Apple began accepting pre-orders for all four new iPhone 16 models today, and shipping estimates for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max on Apple's online store in the U.S. are already beginning to slip into October for many configurations.
As of 6:45 a.m. Pacific Time, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max were facing a 2-4 week shipping delay for some configurations on Apple's online store, with delivery estimates stretching as far out as October 14. The lower-end iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus were largely still available for launch-day delivery on Friday, September 20 as of that time.
Inventory will inevitably continue to tighten for both delivery and Apple Store pickup as the day progresses, so order quickly if you are planning to.
iPhone 16 Pro models have several new features, including larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays with thinner bezels, longer battery life, a new Camera Control button for quick access to camera functions, a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, a faster A18 Pro chip, Wi-Fi 7 support, faster 5G, faster charging, and more. Both of the devices support Apple Intelligence, which will begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 in October. Apple Intelligence is also coming to the iPhone 15 Pro models, iPhone 16, and iPhone 16 Plus.
Apple has launched pre-orders for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. If you're looking to place a pre-order on one of these models at a cellular carrier, we've rounded up all of the best deals and offers you can find from the major carriers in the United States.
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.
Starting with AT&T, you can get the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro at no cost with eligible trade-in, and the iPhone 16 Plus for up to $830 off with eligible trade-in. Finally, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will be available at up to $1,000 off with eligible trade-in.
If you plan on signing up for AT&T Fiber you'll also be eligible to get the iPhone 16 Pro Max at no extra cost. AT&T will also have the Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 available for order this Friday, but the carrier hasn't detailed any offers on those devices yet.
New and existing Verizon customers on the Unlimited Ultimate plan can get the iPhone 16 Pro at no cost, or up to $1,000 off the iPhone 16 lineup when trading in any smartphone in any condition. If you choose the Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Welcome plans you can get $830 off or up to $415 off, respectively.
If you're switching to Verizon from another carrier and add a new line, you can get an iPhone 16 Pro for $10/month for 36 months on Unlimited Ultimate, or $15/month for 36 months on Unlimited Plus.
In terms of watches, you can get the Apple Watch Series 10 for as low as $6/month for 36 months when you buy select iPhone models. You'll also need to trade in an existing Apple Watch to get this offer.
Visible has the full lineup of iPhone 16 models available for pre-order, and if you're switching to Visible from another carrier you can take advantage of a new offer. If you join on a new line of service, and purchase an iPhone 16 on the Visible+ plan, you can save up to $360 via monthly service credits.
Visible offers unlimited talk, text, and data for $25/month on the Visible plan or $45/month on the Visible+ plan. The Visible+ plan includes everything in the base plan plus smartwatch service, plus a few upgrades to mobile hotspot and international roaming features.
T-Mobile
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro: No cost with eligible trade-in
iPhone 16 Plus: Up to $830 off with eligible trade-in
iPhone 16 Pro Max: Up to $1,000 off with eligible trade-in
T-Mobile's offers are nearly identical to AT&T. You can get the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro at no cost when you trade in an old device and purchase the new device on an eligible unlimited plan. Otherwise, you can get the iPhone 16 Plus for up to $830 off and the iPhone 16 Pro Max for up to $1,000 off, both with eligible trade-in on unlimited plans.
Additionally, customers can get $200 back for every new line added to a Go5G Next or Go5G Plus plan (up to four lines). Families can also get four iPhone 16 models at no cost and four new voice lines for $25/line when trading in four eligible devices.
For Apple Watches at T-Mobile, if you buy any new Apple Watch device, you can get $300 off a second model when adding a new watch line to your plan.
Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
Apple is now accepting orders for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max through its online storefront and through the Apple Store app. The Apple Store app is often the quickest way to get a pre-order in as typically comes online ahead of the website.
Pre-orders are being accepted in more than 58 countries and regions around the world, and if you used Apple's "Get Ready" feature ahead of time, you should be able to get your order in with a few taps.
