MacRumors

Apple has stopped signing iOS 17.0.3, preventing iPhone users from downgrading to that version. However, Apple continues to sign iOS 17.0.2 for now.

Apple routinely stops signing older iOS releases over time in order to prevent users from downgrading to previous software versions.

iOS 17.1 is currently the newest version available to the public, while iOS 17.2 is in beta testing and is expected to be released in December.

iOS 17.2 includes many new features and changes, including the promised Journal app, the ability for Apple Music subscribers to collaborate on playlists, a Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro models, an iMessage Contact Key Verification security option, additional Weather and Clock widgets, and more.

Apple also stopped signing iOS 15.7.9, iOS 16.7, and iOS 16.7.1.

The iMac now features the M3 chip, replacing the M1 model that Apple introduced in April 2021, so how different are the two successive generations?

The 2021 ‌iMac‌ was the first of its kind to feature an Apple silicon chip, replacing previous Intel-based models with 21.5- and 27-inch displays. It offered an all-new ultra-thin design, a 24-inch Retina display, a six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers, and an array of seven two-tone color options. The 2021 ‌iMac‌ has now been discontinued by Apple and prices at third-party resellers are falling. As such, some customers may be weighing up whether to upgrade to a 2021 or 2023 ‌iMac‌.

The two Apple silicon ‌iMac‌ models share the overwhelming majority of their features, so should you consider buying or sticking with the first-generation to save money? This breakdown also serves as a way to see all the differences that the 2023 ‌iMac‌ brings to the table.

‌iMac‌ (2021)	‌iMac‌ (2023)
‌M1‌ chip (5nm/N5)	M3 chip (3nm/N3B)
3.20 GHz CPU clock speed	4.05 GHz CPU clock speed
7- or 8-core GPU	8- or 10-core GPU
	New GPU architecture
	Dynamic Caching
	Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
	Hardware-accelerated mesh shading
Video decode engine	Higher-bandwidth video decode engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
	ProRes encode and decode engine
	Support for AV1 decode
Neural engine	60% faster Neural engine
Image signal processor (ISP)	"New" image signal processor (ISP)
3.5mm headphone jack	3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones
Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth 5.0	Bluetooth 5.3
68.25GB/s memory bandwidth	100GB/s memory bandwidth
8GB or 16GB unified memory	8GB, 16GB, or 24GB unified memory

Overall, the 2023 ‌iMac‌ is a very minor upgrade over the 2021 model, with the M3 chip being the most significant change. As a result, it is difficult to recommend upgrading from an ‌M1‌ model unless you specifically need better performance, hardware-accelerated graphics, or a larger quantity of memory. The new ‌iMac‌ is up to 2x faster than the prior generation with the ‌M1‌ chip, according to Apple, meaning that it should deliver a considerable performance improvement for those who need it.

Most users of the ‌M1‌ ‌iMac‌ will not be able to justify upgrading to the M3 ‌iMac‌, but customers coming from an older Intel-based machine or those who do not have one at all could still have good reason to prefer the latest model. For those upgrading from an Intel-based ‌‌iMac‌‌, Apple says that the new ‌‌iMac‌‌ is up to 2.5x faster than previous 27-inch models and 4.5x faster than previous 21.5-inch models.

The 2023 ‌iMac‌ is otherwise very similar to the 2021 model, so some customers who have very basic needs and are interested in buying an ‌iMac‌ may prefer to look for a discounted 2021 model. The ‌iMac‌ is priced starting at $1,299, so if you are not interested in its new features and can find the original model for substantially less, it may be worth getting that instead. Even so, it should be remembered that this is a much older model; the M3 model will be more future-proof and capable in the long term.

The first benchmark results for Apple's M3 Max chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a look at CPU performance. Based on the "Mac15,9" model identifier shown, the results appear to be for the new 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The highest multi-core score for the M3 Max with a 16-core CPU is currently 21,084 as of writing. If this early result is accurate, this means the M3 Max is around as fast as the M2 Ultra chip, which has an average multi-core score of 21,182 in the Mac Pro and 21,316 in the Mac Studio, according to a chart on the Geekbench website.

The M3 Max in the new 16-inch MacBook Pro is around 45% faster than the M2 Max chip in the previous-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro, according to the Geekbench website. This is within the ballpark of Apple's claim that the M3 Max is up to 50% faster than the M2 Max, especially given variance in early Geekbench results.

