MacRumors

Apple today announced the iPhone 13 mini and ‌iPhone‌ 13, both featuring a smaller notch, repositioned rear-cameras, improved performance, and more while maintaining the same 6.1-inch and 5.4-inch sizes of their respective ‌iPhone‌ 12 predecessors.

The new ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini, as rumored, includes a smaller notch allowing for more display area. In specific, Apple said that the notch is 20% smaller. Staying on the front, the new Super Retina XDR display is 28% brighter with 1200 nits peak brightness.

Inside, the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini are powered with the brand new A15 Bionic chip. Built on the 5nm process, the A15 Bionic chip features a 6-core CPU with two high-performance and four high-efficiency cores. Embedded into the A15 Bionic chip is a new 16-core Neural Engine, capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second.

On the back, the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini include a new and more advanced dual-camera system. The wide 12MP sensor allows for 47% more light, a 26mm focal length, and on the Ultra Wide camera, the new iPhones include sensor-shift technology from the "Pro" iPhones.

With video, Apple is introducing "Cinematic mode," which uses the power of A15 to automatically blur the background during a video, allowing the subject to stay in focus. During filming, users can tap on different subjects to shift focus.

Carrying over from the ‌iPhone‌ 12, the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini features Ceramic Shield, IP68 water resistance, and five new colors, including pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and red. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini starts at $699 with 128GB of base storage, up from the previous 64GB. The ‌iPhone‌ 13 starts at $799, and both will be available for pre-orders on Friday, September 17, and will begin shipping on September 24.

Apple today announced the Apple Watch Series 7 at its "California Streaming" event, featuring a new larger design, a new Retina display, thinner borders, better durability, faster charging, and more.

The Series 7 comes in 41mm and 45mm size options, up from 40 and 44mm of previous models, and features a new casing that has a flat base and "softer, more rounded corners," while the screen uses 50% stronger crack-resistant crystal, its strongest ever. Apple says the narrower borders allow the display to maximize screen area, while minimally changing the dimensions of the watch itself.

The touch sensor has been integrated into the OLED panel to reduce display thickness and borders, and Apple says a "subtle wraparound effect" is created by refracted light at the edge of the display for a more seamless integration with the case. Aside from offering greater readability and ease of use, the Series 7 also includes two unique watch faces — Contour and Modular Duo — designed specifically for the new device.

Apple says it has completely reengineered the display to reduce borders by 40%, which allows for nearly 20% more screen area than the series 6, and over 50% more screen area than Series 3. The screen borders alone are just 1.7 mm — 40 percent smaller than those on Apple Watch Series 6. Apple also says the always-on display is 70% brighter indoors when your wrist is down.

The Apple Watch Series 7 also has an IP6X certification, which makes it dust and water resistant, with a WR50 swim proof resistance.

Apple says the Series 7 charges up to 33% faster than previous models, thanks to an updated charging architecture and fast-charging USB-C cable, allowing it to go from zero to 80% charge in 45 minutes, providing eight hours of sleep tracking.

Interface wise, Apple says buttons have been redesigned to take advantage of the larger display, while a new QWERTY keyboard lets you tap or slide from letter to letter with QuickPath.

The new Apple Watch is available in five aluminum colors including midnight, starlight, green, blue, and (PRODUCT)RED. Stainless steel models are available in silver, graphite, and titanium is also available in multiple colors. Apple Watch Series 7 is also compatible with existing watch bands.

"Apple Watch Series 7 delivers significant improvements — from our largest and most advanced display, to enhanced durability and faster charging — making the world's best smartwatch better than ever before," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer. "Powered by watchOS 8, Apple Watch brings useful new capabilities to help customers stay connected, track activity and workouts, and better understand their overall health and wellness."

Apple Watch Series 7 prices start from $399 and will be available later this fall.

Apple today announced the sixth-generation iPad mini, featuring a massive redesign with a larger display, an embedded Touch ID sensor in the Power Button, improved performance, a USB-C port, and 5G.

