Best Buy recently kicked off a new sale focused on wearables, including solid markdowns on products from Garmin, Fitbit, Oura, Samsung, Google, and more. While some of these deals will continue through the end of May, others end later this week.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
We've collected some of the highlights of the sale below, including as much as $70 off Samsung's Galaxy Watches, Fitbit's array of smartwatches, Google's Pixel Watches, Garmin's smartwatches, and the Oura ring wearables. Some of these deals will end this Sunday, May 14, so be sure to browse the sale soon.
In a press release introducing a new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch today, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5 will be released to the public next week. The software updates have been in beta testing since late March.
"The new Pride Celebration watch face and iPhone wallpaper will be available next week, and requires watchOS 9.5 and iOS 16.5," said Apple.
In addition to a new Pride Celebration wallpaper, iOS 16.5 includes just one small but useful change for the iPhone, a new Sports tab in the Apple News app. Overall, the update is a relatively minor one and comes just weeks ahead of Apple announcing iOS 17 at WWDC in June.
An overview of iOS 16.5 changes follows.
Pride Wallpaper
iOS 16.5 will include a new Pride Celebration wallpaper designed to match the new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch.
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.
iOS 16.5 Release Notes
This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:
- A new Pride Celebration wallpaper for the Lock Screen to honor the LGBTQ+ community and culture - Sports tab in Apple News gives easy access to stories, scores, standings, and more, for the teams and leagues you follow - My Sports score and schedule cards in Apple News take you directly to game pages where you can find additional details about specific games - Fixes an issue where Spotlight may become unresponsive - Addresses an issue where Podcasts in CarPlay may not load content - Fixes an issue where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices
Apple says that Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro feature all-new touch interfaces that take advantage of multi-touch on the iPad:
Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad bring all-new touch interfaces that allow users to enhance their workflows with the immediacy and intuitiveness of multi-touch. Final Cut Pro for iPad introduces a powerful set of tools for video creators to record, edit, finish, and share, all from one portable device. Logic Pro for iPad puts the power of professional music creation in the hands of the creator — no matter where they are — with a complete collection of sophisticated tools for songwriting, beat making, recording, editing, and mixing.
Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad will each be available for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, with a one-month free trial. Final Cut Pro requires an iPad with an M1 chip or newer, while Logic Pro requires an A12 Bionic iPad or newer. The apps will be available on the App Store starting on Tuesday, May 23.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro includes a digital jog wheel to navigate the Magnetic Timeline, move clips, and make frame-accurate edits. Live drawing allows users to draw and write directly on top of video content with the Apple Pencil, with support for Apple Pencil hover to skim and preview footage. Key commands are enabled when using an external keyboard. Final Cut Pro on iPad also supports the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's Reference Mode for color accurate editing.
Machine learning features include Scene Removal Mask to quickly remove or replace backgrounds without using a green screen, Auto Crop for adjusting footage for vertical, square, and other aspect ratios, and Voice Isolation to remove background noise easily.
The app includes a library of graphics, effects, and audio, including HDR backgrounds, animated patterns, and soundtracks that automatically adjust to the duration of a video.
Pro camera mode allows creators to shoot video in Final Cut Pro in landscape or portrait, monitor audio and recording time, and manually control settings like exposure, white balance, and focus. Multicam video editing automatically synchronizes clips for editing together, making it possible to switch angles with a single touch.
Media can be imported from Files or Photos and saved directly inside a Final Cut Pro project. The app also supports import of projects created in iMovie, and users can export Final Cut Pro projects made on iPad to the Mac.
Logic Pro
Logic Pro for the iPad uses a range of multi-touch gestures to play software instruments and and navigate projects. The Apple Pencil facilitates precision edits and detailed drawn track automation. Like Final Cut Pro, key commands are supported when using an external keyboard. Using the iPad's built-in microphones, users can also capture audio directly in the app.
The app has a full-featured mixer with channel strips, volume faders, pan controls, plug‑ins, sends, and precise automation. Multi-touch lets creators move and mix multiple faders at once, and the mixer meter bridge lets them navigate an overview of track levels.
