MacRumors

Multiple rumors have indicated that Apple's first AR/VR headset coming later this year will be priced somewhere around $3,000, but a future version will be more affordable, according to reports from The Information and Bloomberg. Apple is already developing a more "budget-friendly" AR/VR headset that could be priced similarly to the iPhone.

The current iPhone 14 models are priced starting at $799 and go up to $1599 for the highest-end model with 1TB storage, but there is no word on where in that range the cheaper headset might fall. The headset will reportedly compete with Meta's mixed reality headset, which is priced at $1,500.

Apple engineers plan to use more affordable components to bring the price down, but the lower-priced headset will have the same general AR/VR "mixed reality" functionality of the headset launching in 2023. The chips in the device will be on par with the ‌iPhone‌, rather than the Mac-level chips used in the first AR/VR headset, and Apple may also use lower resolution internal displays and cheaper materials.

As of right now, development on the more affordable headset is in the early stages and Apple has not created a working prototype. The Information says that "significant" work on the device started last year, and at the time, the goal was to launch the cheap headset in 2024. Apple could introduce a budget mixed reality headset in either 2024 or 2025, according to Bloomberg.

For almost all product categories, Apple has both premium and more affordable versions of devices, so it is no surprise that the company has plans for a more consumer friendly mixed reality headset to join the high-end ~$3,000 version coming later in the year.

With the focus now on a more affordable AR/VR headset, Bloomberg says that Apple is delaying the augmented reality Apple Glasses that it had been working on. The rollout of the Apple Glasses has been postponed indefinitely, and work on the device has been pared back.

Apple's first AR/VR headset could be introduced as soon as this spring, but the device has seen multiple delays during its development. The $3,000 price point is due to the high-end components that Apple is using, including dual 4K displays from Sony, over a dozen cameras, an external battery pack, and more. Details on the AR/VR headset can be found in our roundup.

Third-party Twitter apps like Tweetbot and Twitterrific have been intentionally blocked from using Twitter APIs, Twitter confirmed today. Without access to the underlying code for the social network, Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Birdie, Echofon, and other popular Twitter clients are non-functional and cannot be used.

Twitter's Dev account today said in a tweet that Twitter is "enforcing its long-standing API rules," a change that could cause some apps not to work. There has been no word on which API rules the blocked Twitter clients have violated, and this is the first time that Twitter has provided insight into what's going on with third-party Twitter apps since they stopped working last Thursday.

When some third-party Twitter apps became unusable last week, it was initially believed that there could be some kind of bug causing the outage. Only the most popular Twitter clients were affected and blocked from Twitter's APIs, perhaps indicating an internal error. As Twitter declined to comment on the situation for days, however, it became clearer that it was an intentional decision. Over the weekend, The Information said that in an internal Slack channel, a senior software engineer at Twitter clarified that the suspensions were done on purpose, suggesting many Twitter employees were not even aware of what was going on.

It is not known why Twitter has provided so little information on what is happening to highly popular third-party Twitter apps that have existed for years, nor if these apps will again be provided with access to the API if changes are made. Developers like Iconfactory and Tapbots (responsible for Twitterrific and Tweetbot, respectively), received no warning about the shutdown and were not provided with information on why their apps stopped working.

Apps like Tweetbot have been around for more than a decade at this point, with loyal users, full teams of developers, and a major investment in the social network. Developers have expressed their frustration at Twitter's decision and lack of communication, as have longtime Twitter users.

MacStories, for example, called Twitter's actions "disgraceful" and "unprofessional," with Twitter demonstrating a "total lack of respect" for the role that third-party apps have played in the success of the social network.

Jason Snell called Twitter's actions "clueless, classless, and cowardly," and John Gruber said this is likely the end of his regular usage of Twitter as Twitter's own client is "terrible."

At this point, it isn't clear when or if we're going to get more information about third-party Twitter clients from Twitter, nor if the apps that have had their API access revoked will be back in some capacity. Tapbots is now speeding up development on Ivory, its app for the Mastodon social network, and Twitterrific's Craig Hockenberry said that he will be exploring the concept of a truly universal timeline that leverages how open standards can be used in "new and different ways."

Apple is planning new Apple Watch activity challenges in honor of Lunar New Year, Black History Month, and Heart Month, all of which take place in January and February.

For Lunar New Year, Apple Watch owners can earn an award after doing any workout for at least 20 minutes. The challenge will need to be completed between between January 22 and February 5, and it will be available worldwide even though Lunar New Year is primarily celebrated in select countries. The 2023 Lunar New Year begins on Sunday, January 22 and lasts for 15 days.

