MacRumors

Apple today added the 16GB fifth-generation iPod touch, released in 2013, to its list of obsolete products.

This specific variation of the iPod touch was released as a lower-end option to the fifth-generation iPod touch released a year earlier. Compared to its 32GB and 64GB companions, the 16GB model was only offered in a single silver color and lacked a rear camera or loop.

Apple followed up the fifth-generation iPod touch with the sixth-generation in the summer of 2015. Compared to the previous generation, the newer model featured improved performance and the removal of the wrist strap. Since the seventh-generation iPod touch released in 2019, Apple has not yet updated its iconic product.

Apple classifies products that have been discontinued for at least seven years as "obsolete," meaning that they cannot receive any hardware service from Apple or its service providers.

Apple has resolved its Apple Watch Series 7 production issues and will start mass producing the new model in mid to late September, with a launch later the same month still on schedule, according to a new investor note by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo seen by MacRumors.

The production issue of the Apple Watch 7 is mainly related to the panel side. However, it has been resolved, and mass production of panel modules will begin in mid-September.

The Apple Watch Series 7 will feature a new design with a flat-edged look that's similar to the flat edges used for the iPhone 12 and iPad Pro. According to Kuo, the new Apple Watch had to go through more production processes than previous models because of this "dramatic" change in the design.

Specifically, the new more durable display panel uses a contact design instead of the old cable design, and also requires a low injection pressure overmolding (LIPO) process for the first time. Apple is also using a new OLED production line that can improve efficiency and reduce panel costs, but that required new suppliers like LG Display, Young Poong, and Jabil to come on board, which in itself could have contributed to the delays.

Due to the adoption of many new panel-related production processes for the first time, the Apple Watch 7 panel module encountered reliability issues during the risk-ramp phase before Jabil started mass production, mainly including blinking panel and touch insensitivity. This complicated production issue may be related to LGD, Jabil, or Young Poong.

The good news is Apple has solved the panel module reliability issues by going through different designs of experiments (DOE) to find the best production configuration and adjusting the qualification standards on the panel and assembly sides.

"We expect Jabil to start mass production of Apple Watch 7 panel modules in mid-September," said Kuo in the note. Based on this new schedule, the analyst says the end product will start mass shipments in late September.

Both Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg previously reported that production issues due to the more complicated design meant the launch of the Apple Watch Series 7 was likely to be delayed. Separately, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman recently reported that the device could be available in limited quantities at launch. Gurman reiterated has this in a tweet following Kuo's latest investor note.

In his note, Kuo also mentions his optimism for 2022 Apple Watch shipments, due to the Series 8 offering "new health management features (e.g., temperature measurement, etc.)" – a reference to the recently reported thermometer function that Apple is said to be considering adding to the device as soon as next year.

Apple plans to unveil the redesigned watch alongside its new ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup at next week's digital-only event on Tuesday, September 14. We have a full rundown on everything that we expect to see from the Apple Watch Series 7 in our dedicated guide.

Epic Games today said that it has asked Apple to reinstate its Fortnite developer account because it intends to release Fortnite in South Korea.

South Korea in late August passed a bill that bans Apple from requiring developers to use its in-app purchase system. The bill forces Apple (and Google) to let developers use third-party payment methods to make purchases.

‌Epic Games‌ now says that it intends to release Fornite in Korea and offer both Epic payment and Apple payment options side-by-side "in compliance with the new Korean law."

Fortnite has been unavailable on iOS devices since Apple pulled the app in August 2020. Apple removed the app from the App Store after ‌Epic Games‌ added a direct payment option that skirted Apple's in-app purchase requirements, and since then, the two have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle.

‌Epic Games‌ attempted to get a judge to require Apple to allow Fortnite on the ‌App Store‌ while the lawsuit played out, but the judge refused because the situation that caused Fortnite to be banned was of ‌Epic Games‌' own making.

When South Korea passed its updated Telecommunications Business Act banning Apple from requiring in-app purchases, Apple said that it would put users at risk of fraud and undermine privacy protections.

The Telecommunications Business Act will put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases, and features like "Ask to Buy" and Parental Controls will become less effective. We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this legislation -- leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than KRW8.55 trillion to date with Apple.

