MacRumors

Apple today continued with the launch of its annual "Back to School" promotion, debuting back to school deals in most countries in Europe, some countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Mexico.

Higher education students and educators in most countries can get an Apple gift card with the purchase of select Macs and iPads, which is the same deal that went live in the United States and Canada in June, while in other countries, Apple is offering AirPods. In the UK, gift cards valued at up to £120 are available, and in other European countries, the amount tops out at €150.

Qualifying devices include the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac, as well as the iPad Pro and iPad Air. Eligible devices include the M2 ‌MacBook Pro‌ and ‌M2‌ ‌MacBook Air‌, which are Apple's latest devices. The highest value gift cards are available with Macs, with slightly lower values accompanying iPads.

In Mexico, Turkey, Czech Republic, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and China, Apple is not providing a gift card, and is instead giving EDU customers a set of AirPods with the purchase of a new iPad or Mac. In countries where AirPods are the Back to School option, Apple is offering second-generation AirPods for free, but customers can upgrade to third-generation AirPods or AirPods Pro for an additional fee.

Apple is providing its standard educational discounts, and students are able to get lower prices on Macs and iPads through the EDU store in each country. Students are also eligible for AppleCare+ at a 20 percent discount.

Apple's Back to School promotion requires verification through UNiDAYS in many countries, with full terms and conditions available on the promotional pages for Apple's country-specific websites.

Back to School deals are available to students and educators in countries that include Mexico, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and China.

Apple's Back to School Promotion will last through October 20, 2022 in most of the above listed countries, but it does end in September in some locations, such as Hong Kong and China.

Netflix today announced that it plans to partner up with Microsoft for its planned ad-supported streaming tier, with Microsoft set to handle ad sales. Netflix says that Microsoft will be able to support all of its advertising needs for the new, more affordable streaming option.

In April we announced that we will introduce a new lower priced ad-supported subscription plan for consumers, in addition to our existing ads-free basic, standard and premium plans. Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner.

Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed in June that Netflix is planning to implement a cheaper ad-supported tier to draw in customers who do not want to pay the $9.99 per month starting price for an ad-free plan. At the time, Sarandos said that Netflix was in talks with ad-sales partners.

The Basic Netflix plan is priced at $9.99 and it offers 480p streaming, while the Standard plan is priced at $15.49 for 1080p resolution. Netflix's most expensive Premium plan, priced at $19.99 per month, is the sole tier that offers 4K HDR streaming. Netflix continues to be the only streaming service that charges extra for improved streaming quality, and the ad-supported tier will likely offer streaming quality similar to the Basic plan.

Though Netflix said in the past that it would not offer a more affordable tier with ads, the company's plans changed following its disappointing first quarter. Netflix lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years, with revenue growth slowing considerably. Netflix largely blamed the downturn on "a large number of households sharing accounts" and "competition."

An ad-supported tier could help Netflix tap customers that it is not able to reach at the current time, and Sarandos said that he believes Netflix will return to growth with the ad-based tier and the plan to more effectively monetize multi-household sharing through new restrictions that are being tested.

Netflix today said that it's "very early days" and there's "much to work through," but that its long term goal is to offer "more choice for consumers and a premium, better-than-linear TV brand experience for advertisers." Netflix is rumored to be aiming to launch its ad-supported tier before the end of 2022, perhaps in the last three months of the year.

Apple's online education store has gone down in many European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Czech Republic, and others.

The store is also down in a few other countries around the world, such as Mexico, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and China.

The downtime likely means that Apple's annual Back to School promotion will be launching in Europe and elsewhere within the next several hours. The promotion first launched in the U.S. and Canada last month, with Apple offering college/university students up to a $150 Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad model.

In the U.S., Apple is offering a $150 gift card with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac model, and a $100 gift card with the purchase of any new iPad Pro or iPad Air model. The list of eligible devices includes the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models with the M2 chip that Apple announced last month.

