Apple is developing a wearable AI device that's been described as a pin or pendant, and that could compete with a similar AI product coming from OpenAI's Jony Ive. It wasn't clear if the wearable would actually make it to launch because Apple sometimes cancels projects, but it is still in the works and could come as soon as next year.

1. It'll Look Like an AirTag

Apple's design plans could change, but rumors suggest the device is a pin or pendant that looks similar to an AirTag. It's been described as having a thin, flat, circular disc shape, with an aluminum and glass shell. A physical control button is included on one edge.

Apple wants the final version of the device to be about the same size as an ‌AirTag‌, but because of the hardware inside, it could be thicker.

It sounds like the wearable will be versatile. It could have a clip to attach to clothing like a pin, but there's also supposedly a hole in the device so it can be worn as a necklace. Rumors have referred to it as both a pin and a pendant.

2. There Will Be Cameras

Apple's AI wearable is going to have at least one camera, but rumors are mixed on exactly what the camera will be used for.

Bloomberg says the pin will have a low-resolution camera that gives it info about its surroundings rather than a camera for capturing photos and videos. The camera will be always-on and processing visual data, but users will not be able to use it for images.

The Information reports there will be two front cameras, one with a standard lens and one with a wide-angle lens for capturing photos and videos.

Apple's AI device will rely heavily on Visual Intelligence, which is currently an iPhone feature that uses the camera to provide users with more information about places and objects around them.

3. Siri is the Brain

Rumors have described Apple's wearable as an AI pin or pendant, because it's going to be reliant on artificial intelligence. It's one of several AI-equipped devices that Apple is working on, and it will give wearers a way to interface with Siri without having to use an iPhone.

The camera on the pin will give ‌Siri‌ insight, and ‌Siri‌ will be able to answer questions about what the wearer is looking at or the wearer's surroundings.

Apple is planning to completely overhaul ‌Siri‌ in iOS 27, turning the personal assistant into a much smarter chatbot on par with Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT.

4. iPhone Required

While the AI wearable will have a chip inside, it will be a smaller chip that's similar to the H2 in the AirPods. It won't use a high-powered chip, and most processing will need to be done on the iPhone.

The pin is not meant to be a standalone device, and it will instead be marketed as an iPhone accessory.

5. It'll Listen, But Might Not Talk Back

To listen for voice requests and to pick up sounds around the wearer, the AI pin will have a microphone. Apple has not yet decided whether to add a speaker for back-and-forth ‌Siri‌ conversations and audio playback.

If there's no speaker, responses might be directed to the wearer on the iPhone, Apple Watch, or AirPods.

Release Date

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said this week that the AI wearable could see a launch as soon as 2027.
This article, "Apple's AirTag-Sized AI Pendant: Five Features Rumored So Far" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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With watchOS 26.5, Apple is introducing a Pride Luminance face, and it's one of the most versatile and customizable watch faces. There are pre-configured color options, but the face also supports custom colors.


You can select 1 to 12 colors from a palette that has every color of the rainbow, some in-between shades, and black, white, brown, and gray.


The colors you pick are distributed across the watch face in a gradient, available in either radial or linear styles. The first style looks like a starburst, while the second style is a series of rectangular lines.


The dial can be set to Rectangle for edge-to-edge color, or Circle for a smaller dial that supports four complications.

As with most of Apple's faces, the Luminance face is animated. When the wrist is down, it shrinks into slim lines of color on a black background, but when the wrist is raised, the full color palette is displayed. Colors will also shift slowly.


Apple's pre-selected colors represent different Pride flag colors, but with the deep customization options, the Pride Luminance face can match clothing, show off support for sports teams, or just display your favorite colors.


iOS 26.5 also has a matching Pride Luminance Wallpaper option that can be customized in the same way. You can choose up to 12 colors for the Lock Screen and Home Screen. On the Lock Screen, the colors collapse onto a black background when the device is locked.


To get the new watch face, you need iOS 26.5 and watchOS 26.5. Apple has released RCs, and the public versions of the updates are expected as soon as next week.
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After more than a year of discussion, Apple and Intel established a preliminary agreement that will see Intel manufacturing processors for Apple devices, reports The Wall Street Journal.


Intel would make chips based on Apple chip designs, much like TSMC. Prior rumors on Intel's Apple talks have suggested Intel could make some of the lower-end processors used in Apple devices, including the lowest-end M-series chip used in select iPad and Mac models.

Before Apple adopted Apple silicon, it used Intel-designed chips for its Macs, but had to deal with continual chip delays. Apple now designs its own Arm chips that are manufactured by TSMC, allowing it to provide updates at a more regular cadence.

