MacRumors

Apple is planning to eliminate social media support advisor roles across Twitter, YouTube, and the Apple Support Community website starting later this year, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. When this change takes effect, customers will no longer be able to receive support from an Apple employee on these platforms.

Starting October 1, the @AppleSupport account on Twitter will no longer provide human replies to customers who send direct messages, one of the sources said. Instead, the source indicated that customers who message the account will receive an automated reply outlining other ways that they can contact Apple to receive assistance.

In addition, the sources said Apple will no longer provide technical assistance to customers in the comments section of YouTube videos uploaded to the Apple Support channel, and the paid Community Specialist role will be eliminated for the Apple Support Community, an online discussion forum where customers can receive help.

Apple is offering hundreds of affected employees the opportunity to transition to a phone-based support role in the company, but some advisors are unable to or unwilling to make the switch, the sources said. Apple is not allowing employees to switch to another chat-based support role in the company unless medically necessary, which has caused anger and frustration for some members of the social media team, one of the sources said.

Employees will receive training to provide phone support, and the transition is expected to be completed by November, one source said. They added that those who do not wish to work on the phones were told they would need to explore work outside of Apple.

Apple has offered customer support on Twitter since 2016. Last year, the social media platform was controversially acquired by billionaire Elon Musk, and it has since been renamed to X. In a meeting with employees this week, the sources said Apple justified its plans by explaining that many customers prefer phone-based support.

Apple did not immediately respond to our requests for comment. This story will be updated if Apple provides any information.

With macOS Sonoma, Apple is introducing aerial wallpapers and screensavers that are similar to the aerial screensavers available on the Apple TV. In the latest macOS Sonoma beta that came out today, there are more than 100 new options to choose from.

Many of the videos are taken directly from tvOS, and they are organized into categories that include Landscape, Cityscape, Underwater, and Earth. Prior to today, there were a handful of options in each category, but now there are dozens. Apple offers 47 landscape videos, including some that feature the Sonoma region of California that macOS Sonoma is named after, and 30 cityscapes.

There are 21 underwater videos and 22 earth videos, along with options to shuffle through all the aerial videos or to select shuffle from the specific categories. Apple also has range of animated "Picture" videos that have more abstract art and that were not sourced from the ‌Apple TV‌ aerial videos, but these are not new to this beta.

Scenes feature locations all across the globe, captured with drones, underwater cameras, and from the International Space Station. If you've seen the aerial videos on the ‌Apple TV‌, you will already be familiar with many of the options on macOS Sonoma.

In macOS Sonoma, the video screensavers work like they do on the ‌Apple TV‌, but when a Mac is woken from sleep, the screensaver slows down and seamlessly becomes a still image on the desktop when you log in. The login screen also animates with one of these options selected.

Apple today announced that it is accepting applications for its 2024 iPhone Security Research Device Program, allowing security researchers to get specialized Apple devices that make it easier to find critical iOS vulnerabilities.

The ‌iPhone‌ Security Research Device Program (SRDP) has been around since 2019, and researchers have used it to locate 130 high-impact security vulnerabilities. Apple says that researchers have helped it to implement "novel mitigations" for protecting iOS devices.

Over the course of the last six months, program participants have received 37 CVE credits for their findings, and have contributed to improvements for the XNU kernel, kernel extensions, and XPC services.

Researchers who participate in the SRDP are eligible for Apple Security Bounty payouts. Apple has rewarded more than 100 reports from SRDP researches, and says that "multiple awards" have reached $500,000 with a median award of close to $18,000.

The iPhone 14 Pro research devices that Apple provides to participants feature special hardware and software designed for security research. Researchers are able to configure or disable the iOS security protections to manipulate them in ways not possible with a standard ‌iPhone‌.

SRDs are available to security researchers who have a track record in security research both on the ‌iPhone‌ and other platforms, plus Apple is making devices available to university educators who want to use it as a teaching tool for computer science students.

Apple selects a limited number of participants each year to receive a research device, and applications are open until October 31, 2023. Selected participants will be notified in early 2024.

Apple is using 3D printers to make the chassis for some of the upcoming Apple Watch Series 9 models, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new manufacturing process that Apple is testing would use less material than the large slabs of metal that are needed for traditional CNC manufacturing, plus it would cut down on the time that it takes to make new devices.

