MacRumors

Apple's plans to create an iPhone with a completely bezel-free display are reportedly facing significant technical challenges, with a new report suggesting that the technology may not be ready by 2026 as previously hoped.

Apple has seemingly been on a years-long quest to slim down the bezels on its iPhone models until they vanish out of sight, but it looks like the first "zero-bezel" iPhone is still a few years away yet. According to Korean-language outlet The Elec, Apple has been working with Samsung Display and LG Display to develop the revolutionary screen technology, but the work has hit snags.

Apple's vision reportedly differs significantly from existing curved display implementations, such as those previously used in Samsung smartphones or Xiaomi's "quad-curved waterfall display" concept. The iPhone maker is specifically working to avoid the "magnifying glass effect" that typically occurs on curved display edges like those already seen on some smartphones.

In contrast to typical curved-edge phones, Apple is said to envision a unique design that maintains the iPhone's signature flat display and angular sides while extending the screen seamlessly over the edges, similar to the current Apple Watch design. Some industry insiders have reportedly described the intended aesthetic as "pebble-like."

However, the technical challenges apparently remain substantial. Both Samsung Display and LG Display need to adapt two existing technologies, including Thin Film Encapsulation (TFE) for protecting OLED displays from environmental damage, and Optical Clear Adhesive (OCA) for bonding transparent adhesive films around curved edges. The suppliers also need to ensure there's adequate space for components like the iPhone antenna.

The development of OCA technology in particular has reportedly proven troublesome, as the current solutions suffer from side-view distortion issues, and engineers have still to address impact damage concerns for the edge-wrapped display design.

Apple had planned to begin mass production in time for the displays to feature on an iPhone 18 in 2026, but for that to happen, discussions with display manufacturers should have already been finalized by now. However, industry insiders report that these talks are still ongoing, suggesting the timeline for introducing the "zero-bezel" technology on an iPhone will likely slip further into the future.

Have you been good this year? If so, you may be interested to know that Google has launched its annual Santa tracking feature, allowing Santa to be tracked in real time on his journey to the North Pole as he prepares to deliver presents to children around the world.

Google's Santa Tracker continues a two-decade tradition for the company, allowing excited children (and grown-ups!) to keep up with the jolly gift-giver's travels throughout December 24. On this day, Santa's Village transforms into a tracking experience where children can follow Santa and his reindeer as they merrily go about their important work.

Santa can be tracked using a web browser on iPhone, iPad, or Mac by visiting Google's official Santa Tracking website. The site features a live map of Santa's current location, his next stop, a live video feed of his journey, and the estimated time that he will arrive in each specific location.

The Santa site provides pictures of locations that Santa has already visited, a live count of gifts that have been delivered, and Santa's current distance from your location. There are also a selection of games to play, creative things to do, and videos to watch.

Other Santa tracking services are also available, such as the NORAD Tracks Santa Claus app and website, but Google's site is often the most interactive and detailed. Happy holidays!

Apple is rumored to have many product announcements planned for the first half of next year, including updated MacBook Air models, an iPad 11, an iPhone SE 4, the AirTag 2, updated iPad Air models, and potentially more.

In a social media post today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that the iPad 11, iPhone SE 4, and updated iPad Air models will be coming in the "spring" next year. Notably, he said the updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip will be announced "earlier" than those other devices, but he did not provide a specific timeframe.

This likely means that the updated MacBook Air models will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website at some point from January through March, whereas the other devices might be announced at Apple's usual spring event in March or April. Apple would be getting the minor MacBook Air update out of the way early.

Apple earlier this month released macOS 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models coming next year.

No major design changes have been rumored for the next MacBook Air, with only the M4 chip and other minor upgrades expected. Plausible new features could include a Center Stage camera, and an upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 4 ports.

Apple already updated the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini with M4 chip options a few months ago. Geekbench results showed that the M4 chip is up to around 25% faster than the M3 chip in terms of multi-core CPU performance.

With iOS 18, Apple overhauled the Photos app, introducing a new, unified design that did away with the navigation bar and merged everything into a single screen. It marked the single biggest change to image management since the launch of the ‌Photos‌ app, and it's been controversial with some users.

There's no returning to what the ‌Photos‌ app used to be unless Apple decides to roll back the changes, but there are a few tweaks that can be made to make it easier to get used to the new layout.

First, if you haven't done so already, scroll down to the bottom of the ‌Photos‌ app and tap on Edit. From there, make sure all your most used ‌Photos‌ features are at the top of the app. In this section, you'll find Recent Days, Albums, People and Pets, Memories, and Pinned Collections.

