Apple Rumors

Apple is bumping up the energy density of the battery in its next iPhones, letting them last longer between charges, claims supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo notes that more density means more heat, so Apple is encasing them in stainless steel, which he says will also mean they’re easier to replace — something the EU now requires.

Recently, Apple unceremoniously dropped Apple Pay Later, which already felt like an odd, risky choice for the brand, not even a year after launching the small loans program.

Why? Regulation, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman:

In May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced increased scrutiny of “buy now, pay later” services, saying providers would need to follow the same regulations as credit card companies ... The increased regulation wasn��t something Apple wanted to deal with, I’m told ...

In its quest to build a cheaper headset, Apple has asked manufacturers for technical details needed to develop 2-inch or 2.1-inch displays with a pixel density of 1,700ppi (or about half the Vision Pro’s 3,386ppi), according to an Elec report cited by UploadVR yesterday.

Assuming the same aspect ratio, the outlet pegs the resolution “somewhere around 2600 x 2300,” or just over two-thirds that of the current headset.

The Information reports the reversible adhesive could be tried on one iPhone 16 and potentially every iPhone 17, replacing the stretchy pull tabs seen in every teardown.

iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens called it a “cool idea,” even if we’ll need to see how it works in practice. Here’s a demo from adhesives giant Tesa, which is also developing approaches using lasers, heat, solvents, and magnets.

The next Apple Watch may have a two-inch display, according to CAD renders posted by 91mobiles, which said they were “sourced from industry insiders.” They supposedly depict either the Apple Watch Series 10 or a rumored special anniversary edition. If true, that means the wearable will feature the largest display ever on an Apple Watch.

Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter looks at “difficult trade-offs” Apple has to make as it prioritizes a cheaper headset (including maybe relying on a tethered iPhone or Mac) and continues work on a second-gen Vision Pro.

He also described details of Apple’s “renewed” efforts on the wear-all-day lightweight AR spectacles dream that Meta and Google are also chasing:

Though a launch date around 2027 has been bandied about, no one I’ve spoken to within Apple believes the glasses will be ready in a few years.

At WWDC, Apple announced a deal with OpenAI to make ChatGPT available for certain tasks on iPhones with iOS 18 and other devices (as long as you aren’t in the EU). Execs also mentioned Google Gemini, but the list doesn’t end there, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to Google and Meta, AI startups Anthropic and Perplexity also have been in discussions with Apple to bring their generative AI to Apple Intelligence, said people familiar with the talks.

Apple is announcing the new feature at WWDC 2024 on Monday, according to MacRumors. It would work with built-in apps like Mail, Notes, or Messages, adding another layer of security to the phone in addition to Apple’s Stolen Device Protection setting that rolled out last year.

The Android 15 beta has something similar in “private space,” a lockable section of the app drawer.

I’ve been intrigued by Rabbit’s so-called “large action model” that trains an AI assistant to use your favorite apps on your behalf. That didn’t quite work out with the Rabbit R1, but now Apple’s taking a crack with Siri according to Mark Gurman’s latest scoop.

The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time [...] using AI to analyze what people are doing on their devices and automatically enable Siri-controlled features. It will be limited to Apple’s own apps at the beginning, with the company planning to support hundreds of different commands.

So, I guess my colleague Allison Johnson was right, the future of AI gadgets is just phones.

We’re expecting a bunch of AI features at WWDC, but phones can only run limited AI functions on-device. How will Apple square the need to process user data off-device with privacy?

According to The Information, the answer might be a “virtual black box.” By using custom M2 chips, it could claim user data remains just as secure as if it were processed on-device. That’s one way to think different.

The Apple TV app is available in Apple’s ecosystem, Windows, and some smart TV platforms, and that’s about it.

But now Apple is seeking an Android engineer to “help build an application used by millions to watch and discover tv and sports.” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes company is preparing to bring Apple TV Plus to Android phones.

A report from ZDNet Korea (via AppleInsider) says Samsung is readying new OLED panels for production in late 2025 and are destined for an all-new 2026 iPad mini.

It’s not the most solid rumor, even after the iPad Pro’s OLED upgrade, but it would be great if Apple updated the iPad mini for the first time since 2021.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted that the company plans to release the iPhone 16 Pro in “black, white (or silver), grey (I think it’s natural titanium), rose.”

The non-Pro models, he predicts, will come in the same hues as the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, though he notes the colors could “look different,” despite having the same name.

That’s according to Mark Gurman, who writes in his latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg that the company will release the new version of its item tracker “around the middle of next year” with improvements to its chip and location tracking.

With less than a month to go before Apple details its AI plans at WWDC 2024, the company is “finalizing terms” to let ChatGPT use iOS 18 features, according to Bloomberg.

That would be Apple’s first such deal if it closes before the company sets up similar agreements with Google or Anthropic.

Apple — like Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and everyone else this side of Nvidia — is reportedly working on custom server hardware to power AI models as it prepares to introduce a slew of new features.

Over the past decade, Apple has emerged as a leading player designing chips for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Mac computers. The server project, which is internally code-named Project ACDC—for Apple Chips in Data Center—will bring this talent to bear for the company’s servers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple watcher Mark Gurman followed up saying a similar-sounding project was canceled and it doesn’t make sense anyway: it would be too expensive, lack differentiation, and Apple prefers on-device AI.

Update: Added Gurman’s rebuttal.

Majin Bu, who had early pictures purported to be of the iPhone 15’s USB-C port and, more recently, apparent images of vertical camera modules for the iPhone 16, posted these mock-ups that may show the next models’ updated design.

Rumors that Apple would switch to a vertical layout for the cameras go back at least a year.