Apple's gift card offer can be stacked with the usual educational discount on Macs and iPads that the company provides to students. In some countries, customers must verify they are a higher-education student via UNiDAYS to be eligible.

With the Euro being roughly on par with the U.S. dollar right now, it is possible that Apple's offer in countries that use the Euro will be up to a €150 gift card, but the exact offer remains to be seen. Apple launched its all-in-one gift card in several European countries last month, with the gift card valid for purchases at both the Apple Store and across Apple services like the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and others.

Last month, Apple also launched the promotion in India, Thailand, and Singapore, where it is still offering students free second-generation AirPods with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad. Apple's all-in-one gift card is unavailable in those countries.

Update: Apple has launched its Back to School promotion in Europe.

Set to come out this fall, iOS 16 is the next-generation version of iOS, and it is laden with tons of major changes, such as an all new customizable Lock Screen. There are also a number of smaller, lesser known features, and in our latest YouTube video, we highlight some neat additions that you might not know about.

• Pinned Safari Tabs - You have been able to pin a Safari tab on Mac for some time, but pinned tabs didn't work with iOS 15 That's changed in iOS 16, and now you can have your favorite tabs pinned, including within Tab Groups.
• Merge Duplicate Contacts - Tired of having multiple contact cards for the same person? In iOS 16 you can merge duplicate contacts together right from the Contacts app.
• Get Rid of Duplicate Photos - The iOS 16 Photos app can let you know if you have multiple photos of the same thing, giving you the opportunity to delete the extras to save space. Duplicate photos are listed in a new "Duplicates" album that appears if you have duplicates to deal with.
• Copy and Paste Photo Edits - Want all of your photos to have the same aesthetic, or have improvements you want to make to an entire batch of images? That's possible with the new copy and paste feature for photo edits, which lets you copy edits from one photo and apply them to another photo with a tap.
• AirPods Updates - It's simpler to manage AirPods settings in iOS 16 with a new dedicated section that pops up in the Settings app when AirPods are connected. iOS 16 also adds a new Personalized Spatial Audio feature that uses the TrueDepth camera to scan your ears and the area around you, providing a unique listening experience tuned just to you.
• Face ID in Landscape Mode - iPhone models running iOS 16 support Face ID in landscape mode, making it easier to unlock the ‌iPhone‌ when it's not held in the standard portrait orientation. The feature is limited to the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and later.
• Notes Passcodes - Rather than creating a new password for a note, you can now simply use your device passcode or Face ID/Touch ID to lock a note, which is much easier.
• Haptic Feedback for Keyboard - There's a keyboard setting in iOS 16 that lets you enable haptic feedback that can be felt when you're typing. The vibrations are for each key tap, offering users a physical confirmation that a letter has been pressed.
• Hidden and Deleted Photo Protection - In iOS 16, you need to authenticate with ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ before the Hidden and Recently Deleted photo albums can be accessed. This essentially locks these albums from view should someone have your device passcode.
• WiFi Password - If you've ever been frustrated by an inability to access the WiFi password of the network you're using, that's changing in iOS 16. In the ‌iPhone‌'s WiFi settings, you can see the password of the network that you're connected to.

More iOS 16 Coverage

For a full rundown on everything that's new in iOS 16, we have a dedicated iOS 16 roundup. Have a favorite iOS 16 feature? Let us know what it is in the comments.

Apple's industrial design chief Evans Hankey and VP of hardware engineering Kate Bergeron recently spoke about the redesigned MacBook Air, the former 12-inch MacBook, and more in an interview with British GQ, spotted by 9to5Mac.

Hankey has fully led Apple's hardware design since Apple's former design chief Jony Ive departed the company in 2019. Ive remained a consultant to Apple through his independent design firm LoveFrom, but on Tuesday it was reported that Apple and Ive mutually agreed not to renew their contract, marking the end of a 30-year partnership.

The new MacBook Air does away with the notebook's iconic wedge-shaped design in favor of a flatter design, which Hankey described as "quite honest and simple."