The new ‌iPad mini‌ features a completely new design, dismissing the Home Button in favor of a full-screen design with an 8.3-inch display. The display features wide color, an antireflective coating, 500 nits of brightness, and True Tone. Featuring an A15 Bionic chip, the new ‌iPad mini‌ is up to 40% faster in CPU performance compared to the previous generation, with an even bigger 80% increase in GPU power.

iPad mini gets a huge performance boost from the new A15 Bionic chip, with its incredibly efficient design that delivers all-day battery life.1 The 6-core CPU delivers a 40 percent jump in performance, and the 5-core GPU delivers an 80 percent leap in graphics performance compared to the previous generation of iPad mini. A15 Bionic on iPad mini handles even the most demanding tasks — from graphically rich games to pro apps used by designers, pilots, doctors, and more. With its powerful performance and compact design, iPad mini is the ultimate tool users can take anywhere.

For the first time for ‌iPad mini‌, the new iPad features 5G technology, offering customers even faster performance, with download speeds of up to 3.5Gbps. Even with 5G, Apple says the new ‌iPad mini‌ still features "all-day battery life."

The new ‌iPad mini‌ also features a USB-C port rather than Lightning. Borrowed from the iPad Air, announced last year, the new ‌iPad mini‌ features a ‌Touch ID‌ sensor embedded into the Power Button.

On the front, the new ‌iPad mini‌ features a new Ultra Wide front camera with a 12MP sensor, allowing for Center Stage from the iPad Pro. With Center Stage, the ‌iPad mini‌ will automatically keep users in the frame as they move around. The back camera also features a 12MP sensor with Focus Pixels and a larger aperture.

Compatible with the second-generation Apple Pencil, the new sixth-generation ‌iPad mini‌ starts at $499 and will be available for pre-orders starting today and will be available on Friday, September 24.

Apple today announced a new ninth-generation iPad at its "California Streaming" event, which features an A13 Bionic chip offering up to 20% faster performance, a True Tone display, an upgraded front camera, and more.

The new ‌iPad‌ features an upgraded 12MP ultra-wide front camera with Center Stage, which uses machine learning to automatically detect people in the frame, panning and zooming to keep them in view during FaceTime calls. The feature recognizes when other people join or exit a call, adjusting the camera position to fit everyone in.

With the A13 Bionic chip, Apple claims the new ‌iPad‌ is up to three times faster than the top-selling Chromebook and six times faster than the top-selling Android tablets.

All models will ship with iPadOS 15, which introduces a new Home Screen design with integrated widgets and the App Library, system-wide fast note-taking with Quick Note, new features for ‌FaceTime‌ calls, a redesigned Safari experience, new tools to reduce distractions, and more.

The new ‌iPad‌ starts at $329 or $299 for education customers, while the Wi-Fi plus cellular model starts at $459. Additionally, the ‌iPad‌ now starts with 64GB of storage, and there's also a new 256GB storage option available. All models can be ordered starting today on the Apple online store with availability starting on Friday, September 24.

The Unicode Consortium today released the list of new emojis that are coming in the Emoji 14 update, giving us a look at the new characters that we can expect to see introduced on Apple devices later this year.

As outlined by Emojipedia, the finalized list includes 37 new emoji along with 75 skin tone additions for a total of 112 new characters.

New faces include melting face, saluting face, face with open eyes and hand over mouth, face with peeking eye, face with diagonal mouth, and dotted line face, while new emojis include biting lip and bubbles.

There are several new hand emojis, such as heart hands, rightwards hand, leftwards hand, palm down hand, palm up hand, hand with index finger and thumb crossed, index pointing at the viewer, along with an update to the handshake emoji.

Nest with eggs, empty nest, x-ray, crutch, playground slide, wheel, ring buoy, hamsa, mirror ball, jar, identification card, and low battery are new items, while plants and animals will include coral and lotus. As for fantasy characters, we can expect a new troll emoji, and eggs, beans, and pouring liquid make up new food items.

Now that the emoji candidates are finalized and have been released, Apple is free to implement the new characters in a future iOS update. The images above are interpretations of what the emoji can look like, but Apple will design its own.

