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September 7, 2016: Apple unveils the first-gen AirPods during a special event in San Francisco. The blindingly white wireless earbuds look undeniably strange at first glance, with their long, slender stems and a charging case that looks like a dental floss container.

However, after their December release, AirPods will quickly become the most popular earbuds in the world.

The remarkable demo of the first-gen AirPods comes exactly 11 years after Apple showcased its first phone, a doomed collaboration with Motorola called the Rokr E1.

The launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max is about a month away. Should you be saving up? Or maybe jump on an iPhone 17 model before the price rise instead? What you need is early info on Apple’s next flagship handsets to help you decide.

The biggest changes are reportedly happening inside the phones, but Apple may also shrink the Dynamic Island, add a major camera upgrade and give the Pro Max a much bigger battery. And there might be a new color option!

Here’s everything the rumor mill is saying about the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max as Apple’s September launch approaches.

September 6, 1995: The newly launched Windows 95 operating system dominates software sales, sending virtually every other company scurrying for cover — Apple included.

After launching Windows 95 at the end of August, Microsoft sells a massive 1.63 million copies of the $85 PC operating system by early September, according to excited analysts. It represents a massive triumph for Apple’s biggest rival of the 1990s.

After years of rumors, Apple finally appears ready to launch the first folding iPhone. It’ll be the most significant shakeup to the basic design of an iOS device since… well, ever.

There’s no official confirmation of a foldable iPhone, of course. But the rumors are unusually detailed, covering everything from the screen size and hinge design to the processor, cameras and even the phone’s possible name.

Here’s what to expect, when and at what cost.

September 5, 2007: Apple introduces its first new iPods after the release of the iPhone. The lineup includes the third-gen iPod nano, the newly renamed iPod Classic and — most significantly — the debut of the iPod touch.

In doing so, Apple sets out to demonstrate that there is still plenty of life left in its iconic portable music player.

Apple’s September product launch event kicks off on Wednesday, and there is so much to look forward to. It’ll be a milestone for the company in multiple ways.

First off, the “Surprise and Shine” event be the first with John Ternus welcoming everyone, not Tim Cook. He became Apple CEO just days ago, and will surely be acting as ringmaster for all the announcments.

That will keep him busy, with plenty of new products on the agenda. The first folding iPhone is expected to be the star of the show, joined by the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, with potentially even more products in store.

Here’s everything expected to take the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park on September 9.

BERLIN — Ugreen is best known for chargers, cables and other accessories. But at its IFA 2026 launch event here, the company showed something far more ambitious: a smart home hub called HomeAgent that uses local AI as its brain.

The HomeAgent series is expensive and unproven. But it rethinks what a smart-home hub can be. It also raises the question: By the time Apple enters the smart home market, will local AI already be the norm?

September 4, 1997: The writing is on the wall for Apple’s Newton product line as the recently returned Steve Jobs effectively kills the Newton Inc. spinoff.

He tells executives at the recently created subsidiary company not to bother moving into their new offices. The flip-flop on the Newton spinoff by Apple’s new interim CEO takes employees by surprise.

It’s quite the turnaround for the Newton division. Only months earlier, Apple portrayed it as large (and successful) enough to become its own company.

When will you be able to add your driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet on your iPhone? In the United States, it varies by where you live. It’s not up to Apple: Each state and territory maintains a completely independent registry of drivers and identification cards, so each one must independently pass legislation and implement digital IDs.

If you live in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico or West Virginia, you can do it today. (Our guide will show you how to add your driver’s license to Apple Wallet.) Otherwise, check our map and lists below to see how likely your state is to let you add your ID to Apple Wallet, and when it might happen.

In several states, Apple’s state ID initiative enables iPhones and Apple Watches to hold a digital copy of the user’s driver’s license, in the same way these devices store credit cards and airline tickets. And across the United States, you can create an Apple Digital ID based on your passport that can get you through some airport security checks. 

The day when an iPhone can completely take the place of an old-fashioned wallet remains years away, but it’s a goal Apple is working toward. Apple Pay is making progress on replacing credit cards, you can put airline tickets in the Wallet app, and the same goes for loyalty cards.

But no wallet is complete unless it can hold an ID. And that’s where Apple’s digital ID initiative comes in. Here’s what you need to know to add your driver’s license, state ID or federal passport to your Apple Wallet.

September 3, 1982: The US Festival, an extravagant music and technology event staged by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, kicks off in California. The festival costs $8 million to stage, and boasts appearances from some of the biggest musical acts of the day.

It’s a wild venture for Woz, who is on hiatus from Apple after surviving a serious plane crash in 1981.

Finding a great Mac monitor usually means choosing between Retina sharpness, a high refresh rate and reasonable pricing. The BenQ MA320UG tries to strike a better balance with its large 31.5-inch 4K panel, glossy finish and 120Hz refresh rate.

After using it as my primary display for several weeks, I found plenty to like. However, there are also a few compromises that keep it from being the complete Studio Display alternative.

Set your Apple Watch time a few minutes ahead of the actual time and you might trick yourself out of running late every day. This is an officially supported feature, not a hack that will produce cascading, annoying side effects. And it doesn’t require you to set your smartwatch out of sync with internet time, which can also cause problems.