"We don't really have to play any kind of games with shape or form to make it look thin," said Hankey, regarding the new design. "And I think that's one of the most lovely and remarkable things: it's quite honest and simple."

Hankey said the new MacBook Air was designed alongside the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that launched last year. "It was the first time we ever set out to do a family of products together," she remarked.

Hankey also revealed that the MacBook Air's new Midnight finish "came from the volcanic rock Basalt," adding that her dad was a geologist.

As for the 12-inch MacBook, which Apple discontinued in 2019, Bergeron admitted that the notebook had a "polarizing" design for some people.

"It was ahead of its time, on the cutting edge of the USB-C transition and it didn't have MagSafe," said Bergeron. "There were definitely some things that we weren't able to fit into the product, because of its size."

Introduced in March 2015, the 12-inch MacBook featured a thin and light design that weighed just two pounds, and it was also Apple's first notebook with a fanless design and a USB-C port. The original model was powered by Intel's underwhelming Core M processor and introduced Apple's issue-prone butterfly keyboard design.

The new MacBook Air has some similarities with the 12-inch MacBook, including a fanless design, but the MacBook Air is still larger and heavier.

The new MacBook Air launches this Friday, with embargoed reviews of the notebook expected to be published tomorrow. In the United States, pricing starts at $1,199 for a configuration with the M2 chip, 8GB of unified memory, and a 256GB SSD.

Prime Day 2022 is coming to a close later today, so we're quickly recapping all of the best Apple deals that are still live on Amazon right now. Shipping may be slightly delayed, but all of the products listed below remain at some of the lowest prices we've ever seen.

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.

Remember that you'll need an Amazon Prime membership to get Prime Day deals. You can sign up for Prime if you don't have it yet on Amazon.

Apple TV 4K

AirPods Pro with MagSafe

AirPods Max

AirTag 4-Pack

Apple Watch SE

Apple Watch Series 7

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

The latest release of Minecraft for iPhone and iPad introduces Bluetooth mouse and keyboard support for in-game controls.

To use a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard, update to version 1.19.10 of Minecraft for iOS and iPadOS, released on the App Store on July 12. As noted on Reddit, keys can be remapped in the Settings app under General → Keyboard → Hardware Keyboard → Modifier Keys.

The update also adds music directly to the iOS and iPadOS app, eliminating the need to download music from the marketplace, according to the release notes.

Minecraft is one of the most popular iPhone and iPad games. Priced at $6.99 on the App Store, the game ranks #1 in the "Paid Games" category.

Yesterday we highlighted some of the best Apple-related product discounts that you can find on Amazon during Prime Day, and now we're focusing on third-party accessory markdowns during the event. In this article you'll find all the best accessories for charging, smart homes, smartphones, and more.

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.

Shoppers should remember that Prime Day sales are typically time sensitive, so purchase quickly if you're interested. Remember that you'll need an Amazon Prime membership to get Prime Day deals. You can sign up for Prime on Amazon if you don't have it yet.

AirTag Accessories

Amazon is discounting Apple's AirTag Loop to just $9.00 today, down from $29.00. You can also get the Leather Key Ring for $19.00, down from $35.00.

Beats Headphones

You can get up to 43 percent off Beats headphones and earbuds for Prime Day today, with prices starting at $99.95 for the Beats Studio Buds.

• Beats Studio Buds - $99.95, down from $149.95
• Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones - $114.95, down from $199.95
• Beats Fit Pro - $159.95, down from $199.95

Kindle

Massive discounts have hit Amazon's Kindle lineup today, including up to 55 percent off Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Kids, Kindle Oasis, and more.

• Kindle - $44.99, down from $89.99
• Kindle Paperwhite - $94.99, down from $139.99
• Kindle Kids - $49.99, down from $109.99
• Kindle Oasis - $209.99, down from $299.99

Amazon Devices

In addition to Kindle e-readers, we're tracking plenty of markdowns on other Amazon devices, like Echo speakers, Fire TV sticks, Ring cameras, and more.

