MacRumors

Alongside the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus in Yellow, Apple today announced that the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature will be available in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal later this month.

The feature allows iPhone 14 models to connect to a Globalstar satellite, enabling users to send text messages to emergency services when outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Apple warns that foliage or other obstructions can result in messages taking longer to send or failing to send, and satellite connectivity might not work in places above 62° latitude. The service is free for two years after activating an iPhone 14.

Emergency SOS via Satellite first launched in November in the U.S. and Canada and requires an iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, or iPhone 14 Pro Max. The service became available in France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December.

As rumors suggested, Apple today announced a new Yellow color option for the iPhone 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus, as well as four new Silicone Case colors.

The ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus in Yellow will be available for pre-order on Friday, March 10, with availability starting on Tuesday, March 14. There are no new color options for the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max. Apple's press release reads:

Apple today announced a new yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, adding even more color choices to the lineup this spring. Beautifully designed and built to last, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have a durable Ceramic Shield front cover, an updated internal design for better sustained performance and easier repairs, and amazing battery life — with iPhone 14 Plus offering the longest battery life of any iPhone ever. Both models include a dual-camera system for stunning photos and videos, the powerful A15 Bionic chip, and innovative safety capabilities including Emergency SOS via satellite and Crash Detection.

The new Yellow shade joins the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus's existing Midnight, Starlight, (PRODUCT)RED, Blue, and Purple color options. Apple last offered a Yellow color option for the ‌iPhone‌ in 2019 with the ‌iPhone‌ 11, which came just one year after the Yellow ‌iPhone‌ XR.

Apple usually introduces new ‌iPhone‌ color options in the spring to boost sales midway through the device's product cycle. Last March, Apple introduced a new Green color for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, and a new Alpine Green color for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models. In April 2021, Apple made the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini available in Purple.

Apple added that four new colors will also be available for the ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Plus Silicone Cases, including Canary Yellow, Olive, Sky, and Iris.

Apple was easily the most popular smartphone brand last year, with eight of its iPhone models featuring in a list of 10 best-selling smartphones.

That's according to Counterpoint Research's Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker, which establishes Apple as the first brand to occupy so many spots in its top 10. The remaining two spots were taken by Samsung.

According to the report, Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 13 was the best-selling smartphone of 2022, contributing 28% of ‌iPhone‌ sales and achieving best-selling smartphone status in major markets such as China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Counterpoint's data suggests that the ‌iPhone‌ 13 remained the number one smartphone each month from its launch in September 2021 until August 2022, with price cuts after the launch of the ‌iPhone‌ 14 further driving ‌iPhone‌ 13 sales in developing markets.

Compared to the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max, which was the second best-selling smartphone of 2022, twice as many ‌iPhone‌ 13 models were sold, underlining the device's broad popularity across markets. With reference to the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max, the report notes that:

For the first time, a Pro Max variant of an ‌iPhone‌ series drove more volume than its Pro and base models in 2022. It helped the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max to capture the third spot in the 2022 list. It was the top-selling smartphone model for September, October and November of 2022. The ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max sales were led by early adopters and those upgrading to a higher ‌iPhone‌ variant.

Elsewhere, robust sales in the U.S., Japan, and China saw the ‌iPhone‌ 12 – the best-selling smartphone of 2021 – hold sixth spot above the ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro, despite being the oldest Apple handset in the list. The ‌iPhone‌ SE (2022) meanwhile took the tenth spot, with strong sales in Japan giving it a boost.

Lastly, Samsung's two spots on the list include its entry-level Galaxy A13 as the fourth best-selling smartphone, and the Galaxy A03, which rounded off the top 10. That's one more spot in the list than the Korean company achieved the previous year.

"We believe the share of the top 10 smartphones will increase in 2023 as brands focus on clearing inventory and optimizing their launches," said Counterpoint analysts Harshit Rastogi and Karn Chauhan. "We also expect brands to continue making their portfolios leaner in 2023 to minimize cannibalization. The number of active smartphone models in the global market has already fallen from over 4,200 in 2021 to around 3,600 in 2022."