Geekbench 6 multi-core scores for CPU performance:

• M2 Ultra: 21,182 (Mac Pro, averaged)
• M3 Max: 21,084 (16-inch MacBook Pro, highest score listed so far)
• M2 Max: 14,495 (16-inch MacBook Pro, averaged)
• M1 Max: 12,185 (16-inch MacBook Pro, averaged)
• M3: 11,836 (14-inch MacBook Pro, highest score listed so far)

Manufactured with TSMC's 3nm process, the M3 Max has up to a 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores and four efficiency cores. It also has up to a 40-core GPU and can be configured with up to 128GB of unified memory.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $3,499 in the U.S. when configured with the M3 Max chip, while the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra chip starts at $3,999, so you can effectively get the same performance for $500 less with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and do not need to supply your own display, keyboard, and mouse.

The first Geekbench 6 results for the standard M3 chip surfaced earlier today, revealing that it is up to 20% faster than the standard M2 chip. Benchmarks provide a useful reference point, but real-world performance can vary.

The new MacBook Pro models are now available to order, and most configurations will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, November 7. M3 Max configurations will be available later in November.

Apple will report its earnings results for the fourth quarter of its 2023 fiscal year on Thursday, November 2 at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will discuss the results on a conference call with analysts a half hour later.

Keep reading for some key things to know about the quarter, including a recap of new products announced, revenue expectations, and more.

New Products During Quarter

The quarter ran from ran from July 2 through September 30, according to Apple's fiscal calendar, and included the following product launches:

• iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2
• AirPods Pro with USB-C charging case and EarPods with USB-C connector

Revenue Expectations

Apple has not provided formal revenue guidance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Wall Street expects the company to report revenue of $89.28 billion in the fourth quarter, according to CNBC. This would be around a 1% decline compared to the $90.15 billion revenue the company reported in the year-ago quarter.

Maestri provided the following commentary on Apple's earnings call last quarter:

We expect our September quarter year-over-year revenue performance to be similar to the June quarter, assuming that the macroeconomic outlook doesn't worsen from what we are projecting today for the current quarter.

Conference Call

Cook and Maestri will hold a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday to discuss the company's fourth quarter earnings results. The call should last around one hour and will include a Q&A segment with analysts.

A live audio stream of the conference call will be available on Apple's Investor Relations page, and a recording will be available later in the day for replay.

What's Next

Apple's first quarter of fiscal 2024 began October 1 and runs through December 30. So far during this period, new products announced by Apple include a lower-priced Apple Pencil with a USB-C port, an updated iMac with the M3 chip, and updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips.

AAPL closed at $173.97 today, down from a 52-week high of $198.23.

Apple this week discontinued the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro, replacing it with a 14-inch model that's equipped with a next-generation M3 chip. The 14-inch model is more expensive, but it comes with a number of benefits that make it worth the upgrade for anyone with a 13-inch machine.

The 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ has a larger display than the 13-inch model for more screen real estate, and it features much more modern-looking thin bezels. There's also a notch that houses the front-facing camera, a necessity for those slimmed down bezels. It is a mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display, which is an upgrade over the LCD of the prior-generation 13-inch model.

Along with support for 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates, the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌'s display is brighter and has better color and HDR support. SDR brightness is 600 nits, while XDR brightness is 1000 nits sustained and 1600 nits peak.

In terms of performance, you're going to see a boost in CPU and GPU speeds, but it will be most noticeable if you're coming from an Apple M1 chip or an even earlier Intel chip. The M3 has an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU much like the ‌M2‌, but the GPU supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing so gameplay will be improved.

Battery life has seen a boost, so the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ now lasts for up to 22 hours, up two hours from the 20 hour battery life of the ‌M2‌ 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. If you were a fan of the Touch Bar, be warned that the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ does not have one. With the discontinuation of the 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, Apple has officially nixed the Touch Bar.

In terms of size, the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is a little wider, a little longer, and just a bit heavier than the 13-inch model. It weighs 3.4 pounds while the 13-inch model weighed 3 pounds. There are more ports with the M3 ‌MacBook Pro‌, so in addition to two Thunderbolt ports, you'll also get an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a MagSafe charging port.

Other improvements include a better 1080p FaceTime HD camera, a six-speaker sound system, Wi-Fi 6E support, and Bluetooth 5.3.

