MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be one of several tech CEOs in attendance at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, reports Bloomberg.

Earlier this month, Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, and when Trump won in November, Cook sent congratulations on social media site X. Cook also visited Mar-a-Lago in December, where he had dinner with Trump.

Tech CEOs and tech companies have been lavishing Trump with money and attention since November. Google, Amazon, Meta, Uber, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Coinbase, Toyota, Ford, GM, AT&T, and more made donations to Trump's inauguration fund, and as a result, Trump has raised $200 million.

Trump has made it clear that he plans to put new tariffs in place, and Cook is likely aiming to avoid them with an exemption. During Trump's first term, Apple was able to skirt tariffs on its the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, though it had to pay some tariffs for the Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod. In 2019, Trump said Cook "made a good case" that tariffs would put Apple at a disadvantage.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla's Elon Musk will also be at the inauguration.

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.

Four months have passed since Apple released the iPhone 16 lineup. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been using an iPhone 16 Pro Max since launch, and over on our YouTube channel, he did a multi-month review to provide his thoughts on durability, battery life, Camera Control, and other features.

The titanium chassis has held up well, with just minor scratches and scuffs on the edges. Battery health remains at 100 percent at 101 cycles and battery life has been impressive, but this is the ‌iPhone 16‌ with the biggest battery.

Camera Control has been a hit or miss feature. It's useful for opening the camera quickly to snap photos, but digging into the extra menus with swipes and gestures is clunky and takes too long.

Apple Intelligence is about the same, and it's not always super useful. One of the better features is Clean Up, which removes unwanted images from photos. Clean Up has improved over time since it was first introduced in iOS 18.1, and it's more useful than it was initially. Genmoji is fun, but it needs improvement because a lot of simple requests just don't pan out.

Unsurprisingly, the camera has been great, especially the improved 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens that Apple added. Photographic Styles adds useful customization options, and it's easier to make quick edits that give your images a uniform look.

Have an ‌iPhone 16‌? Let us know what you think of it after using it for a few months.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said that there's "some possibility" the company's Apple Card partnership with Apple could end early, reports Reuters. Goldman Sachs and Apple have a contract that is supposed to last until 2030, but the financial services company wants to get out of consumer banking and out of its deal with Apple.

Back in November 2023, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested that Apple was aiming to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months. The 12 month mark has already passed, and 15 months is coming up at the end of February, but there hasn't been recent news on the dissolving of the partnership.

Apple partnered with Goldman Sachs for the ‌Apple Card‌ and the Apple Savings account, so Apple needs to find a replacement partner for these services before it can move on from Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs initially approached American Express about taking over the deal, but the ‌Apple Card‌ needs to run on the Mastercard network until 2026 because of a prior contract. Apple held discussions with Synchrony Financial and Capital One, but those talks seem to have ended. As of September 2024, Apple was reportedly in talks with JPMorgan Chase about an ‌Apple Card‌ takeover, but establishing a deal could take months.

Goldman Sachs has faced customer service issues and customer complaints over the ‌Apple Card‌ and Apple Savings account, which ultimately led to an investigation by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Customers were unhappy with long wait times for disputed ‌Apple Card‌ transactions and issues with transferring money from the Apple Savings account, and Apple is not happy with the poor customer service reputation its financial products have as a result.

Apple's financing partner Affirm this month started offering interest-free financing on iPhone purchases in Canada again, after stopping doing so in mid-2023. With a 0% loan from Affirm, you can pay for an iPhone over 24 months with zero interest added.

This change, first reported by the blog iPhone in Canada, could help to boost iPhone sales in Canada following the recent holiday shopping season.

Affirm is still charging interest on iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro purchases in Canada, with APRs ranging from 4.99% to 7.99%.

Many of Apple's financing options in the U.S. are not available in Canada, including the iPhone Upgrade Program and Apple Card Monthly Installments, leaving customers in the country with no other options directly from Apple beyond Affirm.

Affirm acquired Apple's former financing partner in Canada, PayBright, in 2021.

There is a good chance that Apple's first product announcement of 2025 will be updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip.

Last month, Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models are coming this year (unsurprisingly).