In 2023, Apple continues to sell the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 alongside the ‌iPhone‌ 14 series and the third-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE, underlining the continuing popularity of its older models among new and returning customers.

Apple's standard iPhone 15 models will not be equipped with an LPTO display, suggesting that the devices will continue to lack ProMotion support and an always-on display option like Apple's Pro models have.

Last year's iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models used updated low-power display backlighting that supports ProMotion refresh rates that range from 1Hz to 120Hz. The refresh rate of the display adapts to what's happening on-screen, with lower rates used for static content and higher rates reserved for motion like games and video for a smoother, more responsive experience.

According to an industry source cited by news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Korean Naver blog, just like last year, only the Pro models in the iPhone 15 series will be equipped with the LPTO panels required for ProMotion, indicating that the feature will remain exclusive to Apple's higher-end models. From the machine-translated blog post:

Apple is said to have already made arrangements to deliver iPhone 15 series display panels to domestic companies, and will soon finalize details and prepare for mass production. What is confirmed here is that only the Pro Series will have a specification that supports LTPO 120 refresh rate, with the basic regular Plus model not having it in its requirements.

If accurate, unfortunately this means that the always-on display option will also remain a Pro-exclusive feature, since it is the 1Hz refresh rate capability of the updated LPTO panels that enables an idle Lock Screen to stay visible without significantly impacting battery.

The Naver blog's industry source corroborates the thinking of respected display analyst Ross Young, who in September 2022 said that while he expects Dynamic Island to feature on all iPhone 15 models, production scale constraints will likely prohibit Apple from bringing LPTO panels to the entire iPhone 15 series.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple's China-based supplier BOE, which has won orders for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, will not have production capacity for mass shipments of LTPO displays for high-end iPhones until 2024 at the earliest.

On the plus side, all iPhone 15 models will be equipped with a more power-efficient OLED display driver chip manufactured based on a 28nm process, compared to 40nm for current models, according to one report. The primary benefit of the 28nm chip would be reduced power consumption, which could contribute to longer battery life for iPhone 15 models.

For the latest rumors about the iPhone 15 lineup, read our roundups linked below.

Apple's next-generation 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models will both be equipped with an M3 chip, according to 9to5Mac sources. The report claims that Apple is also planning to release an updated version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip.

The unannounced M3 chip will have an 8-core CPU like the M2 chip, according to the report, but the chip is expected to be manufactured based on TSMC's latest 3nm process for further performance and power efficiency improvements. The M2 chip and its higher-end Pro and Max variants are built on TSMC's second-generation 5nm process.

The report doesn't indicate when the trio of MacBooks will be announced, but speculates that WWDC 2023 in June would be an ideal time for Apple to announce the M3 chip and the first Macs powered by the chip. Apple introduced the existing MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro alongside the M2 chip at WWDC 2022 last year.

On Sunday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said it was "plausible" that at least the new 13-inch MacBook Air would be equipped with the M3 chip. He said that Apple would likely launch both the 13-inch and 15-inch models "between late spring and summer."

There have been conflicting reports about whether the new MacBook Airs will be equipped with the M2 chip or the M3 chip and when they will be released. Just hours ago, display industry analyst Ross Young reiterated his expectation that the 15-inch MacBook Air will launch in April, but timing remains a question mark at this point.

Apple's rumored announcement of at least one new iPhone 14 color option is "imminent," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said today in a tweet.

It was rumored last week that Apple plans to make the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus available in a new Yellow finish. Multiple sources informed MacRumors that Apple's PR team is planning a product briefing with reporters this Tuesday, March 7, which could be related to the launch of a new iPhone color, but we have not confirmed the topic.

Apple often introduces new iPhone colors in the spring to boost sales midway through the product cycle. On Tuesday, March 8 of 2022, Apple introduced a new Green color for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, and a new Alpine Green color for the iPhone 13 Pro models. In April 2021, Apple made the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini available in Purple.