Pricing on the iPhone 16 starts at $799 in the United States, while pricing on the iPhone 16 Plus starts at $899. The iPhone 16 Pro is priced starting at $999, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199. Note that the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro start with 128GB of storage, but the Pro Max starts at 256GB.
iPhone 16 prices vary by country, and go up with increased storage space. The 16 and 16 Plus support up to 512GB, while the 16 Pro and Pro Max support up to 1TB storage space. Apple is encouraging customers to use trade-in credits to lower the iPhone's price, and it is promoting carrier deals from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile in the U.S.
All four iPhone 16 models feature the new Camera Control button for taking photos and video, and have chips capable of supporting the Apple Intelligence features coming in a future iOS 18 update. Other features include the Action Button, faster 5G, faster MagSafe and USB-C charging, Wi-Fi 7, longer battery life, and new color options.
The iPhone 16 Pro models have been updated with larger displays with slimmer bezels while iPhone 16 display size hasn't changed. The iPhone 16 Pro has a 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display. Other "Pro" features include a more advanced A18 chip, support for ProMotion and Always-On display technology, along with a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens and a 5x Telephoto lens, which is now available across both models.
We haven't heard rumors of production shortages, so it is not clear what supplies will look like. It is a good idea to pre-order right away just in case some models sell out, especially in the new Desert Titanium iPhone 16 Pro color.
In addition to Apple, U.S. carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are accepting pre-orders starting now, as are carriers worldwide. Big box retailers like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart are also selling the new iPhone models.
Customers who pre-order an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro can expect to begin receiving their new devices on Friday, September 20, which is the official iPhone 16 launch date.
Apple during its iPhone event earlier this week unveiled a significant upgrade to its Voice Memos app, introducing multitrack recording capabilities that appear to be exclusively for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models. The new feature marks a notable advancement in mobile audio recording, but it appears it will be unavailable for older iPhones or the standard iPhone 16.
Essentially, the multitrack functionality allows iPhone 16 Pro users to layer one audio track on top of an existing recording, a capability that is likely to be particularly attractive to musicians and songwriters. Users can record an initial track, for example a guitar part, and then add a vocal or another instrument as an overdub.
The way it works is that the Voice Memos app plays the music track through the iPhone's speakers, while simultaneously recording the user's voice. It can then isolate the overdubbed part using what Apple calls "advanced processing" and cancel the background music, leaving a "professional-sounding recording" without the need for headphones. This means users can effectively separate the layers for individual use or editing.
The update addresses a long-standing limitation of the Voice Memos app, which has been a popular tool for quickly capturing musical ideas despite its previously basic functionality. But the feature limitation to Apple's premium Pro models may come as an unwelcome surprise to some.
While Apple hasn't detailed the specific technical requirements that make it exclusive to iPhone 16 Pro models, it's likely that the feature leverages the enhanced processing power of the new A18 Pro chip and the devices' new four studio-quality microphones. The iPhone 16 series launches on September 20, with pre-orders starting on Friday, September 13, but the multitrack recording feature is expected to be available later in the year via a software update.
Ahead of iPhone 16 pre-orders starting on Friday, Apple has shared three videos touting the benefits of iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence, with special reference to the Mail app, Photos app, and enhanced Siri.
Apple describes the trio of short videos, all of which star English actor Isabella Ramsey, in the following way:
Custom memory: Create a custom memory movie by entering a description in Photos, and Apple Intelligence will find the best photos and videos to craft a storyline with its own narrative arc.
Email summary: Tap to reveal a summary of a long email in the Mail app and cut to the chase. You can also view summaries of emails right from your inbox.
More personal Siri: Equipped with awareness of your personal context, the ability to take action in and across apps, and richer language understanding, Siri will be able to assist you like never before.
Apple plans to introduce the first Apple Intelligence features with the release of iOS 18.1, which is expected to launch in October. Among the new capabilities are writing tools for generating and summarizing text, as well as a feature that provides concise summaries of notifications.
The Messages app will gain the ability to suggest replies, while a new function will allow users to record and transcribe phone calls. The Photos app will benefit from a new "Clean Up" tool, which is designed to swiftly remove unwanted objects from images.
Apple plans to make the Image Playground feature for generating images and the Genmoji feature for generating custom emoji available in iOS 18.2, which will likely be released in December.
Apple's online store is down ahead of iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro pre-orders, which are expected to be available at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time in the United States.
