Apple in macOS Tahoe 26.2 introduced Edge Light, a clever new feature that turns your Mac's display into a virtual ring light during video calls. Instead of fumbling with external lighting equipment, your Mac can now illuminate your face automatically when you're sitting in a dark room.


Basically, Edge Light adds a soft glow around the edges of your display to brighten your face during video conferences. But it's far from just a simple screen border effect. Edge Light uses your Mac's Neural Engine to analyze your face, size, and position in the frame to deliver accurate lighting, while the Image Signal Processor fine-tunes brightness to match your environment.

The feature is even aware enough to know when your cursor approaches the display edge. When it does, Edge Light automatically recedes, allowing you to still access on-screen content without it interfering.

What You'll Need

Edge Light works on any Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later). It's compatible with all video conferencing apps and even extends to external cameras and the Apple Studio Display when connected to an Apple silicon Mac.

How to Turn On Edge Light

Once you've updated to macOS Tahoe 26.2 or later, enabling Edge Light takes just a couple of clicks:

1. Open a supporting video call app (FaceTime, Zoom, or WebEx, for example).


2. Click the green video conferencing menu bar item at the top of your screen.


3. Select Edge Light from the drop-down menu.

To adjust the lighting intensity and color temperature, click the down chevron next to Edge Light. You'll see two sliders that let you customize the brightness and warmth of the effect to suit your preferences.

If you own a Mac released in 2024 or later, you can turn on automatic Edge Light activation. Once enabled, your Mac will detect when you're in a dimly lit environment and turn the feature on without any manual input. Simply look for the automatic toggle in the video call dropdown menu, immediately below the expanded Edge Light options.
This article, "Use Edge Light for Better Video Calls in macOS" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple's highly anticipated foldable iPhone could face supply shortages into 2027 despite a planned launch next year, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.


Kuo said in a new research note:

"Development of the foldable iPhone is behind earlier expectations, but the product is still expected to [sic] announce in 2H26. Due to early-stage yield and ramp-up challenges, smooth shipments may not occur until 2027. With limited supply and expected strong demand, the foldable iPhone could be facing shortages until at least the end of 2026."

The warning suggests Apple's ambitious foldable device will face manufacturing hurdles when it enters mass production. Foxconn was expected to begin limited production of the device before the end of this year, but a dearth of reports on that front could potentially mean that the "iPhone Fold" remains in the design validation stage, where manufacturing consistency issues can still arise.

Kuo's forecast of production challenges is reminiscent of concerns previously raised by Mizuho Securities, which suggested the launch could slip to 2027 if Apple takes longer to finalize design elements like the hinge mechanism. For his part, Kuo appears to be saying that Apple is still on course to announce the device in the fall of 2026, but it could end up shipping the device in large volumes later than planned.

• iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

The foldable iPhone is expected to feature a book-style design with an approximately 5.3- to 5.5-inch outer display and a 7.8-inch inner screen. It will reportedly use liquid metal hinges to achieve a virtually crease-free display and is expected to be priced between $2,000 and $2,500, making it Apple's most expensive iPhone ever.
This article, "Kuo: iPhone Fold Production Challenges Could Limit Supply Next Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is working on a 24-inch iMac featuring an OLED display, with the aim of completing development as early as 2027, claims a new report out of Korea.


According to The Elec, Apple has sent requests for information to Samsung Display and LG Display regarding development of a 24-inch OLED panel for the iMac. Current 24-inch iMacs use a 4.5K Retina display, which is an LCD panel with LED backlighting.

The specs apparently being discussed include 600 nits of brightness and a pixel density of 218 PPI. If accurate, that would match the current 24-inch iMac's resolution but deliver a 20% brightness boost over the existing 4.5K Retina display's 500-nit maximum, making it equivalent to the brightness of Apple's Studio Display – though that also uses an inferior LCD panel.

OLED display technology benefits from several other advantages beyond brighter screens, such as deeper blacks with higher contrast, improved power efficiency, and other enhancements.

This is the first report we've seen suggesting Apple plans to bring OLED technology to its all-in-one desktop lineup. The company has already committed to OLED displays for future MacBook Pro models, with 14-inch and 16-inch versions expected to enter production next year using Samsung Display's 8th-generation IT OLED manufacturing line. OLED versions of its MacBook Air models are expected to follow.

For the iMac display, both Samsung and LG Display are expected to propose their respective large-format OLED technologies rather than the RGB OLED method Apple traditionally prefers. Samsung would likely pitch its quantum dot (QD-OLED) panels, while LG Display would offer its white (W-OLED) solution. QD-OLED produces color by passing blue light through a QD color conversion layer, while W-OLED produces color by passing white light through RGBW color filters. Both manufacturers are reportedly developing 5-stack configurations that add an extra green layer to improve brightness compared to current 4-stack designs.

The report suggests Apple prefers RGB OLED, where light and color generate at the subpixel level, but this technology apparently hasn't yet scaled reliably to the 20-30 inch range needed for desktop displays. Both panel makers are said to be exploring RGB OLED as a longer-term option.

Apple aims to complete iMac OLED panel development by 2027 or 2028, but the finished product could launch after that timeline. A recent but separate report has claimed Apple is developing a high-end iMac featuring the M5 Max chip, but there is currently no indication that OLED is destined for this rumored model. Apple could refresh the 24-inch iMac with an updated M5 chip at some point next year.
This article, "Report: Apple Developing 24-Inch OLED iMac With 600 Nits Brightness" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple will next year introduce more ads in the App Store "to increase opportunity" in search results, the company has announced.