The new iPhone 14 color option would likely be announced with a press release on the Apple Newsroom website on Tuesday morning, potentially alongside the introduction of new iPhone case and Apple Watch band colors for the spring.

Apple first launched the iPhone 14 series last September. The new color would be purely a cosmetic change, with the hardware otherwise remaining the same. The new iPhone 15 lineup is expected to be announced in around six months from now.

Samsung in February launched the Galaxy S23 Ultra, its newest flagship smartphone. The S23 Ultra is a lot like the S22 Ultra, but it has a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera lens that supports 8K video capture. Given that the S23 Ultra is a direct competitor to Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max, we thought we'd take a look at both smartphones to see how they compare.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a 6.8-inch smartphone with an OLED display, so it's fairly similar to the 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max. Samsung is using a pinhole cutout for the front-facing camera, though, so there is more available display area on the S23 Ultra since it doesn't have a notch. Both support 120Hz maximum refresh rates, but the smoothing looks more dramatic on the S23 Ultra

Samsung is using a more squared off design with slim bezels, so these two smartphones don't look much alike. It has less curve on the display than the prior-generation model, and even though it's large, the flat display and the straight frame make it comfortable to hold. There's also an S-Pen stylus that can be used with it, which Apple does not offer. The S-Pen is handy for note taking, but it's more of a niche feature than something that is widely appealing to all users.

At the back, there's a triple-lens camera setup and Samsung has introduced a 200-megapixel wide-angle lens while the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max has a 48-megapixel lens. With high-end smartphones, it's often difficult to choose a clear winner in terms of image quality, and it comes down to a preference for the color temperature and built-in editing that smartphone manufacturers do.

When it comes to video quality, Apple's iPhones usually win out, but Samsung has made some improvements this year. The 8K video is impressive, and there are notable boosts in stabilization on the Galaxy S23. It's much harder to tell the difference in video quality between the two smartphones with the S23 Ultra.

Main lens photos look fantastic on both phones in good lighting conditions, despite the difference in megapixels. You can choose from 50 or 200 megapixels when using the S23 Ultra, and you'll get more detail, but at the cost of storage space. The ultra wide lenses are also comparable, but Samsung is the clear winner when it comes to zoom capabilities. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has 10x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom, though it stops looking great after about 30x. Apple's ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max tops out at 3x optical zoom, though that's set to change with the ‌iPhone‌ 15 Pro Max.

Portrait mode on both smartphones is impressive. The S23 seems to do better with details in shots with people and it has better background blur, but it can be too soft. The ‌iPhone‌ is better at skin tone.

At the end of the day, operating system preference matters much more than feature set for smartphones at this level. If you're an iOS user, you're probably not going to want to swap over to Android, and vice versa, regardless of how many eye-catching features are offered.

What do you think of Samsung's S23 Ultra? Which smartphone photos do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below.

Apple's rumored 15-inch MacBook Air is still on track to launch in April, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants. Young has a very good track record with display-related information about future Apple products.

Last month, Young said Apple's supply chain had started production of display panels for a new 15-inch MacBook Air, which would be the largest display size ever offered for the laptop. At the time, Young said he expected this MacBook Air to be released in early April, and he reiterated that timeframe in a brief tweet today.

If the 15-inch MacBook Air launches in April, there is still a chance of an announcement and pre-orders being sooner. Apple often announces new products in March, but it did hold an April event in 2021, so both months are possibilities.

The existing 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip launched in July 2022 after being announced at WWDC a month earlier. It's still not entirely clear if the 15-inch model would be equipped with the M2 chip or the M3 chip, as rumors have conflicted. Last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that a 15-inch MacBook with M2 and M2 Pro chip options would be released in the second quarter of 2023, potentially without Air branding.

Apple has normally reserved larger display sizes for the MacBook Pro, so a 15-inch MacBook Air could provide customers with more screen real estate at a lower price point. The laptop would also have a larger chassis, allowing for a bigger battery.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models to launch between late spring and summer.