Apple and ‌Epic Games‌ faced off in a trial that took place earlier this year, and we are still awaiting a final ruling from the judge overseeing the case. ‌Epic Games‌ argued that iOS should be opened up to competing app stores, but it is unlikely that Apple will be required to implement such a drastic change.

Update: In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said there is no basis for the reinstatement of the ‌Epic Games‌ developer account.

As we've said all along, we would welcome Epic’s return to the App Store if they agree to play by the same rules as everyone else. Epic has admitted to breach of contract and as of now, there’s no legitimate basis for the reinstatement of their developer account.

Apple says that to be added back to the ‌App Store‌, ‌Epic Games‌ would need to comply with all of Apple's ‌App Store‌ review guidelines, which the company has thus far declined to do.

Apple also points out that the legislation in South Korea is has not yet gone into effect and even if it had, Apple would have no obligation to reinstate a developer account that was terminated prior to when it became law.

Apple VP of technology Kevin Lynch is taking over the Apple Car project and will be replacing Doug Field, who is moving to Ford, reports Bloomberg.

Lynch first joined the Apple Car team in July, with reports suggesting he had been called on to help lead Apple Car development. Now that Field has left the company, Lynch will be taking over his role and will be in charge of the Apple Car. Lynch will oversee hardware engineering and work on self-driving car sensors.

Known for his work on the Apple Watch, Lynch has been at Apple since 2013, and before that, he worked at Adobe and helped create Adobe's Creative Cloud platform. In addition to working on the Apple Car, Lynch is expected to continue to be involved with the Apple Watch and Apple's health initiatives.

Apple Car leadership has undergone several changes over the course of the last several years, which has caused development issues and internal strife. According to Bloomberg, the departure of former Apple Car leader Doug Field has been seen as a sign that the Apple Car isn't coming in the near future, with product development still in the early stages.

The choice of Lynch to head the car project indicates much of the company's focus still remains on underlying software and self-driving technology - rather than the vehicle's physical mechanics. Lynch has been a software executive for decades, not someone who oversees hardware teams. He's also never worked at a car company.

Ford on Tuesday announced that it hired Field to work on AI, software, and hardware projects. Field had been at Apple since 2018, and prior to that, he worked at Tesla and oversaw the production of the Model 3.

Rumors have suggested that we're not going to see an Apple Car until the mid to late 2020s at the earliest, and it's not clear how the most recent leadership changes might impact that launch timeline.

Facebook today launched its first smart glasses, which were created in collaboration with Ray-Ban. The Ray-Ban Stories are priced starting at $299 and come in 20 style combinations.

Smart glasses might suggest augmented reality capabilities, but Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories are similar to other connected sunglasses on the market and are limited to making phone calls, snapping photos, and listening to music.

The Ray-Ban Stories are equipped with a set of 5-megapixel cameras built into each side of the frame, which can record photos and 30-second videos using a button or hands-free with the Facebook Assistant.

There's a hard-wired LED light that comes on whenever you're taking a photo or a video so other people aren't caught unaware.

For listening to music, the Ray-Ban Stories have open-ear speakers, and there's a three microphone array for calls. The Ray-Ban Stories have a built-in battery that lasts for up to six hours and a portable charging case, which Facebook claims will provide up to three consecutive days of glasses use, but some reviewers have said that the battery drains quickly if the glasses aren't turned off while not in use.

Facebook's smart glasses work with the Facebook View app, which is designed to allow users to share point of view stories, photos, and more on social media. According to Facebook, the app is designed to make it easy to share content on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat.

The Ray-Ban Stories come in several iconic Ray-Ban styles like Wayfarer, and there are five color options. Lenses include clear, sun, transition, and prescription. There is no Facebook branding on the glasses as the design and distribution has been handled by Ray-Ban parent company Luxottica with Facebook providing internals.

Those interested in purchasing a set of Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories can do so from the Ray-Ban website starting today. The Ray-Ban Stories are also available in some retail stores in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK.

Apple offers a bug bounty program that's designed to pay security researchers for discovering and reporting critical bugs in Apple operating systems, but researchers are not happy with how it operates or Apple's payouts in comparison to other major tech companies, reports The Washington Post.

In interviews with more than two dozen security researchers, The Washington Post collected a number of complaints. Apple is slow to fix bugs, and doesn't always pay out what's owed.

