MacRumors

Vision Pro users will soon be able to view spatial photos and videos in Safari, according to PetaPixel. The photography site did an interview with Apple product manager Della Huff and designer Billy Sorrentino, who shared that Apple is bringing spatial photo and spatial video support to Safari.

Later this year, web developers will be able to add spatial photos and videos to their websites, which will be viewable in 3D on the Vision Pro.

Spatial photos and videos can be captured with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, as well as all four iPhone 16 models and the Vision Pro itself. Note that spatial photo support for the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro is coming in iOS 18.1, set to be released next week. With Vision Pro and visionOS 2, even existing photos can have added depth.

As of right now, spatial photos and videos can only be viewed on Vision Pro when they're sent to you directly via Messages, email, or AirDrop, which makes it difficult to see content from other people. Browser support for spatial videos and photos will let iPhone users upload their content to websites where anyone with a Vision Pro can see it in 3D.

For those without a Vision Pro, spatial photos and videos will look like standard media embeds. "Once you embedded spatial content, folks who are on Vision Pro are getting spatial and folks who are just looking at it on their laptop see it in two dimensions," Sorrentino told PetaPixel.

There is no word on exactly when spatial photo and video support will be coming to Safari, but it is expected before the end of the year so it could be included in a visionOS 2.2 update.

3-in-1 charging stations capable of wirelessly powering up an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods have been popular for years now, although most of them involve relatively straightforward and utilitarian designs. Accessory brand Journey is looking to bring a bit more design flair to the category with its new NOVA 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station, which will begin shipping next Monday, October 28.

The NOVA charging station is available in Wood Grain and Sparkle Grey color options, and I've been testing out a Wood Grain model for a few days to see how it looks and performs.

Overall it features a compact footprint with a vertically oriented design rather than a "tree-style" design used on some competing 3-in-1 chargers. The entire body is made of plastic, but the faux wood grain front can help it fit in depending on your decor. A pair of non-slip strips on the bottom of the charger help keep it in place and protect your surfaces from damage.

At a little over 400 grams (0.9 pounds), the NOVA is hefty enough to remain stable with an ‌iPhone‌ mounted on it, yet it remains somewhat portable so it can be easily transported. It measures around 15 cm high (though an attached ‌iPhone‌ will raise the total height by a few centimeters) and has a footprint of around 8 cm by 9 cm.

The NOVA is topped with an elevated angled surface hiding a Qi2 charging pad, allowing an ‌iPhone‌ to magnetically attach and charge at up to 15 watts depending on your ‌iPhone‌ model. The MagSafe-compatible Qi2 standard has only recently started making its way into a broad array of products, and while Apple has already one-upped Qi2 with its new 25-watt MagSafe charging on the latest iPhone 16 models, Qi2 should still be plenty sufficient for most users.

The phone charging surface is plain plastic with no distinct pad or graphics indicating where to place the device. Magnetic alignment makes it easy to find the right spot even without those features, so it allows for a very clean look when there's no phone on the charger.

The rear of the station includes a flip-up Apple Watch charging puck that delivers fast charging on supported Apple Watch models. The flip-up feature lets you hide the puck away while not in use and protect it if you choose to toss the charging station in a bag for travel.

The rear-mounted Apple Watch puck design means your watch won't be visible while charging on a nightstand, end table, or desk, but if you're also charging a phone in either horizontal StandBy or vertical orientation, that's likely a better option for viewing the time and other information.

Finally, a hollow opening oriented toward the front of the charging station serves as a spot to drop a compatible AirPods case for charging. The AirPods charging spot has a grippy pad to help keep the AirPods in position, but it doesn't include magnets to help with aligning AirPods cases with that feature. Still, the placement seems fairly forgiving to me, and I didn't have any issues getting my AirPods Pro to consistently charge.

A touch-activated light inside the opening can help you find the AirPods charging spot in the dark or even just provide a bit of light in a dark room for any other needs.

The NOVA charging station comes with a 1.5-meter USB-C to USB-C cable to power the unit, although you'll have to provide your own power adapter. I always prefer that a power adapter be included in the box, especially for more premium priced accessories, so that's a bit of a downside here. Allowing you to provide your own adapter does offer more flexibility if you prefer to power it from a multi-port charger, a flat charger for tucking behind furniture, or other options, so just be aware of that potential additional cost. You'll want at least a 30-watt charger to be able to charge everything at full speed.

Journey also includes an adhesive magnetic ring and alignment guide in the box, which allows you to add magnetic capabilities to older iPhones and other smartphone models that support wireless charging but not ‌MagSafe‌/Qi2.

The NOVA 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station is normally priced at $139.99, but there's currently a 20% off pre-order discount that brings the price down to $112.00. Many other 3-in-1 chargers from reputable brands with ‌MagSafe‌/Qi2 and Made for Apple Watch certification are in the $120–$150 range, so this is in the same ballpark. Remember that you do have to provide your own power adapter though, but the current pre-order discount brings things down enough to keep pricing competitive even with that possible additional cost.