In 2021, Apple introduced a feature that lets residents of participating U.S. states add their driver's license or ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age.

Unfortunately, states have been slow to adopt the feature since it was first announced in September 2021, with Wallet app IDs only supported in Arizona, Colorado, and Maryland so far. Apple shared a list of additional states committed to supporting the feature in the future, but none of the states in the list have revealed any plans yet.

Which U.S. states support the feature?

• Arizona (as of March 2022)
• Maryland (as of May 2022)
• Colorado (as of November 2022)

Which U.S. states are committed to supporting the feature?

In March 2022, Apple said the additional nine states listed below would "soon" allow residents to add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app, but it's unclear exactly when each state plans to roll out support for the feature.

• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Utah

Apple said the feature would also be supported in Puerto Rico.

In 2021, Apple Wallet VP Jennifer Bailey said the company was "already in discussions with many more states" and working to offer the feature nationwide in the future. Apple has yet to announce any plans to expand the feature to other countries.

Note that some states like Florida and Louisiana offer iPhone driver's licenses through their own state-operated apps, separate from this Wallet app feature.

Where can IDs in the Wallet app be used?

Driver's licenses and state ID cards stored in the Wallet app can currently be used at select TSA checkpoints within select U.S. airports:

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Denver International Airport (DEN)

Apple says travelers should refer to TSA checkpoint signage to confirm availability of the feature.

For more details about IDs in the Wallet app, read our previous coverage.

Apple today released tvOS 16.3.3, a bug fix update for the tvOS 16 operating system that originally came out in September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and ‌Apple TV‌ HD, tvOS 16.3.3 comes almost a month after tvOS 16.3.2.

The tvOS 16.3.3 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ by going to System > Software Update. ‌‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates turned on will be upgraded to ‌tvOS 16.3.3 automatically. Note that this update is only for the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ 4K.

tvOS updates are usually minor in scale, focusing on internal bug fixes and improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes. According to Apple's release notes, this update fixes an issue that could cause the Siri Remote to not work with the third-generation ‌Apple TV‌ 4K.

This update fixes an issue where the Siri Remote can become unresponsive on Apple TV 4K (3rd generation).

Apple shares information on tvOS releases in its tvOS support document, which is updated after each tvOS launch.

Apple today released a Rapid Security Response update that is available for those running the iOS 16.4 beta, marking the launch of the fourth RSR update since the feature was introduced in iOS 16.

The Rapid Security Response Update is designed to provide iOS 16.4 beta users with bug fixes without the need to install a full update, and this is likely a test update given the small file size.

iOS Security Response 16.4 (b) is available through the standard Software Update mechanism in the Settings app, but is a quick update, requiring just a couple of minutes to download the update and then a quick restart for the install process.

Once the Rapid Security Response update is installed, iOS 16.4 users will see an updated version of iOS 16.4 (b), and tapping on the version in the About section of Settings will display information about the installed iOS version and the Rapid Security Response update. Those who want to disable Rapid Security Response updates can do so by following our how to.

Update: Apple has also released a second rapid security response update for macOS 13.3 Ventura beta users.

Samsung has kicked off a new sale on monitors, memory, and storage, which is set to end on March 12. During this event you'll find discounts on 4K Samsung monitors, as well as a few internal and external SSDs.

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.

These sales have been applied automatically and do not require any coupon codes in order to see the discounts. Samsung is focusing on gaming monitors for this event, including the curved 49-inch Odyssey monitor and the smaller 32-inch Odyssey Neo G8 curved monitor.

Monitors

• 32-inch ViewFinity 4K UHD Monitor - $289.99, down from $339.99
• 43-inch 4K UHD Smart Monitor M7 - $379.99, down from $499.99
• 49-inch Odyssey QLED Curved Monitor - $899.99, down from $1,199.99
• 32-inch Odyssey 4K UHD Curved Monitor - $1,299.99, down from $1,499.99
• 49-inch Odyssey Quantum Mini-LED Monitor - $1,699.99, down from $2,299.99

Storage

• 870 EVO SATA 2.5" SSD 1TB - $64.99, down from $109.99
• Portable SSD 2TB - $149.99, down from $199.99
• 980 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD 2TB - $169.99, down from $249.99

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

Microsoft today announced that its Outlook app for Mac is now free to use, eliminating the need for a Microsoft 365 subscription or license.