With a technique called "binder jetting," Apple is able to print a device's outline at close to its actual shape using a powdered substance. A second process uses heat and pressure to squeeze the material into a substance that feels like steel, and it is then refined with milling.

Gurman's information echoes what we've already heard from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Back in July, Kuo said that the upcoming second-generation Apple Watch Ultra will include 3D printed mechanical parts. Specifically, he claimed that Apple is "actively adopting 3D printing technology," and that some of the titanium components in the new Apple Watch Ultra would be 3D printed.

Gurman claims that Apple plans to use this new 3D printing method for the chassis of the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9 models rather than components for the Ultra but either way, it sounds like Apple is more actively testing this manufacturing method as of 2023. Gurman says that Apple plans to 3D print titanium devices in 2024.

A shift to 3D printing for some device production would allow Apple to improve manufacturing times and potentially cut down on costs. Kuo said that if Apple's work on the 2023 Apple Watch models went well, Apple would use 3D printing for more devices in the future.

According to Gurman, Apple and Apple suppliers have been developing the 3D printing method for at least three years. Gurman confirms that Apple will expand the process to more products over the next several years if Apple Watch tests are successful.

Apple today released a sixth Studio Display 17 firmware beta, with the update coming a few weeks after the release of the fifth beta.

All Studio Display models are able to receive over-the-air firmware updates, but this firmware update is limited to Macs that are running the new macOS Sonoma operating system at the current time. macOS Sonoma is also being beta tested.

Studio Display owners running macOS Sonoma can go to System Settings > Software Update to install the firmware.

Apple has not provided details on what's included in the firmware update and no new features were found by those running the betas. Release notes and full launch information will be available when the new Studio Display update comes out this fall alongside macOS Sonoma.

Apple today seeded the seventh beta of the upcoming macOS 14 Sonoma update to developers for testing purposes. The beta comes a week after the launch of the sixth beta.

Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, with the betas available through the Software Update mechanism in System Settings.

macOS Sonoma introduces new Apple TV-like screen savers that also serve as wallpapers after you log in, plus it moves widgets to the desktop. You can use the new widget gallery to choose from a range of widgets, and then drag them to your Mac's desktop.

Widgets can be arranged in any way that's useful, and when you're using an app, they are designed to fade into the background so they're less distracting. ‌Widgets‌ are more interactive than before, so you can use them to do things like play music, turn off the lights in your home, and more. Through Continuity, your iPhone's widgets can also show up on your Mac's desktop.

Video conferencing has improved with a new Presenter Overlay view that shows your desktop or project in new ways, plus Safari now supports web apps for the Dock and the option to create Profiles so you can separate personal browsing from work browsing.

Other new features include improved search that's faster and more responsive, password and passkey sharing, a revamped stickers interface for the Messages app, PDF integration in notes that makes it easier than ever to manage PDFs, and more.

macOS Sonoma will be in beta testing for several months, with a public release coming this fall.

Leaker Sonny Dickson today shared images displaying a selection of iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro dummy models, providing a closer look at the design of the upcoming devices.

The pictures showcase the design of the ‌iPhone 15‌ in five different color options, corroborating a range of other reports from over the past year. As rumored, the device's aluminum frame has noticeably softer edges and clearly shows a USB-C port.

Apple is seemingly opting for a more muted, desaturated color palette for the ‌iPhone 15‌ models this year. The latest reports suggest that the device will come in black, pink, yellow, blue, and green, but several other colors have been rumored in recent weeks.

The ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models, on the other hand, are widely expected to come in silver, gray, black, and blue – with no gold option available for the first time since the iPhone X. Other than the slightly more rounded frame and the switch from stainless steel to titanium, no other fundamental visual changes are expected for this year's new high-end ‌iPhone‌ models.

The entire ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup is expected to be announced at Apple's "Wonderlust" event on Tuesday, September 12, with launch likely to proceed the following week. Key features for the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro are expected to include an Action Button and the A17 Bionic chip, while the standard ‌iPhone 15‌ models are expected to sport a 48-megapixel camera and the Dynamic Island.