"We love that early energy," reads the Apple Store's message when visiting the U.S. website. "Almost ready for you. Pre-order begins at 5:00 a.m. PDT. See you soon." Apple has been doing 5:00 a.m. pre-orders for the last several years instead of the 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time pre-orders that it used to have.
Customers in more than 40 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the UAE, the U.K., and the U.S., will be able to pre-order iPhone 16 models when the store comes back online.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be available in black, white, pink, teal, and ultramarine in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities, while the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be available in black titanium, natural titanium, white titanium, and desert titanium, in 128GB (smaller Pro only), 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities.
The iPhone 16 is priced starting at $799, while the iPhone 16 Plus is priced starting at $899. The iPhone 16 Pro is priced starting at $999, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is priced starting at $1,199. After pre-orders take place, a launch will follow on Friday, September 20.
As reported by WIRED today, a group of six computer scientists this year discovered a security vulnerability with the Apple Vision Pro that allowed them to reconstruct what people were typing, including passwords, PINs, and messages.
When a Vision Pro user was using a virtual Persona avatar, such as during a FaceTime call, the researchers were able to analyze the Persona's eye movement or "gaze" to determine what the user was typing on the headset's virtual keyboard. The researchers created a website with technical details about the so-called "GAZEploit" vulnerability.
In short, the researchers said that a person's gaze typically fixates on a key they are likely to press next, and this can reveal some common patterns. As a result, the researchers said they were able to identify the correct letters people typed in messages 92% of the time within five guesses, and 77% of the time for passwords.
The researchers disclosed the vulnerability to Apple in April, according to the report, and the company addressed the issue in visionOS 1.3 in July. The update suspends Personas when the Vision Pro's virtual keyboard is active.
Impact: Inputs to the virtual keyboard may be inferred from Persona
Description: The issue was addressed by suspending Persona when the virtual keyboard is active.
CVE-2024-40865: Hanqiu Wang of University of Florida, Zihao Zhan of Texas Tech University, Haoqi Shan of Certik, Siqi Dai of University of Florida, Max Panoff of University of Florida, and Shuo Wang of University of Florida
The proof-of-concept attack was not exploited in the wild, according to the report. Nonetheless, Vision Pro users should immediately update the headset to visionOS 1.3 or later to ensure they are protected, now that the findings have been shared publicly.
Amazon today has a few all-time low prices on the 10th generation iPad and 6th generation iPad mini. Both of these discounts represent all-time low prices on each tablet, and prices start at $299.00 for the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00.
iPad
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.
For the 10th generation iPad, Amazon provides an estimated September 14 - 17 delivery estimate for most orders placed in the United States. Right now we're only tracking record low prices on the 64GB Wi-Fi model, but you can find a few solid second-best prices on the other configurations as well.
This iPad launched in October 2022 and was completely redesigned compared to the 9th generation model. It features a larger 10.9-inch display, USB-C port, A14 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel camera, Touch ID, and more.
iPad Mini
iPad mini 6 prices start at $379.99 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model, down from $499.00. Similar to the iPad, only the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad mini is seeing a match of its record low price, but you can still find a few second-best prices on other models.
Steep discounts on the iPad mini 6 have become more frequent recently as we're expecting a refresh of the tablet at some point soon, possibly during an event next month. The iPad mini is Apple's smallest tablet device and this model features a slim-bezeled design, the A15 Bionic chip, a USB-C port, and Apple Pencil 2 support.
Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.
Some iPhone owners who have the iOS 18.1 beta installed appear to be experiencing issues with the Siri personal assistant, which has stopped working sometime over the course of the last couple of days.
There are multiple reports from people experiencing issues on social media, as noted by 9to5Mac, as well as complaints on Reddit and the MacRumors forums. Impacted users are seeing a "Siri Not Available" banner when attempting to use Siri.
The banner says that "Data for Siri is downloading" or that users need to "Connect to Wi-Fi to complete Siri download." Either way, no download completes as it seems to get stuck at 99 percent, and Siri remains unavailable.
Not all users who are running iOS 18.1 are impacted, and restarting does not fix the problem. Turning off Apple Intelligence allows the old version of Siri to work, but toggling it off and on again also does not address the issue.