Apple in 2020 paid out $3.7 million, about half of the $6.7 million that Google paid to researchers, and far less than the $13.6 million Microsoft paid. While other companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google highlight security researchers that find major bugs and hold conferences and provide resources to encourage a wide range of participants, Apple does not do so.

Security researchers said that Apple limits feedback on which bugs will receive a bounty, and former and current Apple employees said there's a "massive backlog" of bugs that have yet to be addressed.

Apple's reluctance to be more open with security researchers has discouraged some researchers from providing flaws to Apple, with those researchers instead selling them to customers like government agencies or companies that offer up hacking services.

Apple's Head of Security Engineering and Architecture, Ivan Krstić, told The Washington Post that Apple feels the program has been a success, and that Apple has doubled the amount that it paid in bug bounties in 2020 compared to 2019. Apple is, however, still working to scale the program, and will offer new rewards in the future.

"We are also planning to introduce new rewards for researchers to keep expanding participation in the program, and we are continuing to investigate paths to offer new and even better research tools that meet our rigorous, industry-leading platform security model."

Luta Security founder Katie Moussouris told The Washington Post that Apple's poor reputation with the security community could in the future lead to "less secure products" and "more cost."

Apple's bug bounty program promises rewards ranging from $100,000 to $1,000,000, and Apple also provides some researchers with special iPhones dedicated to security research. These iPhones are less locked down than consumer devices and are designed to make it easier for security vulnerabilities and weaknesses to be unearthed.

Sam Curry, a security researcher that worked with Apple in 2020, said that he offered feedback to Apple and that he feels like the company is aware of how it's seen and "trying to move forward." According to The Washington Post, Apple this year hired a new leader for the bug bounty program, so it could soon see some improvements.

VMware Fusion is now available as a private tech preview for M1 Macs, with users able to request access through an online form. A public tech preview will follow in around two weeks, according to a tweet from VMware Fusion manager Michael Roy.

VMware Fusion for M1 Macs will be quite limited in scope, with a focus on virtualizing Arm-based Linux distributions. VMware Fusion will not officially support Windows 10 on M1 Macs at launch, as Microsoft has yet to offer licensing for the Arm version of Windows 10. In a tweet, Roy said Windows 10 should still run when selecting the "other" operating system type, but VMware will not be shipping drivers or VMware Tools.

VMware Fusion will also not be able to virtualize Intel-based Windows or Linux distributions, while support for virtualizing macOS is not ready yet. In a blog post last April, Roy said "there isn't exactly much business value relative to the engineering effort that is required" to support Intel-based operating systems on M1 Macs, adding that VMware is "laser focused on making Arm Linux VMs on Apple silicon a delight to use."

Microsoft does not yet offer a retail version of Arm-based Windows, but a preview version is available to Windows Insider program members. Earlier this year, VMware competitor Parallels boasted about the ability to run the Arm-based Windows preview on an M1 Mac with Parallels Desktop 16.5, but fine print notes that customers are responsible for making sure they are compliant with an operating system's licensing agreement.

No timeframe has been provided for the public release of VMware Fusion for M1 Macs, and pricing and upgrade options remain to be seen.

The iPhone 13 lineup will offer new Pink, Black, and Bronze colors and storage options will remain the same as the ‌iPhone‌ 12, other than there being no 256GB storage option for the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch standard models, according to the Ukrainian e-commerce website "KTC," spotted by 91mobiles, that purports to have revealed the upcoming devices' configuration options.

The iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 will apparently continue to be available in six color options: Black, Blue, Purple, Pink, White, and PRODUCT(RED). This means that Pink would replace Green from the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup.

On the other hand, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will purportedly continue to be available in four color options: Black, Silver, Gold, and Bronze. This means that Black would replace Graphite from the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro lineup, while Bronze would replace Pacific Blue.

Matte black and bronze ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro color options were rumored earlier this year, and there were also very sketchy reports of a pink ‌iPhone‌ 13 model, so it is possible that this is the origin of these listed color options.

Apple also reportedly intends to offer the following storage options for each model size in the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup:

• iPhone 13 mini: 64GB and 128GB
• iPhone 13: 64GB and 128GB
• iPhone 13 Pro: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
• iPhone 13 Pro Max: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB

This would mean that the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup storage configurations would be largely the same as the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup, but with no 256GB option for the 5.4-inch "mini" model and the standard 6.1-inch model, which seems like a very peculiar move that would reduce the variety of options and top amount of storage for customers of both entry-level ‌iPhone‌ 13 models.