A day after Apple announced it will be holding an event on September 12, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared more predictions for the iPhone 15 lineup.

The higher-end iPhone 15 Pro models are widely expected to be equipped with a titanium frame instead of a stainless steel frame, and Kuo said this change should contribute to the devices weighing less than iPhone 14 Pro models. Kuo said production issues related to the titanium frame, display panels, batteries, and a new stacked camera sensor for the lower-end iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have all been resolved.

Kuo corroborated previously-rumored color options for the Pro models, including gray, silver/white, black, and blue. Notably, this means the highest-end iPhones would not be available in gold for the first time since the iPhone X. He said the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will be available in black, pink, yellow, blue, and green.

Kuo also reiterated that the iPhone 15 Pro Max was the last new model to enter mass production, so this device may have the tightest supply at launch.

All four iPhone 15 models are expected to be equipped with a USB-C port and the Dynamic Island, while several other new features are rumored for the Pro models, including a faster A17 Bionic chip, a customizable Action button, Wi-Fi 6E support, and more. The devices should be available to pre-order a few days after Apple's event on September 12.

In iOS 17, still in beta, Apple has added an accessibility setting that makes the haptic feedback feature activate faster than in previous versions of its mobile operating system. If you fondly hearken back for the days of 3D Touch, you might just prefer it.

As many iPhone users might remember, ‌‌3D Touch‌‌ was an interactive haptic feature that Apple introduced in 2015 with the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 6s. When the ‌iPhone‌ was released in 2018, Apple kiboshed ‌3D Touch‌‌ to the dismay of some users, and instead implemented the simplified ‌Haptic Touch, which offers less functionality‌.

‌‌3D Touch‌‌ supported multiple levels of pressure for different interactions depending on how hard you pressed, with Apple implementing "Peek and Pop" gestures. In contrast, ‌‌Haptic Touch‌‌ supports just a single level of pressure for the long press gesture.

‌‌Haptic Touch‌‌ has always worked slower than ‌‌3D Touch‌‌ because of the two levels of pressure that ‌‌3D Touch‌‌ allowed for. The first ‌‌3D Touch‌‌ pressure level activated quickly when pressing on the display, so those who became used to ‌‌3D Touch‌‌ may have found the ‌‌Haptic Touch‌‌ replacement to be too sluggish.

The good news is that in iOS 17, setting ‌‌Haptic Touch‌‌ to the new Fast option makes a noticeable difference in how quick haptic menus pop up under the finger when an icon or on-screen element is long pressed. The speed brings ‌‌Haptic Touch‌‌ interactions closer to ‌3D Touch‌ interactions. Here's how to enable it on iPhones and iPads running iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, respectively.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Under "Physical and Motor," tap Touch.
4. Tap Haptic Touch.
5. Select from Fast, Default, and Slow. Note that when you select a speed, you can test it using the flower image on the same screen.

It's still not entirely clear why Apple got rid of ‌‌3D Touch‌. Some have argued that it suffered from a lack of discoverability, similar to the Apple Watch's Force Touch functionality, which suffered the same fate. Others have speculated that Apple eliminated it in order to bring gesture parity to the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ and the iPad. Either way, the change allowed Apple to remove the capacitive layer that used to be integrated into every ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ display.

Images purporting to reveal Apple's official wallpapers for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have been doing the rounds on China's Weibo platform, following the S-curved wallpaper and packaging leak that we reported on yesterday.

The wallpaper is a concept render by William Faix transposed onto Apple's marketing material for the iPhone 14 Pro models. The wallpapers shown are based on colorway rumors for the iPhone 15 Pro models and a hand-drawn image allegedly leaked by an engineer in a Chinese iPhone factory.

Meanwhile, as happens every year, Apple fans have gone to work looking for clues in Apple's "Wanderlust" event invite, which dropped on Tuesday, with some suggesting the blue, silver, and gray tones allude to the colors that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be available in. There's also speculation that the matte particle-like texture is a nod to the texture of the devices' new titanium chassis.

The two higher-end iPhone models this year will feature a titanium frame instead of a stainless steel frame, with a brushed titanium finish that will look different than the shiny stainless steel. Color options are said to include a titanium gray shade (similar to the Apple Watch Ultra), a blue gray color, a black shade, and a lighter silver shade.

