Apple today announced that over 250 suppliers are committed to using renewable energy for all Apple production by 2030. Apple said its manufacturing partners now support over 13 gigawatts of renewable electricity, a nearly 30% increase in the last year.
Apple remains committed to its goal of being carbon neutral for every product that it makes by 2030, and is allocating $4.7 billion in Green Bonds to help finance the expansion of clean energy solutions and emissions reductions around the world.
"At Apple, we're carbon neutral for our own operations and innovating every day to go even further in the urgent work to address climate change," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "With partners around the world, we're adding even more renewable energy to power our global supply chain and investing in next-generation green technologies. The scale of this challenge is immense — but so is our determination to meet it."
Apple's press release provides more details about the company's clean energy advancements.
Apple plans to ship iPhone 15 models from India upon the device's launch – a first for the launch of a new iPhone lineup, signalling the company's gradual progress in diversifying its supply chain away from China, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Casings for the iPhone 15 have reportedly started to be made in India by local suppliers such as Jabil, which already assembles AirPods enclosures and has plans to expand to the Apple Pencil in the future. The iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max will continue to be made exclusively in China.
Apple has experienced quality control issues with some Indian suppliers, limiting manufacturers to certain models and color options. Earlier this year, the Financial Timesreported that only one in two iPhone casings coming off Tata's production line in India "is in good enough shape" to be sent forward to assembly at Foxconn.
In previous years, initial batches of new iPhones have exclusively been made in China, before India comes on stream gradually in the following months. With the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple apparently expects to ship new devices from both countries simultaneously for the first time. See the full report for more information on Apple's efforts to shift production away from China.
Some Mac and iPad users who updated their devices to Apple's latest software updates are reporting problems with Continuity features like Universal Control and Handoff.
Users also variously report problems with Handoff, Universal Clipboard, and Auto Unlock and Approve with Apple Watch. Based on online reports, the main Continuity feature to be negatively impacted by the updates appears to be Universal Control.
To recap the feature, if you have a Mac and an iPad next to each other and signed into the same Apple ID, you can use the keyboard and cursor on one device across both of them. So a Mac's trackpad can be used over on the iPad just by swiping across, and the Mac's keyboard will become the iPad's input device. The reverse is also true of an iPad if you have a keyboard and mouse attached to it.
Barring a restore of the previous OS, suggested solutions that have worked for some users include: Signing out of one's iCloud account on both devices; disabling, restarting, then re-enabling Handoff/Auto Unlock with Apple Watch; turning Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth on and off again; and toggling checkboxes related to Universal Control features.
Apple has not commented on the Continuity bugs, but it is likely aware of them and working on solutions. The company is rumored to be preparing to release iOS 16.4.1 for the iPhone, so it could release iPadOS 16.4.1 and macOS 13.3.1 in tandem. Such minor updates are typically focused on bug fixes and security improvements.
Apple has released a teaser image of the barricade of its first official retail store in India, Apple BKC, which is set to open soon.
The store is in the country's financial capital of Mumbai, located in a high-end shopping mall at Bandra Kurla Complex – hence 'BKC' in the title – in the city's main business district.
The barricade's design is said to be inspired by Mumbai's iconic Kaali Peeli (black and yellow) taxis, and the store is set to welcome its customers with the Apple greeting, "Hello Mumbai."
Apple has not yet provided a date for when its flagship Mumbai store will open, and only states on its website that it is "coming soon." However, local reports suggest it will happen in April. The original plan was for it to open in 2021, but the global health crisis and economic uncertainty reportedly forced Apple to delay it.
Apple is also building a second, smaller store in the capital, New Delhi, with the possibility of further stores popping up in malls and shopping districts across India as Apple makes retail a large part of its presence in the country.
In the past, CEO Tim Cook and other Apple executives have remarked on the importance of India, which is home to the world's second biggest smartphone market. In 2020 Apple opened its online store in India, offering Indian customers a way to purchase products directly from Apple without having to go through an authorized premium reseller.
Apple has also been working to build out a manufacturing supply chain in the country, and in an indication of the country's perceived importance as a production hub, Apple shifted iPhone 14 assembly from China to India in the weeks following its release.
Apple's iOS 17 operating system will be compatible with all iPhones that are capable of running iOS 16, claims a previously reliable source with alleged contacts within Apple, contradicting yesterday's rumor.
On Tuesday, a separate source with a good track record for predicting the general release window of upcoming Apple software updates suggested that iOS 17 will drop support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, while iPadOS 17 will drop support for the first-generation 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and fifth-generation iPad.
