but iPhone users in China can still download the apps from Apple's ‌App Store‌ if they use an unauthorized VPN that connects them to an internet server outside the country. China banned VPN services from the ‌App Store‌ in 2017.

The five social media apps named above have been downloaded from Apple's ‌App Store‌ more than 170 million times in China over the last decade, according to estimates by Sensor Tower.

According to the report, Chinese officials told Apple staff that it must strictly implement rules banning unregistered foreign apps, thereby closing a loophole allowing Chinese ‌iPhone‌ users to download them.

Under new rules issued in July by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Apple will no longer be able to offer such apps in its China ‌App Store‌ from next July unless the app operators are registered with the government. The new rules affect both foreign and domestic app distributors, and aren't specifically targeting Apple.

However, the operators are unlikely to register with the Chinese government, since doing so would force them to comply with data transfer and censorship requirements. Such a scenario would leave Apple with no choice but to remove them or face legal sanctions.

Investors are said to be concerned about how the new rules will affect Apple's services bottom line, which includes ‌App Store‌ transactions. Apple is also said to be concerned about issues the company could face in implementing the rules, such as whether users in China who access foreign apps through its overseas app stores would be able to continue to do so.

According to the report, Apple was told during the recent discussions that the new rules are needed to crack down on online scams, pornography, and the circulation of information that violates China's censorship rules.

China has recently banned government officials from using iPhones and other foreign smartphones for work or from bringing such devices to their government offices, and earlier this month the ban was expanded to multiple state agencies and state companies, highlighting China's renewed attempts to block foreign technology.

China is an important market for Apple, with the region accounting for about a fifth of its sales. Most of Apple's manufacturing base remains in the country, despite the company's efforts in recent years to diversify its supply chain to places like Vietnam and India.

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.

It is typical for Apple to hold up to four events per year: one in the spring, WWDC in June, the fall iPhone event, and a fourth fall event that's Mac and/or iPad focused. Unfortunately, there are few additional product announcements planned for the final months of 2023, and it's looking like there won't be another fall event this year.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman told The MacRumors Show hosts that he does not expect Apple to hold an October event because the company does not have enough new products and features to justify it. Major new ‌iPad‌ and Mac launches are not expected until 2024, suggesting it will be a slow holiday season for Apple outside of the ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch.

There is a possibility that we will see at least one iPad unveiled in October, perhaps an iPad mini, an iPad Air, or an 11th-generation low-cost ‌iPad‌, but these will be minor refreshes. iPad Pro models with OLED displays and M3 chips won't be coming until 2024.

We could also see at least one Mac with a new M3 chip, and this could be a MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, a Mac mini, or a 24-inch iMac. Gurman said that if these products do come out in 2023, Apple is likely to unveil them via press release rather than with an event.

While Gurman believes M3 Macs could come out in 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said recently that Apple will not launch new MacBook models with M3 processors before the end of the year, which may narrow down any M3 Mac releases to desktop models.

Apple did not hold an October event last year, but there were October events in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021.

Following in the footsteps of Netflix, Disney will start cracking down on password sharing on the Disney+ streaming service. Disney+ password sharing will end in Canada starting on November 1, according to emails that Canadian subscribers are receiving.

As reported by Mobile Syrup, Disney is updating its terms of service to restrict account sharing.

"Unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier, you may not share your subscription outside of your household. "Household" means the collection of devices associated with your primary personal residence that are used by the individuals who reside therein. Additional usage rules may apply for certain Service Tiers.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said back in August that Disney would "roll out tactics" to end password sharing starting in 2024, but it appears the crackdown will come sooner in Canada.

Disney's streaming division experienced a $512 million loss in the third fiscal quarter of 2023, and Iger has been aiming to cut down on the company's streaming costs. Disney's ad-free Disney+ and Hulu plans also recently went up in price, with ad-free Disney+ priced at $13.99 per month in the United States and ad-free Hulu priced at $17.99 per month.

While Disney plans to put a stop to password sharing in Canada first, it is undoubtedly a change that will also roll out to the United States and other countries. Netflix this year eliminated password sharing between households, implementing restrictions through IP address and location. Netflix saw a notable increase in signups when it eliminated password sharing, so it is not a surprise to see other streaming services implementing similar crackdowns.