• Here Are All the iPhone 15 Colors We Expect From Apple

Apple's tagline for the event is "Wonderlust," a play on the word wanderlust, meaning "a strong desire to travel," which could be a reference to the upgraded cameras on the Pro models, in particular the periscope telephoto lens expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max allowing for 5x or 6x optical zoom.

For those unable to watch Apple's September 12 event, MacRumors will be providing full event coverage on MacRumors.com and the MacRumorsLive Twitter account. We'll cover the event live, and we'll also have in-depth coverage of the announcements in the following days.

Google Photos users on iPhone can now lock their most sensitive images and videos in a special passcode-protected folder, thanks to a new feature rolling out to the iOS app.

Previously only available on Android phones, the privacy-oriented Locked Folder feature allows users to save photos and videos in the app within a separate space that requires Touch ID, Face ID, or a passcode to access.

Media saved in the folder remains hidden, meaning the sensitive photos don't show up as users scroll through their Google ‌Photos‌ or any other apps on their device.

Speaking to The Verge, Google said that Locked Folder content backed up to the cloud is done so securely. “We protect this data with multiple layers of security, including leading encryption technology like HTTPS and encryption at rest,” said a Google spokesperson.

Regardless, users aren't compelled to use the new backup feature if they don't want sensitive content on Google servers, and can opt to store photos in the Locked Folder on their device instead.

Google touts its photo and video backup service as "a safe home for life's memories," thanks to the "world-class security" and encryption it uses "to protect the photos that you back up or share."

Despite those safeguards, in 2020 Google was forced to contact some 100,000 users to inform them that some of their private videos backed up on its servers had been accidentally sent to strangers due to a "technical issue."

As part of the rollout, the settings screen in the Google ‌Photos‌ app is also being updated for easier access to privacy, sharing, backup, notifications, and other options.

Apple has started preparations for its upcoming September 12 iPhone-centric event, and the official hashmoji for the event has now launched. The #AppleEvent hashmoji on Twitter (or "X") now includes a custom-designed Apple logo that matches the design that Apple is using for the September event.

Hashmoji, or hashflags as they used to be called, are custom, paid icons that appear next to specific hashtags on the Twitter social network.

The hashmoji features the same Apple logo blue and gray colorway that Apple introduced this morning when event invites went out.

Apple's September 12 event will be held at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and it will be available to watch through the Apple Events page, on YouTube, and through the Apple TV app on compatible devices. For those unable to watch, MacRumors will be providing full event coverage on MacRumors.com and the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

All four iPhone 15 models launching next month are widely expected to be equipped with a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. Alongside this change, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today reported that Apple plans to announce updated AirPods with a USB-C charging case during its event on Tuesday, September 12 at Steve Jobs Theater.

"To match the new iPhones, Apple will introduce updated AirPods at the event that include a USB-C charging port," wrote Gurman.

The report does not provide any additional details about the updated AirPods, so it's unclear if it is referring to the standard AirPods and/or the AirPods Pro, but both models will need to be updated with USB-C charging cases eventually to match the iPhone 15 models. Gurman and other sources previously claimed that the AirPods Pro would be updated with a USB-C charging case later this year, while hidden code-level references to new AirPods and a new charging case were uncovered in iOS 16.4 back in March.

It's also unclear if the updated AirPods will have any new features or changes beyond a USB-C charging case. The third-generation AirPods launched in October 2021, while the second-generation AirPods Pro were released in September 2022.

There are several other Apple products and accessories that will likely need to transition from Lightning to USB-C over time if they remain sold, such as the AirPods Max, MagSafe Battery Pack, Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, various adapters, and more. Apple already updated the Siri Remote with a USB-C port last year.

Apple today seeded a third beta of visionOS, the software that is designed to run on the Vision Pro headset. The second beta came out in July, so it has been over a month since Apple released a visionOS update.

A select number of developers have access to Vision Pro headsets at this time, with the headsets used for app testing purposes. Most people will not have access to the visionOS beta outside of Xcode, and it is not yet clear what Apple is adding in each visionOS update.