It is not clear what happened with Siri, but it is worth noting that iOS 18.1 is a beta and there are often bugs in betas, which is why caution should be used when installing beta software. Apple will likely push out a fix for the problem in the near future.
For now, if you need Siri access and are running iOS 18.1, temporarily turn off Apple Intelligence.
Apple will soon allow the AirPods Pro 2 to serve as an over-the-counter hearing aid, and the company has now received FDA clearance for the feature.
As noted by TechCrunch, the FDA today announced that it has authorized Apple to add OTC hearing aid functionality to the AirPods Pro 2, and it marks the first product that the FDA has allowed to serve as an over-the-counter hearing aid software device.
An update coming to the AirPods Pro 2 will add the Hearing Aid functionality. Users will take a short Hearing Test using the AirPods and an iPhone, and if hearing loss is detected, a personalized sound profile is created that allows the AirPods Pro 2 to make dynamic sound adjustments to increase sound as needed.
Apple says that the clinical-grade hearing aid feature will help people better engage in conversation and stay connected to the people and environment around them.
Personalized hearing profiles are automatically applied to music, movies, games, and phone calls without the need to adjust any settings. For those with little to no hearing loss, the Hearing Test will also help with specific adjustments at individual frequencies.
Apple plans to roll out the Hearing Aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 this fall.
Apple this week unveiled the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. As always, there were many rumors leading up to the event that gave us an idea of what to expect from the devices, with some proving accurate and others not.
Below, we have recapped some of the bigger hits and misses from the iPhone 16 rumor mill.
Some of the leaked dimensions and weights for iPhone 16 Pro models were accurate, including the devices having the same thickness as iPhone 15 Pro models, but some of the figures were slightly off.
Apple officially releases iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 on Monday, September 16, bringing a host of new features to existing iPhones and iPads, such as new Home Screen customization options, an overhauled Control Center, a revamped Photos app, Mail improvements, and more.
This article covers some of the things you can do to prepare your iPhone or iPad for Apple's latest mobile operating system, including storage maintenance tips, backup advice, and a few other useful tidbits to consider before upgrading. First though, you'll need to make sure your device is compatible with the new software.
Note that iOS 18 will come pre-installed on new iPhone 16 models when they launch on Friday, September 20.
Reclaim Device Storage Space
Before you attempt to make the leap to iOS 18, you'll first want to make sure your device has adequate space to download and install the new operating system over the air.
With that in mind, it's worth looking at what apps you currently have installed on your devices and whether you really need them. Swipe through your home screen and check inside your folders to root out any long-forgotten apps that are taking up precious storage space.
You can delete apps by holding a finger on them and tapping the X that appears at the corner of their icon. Alternatively, go to Settings ➝ General ➝ iPhone/iPad Storage, tap any apps you don't use, and select Delete App. Note that this action can't be undone, but be ruthless – you can always re-install removed apps at a later date if you change your mind.
Check on the size of any social media or messaging apps you have installed, such as Facebook and WhatsApp. These apps can often balloon in size after long periods of activity because of chat history, media caching and the like, so you might want to delete and reinstall them to start afresh.
Also, be sure to heed any personal recommendations on the iPhone Storage screen, like keeping high-resolution photos in iCloud and smaller-size versions on your device, or letting iOS automatically offload any apps you don't use often.
Make an Archived Backup of Your Device on Mac
It's best practice to have a local backup of your device stored on your computer in case something goes awry, or the worst happens and installation of iOS 18 fails. If you need to downgrade shortly after installing a new iOS update, making an archived local backup beforehand is necessary, otherwise you won't be able to revert back to iOS 17/iPadOS 17 if things go wrong.
Plug your iPhone into your Mac using the supplied cable.
Allow the accessory to connect by clicking Allow in the dialog prompt.
Open a Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock.
Click your iOS device's name in the sidebar.
If this is the first time connecting your device to your Mac, click Trust in the Finder window.
Tap Trust on your device when prompted, then enter your passcode to confirm.
In the General tab, click the circle next to where it says Back up all of the data on your iPad to this Mac.