An all-new sound browser with dynamic filtering helps creators explore all available instrument patches, audio patches, plug‑in presets, samples, and loops in one location. Users can simply tap to listen to any sound before adding it to a project.
The app includes over 100 instruments and effect plug-ins, with plug-in tiles for the most important controls. Production tools enable users to chop and flip samples, program beats and bass lines, and create custom drum kits.
A new time and pitch-morphing plug-in called Beat Breaker allows creators to swipe and pinch to reshape and shuffle sounds. The Quick Sampler can chop and transform samples into new playable instruments, while Step Sequencer lets users program drum patterns, bass lines, and melodies, and automate plug‑ins. Drum Machine Designer offers the ability to create custom drum kits by applying samples and plug‑ins to any drum pad. Using Live Loops, users can quickly build arrangements.
Logic Pro for the iPad supports roundtrip capabilities to move projects between Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad. iPad users can export completed songs in multiple lossless and compressed formats, as well as individual audio track stems. Creators can make a soundtrack in Logic Pro and export it into Final Cut Pro when working across music and video. Logic Pro for the iPad also supports the ability to open GarageBand projects.
Apple today introduced a new Pride Edition Sport Band for the Apple Watch, accompanied by a matching watch face and iPhone wallpaper. Priced at $49, the band will be available to order on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app starting May 23, and will be available at select Apple Store locations beginning May 24.
Inspired by the LGBTQ+ community, the new Pride band features a confetti-like design showcasing the original Pride flag colors and five others. The band is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes for the Apple Watch Series 3 and later.
Inspired by the strength and beauty of the LGBTQ+ community, the new Sport Band design showcases the original pride flag rainbow colors and five others — black and brown symbolize Black and Latin communities, in addition to those who have passed away from or are living with HIV/AIDS, while light blue, pink, and white represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.
The matching Pride Celebration watch face and iPhone wallpaper will be available next week, and will require watchOS 9.5 and iOS 16.5 or later.
Apple releases a new Pride band each year and continues to support and bring awareness to LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations around the world.
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iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models launching in 2024 will feature around 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, respectively, according to oft-accurate display industry analyst Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants.
Young informed MacRumors that the 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes are rounded up. In response to our news story, Young said he will reveal the actual sizes to two decimal places during his speech at the Display Week conference in Los Angeles on May 23. Young did not indicate if the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will also have larger displays.
The new display sizes would be the largest ever for the iPhone, as the device continues to get bigger. By comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are equipped with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays, respectively, and these sizes are not expected to change with the iPhone 15 Pro models launching later this year.
Young has a good track record with display-related information about future Apple products. In the past, he accurately revealed that ProMotion was coming to the iPhone 13 Pro and the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, that the sixth-generation iPad mini would be equipped with a larger 8.3-inch display, and many other details.
As widely rumored, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will exclusively feature an upgraded Telephoto lens with periscope technology, according to Twitter account @URedditor. In a tweet today, the leaker said they finally independently confirmed this information.
Last month, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated that the periscope lens will enable up to 5x-6x optical zoom when shooting photos with the rear camera on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, compared to up to 3x on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. When taking a photo, optical zoom does not have any blurriness when zooming in, like digital zoom does.
With a periscope lens, light absorbed by the image sensor is bent or "folded," allowing for a greater distance between the camera elements within the compact design of a smartphone. This technology allows for increased optical zoom and is already used by some Android brands like Samsung, Google, and Huawei, with phones like the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra offering between 5x and 10x optical zoom.
Apple will launch the iPhone 15 Pro Max in September. Other upcoming models, including the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, and iPhone 15 Pro, are not expected to feature a periscope lens. For more details, read our periscope lens guide.
@URedditor was the first source to share alleged real-world images of the iPhone 15 Pro, but they do not have a long-term track record with Apple rumors.
YouTuber Unbox Therapy has shared a hands-on look at the iPhone 15 Pro Max using a one-to-one replica created by third-party case makers with access to early Apple schematics, and by far the most obvious difference is the sheer thinness of the bezels around the display.
The video provides a side-by-side comparison between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and its direct successor, and as Unbox Therapy notes, bezel thinness on the unreleased model looks "almost half" the size of those found on its predecessor, potentially offering the best screen-to-bezel ratio of any smartphone.
