MacRumors

Apple today seeded the eighth beta of an upcoming macOS Big Sur update to developers for testing purposes, close to a week after releasing the sixth beta and more than two months after the new update was unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The macOS Big Sur beta can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center and once the appropriate profile is installed, subsequent betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

macOS Big Sur introduces a refreshed design to the Mac operating system, overhauling the entire look from the curvature of the window corners to the dock icons to the system sounds. Everything feels fresh but familiar, with a lighter and more modern appearance. There's a new customizable Control Center that mirrors the Control Center on iOS devices, putting key system controls right at your fingertips.

The Notification Center has been redesigned with iOS-style widgets that are available in multiple sizes, plus there are more interactive notifications that are now grouped by app to make it easier to see what's going on. Safari is faster and more battery efficient, plus there's a new start page that can be customized with wallpapers and sections that include Reading List and iCloud Tabs, which makes Safari more tailored to your individual usage needs.

Tabs have been redesigned, there's a built-in language translation feature, Chrome and Firefox Extensions can be ported to Safari, and YouTube supports 4K video playback. There's also an option to choose which sites an extension works with for greater privacy. Speaking of privacy, a new Privacy Report feature lets users know the trackers Safari is blocking when you visit websites.

Messages is more similar to the Messages app on iOS with support for pinned conversations, mentions, inline replies, and Memoji creation, plus the built-in search feature has been overhauled to make it easier to find links, photos, and conversations in the app.

Apple redesigned the Maps app to add support for Look Around, indoor maps, and Guides, which are lists of notable attractions, restaurants, and more created by trusted sources. Maps can also be used to generate directions for cycling routes and electric vehicle trips that can be sent to iPhone, and shared ETA updates are now viewable on the Mac.

Photos includes a better Retouch tool, Apple Music's For You section has been replaced with a Listen Now section, HomeKit Secure Video cameras support Face Recognition and Activity zones, and Siri can answer a wider range of questions than before.

In the future, the macOS Big Sur App Store will help users better understand privacy practices with clear info on the information that an app collects, and after installing macOS Big Sur, you'll see faster updates that begin in the background and then finish more quickly to make it easier to keep your Mac up to date.

Apple in the third beta of macOS Big Sur changed the battery icon for the Battery section in System Preferences, refining the design to make it look more clean and streamlined. The beta testing period also brought a new design for the Music app icon (it's red), and some color changes to the buttons and icons inside the music app.

According to Apple, the eighth beta of macOS Big Sur fixes an issue with the kernel that could cause applications to quit unexpectedly. Apple says that this beta qualifies for 50 percent of the Apple Security Bounty bonus payment for security researchers who discover issues that are unknown to Apple or reintroduced in this release.

For more on everything that's new in macOS Big Sur, make sure to check out our roundup.

Apple is on the cusp of launching its first 5G iPhone models, according to Marc Allera, the CEO of British Telecom's consumer brands BT and EE.

"We are just days away from Apple's next major launch, a 5G iPhone, which will be a huge boost for 5G," said Allera, in an internal video presentation shared with the company's employees today. "Teams in all parts of Consumer have been preparing all year to win this launch, and be Europe's number one partner for Apple."

Apple's services chief Eddy Cue made a brief appearance during the video, praising EE for becoming the first carrier to offer smartphone plans bundled with multiple Apple services, including Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+.

While new iPhones are usually announced in September, multiple reports claim that Apple plans to unveil its iPhone 12 lineup in October this year. This timeframe was effectively confirmed by Apple itself, which during its June quarter earnings call indicated that supply of new iPhones would be available "a few weeks later" this year.

Four new iPhone 12 models are expected, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model, all with OLED displays, 5G support, and a new flat-edged design. Rumors have suggested that Apple may opt for a staggered launch, with some models launching later than others, but the exact order of the rollout remains to be seen.

Microsoft has today announced plans to bring a new design to its Outlook for Mac app along with several other improvements and features for Outlook on iOS and watchOS.