If you want to encrypt the backup, check the box next to Encrypt local backup, then enter a password to protect your data.
If you don't want to create an encrypted backup, or you've already set up encrypted backups, click Back Up Now. When the backup is finished, you can find the date and time of the last backup in the General tab, just above the Manage Backups button.
Lastly, archive the backup: Select Manage Backups ➝ Select Backup, then right-click the backup and choose Archive. This protects it from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if your Mac is low on storage space.
Remember that this backup will not be overwritten when you manually or automatically back up your iPhone in the future, so you can restore it at any time by using the Restore Backup... option in the same Finder screen.
Make an Archived Backup of Your Device on Windows
The iTunes app is still the main tool for managing a connected iPhone on Windows.
Plug the iPhone into your Windows PC.
In iTunes, click the iPhone button at the top left.
Click Summary.
If you want to encrypt the data, select the Encrypt local backup option and set a password.
Click Back Up Now.
Click Manage Backups.
Right-click the backup you created and choose Archive. This extra step prevents the backup from being overwritten by the next local backup or automatically deleted if the computer runs low on storage space.
Installing iOS 18
When iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 becomes available (likely around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time/1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the official release day, based on past releases) as an over-the-air update, make sure your device is fully charged before you start the process over Wi-Fi, as it may take some time to complete.
To check that the update is available, go to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update, and wait a moment for your device to contact Apple's servers. If you're in no rush, you can wait for iOS 18 to be delivered to your iPhone when you next plug it into your computer.
Note that the first release versions of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 don't include Apple Intelligence features, with Apple set to introduce the first Apple Intelligence capabilities in an update coming next month.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are set to begin on Friday, September 13 at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with the new devices set to become available in multiple countries around the world simultaneously.
We've compiled pre-order times for various countries to help MacRumors readers be among the first to order. This list isn't exhaustive, so please verify the exact time for your specific location.
Australia West - 8:00 p.m. AWST
Australia East - 10:00 p.m. AEST
Austria - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Belgium - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Canada West - 5:00 a.m. PDT
Canada East - 8:00 a.m. EDT
China - 8:00 p.m. CST
Denmark - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Finland - 3:00 p.m. EEST
France - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Germany - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Guernsey - 1:00 p.m. BST
Hong Kong - 8:00 p.m. HKT
Ireland - 1:00 p.m. IST
Isle of Man - 1:00 p.m. BST
Italy - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Japan - 9:00 p.m. JST
Jersey - 1:00 p.m. BST
Luxembourg - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Netherlands - 2:00 p.m. CEST
New Zealand - midnight NZST next day
Norway - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Portugal - 1:00 p.m. WEST
Puerto Rico - 8:00 a.m. AST
Saudi Arabia - 3:00 p.m. AST
Singapore - 8:00 p.m. SGT
South Korea – 9:00 p.m. KST
Spain - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Sweden - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Switzerland - 2:00 p.m. CEST
Taiwan - 8:00 p.m. CST
UAE - 4:00 p.m GST
United Kingdom - 1:00 p.m. BST
United States West - 5:00 a.m. PDT
United States Mountain - 6:00 a.m. MDT
United States Central - 7:00 a.m. CDT
United States East - 8:00 a.m. EDT
US Virgin Islands - 8:00 a.m. AST
U.S. customers can prepare for the iPhone 16 launch using the "Get Ready" pre-order setup. This process allows you to select your iPhone model, confirm your carrier, and enter payment and shipping details in advance.
For those wanting a device on launch day, immediate pre-ordering is recommended. Supply availability is uncertain, and popular models or colors may sell out within minutes or hours.
The iPhone 16 starts at $799, while the iPhone 16 Pro begins at $999, matching the iPhone 15 series pricing when they debuted last September. U.S. carriers are offering various discounts. Apple also provides the iPhone Upgrade Program and trade-in options to reduce costs.
Pre-orders open on September 13. The first iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro orders will be delivered to customers on Friday, September 20.
As part of its longstanding efforts to encourage users to repair their electronic devices and other items, iFixit is announcing FixHub, a USB-C soldering iron and portable power station designed to allow all types of users to handle soldering work wherever they may be.