Both iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have thinner, curved bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, resulting in an Apple Watch-like appearance, and rumors suggest the larger 6.7-inch model will have the most minimal of bezels.
According to leaker Ice Universe, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will "break the record" of 1.81mm bezels held by the Xiaomi 13, with Apple's upcoming model coming with a bezel width of just 1.55mm at the thinnest edge. For comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro’s bezel measurements are 2.17mm, while the Samsung Galaxy Ultra S23 bezels measure in at 1.95mm.
Unbox Therapy's replica includes the button configuration on the new Pro models as they were originally rumored, with a single unified volume button and an additional software-configurable button in lieu of the mute switch, suggesting the mockup was based on early schematics.
As rumors stand, the mute switch is still gone but the volume buttons are now believed to be separate on the iPhone 15 Pro models, while the rumored solid-state haptic volume buttons and new Taptic Engine have apparently been delayed until next year's models, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Apple's new iPhone 15 series is expected to be launched in September as usual. For everything we know about what to expect in the new devices, click the links below.
The upcoming Apple Watch Series 9 will include a new processor based on the A15 chip that was first used in the iPhone 13 models, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman shared the information in the new Discord channel for his Power On newsletter subscribers.
The Apple Watch Series 8, like the Series 7 before it, uses a chip that's essentially identical to the S6 chip that was used in the Apple Watch Series 6. Apple calls the Apple Watch Series 8 chip the "S8," but it is a two-year-old chip with no speed improvements.
Gurman says that the Series 9 chip will be a "new processor" rather than a rebranding of the prior-generation chip, and when asked whether the chip would be based on the A15 chip, he said that he believed that would be the case.
With an updated chip that's built using the A15 technology, the Apple Watch Series 9 could see speed and efficiency improvements, resulting in quicker load times and better battery life. The new chip could help power some of the updated features that Apple plans to introduce in watchOS 10. Apple is working on overhauling the watchOS interface in watchOS 10, with a specific focus on a new widget system.
While we are expecting some notable changes to watchOS this year, the Apple Watch Series 9 will be largely similar to the Series 8. No major design updates are expected, but we will see a modest speed boost due to the new chip.
"Peridot," the latest game from augmented reality company Niantic, is now available for download from the App Store. A Tamagotchi-style game, Peridot allows users to choose a virtual pet to raise.
As with Niantic's other games, Peridot is an augmented reality title that encourages players to take their pets for walks in the real world. During walks, users can collect items, discover new places, and capture photos.
The game syncs with the Health app to allow players to earn walking distance even when the app is closed, and the augmented reality interface is quick and responsive, letting users tap a spot on the screen to direct their pet.
The Peridot or "Dot" is raised from birth, and players can pet, feed, and play with their Dots to help them grow. In addition to exploring places in the real world and uncovering items, there is a breeding mechanic that can unlock new Peridot archetypes. Raising a Peridot into an adult and leveling up unlocks new character traits that can be used for future pets.
Dots are modeled after existing animals and mythological creatures like cheetahs, dragons, unicorns, and more, with "infinite possibilities of Peridot archetypes" available.
Niantic first announced Peridot in April 2022, so it has been in development for over a year. The official launch date is May 9, but the game is available for download as of today. [Direct Link]
The refurbished models are discounted by approximately 15 percent compared to the equivalent brand new configurations. Apple tests, inspects, cleans, and repackages all refurbished Macs to ensure they are fully functional and in good condition, and they are covered by a one-year limited warranty and eligible for AppleCare+ coverage.
The latest MacBook Pro models provide up to 20% faster performance and up to 30% faster graphics compared to the previous generation. The laptops can also be configured with up to 96GB of RAM, compared to a max of 64GB previously, and they feature Wi-Fi 6E, an HDMI 2.1 port with 8K external display support, and longer battery life.
Today we're tracking a few fresh discounts on Apple's latest MacBook Pro at Amazon. These markdowns include a return of the best-ever price on the entry-level 10-Core M2 Pro, 512GB 14-inch model at $1,749.99, down from $1,999.00.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
You can get both space gray and silver at this discounted price, but silver is seeing delayed delivery dates into June, while space gray can be delivered as soon as May 17. This price is a match of the previous all-time low price on this model.