In preparation for the public release of macOS Big Sur, Microsoft has been testing a new design for Outlook on Mac. The design includes Microsoft's Fluent icons and several design cues from Big Sur such as rounded corners. To make the design more simple, Microsoft's Ribbon interface has been removed. The end product is an amalgam of the design languages of Apple and Microsoft.

Reading and writing emails has been improved with the implementation of a new mail compose UI, single-line views, and an "ignore" feature. Collapsible panels and a compressible message list allow for greater customization of the main view.

Outlook's contacts system has also been tweaked, with separation of contacts and co-workers within events and emails, detection of frequent contacts, and a new feature to mark contacts as favorites. Calendar and search has been improved with groups and emphasis on relevance, and there is greater integration with Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft's sync technology from iOS, Android, and Windows Mail will also be coming to Outlook for Mac, resulting in much faster sync between platforms. Support for iCloud and IMAP accounts is also said to be coming soon. The update is set to arrive for all Mac users in mid-October.

Microsoft also announced a number of smaller updates to Outlook for iOS, including a new calendar widget to display upcoming meetings from multiple accounts on the home screen, emoji reactions, voice commands, and an expansion of Play My Emails to Canada, Australia, India, and the UK.

Apple Watch complications will be coming to Outlook for watchOS 7, allowing users to see their number of unread emails or calendar status. These additions to Outlook for iOS and watchOS are marked to arrive later this year.

Apple's system status page indicates that a handful of its services are currently down or experiencing issues, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple TV Channels, the App Store, the Mac App Store, the iTunes Store, and more.

The multi-service outage appears to be quite widespread and affects users on multiple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. However, not all users are affected, so your mileage may vary.

Update 9:53 a.m.: Apple says that all issues have been resolved.

Dubai-based streaming video service STARZPLAY today announced that it is now available through Apple TV Channels.

Starting today, customers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt can sign up for a seven-day free trial and subscribe directly to STARZPLAY in the Apple TV app for $11 per month. Apple TV Channels content can be streamed on demand or downloaded for offline viewing.

STARZPLAY offers both Hollywood and Arabic movies, TV shows, documentaries, kids' entertainment, and original content. The service features thousands of titles, ranging from the original series "Baghdad Central" to fan favorites like "The Big Bang Theory." The service is a subsidiary of the U.S. network STARZ.

Built into the Apple TV app, the Apple TV Channels feature allows users to subscribe to and watch content from participating services without downloading any apps, including HBO, STARZ, Showtime, EPIX, and more.

The Apple TV app is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, select Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, and select Samsung, LG, and VIZIO smart TVs.

Amazon today introduced some of the first discounts on the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, providing up to $15 off select models.

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.

Starting with the 40mm GPS Apple Watch Series 6, you can get this model in Silver Aluminum with a White Sport Band for $384.99, down from $399.00. Similarly, the Space Gray Aluminum model is on sale.

If you're looking for a cellular model, Amazon has the 40mm cellular Apple Watch Series 6 in Space Gray Aluminum with a Black Sport Band for $484.99, down from $499.00. You can get the same Apple Watch in 44mm for $514.99, down from $529.00.

Moving to the Apple Watch SE, you'll find the 44mm GPS model in Space Gray Aluminum at a slight discount of $299.99, down from $309.00.

For the cellular model, Amazon has the 40mm Gold Aluminum Case with a Plum Sport Loop for $319.99, down from $329.00.

Given the popularity of the new models and the introduction of their first discounts, shipping estimates for every Series 6 and SE are seeing lengthy waits of up to four weeks. If you purchase today at a discount, however, you can lock in the savings before they expire.

A few of the major carriers also have some early offers on Apple Watch Series 6 and SE. You can find all the details about those deals in our post, and be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

Apple's Macs and iPads continue to have the highest satisfaction score among PC and tablet makers in 2020, according to new data shared today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

In the 2020 Household Appliance and Electronics Report, Apple earned an ACSI score of 82, a one point drop from the score that it earned in 2019. Apple's satisfaction score beat out Samsung (81), Acer (78), Amazon (78), ASUS (77), Dell (77), HP (77), and others.