Outlook supports multiple email providers, including Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo Mail, and others, with a unified inbox and universal search functionality available. As noted by The Verge, the app has been optimized for Macs with Apple silicon chips.

Microsoft redesigned Outlook on macOS in 2020, and the app supports Notification Center widgets, Handoff between macOS and iOS, and more.

Outlook for Mac is available for free on the Mac App Store.

Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available to over 700,000 additional businesses across the U.S., marking a major expansion of the feature.

Starting today, businesses with an online store built on the Wix.com platform can accept in-person payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone. Launched in 2022, the feature allows for iPhone-to-iPhone contactless payments, with no additional point-of-sale hardware from companies like Square or Clover required for the transactions.

At checkout, a customer can tap their iPhone or Apple Watch, credit card, or other contactless payment option on the business owner's iPhone, and the payment will be securely completed using the same NFC technology behind Apple Pay.

Businesses can accept payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone using the Wix Owner app on the iPhone XS and newer after setting up the feature.

Wix.com said over 700,000 online stores used its platform as of 2021.

Apple has heavily invested in developing its own MicroLED technology for almost a decade to break away from Samsung as a supplier, The Information reports.

Apple's MicroLED displays have reportedly taken much longer to develop than expected, forcing it to deepen its ties with Samsung until the technology is ready. MicroLED offers better durability, efficiency, brightness, dynamic range, and viewing angles compared to existing technologies like OLED.

Apple apparently planned to use MicroLED rather than OLED for 2017's ‌iPhone‌ X, but its high manufacturing cost and potential for defects led to the switch to the new display technology being pushed further down the pipeline. Apple still purportedly plans to introduce its first MicroLED displays on the Apple Watch next year, with the panels likely set to be supplied by LG and Sharp, rather than Samsung. The company originally planned to introduce the first Apple Watch with a MicroLED display this year, but it again faced difficulties bringing the technology to market.

Despite the launch of the first MicroLED Apple Watch next year, Apple employees are reportedly concerned that the next-generation display technology will not be ready for larger devices like the ‌iPhone‌ and iPad anytime soon. Some future Apple products, such as the mixed-reality headset and foldable ‌iPad‌, are set to be supplied by companies like Sony, LG, and BOE in an effort to break free of Samsung, but some devices like next year's OLED iPad models and high-end ‌iPhone‌ models will still be reliant on Samsung for the foreseeable future.

Apple has reportedly struggled to reduce its dependence on Samsung due to its manufacturing and technological edge, leading to an unusual relationship where Apple has less power than it does over other suppliers, having to settle for secretive practices, inferior quality, defects, and little visibility over the manufacturing process. Samsung is said to be highly distrustful of Apple, barring Apple engineers and security officials from its facilities, and often refuses to answer questions related to its technology.

The report goes on to cite numerous examples of Apple and Samsung's disagreements, such as when the Korean supplier reportedly refused to accept Apple's request to clean the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro's screens despite the presence of debris and residue caused by the process of making cutouts for the Dyanmic Island. Apple has apparently been forced to undertake intense testing of Samsung displays during product development to detect any defects or issues.

Amazon is back with solid discounts on Apple's 2021 MacBook Pro notebooks this week, offering up to $699 off select models. The highlight of the sale is a new all-time low price on the 16-inch MacBook Pro (10-Core M1 Pro, 1TB), and you'll also find a 14-inch model on sale below.

16-Inch MacBook Pro

First is the 16-inch MacBook Pro (10-Core M1 Pro, 1TB), which is on sale for $1,999.97 in Silver, down from $2,699.00. This is the lowest we've ever seen the 16-inch MacBook Pro drop, and right now only Amazon has the sale.