Other Ukrainian e-commerce sites appear to be listing slightly different storage options for each model, with some showing no 64GB option for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini but a new 512GB option instead, and others showing options all the way up to 1TB. As a result, KTC's information should be taken with a pinch of salt. It is also worth noting that KTC shows no sign of the rumored 1TB storage option for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro models.

Apple is developing its electric vehicle independently without the assistance of another automaker and is currently selecting final parts suppliers, according to sources said to be familiar with Apple's plans speaking to Korea's Maeil Economic Daily.

In line with a previous report from Reuters, the report explains that the company has had its own automobile hardware research and development unit since 2014, but due to development challenges, it contacted BMW, Hyundai, Nissan, and Toyota to explore joint development and contract production agreements.

During this period, its own department for vehicle hardware research and development is believed to have virtually stopped operating around 2016. Separately, software research on self-driving continued.

The talks with automakers apparently fell apart due to repeated delays and the wider industry transformation toward electric vehicles slowing down the progress of any joint development and production agreement. There was also reluctance from some large automakers about becoming a manufacturing subcontractor for Apple. Apple is believed to have decided that it could not delay the launch of its car any further.

With these talks stalling, Apple has entirely turned once again to its own development and restored the full operation of its vehicle research unit. Although Doug Field, Apple's vice president of special projects, recently left the project to join Ford, the company is still believed to have hundreds of engineers working on the vehicle.

Apple has now gone through the process of sending a Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), and Request for Quotation (RFQ) to global automobile part manufacturers, which is understood to be a signal that the final parts suppliers for Apple's car are now being selected for outsourced production.

Mirroring the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the report places the launch of the vehicle around 2025 to 2027.

Three has become the latest UK mobile network to reintroduce EU roaming fees, in another post-Brexit setback for customers traveling abroad.

A flat £2 daily charge when roaming within an EU country will apply to customers who are new or upgrading from October 1. The changes will not come into effect until May 23 2022.

The operator joins EE and Vodafone who have recently announced the return of roaming charges. O2 will continue to offer free roaming across the EU and in the United States, but only on some "Plus Plans" as an extra add-on.

Before the U.K. formally exited the European Union, mobile customers generally didn't have to worry about roaming charges when using their phone in the EU, with most phone tariffs counting calls, texts, and data used in EU countries as equivalent to domestic use since 2017.

However, when the EU trade deal was signed in December 2020, mobile operators were once again able to charge customers when traveling in Europe with "transparent and reasonable rates."

Originally, EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone, representing the largest mobile operators in the U.K., stated they had no plans to reintroduce roaming charges after Brexit, but all have since announced changes, some under a "fair use" clause.

WarnerMedia's HBO Max is coming to Europe next month, the streaming service has announced. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, and Andorra will be the first to get access from October 26.

Next year, another wave of territories will be added to that list: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Additional territory launches are also planned for next year, but there are currently no plans to launch HBO Max in France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K. This is said to be partly due to WarnerMedia having deals in place with other partners in these countries, where HBO programming is available on services such as Sky Atlantic and Now TV.

HBO Max was officially launched in the U.S. in May 2020, and has since expanded to 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. Like those regions, the above European countries will gain access to content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and Cartoon Network.

"This is a historic moment as HBO Max lands in Europe," said Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International. "WarnerMedia movies and series like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and The Big Bang Theory are passionately consumed by fans all across Europe, and HBO Max has been created to provide them with the most intuitive and convenient viewing experience to watch these and a diverse range of other amazing titles."

HBO has yet to say what the cost of the streaming service will be in Europe, but it will make that announcement in a virtual launch scheduled for October.

We're still a week away from the launch of the iPhone 13, but rumors about the next-generation ‌iPhone‌ 14 models are already circulating and have picked up this week.

We've been hearing about a no-notch hole-punch display design since March, which was reiterated this morning by leaker Jon Prosser. Apple is expected to ditch the notch in favor of a hole-punch camera, and to facilitate that design, display analyst Ross Young says that Apple is also working on an under-display Face ID feature.

Young first shared his predictions for under-display ‌Face ID‌ in June, but highlighted them again today following the earlier ‌iPhone‌ 14 leaks. According to Young, Apple is working on under-display ‌Face ID‌ for the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro and Pro Max models.