Back in 2020, Microsoft considered selling its Bing search engine to Apple, reports Bloomberg. Had the acquisition happened, Bing would have replaced Google as the default search engine on Apple devices.

Microsoft executives met up with Apple services chief Eddy Cue to discuss a potential deal, but the talks were just exploratory and did not progress. According to Bloomberg, Apple did not move forward with a deal because of the money that it earns from Google and because it was concerned that Bing could not compete with Google in "quality and capabilities."

Google's search engine has long been the default search engine on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year for the privilege. Google and Apple last inked a deal in 2021, facilitated by Cue, and as of 2020, Apple was collecting $4 billion and $7 billion annually from Google. The Apple/Google deal has been under scrutiny this week due to the antitrust trial between Google and the U.S Department of Justice, with the DoJ pointing toward Google's dominance on Apple devices as evidence that Google has a search engine monopoly.

‌Eddy Cue‌ this week had to testify in the trial, and he explained why Google is the ‌iPhone‌'s default search engine. "We make Google be the default search engine because we've always thought it was the best," Cue said. He went on to say that Apple has not gone with another search engine provider because there is no "valid alternative."

While Google is the default search engine on Apple devices, users can choose to swap to Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia as an alternative. Bing has recently become a more popular search engine option thanks to Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI and the integration of chatbot technology.

Apple added a USB-C port to the iPhone 15 lineup this year, allowing it to work with USB-C cables, USB-C power banks, and more. It turns out that some USB-C battery packs are not working properly with Apple's ‌iPhone 15‌, resulting in charging issues.

As highlighted on Reddit and the MacRumors forums, not all existing USB-C power banks can be used with the ‌iPhone 15‌ models, perhaps due to the iPhone's reverse charging feature. In some cases, the ‌iPhone 15‌ will fail to charge, or the ‌iPhone 15‌ will charge the power bank.

A range of different power banks are affected, and because of the wide number of them on the market, it is impossible to list the models that are non-functional. One version that fails to work is the Anker PowerCore Slim 10K PD, and a customer who contacted Anker was told that the only way to get the power bank to charge the ‌iPhone‌ is to use the USB-A port.

It seems that due to the iPhone 15 series' reverse charging function, the USB C's port charging of Anker PowerCore Slim 10k PD will be influenced, which does not have a solution currently. The only way to get your iPhone charged is to use the USB A port.

Anker will do more tests on all of our power banks to see whether this is the issue with certain power banks and try to get a solution.

The ‌iPhone 15‌ models are able to charge an Apple Watch, AirPods, or another ‌iPhone‌ through the USB-C port, and there is a possibility that this functionality is what's impacting some power banks. Most USB-C power banks with Power Delivery seem to be working as intended, including a number of models tested by MacRumors, but ‌iPhone 15‌ owners should be aware that some could be incompatible.

Reddit this week announced that it will no longer allow Reddit users to opt out of ad personalization, which means that ads on the platform will be targeted based on site usage.

Right now, users can choose to toggle off an option to "personalize ads based on your Reddit activity and account info," but this toggle is being removed going forward. Reddit claims that it requires "very little personal information" and the change will be able to predict ads that are more relevant to each person.

Reddit requires very little personal information, and we like it that way. Our advertisers instead rely on on-platform activity--what communities you join, leave, upvotes, downvotes, and other signals--to get an idea of what you might be interested in.

The vast majority of redditors will see no change to their ads on Reddit. For users who previously opted out of personalization based on Reddit activity, this change will not result in seeing more ads or sharing on-platform activity with advertisers. It does enable our models to better predict which ad may be most relevant to you.

Reddit claims that the "vast majority" of Reddit users will not see changes to their ads, nor will users be seeing more ads. With no option to opt-out of ad personalization, Reddit is adding new toggles to limit ads from specific categories, including Alcohol, Dating, Gambling, Pregnancy & Parenting, and Weight Loss. Machine learning will be used to classify ads, so users will not be able to opt out of these ad categories entirely.

In select countries, the option to turn off ad personalization will remain, allowing Reddit to continue to comply with GDPR restrictions. Reddit users without the option to turn off ad targeting can expect to see ads that are based on subreddits they belong to, content that is upvoted, and more.

Reddit earlier this year made changes to the cost of its API, cutting out almost all third-party apps and forcing the majority of users to view Reddit on the website or on the Reddit app, both of which support ads.

