Following today's update, Apple plans to add support for six new soccer leagues to the next version of the Sports app, MacRumors has discovered.


Earlier today, Apple released version 3.7 of the Sports app, introducing support for every PGA and LPGA tournament, with live leaderboards, round-by-round scorecards for every golfer, and real-time updates in the app, widgets, and Live Activities. The app already supported the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Premier League, NASCAR, F1, and more. The update also expanded the soccer lineup with support for Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France, and DFB-Pokal. In addition, tennis coverage now supports real-time stats, making it easier to keep up with the action.

Backend code spotted by MacRumors reveals what's next for Apple Sports in version 3.8. Apple is planning to add support for six South American soccer leagues, including Brazil Serie A, Argentina Primera A, Colombia Primera Liga, Ecuador Serie A, Peru Primera Division, and Chile Primera Division.

The Apple Sports app launched in 2024, offering an easy way to see live scores and statistics. It is available on the iPhone in the U.S., the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and other select European countries.
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Apple's second-generation HomePod is now over three years old, with no sign of a refresh or third-generation model on the horizon.


The original ‌HomePod‌ was announced at WWDC in 2017 and launched in 2018 after a heavily delayed release. The device was met with mixed reviews; critics praised its outstanding sound quality but pointed out its high price, missing features, and limited functionality compared to rivals.

Apple dropped its price from $349 to $299 in April 2019 and, in March 2021, the company announced that it was discontinuing the first-generation ‌HomePod‌, instead shifting its focus to the HomePod mini, which launched the previous year. The decision left a gap in Apple's product lineup for a full-sized smart speaker until the company introduced the second-generation model via a press release on January 18, 2023. It launched on February 3, 2023.

The second-generation ‌HomePod‌ looks virtually identical to the original, although it is 0.2 inches shorter and has a larger edge-to-edge LED touchscreen on top. It also boasts a range of upgrades and changes compared to its 2018 predecessor, including the S7 chip, a U1 ultra wideband chip, a removable power cable, a temperature and humidity sensor, and sound recognition. However, it features two fewer microphones and horn-loaded tweeters.

Apple is widely rumored to be planning a wave of new smart home devices, including a home security camera, over the next few years, but it is not clear if the ‌HomePod‌ is part of that. Apple appeared to be exploring a new ‌HomePod‌ with a touchscreen display at the top of the device around 2024, ostensibly proven by leaked prototype images, but there have been no further reports of such a device or any third-generation ‌HomePod‌ for over a year.

Rumors about Apple's plans for the smart home now center on an all-new smart home hub device, which has been described as a ‌HomePod‌ with a square iPad-like 7-inch screen and an A18 chip, with support for the next-generation version of Siri. It is expected to launch this year. A new ‌HomePod mini‌ is also rumored to be released this year.
This article, "HomePod 2 Now Over 3 Years Old, With No Sign of New Model" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The Apple Sports app now supports men's and women's golf, along with improvements to soccer and tennis coverage.


Version 3.7 of the app introduces support for every PGA and LPGA tournament, with live leaderboards, round-by-round scorecards for every golfer, and real-time updates in the app, widgets, and Live Activities. The app already supported the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, F1, Premier League, and more.

Golf fans can follow along as each tournament unfolds with access to live scores for all official PGA Tour and LPGA Tour events, including the majors, starting this weekend with the PGA’s WM Phoenix Open.

Fans can track their favorite players through each event with hole-by-hole results and individual scorecards alongside live leaderboards, plus scores from every round during each tournament throughout the year.

Apple has also expanded the soccer lineup with support for Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France, and DFB-Pokal. In addition, tennis coverage now supports real-time stats, making it easier to keep up with the action.

The Apple Sports app launched in 2024, offering a convenient way to glance at live scores and statistics. It is available on the iPhone in the U.S., the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and select other European countries.
This article, "Apple Sports Now Supports Golf and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today announced a new Education Hub in Bengaluru as part of an expanded effort to provide technical training and skills development for employees across its supply chain in India.