For Heart Month, Apple Watch owners will need to complete a 30 minute workout to fill their Exercise ring on Tuesday, February 14, which is Valentine's Day.

Apple's "Unity" challenge in honor of Black History Month requires users to close the Move ring for seven days in a row in February.

As with all of Apple's Activity Challenges, the two challenges will be accompanied by three awards that can be viewed in the Fitness app as well as a series of animated stickers that can be used in the Messages app.

Dropbox today announced that it is expanding support for macOS 12.5 and later, with all users set to receive the update by May 2023.

Dropbox users that have not already got the update with support for macOS 12.5 can expect to receive it between now and the end of May. Anyone interested in early access to the version of Dropbox with support for macOS 12.5 can join the beta now.

Basic, Plus, Professional, and Family plan customers simply need to turn on early releases and keep watch for a notification to opt-in to get the beta, while Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, and Education customers need to contact the Account Team or Customer Support.

Dropbox added that it is also working directly with a small subset of customers with complex configurations to ensure their migration to the new system is as smooth as possible.

With the release of macOS Monterey 12.3 in March 2022, Apple deprecated kernel extensions used by cloud storage services like Dropbox and OneDrive, resulting in users being unable to open online-only files stored on Dropbox or OneDrive in third-party apps after updating.

Dropbox previously said it would begin rolling out an updated version of its Mac app to beta testers in March 2022, followed by an announcement in August that said the public beta was coming in the early fourth quarter of 2022. Development has evidently taken much longer than expected, leading to complaints from some users.

Apple's next-generation Mac mini set to come out in 2024 will not feature an updated design, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a tweet today, Kuo said that the "next new ‌Mac mini‌" will have the same "form factor design."

The M2 and ‌M2‌ Pro versions of the ‌Mac mini‌ that Apple introduced today have the same design as the prior-generation M1 and Intel models, with no major external updates. Instead, the changes are all internal, featuring faster M-series chips.

There were 2021/2022 rumors that suggested the ‌Mac mini‌ could see a refreshed look with a plexiglass top and other new features, but that did not come to pass with this update.

Apple sells the ‌Mac mini‌ alongside the Mac Studio, which was introduced in spring 2022. The ‌Mac Studio‌ is using Apple's M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips, and it is due for an ‌M2‌ refresh at some point.

Apple today launched its annual Back to University promotion in Australia and New Zealand, offering students, teachers, and other eligible educational employees free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad for a limited time.

Between January 18 and March 13, students can get free second-generation AirPods with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, 24-inch iMac, iPad Pro, or iPad Air — this includes the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. Students can also upgrade to third-generation AirPods for $60 to $70 extra depending on the type of charging case or to second-generation AirPods Pro for $180 extra.

The promotion is available on Apple's online store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple's retail stores in Australia. As usual, refurbished Macs and iPads are not eligible for free AirPods, and other models like the Mac Studio, Mac mini, and iPad mini are also exempt. Apple has outlined full terms and conditions for the promotion on its website.

Apple's Back to University promotion is usually the same as the Back to School promotion that launches in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and other regions around June, so students living in those locations can likely expect free AirPods to be the offer there too.

Though Apple just refreshed the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models this morning, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is already sharing details about next-generation models. Kuo believes 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros coming in 2024 will feature M3 Pro and M3 Max chips that are built on TSMC's 3-nanometer process.

‌MacBook Pro‌ models with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips will go into mass production in the first half of 2024, according to Kuo.

Apple chip maker TSMC began mass production on next-generation 3-nanometer chips in late December. The 3nm technology will offer improved performance and better power efficiency compared to the current chips manufactured on a 5-nanometer process, including the M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max that were introduced today.

With mass production kicking off on the next-generation ‌MacBook Pro‌ models in the first half of 2024, we could see an announcement sometime between spring and WWDC of next year, though there's still plenty of time for Apple to tweak its future release plans.

Amazon today has solid deals on numerous models of the Apple Watch Ultra, priced at $749.00, down from $799.00. Compared to previous sales, this price is about $10 higher than the all-time low price we saw on the Ultra during the holidays, which makes Amazon's deal today a solid second-best option.

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.

Apple introduced the Apple Watch Ultra in September 2022 as a high-end version of the Apple Watch. Designed to compete with more expensive fitness-focused smart watches from companies like Garmin, the Apple Watch Ultra is aimed at sports enthusiasts and athletes that need more battery life and more sport-specific performance from their devices.

