Is Jon Prosser the new Mark Gurman?

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Jon Prosser, the up-and-coming Apple reporter.
Jon Prosser, the up-and-coming Apple reporter.
Photo: Jon Prosser/Front Page Tech

In the space of three short months, Jon Prosser went from an obscure YouTube nobody pumping out videos barely anyone watched to becoming one of the hottest Apple reporters on the internet.

On Twitter and YouTube, he’s unspooled a string of accurate predictions, including the exact dates and launch times of two of Apple’s newest products, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the 2020 iPhone SE. That’s no mean feat, given Apple’s obsessive secrecy.

Prosser’s latest leak — revealed on last week’s episode of Cult of Mac’s podcast, The CultCast — claims Apple is working on a special pair of Steve Jobs Heritage Edition AR glasses. That wild revelation drew skepticism from none other than über-Apple reporter Mark Gurman.

“Do I even need to say that this (along with the rest of the Apple AR glasses stories in the past week) is complete fiction?” Gurman tweeted.

Jon Prosser makes headlines

Perhaps Gurman, who made his bones at 9to5Mac before moving up to Bloomberg, is feeling the heat. Prosser is starting to nip at his heels.

The website AppleTrack, which keeps a record of every Apple leak and whether it turned out to be accurate, gives Prosser an 86.7% accuracy rating. Gurman, who’s been scooping Apple’s product plans for more than 10 years, gets a slightly lower 84.2% rating.

Although new to the Apple leaks game, Prosser seems to possess unusual insight into Cupertino’s closely held plans. On last week’s CultCast, Prosser made some extraordinary claims. He attested to knowing about Apple CEO Tim Cook’s calls, meetings and interviews in real time.

That’s crazy! It’s unheard of for a reporter to have that kind of access, especially for a company as secretive as Apple.

And the info Prosser’s getting — detailed product specs, names and pricing, as well as precise launch dates and times — is the kind of information that is usually restricted to vice presidents and above. His sources appear to operate at the highest level of the company, or at least to work closely with those who do.

Front Page Tech takes off at last

Prosser’s Front Page Tech YouTube channel, launched in 2013, posts videos each weekday commenting on the day’s tech news. The videos tend to be short — about 10 minutes each — and are strong on personality, opinion and humor. “We specialize in mixing tech with laughs,” says the channel’s About page.

It currently boasts about 253,000 subscribers. And some of the world’s biggest Apple watchers are taking notice.

“I’ve been watching him for years and he does a great job making tech news entertaining, and promoting things like better pricing for mass-market customers,” Rene Ritchie, a popular Apple commentator formerly with iMore and now also an independent YouTuber, told Cult of Mac.

Jon Prosser’s remarkable past

Possibly more remarkable than Prosser’s Apple scoops is that he acted as guardian to his younger brother as he worked in obscurity for years. After his parents and grandmother died when Prosser was 19, he was forced to look after his younger brother. Making money as a freelance web designer and video editor, he pumped out videos every day for Front Page Tech. By his own admission, it attracted no more than a few hundred subscribers for years.

“I’m stubborn, dude,” he said on The CultCast. “That’s it. That’s it. I’m just stubborn.” (You can listen to the full episode of our podcast talk with Prosser below.)

Prosser labored in virtual obscurity for seven years, posting daily tech commentary videos that very few people watched. He eventually got some information about new Android phones, which elevated his profile. But he still didn’t break through.

The secret to getting scoops

Then he realized that to get tips, he needed to make himself more available to potential leakers. He set up accounts on privacy-focused messaging services like Signal and Telegraph so insiders could contact him safely.

“I just made myself more accessible,” he said. The tips soon started to come in.

Prosser has no background in journalism, but claims to follow good journalistic practices. He verifies his stories with at least three sources, he claims — something reporters used to do at trade magazines like MacWeek, where I worked as an Apple reporter in the late 1990s.

Jon Prosser’s short history of scoops

Other Apple-focused publications are taking notice of Prosser’s uncanny ability to produce scoops as well.

“Jon certainly has an unusual breadth of rumors, but it’s clear he has some reliable sources,” Eric Slivka, MacRumors’ editor in chief, told Cult of Mac. “It’s been very interesting watching the sheer volume of rumors he’s had in a relatively short period of time, and we’ve seen a decent number of them pan out, so he’s somebody we’ll definitely be watching going forward.”

Prosser’s video detailing the long-rumored Apple AR glasses project made headlines in the tech press. It also proved quite divisive — as did his claim about the limited-edition Steve Jobs AR glasses prototype.

“We’re very curious to see where things go with the Apple glasses, as he has shared quite a few details on that project which has been shrouded in a lot of uncertainty over the years,” Slivka said. “Some claims, like the ‘Steve Jobs Heritage Edition’ glasses, seem so un-Apple-like that they call into question other aspects of his reporting, but all we can do is wait to see how future rumors develop and what Apple ultimately releases.”