Given that the ‌iPhone‌ 14 models are still under development, under display ‌Face ID‌ has not been finalized and could still be scrapped, and in that situation, Apple would likely be forced to revert to a notch-style design. If we don't see under-display ‌Face ID‌ in 2022, it could instead come in 2023.

Young has also been unclear on whether Apple will implement under-display Touch ID or under-display ‌Face ID‌ and while both could be possibilities and have been rumored, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in late August that Apple is more invested in ‌Face ID‌ and wants to implement under-display ‌Face ID‌ capabilities rather than returning to ‌Touch ID‌.

Young believes that the notchless design will be limited to the Pro models, which is also something that we've heard from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The other ‌iPhone‌ models may continue to feature a notch design.

In addition to a notchless front design, Prosser claims the ‌iPhone‌ 14 models are going to feature a thicker rear chassis that eliminates the camera bump, making the camera flush with the ‌iPhone‌'s body for the first time in years, which is the first that we've heard of concerning a rear camera design.

Round buttons, a titanium frame, and redesigned speaker and microphone grilles are also possibilities.

Prior ‌iPhone‌ 14 rumors have suggested that Apple is doing away with the smallest 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌ as the iPhone 12 mini has proven to be surprisingly unpopular with users. Instead, rumors suggest that we're going to get two 6.1-inch iPhones and two 6.7-inch iPhones, which would amount to an ‌iPhone‌ 14, an ‌iPhone‌ 14 Max, an ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro, and an ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max.

Twitter today announced the launch of a new "Communities" feature that's meant to take on Facebook's popular Groups by providing a space where people can share discussions on a specific topic.

An invite-only feature at the current time, Communities are created by Twitter users and are self-moderated. Community creators who are invited by Twitter to participate can invite an unlimited number of users to their group.

Members of a Community will see a new option to choose an audience in the tweet composer, allowing them to tweet to all of their followers or just to those followers who participate in the Community.

Tweets shared to a Community will show up in the Community and in the timelines of other members of the group. Communities are not private and can be viewed by others on Twitter, but only members can participate.

On iOS devices, Communities can be accessed through the navigation bar, and on the web, there's a Communities option on the sidebar.

Starting today, there are a handful of Communities available such as #DogTwitter and #SkinCareTwitter, but Twitter is planning for more to be created each week and those interested in starting a Community can apply on the Twitter website.

While we're likely just six days away from Apple unveiling the iPhone 13 lineup at its confirmed September 14 event, leaker Jon Prosser has shared alleged details about next year's iPhone 14 on his Front Page Tech website.

Prosser's information comes specifically from the "iPhone 14 Pro Max" model, and key features based on renders created by Ian Zelbo include:

• No notch, with a hole-punch front camera instead, in line with information shared by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo
• A thicker chassis allowing for no rear camera bump, with the lenses, LED flash, and LiDAR Scanner sitting flush with the rear glass
• A titanium frame
• Round volume buttons that look similar to those on older iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 models
• Redesigned speaker and microphone grilles with elongated mesh cutouts instead of individual holes on the bottom of the device
• Lightning connector remains on at least some iPhone 14 models

Prosser provided a closer look at the iPhone 14 renders on his YouTube channel:

Prosser said that while some aspects of the iPhone 14's design and dimensions could change between now and the device's likely release in September 2022, he is confident that the overall design will remain largely the same when mass production begins.

Prosser was recently accurate about Apple launching a colorful new iMac, and he revealed the design of the AirTag prior to its release, but he has been wrong about the launch timing and pricing of some other Apple products.

As a result of legal and regulatory pressures, Apple recently announced some upcoming changes to its App Store policies, such as letting developers email customers about payment options available outside of their iOS app and allowing "reader" apps like Spotify and Netflix to include an in-app link to their website for account signup.

Apple said the changes "will help make the App Store an even better business opportunity for developers," but Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty believes there will be "minimal financial impact" to Apple. In a research note, she said the changes would result in just a 1-2% hit to Apple's earnings per share in the 2022 fiscal year in a worst case scenario.

For example, while "reader" apps will be able to provide a single link to their website to help users set up and manage their account, which could result in more customers subscribing to an app directly instead of through Apple's in-app purchase system, Huberty notes that Spotify and Netflix already disabled the ability for new users to subscribe to their services through Apple's in-app purchase system since 2016 and 2018 respectively, meaning Apple hasn't collected a commission on new subscriptions to either app for at least three years.