Pinned Collections is a little confusing because it's a second customizable interface that has many of the same options as the main app, but think of it as a folder in a folder. It can be useful to put up top and add your most accessed utilities to, such as screenshots or specific albums.

You can rearrange the sections of your ‌Photos‌ app by dragging and dropping to reorder, plus you can hide any of the collections. If you don't want to see Featured ‌Photos‌, Wallpaper Suggestions, or Trips, for example, you can uncheck those so they won't be listed in the app. If you don't like that redundant Pinned Collections section, you can hide that too.

If you haven't spent a lot of time fussing with the ‌Photos‌ app, you might not know about the filters. In the full Library view, which you get to by swiping down, tapping on the arrows will show you the filters option. You can filter for photos, videos, edited images, screenshots, and favorites, or sort by recently added or date captured. There are also options to weed out screenshots and Shared With You images from your main photo library.

The new ‌Photos‌ app isn't all bad. Search has improved quite a bit, and you can search for really specific parameters like "plants in Florida" or "Eric in a blue shirt."

What do you think of the ‌iOS 18‌ ‌Photos‌ app? Are you getting used to it? Let us know in the comments below.

(RED) today announced that the annual Apple Pay donation campaign raised a total of $3 million this year for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Apple's donation was capped at $3 million, so it reached that cap.

"Thank you, Apple and Apple customers for hitting this incredible milestone and helping provide life-saving healthcare in vulnerable communities," said (RED).

Last month, Apple announced that it would again donate $5 to The Global Fund for every purchase made using Apple Pay on Apple.com, through the Apple Store app, or at an Apple Store from November 29 through December 8.

The Global Fund aims to combat diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria throughout the developing world. Apple said its donation to the organization will continue to "help fund critical health programs that save lives."

Apple runs this donation campaign ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1 each year.

Apple has supported The Global Fund for 18 years through its partnership with the (RED) brand, co-founded by U2 singer Bono. Apple offers some products in a (PRODUCT)RED color, and a portion of the proceeds from every one of these products sold by Apple goes to The Global Fund. Apple said it has raised more than $250 million to date.

The number of Apple products available in (PRODUCT)RED has dwindled in recent years.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

iOS 19 is not expected to be announced until June 2025, but information about the software update is already starting to surface.

Below, we recap the biggest iOS 19 rumors so far.

More ChatGPT-Like Siri

iOS 19 will introduce a "more conversational Siri" powered by "more advanced large language models," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said this upgrade will make Siri more like OpenAI's ChatGPT, allowing the assistant to "handle more sophisticated requests."

Apple will likely unveil the revamped Siri when it unveils iOS 19 at WWDC 2025 next June, but Gurman said it will not be available until as early as spring 2026. That suggests the feature will be released as part of an iOS 19.4 update.

In the meantime, iOS 18.2 added ChatGPT integration to Siri, and Gurman expects an integration with Google's Gemini to follow in a later update. And with iOS 18.4, Siri will gain on-screen awareness, deeper per-app controls, and a few other enhancements, but it will still not offer fully-fledged ChatGPT-like conversational abilities directly.

Delayed Features

Gurman revealed that some other features have been "postponed" until iOS 19.4.

"I'm told that a larger-than-usual number of features scheduled for iOS 19 (beyond the new Siri) are already postponed until spring 2026 (when iOS 19.4 debuts)," he said.

He did not provide any specific details about the features that are pushed back.

Gurman attributed the delay to the gradual rollout of Apple Intelligence features between iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.4, which is preventing some Apple software engineers from moving on to iOS 19 development. In line with this information, an unnamed source within Apple told French website iPhoneSoft.fr that they are still working on iOS 18 development.

Compatible iPhones

According to French website iPhoneSoft.fr, iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 18, which would mean the following models:

• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

The oldest devices in that list are the iPhone XS, iPhone XS, and iPhone XR, all of which were released in September 2018.

Of course, some iOS 19 features will be unavailable on older iPhone models.

If this report is accurate, it would be the second year in a row in which Apple did not drop support for any iPhone models with its major annual iOS release. iOS 18 is compatible with the same iPhone models as iOS 17 is.

iOS 17 dropped support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

Timing

The first iOS 19 and iPadOS 19 betas should be released during WWDC 2025 next June, and the updates are likely to be released in September.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today outlined mass production timing for the M5 series of chips, which he expects to be used in both future Macs and Apple Intelligence servers. The rollout will likely begin next year.