Apple said the new Apple Education Hub in Bengaluru will serve as a centralized training and coordination facility for supplier employees in India, marking the company's first education hub of its kind in the country. The hub will begin offering courses in March and operates in collaboration with Manipal Academy of Higher Education, which will provide faculty and curriculum support focused initially on digital literacy and Swift programming.

In parallel with the Bengaluru hub, Apple is broadening its suite of development courses at more than 25 supplier facilities across the country. The updated curriculum will be introduced starting with Tata Electronics and is designed to cover digital literacy, Swift coding, robotics, automation technology, and smart manufacturing practices. Apple said these offerings are funded through its global $50 million Supplier Employee Development Fund, which supports education and skills training initiatives across the company's supply chain.

The same spirit of innovation that drives our products also guides our commitment to supporting people across our global supply chain. We are thrilled to expand our technical training courses in India, giving thousands of employees the opportunity to learn valuable new skills and explore new paths for career growth.

The company said the new courses build on an existing portfolio of more than 75 programs currently available to supplier employees in India. The offerings span technical skills, professional development, health education, and rights awareness training, which Apple says are designed to ensure workers are informed about workplace standards and protections. Apple works with international organizations and local partners to deliver these programs.

Apple's expanded training effort also includes plans to scale its robotics education program, which launched in India in December 2024. The initiative focuses on training factory educators in dedicated robotics labs, after which those educators adapt the material and conduct hands-on sessions within their own facilities. Apple said it plans to extend the robotics program to additional supplier sites in India later this year.

Apple also announced plans to grow its Vocational Education for Persons with Disabilities program in India. The program recently launched with Salcomp and seeks to provide employment and professional development opportunities for people with disabilities within Apple's supply chain, as well as improve safety, accessibility, and inclusivity practices at manufacturing facilities. To date, the program has supported more than 18,000 supplier employees around the world and builds on Apple's partnership with Enable India.
This article, "Apple Teaching Swift and Robotics Across Its India Supply Chain" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple could benefit from a new wave of NFC technology upgrades after the NFC Forum this week published a roadmap outlining faster data transfers, new security standards, and expanded capabilities.


The NFC Forum is the global standards body for Near Field Communication technology. Apple is a board member of the organization. The latest multi-year Technology Roadmap identifies six development priorities that will shape future NFC standards.

One of the most significant changes outlined is work toward substantially faster NFC data rates, up to eight times higher than current levels. The roadmap also places emphasis on improving NFC reader mode interoperability through end-to-end application testing.

The roadmap continues to highlight multipurpose tap functionality, which would allow a single NFC tap to support multiple actions depending on context. The NFC Forum says this would enable readers to request specific credentials needed for a given action.

The NFC Forum said it is beginning work on next-generation NFC wireless charging specifications, with goals that include higher power levels and support for devices with multiple charging receivers. While NFC charging is currently limited to low-power accessory use, expanded standards could influence future devices.

Security enhancements are another major focus, with plans to publish the first NFC Controllers Security Profile, establishing baseline security requirements for NFC hardware. The roadmap includes work toward future-proofing NFC protocols against post-quantum computing threats and strengthening protection against relay-based attacks.

Digital keys remain an active area of development as well, with plans to explore new digital key experiences to support a wider range of industry requirements.

The NFC Forum last published a technology roadmap in 2023, with several goals delivered as part of NFC Release 15 in June 2025.

Last year, Apple expanded its use of NFC notably by rolling out Tap to Pay on iPhone in many new countries, allowing merchants to accept contactless payments directly on an ‌iPhone‌ without additional hardware using the device's NFC capabilities. At the same time, under the European Union's regulatory regime, Apple continued to open broader third-party access to the ‌iPhone‌'s NFC chip so that third-party developers can use NFC for contactless transactions, enabling Apple Pay competitors such as Curve and PayPal to offer NFC-based payment options on iOS in Europe.
This article, "New Roadmap Outlines What's Next for NFC on iPhone" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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