Reddit says that these ad changes started rolling out yesterday.

Epic Games, the company behind popular video game Fortnite, is laying off 830 employees or approximately 16 percent of its workforce. The layoffs come amid Epic's ongoing legal battle with Apple, which started way back in 2020.

Just this week, ‌Epic Games‌ asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, a request that follows two major losses and likely hundreds of thousands or more in legal fees. ‌Epic Games‌ has been trying to paint Apple as a monopolist, and it wants to be able to sell digital skins and other goods to Apple customers without having to pay a cut to Apple.

As a result of the legal dispute, Fortnite has been unavailable from Apple's App Stores for several years now, and those who want to play the game on the iPhone or iPad must seek alternate means to do so, such as web-based platforms.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney in a memo sent out to employees and shared on the company's website said that it has been "spending way more money" than it earns to grow Fortnite, and other efforts to cut costs have "ended up far short of financial sustainability."

Sweeney says that layoffs are the only way to stabilize the company's finances. Employees will be provided with severance that includes six months of base pay and six months of paid healthcare.

As for the fight against Apple, Sweeney claims that ‌Epic Games‌ is taking steps to cut down on legal expenses, but will continue on with its legal battles so the "metaverse can thrive and bring opportunity to Epic and all other developers."

Alongside the launch of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, Apple has updated its iCloud website with design changes and some of the new features that came in the software updates.

Apple says that the ‌iCloud‌ homepage is now customizable, with options to select specific folders for Notes, a specific mailbox in the Mail app, favorite Photos, and more. Tiles are now interactive, so you can do things like mark a Reminder as complete or archive an email, plus there are browser notifications that can be set up for ‌iCloud‌ apps.

Apple has also redesigned Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, and iCloud Drive. The full release notes for the new version of the ‌iCloud‌ website are below.

General

Customize What You See in Tiles
Choose a specific folder for Notes, a mailbox for Mail, display just your favorite Photos, and more. You can also configure your homepage to show multiple layouts of the same tile so you can see more content from your favorite apps. Access layout options in the menu in the lower-left corner of a tile.

Quick Actions From Tiles
Mark reminders as complete, flag an email, see a preview of a file in Drive, and more. Perform actions from tiles by hovering on content and selecting to reveal quick actions. If you're on a touch device, swipe to the left.

Browser Notifications
Get notified of new email or event invitations and updates with browser notifications on a PC for Mail and Calendar. You can configure browser notifications in iCloud Settings on the web.

Updated Design
New design and layouts across Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, Drive, and more.

iCloud Mail

Attach from iCloud
Attach photos and files to email messages directly from iCloud.

Undo Send
Easily unsend an email message that you just sent before it reaches the recipient's inbox.

iCloud Calendar

Calendar Identity Control
Control the email address others see in event invitations and even use your Custom Email Domain to unite your Calendar and Mail identities. Manage it all from iCloud Calendar settings.

iCloud Drive

List View
Switch between viewing your files as icons or in as a list with the toggle in the upper left corner.

Preview Your Files
Press the Space bar after selecting a file or photo to get a quick preview before opening or downloading it. You can also access quick view through the options menu.

Access File Options
Easily access actions like renaming a file or downloading a copy through the options menu.

iCloud Photos

Memories
See your Memories and play them in a full-screen view by clicking on the memory.

Slideshow
To view your selection in a slideshow, select Play Slideshow from the menu in the upper right corner.

Notes

Linked Notes
Create links to other notes by typing >> or Command + K as a shortcut to add links while writing in your note.

Shared Folders
Collaborate with others on an entire folder of notes.

Enhanced Search
Use suggested search to refine your search against categories like shared notes, checklists, tags and more.

Reminders

Customize Your Reminders
Add dates, locations, flags, and more using the edit details button.

Apple's ‌iCloud‌ website is available at iCloud.com on any web browser, and it is particularly useful to those who are on a PC and may not otherwise have access to their ‌iCloud‌ content on the machine.

(Thanks, Tim!)

Apple today seeded the first public beta of an upcoming macOS Sonoma 14.1 update, allowing non-developers to test out the software ahead of its release. The public beta comes a day after the first developer beta.