The score includes laptops, tablets, and desktop machines, but when splitting them out, Samsung and Apple are tied for customer satisfaction when it comes to tablets, according to the ACSI. Apple and Samsung also dominate laptop rankings, while there are narrower margins for desktop machines.

When it comes to overall customer satisfaction ratings across all manufacturers, desktop PCs, notebooks, and tablets still lag behind overall smartphone satisfaction, with desktops continuing to have the highest average satisfaction ratings.

The overall industry rankings mimic results from the cell phone industry, where Apple and Samsung have long been locked in a two-way battle at the top for customer satisfaction. Despite slipping 1%, Apple leads the PC industry with an ACSI score of 82 that matches its rating in the cell phone industry. Samsung again holds second place, just a point lower at 81--a score that also matches its cell phone rating.

Both Apple and Samsung have shown high and stable customer satisfaction for the past five years--separated by just a point in all but one of those years. Apple continues to beat the field across the entire customer experience, receiving its highest mark for design. Samsung shines when it comes to value, rating best in class among all PC makers.

Factors that influence customer satisfaction ratings include design, graphics and sound quality, availability of accessories, software and apps, ease of operation, system crashes, and processor speed.

To create its scoring system and compile device scores, the ACSI uses data from interviews with 14,698 customers to analyze customer satisfaction with personal computers, computer software, household appliances, TVs, and more. Customers surveyed were asked to evaluate their experiences with recently purchased products of the largest manufacturers.

AppleCare+ is now available in Norway, according to Apple's Norwegian website. Previously, ‌AppleCare‌ was the only option in Norway for Apple devices. ‌AppleCare‌ essentially only extends the standard warranty on Apple products, but ‌AppleCare‌+ includes two instances of accidental damage with a deductible.

‌AppleCare‌+ is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad, ‌iPad‌, Apple Displays, iPod, and Headphones in Norway. The Apple TV retains standard ‌AppleCare‌, as has been the case in other regions, and is not eligible for ‌AppleCare‌+. The HomePod does not seem to be supported by either ‌AppleCare‌ plan in Norway at this time.

Apple has recently been making a number of changes to ‌AppleCare‌ worldwide, including extending AppleCare eligibility to one year in the U.S. and Canada, changing accidental damage cover, and the lowering cost of theft and loss deductables.

Apple has also expanded ‌AppleCare‌+ monthly payments to Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as the UK and Germany.

Update: ‌AppleCare‌+ is also now available in Finland and Denmark. The expansion to all three countries seems to have occurred alongside Apple's September 15 event.

Prior to September 15, ‌AppleCare‌+ was only available in Scandinavia in Sweden, likely because the country has physical Apple Stores.

The team behind the "Checkra1n" jailbreaking tool for iOS has released version 0.11.0 of its software with support added for iOS 14, but only on a limited number of devices.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of the software release, the team said that it needed "more time to work around a new security mitigation" added by Apple before it could support jailbreaking iOS 14 on newer devices.

In iOS 14, Apple added a new mitigation to SEPOS on A10 and above (except on Apple TVs and iBridge): if the device was booted from DFU mode and the Secure Enclave receives a request to decrypt user data, it will panic the device. Since checkm8 does not give us control over the Secure Enclave, this is not trivial to workaround. However, with the recently published blackbird vulnerability, we are able to get control of the Secure Enclave on A10 and A10X and disable this mitigation. Support for A10 and A10X devices is being worked on and is expected to be ready in the coming weeks.

As a result of the security mitigation, the new version of "Checkra1n" works for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 on the following devices.

• iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and SE
• iPad (5th generation)
• iPad Air 2
• iPad mini 4
• iPad Pro (1st generation)
• Apple TV 4 and 4K

The team said it hoped to support newer devices in the coming weeks, with support for ‌iPhone‌ 8, ‌iPhone‌ 8 Plus, and ‌iPhone‌ X to "be addressed in a future statement."

