With the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3, Apple announced support for a new Sleep Score feature that's designed to provide you with an actionable overview of your sleep quality.


It turns out that Sleep Score is a watchOS 26 feature, so it is also available on older Apple Watch models. If you have the ‌watchOS 26‌ release candidate installed, you can see your Sleep Score in the Health app already.

Open up the Health app, choose the Sleep category from the Search interface, and tap on Sleep Score to see your personalized readout.

Apple will rate your sleep as Excellent, High, OK, Low, or Very Low. Scores are calculated based on sleep duration, the time you went to bed, and how many times your sleep was interrupted during the night. Duration is worth 50 points, bedtime is worth 30 points, and interruptions is worth 20 points. Points are deducted for low sleep times, a late bedtime, or multiple sleep interruptions.

According to Apple, an "Excellent" score means that your body and mind have received the rest and restorative sleep needed for the day. High means you got the sleep you need, even though you might not have slept perfectly. OK means you probably didn't get all the sleep you need, while Low means that you didn't get enough time to rest and restore. Very Low means you didn't get enough sleep and your rest level was low enough that it can have a mental and physical impact over time.

Sleep Score is calculated from sleep data collected by the Apple Watch during sleep, or from a third-party device that reports results to the Health app. You technically don't need an Apple Watch to get a Sleep Score, but you do need some kind of device that records sleep and logs the results in the Health app.

‌watchOS 26‌ with the Sleep Score, Liquid Glass, and other features will launch to the public on Monday, September 15.
This article, "You Don't Need the Apple Watch Series 11 to Get Your Sleep Score" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max continue to offer mmWave 5G connectivity in the United States, but the faster 5G speeds have not yet expanded to other countries. Outside of the U.S., the new iPhone models are limited to sub-6GHz 5G.


mmWave 5G has been exclusive to the United States since 5G connectivity launched in the ‌iPhone‌ 12. Other countries have been slower to adopt mmWave 5G, but it is becoming more widely available in countries like Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, and Europe. The higher frequency mmWave spectrum is not as practical as lower and mid-band 5G spectrum because of its limited range.

It's expensive for carriers to build mmWave networks, and it is expensive for Apple to offer the hardware to connect to those networks. Carriers don't have motivation for faster 5G when devices don't support it, and Apple doesn't see the need to roll out mmWave support in countries where adoption is low.

mmWave offers the fastest 5G speeds, but it primarily makes sense for big cities and crowded locations like concert venues, stadiums, and airports. It is short range, and cannot penetrate obstacles like sub-6GHz 5G can. Sub-6GHz is more widely adopted because it works in cities, suburban areas, and rural locations.

Unless something changes with 5G adoption and rollout, it's not likely that Apple's stance on mmWave 5G availability is going to change. In fact, the M4 iPad Pro models eliminated mmWave 5G support entirely, and Apple opted for 5G modems that only support sub-6GHz spectrum.

Because the ‌iPhone‌ Air has Apple's custom-designed C1X modem, it also does not support mmWave 5G. Like the C1, the C1X is only compatible with sub-6GHz 5G. The other ‌iPhone 17‌ models use Qualcomm modems and in the U.S., can use mmWave spectrum on networks that offer it.
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The AirPods Pro 3 have an updated design that Apple says is more ergonomic, and new ear tips that are supposed to be better at eliminating ambient sound.


Apple included new ear tips that fuse a thin layer of soft foam microspheres to a silicone shell for better passive noise isolation.

The ear tips come in five sizes, including XXS, XS, S, M, and L, The smaller XXS size wasn't available with the AirPods Pro 2.

The new foam ear tips, the wider range of size options, improved computational audio, and the design changes to make the earbuds fit more ergonomically in the ear all help to make the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ 2x better at Active Noise Cancellation than the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2.

Apple is still selling the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ for $249, but there is no longer a USB-C charging cable inside, so the company is saving a bit of cash with this model. The ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ are available for pre-order and will launch on Friday, September 19.
This article, "AirPods Pro 3 Get New Foam-Infused Ear Tips With Five Size Options" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple tweaked the design of the AirPods Pro 3, changing the fit of the tips in the ears and bringing some updates to the case. On the whole, the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ look a lot like the AirPods Pro 2, but there are some differences to be aware of.

Earbud Design

Apple reengineered the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ using more than 10,000 ear scans and more than 100,000 hours of user research.

Apple says internal architecture was revamped to make each AirPod slightly smaller, and the external geometry of the ear tip was aligned to the center of the body to improve stability. Basically, the ear tips are now rotated inward.


The shape is meant to better fit into the ear canal, improving sound isolation and ensuring that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ stay in place during workouts.

When it comes to actual size, there are a couple changes. The ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ are the same height as the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2, so the stem isn't any shorter. Width is now 19.2mm, down from 21.8mm, so they're a little bit slimmer. They're also deeper, though, measuring 27mm, up from 24mm. Weight increased too, so the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ are 5.55 grams, while the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 were 5.3 grams.

Charging Case

There were rumors that Apple would slim down the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ Charging Case, like it did with the AirPods 4 Charging Case last year.

That didn't happen. The ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ Charging Case is actually larger than before. It measures in at 1.86 inches tall (up from 1.78 inches), 2.45 inches wide (up from 2.39 inches), and 0.86 inches deep (up from 0.85 inches). It's not as heavy, weighing 1.55 ounces, down from 1.79 ounces.

‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 on left, ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ on right

The case for the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ has an attachment point for a lanyard, along with a capacitive pairing button and an invisible LED that only shows up when the case is opened or charging.

Battery life for the earbuds themselves is up, but the charging case doesn't last as long. Apple says it provides up to 24 hours of charging time, but the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 case provided up to 30 hours of listening time.

You can pre-order the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ now, and the earbuds will launch on September 19. Pricing is still $249.
This article, "What's Different With the AirPods Pro 3 Design" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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