What will you gain? By running your Apple Watch a few minutes fast, you might nudge yourself to rush out the door a little earlier. And that might be enough to get you somewhere on time rather than late. If tardiness is a frequent problem for you, this little anti-procrastination tweak could save your skin.

Apple’s latest Mac mini and Mac Studio computers don’t just come with faster M-series chips. They also pack certain underlying upgrades that make them even more capable and appealing than their predecessors.

That includes faster storage, better connectivity and boosted memory bandwidth. Here are five important Mac mini and Mac Studio upgrades you might have missed.

John Ternus officially took over as Apple’s CEO on Tuesday, and his key challenge will likely be the classic “innovator’s dilemma.” Should he focus on maintaining Apple’s dominant position or ruthlessly cannibalize the products he helped develop during his 25-year career at Apple?

Ternus, a certified hardware guy, replaced operations whiz Tim Cook, who served as Apple’s CEO for 15 years after taking over from Steve Jobs. Apple updated its website’s leadership page to reflect this gigantic change — and it reveals some of Ternus’ top priorities going forward.

Update: This article is now moot because Apple introduced AirPods 5 at its Rise and Shine product launch event on September 12. Get the official details:

• AirPods 5 mean it’s time to replace your old earbuds 

AirPods 4 could give way to AirPods 5 in the coming weeks, likely ushering in improved audio quality.

It’s a somewhat surprising development — a new version wasn’t really anticipated for another year — but there’s solid evidence that Apple is preparing to give its entry-level wireless earbuds a refresh. Perhaps as soon as this month.

Here’s what we can look forward to.

September 1, 2010: Apple’s new music-focused social network, Ping, ships as part of iTunes 10. Apple says the service will let users discover new music and more easily follow their favorite artists.

“In iTunes 10, we’re announcing something really cool, and we call it Ping,” says Apple CEO Steve Jobs during his demo of the new service. “And what Ping is, is it’s a social network for music. It’s sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes. You know, it’s not Facebook, it’s not Twitter. It’s something else that we’ve come up with.”

Ping racks up 1 million signups in the first 48 hours. Nevertheless, Apple’s social network is doomed from the start.

The Orico MacData Vault puts five SATA drives and hardware RAID into a compact aluminum enclosure that looks right at home beside a Mac. It feels solid and runs quietly.

However, its screw-mounted drive trays and hardware-only RAID controls make the setup feel more dated than I expected from a premium direct-attached storage, aka DAS, device in 2026. There is also an important catch for Mac users. Find out more in my review.

August 31, 2004: Apple launches the iMac G5, a distinctive, white plastic computer that looks a little like the world’s biggest iPod.

Housed in a 2-inch-thick enclosure reminiscent of Apple’s Cinema Displays, the new all-in-one machine bridges the gap between the pleasing plasticity of the iconic original iMac and the minimalist form factor of the ultra-slim aluminum Macs that will follow.

“Just like the iPod redefined portable digital music players, the new iMac G5 redefines what users expect from a consumer desktop,” says Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, in a press release. “With the entire system, including a gorgeous 17- or 20-inch display, just two inches thin, a lot of people will be wondering ‘where did the computer go?’”

Apple’s OLED iPad mini is closing in on release. A fresh report says the redesigned tablet would reach store shelves by the end of October.

Expect a sharper, brighter screen as well as a faster chip built for Apple Intelligence. Apple is also said to be reworking the tablet’s shell for better water resistance.

Read on for everything to expect in the OLED iPad mini.

August 30, 2010: Just two years after opening its virtual doors, the iOS App Store passes a key milestone: one-quarter of a million apps for sale.

It’s a massive demonstration of success for a service Apple CEO Steve Jobs didn’t even initially want to offer.

August 29, 2001: During a meeting, Apple’s board of directors awards CEO Steve Jobs new stock options that will become part of a stock-backdating scandal several years later.

When the matter eventually ends up in court, Apple’s former general counsel pays $2.2 million to settle charges that she backdated stock options for Jobs, herself and others — and created fake paperwork to hide this fact.

Apple’s just-launched Mac mini looks exactly the same on the outside as the previous model. But an M6 Mac mini versus M4 Mac mini comparison reveals a very different machine inside.

The all-new M6 chip is one option for the tiny desktop, and it’s the one designed for students and casual users. The Mac can also be configured with an M5 Pro processor, but that is for professionals and was discussed in a separate article. This one focuses on the benefits the M6 brings to consumers. 

If Apple Translate doesn’t offer the languages you need, you can set Google Translate as your iPhone or iPad’s default translation app. Google’s translation app supports 249 languages, whereas Apple Translate currently can handle only 19.

Google’s broad scope comes in handy if you regularly read materials written in languages that Apple Translate doesn’t cover. And Google Translate is not the only alternative translation app for iPhone.

With the latest Mac mini, Apple launched its first 2nm chip: the M6. It stands out for several reasons, including enhanced single-core performance and dual Neural Engines for better AI performance.

But that does not automatically make it better than the M5 Pro, which trumps the M6 in some key areas.

Both are available in the new Mac mini, so it’s up to buyers to choose which is the better option for them. To help with the decision, here’s how the two stack up.