"Checkra1n" is made by the same security researchers responsible for last year's "checkm8" exploit, which was found on nearly every chip made by Apple and paved the way for a permanent, non-patchable jailbreak on hundreds of millions of affected iOS devices.

"Checkm8" was the first publicly available boot room exploit for iOS devices since the ‌iPhone‌ 4 in 2010.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this evening spoke at The Atlantic Festival where he discussed privacy, antitrust issues, remote work, and his relationship with United States President Donald Trump.

Cook's interview starts at about 15 minutes into the video

On the topic of the ongoing U.S. antitrust investigation into Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, Cook said that "big companies deserve scrutiny," something that's "fair but important" for the American government. He said he has "no issue" with Apple being investigated, and that he hopes people will ultimately hear Apple's story and come to see that the company is not a monopoly.

I think that big companies deserve scrutiny. And I think that's not only fair but important for the system that we have in America. And so I have no issue at all in Apple being put underneath the microscope and people looking and probing. My hope is that as people heard our story and as they continue to hear our story that it will become as apparent to them as it is to us that we have no monopoly. There is no monopoly here.

We're in very, very competitive markets like smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets and personal computers. These things are fiercely competitive. They're basically street fights for market share. Our core strategy as a company to make the best not the most... that basic strategy will never produce a monopoly. It's very rare, almost impossible for the best to become the most as well. Somebody will choose a commodity product and there's enough people that will buy the commodity product that it will have more share. And that's true in all of the different fields we're in.

I'm hoping people heard that and heard how we conduct ourselves because this is very important to us. We always do what we believe is right and conduct ourselves with the utmost integrity and professionalism. I hope that that came across and that we can unpeel from this investigation.

On his relationship with Trump and what it's like interacting with the President, Cook said that he views the specific conversations he's had with Trump as "private conversations" and wouldn't get into what's been discussed, but he did reiterate something he's said several times before: that it's better to be involved than not to be part of the conversation.

I believe that it's much better to be involved, whether you're in agreement on an issue or I think it's even more important to engage when you disagree on something. And so what we do at Apple is we focus on policy. We don't focus on the politics. And so it keeps us out of the sort of the daily scrum of politics and keeps us very focused on the things that are very important to us.

As for the shift to working from home for many Apple employees, Cook said "it's not like being together physically" and that he can't wait for "everybody to be able to come back," confirming that Apple is not going to be one of those companies that lets employees work from home long term.

Cook did, however, say that "some things" work really well virtually, and so that things aren't going to return to just how they were.

In all candor, it's not like being together physically. And so I can't wait for everybody to be able to come back into the office. I don't believe that we'll return to the way we were, because we found that there are some things that actually work really well virtually. But things like creativity and the serendipity that you talk about, these things, you depend on people kind of running into each other over the course of a day. We have designed our entire office such that there are common areas where people congregate and talk about different things. And you can't schedule those times.

And so I think the vast majority of us can't wait until we can be back in the office again. You know, hopefully that occurs sometime next year, who knows exactly what the date may be. We've got about 10-15 percent working today in the office. I'm in the office at different points during the week as well, but the vast majority, 85 to 90 percent of the company is still working remotely.

Cook's full interview, which also goes into detail on Apple's view of how the United States has responded to COVID-19, climate change and the California wildfires, privacy, international policy, his future plans, and more can be watched through the YouTube video up above from The Atlantic.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

With the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple introduced two new band options, the Solo Loop and the Braided Solo Loop. These new bands are unique because they have no clasps, buckles, or other fasteners, and instead use a stretch design to allow them to pull onto the wrist over the hand.

Because these bands are not adjustable, Apple sells each one in nine different sizes to make sure each person gets a snug fit. To get the right sizing, Apple offers a printable tool [PDF] and also measurement comparisons so you can estimate size, but as it turns out, that sizing isn't always accurate and Apple's returns for ill-fitting bands ordered with one of the new Apple Watches are a hassle.

Customers who chose a Solo Loop or a Braided Solo Loop along with an Apple Watch Series 6 or SE and have a poor fit can't just return the band for a new size -- the entire Apple Watch has to be returned since it's considered a set.