Kuo expects the standard M5 chip to enter mass production in the first half of 2025, followed by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in the second half of the year. Then, he expects the M5 Ultra chip to enter mass production in 2026.

So, nothing too surprising.

The timeframes suggest that M5 Macs will launch in a similar order as M4 Macs. Apple will likely update the MacBook Pro lineup with M5 series chips in October next year, and the MacBook Air should receive the M5 chip in the first half of 2026. Apple is likely to update the Mac Studio and Mac Pro later in 2026, or in 2027. It is unclear if the iMac and Mac mini will be updated next year, as those models are not always updated annually.

M4 Macs have rolled out in a similar manner so far. Apple updated the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini with the M4 series of chips in October, and the MacBook Air is expected to be updated by the end of March next year. Mac Studio and Mac Pro models with M4 Max and/or M4 Ultra chips are expected to launch in mid-to-late 2025.

As previously rumored, Kuo said M5 series chips will be manufactured with TSMC's third-generation 3nm process, known as N3P. That will result in the usual year-over-year performance and power efficiency improvements over the M4 series of chips.

Apple Intelligence servers are currently powered by the M2 Ultra chip, and they are expected to start using M4 series chips next year. Beyond that, Kuo said Apple will eventually switch to high-end, server-grade M5 chips that are better suited for artificial intelligence inferencing. He said these chips will also be manufactured with the N3P process, offer improved thermal performance, and have a separated CPU and GPU design.

While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly two years away from launching, a new feature has already been rumored for the devices.

In a blog post today, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated that the main rear camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, which would be a first for the iPhone. The main camera refers to the 48-megapixel Fusion camera, which was also known as the Main or Wide camera on older iPhone models.

With variable aperture, users would be able to control the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens and reaches the sensor. The main camera on iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro models have a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, and the lens is always fully open and shooting with this widest aperture. With the iPhone 18 Pro models, users would be able to manually change the aperture, according to this rumor.

Variable aperture is typically a capability seen on professional DSLR/mirrorless cameras from the likes of Sony and Canon.

Kuo first made this claim last month. Today, he added that Dutch manufacturer BE Semiconductor will supply assembly equipment for the aperture blades, which is the mechanical part that would control how much light passes through the lens.

A variable aperture on iPhone 18 Pro models should provide users with greater control over depth of field, which refers to how sharp a subject appears in the foreground compared to the background. However, given that smartphones have smaller image sensors due to physical size restraints, it is unclear exactly how meaningful this improvement would be.

This rumor will likely evolve over time. Kuo did not say if iPhone 18 Pro models will be getting a larger sensor, but such an upgrade would pave the way for meaningful improvements to depth of field. Apple already offers Portrait mode, which artificially makes the background look more blurry behind a person or other subject in a photo. A larger image sensor would enable that "bokeh" effect more naturally on iPhone 18 Pro models.

Variable aperture was previously rumored for at least one iPhone 17 model, but Kuo believes the feature is slated for iPhone 18 Pro models instead.

iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to launch in September 2026.

X (Twitter) has announced a big jump in pricing for its Premium Plus subscription tier, with monthly rates in the US jumping from $16 to $22, representing a 37.5% increase. The annual subscription cost will also rise from $168 to $229.

The price changes took effect on December 21, 2024, with new subscribers paying the higher rates immediately. Existing Premium Plus subscribers will maintain their current pricing until January 20, 2025, after which the new rates will apply on their next billing cycle.

The price hikes vary significantly by region, with some markets seeing particularly steep increases. In Nigeria, the monthly subscription cost has surged by over 365%, while Turkish users face a 156% increase. European subscribers will see their monthly rates rise from €16 to €21, and Australian users will need to pay $35 AUD, up from $26 AUD. A full list of new pricing by country is available here.

X justified the price increase by highlighting several Premium Plus features, including a completely ad-free experience and enhanced access to the platform's Grok AI capabilities. The company also emphasized that the higher subscription fees will support its creator revenue sharing program, which now focuses on rewarding content quality and engagement rather than ad views.

The basic X subscription tier remains unchanged at $3 per month. It's the largest price increase for US subscribers on Premium Plus since Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Apple plans to release an entry-level iPad 11 in the spring and iPadOS 18.3 will be pre-installed on the shipped devices, according to a source with a proven track record for upcoming Apple software updates.

Several reports in the last few months have suggested Apple is developing an 11th-generation iPad that is scheduled to be released around the same time as a new iPhone SE 4 and iPad Air in the spring.

Today's source adds weight to the evidence. Apple is expected to release iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 in late January or early February, which would be time enough for the company to get the latest software on new devices for shipping around March.

