Apple could adopt a variable aperture system for the iPhone 18 Pro’s main camera that would enable the device to adjust the aperture size and light intake depending on surroundings.
DLSRs typically use a variable aperture lens system. Samsung and some Chinese Android manufacturers have also used the technology on their phones, albeit on a limited scale.
It’s a safe bet that the Apple M5 processor will start replacing the current M4 in 2025, and it might even happen in the first half of the year.
That’s according to a roadmap of when the various versions of the chip will go into production leaked Monday by a reliable source of insider Apple information.
What does Apple have planned for the Mac in 2025? For the last couple of years, Apple’s been killing it with its desktop and laptop computers. The chips scream, the industrial design has never been better, and the Mac lineup is undoubtedly the best in Apple’s history. Just look at the amazing new Mac mini.
But can Apple keep up the pace next year?
Apple’s next AirPods Pro refresh could feature heart rate monitoring. But they are in “early development” and might not launch soon.
Engineers inside Apple are also working on several health-focused features for future models of the earbuds.
Apple is reportedly working on a smart doorbell with Face ID-like facial recognition.
The device, still in its early development stages, seems unlikely to reach the market before late 2025 at the earliest. This timeline presumes Apple encounters no significant obstacles during development.
Apple might not drop support for any of its older iPhones with iOS 19. The next big iOS update reportedly will support the same devices as iOS 18.
However, iPadOS 19 supposedly will not be compatible with the seventh-gen iPad.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Some new iPhone 17 Pro renders make us ponder whether Apple will (or should) create such a device. We discuss the pros, cons and alternative theories.
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Want to extend your AirTag’s battery life to 10 years and keep the tracker dry and concealed? Well, that’s easy to do with ElevationLab’s innovative new TimeCapsule AirTag battery case. The weatherproof case keeps an AirTag safe and sound — and frees you from swapping out the Apple tracking tag’s coin-shaped batteries every year.
When you run a ton of peripherals with your Mac, how do keep it all connected and running smoothly? Well, today’s featured M4 Pro Mac mini user drives a pair of 4K external displays, runs a power hub and input devices, and keeps backups on portable storage devices. And they keep it connected without a hitch using the well-regarded CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 hub named “Element.”
Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee recognized Apple’s iPhone 16 series in two significant categories in his much-anticipated 2024 smartphone awards Thursday. No one will be shocked to hear iPhone 16 Pro won for Best Camera in the MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2024. But some might raise an eyebrow to learn iPhone 16 won for Best Small Phone.
And no iPhone took the coveted MKBHD Phone of the Year prize. That went to the “boring” Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which also won Best Big Phone.
ChatGPT’s Mac app is getting a big usability boost. It will now work directly with coding and note-taking apps, including Apple Notes, Notion, and others.
Previously, the ChatGPT Mac app could only see, read, and improve code in XCode, Terminal, and selected other apps.
If you love a good nature documentary — especially because the photography is so mind-blowing nowadays — you’re in for a treat with The Secret Lives of Animals. Apple TV+ dropped an official trailer for it recently (see below). The 10-part series is now streaming, as of Wednesday, December 18.
“Welcome to a world beyond imagination, where fish can fly and lizards walk on water,” the trailer’s voiceover says, as those images appear onscreen. “Animals do the most remarkable things at every stage of their lives.”
Update: The Secret Lives of Animals 10-part docuseries started streaming on Apple TV+ Wednesday.
International journalism organization Reporters Without Borders called Thursday for Apple to remove its new artificial intelligence-powered news notifications, following a complaint from the BBC over a wildly inaccurate news summary. Apple Intelligence’s notifications summary feature generated a misleading BBC News headline last week about a high-profile murder case in the United States, falsely stating the accused shooter had shot himself.
AirDrop and AirPlay are the latest Apple technologies the European Union wants to make more interoperable. This would give third-party developers, including rival handset makers, access to the tech.
But Apple is pushing back hard. Apple has made the jaw-dropping claim that opening up AirDrop and AirPlay would allow companies like Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) to read all your emails, messages, photos and even passwords!