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new MacBook Air models will be announced "earlier" than some other devices rumored to launch this spring, such as a new iPhone SE and iPad 11. He has repeatedly said the new MacBook Air models are already in production, so a release as early as January or February rather than March or April seems possible.

Below, we recap rumors about the next MacBook Air models.

The new MacBook Air models are expected to be equipped with Apple's already-released M4 chip, which has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU.

Apple already updated the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini with M4 chips in late October. Geekbench 6 results showed that the M4 chip is up to 25% faster than the M3 chip in terms of multi-core CPU performance.

Apple recently increased the minimum RAM included in all MacBook Air models from 8GB to 16GB.

Following in the footsteps of the MacBook Pro, the next MacBook Air models will likely have an upgraded 12-megapixel camera with support for Center Stage, a feature that automatically keeps you centered on video as you move around. The camera should also support Desk View, which shows both you and an overhead view of your desk.

Center Stage is available in video calling apps like FaceTime and Zoom. The feature was previously limited to newer iPad models and Macs connected to Apple's external Studio Display. The new MacBook Pro and iMac models were the first Macs to support Center Stage without needing to rely on a Studio Display.

The new MacBook Air models will likely be equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, whereas the current models have two Thunderbolt 3 ports. And the new models will likely support up to two external displays, even when the lid is open.

The latest MacBook Pro and iMac models can be configured with a nano-texture display, which has a special coating that better scatters light to further minimize glare on the screen. It is possible that Apple will extend this option to the new MacBook Air models, but it might opt to keep the option exclusive to the MacBook Pro for differentiation.

No major external design changes have been rumored for the next MacBook Air models. Apple last redesigned the MacBook Air in 2022.

Amazon and Best Buy are discounting Apple's 13-inch M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 256GB SSD storage down to $799.00 in every color. This is a $200 discount on the M2 MacBook Air, and neither sale requires any coupon code in order to see the final deal price.

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

Compared to past sales, this is a match of the all-time low price on this model of the M2 MacBook Air. Although this is a previous generation device, it remains in Apple's current lineup and will work great for anyone who doesn't need the performance gains introduced with the M3 chip, especially at this discounted price.

There are a few deals on the M3 MacBook Air, and these are all located at Amazon. You can get the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage for $1,099.00 on Amazon, down from $1,299.00. Only the Space Gray color is available at this record low price.

Finally, if you are looking for a larger model, Amazon has the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD storage for $1,299.00, down from $1,499.00. This one is available in three colors on Amazon, and it's another match of the record low price on the M3 MacBook Air.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.

Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM card slot worldwide, and an A19 chip instead of the more powerful A19 Pro chip. Of course, the device will also be equipped with a smaller battery than other iPhone 17 models.

Below, we recap 10 key changes rumored for the "iPhone 17 Air" as of January 2025:

• The thinnest iPhone ever, measuring just 5.5mm at its thinnest point
• 6.6-inch OLED display with Face ID and Dynamic Island
• ProMotion support for up to 120Hz refresh rate
• A19 chip instead of A19 Pro chip
• 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence support
• A single 48-megapixel rear camera
• A 24-megapixel front camera
• A single speaker in the earpiece, no bottom speaker
• eSIM only, no physical SIM card slot
• Apple-designed 5G modem

Bookmark our iPhone 17 roundup to stay up to date with more rumors over the coming months.

Apple is making it easier for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in the U.S. to donate towards wildfire recovery efforts in the Los Angeles, California area.

Apple has added an American Red Cross donation flow to the App Store and Apple Music apps.

"Our hearts go out to all impacted by the ongoing devastation in LA," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a social media post today. "In addition to Apple's donation, we're making it easy to support recovery efforts. If you're in the US, just open the App Store or Apple Music & click to donate to help make a difference." He also shared a direct link to the donation flow.

Last week, Apple said it would be making its own donation towards recovery efforts on the ground. Apple frequently donates towards recovery efforts following natural disasters around the world, but it typically does not disclose the donation amount.

In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and now further evidence of the wireless earbuds has surfaced.

Apple submitted Powerbeats Pro 2 regulatory documents to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-December. The documents were made available to the public this week, and they were spotted by 91Mobiles.