The only real downside with the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is the price. It starts at $1,599, making it $300 more expensive than the $1,299 starting price of the ‌M2‌ 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. If you can afford it, what you get for the extra $300 is worth it, but if that makes it too pricey, you'll need to look at the lower-cost MacBook Air.

For those with an ‌M2‌ 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, it's probably not worth upgrading to the 14-inch model right now despite the benefits, but if you're coming from an ‌M1‌ 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ or an Intel machine, it's going to be a much more notable upgrade that will feel closer to night and day.

Are you upgrading to the 14-inch M3 ‌MacBook Pro‌? Let us know why or why not in the comments below.

The lower-cost Apple Music Voice Plan is being discontinued this month in the U.S. and all other countries where it was available, according to an Apple support document. Brazilian website MacMagazine was first to alert us to this news.

"Beginning in November, Apple will discontinue the Apple Music Voice plan," said Apple. "We are focused on delivering the best, most robust music experience possible for our customers, with features like immersive Spatial Audio, Apple Music Sing with real-time lyrics, intuitive browse and discovery features, and so much more."

Apple said existing subscribers can continue to use the Voice Plan for the duration of their final billing cycle, but they will lose access after that period. It's unclear why the plan was discontinued, but Apple says other Apple Music plans "already work seamlessly with Siri, and we will continue to optimize this experience."

Apple added that existing subscribers will receive a notification prior to the end of their final billing cycle with more information.

Priced at $4.99 per month in the U.S., the Voice Plan was designed to let users access Apple Music exclusively through Siri. The plan launched as part of iOS 15.2 in December 2021 in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.K.

The primary way to subscribe to the Voice Plan was by asking Siri, and music playback was controlled via Siri too. While the plan provided access to the entire Apple Music catalog with over 100 million songs, it lacked some features available on more expensive plans, such as downloading, spatial audio, and Family Sharing.

This story was updated with additional information from Apple.

B&H Photo today kicked off a "Holiday Head Start" event, discounting a wide variety of products in the run-up to Black Friday later in the month. This includes a few solid deals on Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air line, with a few seeing all-time low prices.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

13.6-Inch M2 MacBook Air

Apple's 13.6-inch 256GB M2 MacBook Air is available for $899.00, down from $1,099.00. B&H Photo offers free two-day shipping in the contiguous United States, and has Space Gray, Silver, and Midnight at this price.

This is a match of the all-time low price on the 13.6-inch 256GB M2 MacBook Air, which we previously tracked at Best Buy in October. This sale will expire in two days on Friday, November 3 at 4:45 p.m. Central Time, so if you're interested be sure to visit B&H Photo soon.

B&H Photo also has the 512GB model of the 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air on sale, available for $1,199.00, down from $1,399.00. Compared to past sales, this is a second-best price and still a solid discount on the 2022 notebook. You can get Space Gray and Silver on sale at this price.

14-Inch M2 MacBook Pro

B&H Photo also has a few discounts on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro from early 2023, starting at $1,799.00 for the M2 Pro/512GB/16GB RAM 14-inch model, down from $1,999.00. There's also an option for 32GB RAM at $2,199.00, down from $2,399.00.

Other Deals

• SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD - $129.99, down from $449.99
• HomePod (2nd Gen) - $279.99, down from $299.00
• Samsung 2TB 980 PRO PCIe Internal SSD - $119.99, down from $179.99
• Bose TV Speaker Soundbar - $199.00, down from $279.00
• Samsung 4TB T9 Portable SSD - $349.99, down from $439.99

We've begun tracking all of the season's best deals in our dedicated Black Friday Roundup, so be sure to bookmark the page and visit it throughout the season as you do your online shopping. Our roundup mainly focuses on Apple products and related tech accessories.

Customers who purchase one of the new M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max MacBook Pro or iMac models will need to install a macOS Sonoma update after receiving their machines.

The Macs will ship with a custom version of macOS Sonoma 14.1 with a build number of 23B2073, but new users will need to download and install a new version with a build number of 23B2077.

Day-one updates are not unusual for new devices as Apple often has to begin manufacturing with an older version of the software. Apple first released macOS Sonoma 14.1 on Wednesday, October 25, and the current version has a build number of 23B74.

Apple's M3 Macs are available for order now, with the first machines set to arrive to customers on Tuesday, November 7. The M3 and M3 ‌iMac‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ models will be available starting then, with M3 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ models set to deliver later in November.