Huberty added that App Store revenue from the top 10 "reader" apps accounts for less than 8% of overall App Store revenue, suggesting the financial risk to Apple from these developers circumventing the in-app purchase system is "fairly small."

"We view the top 10 or so apps as those that are most likely to have the scale, brand, marketing budget, and customer loyalty to absorb the friction of circumventing the App Store payments platform," she wrote. "Assuming a worst case scenario in which Apple stopped collecting economics from all of the top 20 reader apps translates to downside risk of 4% of Services revenue, 1% of total company revenue, and about 2% of FY22 EPS forecast."

"In other words, we believe the recent App Store headlines are more attention grabbing than the ultimate financial impact to Apple's revenue or profitability," she concluded.

Huberty believes Apple has no intention to bring these changes to gaming apps either, despite having faced a lawsuit from Fortnite maker Epic Games, which accused Apple of having a monopoly over the sale of apps and in-app purchases through the App Store. A decision in that lawsuit is expected to be announced soon.

The leaker Max Weinbach has today shared a series of rumors about Apple's upcoming iPhone 13 models, Apple Watch Series 7, and third-generation AirPods via his Twitter account @PineLeaks.

Weinbach's most notable ‌iPhone‌ 13 rumors from his latest tweets are listed below:

• No price rises for the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup.
• The ‌iPhone‌ 13 mini will offer approximately one additional hour of battery life.
• The ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max will feature an 18 to 20 percent larger battery compared to the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
• Both the ‌iPhone‌ 13 and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro will continue to use the same battery components as last year, but offer batteries that are 10 percent larger.
• The battery life of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro may be worse than the ‌iPhone‌ 13 due to the power consumption of the 120Hz-capable ProMotion display.
• The ProMotion displays of the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max will throttle to 60Hz when Low Power Mode is enabled.
• The ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max will continue to offer exclusive features that the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro will not have.
• The camera sensors across all models will be able to receive at least 15 percent more light, with the biggest increase on the Ultra Wide camera's sensor, with up to 40 percent more light.
• "Cinematic" portrait video mode will use an electronic image stabilization (EIS) known as "Warp." This mode will attempt to keep the subject in the center of the frame, use optical image stabilization in a more "smooth" operating mode, and offer additional effects.
• Night Mode will recognize when stars are in the frame and adjust settings accordingly. A new algorithm analyses structures, resharpens, and adjusts shadows. The color science of ‌Night Mode‌ will also be "visibly" improved.

According to Weinbach, Apple's third-generation AirPods will feature a charging case with a 20 percent larger battery compared to the second-generation AirPods, but will offer wireless charging as standard. The batteries inside each individual AirPod will also be around the same size as previous models. The sound quality is said to be largely the same as the second-generation AirPods, but with slightly improved bass and low-end.

Weinbach added that the Apple Watch Series 7 is set to see the Apple Watch's biggest improvement in battery life yet.

It is worth noting that Weinbach has a mixed to poor track record. Previous reports from Weinbach are littered with large numbers of claims that never panned out, such as the insistence that the iPhone 12 would feature a 120Hz display, bigger batteries, improved Face ID, and improved optical zoom. There have also been incorrect rumors about a native iPad Calculator app in iOS 13, iPhone displays that work under water, Dark Mode being delayed, and a HomePod launch in Austria and Italy within 2019, to name a few.

Last year, directly ahead of the ‌iPhone‌ 12 event, Weinbach issued a wave of detailed "leaks" about the iPhone 12 lineup that were similar to this thread. Virtually none of the rumors from the equivalent tweet thread last year came true. Despite these ultimately incorrect rumors, Weinbach correctly predicted that the ‌iPhone‌ 12 would feature a new blue color option last year.

Weinbach has been vocal about what can be expected from the ‌iPhone‌ 13 lineup, contributing to three detailed reports from over the last year. Indeed, many of the more popular rumors around the upcoming devices have come from Weinbach, such as astrophotography features, an always-on display, stronger MagSafe magnets, a matte black color option and a potential bronze color option, an anti-fingerprint coating, and reverse wireless charging. It is yet to be seen if his rumors will come to fruition this year at Apple's "California Streaming" special event on Tuesday, September 14.