• Blink Smart Home Security Cameras - Up to $199 off
• Fire TV Sticks - Up to 60 percent off
• Ring Cameras - Up to $120 off
• Ring Video Doorbells - Up to 39 percent off
• Fire TV 4K Smart TVs - 45 percent off
• Kids Fire Tablet - Up to 50 percent off
• Fire Tablets - Up to 50 percent off
• Eero Routers - Up to $200 off

Anker

Anker has its usual collection of charging accessories and noise-canceling headphones on sale for Prime Day.

Charging

• Foldable Magnetic Portable Charger - $44.99, down from $69.99
• USB-C to Lightning Cable - $19.49, down from $29.99
• Magnetic Charging Station - $69.99, down from $99.99
• 97Wh Portable Power Station - $129.99, down from $199.99
• 288Wh Portable Power Station - $239.99, down from $359.99
• Magnetic Wireless Charger Stand - $83.99, down from $119.99
• PowerCore 20K Portable Battery - $44.99, down from $66.99

Audio

• Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro Noise Canceling Earbuds - $89.99, down from $169.99
• Soundcore Lite Q35 Noise Canceling Headphones - $89.99, down from $129.99

Mophie

Mophie has a wide selection of its wireless charging accessories at a discount today, including Powerstation portable batteries, wireless charging mats and stands, Juice Pack batteries, MagSafe-compatible chargers, and more.

PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controllers

New discounts have hit Sony's PlayStation DualSense Wireless Controllers, now priced at $59.00, down from $74.00. This price is available in all six colors of the controller, including the four new space-themed options that debuted earlier in the year.

Belkin

Belkin is discounting a few of its charging and smart home accessories for Prime Day, including earbuds, wireless chargers, and smart plugs.

• SOUNDFORM Rise True Wireless Earbuds – $49.99, down from $79.99
• SOUNDFORM Move True Wireless Earbuds – $29.99, down from $49.99
• BOOSTCHARGE PRO Portable Wireless Charger Pad – $49.99, down from $79.99
• BOOSTCHARGE 15W Wireless Charging Stand + QC 3.0 24W Wall Charger – $26.99, down from $44.99
• BOOSTCHARGE USB-C PD 3.0 PPS Wall Charger 30W – $17.24, down from $22.99
• BOOSTCHARGE Dual USB-C PD Wall Charger 40W – $19.99, down from $29.99
• Wemo Smart Plug with Thread – $19.99, down from $24.99
• SOUNDFORM Elite Hi-Fi Smart Speaker + Wireless Charger with Alexa – $89.99, down from $199.99

Western Digital Drives and SanDisk Memory

Another great buy during Prime Day every year is always external drives and memory cards, with Western Digital and SanDisk offering solid deals for these categories. This year you can get up to 64 percent off these accessories.

Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf's collection of Wi-Fi lights and smart bulbs are being discounted during Prime Day this year, including all of its popular Shapes and Lines lighting kits.

• Lines Starter Kit - $169.99, down from $199.99
• Lines Expansion Pack - $54.99, down from $69.99
• Shapes Hexagons Smarter Kit - $159.99, down from $199.99
• Shapes Triangles Smarter Kit - $159.00, down from $199.99
• Elements Wood Smarter Kit - $199.99, down from $249.99
• Elements Wood Expansion Pack - $69.99, down from $79.99
• Essentials A19 Smart Light Bulb - $13.99, down from $19.99
• Essentials Lightstrip - $34.99, down from $49.99

More Sales

Smartphone Accessories

• Smartphone cases - Up to 62 percent off
• iOttie car mounts - Up to 32 percent off
• Scosche car and charging accessories - Up to 43 percent off
• OtterBox and LifeProof cases - Up to 68 percent off
• AmazonBasics electronics - Up to 29 percent off
• Brydge keyboards - Up to 60 percent off

Smart Home

• iRobot Roomba Vacuums - Up to $500 off
• Amazon smart home devices - Up to 66 percent off

Audio

• Bose noise canceling headphones and earbuds - Up to 36 percent off
• Sony headphones - Up to $121 off
• Jabra earbuds - Up to $110 off
• Skullcandy headphones and earbuds - Up to 42 percent off

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Up to 31 new emojis could come to iOS and Android next year, including a shaking face, pushing hands, and a pink heart.

