While the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air are still a few days away from launching, there are already some early rumors about the iPhone 18 Pro's design.


Overall, the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a similar design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to Digital Chat Station, a previously-accurate leaker with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

In a post today, the leaker said the devices will have the same rear camera system design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a "plateau" housing three lenses in a triangular arrangement. He also expects the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes used since the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Notably, the leaker claimed that the Ceramic Shield area on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a "slightly transparent design," without elaborating.

The post also said the iPhone 18 Pro models will be equipped with a stainless steel vapor chamber cooling system. On the iPhone 17 Pro models, Apple says the vapor chamber is laser-welded into the aluminum unibody, but it is not entirely clear if it uses any other types of metal. Teardowns will provide a closer look at the vapor chamber in the coming days.

In related news, Taiwan's Commercial Times this week reported that iPhone 18 Pro models will be equipped with an A20 Pro chip, fabricated with TSMC's latest 2nm process. The devices will also feature Apple's C2 modem, rather than a Qualcomm modem, the report said. Both of these changes have been widely rumored already.

Like all sources, Digital Chat Station has some hits and misses. We are still a year out from the iPhone 18 Pro models, so expect plenty more rumors to follow. Even if early rumors are true, designs and specs can change before they are finalized.

Earlier this week, another leaker claimed the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a smaller Dynamic Island, but they do not expect the devices to have under-screen Face ID.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max Design Rumors: Translucent MagSafe Area, Display Sizes, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has updated its iPhone User Guide, and published a series of support documents, with more details about a wide range of new iOS 26 features.


Here are some of those guides and support documents:

• Adaptive Power mode


• Apple Games app


• Apple Intelligence (Reminders)


• Apple Preview app


• AutoMix (Apple Music)


• Call Screening (Phone)


• Live Translation


• Log Blood Pressure (Health)


• Recovery Assistant


• Screen Unknown Senders (Messages)

Make sure to check out our ultimate iOS 26 guide for an in-depth overview of everything you need to know about the software update, released on Monday.
This article, "Apple Details iOS 26 Features Like Call Screening, Live Translation, AutoMix, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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It turns out that Apple's new Adaptive Power mode extends beyond the iPhone.


Starting with watchOS 26, Adaptive Power is enabled by default on all compatible Apple Watch models set up via Apple Watch For Your Kids, formerly known as Family Setup. This includes an Apple Watch that is already set up and updated to watchOS 26.

Apple Watch For Your Kids lets parents set up an Apple Watch — a model with cellular connectivity is required — for a child who does not have their own iPhone.

On the Apple Watch, Adaptive Power can help to extend battery life by adjusting the performance of certain features, according to an Apple support document. Apple says Siri may take longer to process requests, and some animations and scrolling might appear less smooth on the screen, but it is unclear how often this will happen.

Parents can turn off Adaptive Power on the child's Apple Watch, by opening the Settings app on it, tapping on Battery, and scrolling down to Adaptive Power.

Adaptive Power is only available on Apple Watch units set up via Apple Watch For Your Kids.

Adaptive Power mode is also available on iPhone 15 Pro models and newer running iOS 26, and it is on by default on the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air.

On the iPhone, Apple says the optional setting can make "performance adjustments" when necessary to extend battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness, allowing some activities to "take longer," and automatically turning on Low Power Mode when remaining battery life reaches the 20% mark.
This article, "Apple Watch Gets New Mode to Extend Battery Life — But For Kids Only" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The website ChargerLAB today published a teardown of Apple's new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max, which has a key advantage over one of its other chargers.


Specifically, the teardown shows the new 40W to 60W charger is roughly the same size as Apple's 20W charger, despite its higher wattage for faster charging speeds. In other words, you are getting more power from a smaller charger, although the 40W to 60W model costs $39 in the U.S., while the 20W option costs $19.


To achieve this, the charger supports USB-C Power Delivery 3.2 with SPR AVS (Standard Power Range Adjustable Voltage Supply), according to ChargerLAB.

The teardown confirms the charger can approach its 60W limit, but this will only be in short bursts, due to the thermal limitations of its compact design.


In addition to the U.S., the 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max is available to order in Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, and the Philippines. It appears to be the spiritual successor to Apple's discontinued 30W adapter, which is still included with the base-model 13-inch MacBook Air and the Apple Vision Pro for now.

iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models can be charged up to 50% in 20 minutes with a compatible charger, including the 40W to 60W one.
This article, "Apple's New Dynamic 40W to 60W Charger Has a Key Advantage" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today reiterated that a more affordable MacBook powered by an iPhone processor is slated to enter mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025, which points towards a late 2025 or early 2026 launch.