Introductory production on the standard iPhone 17 will start in India in the second half of 2025, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that new product introduction (NPI) for the ‌iPhone 17‌ will happen in India, marking the first time that Apple begins development of a new iPhone outside of China.

Apple will opt to assemble the standard ‌iPhone 17‌ in India because it has a "lower difficulty" design that will minimize risk. Apple has been manufacturing older iPhones and other devices in India since for several years now in an effort to move more of its manufacturing out of China. Apple has slowly started giving factories in India more responsibility, and began ‌iPhone‌ 14 production in the country just a few weeks after the device launched in September 2022. iPhone 15 production started even earlier, with factories in the country assembling the base ‌iPhone 15‌ model prior to launch, but assembly still started in China first.

Apple works with Foxconn, Pegatron, and Tata (new owner of Wistron) to manufacture iPhones in India, with Foxconn handling 75 to 80 percent of the device assembly. Foxconn has invested more than $500 million in India to ramp up its manufacturing capabilities.

As of now, Kuo believes that 12 to 14 percent of global ‌iPhone‌ shipments are made in India, with that proportion to increase to 20 to 25 percent by 2024. In addition to allowing Apple to move manufacturing away from China, increasing production in India provides Apple with an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with the Indian government. India is a key market for Apple due to growing demand for Apple products in the country.

Apple in 2023 opened its first retail stores in Mumbai, but online sales have been available in India since 2020.

The USB-C Apple Pencil that Apple unveiled in October is available for purchase starting today. Priced at $79, the ‌Apple Pencil‌ is compatible with all iPads that feature a USB-C port, and it serves as an alternative to the more expensive first and second-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ models.

The ‌Apple Pencil‌ features a matte finish and a flat magnetic side to allow it to attach to an iPad when not in use, plus there is a hidden USB-C port under the sliding cap for charging purposes. Unlike the ‌Apple Pencil‌ 2, it is not able to charge magnetically when attached to an ‌iPad‌, and it is also lacking pressure sensitivity and support for tap gestures.

Other ‌Apple Pencil‌ features such as low latency and tilt sensitivity are included, plus it supports the ‌Apple Pencil‌ Hover feature on compatible M2 iPad Pro models.

The ‌Apple Pencil‌ can be purchased from the online Apple Store in more than 30 countries, including the United States. Orders placed today will deliver as soon as November 3.

A legal claim in the United Kingdom over Apple's 2017 "throttling" controversy has been allowed to move forward by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, according to Reuters.

Consumer advocate Justin Gutmann filed the claim back in June 2022, originally seeking a total of £750 million for up to 25 million iPhone users in the UK whose devices were affected by the issue, which stemmed from Apple's efforts to prevent devices with degraded batteries from unexpectedly shutting down while in use. The claim has since ballooned to as much at £1.6 billion plus interest.

Gutmann's lawyers had argued Apple concealed issues with batteries in certain phone models and "surreptitiously" installed a power management tool which limited performance.

Apple, however, said the lawsuit is "baseless" and that it strongly denies batteries in iPhones were defective, apart from in a small number of iPhone 6s models for which it offered free battery replacements.

Gutmann's claim covers ‌iPhone‌ 6 through ‌iPhone‌ X models, and while the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled the claim can move forward, it also highlighted "a lack of clarity and specificity" that will need to be resolved before it can actually proceed to trial.

Apple deployed power management features with iOS 10.2.1 in 2017 that throttled performance to prevent devices with degraded batteries from attempting to draw peak power the batteries could no longer provide. Apple says it introduced the features to help extend device lifespan while minimizing disruptive device shutdowns, but the company was criticized by some customers for not disclosing what it was doing amid suggestions it was attempting to hide defective devices.

Apple apologized for not better explaining the changes it made and why it did so, and introduced a low-cost battery replacement program that lasted for several years.

In 2020, Apple agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit in the United States over the issue, and the company has faced similar lawsuits in a number of other countries.

The first benchmark results for the standard M3 chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a closer look at the chip's CPU performance improvements.

Based on the results so far, the M3 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 3,000 and 11,700, respectively. The standard M2 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 2,600 and 9,700, respectively, so the M3 chip is up to 20% faster than the M2 chip, as Apple claimed during its "Scary Fast" event on Monday.