Configurations include:

• Black/Gray Trail Loop (Medium/Large)
• Black/Gray Trail Loop (Small/Medium)
• Blue/Gray Trail Loop (Medium/Large)
• Blue/Gray Trail Loop (Small/Medium)
• Yellow/Beige Trail Loop (Medium/Large)
• Yellow/Beige Trail Loop (Small/Medium)
• Green Alpine Loop (Large)
• Green Alpine Loop (Medium)
• Green Alpine Loop (Small)
• Orange Alpine Loop (Large)
• Orange Alpine Loop (Medium)
• Orange Alpine Loop (Small)
• Starlight Alpine Loop (Large)
• Starlight Alpine Loop (Medium)
• Starlight Alpine Loop (Small)
• Midnight Ocean Band
• White Ocean Band
• Yellow Ocean Band

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Following today's announcement of a new M2‌ Pro Mac mini, which replaced the previous Intel-based model in the lineup, the Mac Pro is now the only Mac in Apple's current product lineup that still uses an Intel processor.

The previous ‌Mac mini‌ lineup consisted of an M1 ‌Mac mini‌, announced in November 2020, and the now-discontinued Intel-based model. Apple said in June 2020 that its transition to Apple silicon would take around two years, and while Apple has transitioned the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and now the ‌Mac mini‌ to its own processors, the ‌Mac Pro‌ has yet to make the switch.

Apple's vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus, teased at the company's March event that a new Apple silicon ‌Mac Pro‌ is still in the works. Currently, the highest-end Apple silicon Mac in the lineup is the Mac Studio configured with the M1 Ultra chip. Apple is rumored to announce an Apple silicon ‌Mac Pro‌ sometime this year, but despite speculation, the new model will feature the same design as the 2019 computer.

Apple today announced updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros powered by "the most powerful and efficient" Apple silicon chips yet, the M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max.

The new MacBook Pros represent a minor upgrade from the previous models announced in October 2021 but still bring several notable new features and changes. Below, we've outlined five of the most interesting tidbits you need to know about the new Mac laptops.

• Space Gray models of the new MacBook Pro now come with a Space Gray color-matched MagSafe charging cable, unlike before. Previously, Space Gray models would ship with a silver ‌MagSafe‌ cable.
• For the first time in a Mac, the MacBook Pros and the updated Mac mini support the Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 standards. Both new improvements will improve connection reliability and performance, particularly in high-density areas.
• Alongside new chips, the new MacBook Pros also include an updated HDMI port that now supports HDMI 2.1. HDMI 2.1 will allow the ‌MacBook Pro‌ to run a display up to 8K resolution at 60Hz.
• Thanks to the improved performance of the ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max, the new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ features up to 22 hours of battery life – the longest battery life ever offered in a Mac.
• Previous-generation MacBook Pros were only configurable to up to 64GB of unified memory. However, the new ‌M2‌ Max chip allows customers to configure their ‌MacBook Pro‌ with up to 96GB of RAM.

The new MacBook Pros start at $1,999 and are available for pre-order starting today on Apple's online store. Both the updated MacBook Pros and ‌Mac mini‌ will begin arriving to customers on Tuesday, January 24.

Apple today announced refreshed 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max Apple silicon chips, and when configured with the highest specs, the new machines come with higher price tags than the machines they replace.

The 14-inch model starts at $1,999, while the 16-inch model starts at $2,499. Both starting prices remain unchanged from the previous-generation models, but there are more significant upgrades available depending on the model, and that's where the differences emerge.

A fully maxed 16-inch MacBook Pro now tops out at $6,499, featuring a top-of-the-line ‌M2 Max‌ chip with 12-core CPU and 32-core GPU, 96GB unified memory, and 8TB SSD. The previous-generation M1 Max model topped out at $6,099 but only came with a maximum 64GB of unified memory.

The latest 14-inch MacBook Pro models can be customized with the same specs as the new 16-inch machine. A 14-inch MacBook Pro with ‌M2 Max‌, 96GB of unified memory, and 8TB SSD is priced at $6,299, up from $5,899.

Pre-orders for the new MacBook Pro models started today and the first machines will be arriving to customers next Tuesday. Fully customized and upgraded MacBook Pro models won't ship out until February.

Verizon today has one of the first best prices of 2023 on Apple's AirPods Pro 2, available for $199.99, down from $249.00. This price is just about $2 away from the best price we ever tracked on the accessory.