We can expect the new emoji characters to be introduced in an update to iOS 15 later this year. Apple last debuted new emoji with the iOS 14.5 update released in April.

Just ahead of the Apple Event, two new upcoming games have been announced for Apple Arcade, including NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition and Tiny Wings. Both games are listed as "coming soon," with no specific release dates announced yet.

NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition from 2K Games will feature updated 2022 NBA rosters with stars such as Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson, Rui Hachimura, Karl-Anthony Towns, and more. Players will choose from their favorite NBA teams and take on competitors in Quick Match mode, compete with a friend in Online Multiplayer mode, or play three-vs-three street basketball in Blacktop mode.

The basketball game will also feature an Association mode that tasks players with managing an NBA roster by making trades, signing free agents, scouting up-and-coming prospects, and controlling their team's finances, as well as a MyCAREER mode where players can start their own NBA journey with a custom player, position, and jersey number.

First released on the App Store in 2011, the classic game Tiny Wings from developer Andreas Illiger tasks players with outrunning the sun as they fly a bird across procedurally generated islands. Players must tap on the screen at the perfect moment so that the bird slides down the side of a hill and gains momentum to reach the next island before the sun sets, while aiming to complete tricks for score multipliers.

Priced at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, Apple Arcade provides access to a catalog of over 200 games without ads or in-app purchases across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, with additional titles added periodically.

Apple's virtual "California Streaming" event kicked off on Tuesday, September 14th, 2021.

Recap Video of what was announced:

Apple provided a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across its platforms. We updated this article with live blog coverage and issued Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the keynote unfolded.

Live blog transcript ahead...

➜ Click here to read rest of article...

Apple will be holding a virtual event today at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, and ahead of time, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce has outlined its last-minute expectations for iPhone 13 features and production of the devices.

In line with previously rumored features, TrendForce expects all four iPhone 13 models to be equipped with a faster A15 chip and sensor-shift image stabilization for the rear cameras. For the Pro and Pro Max models, the research firm said the devices will feature up to 1TB of storage, power efficient LTPO displays with support for up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and an upgraded Ultra Wide lens with the addition of autofocus.

In line with information shared by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, TrendForce added that the LiDAR Scanner will remain limited to the Pro models.

In view of the "lackluster sales performance" of the iPhone 12 mini, TrendForce said the iPhone 13 mini is expected to account for less than 10% of total iPhone 13 production, noting that Apple will focus its sales efforts on the larger models. Previous rumors have indicated that the iPhone 13 mini will be the last "mini" model that Apple offers, with the iPhone 14 lineup expected to consist of two 6.1-inch and two 6.7-inch models.

In addition to the iPhone 13, Apple is expected to unveil the Apple Watch Series 7 with a new flat-edge design and third-generation AirPods.

The sixth-generation iPad mini will feature an 8.38-inch display and could launch in October, according to a Japanese accessory listing spotted by Gizmodo Japan.

The now-removed Amazon Japan listing shows an Elecom glass screen protector for an all-screen 8.38-inch "small" iPad, presumed to be the upcoming sixth-generation ‌iPad mini‌. This appears to be the most specific measurement for the rumored device's display seen so far.

The next ‌iPad mini‌ has been repeatedly said to feature a display in the region of eight to nine inches. The display analyst Ross Young suggested earlier this year that the sixth-generation ‌iPad mini‌ will feature a 8.3-inch display, matching this accessory listing.

An 8.38-inch display would be a significant increase over the current ‌iPad mini‌'s 7.9-inch display, partly facilitated by a new iPad Air-style design with slimmer bezels and no Home Button.

The screen protector was scheduled to go on sale on Wednesday, October 20. While the sixth-generation ‌iPad mini‌ is expected to arrive this fall, there have been no more precise indications about when the updated device could launch. Some observers have speculated that it could arrive alongside redesigned MacBook Pros at an Apple event in October, and the fact that this accessory was set to go on sale next month may give that claim greater credibility.