However, in direct response to the claim about iOS 17 dropping support for the above iPhone models, a reputable leaker has asserted otherwise, saying that it is "simply incorrect." According to a post on the MacRumors forum by the anonymous tipster, all iPhones that support iOS 16 will indeed support iOS 17, including all devices powered by A11 chipsets (i.e. the iPhone X and iPhone 8/8 Plus).
This counterclaim comes from the same leaker that last year accurately revealed the presence of the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models ahead of their official launch. More recently they also claimed that the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro models will use a new ultra-low energy chip allowing the new volume, power, and "Action" solid-state buttons to remain functional when the handset is powered off or out of battery, and that iOS 17 will include a new sensitivity setting for said buttons.
This source is said to have a "man inside" Apple's development team who occasionally reveals hardware details about upcoming iPhone models if the physical features require software development to complement them.
If their latest claim is accurate, it would not be the first time that Apple has maintained the same list of compatible devices between major iOS releases. For example, iOS 15 is compatible with all devices that can run iOS 14, although some iOS 15 features are not available on older iPhones. In contrast, iOS 16 dropped support for some older devices, including the iPhone SE, the iPhone 6s, the iPhone 6s Plus, the iPod touch, and the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
It is also worth noting that yesterday's rumor was not the first time it has been suggested that iOS 17 could drop support for the iPhone X and iPhone 8/8 Plus. The argument does make logical sense because these models are now five years old – an elapsed timeframe previously used by Apple to drop software support for some earlier devices. They are also the only iPhones powered by the A11 chip, which is vulnerable to a bootrom jailbreaking exploit that Apple is unable to patch. However, whether Tuesday's rumor was the result of pure extrapolation along these lines remains unknown.
Unless the latest rumor by our anonymous forum tipster is corroborated by another source within the next two months, we will simply have to wait until June 5 to learn if it is true, as this is the date that Apple is expected to announce iOS 17 at WWDC.
Apple services except for iCloud will stop working on some older iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS versions starting in early May, according to information shared by Twitter account @StellaFudge, a source with a proven track record.
Users will not be able to access any Apple services except for iCloud on these software versions:
iOS 11 through iOS 11.2.6
macOS 10.13 through macOS 10.13.3
watchOS 4 through watchOS 4.2.3
tvOS 11 through tvOS 11.2.6
In an internal document, Apple said affected users might receive a push notification prompting them to update their device to a newer software version.
"Some older software versions will no longer support Apple Services like the App Store, Siri, and Maps," said Apple, in a support document published last month. "Update your software to the latest available version to continue using these services."
Apple did not explain why most of its services will stop working with these older software versions, released between late 2017 and early 2018, but the move will affect only a small percentage of users. As of mid-February, for example, Apple said only 8% of actively used iPhones were running iOS 14 or older.
Apple offers a wide range of services, including Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+, Apple News+, and others.
We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
Apple's iPhone continues to be the most popular smartphone with U.S. teens by far, and 87 percent of teens surveyed in the first 2023 Piper Sandler teen survey said they own an iPhone.
88 percent of teens said that their next smartphone will be an iPhone, but iPhone ownership has held steady at that 87 percent figure since last year. Over the last decade, the number of teens that own an iPhone has more than doubled. In 2012, for example, just 40 percent of U.S. teens reported owning an iPhone.
As for the Apple Watch, 35 percent of teens own one of the wrist-worn devices, up four percent since last fall. 15 percent of teens said they plan to buy an Apple Watch in the next six months.
Apple Pay was the number one payment app used for purchases with 39 percent of teens reporting using Apple Pay within the last month, followed by Cash App at 25 percent. For peer-to-peer money transfers, though, Apple's Apple Cash option hasn't caught on. Teens prefer Square's Cash App and PayPal's Venmo for sending one another money.
Spotify was the most popular music platform among teens with 68.1 percent claiming to have used Spotify over the last six months. Just 36.4 percent of teens said they had used Apple Music in the last six months. 44.3 percent claimed to be subscribed to Spotify, while 31.5 percent said they were subscribed to Apple Music.
A total of 29 percent of teens reported owning a VR headset, with just 14 percent using the device on a weekly basis and four percent using it daily. That metric comes as Apple gears up to launch its own AR/VR headset this year, which will be more expensive than existing options.
Among teens that do not own a VR headset, a total of 61 percent said they had no plans to purchase one. 16 percent said they were moderately interested and might purchase, while just seven percent expressed a deeper level of interest and said they intend to make a purchase.