Unfortunately, there are limited supplies of the new Apple Watch Series 6 models and the new bands, so customers forced to make a return are now having to wait from late October to late November for a new Apple Watch, depending on the model chosen.

There are complaints about Apple's return policy for the Apple Watch bands on Twitter and on a long discussion of the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands on the MacRumors forums. Apple Watch models that are not fitting properly must be returned in full, and Apple's online support staff has been offering no alternative.

Some MacRumors readers appear to have had luck getting a different-sized band without exchanging the entire watch in an Apple retail store, but it's not clear if that's going to be an option for all users, especially as most Apple Stores seem to have limited band stock. From the MacRumors forums:

I assumed if you ordered the incorrect size, you could keep the watch and just return/exchange the band. But Apple support through chat said you have to return the watch and the band. That's so wasteful. And frustrating. I'm selling my S4 watch and the buyer will have to keep waiting until it's all sorted out.

For those who haven't ordered yet, it's worth reading through the Solo Loop discussion on the MacRumors forums because it's filled with anecdotal fit tips from people who have already been able to try a Solo Loop or Braided Solo Loop. Several people have found Apple's printable measurement tool to be inaccurate, as some have even found measurement comparisons incorrect.

There seems to be a preference for a slightly snugger Braided Solo Loop due to stretch, while people have had less trouble with the Solo Loop, but it varies by person. A snug fit is also required for the Blood Oxygen monitoring feature to work properly. The best way to get a good fitting watch is to visit an Apple Store, but of course, that is difficult in some places where Apple Stores haven't reopened, and in others where the pandemic is continues to be a concern.

At the current time, there seems to be no clear option for people who have an ill-fitting band beyond waiting, but hopefully Apple Watch stock will improve and shipment estimates won't be quite as long as Apple's current November estimates.

Apple in iOS and iPadOS 14 is allowing third-party apps to be set as alternatives to the default browser apps on the iPhone and the iPad, and now one of the most popular third-party email apps, Gmail, can be set as the default email app on your iOS devices.

With the latest Gmail for iOS update available in the App Store as of today, Gmail can serve as a replacement for the Mail app.

You can set Gmail as the default email app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ by downloading it from the ‌App Store‌, opening up the Settings app, scrolling down to Gmail in the apps list and then tapping on Default Mail App.

Google previously updated Chrome with the default browser function so it can be set to replace Safari on the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌. Those who prefer Google's apps can now have a mostly Google-centric experience on the ‌iPhone‌, at least when it comes to browser and email.

It's worth noting that there is currently a bug that resets the default apps that have been set to replace Safari and Mail every time a device is rebooted, so Gmail may have to be updated as the default email app whenever you restart your ‌iPhone‌ until Apple fixes the issue.

iFixit today did one of its traditional teardowns on the new Apple Watch Series 6 with GPS and LTE, which became available for purchase last Friday. While the new Series 6 models look quite similar to the Series 5 models externally, it turns out there are quite a few internal tweaks and modifications to support new features like Blood Oxygen Monitoring.

The new Apple Watch models open up like a book much like the iPhone rather than from the top down like prior Apple Watch models. Since Force Touch has been removed, there is no Force Touch gasket component, which makes it easier to tear into the new Apple Watch models. iFixit also found fewer cables for a more streamlined design that offers easier repairs.

Apple is using a 1.17Wh battery in the 44mm Apple Watch Series 6, which is just a slight increase (3.5 percent) over the battery used in the prior-generation Apple Watch Series 5. That should come as no surprise as the Series 6 continues to offer the same 18-hour "all-day" battery life as prior models. The 40mm model, which iFixit also took a look at, has a 1.024Wh capacity, an 8.5 percent increase over the 40mm Series 5.

There's a larger Taptic Engine in the Apple Watch Series 6, and the frame has been slightly modified with a narrower lip for adhesive. This tweak, along with the removal of Force Touch, may be why this years's models are just a bit thinner (10.4mm vs 10.74mm).

The display is fused to the top of the casing and the sensor array, updated with new sensors for Blood Oxygen monitoring, is fused to the bottom.