The Unicode Consortium is currently considering the range of new emojis for Emoji 15. A light blue heart, grey Heart, donkey, moose, black bird, jellyfish, hair pick, maracas, flute, folding hand fan, pea pod, hyacinth, ginger, goose, wing, and a Khanda are among potential new additions.

The final designs will vary based on what major companies like Apple and Google choose, but Emojipedia has created sample illustrations of the candidate emojis:

Each Emoji is subject to change prior to final approval as the new additions remain at the draft stage. The Unicode Consortium will finalize the list of new emojis in September, but in recent years most draft candidates have been accepted as expected.

Following confirmation, Apple will need to release new versions of watchOS, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS to support the new emojis. This is expected to occur early next year.

TikTok has announced new content moderation tools for the short-form video platform to make it safer for children, along with new hashtag filters for its For You and Following feeds.

The first version of its new system to restrict certain types of content from being viewed by teens is called "Content Levels," which is due to launch in the next few weeks.

While adult content is banned on the platform, TikTok says some content in the app may contain "mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audiences." Content Levels is designed to classify such content and assign to it a maturity score, which will keep it from being seen by users aged between 13 and 17.

Initially, TikTok says Trust and Safety managers will assign the scores to increasingly popular videos or those reported by users in the app, and the system will be expanded over time to offer filtering options for the entire community, not just teens. In its finished version, the system will ultimately allow creators to classify their content, similar to the way movies, TV shows, and video games use age ratings.

In addition to Content Levels, TikTok will soon launch hashtag filters that provide users with a new level of control over what appears in the For You and Following pages. Users will be able to designate specific words or hashtags they don't want to see in their feeds, and the app will automatically filter them out.

The feature is intended to go beyond merely filtering out mature or problematic content, and could also be used to stop TikTok's algorithm surfacing topics that users are sick of seeing or that they just don't care about. TikTok's example is using it to block dairy or meat recipes if you're going vegan, or to stop seeing DIY tutorials after a home project is completed.

The new content moderation features follow a 2021 Congressional inquiry into social apps like TikTok regarding how their algorithmic recommendations could be promoting harmful eating disorder eating content to younger users. More recently, TikTok was also sued by parents whose children died after attempting dangerous challenges allegedly seen on the platform.

After weeks of teases, Nothing has officially announced its Phone 1 smartphone. It's the second major product release by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei's company, following last year's Ear 1 true wirless earbuds, and the device has a modest starting price of £399 ($475).

The UK-based company raised $144 million in funding to develop the handset, which Pei hopes will re-energize the smartphone market and "make tech fun again." Backers include iPhone designer Tony Fadell, YouTuber Casey Neistat, and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin.

Available in white or black, the distinctive-looking 6.55-inch aluminum phone has a translucent back featuring hundreds of LEDs that form the "glyph interface" – a series of quirky light patterns that function as visual notifications when the phone is placed down, amongst other uses.

For example, the central circle lights up to indicate wireless or reverse wireless charging, and the bottom light strip acts as a charging progress bar when the USB-C cable is plugged in. In addition, users can assign certain light patterns to contacts to identify who is calling.

The lights also work as a fill light for the 50-megapixel main and ultrawide cameras, which feature optical and electronic image stabilization and also work in night, portrait, and document scanning software modes. The ultrawide sensor can also take macro shots up to distances of 4cm.

The Phone 1 has a 1080p OLED display with an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, HDR10+, and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, while a small hole-punch cutout in the top-left corner of the screen houses a 16-megapixel selfie camera. There's also an in-display fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication.

The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus processor, and can be paired with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. The device has an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance, and features a 4,500mAh battery that can be charged at up to 33W via cable or 15W wirelessly.