In a rarer discount, we're also tracking a new sale on the 12-Core M2 Max, 1TB 14-inch MacBook Pro at Amazon. You can get this notebook for $2,849.99, down from $3,099.00. Both colors are on sale at this price, but stock on space gray is dwindling fast.
In terms of the larger screen model, Amazon also has a few notable discounts on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. You can get the 12-Core M2 Pro, 512GB 16-inch notebook for $2,249.99, down from $2,499.00. This deal is available in both colors and they're both in stock with delivery estimated for around May 10 through May 14.
Lastly, you can get the 12-Core M2 Pro, 1TB 16-inch MacBook Pro for $2,449.99, down from $2,699.00. Both colors are on sale at this price, and silver is starting to dwindle as of writing, although delivery dates for both are still estimated for around May 10.
iOS 17 will introduce a new iPhone experience for Apple Maps that integrates detailed turn-by-turn directions to the Lock Screen without taking over the display, claims a leaker with alleged insider information.
Concept render shared by Analyst941
Currently in iOS 16, when real-time Maps directions are active and the iPhone is locked, the Maps app takes over the screen and all other Lock Screen elements are hidden. According to Twitter account Analyst941, this will change in iOS 17, with Maps directions including live visual map data taking over a portion of the Lock Screen, but with app notifications and the Camera and Flashlight buttons remaining at the base of the display.
The leaker claims that app notifications will still be accessible by swiping up on the screen, while the physical act of unlocking the iPhone will remain a seamless transition. According to Analyst941, the new Maps Lock Screen interface will be coming to "all iPhones."
This is the first time we have heard about specific changes to Maps for iOS 17, and the leaker has made several other claims about iOS 17 that have yet to be corroborated. This rumor, and others like it, should therefore be taken with a grain of salt.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has expressed doubt about Analyst941's claims and believes that some of the information is inaccurate. We'll know more about their accuracy in just under a month when Apple unveils iOS 17, watchOS 10, and other updates at the June 5 WWDC keynote.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this weekend confirmed that Apple has nixed haptic buttons, and will instead introduce them next year. Gurman says Apple has been "wavering" on the feature because of the costs and the complexity. While internal test models still have the functionality at the current time, Apple is "likely" to hold solid-state technology until the launch of the iPhone 16 Pro.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also claimed that Apple plans to hold solid-state buttons until the launch of the iPhone 16 Pro models, with Kuo attributing the delay to "unresolved technical issues before mass production." Solid-state buttons will be limited to next year's iPhone 16 Pro models, while the more affordable iPhone 16 models will retain the same volume button design as the iPhone 14 and the upcoming iPhone 15.
With the transition to solid-state buttons, Apple planned to change the design of the volume controls, adopting a single, unified button rather than a dual button design. That design change seems to be tied to the swap to haptic technology, and so the iPhone 15 Pro models will use the standard two button look for volume.
We are still expecting one notable design change, though, with Apple to adopt a mute button instead of a mute switch. The mute button could serve as an "Action" button similar to the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra, with the option to program it to perform different functions.
B&H Photo today has the first discount we've ever tracked on Apple's second generation HomePod. You can get the white model for $279.00, down from $299.00.
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.
Only the white color is available at this new all-time low price, while midnight is on sale for $289.00 right now on B&H Photo. Delivery estimates are given for around May 10 with free expedited shipping to most residences in the United States.
Apple introduced the new HomePod this past January, and it features new temperature and humidity sensors, improved sound and microphone technology, and HomeKit and Matter support. Today's discount at B&H Photo is the first sale of any kind we've seen on the 2023 HomePod.
Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.
Apple will likely release iOS 16.5 to the public next week, based on a protected Twitter account that has shared build numbers for several iOS updates up to a week before they were released. In a tweet today, the account said the upcoming iOS 16.5 Release Candidate for developers will have a build number of 20F65.
iOS 16.5 has been in beta testing since late March and is shaping up to be a minor software update ahead of Apple announcing iOS 17 at WWDC in June. So far, only two notable 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.
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.
The calendar has flipped to May, which means WWDC is right around the corner. There continues to be lots to talk about as far as rumors and expectations on both the software and hardware sides, so buckle up!