Apple Glass rumors prove divisive

Mikey Campbell, senior editor with AppleInsider, is watching Prosser closely, too.

“There is no denying the accuracy of his recent predictions, particularly a major scoop on iPhone SE,” Campbell told Cult of Mac. “It seems like he has a legitimate source in Apple’s supply chain, or perhaps Apple itself, but that alone isn’t enough to offer a clear view of future products.

“For a leaker, filtering out guff from facts is just as important as sourcing information, and that requires intimate knowledge of the target company. His recent comments about ‘Apple Glass,’ made on your podcast, illustrate a general lack of knowledge about that specific sector of tech and, more importantly, Apple’s overarching product strategy and corporate philosophy. But again, he’s been pretty much on the money so far.”

Mark Gurman’s track record

Mark Gurman, left, chats with a developer at the AltConf Journalist Pitch Lab in San Francisco, CA, June 3, 2014. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Mark Gurman, left, chats with a developer at the AltConf Journalist Pitch Lab in San Francisco in 2014.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Prosser’s recent scoops naturally draw comparisons to Mark Gurman’s enviable work. Gurman has long been widely regarded as one of the industry’s most reliable sources on Apple. Before Bloomberg snapped him up in 2016, he spent six years at 9to5Mac, where he started while still in high school and delivered a long list of exclusives.

For four of those years, Gurman was a full-time undergraduate student at University of Michigan, where he pumped out scoops for 9to5Mac between classes. He made a lot of money from AdSense ads embedded in his posts. He “makes enough money to buy a Tesla every year … with change left over,” 9to5Mac owner Seth Weintraub told Business Insider.

Like Prosser, Gurman has no formal journalistic training. He learned the trade on the job.

Thanks to his reporting, Gurman was named one of Time Magazine’s top 25 bloggers in 2013 and Wired’s top people to follow in tech. He made Forbes‘ 30 under 30 list in 2015, and has been profiled by NPR, CNN, Columbia Journalism Review, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and many more.

Gurman declined to comment for this post.

Mark Gurman: A long history of Apple scoops

Over the years, Gurman has detailed almost all the major Apple product launches ahead of time. Since 2011, he spilled the beans on almost every new iPhone and iPad launch, starting with the iPhone 4S all the way up to iPhone SE earlier this spring.

He got early details on the Apple Watch, HomePod, AirPods, Apple TV and scores of MacBooks. Gurman also scored a slew of software scoops, from Apple’s very own Maps service in 2012 to Apple’s plans to kill iTunes earlier this year.

He also reported early on major design changes and software initiatives, including major design overhauls of iOS and macOS. And he accurately reported advance details on major business initiatives like Apple News+ and Apple TV+.

Gurman: Mostly hits, a few misses

Like most reporters, Gurman has stumbled a couple of times. He reported a 12-inch MacBook refresh for 2018 that never arrived. He reported an AirPower wireless charging mat release “before or in September” of 2018. Gurman also said Apple planned to release over-ear headphones in the second half of 2019. And he predicted USB-C connectivity for the 2019 iPhone lineup, and two-way wireless charging for the iPhone 11 lineup.

AppleTrack gives Gurman an accuracy rating of 84.2% — slightly lower than Prosser’s — and notes some of the claims that were incorrect. However, AppleTrack is comparing the accuracy of Prosser’s 15 rumors to Gurman’s 279. Prosser has a long way to go to begin matching Gurman’s record.

Prosser: The new kid in town

While Prosser is new to the Apple leaks game, so far, his track record has been impressive. (You can see a full list of his predictions below.) Many of Prosser’s reports have proven correct, and he seems to be getting details not just from people in high places in Apple, but also in Apple’s supply chain and business partners like cellular carriers.

However, Gurman has a much longer track record of scoring big Apple scoops. It remains to be seen whether Prosser can match his record. But the colorful Front Page Tech reporter is off to a pretty remarkable start.

“I’m the new guy with a lot to prove,” Prosser said in a tweet about Gurman. “@markgurman has an established track record going back years. We just have different sources saying different things. No biggie — time will tell. Just have some fun and see which one of us sticks the landing.”

Jon Prosser’s Apple leaks track record

Prosser’s track record of accuracy is why his name continues to pop up in the biggest stories regarding Apple’s plans for new products in the not-too-distant future. Prosser admits he got a couple of launch dates wrong. (That’s what prevents his AppleTrack rating from hitting 100%.) However, he later corrected those misses, and the rest of his information has been golden. (We’ll see about those Steve Jobs Heritage Edition AR specs soon enough.)

Here’s a recap of the details Prosser provided this year with regard to upcoming Apple releases.

February 20, 2020: iPhone SE delayed

  • Prosser first reported a possible 2020 iPhone SE delay, claiming its launch had been pushed back from March to April.