Beta testers can opt-in through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. Under Beta updates, simply toggle on the Sonoma Public Beta. Note that you must sign up to participate on Apple's beta testing website.

macOS Sonoma 14.1 includes updates for the Music app, introducing an option to favorite songs, albums, artists, and more. No other major new additions have been found in the beta as of yet, but we could see more features added as the beta progresses.

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1 updates to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to try out the software ahead of its release. The public iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1 betas come a day after Apple released the betas for developers.

Public beta testers can get the beta by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the ‌iOS 17 or iPadOS 17‌ Public Beta. Signing up on Apple's beta testing website is required.

In the iOS 17.1 beta, Apple added an option to favorite songs, albums, playlists, artists, and more, from within Apple Music and through the Now Playing widget.

AirDrop transfers can now be finished over the internet after being initiated, and when you activate the flashlight, there's an indicator in the Dynamic Island even if you don't have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max. For more on what's new in the update, we have an iOS 17.1 beta 1 tidbits article.

Apple has also released a new beta of tvOS 17.1 with the same ‌Apple Music‌ changes, plus there is a public beta of watchOS 10.1 available for public beta testers. watchOS 10.1 enables NameDrop on Apple Watch for sharing contact information with other Apple Watch and iPhone users over AirDrop.

Just a day after Epic Games appealed one portion of its legal dispute with Apple to the U.S. Supreme Court, Apple has now done the same for the portion that was ruled in Epic's favor, reports Bloomberg.

The dispute between Apple and Epic dates back to 2020 with Epic seeking to overturn Apple's App Store rules requiring content purchases within iOS apps to go through Apple, which takes a 15% to 30% cut of the revenue.

In multiple rounds of the dispute, Apple has won on every count with the exception of one regarding Apple's "anti-steering" rule that bars developers of many iOS apps from directing users to methods of purchase available outside of the ‌App Store‌, circumventing Apple's revenue cut.

Apple had said it was considering appealing the ruling over its anti-steering provision to the Supreme Court, and back in July a judge ruled that Apple did not have to make changes to its policies pending the potential appeal, which has now been filed.

The Supreme Court will decide in the coming months whether it will hear either or both of Epic's and Apple's appeals, but if it does not take up either petition, the previous rulings will stand. Apple would be able to continue to disallow third-party payment processing within apps but would have to allow developers to inform users about other purchasing options outside of the ‌App Store‌.

Apple added a new feature to the Apple Music app in the first beta of iOS 17.1 that offers a selection of color-matched playlist artwork options for the first time.

As of beta one, Apple provides eight different artwork styles featuring geometric shapes and gradients, with the title of the playlist in the top left corner. The colors used in the artwork are picked from the album artwork of whatever song is first in the playlist. The default artwork continues to be the tiled album artwork of the first four songs in a playlist and the ability to choose a custom image from Photos or Files remains.

Previously, users had to keep the basic tiled image or upload a custom image. Since not all users have custom graphics or photos they want to use for playlists and the default artwork is relatively simple, playlists can be difficult to identify and look fairly generic. Now, users can quickly and easily set a unique appearance for each playlist that fits in with ‌Apple Music‌'s UI.

Other ‌Apple Music‌ changes and improvements in iOS 17.1 include favoriting songs from the Lock Screen and suggested songs in playlists. The ability for multiple users to collaborate on and add to the same playlist and ‌Apple Music‌ SharePlay for CarPlay are also expected to be added in a future update. iOS 17.1 introduces a host of new features, including NameDrop to Apple Watch, UK bank balances in the Wallet app, and more.

B&H Photo today has all-time low prices on a few models of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, with as much as $300 off these notebooks. All three MacBook Pro devices on sale include free two-day shipping, and B&H Photo notes that these sale prices will end later tonight.

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

Starting with the 10-Core M2 Pro/512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro, this model is available for $1,749.00, down from $1,999.00. Both the Silver and Space Gray are on sale at this price, which is a match of the all-time low price on this model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

B&H Photo also has the 12-Core M2 Pro/1TB 14-inch MacBook Pro for $2,199.00, down from $2,499.00. This one is only available in Space Gray, and it's another match of a record low price on the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Lastly, you can get the 12-Core M2 Max/1TB 14-inch MacBook Pro for $2,799.00, down from $3,099.00. This model is again only available in Space Gray, and at $300 off it's an all-time low price. As of writing, all of these discounts can only be found on B&H Photo.