A lack of interest in the AR/VR space from teens does not bode well for Apple's upcoming headset, but the rumored $3,000 price tag for the first iteration does not suggest that it is aimed at a teen audience at this time. Still, the survey makes it clear that other VR headset options from companies like Meta have not been able to make inroads with the key teen demographic.
Just seven percent of teens that were polled said they were planning to purchase a headset, while another 52 percent were "unsure or uninterested."
Piper Sandler has been conducting teen surveys on a biannual basis for more than a decade. Thousands of teens across the United States are surveyed for each one, and this year's spring study includes responses from 5,690 teens with an average age of 16.2 years.
Apple today announced plans to report its earnings results for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2023 on Thursday, May 4.
The earnings report and investor call afterward will provide insight into the period between late December and March, which is often a slow quarter for Apple following the holiday quarter. Apple in January introduced new M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro models, new Mac mini machines, and the updated HomePod, plus this quarter saw the introduction of the yellow iPhone 14.
Apple once again declined to provide guidance for the quarter during its Q1 2023 earnings results, but in Q2 2022, the company reported revenue of $97.3 billion. Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in January that year over year, revenue is expected to be similar to the December quarter. Services and iPhone revenue will be up, while Mac and iPad revenue are expected to decline by double digits year over year because of product release timelines.
Apple's quarterly earnings statement will be released at 1:30 p.m. Pacific/4:30 p.m. Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report taking place at 2:00 p.m. Pacific/5:00 p.m. Eastern. MacRumors will provide coverage of both the earnings release and conference call on May 4.
The Sonos Era 100 features a cylindrical design that's not too far off from the HomePod, and the pricing is about the same too at $249. Designed to be a compact speaker, the Era 100 works with more than 100 streaming services for music, radio, and audiobooks, including Apple Music.
TruePlay measures the acoustics of the room to tailor the sound, and there are advanced tuning options for more personalization. The Era 100 sounds similar to the Sonos One, and while it's slightly better in quality, it won't be worth picking up the Era 100 over the Sonos One if you already have that speaker. Between the Era 100 and the HomePod, the HomePod has the better sound.
The Sonos Era 300 is a higher-end speaker and pricier than any of Apple's HomePods at $449. It is designed to provide 360 degree sound with six drivers, and like Apple's devices, it supports spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. It offers all of the same optimization and customization options as the Era 100. While the Era 100 has a standard speaker design, the Era 300 is a little more experimental, similar to the Play:5.
As for sound, the Era 300 beats prior Sonos speakers and Apple's HomePods. It's bigger than the HomePod, and all the audio equipment inside provides impressive sound. Spatial audio combined with this audio quality sounds incredible, and in comparison to the HomePod, it provides a deeper, fuller sound with more bass.
In addition to using the Sonos support for music apps, the Era 100 and Era 300 support playback over AirPlay 2 from Apple devices or from any Bluetooth-enabled phone or tablet. Prior Sonos speakers were WiFi only, so the option to use Bluetooth makes the speaker easier for guests to use.
Amazon Alexa and Sonos voice assistants are available if you want to control the Sonos speakers with voice commands, and a physical switch at the back turns the microphone off if you want to be sure the speaker isn't listening to what's going on in the room. There is an included USB-C port that can be used with adapters to connect legacy audio devices or a router using an adapter, and on the top of the speakers, there are buttons for physical control, including play/pause and skipping songs.
The full-size HomePod is better than the Era 100 in our opinion, but the Era 300 blows them both away. It is the most expensive speaker at $449, but if you're looking for the best surround sound experience that offers features like spatial audio, Dolby Atmos, and AirPlay 2, it's worth checking out.
Apple made the first beta of iOS 16.5 available to developers and public testers last month. So far, only two new features and changes have been discovered for the iPhone, including a Sports tab in the Apple News app and the ability to start a screen recording with Siri. More details about these changes are outlined below.
iOS 16.5 should be publicly released in May, and it is possible that more features will be added in later beta versions. To try out the beta, sign up for an Apple Developer Program membership for $99 per year or the free Apple Beta Software Program.
Sports Tab in Apple News
Apple has added a Sports tab to the News app on iOS 16.5, giving you easy access to news, scores, and schedules for your favorite teams and leagues. This information was previously available in the Today tab, but it is now featured more prominently as Apple continues to push deeper into sports content across its services.
Screen Recordings via Siri
A small but convenient feature added with iOS 16.5 is the ability to ask Siri to start a screen recording. You can say "Hey Siri, start a screen recording" to record a video of your iPhone's screen, and ask Siri to stop the recording when desired. You can still start a screen recording via Control Center after enabling the feature in Settings → Control Center.