The Portable Power Station serves as the command and power center for FixHub, including a 55-watt-hour battery to support over eight hours of continuous soldering on a single charge. The power supply delivers up to 100 watts to a pair of USB-C ports, allowing it to run two soldering irons simultaneously, and the fact that it's simply a USB-C power output device means you can also use it to power or recharge an array of devices like phones.
The solidly built power station includes a handy display to show the status of your soldering iron, along with a convenient dial for adjusting the power being delivered to the iron, supporting temperatures up to 400ºC (750ºF). A flip-up bracket raises the front of the power station a bit to make the display easier to see while in use, while attachment points on the left and right side allow you to clip on the soldering iron's cap for convenient access as a stand.
A USB-C port on the rear of the power station allows for up to 45 watts of input to recharge the station, and iFixit says it is safe to leave continuously connected to power so it's ready whenever you need it.
The soldering iron itself is designed with ergonomics in mind, with a comfort pencil-like grip with a short Bevel 1.5 tip for precise heat control. Additional tips will be sold separately, including Cone, Wedge 1.5, Point, Bevel 2.6, Knife 2.5, and Knife 1.4, with more potentially being added in the future depending on demand. Once turned on, the iron is ready to begin soldering in under five seconds.
Safety features are key to the FixHub experience, with a configurable automatic sleep mode, a heat-resistant protective cap for the iron that snaps on magnetically, and gyroscope-powered fall detection that automatically turns off the iron if it is dropped or knocked off a table. An LED status light ring on the iron itself makes it obvious when the iron is hot, shining blue when below 40ºC (100ºF) and safe to touch, purple when actively heating or cooling and not safe to touch, or orange when at the set temperature and ready to solder.
While pairing the soldering iron with iFixit's power station is the preferred setup, you can use the soldering iron on its own with any sufficiently powerful USB-C power source. The set temperature for the iron can be adjusted by plugging into the USB-C port on a computer and accessing the iron's settings via a browser (Chrome, Edge, or Brave required).
iFixit is of course known for more than just hardware, and it has hundreds of free soldering guides on its website, ranging from the basics of soldering to specific repair projects.
It also wouldn't be an iFixit product without repairability being front of mind, so the FixHub system is designed to allow for easy repairs and iFixit will be releasing a number of guides to help users replace batteries, repair parts, and more.
Supplementing the FixHub is an optional Portable Soldering Toolkit, which provides an extensive set of tools and consumables to get you going on soldering projects.
Flush Cutter: Perfect for trimming leads and cutting electrical wires and plastic materials.
Wire Stripper: Features multiple holes for different wire sizes and a spring-assisted mechanism for easy use.
Fixite Spudger: An improvement on our much-loved universal pry tool, made of Fixite, an iFixit-developed material blend specially formulated with improved heat resistance for handling soldering materials.
Precision Angled Tweezers: Fine-tip tweezers for manipulating wire and components in tight spaces.
Silicone Work Mat: A heat-resistant mat that protects your work surface.
Chemical Dispensing Pen: Ideal for dispensing isopropyl alcohol for cleaning flux residues.
No-Clean Flux: Improves soldering by removing oxides and promoting better solder flow.
Silicon Electrical Tape: Perfect for insulating wires without the need for additional tools.
Safety Glasses: Essential eye protection while soldering.
Lead-Free Solder: Environmentally friendly solder in a convenient tube.
Desoldering Wick: Easily removes unwanted solder with a copper mesh.
Soldering Splint: A magnetic, hands-free tool to hold wires and components securely in place.
Soldering Tip Cleaner: Keeps your soldering tip in optimal condition with brass wool.
The Portable Soldering Station with the soldering iron and battery pack is priced at $249.95 / €269.95, while the full toolkit included the iron, battery pack, pliers, and other tools is $299.95 / €329.95.
The USB Smart Soldering Iron can also be purchased on its own for $79.95 / €84.95 if you need an additional one or want to use one without the iFixit power supply. Shipping begins on October 15 in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe.
Apple has shared its first "real-world example" of Image Playground, the upcoming Apple Intelligence feature that generates cartoon-like illustrations based on a text prompt. The picture was apparently made by Apple's senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi for his wife, in honor of his dog Bailey's recent birthday.