The documents confirm that Apple has continued to take the necessary steps to launch the Powerbeats Pro 2 this year. They also reveal that the left and right earbuds will have model numbers of A3157 and A3158, respectively, while the charging case will be A3160. Beyond that, we have not uncovered any significant details.

Apple also submitted Powerbeats Pro 2 regulatory documents to the Bureau of Indian Standards in November, according to the 91Mobiles report.

Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks for a secure fit. Apple's teaser video last year showed MLB star Shohei Ohtani wearing the Powerbeats Pro 2, revealing a more vertical, slimmer design compared to the original Powerbeats Pro, which are now discontinued.

We previously reported that the Powerbeats Pro 2 will 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.

We also confirmed that Powerbeats Pro 2 will support Active Noise Cancellation, Spatial Audio, and Adaptive Audio. The earbuds and charging case will be available in orange, purple, black, or beige, and the case should have a USB-C port.

Based on other recent Beats headphones, other potential upgrades for the Powerbeats Pro 2 include improved sound quality, longer battery life, and improved cross-platform compatibility with Android features like Find My Device.

Apple did not reveal a specific release date in 2025 for the Powerbeats Pro 2, but the regulatory filings hint at a launch within the next few months.

Update: The four colors have the following names: Jet Black, Quick Sand, Electric Orange, and Hyper Purple.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air 17 years ago today at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, captivating audiences with a groundbreaking design that set new industry standards.

Jobs famously revealed the ‌MacBook Air‌ by pulling it out of an interoffice envelope to emphasize its unprecedentedly slim profile. The original model featured a 13.3-inch display, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and an optional 64GB solid-state drive, which was a rarity for consumer laptops in 2008, in a sleek aluminum unibody design. It lacked features considered standard at the time, such as an optical drive and Ethernet port. The single headphone, USB, and Micro-DVI ports popped out of a small door on the right of the machine. Jobs said:

We've built the world's thinnest notebook — without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display. When you first see MacBook Air, it's hard to believe it's a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is.

Seventeen years later, the ‌MacBook Air‌ remains a cornerstone of the Mac lineup, providing the entry-level point for customers who want an Apple laptop. In 2020, Apple brought its own custom silicon processor to the ‌MacBook Air‌ in the form of the M1 chip, enabling a massive leap in performance and energy efficiency. It completely redesigned the machine in 2022, and added a 15-inch model in 2024. In the first half of this year, Apple is expected to bring its latest-generation M-series chips to the device.

WaterField Designs today introduced the Shield Case, a small, protective case that's designed for Apple's latest Mac mini. The shield case has a rugged ballistic nylon or waxed canvas exterior, along with a soft, padded fleece interior that keeps the ‌Mac mini‌ safe during transport.

The M4 Mac mini is Apple's smallest desktop machine to date, measuring in at just five inches by five inches. It's small enough that it can be easily taken from one desktop setup to another, hence the reason behind a case for a desktop Mac.

There is a plush interior pocket for the ‌Mac mini‌ power cord, along with a rear mesh pocket and a padded, zippered front pocket for SD cards, cords, and an AirTag for tracking purposes.

A nylon loop at the top allows the Shield Case to be carried or attached to another bag with a carabiner, and there are waterproof YKK zippers that can be locked with a padlock. A zipper guard ensures the zipper does not damage the ‌Mac mini‌.

The Shield Case can be purchased from the WaterField Designs website for $99, and it will ship out to customers this month.

Ahead of the season two premiere of hit TV show Severance, Apple is marketing the show with a fun Severance pop-up at the Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

Apple has assembled a glass cube with workstations that are identical to the setups that Lumon employees use on the show, complete with employees "working," doing yoga, playing catch, throwing paper airplanes, sipping coffee, and performing other activities that we've seen on Severance.

At 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Severance director Ben Stiller made an appearance at the site, with some of the show's actors visiting as well. Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, and Tramell Tillman were on hand and spent time in the makeshift office space, with the actors in character as their "innies."

The performance went on for more two and a half hours, and the actors behaved as if they were actually at work at Lumon Industries.

Severance is set to return to Apple TV+ on Friday, January 17, three years after the first season of the show premiered.

OpenAI today said that it added a new "Tasks" beta feature to ChatGPT, allowing ChatGPT to provide reminders for upcoming tasks. The feature supports one-time reminders or recurring actions, with users able to use conversational language to set up notifications for tasks.