Geekbench 6 multi-core scores:

• M3 chip: ~11,700 (+20% vs. M2 chip)
• M2 chip: ~9,700 (+17% vs. M1 chip)
• M1 chip: ~8,315

It's unclear if the results are for the new 14-inch MacBook Pro or iMac, both of which are available with the standard M3 chip, but performance should be similar for both machines. The results have a "Mac15,3" identifier, which Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported was for a laptop with the same display resolution as a 14-inch MacBook Pro.

The standard M3 chip is equipped with an 8-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, and it supports up to 24GB of unified memory. The chip has improved GPU architecture with support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, which will make high-end games look more realistic. It also has a 16-core Neural Engine for AI.

We have yet to see any Geekbench results for the higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max chips available in most new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

We've partnered with Satechi this week to offer 30 percent off sitewide at the retailer, allowing our readers to save on Satechi's best hubs, chargers, desktop accessories, and more. To get this deal, enter the code MR30 at the checkout screen before November 8, when the code will expire.

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

This code works sitewide on Satechi, with the sole exception of the Vegan Magnetic Wallet Stand. Otherwise, you can shop Satechi's wide selection of wireless chargers, USB-C hubs, iPad Pro accessories, mice and keyboards, and more Apple-compatible products.

Below we've rounded up some of Satechi's best wireless chargers and other accessories, including a few that are compatible with MagSafe. Some highlights of the sale are the Aluminum 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand and Trio Wireless Charger with Magnetic Pad. Of course, the MR30 code works sitewide at Satechi for the next week, so be sure to browse throughout the company's products to take advantage of the sale.

• Magnetic Wireless Car Charger - $31.50, down from $44.99
• Aluminum 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand - $42.00, down from $59.99
• 2-in-1 Headphone Stand with Wireless Charger - $56.00, down from $79.99
• Duo Wireless Charger Power Stand - $70.00, down from $99.99
• Trio Wireless Charger with Magnetic Pad - $84.00, down from $119.99
• Slim X2 Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard - $56.00, down from $79.99

Remember that our promo code MR30 works sitewide and will end on November 8, so be sure to shop on Satechi's website sometime this week before the sale closes. We've begun tracking all of the season's best deals in our dedicated Black Friday Roundup, so be sure to bookmark the page and visit it throughout the season as you do your online shopping. Our roundup mainly focuses on Apple products and related tech accessories.

Apple today announced that eight new games will be added to Apple Arcade in November and December, including Disney Dreamlight Valley Arcade Edition, Football Manager 2024 Touch, Sonic Dream Team, Puzzle & Dragons Story, and more. In addition, Apple said over 50 games available on the service will be receiving updates over the next two months.

Details about the upcoming games and updates can be found in the Apple Newsroom announcement on Apple's website.

Launched in November 2019, Apple Arcade is a subscription-based gaming service accessible through the App Store. The service provides subscribers with access to around 300 games across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, with new titles added periodically. All games available on Apple Arcade are free of ads and in-app purchases.

Apple Arcade received its first price increase in many countries earlier this month. In the U.S., the service went from $4.99 per month to $6.99 per month.

Apple plans to add blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection to an Apple Watch with an updated design in 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In a report covering the arc of Apple's heath-related ambitions, Gurman outlines the first iteration of the company's "pathbreaking" blood pressure sensor technology coming next year that will include hypertension detection:

The system is designed to just tell a user if their blood pressure is trending upward and to offer a journal for the user to jot down what was happening when hypertension occurred. To avoid potentially giving a misdiagnosis, the feature will then direct a user to talk to their doctor or check their blood pressure with a traditional cuff, which can provide exact systolic and diastolic measurements.

A future version of the system in development can provide exact numbers and even diagnose related conditions, according to Gurman. However, these enhancements "remain far off," he adds.

Also coming in 2024 is an Apple Watch-based sleep apnea detection feature. According to the report, it will use sleep and breathing patterns to estimate whether someone has the condition, and then direct users to see a physician.

As previously reported, Apple is also working on non-invasive blood glucose monitoring. Apple's system is said to use a silicon photonics chip to shine light from a laser under the skin to determine the concentration of glucose in the body.

The glucose monitoring has been designed in a similar way to the blood pressure system, in that it currently monitors how a person's blood sugar is trending and warns users of pre-diabetes, rather than offer an actual blood sugar reading.