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

You can also get the 16-inch MacBook Pro (10-Core M1 Max, 1TB) for $2,999.99, down from $3,499.00. Amazon has this sale available in Silver and Space Gray, and it's a match of the lowest price we've ever tracked on this model of the 2021 MacBook Pro.

14-Inch MacBook Pro

Lastly, the 14-inch MacBook Pro (10-Core M1 Pro, 1TB) is on sale for $1,999.97, down from $2,499.00. This is the same deal price as the 16-inch model mentioned above, and both the 14-inch and 16-inch models share the same specs, but if you need the 14-inch version it's still a great sale.

You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

Samsung plans to rival Apple silicon by developing its own custom processors for future smartphones and personal computers in an effort to develop more advanced chips.

According to Business Korea, Samsung has already formed an internal team dedicated to CPU core development and has recruited Rahul Tuli, a former AMD developer, to lead the group.

Samsung has traditionally relied on British chip company Arm for its Exynos advanced processors, but developing the chips in-house would allow it to take full control of the design and optimization process, similar to Apple's transition away from Intel.

The first application processor (AP) is said to be dubbed Galaxy Chip, and could be available in 2025. However, this chip will likely have a CPU based on Arm technology, since Samsung has only just initiated development of its own CPU core.

"Samsung Electronics will be able to boost completion level of its Galaxy Chip if it successfully develops a CPU core," Korean outlet Pulse News quoted an unnamed industry official as saying. "It will be able to load its own CPU in 2027 if development is carried out as planned."

This isn't the first time that Samsung has developed its own CPU. The company has been building its own development team and investing in technology since the early 2010s to build its own design capabilities.

However, Samsung folded the project because its CPU cores were deemed inferior to those of competitors such as Qualcomm in terms of power efficiency, heat generation, and multi-core efficiency. In 2019, the company officially scrapped the project and laid off more than 300 developers at the Samsung Austin Research Center (SARC).

Since 2020, Apple has been working to transition away from Intel chips, instead using its own Apple silicon chips. Apple's custom chips are Arm-based and are similar to the A-series chips used in iPhones and iPads, and Apple unveiled the first Apple silicon Macs in November 2020.

Apple's chips bring a whole new level of performance with more powerful Macs that are also more energy-efficient. With Apple designing its own chips for iOS devices and Macs, there is a common architecture across all Apple product lines, which also makes it easier for developers to write and optimize software that runs on all Apple products.

Apple has almost completed its transition away from Intel to Apple silicon, with one Intel Mac computer still waiting to be updated: The Mac Pro. Apple is said to be testing a new Mac Pro with Apple silicon, with a view to releasing it in the summer.

Apple partner BOE will supply the OLED displays for the fourth-generation iPhone SE, which is expected to be released next year, according to The Elec.

China-based BOE reportedly missed the initial volume of OLED panels destined for this year's iPhone 15 series due to production issues, with Samsung and LG claiming the majority of orders. Now it is looking to make up for it by focusing on OLED panel production for the low-cost iPhone SE 4. The volume of OLED panels for the iPhone SE 4 is estimated to be around 20 million next year.

Rather than applying new specifications, the iPhone SE 4 is expected to use OLED inventory originally put in place for 2021's iPhone 13 or 2022's iPhone 14. "It makes sense for Apple to optimize by leveraging component inventory, as it is an entry-level product," adds the machine language-translated Korean report.

Apple has restarted development of a fourth-generation iPhone SE with a 6.1-inch OLED display and an Apple-designed 5G chip, according to the information shared by reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last month.

Kuo said the new iPhone SE will be similar to the standard iPhone 14, which features a 6.1-inch OLED display with thinner bezels. The current iPhone SE is equipped with a 4.7-inch LCD display with thicker bezels.

Following the report on Kuo, reputable display analyst Ross Young said he had heard that the iPhone SE 4 will use an OLED panel from BOE, and today's report corroborates this information.