The Android-based "no bloatware" Nothing OS has some notable unique features, including the aforementioned glyphs (twinned with retro-sounding notification alerts), Tesla-specific functions like unlocking doors and turning on air conditioning, and the ability to display NFTs on the lock and home screens.

Nothing says it has received more than 200,000 pre-orders for the Phone 1, which will go on sale on July 21 in over 40 markets, including the UK, Japan, India, and countries in mainland Europe. Currently there are no plans for a widespread release of the Phone 1 in the United States. More information and pre-order requests are available on the Nothing website.

Since former Apple design chief Jony Ive left Apple in 2019, he has continued to work for the company as a consultant through his LoveFrom design firm, but the partnership between Apple and Ive is now over, according to The New York Times.

Apple and Ive have agreed to stop working together, ending a more than 30-year relationship. Ive has been responsible for some of Apple's biggest products, designing the iPhone, Apple Watch, Macs, Apple retail stores, and more.

Ive announced his departure from Apple in June 2019, with the goal of creating his own design firm. At the time, Ive said that Apple would be one of his primary clients, with Ive continuing to do design work. Since then, Ive has worked on the 24-inch iMac and other products, plus he has provided guidance on the Apple Car design.

When Ive left Apple, Apple signed a multiyear contract with him that was valued at more than $100 million. Under the terms, Apple was LoveFrom's primary client, but the deal restricted Ive from working on projects that Apple felt were competitive.

Ive and Apple were set to renew the contract, but they decided not to extend it. Apple executives reportedly questioned how much Apple was paying Ive, and were also said to be frustrated that Apple designers were leaving for LoveFrom. Ive, meanwhile, wanted the freedom to choose his own clients without clearing his work with Apple.

Rumors have indicated that Ive left Apple because he became dispirited after the launch of the Apple Watch, with Ive reportedly feeling discontent as Apple was becoming less design focused and more focused on operations. Ive is said to have felt that Cook had little interest in the product development process, and he was allegedly frustrated that Apple's board was populated with directors with backgrounds in finance and operations rather than technology.

Since Ive's departure, Jeff Williams has been overseeing the Apple design teams, and will continue to do so. Industrial design continues to be led by Evans Hankey, and software design is led by Alan Dye. Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak is also said to have a central role in product design choices.

As promised, Twitter today sued Elon Musk in an attempt to force Musk to go through with the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, reports Reuters. Twitter in the lawsuit accuses Musk of trashing the company, disrupting its operations, and destroying stockholder value.

Having mounted a public spectacle to put Twitter in play, and having proposed and then signed a seller-friendly merger agreement, Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away.

Last Friday, Musk told Twitter that he was terminating the deal because of "material breach of multiple provisions of the agreement." Musk has said that he does not believe Twitter's claim that fake or spam accounts represent less than five percent of users.

Musk claimed that Twitter did not comply with its contractual agreements because he was not provided with the relevant business information that he requested about spam account data.

After Musk said that he wanted to call off the merger agreement, Twitter chairman Bret Taylor said that Twitter's board was "committed to closing the transaction" and planned to pursue legal action to enforce the agreement.

Musk initially offered to purchase Twitter for $54.20 per share in April, and Twitter accepted the offer. The deal is worth $44 billion, though Musk and Twitter could settle and call off the purchase if Musk pays a $1 billion+ fine and Twitter accepts.

Apple is planning a range of transformative upgrades for the iPad lineup in the coming years, including a new 14.1-inch model and an 11-inch model with an OLED display, as well as the introduction of under-screen camera technology and foldable displays, according to reliable display analyst Ross Young.

The comments, made on the latest episode of The MacRumors Show, provide insights into Apple's future plans for the ‌iPad‌. Among the key new details is the fact that Young no longer believes that the 14.1-inch iPad rumored to launch early next year will feature mini-LED technology, with the display effectively being the same LCD that is in the current iPad Air. He added that he is seeking further confirmation from suppliers about the larger device.