Rumors of new features are thin on the ground, but today's source says his information does not support rumors that the low-cost iPad will include Apple's upcoming custom 5G modem, which is also expected to be introduced in the iPhone SE and iPhone 17 Air in 2025. Apple's modem chip will be capable of theoretical 5G download speeds of up to 4Gb/s, which is slower than Qualcomm's modems in current phones. The chip will not support the fastest mmWave 5G, and will instead be limited to sub-6GHz 5G.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that the device will likely support Apple Intelligence, which suggests the iPad 11 will have a newer A-series chip compared to the iPad 10, and at least 8GB of RAM. Apple released the iPad 10 in October 2022 with the A14 Bionic chip. Gurman has also said Apple is working on a new Magic Keyboard accessory for the low-cost ‌iPad‌ and/or the iPad Air which is expected to come out by the middle of 2025.

Apple has seeded the first betas of iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, but there's no word yet on what's included. What we do know is that Apple is still working to roll out Apple Intelligence features. iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 include Image Playground, Genmoji, and Siri ChatGPT integration, but there are still new ‌Siri‌ functions that are slated for release next year.

We could see updates to ‌Siri‌ with iOS 18.3, and the features Apple has in development include personal context, on-screen awareness, and the ability to do more in and between apps.

iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cites a source within Apple.

The report said that iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 18, which would mean the following models:

• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)

The oldest devices in that list are the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, all of which were released in September 2018.

Of course, some iOS 19 features will be unavailable on older iPhone models.

If this report is accurate, it would be the second year in a row in which Apple did not drop support for any iPhone models with its major annual iOS release. iOS 18 is compatible with the same iPhone models as iOS 17 is.

iOS 17 dropped support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

There is slightly worse news for iPadOS 19, as the report said that update will drop support for the iPad 7 from 2019. Fortunately, the report said all other iPad models that can run iPadOS 18 will be compatible with iPadOS 19 next year.

The first iOS 19 and iPadOS 19 betas should be released during WWDC 2025 next June, and the updates are likely to be released in September. Not many iOS 19 features have been rumored yet, but Siri is expected to become more conversational like ChatGPT in a later iOS 19.4 update, which is likely to be released around March 2026.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple is developing its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip that will debut in new Apple TV and HomePod mini models next year. The report led to hopes that Apple might also use the chip to revive its line of AirPort routers, which were discontinued in 2018, but those dreams have been dashed by Gurman himself.

In his Power On newsletter today, the well-connected journalist said that Apple is "not" currently working on new AirPort routers.

Gurman did offer a glimmer of hope. He said that Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chip is "so sophisticated" that it could "theoretically" turn a home device like a future Apple TV or HomePod into a wireless access point. However, he did not confirm if Apple will actually follow through with that idea, so keep your expectations low for the time being.

Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chip could still have other benefits for the next Apple TV and HomePod mini models, including Wi-Fi 6E support.

Apple is working on a variety of health features for future AirPods, including heart rate monitoring and temperature sensing, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the heart rate technology could be ready for the AirPods Pro 3, which are in "early development" within the company.

AirPods getting heart rate monitoring would allow more customers to access this capability for health and fitness purposes, without needing to wear an Apple Watch. In internal testing, Apple has found that heart rate data is "more accurate" on the Apple Watch compared to AirPods, but he said the AirPods "aren't terribly far off."

Apple's upcoming Powerbeats Pro 2 will also offer heart rate monitoring during workouts. Based on our iOS 18 code findings, you will be able to connect the Powerbeats Pro 2 to gym equipment like a treadmill to measure heart rate, and the data will be visible in the Health app and other supported apps on the iPhone.

Apple previously announced that the Powerbeats Pro 2 will be released in 2025, but it is not entirely clear when the AirPods Pro 3 will launch.

As a longer-term goal, Gurman reiterated that Apple plans to add small cameras to future AirPods to enable unspecified AI-powered features. This project is now a "priority" for Apple, but likely still a few years away from completion, he said.

Apple is in the early stages of developing a smart home doorbell and lock system with Face ID, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the doorbell would wirelessly connect to a compatible deadbolt lock, allowing users to automatically unlock a door with Face ID. The doorbell would likely work with third-party HomeKit locks, but Apple could also partner with another brand to offer an all-in-one solution, he said.

Apple's doorbell would compete with Amazon's line of Ring doorbells, but Gurman did not say if Apple's solution would capture video.