Wednesday, October 20 mostly aligns with Tuesday, October 19 in the United States. Apple often hosts a special event in October to unveil new products and usually does so Tuesdays, so October 19 would not be an unreasonable guess for an Apple event to launch the new ‌iPad mini‌.

For more on what to expect from the sixth-generation ‌iPad mini‌, see our dedicated guide.

Apple's rumored virtual reality (VR) headset may feature a high resolution micro OLED display with up to 3,000 pixels-per-inch, according to Korea's The Elec.

Apple has reportedly requested a sample of a display component called a fine metal mask (FMM) from the South Korean company APS Holdings. Apple has specifically requested samples of an FMM that can deliver 3,000ppi high-resolution displays for use in virtual reality (VR) headsets, the report explains.

The company is expected to test the FMM sample to see if it is suitable for use in the mass-production of a VR device. An FMM is a metal material board used to deposit the red, green, and blue organic materials and form pixels in the production of OLED panels.

APS Holdings has developed an FMM with a more advanced laser patterning technique that can deliver much higher resolution micro OLED displays. The current FMMs used in the production of OLED displays for smartphones offer up to 600ppi with a wet etching technique, but APS Holdings' laser patterning FMM has much smaller holes to make 3,000ppi possible. Laser patterning is therefore said to be Apple's preferred manufacturing technique for the rumored headset's display.

APS Holdings' panel is also an RGB panel, rather than the white panel commonly used in OLED displays, meaning that it does not need a color filter. A micro OLED display also offers some additional advantages, such as pixel sizes in the range of four to 20 micrometers, compared to 40 to 300 micrometers with standard OLED panels. Moreover, micro OLED has a much faster microseconds response time which is also expected to make it more suitable for VR and augmented reality (AR) applications.

It has repeatedly been reported that Apple is attempting to develop advanced micro OLED displays for its VR and AR devices, but this is the first indication about the resolution that the company is seemingly aiming for with these products. The reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that micro OLED displays will enable a "see-through AR experience," as well as VR experiences.

Macs powered by ‌Apple silicon do not support Windows and there is no Boot Camp feature like there is on Intel Macs, but support for Windows is a feature that many users would like to see.

However, Microsoft has dampened hopes that Windows will ever work on Apple silicon, saying that running an Arm version of Windows 11 on M1 Macs, via virtualization or otherwise, is not "a supported scenario."

A Microsoft spokesperson made the comments to The Register on Friday, suggesting that neither native support for Apple silicon nor support through virtualization is something the software giant is considering for its Arm architectures.

Apple's ‌‌M1‌‌ chip is a custom Arm SoC, so it's not possible to install the x86 version of Windows or x86 Windows apps using Boot Camp, as was the case with previous Intel-based Macs.

However, in November 2020, shortly after Apple debuted its first ‌M1‌ Macs, a developer was able to virtualize the Arm version of Windows on Apple's ‌‌M1‌‌ chip with no emulation, igniting hopes that official support would be developed down the line.

In the meantime, users have been using Parallels virtualization software to run Insider builds of Windows 10 and Windows 11 developed for Arm hardware, but there are indications that this route may soon be no longer viable, either.

As noted by The Register, last week a Windows 11 Virtual Machine running on an ‌M1‌ Mac with Parallels Desktop 17 began throwing up a hardware compatibility error on an Insider build. Parallels has since released version 17.0.1 of its software, which seems to resolve the issue, allowing Windows 11 to again run on ‌M1‌ Macs, for now at least.

How Parallels has achieved this is unclear, and we have reached out to them for comment, including whether support is still a long-term goal. The company previously promised full support for Windows on Apple silicon when the operating system launches in October.

Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi last year said that Windows coming to ‌‌M1‌‌ Macs is "up to Microsoft." The ‌‌M1‌‌ chip contains the core technologies needed to run Windows, but Microsoft has to decide whether to license its Arm version of Windows to Mac users.

Ahead of the "California streaming" Apple event later today, the online Apple Store has gone down in preparation for the launch of the iPhone 13, Apple Watch Series 7, and possibly the third-generation AirPods.