Young believes that the 11-inch iPad Pro will stick with its current display technology in the immediate future, with Apple having no plans to upgrade it to a mini-LED display or "Liquid Retina XDR" like the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. The company is instead said to be waiting for the jump to OLED displays, which is scheduled to occur for both the 11-inch and the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ simultaneously in 2024. Young said that Apple expects the OLED 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ to sell in considerably higher volumes than the OLED 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ during their launch year.

Young thinks that Apple's under-display TrueDepth camera could come to the ‌iPad‌ before it comes to the iPhone, with the technology being easier to introduce underneath a larger display with lower pixels per inch. The implementation is also said to be more feasible because the ‌iPad‌ is manufactured in lower volume than the ‌iPhone‌. He added that this new feature could theoretically emerge as soon as next year, well ahead of when the technology is expected to appear on the iPhone.

In addition, Young claimed that obtaining a sufficient volume of cover glass has been a key limiting factor in Apple's failure to bring a foldable iPhone to market so far. The company is not expected to face such problems with a larger foldable ‌iPad‌ or MacBook, hence why a bigger Apple foldable device could also come to market before a foldable ‌iPhone‌.

Apple's rumored external monitor with a 27-inch mini-LED display will feature ProMotion technology, but may not launch until early 2023, according to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) analyst Ross Young.

During the latest episode of The MacRumors Show, Young said that after missing an initial release date scheduled for June this year, Apple has again been unable to meet its rescheduled October timeframe for launching an external monitor with a mini-LED display, with early 2023 now looking like a more realistic estimate.

Young said that like the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, the new display will feature ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz in addition to a mini-LED panel. He also speculated that the device is unlikely to be an overt replacement for the Pro Display XDR, which offers a considerably larger, 6K display at a $4,999 price point. The new display is likely to be more akin to the $1,599 Apple Studio Display, which also features a 27-inch display. Nevertheless, the addition of mini-LED and ProMotion technology is likely to result in a higher price tag.

With similar reference to Apple product releases that are seemingly scheduled for next year, Young added that the rumored 15.2-inch MacBook Air is now timetabled to launch in early 2023.

The Apple Watch Series 8 model with a larger 1.99-inch display is expected to sell in comparatively low volume, which could indicate a high retail price, according to insightful display analyst Ross Young.

Young made the remarks on the latest episode of The MacRumors Show, explaining that the larger Apple Watch Series 8 model that is expected to join the lineup this year will be manufactured in relatively low volume, reflecting its forecasted sales.

Apple is purportedly expecting to ship just one million units of the larger Apple Watch in the third quarter of this year, compared to four million 45mm Apple Watch Series 8 models. This suggests that the new, larger Apple Watch may have a high price point that constrains sales volume.

This supports Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman's recent speculation that the new Apple Watch will be stylized as a high-end model with a price tag in the region of $900 to $999. In addition to a slightly larger display, the device is expected to offer better durability and longer battery life.

Amazon-owned Woot has some Prime Day deals of its own today, offering low prices on the AirTag 1-Pack and 4-Pack in new condition. These come with a one year Apple Manufacturer Limited Warranty and you can get free standard shipping if you're a Prime member.

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.

The AirTag 1-Pack is priced at $24.99, down from $29.00, and the AirTag 4-Pack is priced at $84.99, down from $99.00 [matched at Amazon]. Compared to Amazon's own sales, these are both matches of previous all-time low prices on the AirTag.

You can pair your new AirTag with all-time low prices on official Apple accessories for the AirTag on Amazon, which has the AirTag Loop for just $9.00 in three colors, down from $29.00. The Leather Key Ring is priced at $19.00 in two colors, down from $35.00.

Although anyone shopping on Woot can get this deal, shoppers should remember that you'll need an Amazon Prime membership to get many Prime Day deals on Amazon itself. You can sign up for Prime if you don't have it yet on Amazon.

Check out our article on The Best Apple Deals for Amazon Prime Day to stay up to date with this summer's big shopping event.