March 10, 2020: iPhone SE event canceled and plans for WWDC 2020

  • Prosser reported that Apple canceled a keynote planned for March 2020 due to the the COVID-19 pandemic. The company wanted to unveil the 2020 iPhone SE at the event. Instead, Apple announced the iPhone SE in a press release on April 15.
  • In the same March 10 video, Prosser reported that this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference “isn’t canceled, but it’s being modified.” He predicted an entirely “digital,” online-only event, which Apple confirmed on March 13.

March 13, 2020: Apple Store closures

  • Prosser reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook was holding regular meetings with Apple Store leaders regarding ongoing COVID-19 concerns. He warned that customers should “expect store closures in US.” Apple confirmed its closure of all U.S. retail locations — and in every other country outside greater China — the following day.

March 15, 2020: New Powerbeats

March 19, 2020: 5G iPad Pro and date for WWDC 2020

  • On Twitter, Prosser revealed his information regarding a new iPad Pro, equipped with 5G connectivity and a next-generation A14X processor, planned for late 2020. Other than these improvements, the tablet reportedly will look the same as the most recent iPad Pro models.
  • Prosser also reported a “tentative” date of Monday, June 1, for WWDC 2020. This is one of the dates that turned out to be inaccurate — Apple later revealed that WWDC 2020 will kick off on June 22.

March 22, 2020: AirPower not dead yet

  • Prosser reported that Apple’s AirPower project was “back on, internally.” He added that engineers were working on a modified version of the wireless charging mat that Apple killed in early 2019. According to Prosser, the new version is being redesigned to displace heat more effectively. We’ve yet to see that, but similar claims have also been made by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo — another consistently reliable source of Apple leaks.

March 23, 2020: ‘iPhone 12’ delayed

  • Prosser reported that iPhone 12 would be pushed back to “Oct/Nov,” despite improvements in the COVID-19 situation among Apple’s supply chain partners in Asia. “Prototyping for iPhone 12 isn’t even done yet,” Prosser added. Apple’s next-generation handsets reportedly will not enter mass-production in May as initially planned. That means manufacturing is already two months behind.

March 26, 2020: 2020 iPhone SE ready

  • Prosser reaffirmed that the 2020 iPhone SE — which was then referred to as “iPhone 9” — would be “ready to ship in April.” As a reminder, Apple announced the device on April 15.

March 31, 2020: Plans for WWDC 2020 and iPhone SE launch date

  • Prosser reported that a number of new Apple products are planned for WWDC 2020, including a new MacBook Pro, over-ear headphones and AirTags.
  • Prosser also revealed “tentative” launch dates for the 2020 iPhone SE. He predicted an announcement on April 15 before the handset started shipping on April 22. That announcement date turned out to be accurate, but iPhone SE began shipping on April 24.

April 4, 2020: New 13-inch MacBook Pro

April 7, 2020: Over-ear headphones and ‘AirPods X’

April 10, 2020: Plans for iOS 14 and more on AirPower

  • Prosser revealed his information regarding future iOS updates. He said Apple is working on adding Home screen widgets for the first time, but as things stand, “no current internal builds” include this feature. Some reports indicate this feature will come this fall in iOS 14, but Prosser suggested it may be “more for iOS 15.”
  • Prosser also provided more information, accompanied by what seems like an internal photo, on the purported AirPower charger. He said engineers received AirPower prototypes, likely powered by an A11 Bionic chip, while working from home during the coronavirus lockdown.

April 13, 2020: AirPower release date

  • Prosser reported that Apple planned to release its newer AirPower charger in late 2020 or early 2021 “if they pull it off.” He also said the device would feature fewer charging coils than originally planned to manage heat.

April 15, 2020: iPhone SE name, launch time, price

  • Hours ahead of Apple’s official announcement for the 2020 iPhone SE, Prosser accurately reported the handset’s name, launch time and price. All his information proved correct.

April 18, 2020: No USB-C for iPhone 12

April 19, 2020: New AirPods and more on iPhone 12

  • Prosser claimed that new AirPods, which were supposed to be unveiled during Apple’s canceled March event, “are now ready to go.” He said they would “probably” launch alongside the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, but that didn’t happen. May isn’t quite over yet, but it’s starting to look a little unlikely that AirPods will appear this month.
  • Prosser also provided further information on iPhone 12. “Definitely no Apple Pencil support,” he tweeted, and no Smart Connector, either. Prosser also published supposed iPhone 12 schematics, which reveal a smaller notch with a speaker integrated into its bezel.

April 22, 2020: Final Cut, Logic, Xcode coming to iPad

April 30, 2020: iPhone 12 pricing

  • Prosser provided details on iPhone 12 pricing for the first time. He said the smallest of four models will cost $649. The 6.1- and 6.7-inch models will start at $749 and $1,099 respectively, he said.

May 4, 2020: ‘Today’s the day’ for new MacBook Pro

May 6 — May 19, 2020: iMac, Apple TV, Apple Glass

We bundled these reports together because they all relate to products that remain unconfirmed. There’s no telling how accurate they are just yet. But here’s a short summary of all claims:

Killian Bell contributed research and fact-checking for this report.

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