Wrap Up
iOS 16.5 is looking to be a minor update so far, which isn't too surprising given that Apple will unveil iOS 17 at WWDC in June. Prior to iOS 16.5, Apple is preparing to release iOS 16.4.1, likely with bug fixes and security improvements.
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 will drop support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, first-generation 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and fifth-generation iPad, according to a source with a proven track record for upcoming software updates. The devices in this list were released between November 2015 and November 2017.
If this rumor is accurate, iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 would be incompatible with most devices powered by the A11 Bionic chip or older. The only exceptions would be the sixth-generation and seventh-generation iPad models with the A10 Fusion chip and the second-generation 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the A10X Fusion chip.
iPhones and iPads equipped with the A5 through A11 chip are affected by a bootrom security vulnerability that Apple cannot patch on these devices, as the bootrom operates in a read-only state. The exploit has allowed for these devices to be perpetually jailbroken on a wide range of iOS versions, allowing users to modify the iOS file system.
Last year, iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 dropped support for quite a few devices, including the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, original iPhone SE, final iPod touch, second-generation iPad Air, and fourth-generation iPad mini.
Amazon today has the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE for the all-time low price of $219.00, down from $249.00. Along with this model, Amazon has low prices on nearly every other configuration of the 2022 Apple Watch SE, including cellular models.
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.
For the 40mm GPS model, you can get all three colors at this price: Starlight Aluminum, Silver Aluminum, and Midnight Aluminum. Additionally, each color has both S/M and M/L sizes in stock and on sale, with delivery dates as soon as April 10 for some models.
The 44mm GPS model is on sale for $249.00, down from $279.00. Like the smaller model, this one is available in all three colors and various band sizes with a delivery date around April 6-10 for the fastest options. It's an overall second-best price.
Moving to cellular models, the 40mm cellular Apple Watch SE has hit $269.00 on Amazon, down from $299.00. Discounts on both cellular models have been more rare than the GPS versions of the Apple Watch SE, so this is a great opportunity to purchase the wearable at its lowest price.
Lastly, the 44mm cellular Apple Watch SE is available for $299.00 in all three colors, down from $329.00. As with most of the other devices, this is a record low price and one of the few times we've tracked the deal in 2023.
Apple's 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will not offer OLED display technology until 2026, display analyst Ross Young today reaffirmed.
In a tweet, Young shared a new Reuters report detailing Samsung Display's $3.1 billion investment in OLED production in Asan, South Korea and said that the facilities will be used to make OLED displays for 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models from 2026.
Last month, Young said that the MacBook Pro is unlikely to adopt an OLED display until 2026, when Apple's supply chain is expected to have sufficient notebook-optimized OLED display production capacity. Until then, Young said suppliers will be focused on OLED displays for tablets, such as the iPad Pro.
In addition to the 2026 time frame, the information suggests that despite Apple's wish to get away from Samsung displays and switch to its own custom MicroLED technology, Samsung Display will have an omnipresent role in supplying OLED panels for Apple's next-generation devices – contributing to the 11.1-inch iPad Pro, 13.4-inch MacBook Air, and 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Today we're tracking a pair of discounts on MacBook Pros on Amazon, including the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro from 2022 and the 16-inch M2 Max MacBook Pro from this year. Both of these deals are all-time low prices on the notebooks, and are being matched at B&H Photo.
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 13-inch MacBook Pro (M2, 256GB), you can get this computer for $1,099.00, down from $1,299.00 (matched at B&H). This generation of the MacBook Pro doesn't feature any external design changes, mainly focusing on internal advancements to performance and efficiency with the newer M2 chip.
Moving to the 16-inch MacBook Pro (M2 Max, 1TB), this model is down to $3,199.00, from $3,499.00 (matched at B&H). This is one of the higher-end configurations of the new 2023 MacBook Pro lineup, and today's sale is the first time we've tracked such a steep discount on this model. As of writing, it's the only 2023 MacBook Pro with a significant discount available online.
You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.
Apple is preparing to release iOS 16.4.1 for the iPhone, according to a source with a proven track record for upcoming software updates. It's unclear when the update will be available, but it will likely be released this week or next week.
Minor updates like iOS 16.4.1 are typically focused on bug fixes and security improvements. Since iOS 16.4 was released last week, some iPhone users complained about having to re-enter Wi-Fi passwords. There was also an issue with data failing to load in the Weather app, but Apple's system status page says that problem has now been resolved.
iOS 16.4.1 would be a stopgap update while iOS 16.5 remains in testing. Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 16.5 last week with a few minor changes, including the addition of a Sports tab in the Apple News app and the ability to start a screen recording with Siri. iOS 16.5 will likely be released to the public at some point in May.