This week also saw a few somewhat unusual software updates from Apple, including the first-ever public Rapid Security Response updates, as well as an acknowledgment that recent firmware updates for various AirPods and Beats models address a security issue that could allow hackers access to your earphones. That's not all though, so read on for all the details on these stories and more!
One Month Until WWDC 2023: Here's What's Coming
WWDC 2023 is now just under a month away, and rumors are heating up. We've been hearing details about what we expect to see with iOS 17, watchOS 10, Apple's long-rumored headset, and more, so we've put together an overview to sum it all up as we enter the homestretch.
We've also recapped in more detail what we're expecting in iOS 17. The first iOS 17 beta should be made available to members of Apple's Developer Program moments after the keynote, while a public beta will likely be available in July for members of Apple's Beta Software Program. As usual, the update should be widely released in September.
Widgets Said to Be 'Central Part' of watchOS 10's Interface
Apple this week released a new firmware version for the second-generation and third-generation AirPods, the original AirPods Pro, the second-generation AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max.
Rapid Security Responses are optional updates that provide important security fixes between normal iOS updates, allowing Apple to patch zero-day vulnerabilities and other critical flaws more quickly.
Apple Expected to Announce 15-Inch MacBook Air at WWDC
Trade-in values routinely fluctuate, and the latest increases come about four months before Apple announces the next-generation iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 models. It's also a chance to get a few extra dollars towards that rumored 15-inch MacBook Air.
MacRumors Newsletter
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Steve Jobs introducing the iMac, a computer that helped Apple return to profitability following near bankruptcy in the late 1990s. The original iMac featured a colorful, translucent design in an era where most computers were boxy and beige, proving that computers did not have to look boring.
"This is iMac," said Jobs, at the Flint Center in Cupertino. "The whole thing is translucent. You can see into it. It's so cool. We've got stereo speakers on the front. We've got infrared right up here. We've got the CD-ROM drive right in the middle. We've got dual stereo headphone jacks. We've got the coolest mouse on the planet right here."
The original iMac pioneered many industry firsts, such as USB and FireWire, while abandoning the floppy drive and other legacy ports. The computer featured a 15-inch display, a PowerPC G3 processor, a 4GB hard drive, 32MB of RAM, a CD drive, two USB ports, and an Ethernet port for connecting to the still-nascent internet.
Over the past two and a half decades, the iMac has received many design changes, moving to a flat screen and an aluminum enclosure. Fittingly, the current 24-inch iMac features a colorful design just like the original model did all those years ago.
When to Expect a New iMac
Apple released the 24-inch iMac in April 2021 with the M1 chip and an ultra-thin design available in seven colors, including green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. This is currently the only new iMac in Apple's lineup, as the Intel-based 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro models were both discontinued over the past few years.
A new iMac will launch in late 2023 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In February, he said Apple had no plans to update the iMac with the M2 chip and is waiting until the M3 chip, which has yet to be announced. The M3 chip is expected to use TSMC's 3nm process for significant performance and power efficiency improvements.
TSMC has reportedly faced yield issues with 3nm chip manufacturing, and Gurman said there is a possibility the new iMac does not launch until 2024. In any case, the next iMac appears to remain several months away from launching.
Apple CEO Tim Cook this week said initial response to the new Apple Card Savings feature has been "incredible" following its launch last month.
Speaking on Apple's quarterly earnings call, Cook said both the savings account and the new Apple Pay Later financing feature help customers to live a "healthier financial life," adding that he is "very excited about the first days of both of them."
Apple Card users can now open a high-yield savings account from Goldman Sachs and start earning interest on their Daily Cash cashback balance and other deposited money, with no fees or minimum balance requirement. The account currently offers a 4.15% APY, a rate Apple said was "more than 10 times the national average" as of late March. The account can be set up and completely managed in the Wallet app on the iPhone.
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, but the Apple Card savings account's APY remains unchanged for now. It's unclear if or when Goldman Sachs will increase the account's APY in response to the rate hike, as many other banks offering high-yield savings accounts commonly do.
Apple's credit card and the savings account are available in the U.S. only.
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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 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.