Apple would almost certainly tout the privacy and security benefits of its own smart home doorbell. If the product is ever released, Gurman expects that it will be equipped with Apple's rumored Wi-Fi chip, which is said to have a Secure Enclave to protect user data. And if the doorbell does end up offering video capture, Apple already has a HomeKit Secure Video service with end-to-end encryption for storing footage in iCloud.

Gurman believes Apple's doorbell is unlikely to launch until 2026 at the earliest.

Apple seemingly has plans to make a bigger push into the smart home space over the next few years. In addition to this doorbell, the company is expected to launch a smart home hub next year, and it is also rumored to be planning its own HomeKit-enabled indoor security camera that would compete with products like Logitech's Circle View.

As we expected, Apple is now offering free two-hour delivery on eligible, in-stock products ordered through December 24 in select countries. The offer is available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV, and Beats only.

Free two-hour delivery is available in most U.S. and Canadian metro areas for orders placed through Apple's online store, until December 24. The items will be delivered from a local Apple retail store by a courier service such as Uber Eats at a time selected during checkout. Apple normally charges $9 for two-hour delivery.

Apple is also offering free three-hour delivery in Australia until December 24.

Apple's extended return policy remains in effect for the holiday shopping season. In the U.S., for example, most products purchased from Apple between November 8 and December 25 this year may be returned through January 8, 2025.

Apple appears to be internally testing iOS 18.2.1 for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software update in our website's analytic logs this week. The logs have accurately revealed many iOS versions before they were released.

iOS 18.2.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or addresses security vulnerabilities, but it is unclear which specific issues might be resolved. The update will likely be released in late December or early January.

There could be accompanying updates, such as macOS 15.2.1, but we have not confirmed that.

iOS 18.2.1 will follow iOS 18.2, which was released earlier this month. iOS 18.2 introduced more Apple Intelligence features for iPhone 15 Pro models and all iPhone 16 models, including Genmoji, Image Playground, ChatGPT integration for Siri, and more. iOS 18.2 also added a useful feature to the Find My app that allows you to share the location of your AirTag-equipped baggage with select airlines, including Delta, United, Air Canada, and others, making it quicker and easier for the airline to find your lost or delayed bags.

Apple is also testing iOS 18.3 with developers and public beta testers. That update is likely to be released in January, and it only includes minor changes so far.

Apple plans to release a new "HomePod" with a 7-inch LCD display, an A18 chip, and Apple Intelligence support in 2025, according to DigiTimes.

It is unclear how much the screen-equipped HomePod would cost, but Apple is seemingly aiming for a reasonable price. In a paywalled report this week, the supply chain publication said Apple has selected China-based manufacturer Tianma to supply the LCD panels for the device, at an "exceptionally competitive" price of $10 per panel. The low cost of this component would likely contribute to the device being more affordable.

A screen-equipped HomePod has been rumored several times over the past few years. Earlier this month, for example, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo similarly said that a HomePod with a 6-to-7-inch display, an A18 chip, and Apple Intelligence support would enter mass production in the second half of 2025. Kuo said smart home capabilities would be a core aspect of the device, so it sounds like rumors about a screen-equipped HomePod and Apple's rumored smart home hub are referring to the same product coming next year.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last month said Apple's smart home hub looks like a "square iPad," with a roughly 6-inch screen. He said the hub can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. It will run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and revolve around Siri, Apple Intelligence, and HomeKit, he added. The hub could double as a home security system by displaying camera footage, and it is said to have a built-in camera that allows for FaceTime video calls.

Apple's hub would compete with products like Google's Nest Hub and Amazon's Echo Show, which are priced in the $150 to $400 range. Kuo and Gurman both said Apple is also planning a wireless security camera that would work with the hub.

It is unclear if Apple will actually use HomePod branding for the home hub, or if it will opt for all-new naming. It is also unclear if the current HomePod speaker will be updated next year, but a new HomePod mini is expected to launch next year.

If you haven't wrapped up your holiday shopping, Apple is still offering free two-day delivery for many products from its online store. Orders placed for in-stock items before 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight will deliver by December 24. Orders placed after that time may not make it.

iPhone 16 models, new Macs, iPads, HomePods, AirTags, the Apple TV 4K, Apple Watches, AirPods, and many accessories from both Apple and third-party companies are eligible for free two-day delivery in the United States.

Last year, after the two-day delivery window expired, Apple offered a free two-hour courier delivery option for select products, but courier delivery is only available in certain areas, and on a more limited number of products. Courier delivery typically costs $9.

Apple is offering extended holiday returns right now, and devices purchased between November 8, 2024 and December 25, 2024 can be returned through January 8, 2025.