Intel makes its own chips, but it also makes chips for other companies. Apple has not previously eyed Intel as a supplier because it has lagged behind other chip makers like TSMC and Samsung, and because of the history between the two companies. Intel replaced CEO Pat Gelsinger with Lip-Bu Tan last year, and Tan has led an effort to revitalize Intel's chip manufacturing business.

Tan has been focusing on Intel's most advanced process node, 14A, which will reach production in 2028. Intel has been seeking customers for its 14A 1.4nm node. Intel also makes 18A chips built on a 1.8nm node, along with chips built on older process nodes.

Apple has been working to diversify its supply chain, because Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is currently its sole Apple silicon manufacturer. During Apple's latest earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone 17 models had been constrained during the quarter because Apple could not get enough A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC.

TSMC is one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, and along with making chips for Apple, it makes chips for other companies like Nvidia. With the AI boom and huge demand for AI servers, TSMC has more limited capacity for chips made for consumer devices, and Apple has less leverage to convince TSMC to make its chips.
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As of today, end-to-end encryption for Instagram direct messages is no longer available. DMs that you send to people on Instagram will no longer feature full encryption, and your conversations are not protected from Meta.


Meta can potentially see what's in messages shared between users on Instagram, and that information can be shared with law enforcement agencies worldwide.

End-to-end encryption has been an opt-in messaging feature on Instagram since 2023, but Meta quietly removed it. Meta told The Guardian earlier this year that it is removing the encryption feature because not enough people adopted it. At the same time, Meta did not turn it on by default, nor did the company alert users that it was an option. Sending an encrypted message required turning it on for each individual conversation by tapping into a buried per-conversation setting. Meta also never rolled the feature out to all Instagram users.

"Very few people were opting in to end-to-end encrypted messaging in DMs, so we're removing this option from Instagram in the coming months," Meta said. Meta suggests that people who want end-to-end encryption should use WhatsApp, which is another messaging app that it owns. iMessage and other apps like Signal that are not Meta-owned also offer end-to-end encryption.

Law enforcement agencies and child safety advocates have long pushed for Meta to remove encryption, but Meta could also be getting something out of the feature's removal. It's possible the company will be able to use direct messaging content for advertising algorithms or training chatbots. Meta says that content in DMs is not used for targeted ads right now, but there is wording that allows for product improvement.

Meta's decision to remove Instagram's end-to-end encryption comes 11 days before the Take It Down Act takes effect. The actf will require platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery like deepfakes within 48 hours of a takedown notice, but with E2EE in place, Meta can't access the content needed to comply.

Instagram users who have end-to-end encrypted chats have been given instructions on how to download media or messages that they want to keep.

Last year, Meta started using private generative AI conversations to personalize content and customize ad recommendations for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger users, so there seems to be little limit on the data that it will use to generate revenue. WhatsApp and Messenger continue to have end-to-end encryption for the time being.
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Apple today seeded new release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming five days after the first RC. It's not clear what's changed in the second RC, but Apple typically sends out another candidate if there are bugs that need to be addressed.


Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.

iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 do not include new Siri capabilities, suggesting any ‌Siri‌ updates are being held until iOS 27. The Maps app has a Suggested Places feature for recommending locations to visit nearby based on trends and recent searches, plus Apple is laying the groundwork for ads in the Apple Maps app.

Apple is continuing to test end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users. Apple included the feature in the iOS 26.4 beta, but removed it before the update launched to the public.

There is a new Pride wallpaper to go along with the Pride Apple Watch band for this year.

More detail on what's new in iOS 26.5 can be found in our iOS 26.5 beta features guide. iOS 26.5 is likely to see a launch next week.
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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Plugable to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a MacBook Neo and a Plugable ‌MacBook Neo‌ accessory kit that includes the UD–6950PDH USB-C Docking Station, USBC–9IN1E USB-C Hub, and the PS–30C1 30W power adapter.


Plugable makes a wide range of accessories for Apple devices, and it is perhaps best known for its hubs and docks. There are several dock and hub options that work well with Apple's new low-cost ‌MacBook Neo‌, and Plugable's solutions are affordable.

The UD–6950PDH USB-C 14-in–1 Dock is priced at $180, and it adds multiple ports to the ‌MacBook Neo‌ or another Mac. There's a 5Gb/s USB-C port that also provides power for accessories, four 5Gb/s USB-A ports (one of which can power peripherals), microSD and SD card reader slots, a 100W USB-C port for charging a connected MacBook, a 1Gb/s Ethernet port, two HDMI ports, two DisplayPorts, and a K-Lock for security.