Apple reportedly dropped a plan to offer the iPhone to customers as a monthly subscription. It would have allowed customers to pay for handsets as though they were a magazine or software, and upgrade annually.
Those feeling disappointed by the news likely aren‘t aware that Apple already offers a very similar payment plan.
Apple just enhanced its web version of Apple Maps by adding a beta version of Look Around, a street-level view similar to Google Street View in Google Maps. The new functionality lets users explore high-resolution, ground-level views of cities and points of interest directly through their web browser. The Apple Maps app already has Look Around.
As federal authorities in the United States investigate China-based TP-Link over national security risks, a ban of the most widely used home and small business internet routers in this country becomes a possibility, according to a new report Wednesday. Any ban would most likely come under the new Trump administration
Designer Basic Apple Guy, known for nifty wallpapers for Mac, iPhone and iPad screens, dropped his annual Apple Product Tier List Monday. The Apple product rankings give letter grades to everything the iPhone giant released in 2024. He considers M4/M4 Pro Mac mini the best of the best, by the way.
“For the third year in a row, I am once again painting a target on my head and releasing my tier rankings of the products Apple released in the 2024 calendar year,” he wrote. Undoubtedly, not everyone will love his choices, particularly those he grades in the low D and F tiers, but he takes care to explain them.
With purported details of the iPhone 17 Pro Max appearing online many months before the device’s launch, a Russian YouTube channel prepared renders that reveal what Apple’s next top-tier handset could look like.
Don’t expect last year’s model with just a few tweaks. According to rumors reflected in the new renders, 2025 will bring a substantial redesign, including potential changes to the humps on the device. Learn more about these design updates.
Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 18.3, macOS Sequoia 15.3 and iPadOS 18.3 to developers Monday. However, the unusual timing of the release means all but the most committed — and best-equipped — beta testers should probably wait until beta 2 arrives.
Still, there are plenty of new Apple Intelligence features that might make their debut in these new versions.
Eufy expanded its HomeKit ecosystem Monday with the release of the Indoor Cam E30, a sophisticated 4K security camera priced at $69.99. It’s a big upgrade from the 2020 model, marking Eufy’s second HomeKit-compatible camera launch in recent months following September’s S3 Pro Outdoor Cam. E30 upgrades include advanced pan-and-tilt mobility and color night vision through lighting.
Don’t worry about getting left hanging by Silo. The sci-fi mystery series will go all the way to the conclusion of its story now that Apple TV+ gave the go-ahead for two more seasons on Monday.
It’s really not a surprise — Silo is one of the most popular shows on any streaming service, and draws praise from critics too.
“I’ve loved every minute of bringing Juliette to the screen and am immensely proud of what we’ve all created with Silo since the first episode,” said Rebecca Ferguson, who stars as Juliette Nichols in the series. “I have always felt passionately about telling the entire story contained within Hugh Howey’s books, so I couldn’t be happier that audiences around the world have enthusiastically embraced the show.”
Apple unveiled its annual roundups of top apps and games — that is, those most downloaded titles — across iPhone, iPad and Apple Arcade platforms Monday. The comprehensive year-end lists are featured on the App Store’s Today tab. They offer insights into user preferences across more than 30 countries and regions. And once again, free app and games dominate, overlapping with recent App Store Award winners.
A new ultra-wideband chip inside AirTag 2 could make Apple’s tracker tag findable at a much longer range than the current model thanks to new UWB chip.
The device is expected in mid-2025.
Hoping to boost sales, Apple could launch its first folding iPhone as soon as 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal. The foldable phone reportedly will follow a super-thin model — which previous rumors called the “iPhone 17 Air” or the “iPhone 17 Slim” — as Apple shakes up its stagnant smartphone lineup.
“It looks like Apple is looking towards hardware innovation to drive user upgrades,” BayStreet Research analyst Cliff Maldonado told the Journal. “The iPhone 16 will be the last of the boring aesthetic phones.”