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

Although they were around $197 on Woot for Black Friday, that sale was very rare and disappeared quickly. The $199.99 price tag has been the most consistent deal on the AirPods Pro 2, and as of today only Verizon is offering the sale with all other retailers having ended their promotions.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Apple's just-announced 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are now available with up to 96GB of unified memory when configured with the highest-end M2 Max chip.

Until now, both MacBook Pro models maxed out at 64GB of memory when equipped with the previous-generation M1 Max chip. With the introduction of the ‌M2‌ Max processor with a 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU, Apple's latest Macs now offer up to an additional 32GB of unified memory capacity.

Otherwise, memory bandwidth is unchanged from the M1 Pro and ‌M1 Max‌ models, remaining at up to 200GB/s for the ‌M2‌ Pro chip and up to 400GB/s for the ‌M2‌ Max chip.

Customers can order the new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ via Apple's online store starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, January 24. Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and at $2,499 for the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Apple today announced updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and an updated Mac mini, with faster and more efficient performance thanks to new M2 chips. All new Macs announced today are available for pre-order on Apple's online store starting today, with shipments arriving on Tuesday, January 24.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros come with the all-new ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips, which offer improved performance and battery life over their predecessors for workflows such as video editing and graphic design.

Apple today also updated its ‌Mac mini‌ with the ‌M2‌ and all-new ‌M2‌ Pro chips. The updated ‌Mac mini‌ has the same design as the previous generation, but comes with faster performance and additional Thunderbolt ports for models configured with the higher-end ‌M2‌ Pro processor.

The new ‌Mac mini‌ starts at a lower price of $599, while the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro start at $1,999 and $2,499, respectively.

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple announced an updated Mac mini with the M2 and ‌M2‌ Pro chips today. The new ‌Mac mini‌ has the same design as previous models, but comes with several additional features and changes.

Below, we've outlined a few of the most notable new features, changes, and details regarding the new ‌Mac mini‌.

• ‌M2‌ models of the new ‌Mac mini‌ come with 8GB of unified memory as standard, but can be configured with 16GB or 24GB memory options. ‌Mac mini‌ models with ‌M2‌ Pro come with a standard 16GB of unified memory, with an option to upgrade to 32GB of memory.
• ‌M2‌ models of the new ‌Mac mini‌ come with 256GB of SSD storage with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options. ‌M2‌ Pro models come with 512GB of storage as standard and options of 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB.
• ‌Mac mini‌ models with ‌M2‌ Pro support up to three external displays, with two displays at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one additional display of up to 4K resolution over HDMI. With one display connected to the ‌Mac mini‌, it can support up to 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI.
• ‌Mac mini‌ models with ‌M2‌ Pro come with two additional Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back. Both the ‌M2‌ and ‌M2‌ Pro models have an Ethernet port, HDMI, two USB-A ports, and a headphone jack.
• For the first time in a Mac, the new ‌Mac mini‌ and MacBook Pro support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

The new ‌Mac mini‌, alongside the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, are available for pre-order starting today and will begin arriving to customers on Tuesday, January 24.

Apple's just-announced 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models now come with HDMI 2.1 support, a significant upgrade on the models they replace.

Previously on the 2021 MacBook Pro models, the HDMI 2.0 port only supports a single 4K display with a refresh rate of up to 60Hz.

But the more advanced HDMI port on the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips means they now provide support for 8K displays up to 60Hz and 4K displays up to 240Hz.

The new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models also feature Wi-Fi 6E for faster wireless connectivity, along with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SDXC card slot, and MagSafe 3 charging.

Customers can order the new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ via Apple's online store starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, January 24. Pricing starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and at $2,499 for the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro model features up to 22 hours of battery life – the longest battery life ever offered in a Mac.

Both of the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models offer one additional hour of battery life over their predecessors, rising from 17 to 18 hours on the 14-inch model and 21 to 22 hours on the 16-inch model. For comparison, both the M1 and M2 MacBook Air offer 18 hours of battery life, while the 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ offers 20 hours of battery life.

While the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ models have the same battery capacities as their predecessors, Apple says that the ‌M2‌ Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips deliver improved efficiency to prolong battery life and reduce the energy they consume over their lifetime compared to the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips from the previous generation.

Following the announcement of the M2 Pro and ‌M2‌ Max chips, updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and a new Mac mini, Apple today shared a mini keynote-styled video on YouTube detailing the latest Macs and the new chips.

The video, 18 minutes long, features Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus and other Apple executives in Apple Park offering a presentation on the latest Macs. The video is similar to the digital online events Apple has held in the past but coincides with announcements of new Macs via press releases on the company's website.