The dock supports two 4K 60Hz displays connected via HDMI or DisplayPort, and it uses DisplayLink software to get around display limitations on the ‌MacBook Neo‌ and other Macs. Even though the ‌MacBook Neo‌ only supports one external 4K display natively, with the dock, it can power two displays.


For those who only need a single display, Plugable has the $50 9-in–1 USB-C Hub. It connects to the ‌MacBook Neo‌ or another Mac via USB-C, adding several useful ports. Unlike the dock, it does not need an external power source because it is bus-powered.


The hub has a 10Gb/s USB-C port, an HDMI 2.0 port, microSD and SD card slots, a USB 2.0 port, two 10Gb/s USB-A ports (one offers 15W charging for accessories), a USB-C port for 125W passthrough charging to the connected Mac, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Plugable currently has a 15% discount on the 9-in–1 Hub on Amazon.


Plugable's ‌MacBook Neo‌ accessory lineup is rounded out with a compact $24 USB-C Charger Block, which comes in either black or white. The power adapter provides 30W for the ‌MacBook Neo‌, which is ideal. It uses GaN technology so it's small in size, and it has collapsible prongs, making it ideal for travel. Plugable is offering a 16% discount on the power adapter on Amazon this week.


We have a ‌MacBook Neo‌ and a Plugable accessory kit to go along with it for one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prize(s). You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, following us on Threads, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.


Plugable Giveaway (U.S. Only)The contest will run from today (May 8) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 15. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after May 15 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
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Starting today, Apple will require customers in the U.S., Canada, and Chile to verify their status as a student or educator to get educational discounts. Apple is adopting the UNiDAYS verification system that it uses in other countries, with a new process to accommodate homeschool families.


Apple is also adding the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to its Education Store, which means students and teachers are now eligible for up to a 10 percent discount on Apple's most popular wearable.

Students and educators in the three countries can use the UNiDAYS app or website to verify their academic status with an email address from an educational institution, a student or staff photo ID, or another valid educational document.


Eligible customers who homeschool can also be verified by UNiDAYS. Verification requires an identity document like a driver's license or passport, and a homeschool document, such as a Letter of Intent or Letter of Acknowledgement. Most customers will be verified instantly, with UNiDAYS providing a decision in under 24 hours when manual review is required.


Once confirmed through UNiDAYS, students and educators in the U.S., Canada, and Chile will be able to purchase the Apple Watch and other Apple devices at Apple's discounted educational prices. Apple's Education Store offers special pricing on Macs, iPads, and the Studio Display, along with accessories like the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil.

Apple did not previously have an established academic status verification system in the U.S. or Canada, which meant that anyone could technically purchase from the Education Store. Apple's sales policies said that it routinely audited customer purchases to verify purchase conditions were followed. Apple briefly used UNiDAYS in the U.S. in 2022 to verify student status, but it was removed after a few days following complaints about issues with the verification process.

Apple's Education Store discounts are available to employees of K–12 institutions, faculty and staff of higher education institutions, students attending or accepted to higher education institutions, and parents purchasing on behalf of children attending or accepted to a higher education institution.

In addition to the U.S., Canada, and Chile, Apple has added the Apple Watch to the Education Store in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Germany, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, and the UK.

Apple also expanded UNiDAYS verification requirements to Australia, Hong Kong, and Turkey yesterday.
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OpenAI today launched Codex for Chrome, a Chrome extension that lets Codex work directly in the browser on Macs and PCs.


With the extension, Codex can use the browser to test web apps, get context across multiple tabs, use web DevTools, and more without taking over the browser from the user.

OpenAI says that after it launched Computer Use in the desktop Codex app, it saw that most common workflows happened in the browser. The Chrome extension should make it faster and easier for Codex to help with browser-based work that plugins or APIs can't handle.

According to OpenAI, Codex has more than 4 million weekly active users, an increase of 8x since the beginning of the year. The Chrome extension is part of OpenAI's broader effort to make Codex more useful for work people do daily, while keeping it useful for developers.

The Chrome extension can be installed through the Codex Plugins menu.
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Perplexity today launched a new Mac app with support for its hybrid local-cloud AI agent Personal Computer, plus it expanded Personal Computer access to Pro and Enterprise users, so it is no longer limited to just Max subscribers. Perplexity describes Personal Computer as a "personal orchestrator" that hybridizes local and server environments for security and productivity.


Personal Computer is available in the new Mac app, which Perplexity says gives users access to queries, conversations, and dictation. While all Mac users can download the new app, access to Personal Computer still requires a paid subscription.