Apple is currently experiencing issues with its weather data provider, leaving many users unable to see live weather information and forecasts for regions in the Weather app.
The issue appears to be affecting many users across the globe, with Weather apps on several Apple platforms impacted, including iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS.
Apple is currently trying to resolve an issue with its Weather service according to its System Status webpage, although the issue summary only lists next-hour precipitation as unavailable for Alaska "due to a data provider outage," when in fact numerous regions and forecast types are down.
Apple says the issue affecting "some users" began around five hours ago as of writing and is "ongoing," although some iPhone users are reporting that they have had intermittent issues with Weather data since the iOS 16.4 update was released a week ago. We'll update this story when the problem is reported as resolved.
Update — 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time: Apple's system status page says the issue is now resolved.
Update — 1:35 p.m. Pacific Time: Apple's system status page once again says the service "may be slow or unavailable."
Update — 1:00 a.m. Pacific Time April 5: Apple now says all issues have been resolved.
Apple is planning to cut a small number of corporate retail employees that are on its development and preservation teams, reports Bloomberg. The employees that are part of the downsizing handle the construction and upkeep of Apple retail locations worldwide.
It is not clear how many positions Apple is eliminating, but Bloomberg says the cuts are "likely very small." Still, this is the first known report of Apple culling its internal workforce to cut spending. Back in June 2022, the company laid off up to 100 contractors that handled recruiting, but contractors are not full-time workers. Apple has also cut engineers and security guards that held contracting roles.
Apple told employees that these are not layoffs, but streamlining, and that the changes are aimed at improving the upkeep of stores globally. Those who were cut have the option to reapply for positions similar to their prior job, and those who do not take on a new role could get up to four months of pay.
Apple in November paused hiring for most jobs outside of research and development, and in March of this year, Apple expanded the hiring freeze. For many teams, Apple has halted hiring, and when employees leave, positions are being left open. Slowing hiring has allowed Apple to avoid the widespread layoffs that other tech companies have announced in recent months.
Twitter has eliminated thousands of employees following the takeover by Elon Musk, and last month, Facebook announced plans to lay off approximately 10,000 employees. Microsoft cut its AI ethics team in March following several prior layoff events, and Google parent company Alphabet laid off 12,000 employees in January.
Apple in 2021 introduced the 24-inch iMac, with the redesigned machine featuring an array of bright colors and the new-at-the-time M1 chip. Since its 2021 debut, Apple has not refreshed the smaller iMac and the iMac line has all but been forgotten, but rumors suggest there is a new 24-inch iMac in the works.
This guide highlights everything that we know so far about a future 24-inch iMac.
Design
We are not expecting any external design changes to the 24-inch iMac, with rumors indicating it will use the same 24-inch display and the same bright color options. The iMac comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver, and so far, there hasn't been an indication that Apple plans to add new colors.
The iMac features a brightly colored back with a softer color of the same shade for the front, along with a matching stand. All models have matching accessories, including mice, keyboards, and cabling. There are thick bezels around the iMac's display, including a thick chin, which has been an iMac design staple for years.
While there are no external changes expected, Apple could tweak the internal design somewhat to accommodate updated chip technology. There may also be a new manufacturing process for the stand, which could be indicative of minor design changes to the stand's look or functionality. The Studio Display, for example, has a height and tilt-adjustable stand, so Apple could perhaps add a height adjustment option to a future iMac.
A refreshed 24-inch iMac is expected to use the next-generation M3 chip that will follow the current M2 chip. The M3 chip will be built on TSMC's 3-nanometer process, bringing notable power and efficiency improvements.
An iMac with an M3 chip would see significant performance improvements over the 2021 M1 chip model, both in terms of the CPU and GPU.
Launch Timing
A new 24-inch iMac is in an "advanced stage of development," according toBloomberg's Mark Gurman. It could come in the second half of 2023 at the earliest, and given that there are no design changes, it's likely ready to go and waiting on Apple to have new M3 chips ready.
A Larger iMac
Along with a refreshed 24-inch iMac, Apple may have plans for a larger-screened iMac Pro, but rumors about such a machine have been mixed. The 27-inch iMac was discontinued in March 2022 and was ultimately replaced with the Mac Studio and matching Studio Display.
There was talk of an "iMac Pro" with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips that would be sold alongside the 24-inch iMac, but we haven't heard much about it since last year.
Guide Feedback
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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.
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.