According to an update to Apple's Ads website, additional ads will appear across search queries, appearing at the top as well as further down in App Store results, and existing campaigns won't need to do anything to be eligible.

Search is the way most people find and download apps on the App Store, with nearly 65 percent of downloads happening directly after a search. To help give advertisers more opportunities to drive downloads from search results, Apple Ads will introduce additional ads across search queries. You don't need to change your campaign in order to be eligible for any new positions. Your ad will run in either the existing position — at the top of search results — or further down in search results. If you have a search results campaign running, your ad will be automatically eligible for all available positions, but you can't select or bid for a particular one.

Apple explains that the ad format will remain the same – a default or custom product page, and an optional deep link. Advertisers and developers won't see a change in their billing, which will remain based on Apple's cost-per-tap model, so developers only pay when a user taps on an ad. Apple displays ads based on a combination of bid amount and an app's relevance to the search query, with ad matching done automatically.

The new App Store ads will appear on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from the beginning of 2026. For further details, check out Apple's Ads website.

(Via 9to5Mac.)
This article, "App Store Search Results to Show More Ads Next Year, Says Apple" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has made the battery replacement process easier for the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro, allowing users of its self-service repair program to replace just the battery, without removing other internal components.


Before now, manual battery replacement on what is currently Apple's only M5-powered MacBook Pro required swapping out several modules alongside the battery itself. However, the new process Apple has introduced only requires removing the bottom case and the battery management unit flex cable before accessing the battery.

Apple is now selling standalone battery modules through its Self Service Repair Store. Apart from the cost of the necessary repair tools, the replacement battery costs $209.25, and users can get a $22.50 credit by returning their old battery.

Apple has also published a detailed repair manual to guide users and independent repair shops through the procedure. The manual includes step-by-step instructions for safely removing the rear case, discharging the battery, removing the old battery's adhesive strips, and installing the replacement unit.

The change tackles a concern raised by iFixit in its October teardown of the M5 MacBook Pro, which found battery replacement to be one of the device's most challenging repairability aspects. That said, with 14 disassembly steps and 27 reassembly steps, it's probably still a job most users would rather leave to a professional.

Apple launched its self-service repair program in 2022, giving customers access to genuine parts, tools, and repair manuals for select iPhones, iPads, Macs, Studio Displays, and Beats Pill speakers. The company says the program is "intended for individuals who are experienced with the complexities of repairing electronic devices."
This article, "M5 MacBook Pro Gets Easier Battery Replacement Process" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Unlike some Android phones, iPhones don't have a dedicated notification LED that lights up when you get a call, text, or other alert. What iPhones do include is an optional Accessibility feature for the deaf and hard of hearing that blinks the rear camera flash and provides a visual cue for incoming notifications. And in iOS 26.2, Apple has added the ability to flash the front display, too.


Even if your hearing is fine, having a visual cue for incoming alerts can be handy to have if, say, you're in a quiet environment like a library and don't want to create a disturbance. What's more, in iOS 26.2, you can choose for both the display and the camera LED to flash. That way, you'll see the alert flash whichever way your iPhone is lying on a table.

How to Enable Flash for Alerts

Follow the steps below to turn on screen flash for alerts on your ‌iPhone‌ running iOS 26.2.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone, then tap Accessibility.


2. Under "Hearing," tap Audio & Visual.


3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Flash for Alerts.


4. Toggle on Flash for Alerts, then tap LED Flash, Screen, or Both.

You'll see that the last menu includes toggle switches so that you can control whether the flash happens when your device is unlocked, as well as if it should flash when in silent mode.
This article, "Make Your iPhone Display Flash for Alerts" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is in talks with suppliers to manage iPhone chip assembly and packaging in India for the first time, reports The Economic Times.


"Exploratory conversations" are said to have taken place with semiconductor company CG Semi, which is constructing one of India's first outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facilities in Sanand, Gujarat.

From the report, citing people with knowledge of the matter:

"The companies are in the very initial stages of discussion," one of them said. "It is not clear what chips will be packaged out of the Sanand facility at this stage, but it will likely be display chips."

The person added that this may be the "beginning of an uphill climb" for CG Semi since if talks progress, it will have to pass Apple's stringent quality standards to clinch the deal. "Apple is already in talks with several companies for a number of other supply chain functions, and very few will end up on their supplier list," the person said.

As the report mentions, Apple sources its iPhone display panels from the world's three leading OLED manufacturers: Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE. The display driver ICs used with these panels are supplied by companies such as Samsung, Novatek, Himax, and LX Semicon, which in turn rely mainly on chip fabrication and packaging facilities in South Korea, Taiwan, and China.

If the discussions between Apple and CG Semi bear fruit, the move would be another example of Apple pivoting to India as a major supply chain and manufacturing hub. Apple reportedly assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India during the 12 months ending in March 2025, a nearly 60% increase over the previous year. Foxconn, Tata Electronics, and Pegatron now operate facilities in India focused on ‌iPhone‌ manufacturing. Apple is apparently aiming to manufacture the majority of iPhones sold in the United States in India by the end of 2026.
This article, "Apple Explores iPhone Chip Packaging in India for the First Time" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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