Personal Computer can access the Mac's file system and native Mac apps to create and execute entire workflows, plus it can access the web. It can see active apps and work across any Mac app, but files are created in a secure sandbox, and its actions are auditable and reversible.

When paired with the Comet browser, Personal Computer can operate web-based tools without the need for direct connectors.

Pressing both Command keys on a Mac activates Personal Computer, and it responds to text or voice commands and displays useful quick actions automatically. Personal Computer can do things like complete each task on a to-do list, sort a messy downloads folder, compare local files against information on the web, and more.

Though it has access to what's on a user's Mac natively, Personal Computer processes intense tasks on Perplexity's servers, so a high-performance Mac isn't needed to run it. Personal Computer works on any Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, though Perplexity says running Personal Computer on a Mac mini creates the best experience because it allows the agent to run continuously.

Perplexity's older Mac app will be deprecated in the coming weeks.
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Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser.


‌Safari Technology Preview‌ 243 includes fixes and updates for Accessibility, Animations, CSS, Editing, Encoding, Forms, HTML, JavaScript, Media, Networking, PDF, Rendering, SVG, Scrolling, Spatial Web, UI, Web API, Web Extensions, Web Inspector, WebAssembly, WebGPU, and WebRTC.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is compatible with machines running macOS Sequoia and macOS Tahoe, the newest version of macOS.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser from Apple's website. Complete release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple's aim with ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while it is designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download and use.
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Apple was not able to narrow the scope of a UK lawsuit accusing it of locking 40 million UK consumers into iCloud, to the detriment of third-party cloud storage providers. British consumer group Which? first filed the lawsuit in late 2024, and is asking for £3 billion for UK Apple customers.


Apple wanted to exclude non-paying ‌iCloud‌ users from the lawsuit, but the tribunal denied Apple's request in a 2 to 1 majority. The lawsuit will go to trial, and will cover both paying and non-paying ‌iCloud‌ customers.

Apple users get 5GB of free storage for photos, messages, and other content on the iPhone, but are encouraged to subscribe to Apple's higher-tier ‌iCloud‌ storage options when the 5GB limit is exceeded. Which? claims that Apple favors its own cloud storage option, and makes it difficult for customers to use alternative cloud storage providers.

Which? sued Apple on behalf of all Apple ‌iCloud‌ users in the UK, regardless of whether they pay for an ‌iCloud‌ subscription plan. Normally, a customer that has not lost anything would not be eligible for a damages payment, but Which? has taken a unique approach.

The tribunal said the lawsuit raises a "novel" legal question, because it is not aware of another case where damages have been requested for "forgone consumer surplus." Forgone Consumer Surplus (FCS) is a legal theory that in this case argues people who were priced out of an ‌iCloud‌ subscription because of Apple's alleged market abuse have suffered a tangible loss because they did not have the opportunity to buy a service they wanted at a fair price in a competitive market.

The 200GB ‌iCloud‌ tier that costs £2.99 might have only cost £1.99 at a "fair" price, for example. Which? argues that a customer who would have theoretically paid £1.99 for the service but was not able to do so because the actual £2.99 price was unaffordable suffered a £1 loss, even though the customer paid nothing. Lawsuits for damages are usually more straightforward, covering paying customers who experienced clear harm from inflated pricing.

While two members of the tribunal sided with Which?, the other took Apple's side. The justice who argued against FCS warned that the case could lead to a flood of cases with secondary claims from non-purchasers based on hypothetical willingness-to-pay calculations.

Apple owes no damages at this point, and is now facing a trial to determine whether it abused its position and gave ‌iCloud‌ preferential treatment on iOS.

All UK consumers who are eligible are automatically included in the claim unless they opt out. Eligible consumers include those who obtained ‌iCloud‌ services from November 8, 2018, to the present. Which? estimates that Apple could owe UK customers an average payout of £70.

Which? wants Apple to settle the claim without litigation by offering consumers their money back and opening up iOS to let users choose a cloud provider.
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The Trump administration plans to invite Apple CEO Tim Cook and CEOs from other companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm, Exxon, and Boeing on a trip to China next week, reports Semafor.


Trump will apparently focus on building his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the May 14 and May 15 meetings. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue have been suggesting CEOs for Trump to invite. It will be the first U.S. presidential visit to China since Trump's 2017 visit.

Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ is set to leave his role on September 1, 2026, with Apple hardware chief John Ternus taking over as CEO.

Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman, and will "assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world." Cook recently said that he plans to be in the executive chairman role "for a long time," and Apple will remain his top priority.

Two weeks ago, Trump said he has "always been a big fan" of Cook, and he has bragged about the relationship Cook has established with him. "I was very impressed with myself to have the head of Apple calling to 'kiss my ass,'" said Trump, speaking of his first presidential term.