Apple typically takes down its online store hours ahead of a product launch to prepare the storefront for the new devices. Like the past several events, today's Apple event will take place digitally and will feature pre-recorded segments from Apple Park, streamed on Apple's website, via the Apple TV, as well as on YouTube.

• How to Watch Apple's iPhone 13 Event on September 14, 2021
• What to Expect at the September 14 Apple Event: iPhone 13, Apple Watch Series 7, and More

MacRumors will have in-depth coverage of Apple's event across our platforms, including a live blog on our website and live tweets via @MacRumorsLive on Twitter, so be sure to follow to keep track of everything Apple announced.

A new rumor suggests that Apple may debut its updated baseline ninth-generation iPad later today, as part of several new product announcements for its "California streaming" event.

According to the Weibo account @PandaIsBald, who has shared information regarding iPhone 13 pre-order dates in the past, Apple plans to release the new ninth-generation ‌iPad‌ during or possibly after today's event.

The new ‌iPad‌, as previously reported, is expected to feature a 10.5-inch display, improved performance, and like the current model, it's expected to be tailored towards students and customers wanting an affordable ‌iPad‌ option.

The event is expected to headline the ‌iPhone‌ 13, Apple Watch Series 7, and possibly the third-generation AirPods. While those products are likely to be featured during the event itself, Apple may decide to release other products via press releases.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this week indicated that Apple is planning a second event for this fall that will focus purely on the iPad and Mac. The ninth-generation ‌iPad‌ is one of two ‌iPad‌ updates expected before the end of the year. The other update, a new and redesigned iPad mini, is the more significant refresh, making it conceivable that Apple could dedicate its latter event to the ‌iPad mini‌ while releasing the more incremental baseline ‌iPad‌ refresh sooner.

As noted by the website AppleTrack earlier today, the current eighth-generation ‌iPad‌ is still unavailable in several retail stores in the United States. Shortages for the ‌iPad‌ began to become apparent last week. A number of Apple products, including Macs, iPhones, and iPads, are currently experiencing shortages due to the ongoing chip shortage.

Whether or not the new ‌iPad‌ makes an appearance during the company's "California streaming" event, Apple still has plenty in store to share. MacRumors will have in-depth coverage of Apple's event across our platforms, including a live blog on our website and live tweets via @MacRumorsLive on Twitter, so be sure to follow to keep track of everything Apple announced.

Twitter has added a unique "like" animation for Apple's "California streaming" event set to take place later on Tuesday.

The brief animation reflects the luminescent Apple logo graphics used to promote the Apple event, before turning round and changing into the typical love heart.

Apple began using unique Twitter "like" animations to promote its events last year, with the first occasion being for 2020's September "Time Flies" event.

Once again, Apple has also used a custom Twitter hashtag with its logo for the "California streaming" event, just as it did for its "Spring Loaded" event in April, and for WWDC in June.

The event is expected to headline the ‌iPhone 13‌, Apple Watch Series 7, and possibly the third-generation AirPods. MacRumors will have in-depth coverage of Apple's event, including a live blog on our website and tweets via @MacRumorsLive on Twitter.

Epic Games today paid Apple $6,000,000 in royalties, ‌Epic Games‌ CEO Tim Sweeney said on Twitter. As part of the ruling in the ongoing Epic v. Apple legal battle, Epic was last week ordered by the court to pay 30 percent of the revenue that it collected from the Fortnite app using its illicit direct payment option.

Back at the start of the dispute between Epic and Apple, Epic added a direct purchase option to the Fortnite app, skirting Apple's in-app purchase rules. This violation of Apple's App Store guidelines led Apple to pull Fortnite from the App Store, and directly after that, Epic filed its pre-planned lawsuit.

Though Apple removed Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌ shortly after Epic violated the in-app purchase rules, ‌Epic Games‌ was still able to collect payment from customers that had already installed the app and were actively using it. During the time period that the app was available prior to a Fortnite update that made it unusable, Fortnite made $12,167,719.

‌Epic Games‌ was forced to pay 30 percent of the $12 million total that was collected between August 2020 and October 2020, plus 30 percent of revenue collected from November 1, 2020 through the date of the judgment, in addition to interest, which is where the $6 million fee comes from.