Update: Amazon is now matching the price on the AirTag 4-Pack.

Display analyst Ross Young joins us on The MacRumors Show podcast this week to discuss some of his biggest leaks about Apple's plans for the next year and beyond.

Ross is co-founder and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), a leading display market research firm, and has worked throughout the display supply chain. Ross is one of the top sources of information about Apple's plans and has a huge amount of influence on the rumors space, having revealed a plethora of accurate insights about upcoming Apple devices. See some of Ross's rumors that panned out correctly below:

• The iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max will feature OLED displays that are 5.4-, 6.1-, and 6.7-inches in size respectively, with no ProMotion technology.
• The ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max will be the first iPhones to include ProMotion displays.
• The iPhone SE 3 will continue to feature a 4.7-inch display and launch in 2022.
• The sixth-generation iPad mini 6 will have an 8.3-inch display with slimmer bezels and no Home Button. He also noted that it would not feature ProMotion.
• Redesigned MacBook Pro models will feature 14- and 16-inch displays with ProMotion for refresh rates up to 120Hz.
• Redesigned MacBook Air will feature a 13.6-inch display with no ProMotion or mini-LED technology.

Looking to forecasts for the future, Ross believes:

• 2022's 11-inch iPad Pro will not have a mini-LED display.
• The iPhone 14 Pro and ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro Max will feature slightly larger displays with a "pill and hole-punch" design replacing the notch.
• The standard ‌iPhone 14‌ models will not gain ProMotion.
• The Apple Watch Series 8 will come in three sizes. An additional model with a 1.99-inch display will join the lineup.
• Apple is planning to launch a 27-inch mini-LED external display.
• Apple's mixed-reality headset will feature three displays, including two micro OLED displays along with an AMOLED display.
• In early 2023, Apple will launch an iPad with a 14.1-inch display. It is unlikely to feature ProMotion.
• Apple may launch a fourth-generation iPhone SE with a 5.7-inch display in 2023 or 2024.
• Apple is preparing to launch a ‌‌MacBook Air‌‌ or "MacBook" with a 15.2-inch display in 2023.
• The "pill and hole-punch" TrueDepth camera array design will replace the notch on all iPhone 15 models.
• Apple is planning to launch 13-inch MacBook Air, 11-inch iPad Pro, and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with OLED displays in 2024.
• The "iPhone 16 Pro" models will integrate Face ID under the display, before expanding to all models with the "iPhone 17" lineup in 2025.
• Apple has likely delayed its foldable iPhone to 2025.
• 2026's "‌iPhone‌ 18 Pro" models will integrate both the ‌Face ID‌ system and the front-facing camera under the display.
• Apple is exploring all-screen foldable notebooks that could launch around 2026 or 2027.

He has also commented on how the iPad mini 7 is unlikely to feature a ProMotion display, and has expressed skepticism about Apple launching a new 12-inch MacBook.

In this episode, we take a look at some of Ross's biggest leaks and rumors for the year ahead, including details about Apple's plans for larger Apple Watch, iPad, and ‌MacBook Air‌ models. We also delve into the rumored mini-LED external display, as well as long-term progress toward Apple under-display technology and foldables.

Ross gives us some insight into his background, work, and fascinating relationship with Apple over the years. He also explains how DSCC works and exactly how it comes across so much accurate information about what Apple is planning to do.

Listen to The MacRumors Show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro, Google Podcasts, or subscribe by copying our RSS feed directly into your podcast player. You can also watch a video version of the podcast on our YouTube channel. If you haven't already listened to the last episode of The MacRumors Show, be sure to catch up for an in-depth discussion about the return of the HomePod and the new Apple TV with Sam Kohl.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for more episodes, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by exciting guests like Sam Kohl, Ian Zelbo, Jon Rettinger, Rene Ritchie, Andru Edwards, Jon Prosser, and Mark Gurman. Remember to rate and review the show, and let us know what subjects you would like the podcast to cover going forward.