ChatGPT is able to do things like send a weekly global news briefing, provide a daily 15-minute workout, set reminders for completing a task like language practice, send a daily joke, create a meal plan each evening, provide reminders about upcoming events like birthdays, and more.

Reminders can be created in chat or through the tasks page under the profile menu, though the "4o with scheduled tasks" model needs to be selected. The new model is still rolling out to subscribers.

At the current time, Tasks is available to Plus, Pro, and Teams subscribers in a beta capacity, and in the future, it will be available to everyone with a ChatGPT account.

Apple today provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 11.3 update for testing purposes, with the beta coming a week after the second beta.

The beta is available to registered developers, and can be downloaded from the Watch app on the iPhone.

There were no notable new features found in the update, but code suggests that Apple will add support for robot vacuums to HomeKit, which means it will be a supported category in the Home app in watchOS.

We are expecting watchOS 11.3 to be released sometime in late January alongside iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3.

The European Union is "reassessing" its investigations into big U.S. tech companies like Apple, Meta, and Google, claims Financial Times, though a spokesperson from the European Commission has denied that such a review is taking place.

Tech CEOs like Apple's Tim Cook and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg have been cozying up to president-elect Donald Trump as he prepares to take office, and Financial Times suggests that probes launched under the Digital Markets Act could be scaled back. A senior EU diplomat told the site that "So much is up in the air right now," while other officials said that regulators are holding for "political direction" to make final decisions in cases involving Apple, Google, and Meta.

A spokesperson for the European Commission told Financial Times that there is "no such review taking place," but that the EC has "upcoming meetings to assess the general readiness of an investigation." None of the cases are "ready at a technical level," but the EC remains "fully committed to the effective enforcement of its rules."

The European Commission launched an investigation into Apple's compliance with the Digital Markets Act last year, and determined that it was not in compliance. A November report suggested that the European Commission is gearing up to fine Apple for failing to implement changes allowing developers to steer users to cheaper prices outside of the App Store.

Apple overhauled its ‌App Store‌ rules in Europe in 2024, and made several changes to satisfy regulators. European developers are able to distribute apps outside of the ‌App Store‌, and there are new fee structures and policies in place.

The EU in 2024 fined Apple $2 billion for anticompetitive behavior against third-party music services, and if Apple is fined over DMA non-compliance, the fee could be higher. Under the DMA, the European Union is able to fine Apple up to 10 percent of its global annual sales.

Back in October, Trump claimed that Cook called him to complain about penalties from the European Union. At the time, Trump said that he is "not going to let them take advantage of our companies."

With Margrethe Vestager and Thierry Breton having stepped down from the European Commission, priorities could change. The EC's chief spokesperson said that there could be a "political reality" that "puts pressure on the technical work." The EC "will be looking and assessing on the basis of concrete measures and actions from the new administration."

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 today released new firmware designed for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 2A143, up from the 2A138 firmware that the accessory shipped with. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the internal firmware number.

The 2024 ‌MagSafe‌ charger was released alongside the iPhone 16 models, and it is able to charge them at up to 25W. For the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models to the iPhone 15 models, charging is capped at 15W.

Because firmware updates are released quietly over the air, Apple does not provide release notes. We do not know what new features or bug fixes might be included in the software.

There is no clear method for updating a ‌‌MagSafe‌‌ charger's firmware, but it needs to be plugged in and connected to an Apple device for a firmware update to initiate. You can check your ‌‌MagSafe‌‌ Charger's firmware by following the instructions in our MagSafe Charger how to.

Apple Pencil Pro deals were prevalent in the lead-up to Black Friday last year, but quickly disappeared as the holiday season continued. It's now been over a month since we last saw a low price on the accessory, but this week Amazon has the stylus for $99.00, down from $129.00.

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.

This is just about $5 higher when compared to the all-time low price on the Apple Pencil Pro, but given that deals have been pretty rare recently, it's a great opportunity for anyone who's been waiting for a discount. This sale does not require any coupon codes to be clipped.

Apple Pencil Pro debuted last May with new features like squeeze gestures, haptic feedback, Find My support, and more. It's compatible with the M2 iPad Air, iPad mini 7, and M4 iPad Pro. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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