Below, we recap the rumors about the lower-priced MacBook so far.

Kuo was first to reveal that Apple is allegedly planning a more affordable MacBook. In late June, he said the laptop would have around a 13-inch display, and an A18 Pro chip. Kuo said potential color options include silver, blue, pink, and yellow, so the laptop could come in bright colors, like 2021-and-newer models of the 24-inch iMac.

This time around, he only mentioned the MacBook will have an unspecific iPhone processor. Apple recently introduced the A19 Pro chip, which has 12GB of RAM, so it will be interesting to see if the lower-cost MacBook uses that chip instead. The entire Mac lineup has started with at least 16GB of RAM since last year, with the only option with 8GB being the MacBook with an M1 chip, which is sold exclusively by Walmart for $599.

The A18 Pro offers similar performance as the M1 chip, so Apple might opt to save the A19 Pro for the second-generation lower-cost MacBook. Kuo anticipates that follow-up model will be released in 2027, with specs still not finalized.

Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes expects the laptop to have a starting price of between $599 and $699 in the United States.

The publication said the lower-cost MacBook will be equipped with a 12.9-inch display, and a version of the A18 Pro chip that debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro models last year. It would become the first Mac to ever use an A-series chip from an iPhone.

The lower-cost MacBook could launch in late 2025 or early 2026, that report said.

Notably, the A18 Pro and A19 Pro lack Thunderbolt support, so the MacBook would likely be equipped with regular USB-C ports. They would look the same as Thunderbolt ports, but data transfer speeds would be limited to up to 10 Gbps. The laptop would natively support only a single external display, but that limitation can be overcome with DisplayLink adapters.

The lower-cost MacBook could have a lot in common with the discontinued 12-inch MacBook, including an ultra-thin and lightweight design. It would slot in below the MacBook Air, which has a slightly larger 13.6-inch display, an M4 chip, and a starting price of $999. However, the latest MacBook Air is sometimes on sale on Amazon for as low as $799.

Apple often announces new Macs in October, so perhaps the lower-cost MacBook will debut next month. Otherwise, March 2026 is the next likely timeframe.
This article, "$599 MacBook With iPhone Chip Expected to Enter Production This Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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With an ultra-thin design that measures just 5.6mm at its thinnest point, Apple's new iPhone Air tops the iPhone 6 as the thinnest iPhone ever released.


With a 6.9mm frame, the iPhone 6 was prone to bending, although the most egregious examples were often seen in YouTube videos that used excessive force.

The big question: Will the iPhone Air bend?

In a video that Apple provided to Tom's Guide, Apple subjected the iPhone Air to a machine that simulated "130 pounds of pressure" on the middle of the device. The publication said the video shows the device "springs back remarkably well and doesn't show any lasting curve from the experience." You can watch it for yourself in their report.

It appears the iPhone Air should be bend-proof in most if not all real-world scenarios, but we still have to wait for independent, third-party tests.


It does seem pretty safe to say that the iPhone Air will not bend in the same way the iPhone 6 did, and a big reason for that is the device has a titanium frame, whereas the iPhone 6 was made with aluminum. Apple said the iPhone Air "exceeds" its "stringent bend strength requirements," and touted it as the most durable iPhone ever.

The report also includes a few other durability test videos from Apple, including one that tests the Ceramic Shield 2 front cover on iPhone 17 models, which is promised to offer 3× better scratch resistance compared to the previous generation. Another video subjects the iPhone 17 Pro to simulated drop tests. Unsurprisingly, given these videos are from Apple, the results are favorable. Real-world tests will confirm things soon.
This article, "Will the iPhone Air Bend? This Extreme Test Reveals the Answer" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The first reviews of the iPhone Air have been published by selected media outlets and YouTube channels, offering a closer look at the device ahead of its launch on Friday.


The main attraction of the iPhone Air is its ultra-thin 5.6mm design, but the device has a handful of compromises compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, so is it still worth buying? The reviews set out to answer that question.

The compromises compared to the Pro models include shorter battery life, no Telephoto camera with up to 8× optical zoom, one speaker instead of two, a slower USB-C port for wired data transfer speeds, slightly lower maximum USB-C and MagSafe charging speeds, and a slightly slower 5-core GPU instead of a 6-core GPU.

On the other hand, the iPhone Air has some Pro features, including a ProMotion display with up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and an A19 Pro chip with the same 6-core CPU. The device also has a sleek, premium design with Ceramic Shield glass and titanium.

iPhone Air can be pre-ordered now. Below, we have rounded up some of the reviews.