However, Apple's blood glucose monitoring efforts remain unlikely to show up in a product for "at least a few years," according to Gurman's latest report, citing people with knowledge of the efforts.

Away from Apple Watch, Apple is also said to be on course to bring hearing aid detection to AirPods in 2024. Equipped with the new feature, AirPods will be able to function as an over-the-counter hearing aid and be able to perform the hearing tests typically administered in audiologists' offices.

Elsewhere, Apple is said to be continuing to explore ways to make the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset into a health device, as reported previously by The Information. Anti-anxiety and enhanced meditation features are being worked on, as well as a virtual-reality system to reinforce positive thinking and improve mental health.

Apple has also been studying using the sensors in the device to scan a wearer's eyes for cognitive health data, while a headset version of Fitness+ "remains on the table," according to Gurman.

The Bloomberg report additionally includes some interesting backstory on Apple's evolving health and healthcare initiatives in recent years, as well as an update on the company's paid health coaching service in development. You can read the full piece here.

Apple has launched Tap to Pay on iPhone in Ukraine, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the country to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal.

Ukraine becomes the seventh region to support Tap to Pay, following similar rollouts in the U.K., Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, and the Netherlands earlier in the year.

The feature was introduced in the United States in February 2022, and allows compatible iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets, using only an ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌ - no additional hardware or credit card machine is required‌.

PrivatBank is the first payment platform to offer Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ to its Ukraine-based business customers. Apple's system‌‌‌‌ uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

"We are delighted to launch Tap to Pay on iPhone for entrepreneurs and businesses in Ukraine and to be providing this simple and secure solution that offers greater flexibility for accepting payments for businesses of all sizes, from street vendors to large retailers," said Gerhard Boesch, chairman of the board of PrivatBank. "As a state-owned bank with the largest share of small and medium-sized businesses, we feel a great responsibility to support businesses to scale – and save – with fast, in-person payment solutions."

Tap to Pay on ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ requires ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal ‌‌‌‌Apple Pay‌‌‌‌ transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌ to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.

(Thanks, Hlib!)

Apple announced three new devices during its "Scary Fast" event on Monday, including updated 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and 24-inch iMac models, all with M3 series chips. Apple did not announce any other products during the 30-minute event, which was likely the company's final presentation this year.

Below, our latest rumor report card provides a look at which rumors were right and wrong or a mix of both following Apple's event.

Accurate

• Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple would likely hold a Mac launch event on October 30 or October 31.
• Gurman said the new 24-inch iMac would skip the M2 chip and go right to the M3 chip.
• Gurman revealed several accurate CPU core counts, GPU core counts, and RAM amounts for the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips in the new MacBook Pro models.
• Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Gurman both ruled out new iPads for the rest of 2023, and this event indeed lacked any iPad announcements.
• The box for the new MacBook Pro leaked on Chinese social media website Weibo.

Inaccurate

• MacRumors discovered that an Apple supplier resubmitted a sixth-generation iPad mini battery filing in a Chinese regulatory database last week, and speculated about the possibility of a seventh-generation iPad mini using the same battery being announced at the event, but this did not happen.
• Gurman reported that Apple would likely announce updated versions of the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad for the Mac with USB-C ports for charging, but the accessories are still equipped with Lightning.
• Japanese blog Mac Otakara believed that the next 24-inch iMac would be equipped with M2 and M2 Pro chips, but it has the M3 chip.

Mixed

• Kuo initially claimed that new MacBooks with M3 series chips were unlikely to launch this year, but he later reversed course and said new MacBook Pro models with M3 series chips would be announced at the event.
• Gurman initially claimed that new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models were on track to launch in early to spring 2024, but he later reversed course and said that the laptops would be announced at the event.
• MacRumors was one of the first sources to report that at least one new Mac would be announced in October, based on expected Mac trade-in changes, although our November 8 launch date prediction was one day off.
• MacRumors published a report speculating that Apple's event would likely have an emphasis on high-end gaming on the Mac. The new M3 series chips for the Mac do feature hardware-accelerated ray tracing for improved graphics rendering in games, as the report mentioned, but the unconfirmed tip that we mentioned about the event having a Japanese developer tie-in was inaccurate.

Undetermined

• Prior to the event, Kuo said the 24-inch iMac would be updated in 2024, but he did not explicitly rule out a new model in 2023.