Cook has worked through two Trump presidencies, and he has worked to maintain a positive rapport for Apple's benefit. Cook donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund in 2025, and he marked Apple's $600 billion U.S. investment pledge with a glass-and-24-karat gold plaque that he gifted to Trump.

With Cook taking on an expanded role interfacing with Trump and other policymakers worldwide, incoming CEO John Ternus will be able to spend more time focused on Apple. Ternus also won't be subject to the same criticism that Cook has faced for his relationship with Trump.
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Apple's upcoming camera-equipped AirPods Pro are nearing completion and have reached an "advanced" testing stage, reports Bloomberg. The design is almost finalized, as is the feature set, and early mass production could begin soon.


The AirPods Pro will have built-in cameras that will feed visual information about the wearer's surroundings to Siri. While there will be a longer stem for the camera in each AirPod, the device will otherwise look similar to the AirPods Pro 3.

The cameras in the AirPods will not be able to take photos or videos, and will solely be used for AI purposes. A small LED light will illuminate when the AirPods are sending visual information to ‌Siri‌.

Apple wants users to be able to look at an item and ask ‌Siri‌ questions about it, working similarly to image uploads in chatbot apps. The cameras could also offer reminders based on visual information, and give more detailed turn-by-turn directions by viewing what's around the wearer.

The Camera app in iOS 27 is also set to get a Siri mode that incorporates Visual Intelligence, letting users do things like scan nutrition labels on food packaging for calorie tracking.

Apple wanted to start selling the camera-equipped AirPods Pro in the first half of 2026, but the product's launch has been held back because the smarter, AI version of ‌Siri‌ is not yet ready to be released. The new ‌Siri‌ is set to be introduced in September in ‌iOS 27‌, macOS 27, and iPadOS 27, so we could see the AirPods Pro launch sometime in that same timeframe.

Apple could also opt to wait to launch the AirPods if it is not satisfied with the quality of the ‌Visual Intelligence‌ features planned for ‌Siri‌.

It is not yet clear how the new AirPods will fit into Apple's lineup. Rumors suggest Apple does not intend to brand them as the "AirPods Pro 4," and they could instead be referred to as the AirPods Ultra, or perhaps ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ With Cameras.
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Apple refreshed the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max models in March 2026, but depending on your needs and interests, you might want to skip this generation because there's something better in the works.


The M5 Pro and M5 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ models have faster chips, but the same design that Apple has used since 2021. An updated design with new display technology and faster performance is coming in late 2026 or early 2027.

OLED Touchscreen Display

The next ‌MacBook Pro‌ that comes out will be the first with an OLED display, according to rumors. iPhones have used OLED for years, and Apple launched a larger-screened OLED device with the M4 iPad Pro in 2024.

OLED has benefits over the mini-LED display in current ‌MacBook Pro‌ models. Pixels can be lit individually for deeper blacks, brighter colors, and no bloom from surrounding pixels. There can be power savings when compared to mini-LED displays, response times are quicker, and viewing angles are better. OLED brightness can be an issue compared to LEDs, but as OLED technology has improved, so has brightness. The combination of true black and vivid color is ideal for HDR content.

Along with OLED, the next ‌MacBook Pro‌ is expected to have touchscreen capabilities.

Apple said repeatedly that the Mac wouldn't get a touchscreen, but Apple's position has shifted. Multiple rumors suggest that touch capabilities are coming, making the Mac more like an iPad. Touch-based controls will be available alongside traditional mouse and keyboard input options.

Design Update

Some rumors suggest the OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ will be thinner, and since Apple hasn't updated the ‌MacBook Pro‌ design since 2021 and this is a major technology shift, some kind of design refresh is likely. Sizes will stay the same, and Apple isn't removing the keyboard or trackpad.

Instead of a notch, the OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ is expected to have a Dynamic Island that takes up less screen space. The Dynamic Island will be interactive, and it will contextually expand based on the app or Mac feature in use.

2nm Chip

The OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ models will be the first to use Apple's 2-nanometer chip technology that's supposed to be coming in the M6-series chips.

The change in node size is expected to bring faster speeds with reduced power consumption and higher transistor density. Performance per watt will improve, and the 2nm chips will use GAA nanosheet transistors instead of FinFET. TSMC says the new transistor technology will bring improved performance and lower power consumption.

Cellular Connectivity

There have been rumors that 5G could come to Macs, and if that's Apple's plan, it would make a lot of sense to offer it in the OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Ultra Branding

OLED touch displays will be limited to the highest-end 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models because of the cost, and Apple might even use new "Ultra" branding.