The picture shows a cute dog wearing a party hat and smiling behind a birthday cake. Apple shared the picture with Wired, which includes a watermark on all AI-generated images that appear in its publications as a matter of policy. Pictures made with Image Playground include EXIF metadata in the file that also indicates it was made with AI, similar to images edited with Apple's new Clean Up tool in the Photos app in iOS 18.1.
Apple describes Image Playground as a "fun" feature that can produce original images in seconds right within apps. Users can create an entirely new image based on a description, suggested concepts, or a person from their Photos library. From there, users can adjust the style and make changes to match a Messages thread, a Freeform board, or a slide in Keynote, for example.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple plans to make the Image Playground feature for generating images and the Genmoji feature for generating custom emoji available in iOS 18.2, which will likely be released in December.
Apple plans to introduce the first Apple Intelligence features with the release of iOS 18.1, which is expected to launch in October. Among the new capabilities are writing tools for generating and summarizing text, as well as a feature that provides concise summaries of notifications. The Messages app will gain the ability to suggest replies, while a new function will allow users to record and transcribe phone calls. Lastly, the Photos app will benefit from the aforementioned "Clean Up" tool, which is designed to swiftly remove unwanted objects from images.
Apple's latest iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are delivering significantly faster 5G speeds compared to their predecessors, according to new data from SpeedSmart. The speed boost comes courtesy of the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem integrated into the Pro models.
SpeedSmart's testing revealed an average 23.7% increase in 5G download speeds for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max across the three major U.S. carriers. Verizon customers saw the most substantial improvement, with a 26.4% speed increase, followed by AT&T and T-Mobile.
The data shows impressive performance for both T-Mobile and Verizon, with average download speeds exceeding 400 Mbps on the new iPhones. T-Mobile led the pack at 447.50 Mbps, while Verizon clocked in at 409.88 Mbps. AT&T users experienced a respectable 269.48 Mbps, marking a 25.7% improvement over the previous generation.
Upload speeds also saw a significant bump, with an average increase of 22.1% across all three networks. Users can now expect upload speeds to comfortably achieve over 30 Mbps, an often overlooked but crucial metric for mobile performance.
The Snapdragon X75 modem brings several enhancements beyond raw speed. It also supports 5G Advanced technology, offers lower power consumption, and comes with improved 5G carrier aggregation for those aforementioned upload speeds.
While the iPhone 16 Pro models benefit from the X75, the standard iPhone 16 models are believed to use the older Snapdragon X70 modem, although that has not yet been officially confirmed.
In addition to cellular improvements, all iPhone 16 models now support Wi-Fi 7. This latest Wi-Fi standard promises greater leaps in performance, with theoretical speeds of up to 46 Gbps and significantly reduced latency.
Despite these advancements, Apple continues to work on developing its own 5G modem technology. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests Apple's in-house modems could debut in select iPhone models as early as 2025, perhaps first in the upcoming iPhone SE 4, potentially reducing the company's reliance on Qualcomm.
Apple will open pre-orders for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models starting Friday, September 13. Initial shipments and in-store availability begin on Friday, September 20.
The Netlix app is set to end support for iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, requiring all users to be running iOS 17 or later or iPadOS 17 or later in order to receive new updates, features, and bug fixes.
That means iOS 16 users – who will mainly be iPhone X owners as well as those still holding onto iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models – will not be able to update to the version of the app that introduces the change.
The same goes for owners of the iPad Pro (1st generation) and the iPad (5th generation), who will still be running versions of iPadOS 16, since iPadOS 17 dropped support for these models.
Owners of these devices will still be able to use their current version of the Netflix app until it is deprecated, but again, there will be no more features or bug fixes forthcoming. Owners of these older models will of course continue to be able to access Netflix through a browser.
In summary, the iPhone and iPad models set to lose support for the Netflix app are as follows:
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone X
iPad Pro (1st generation)
iPad (5th generation)
The code strings referring to the impending change were found in the Netflix app by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. It is not known which update will end support for the above Apple devices, but given that the code strings are present in the latest version, the update is likely to be released fairly soon.
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