All in all, iFixit was impressed with Apple's ability to pack new sensors, a larger capacity battery, and a bigger Taptic Engine into a thinner casing.

They just keep polishing this thing to a higher and higher gloss and it's almost sneaky how much of it they don't tell you about, keeping all the focus on the whiz-bang health features.

The 2020 Apple Watch Series 6 ultimately earned a repairability score of 6 out of 10 thanks to the easier screen replacements and battery replacements, but there are still tiny tri-point screws to manage and the flex cables mounted directly to the S6 package require skilled microsoldering if an accidental tear occurs.

MacRumors and Anker have partnered up this month to offer our readers new discounts on useful products like USB-C charging accessories compatible with a MacBook Pro or the new iPad Air, and portable batteries perfect for charging up an iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad. All of the devices in this sale can be found on Amazon.

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

You can find the full list of discounted accessories below. To see the sale prices, add the Anker products you want to your cart, then enter the relevant coupon codes during the checkout screen on Amazon. These discount codes will be live from today through Friday, September 25.

Anker September Sale

• PowerPort III 65W USB-C Wall Charger - $25.99 with code MRAKPP13, down from $39.99
• PowerPort Atom USB-C Charging Station - $68.99 with code MKAKPPAC, down from $99.99
• PowerExtend USB-C Desktop Surge Protector - $44.99 with code MRAK9232 + on-page coupon, down from $69.99
• Powercore 10,000 mAh Portable Battery - $26.99 with code MRAK1615, down from $35.99
• Powercore Slim 10,000 mAh Portable Charger (USB-C cable and wall charger included) - $32.99 with code MRAK1231, down from $43.99

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Apple today seeded the first public betas of upcoming iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 updates to its public beta testing group, a few days after seeding the first betas to developers and a little less than a week after releasing the iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates.

Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS and iPadOS‌ 14.2 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device.

iOS 14.2 introduces a new Music Recognition control for the Control Center, deepening the integration of the Apple-owned Shazam app in the iOS operating system. Music Recognition lets you discover music playing around you and it can recognize music playing in apps even when you're wearing AirPods.

The Shazam Music Recognition feature can be added to Control Center through the Control Center options in the Settings app. To use the feature, open up Control Center and then tap on the Shazam icon to initiate a single recognition.

The new update brings a redesigned Now Playing widget for the Control Center that lists recently played albums that you might want to listen to when you have no music playing. There's also a redesigned interface for AirPlay, making it easier to play music across multiple ‌AirPlay‌ 2-enabled devices in the home.

For those who have low vision, Apple added a "People Detection" feature in the Magnifier app that uses the camera to let iPhone users know how far away other people are, which can be useful for social distancing purposes.

The new iOS 14.2 beta will likely be in testing for some time as Apple works on releasing new iPhones, with the new iPhones expected to debut sometime in October.

Apple's upcoming launch of 5G iPhones might not be a "massive event" due to economic uncertainty amid the global health crisis, AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh said in a paywalled interview published by CNBC.

"I do believe that you will see many of the iPhone subscribers move to upgrade to the device," said McElfresh. "But I wouldn't forecast that it's going to be a massive event. I also don't think it's going to be a nonevent. I think customers, based on the pressures of the economy that we're all facing today, will make a calculated decision as to what they want to do. And we're going to be there to offer them any device that Apple launches here shortly."

McElfresh added that AT&T already has engineers working on next-generation 6G networking, noting that it will take years before the technology fully materializes. No further details were shared about these efforts.

Apple is widely expected to unveil four new iPhones later this year, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model. While flagship iPhones have started at $999 in recent years, Apple still has an opportunity for success in a price-conscious market this year if the 5.4-inch "iPhone 12 mini" starts around $749, as this device is expected to have an OLED display and 5G support just like higher-end models in the lineup.

Despite the global health crisis, Apple posted a June quarter revenue record of $59.7 billion. The results were boosted by strong iPad and Mac sales as more customers work, learn, and connect with family and friends from home.