It's possible the OLED M6 model will be sold alongside the existing M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max models rather than replacing them, and if that's the case, we're likely looking at a serious price increase. Apple could also refresh the entire line with M6 chip variants, reserving the OLED display for the most expensive models.

If you don't care about OLED display technology or a touchscreen and want something lower-cost, you're probably not going to want to hold off on purchasing.

First-Generation Tech

Some of Apple's first-generation Macs can have more problems than expected, which was the case with the 2016 transition to the butterfly keyboard.

If you don't want to get AppleCare+ and are concerned about first-generation problems, the M5 Pro and M5 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ models are a safer bet.

Launch Date

The OLED ‌MacBook Pro‌ could come as soon as late 2026, but it's looking more like Apple will hold it until early 2027. Apple is facing chip shortages that will require it to hold the ‌MacBook Pro‌ for longer to build up stock.
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Apple is facing over 30 lawsuits from people who claim to have been stalked using Apple AirTags. The filings come after an AirTag lawsuit from 2022 (Hughes v. Apple) failed to get class certification.


In each filing, Apple is accused of releasing the ‌AirTag‌ while being aware that it could be "purchased and used by abusive, dangerous individuals, to track, coerce, control, and otherwise endanger and abuse innocent victims."

Further, the lawsuits say that Apple knew adequate safeguards were not in place when the ‌AirTag‌ launched in 2021, and Apple is aware that "AirTags remain a profound risk" to people like the plaintiffs. Apple reportedly received more than 40,000 stalking reports between April 2021 and April 2024, and Apple internal documents sourced from the original lawsuit show the company knew its safeguards would only "deter as opposed to prevent malicious use." The company also acknowledged that it "should have consulted domestic abuse organizations on the unwanted tracking policy before shipping."

Multiple news reports of AirTags being used for stalking are referenced, including cases that ended in murder. The lawsuits claim that AirTags "revolutionized the scope, breadth, and ease of location-based stalking."

While there are other tracking options on the market, the ‌AirTag‌ uses the Find My network that leverages any nearby device to relay the ‌AirTag‌'s location back to its owner.

Apple has put multiple anti-stalking measures in place, including cross-platform notifications that let potential stalking victims know that an unknown ‌AirTag‌ is following them, but the plaintiffs don't feel that Apple's protections are adequate. The lawsuit cites the 4-to-8-hour delay before a notification is received, and notes that originally, AirTags didn't send a notification to potential stalking victims until 72 hours had passed.

One of the ways an ‌AirTag‌ alerts users to its presence is by playing a sound, but the speaker can be removed. Sellers on sites like eBay even offer modified silent AirTags.

Each lawsuit includes the personal story of the plaintiff involved and all of whom claim to have been stalked using an ‌AirTag‌. Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and an order preventing Apple from engaging in the unlawful business practices alleged in the filings.

The judge overseeing the 2022 ‌AirTag‌ lawsuit denied class certification because of the difference in state laws and the individual nature of each stalking incident. The plaintiffs were advised to file individual lawsuits within 28 days of the class certification denial.
This article, "Apple Faces Dozens of Lawsuits Over AirTag Stalking After Class Action Denied" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Mac mini to use with Astropad's new Workbench app. For those unfamiliar with Astropad, it is the company behind Astropad Studio and Luna Display. Astropad Studio lets you use an iPad as a drawing tablet connected to a Mac and Luna Display turns an ‌iPad‌ into a secondary display for a Mac, so Workbench is a natural evolution of Astropad's existing products.


The ‌Mac mini‌ has become the must-have platform for local agentic AI, and Astropad Workbench is the perfect companion app. Workbench is a remote desktop app for the Mac, and Astropad built it for use with AI. Workbench uses the LIQUID engine that Astropad designed for Luna Display and Astropad Studio.


Using Workbench, you can control your AI agents remotely on an iPhone, making it ideal for people who have set up a ‌Mac mini‌ as a personal server for OpenClaw and other agentic AI platforms. Workbench can be used to check logs and verify agent work, restart failed tasks, or reconnect to long-running jobs. Workbench is more full-featured than options like Remote Control for Claude Code, because Anthropic's tool only provides terminal access, while Workbench offers access to your full desktop.


Workbench lets you monitor your AI agents from anywhere with no need to be tied to a desk. Astropad has native apps for Mac, iPhone, and ‌iPad‌, so you can interface with your Mac desktop from an iPhone or ‌iPad‌ no matter where you are. There are even tools for quickly switching between multiple Macs connected to a Workbench account.