Apple says the iPhone Air offers up to 27 hours of video playback per charge, compared to up to 33 hours on the iPhone 17 Pro and up to 39 hours on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The Verge's Allison Johnson on battery life:

Now for the less-good news: battery life is just okay. And honestly, that's a pretty good outcome for the Air; the situation could have been worse. If you're a light user and you spend most of your time on Wi-Fi, you might never have a problem with the battery.

Personally, it makes me a little too anxious to see that battery indicator drop into the 20s before dinnertime, though in fairness I was going pretty hard on the battery with around five hours of screen-on time. On a much lighter day on my home Wi-Fi, three hours of screen-on time took the battery down to around 40 percent by bedtime. I'd call that within the bounds of acceptable, if a little on the low end for a $1,000 phone.

WIRED's Julian Chokkattu on battery life:

The battery life of the iPhone Air is better than I expected.

The Air was generally able to last a full day with average use for me. I hit around five hours of screen-on time with around 18 percent left by 10:30 pm. This worked for me, but my expectations were also very low. I had to baby the battery so much on the last ultrathin phone I tested, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, and I was surprised to find that this was not the case with the Air.

Heavy users will undoubtedly need to top up this phone during the day. On one travel day, I took the phone off the charger at 5:30 am and used it extensively for navigation, music streaming, phone calls, and Instagram Reeling, and I hit 2 percent by 4:30 pm. If that sounds like a very normal day for you, you'll most certainly feel the limits of this phone's battery life. For the most part, I didn't feel as battery anxious as with Samsung's thin phone.

Like the iPhone 17 Pro models, the iPhone Air has an A19 Pro chip, with the same 6-core CPU but a slightly reduced 5-core GPU. Geekbench results for the chip already surfaced last week, and now one review has subjected it to additional testing.

Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonauer on sustained performance and thermal management:

How about sustained performance? To test that, we used the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test, which simulates gaming for about 20 minutes. We ran it once and recorded the results, then did a second run right after that to really stress test these phones.

The iPhone Air performed quite well, with stability scores that beat the Galaxy S25 Edge by a fair margin in both rounds.

More surprisingly, the iPhone Air turned in cooler temperatures than the Pro Max when we measured the back of the phones using a laser thermometer in 5 locations and averaged the results. Though the S25 Edge was even cooler.

Notably, Spoonauer was unable to bend the iPhone Air with his hands in a recent interview, but we will see how the device holds up in pockets over the long term.

CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti tested the iPhone Air's single 48-megapixel rear camera — the review contains a gallery of photos shot with the device:

It felt surprisingly limiting to not have an ultrawide camera, especially when I wanted to capture more sweeping landscapes. Not to turn this into a thin phone showdown, but I couldn't help but think of how the Galaxy S25 Edge does have a 12-megapixel ultrawide-angle camera, alongside a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, which makes it feel like less of a compromise in that regard.

Otherwise, the rear camera on the iPhone Air consistently delivered. In the many pictures I took of waterfalls, tea times and urban landscapes, shadows and highlights are well balanced, colors are true to life, and there's an overall sharpness and clarity. Portrait shots (my go-to camera mode) capably blur backgrounds to help subjects -- whether it's a decadent tea tray, an art installation or CNET's talented Jesse Orrall -- stand out.

Videos

This article, "iPhone Air Reviews: Is the Ultra-Thin Design Worth the Compromises?" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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If your Mac experiences an issue that prevents it from starting up properly, macOS Tahoe includes a new Recovery Assistant that can attempt to identify the issue and resolve it, according to an Apple support document published this week.


If your Mac experiences certain behaviors during startup, Apple says the computer might automatically restart and open Recovery Assistant. To use the utility, click on the "Continue" button in the window and follow the on-screen steps.

When the recovery process is complete, Recovery Assistant will indicate that it recovered your Mac successfully, or that it was unable to recover your Mac, or that no known issues were found. Click on "Restart Mac" to complete the process.

If your Mac starts up successfully, Apple says you might be notified to recover your iCloud data.

If your Mac does not start up successfully, it has an issue that Recovery Assistant cannot resolve, and you can then move on to other troubleshooting steps.

Recovery Assistant is also available from the Utilities menu in macOS Recovery mode.

As we reported on earlier this year, iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a similar Recovery Assistant tool to the iPhone and iPad, and Apple published a support document this week with more details about how the feature works on those devices.
This article, "macOS Tahoe Features a New Recovery Assistant" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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