In last week's ruling, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers determined that Apple did not have a mobile gaming monopoly, and the lawsuit largely went in Apple's favor. Apple has been ordered to allow developers to add "buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms," which will let developers provide payment options other than in-app purchase in their apps.

Apple lawyers called the verdict a "resounding victory" that validates the ‌App Store‌ business model, but ‌Epic Games‌ was unhappy with the outcome. In a tweet, Sweeney said that the ruling wasn't a "win for developers or for consumers" and that Epic would continue to "fight for fair competition among in-app payment methods and app stores for a billion consumers."

He also said that Fortnite will not be returning to the ‌App Store‌ in the near future. "Fortnite will return to the iOS ‌App Store‌ when and where Epic can offer in-app payment in fair competition with Apple in-app payment, passing along the savings to consumers," he wrote.

Over the weekend, ‌Epic Games‌ filed an appeal against the ruling, so the dispute between the two companies is far from over. Apple has yet to decide whether or not it wants to appeal portions of the ruling.

Apple will be hosting a virtual event tomorrow that is expected to revolve around the iPhone 13, Apple Watch Series 7, and third-generation AirPods. With new Mac and iPad models also rumored to be on the horizon, Apple reportedly plans to hold at least one additional event before the end of the year, and the company's annual Back to School promotion could provide a clue as to when the next event might take place.

Specifically, on September 15 of last year, Apple extended its Back to School promotion to run through Monday, October 12 in the U.S. At the time, the extension seemed insignificant, but Apple later announced that it would be holding an event on Tuesday, October 13, which happened to be just one day after the promotion ended.

This year, the Back to School promotion is set to end on Monday, September 27 in the U.S., but it's unlikely that Apple will hold two events in September. However, in Europe, the promotion ends Monday, October 11, which is perhaps more telling. This could point towards Apple's next event being on Tuesday, October 12, assuming that the event ends up being one day after the Back to School promotion ends for a second year in a row.

Of course, it's possible that the end of the Back to School promotion and Apple's October event falling on back-to-back days last year was merely a coincidence, so we'll have to wait for an official announcement from Apple.

It's also not entirely clear if Apple will be hosting two or three events this fall, which could affect the timing of an October event. Last year, Apple held its first-ever November event to introduce the first M1 Macs, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested that Apple will hold two events this fall, with the latter focused on the Mac and iPad.

As a refresher, Apple has held an October event in three out of the last five years:

• Thursday, October 27, 2016
• Tuesday, October 30, 2018
• Tuesday, October 13, 2020

In the meantime, all eyes are on the iPhone event tomorrow. MacRumors will have full coverage of Apple's announcements on our website and across our social platforms, including @MacRumorsLive on Twitter, so be sure to follow along.

T-Mobile today announced that its T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile smartphones will soon be available in more than 2,300 Walmart locations across the United States, significantly expanding T-Mobile's footprint.

T-Mobile devices will be listed on Walmart.com, though customers will need to visit a Walmart store to make a purchase. The rollout follows the availability of T-Mobile devices in Best Buy retail stores and the Best Buy website earlier this year.

Prior to becoming available in Walmart and Best Buy, T-Mobile iPhones were only available from Apple, Costco, or direct from T-Mobile's website and stores, which prevented customers from taking advantage of deals offered by brick and mortar retailers.

"In many parts of the country, limited competition when it comes to wireless service leaves some people with few options for plans or access to the benefits of 5G," said Jon Freier, Executive Vice President, T-Mobile Consumer Group. "5G for All means T-Mobile is bringing real choice and competition in wireless to many Americans. And even though online shopping continues to grow, we know that retail stores remain one of the primary places where wireless customers pick up devices and service. We're working to expand our retail footprint across the country to meet more people in more places every day."

Metro by T-Mobile smartphone displays will be available in Walmart retail locations on Monday, October 18. Standard T-Mobile smartphones and plans will be available in Walmart stores starting on Monday, November 1.