The app supports high-fidelity streaming with a unified virtual display for multiple monitors, low latency, voice dictation, and multiple control options, including gestures, keyboard input, mouse, and Apple Pencil. For large desktops, there's a mini-map that helps with navigation.


Setup is simple thanks to a global relay network across 11 regions, with no network configuration required. End-to-end encryption protects your data, and no display recordings are captured and saved.

Workbench requires macOS 15 or later, iPadOS 26 or later, and iOS 26 or later. It will work best on Apple silicon Macs, with limited support on Intel Macs.


Workbench is free to use for 20 minutes each day, with an unlimited paid plan available for $10 per month or $50 per year.

Astropad is giving away a 16GB ‌Mac mini‌ with a 512GB SSD. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prize(s). You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, following us on Threads, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.


Astropad Workbench Giveaway
The contest will run from today (May 1) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 8. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after May 8 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
This article, "MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Mac Mini to Run AI Agents With Astropad's 'Workbench' App" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple held its earnings call for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2026 today after announcing its best March quarter ever. Apple saw revenue of $111.2 billion with double-digit growth across every geographic segment and across every product category. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Kevan Parekh provided insight into iPhone sales, Mac sales, RAM supply issues, and more.


We've rounded up the most interesting takeaways from the call.

iPhone 17 Sales

Apple attributed its success to the new iPhone models. Cook said "demand was off the charts," but Apple was facing supply constraints that impacted revenue. Had there not been supply issues, Apple would have seen higher revenue.

The A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC proved to be a bottleneck because TSMC uses the same 3nm process for AI chips that are in high demand. Cook said iPhone constraints were "primarily driven" by the availability of the advanced nodes Apple's SoCs are produced on.

According to Parekh, the iPhone 17 family is Apple's best-selling iPhone lineup to date. "The ‌iPhone 17‌ family is now the most popular lineup in our history... we believe we gained market share during the quarter," he said.

iPhone revenue was $57 billion, up 22 percent year-over-year, which is a new March quarter record. Apple saw strong demand from upgraders and customers choosing an iPhone for the first time. Cook said Apple is "enormously pleased" with how the ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup has been received.

Memory Costs

Apple had higher memory costs during the March quarter, and the impact is expected to get worse as the year goes on. Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ said that Apple is expecting "significantly higher memory costs" in the June quarter, and beyond June, memory costs will "drive an increasing impact" on Apple's business.

Mac Sales

Mac revenue was $8.4 billion, up six percent year-over-year. Cook said sales were impacted by supply constraints "driven by higher than expected levels of demand."

The MacBook Neo that was introduced during the quarter was a hit, and Apple sold out. Shipping times for new machines reached several weeks. Apple also saw high demand for the Mac mini and the Mac Studio from people buying the machines for use with AI.

Apple set March quarter records for upgraders and customers new to the Mac, leading to a new all-time record for the overall Mac install base. Apple is focused on customers new to the Mac and customers who have been holding onto their Mac for a long period of time, and the Neo is selling well to those customers.

Apple expects Macs to face supply constraints in the June quarter due to continued high demand and "less flexibility in the supply chain."

Mac Studio and Mac mini Supplies

Apple expects it to take months to reach supply/demand balance on the ‌Mac Studio‌ and ‌Mac mini‌, suggesting they are going to be hard to get for months to come.

Apple underestimated demand for the ‌Mac mini‌ and the ‌Mac Studio‌. "Both of these are amazing platforms for AI and agentic tools and the customer recognition of that is happening faster than what we had predicted, and so we saw higher than expected demand," Cook said.

John Ternus

Cook addressed John Ternus, who will take over as Apple's CEO on September 1, 2026.

As I have said, there is no one on this planet I trust more to lead Apple into the future than John Ternus. John is a brilliant engineer, a deep thinker, a person of remarkable character, and a born leader. I know he will push us to go further than we think is possible in order to deliver the greatest products and services for our users. I have been so proud to call him a colleague and a friend, and I will be even more proud to call him Apple's CEO.

Ternus also spoke on the call, where he teased Apple's upcoming product lineup.

As Tim mentioned, we have an incredible roadmap ahead. And while you're not going to get me to talk about the details of that roadmap, suffice it to say this is the most exciting time in my 25-year career at Apple to be building products and services.

There are so many opportunities before us, and I couldn't be more optimistic about what's to come. For now, let me simply say I am deeply grateful to Tim, to the executive team and to everyone at Apple, and I look forward to all of the important work ahead with that.

Wearables

Wearables revenue was $7.9 billion, an increase of five percent year-over-year. Apple's wearables install base hit a new all-time high, and more than half of customers who purchased an Apple Watch during the quarter were new to the product.