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.

iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max overheating concerns continue to make headlines this week, with the topic highlighted by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Both of the reports document anecdotal complaints from customers, and outline potential causes, but it's unclear how many devices are actually affected. Bloomberg said the overheating could be caused or compounded by the iPhone's setup process, suggesting that the higher temperatures might sometimes be a temporary condition.

The Wall Street Journal quoted a customer who felt his iPhone 15 Pro Max remained hotter than his iPhone 13 Pro Max a few days after setting up the device:

Thomas Galvin, a 23-year-old from Cleveland, says his iPhone 15 Pro Max has been "super hot" and that he is considering returning it. Apple customer support told him the heat was a result of setting up the new phone, but even a few days later, it is still "way worse than the iPhone 13 Pro Max," he said.

The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern said her iPhone 15 Pro Max did heat up while charging and performing processor-intensive tasks, such as gaming, but she said her iPhone 14 Pro Max reached similar temperatures in the same test. During typical everyday usage, Stern said the temperature of both devices was in a normal range. Many customers on social media have also said their iPhone 15 Pro is not experiencing any overheating, and the lack of hard data makes it unclear if there is a widespread problem.

On Wednesday, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the titanium frame on iPhone 15 Pro models negatively impacts thermal efficiency. Kuo believes that Apple will likely address the issue through software updates, but he said improvements may be limited unless Apple lowers the performance of the A17 Pro chip.

Apple has not commented on the concerns, and it's unclear if the company will actually make any software optimizations in future iOS updates.

An Apple-acquired company now renamed "Apple Payments Services" is likely behind the new UK-exclusive Apple Wallet features in iOS 17.1, potentially hinting that Apple has plans to launch additional financial services in the country.

Last year, Apple acquired Credit Kudos, a UK open banking startup that sought to help lenders make better decisions. MacRumors has now learned that Apple filed to change the name of Credit Kudos to Apple Payments Services Limited in July. "Credit Kudos" is now simply a trading name of Apple Payments Services.

Credit Kudos offered insights and scores based on loan applications drawn from transaction and loan outcome banking data, sourced by the UK's open banking framework. The ability to see account balances directly in Apple Wallet is a new UK-exclusive feature in iOS 17.1, powered by the country's regulated open banking API. Since Credit Kudos' expertise focused on UK open banking, it seems highly likely that last year's acquisition is behind the new feature.

It is not clear what Apple has planned for Credit Kudos' technology in the future, but it is almost certain that it extends beyond balance visibility in Apple Wallet, especially considering Apple paid £131 million ($170 million) for the company in March 2022. The relatively recent decision to rename the company to Apple Payments Services similarly suggests that the company's work is ongoing. MacRumors understands that 31 employees left Credit Kudos following Apple's acquisition, but a team of over a dozen employees, as well as co-founder and CEO Freddy Kelly, remain at the company.

Credit Kudos's API offered lenders a way to get faster, automated decision-making about loans with reduced risk and higher rates of acceptance. It is therefore plausible that the company's technology could aid Apple with the launch of Apple Card in the UK. The UK is among Apple's most important markets, with the country possessing the largest number of Apple Stores outside the United States and China, and new features and services are often first to reach the UK after launching in the U.S.

Apple's main credit product, ‌Apple Card‌, is available exclusively in the United States. It is possible that Apple could modify Credit Kudos's technology to work with the U.S.'s growing open banking sector to strengthen ‌Apple Card‌'s credit checker, but Apple could also use it to credit check ‌Apple Card‌ applications in the UK directly since Credit Kudos is a licensed credit reference agency.

Credit markets and financial regulation vary massively in countries around the world, so it would not be straightforward for Apple to launch ‌Apple Card‌ internationally. Apple would likely need to seek specific solutions to make lending decisions in each country, so it seems plausible that Credit Kudos could be the chosen credit checking platform for the UK.

Following the success of ‌Apple Card‌ in the U.S., it could make sense for Apple to expand into overseas markets. While visiting Germany in 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed his interest in launching ‌Apple Card‌ internationally.

Apple often acquires smaller businesses to bolster its technologies and expertise without obviously or immediately rolling it into a product or service. On the other hand, many acquisitions do go on to be key parts of Apple's ecosystem. In recent years, Apple has acquired businesses such as Shazam, a music recognition service, and Drive.ai, an autonomous vehicles company. Acquired apps such as Dark Sky and Workflow were folded into or became new Apple apps. Specialized classical music streaming service Primephonic is one of the latest companies to be integrated into existing Apple products, becoming the Apple Music Classical app.

MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera picked up a new iPhone 15 Pro Max on launch day, and he spent the last four days using it non-stop to give MacRumors readers an idea of how the new iPhone experience is going and his first thoughts on the features Apple added this year.

There have been complaints about the new ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models getting too hot, but other than a heat issue when using an uncertified USB-C cable to connect to CarPlay, Dan hasn't run into trouble and he hasn't seen overheating problems. The same is true for the rest of us at MacRumors - our iPhones appear to be functioning as intended and running cool following the initial setup and syncing period.

With the switch to titanium, Apple lowered the weight of the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models, plus added contoured edges that are much more comfortable to hold. Dan says that this is one of the most notable changes for him, and it makes picking up an iPhone 14 or ‌iPhone‌ 13 downright uncomfortable.

Battery life has been solid, but the Action Button is a work in progress and it can take some time to figure out what's most useful. We'll have a dedicated Action Button video coming sometime in the near future.

As for the camera, it's unsurprisingly pretty great. 24-megapixel photos make a difference, and the 5x Telephoto lens is an improvement over the prior 3x version. We're also planning an in-depth camera comparison, so stay tuned for that.

Make sure to watch Dan's full video, and if you have one of the new ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models, let us know what you think in the comments below.

Last week, Apple launched the all-new AirPods Pro 2 with the USB-C/MagSafe Charging Case. At the same time, we began tracking the first ever discount on the earbuds, and over the past day or two that $49 markdown is back at Amazon.

Note: 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.

You can get the new model of the AirPods Pro 2 for $199.99, down from $249.00. Given that the accessory isn't even a week old yet, this is the best deal we've seen so far, and Amazon provides an estimated delivery date of late September/early October.

There are a few minor changes to the AirPods Pro 2 besides the addition of USB-C, including additional dust resistance and support for lossless audio with the Vision Pro headset. Apple doesn't sell the USB-C/MagSafe Charging Case separately, so if you want USB-C support you'll have to purchase a full new set of earbuds.

Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.

Update: This deal has now expired. If the AirPods Pro 2 return to $199.99, we'll be sure to update this article again.

Update 2: The $199.99 sale price briefly reappeared this afternoon, but has once again expired. If you don't see the deal on Amazon, be sure to check back later, as it could return later in the day.

Update 3: As of the morning of September 28, the price continues to fluctuate at Amazon, so keep checking and grab a pair whenever it's dropped to $199.99 if you're interested.

Former Apple designer Jony Ive and OpenAI's Sam Altman are in advanced talks with SoftBank's Masayoshi Son to launch a $1 billion venture to build "the iPhone of artificial intelligence," according to the Financial Times. The news follows a report on Wednesday that claimed Ive and Altman are in discussions about creating an AI gadget.

According to FT, Altman wants Ive's design agency LoveFrom to help develop the ChatGPT creator's first consumer device. From the paywalled report:

Altman and Ive have held brainstorming sessions at the designer's San Francisco studio about what a new consumer product centered on OpenAI's technology would look like, the people said.

They hope to create a more natural and intuitive user experience for interacting with AI, in the way that the iPhone's innovations in touchscreen computing unleashed the mass-market potential of the mobile internet.

The process of identifying a design or device remains at an early stage with many different ideas on the table, they said.

Son, Softbank's founder and CEO, has been involved in some of the discussions, which have centered around creating a company drawing from Softbank, Altman's OpenAI, and Ive's LoveFrom design agency.

Son is said to be pitching a central role for British chip designer Arm, in which the Japanese conglomerate holds a 90% stake. Son is also offering $1 billion investment in the venture, according to the report.

Ive is said to have been concerned about the compulsive nature of smartphone users' behavior, and the designer sees the project as an opportunity to create a way of interacting with computers that is less reliant on screens.

Discussions are said to be "serious," but no deal has been agreed, and it could be several months before any official announcement, cautioned people with knowledge of the matter. Any resulting device would likely remain years away from launching.

Ive left Apple to begin LoveFrom in 2019, recruiting at least four of his former Apple colleagues to work with him at the firm, including Wan Si, Chris Wilson, Patch Kessler, and Jeff Tiller.