Apple is also allowing developers to attend Vision Pro labs around the world, and developers who visit these locations are able to test the Vision Pro in person and get help from Apple engineers on their visionOS apps.

The Vision Pro headset is not expected until early 2024, so Apple still has a lot of work to do on both hardware and software. Reports from developers who have been able to test the headset have suggested that there are multiple unfinished features, such as an inability to use the front-facing display.

Apple today seeded the eighth betas of upcoming iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the release of the seventh betas.

Registered developers are able to opt into the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

iOS 17 is a major update that introduces a customized look for each person that calls, with the person who places the call able to customize their look. Live voicemails let you see a transcript of a message someone is leaving in real time so you can choose to pick up the phone if you want, and voice messages people send in iMessage are now transcribed into text. You can also record a video or audio message when someone misses your FaceTime call, and ‌FaceTime‌ works on the Apple TV through Continuity functionality.

In Messages, apps have been moved to a new tucked-away interface for a cleaner look, and there is a new Check In feature that is designed to let your friends and family keep an eye on you when you're traveling. Check In automatically notifies friends or family members when you arrive at a destination, such as home. Locations can also now be shared directly from the Messages app.

In a group chat, there's a catch-up arrow so you can see the first message you haven't seen in a conversation, and with search filters, you can more easily find what you're looking for. Stickers have been overhauled, and all emoji are now stickers, living alongside sticker packs and Memoji. Using the remove from background feature in iOS 17, you can turn the subject from any image into a sticker.

With StandBy, an iPhone placed horizontally turns into a little home hub that displays information like the calendar, time, home controls, and more, and Live Activities can be displayed in full screen too.

Widgets on the Home Screen are interactive, so you can do things like check off an item on a to-do list or turn off the lights without having to open an app. AirDrop has been improved and there's a NameDrop function for sharing contacts quickly, plus you can hold two iPhones together to start a SharePlay session. SharePlay also now works with CarPlay so passengers can play their music in the car too.

Other new features include a journaling app coming later this year, AirPlay in select hotel rooms, improvements to AirPods Pro 2 thanks to a new Adaptive Audio feature, offline Maps, Siri that does not require the "Hey" activation, and improvements to search and spotlight.

Apple today seeded the eighth beta of an upcoming watchOS 10 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software update coming a week after the seventh beta.

To install the watchOS 10 update, developers will need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the watchOS 10 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, watchOS 10 can be downloaded under the same Software Update section. To install software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life and it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger.

watchOS 10 adds a whole new widget-focused interface. You can access a widget stack from any watch face using the Digital Crown, swiping through them to get to relevant information. Control Center can be activated from any app by pressing the side button, and these new quick access controls are meant to let you use watch faces that support less information while still putting everything you need at your fingertips.

There are new Palette and Snoopy watch faces, updates to Cycling and Hiking workouts, and mental health integrations. Users can log their state of mind and mood using the Apple Watch, with the device providing insights into mental health over time.

Following the announcement of an upcoming September 12 iPhone-centric event, Apple has made its Events page live with details on timing, how to watch, and more. The Apple Event page is updated ahead of every event, and typically features an interactive augmented reality easter egg viewable on iOS devices, but Apple did not create one this time around.

Rather than an AR experience, the Events page features an animated Apple logo made from grains of a metallic material. The grains float off into the distance continually, for a swirling effect. It has not gone unnoticed that the Apple logo is a metallic gray and blue shade, which happen to be two of the colors rumored for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max.

The two higher-end iPhone models will feature a titanium frame instead of a stainless steel frame, with a brushed titanium finish that will look different than the shiny stainless steel. Color options are said to include a titanium gray shade (similar to the color of the Apple Watch Ultra), a blue gray color, a black shade, and a lighter silver shade.

Apple's tagline for the event is "Wonderlust," a play on the word wanderlust.

The September 12 event will take place at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. There will be an in-person component for some YouTubers and members of the media, but the majority of people will watch online through the Apple Events page in any browser, on YouTube, or through the Apple TV app on compatible devices. The event is prerecorded, similar to last year's event.

For those unable to watch, MacRumors will be providing full event coverage on MacRumors.com and the MacRumorsLive Twitter account. We'll cover the event live, and we'll also have in-depth coverage of the announcements in the following days.