Services

Apple's services revenue reached $31 billion, a new all-time revenue record.

Apple has an install base of over 2.5 billion active devices, a new all-time high across all major product categories. Both transacting and paid accounts hit new all-time highs in the quarter.

Retail

Apple had a March quarter revenue record for retail, with "very high levels of store traffic throughout the quarter."

AI

Parekh said that AI is a "really important investment area" for Apple, and the company plans to continue to invest in AI "incrementally on top of" what it normally invests in its product roadmap.

Apple's R&D spending accelerated during the quarter, and Cook said that Apple is investing in products and services. "We see opportunities in both of those," he said. "We could not be more excited about how the future is playing out."

On the collaboration with Google, Cook said things are going well. "We're happy with where things are, and we're happy with the work that we're doing independently as well," he said.

Tariffs

From Q1 to Q2, Apple saw less impact from tariffs due to the reduction in IEEPA tariff rates, and the reduced global tariff rate under Section 122. Cook said Apple is following the established processes of applying for a refund of tariffs paid, and any amount received will be invested back into U.S. innovation and advanced manufacturing. Any investment of refunded tariff fees will be in addition to Apple's prior commitments in the U.S.

Next Quarter

Parekh said June quarter total revenue is expected to grow 14 to 17 percent year-over-year. Services revenue is expected to grow at a similar rate to what was reported in the March quarter.

Parekh warned investors about iPad revenue because last year, Apple released the A16 ‌iPad‌. "Keep in mind, we face a difficult compare driven by the launch of the A16-powered ‌iPad‌ in the prior year," Parekh said.

Apple's guidance for the June quarter relies on global tariff rates and policies remaining as they are today.
This article, "Apple's Q2 2026 Earnings Call: 11 Key Takeaways" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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During today's earnings call for the second fiscal quarter of 2026, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the Mac mini and Mac Studio could be hard to get for months to come.


"We think, looking forward, that the ‌Mac mini‌ and ‌Mac Studio‌ may take several months to reach supply demand balance," Cook said.

Apple underestimated demand for the ‌Mac mini‌ and the ‌Mac Studio‌. "Both of these are amazing platforms for AI and agentic tools and the customer recognition of that is happening faster than what we had predicted, and so we saw higher than expected demand," Cook said.

Shipping delays for the ‌Mac mini‌ and the ‌Mac Studio‌ have been increasing over the last few months, and the waits for some models stretch into months. Apple stopped selling the ‌Mac Studio‌ with 512GB RAM entirely, and it stopped accepting orders for some models with higher amounts of RAM. As of last week, the base ‌Mac mini‌ was listed as "Currently Unavailable" from Apple's online store because it is out of stock.
This article, "Apple Says Mac Studio and Mac Mini Will Be in Short Supply for Months" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple had higher memory costs during the March quarter, and the impact is expected to get worse as the year goes on. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is expecting "significantly higher memory costs" in the June quarter, and beyond June, memory costs will "drive an increasing impact" on Apple's business.


Cook said the higher memory costs have been partially offset because the company is selling existing inventory that it has stockpiled. As those supplies dwindle, Apple's costs will go up.

According to Cook, Apple is going to look at a "range of options" and the company is "continuing to evaluate" the situation. Cook declined to provide more insight into how Apple plans to deal with the problem.

Memory costs have been soaring due to global supply constraints caused by AI server demand. Chip makers are prioritizing memory for AI servers rather than consumer devices, causing prices to go up.
This article, "Apple Expects 'Significantly Higher Memory Costs' in June Quarter and Beyond" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple's iPhone 17 models are its most popular iPhones to date, Apple CFO Kevan Parekh told the Financial Times. Both Parekh and Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed Apple's stellar Q2 2026 performance to iPhone sales.


"The ‌iPhone 17‌ family is now the most popular line-up in our history... we believe we gained market share during the quarter," said Parekh. Cook told Reuters that iPhone demand was "off the charts," and that supply was constrained despite the impressive sales.

"And there's just a little less flexibility in the supply chain at the moment for getting more parts," Cook said. Apple's iPhone sales were held back by the A19 and A19 Pro chips that it gets from TSMC, as TSMC also manufactures AI chips.

Parekh said that memory had an "increasing impact" between the first and second quarters of 2026.

Issues with chip supply and increasing problems acquiring RAM could potentially have an impact on the iPhone 18 lineup that Apple is expected to introduce this September. The lineup will include Apple's first foldable iPhone.

The current ‌iPhone 17‌ family includes the ‌iPhone 17‌, iPhone 17 Pro, ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Air.
This article, "iPhone 17 Is Apple's Most Popular Lineup Ever" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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