Note: Journey provided MacRumors with a NOVA 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Journey. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

In 2020, iPadOS 14 was released with a "Scribble" feature that automatically converts any handwriting written with the Apple Pencil into typed text. Scribble works in any text field, and this means the feature works with the revamped Siri on iPadOS 18.1.

iPadOS 18.1 introduces the first Apple Intelligence features, including the ability to type to Siri in an on-screen overlay. Given that Scribble works in any text field, this means you can now write a Siri query with an Apple Pencil and it will automatically be converted to typed text. Apple highlighted this "Scribble to Siri" feature, and discussed the new iPad mini, in an interview with TechRadar's Jacob Krol this week.

Apple previously confirmed that iPadOS 18.1 will be released to the public next week.

Scribble works with any Apple Pencil, but the revamped version of Siri is limited to devices with Apple Intelligence, including iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini models equipped with the M1 chip, M2 chip, M4 chip, or A17 Pro chip.

Typing to Siri technically already existed as an accessibility setting, but you could not easily switch between typing and talking to Siri like you can now.

Read the full interview with Apple marketing employees Tom Boger and Kurt Knight on TechRadar for more details about Scribble to Siri and more.

Apple has been testing a health-focused app that's aimed at diabetes prevention, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The app isn't slated for release, but it could help inform some of Apple's future products related to blood sugar management.

Select employees with prediabetes were invited to test the app, which offered assistance with food selection and lifestyle changes. Employees who participated confirmed that they had prediabetes with a blood test, and then actively monitored their meals and their blood sugar using glucose monitoring devices.

The app was used to demonstrate to employees how healthy and unhealthy food choices could impact their blood sugar and lead to disease progression. A significant glucose spike after a carbohydrate-heavy meal, for example, could encourage testers to consume more protein and make different choices. Intervening at the prediabetes stage could help millions of people avoid developing diabetes 2.

According to Gurman, Apple used the app to look at how blood sugar data could be used, and what future tools might be helpful for consumers. For the last several years, Apple has been working to add non-invasive blood glucose monitoring functionality to the Apple Watch. Currently, most blood sugar tests require a skin prick, but Apple is developing a method that uses optical absorption spectroscopy and lasers to determine the concentration of glucose in the body without puncturing the skin.

As of last year, Apple's work on blood glucose monitoring had reached a "proof-of-concept" stage. Apple has a functional prototype device, but it is still much too large to incorporate into a device the size of the Apple Watch. It will likely be several more years before Apple is able to release an Apple Watch that has noninvasive blood sugar tracking features.

In the meantime, Apple could develop more advanced food logging and glucose tracking tools for the Health app, expanding integration with third-party blood glucose monitors.

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the first beta version of iOS 18.2 – a significant update that continues the rollout of Apple Intelligence.

iOS 18.1 will bring the first ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features to Apple devices. The update includes Writing Tools, the ability for Siri to answer Apple product questions, smart replies to emails and messages, audio transcripts, the Reduce Interruptions Focus Mode, and a new Clean Up tool in Photos, as well as email, text, and notification summaries. iOS 18.1 is expected to be officially released on Monday, October 28.

• Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 1

Ahead of this, Apple this week seeded the first beta version of iOS 18.2 to developers. The update further expands ‌Apple Intelligence‌'s capabilities, with new Mail app categories, Image Playground to generate pictures, Image Wand in Notes, Genmoji to create custom emojis, ChatGPT integration in ‌Siri‌, Visual Intelligence on iPhone 16 models, expanded Writing Tools, and support for regional versions of English outside the United States.

The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips:

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our discussion about the new iPad mini 7, ‌Apple Intelligence‌ and ‌Genmoji‌, and the chances of an October Apple event to introduce M4 Macs.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Kevin Nether, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Jon Prosser, Sam Kohl, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

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Apple announced price increases for some of its subscription-based services on October 24, 2022, and again on October 25, 2023, but no such announcement has been made as the same week of October comes to an end this year. Hopefully, that means no price increases are planned for the likes of Apple Music and Apple TV+ this year, but knock on wood.

Here are the current monthly prices of Apple's services in the U.S.:

• Apple News+: $12.99 per month
• Apple Music: $10.99 per month
• Apple TV+: $9.99 per month
• Apple Fitness+: $9.99 per month
• Apple Arcade: $6.99 per month

Apple One subscription bundle prices have not changed either.

Take this as a bit of good news on a Friday, or we reminded Apple that it still needs to increase prices and we will forever regret publishing this story.

Starting with iOS 18.2, Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. have access to daily sudoku puzzles, with easy, moderate, and challenging difficulty levels.

A scoreboard tracks your sudoku stats, including your total number of puzzles solved, fastest completion times per difficulty level, and more.

Sudoku is also available in Apple News+ on iPadOS 18.2, and likely macOS Sequoia 15.2. It is the fourth puzzle game to be included with an Apple News+ subscription, alongside Crossword, Crossword Mini, and Quartiles.

In the U.S., Apple News+ costs $12.99 per month, and the service is also included in the Apple One Premier subscription bundle alongside Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, and iCloud+ with 2TB of storage for $37.95 per month.

The first iOS 18.2 beta was released this week for devices with Apple Intelligence support, including iPhone 15 Pro models and all iPhone 16 models. The software update is expected to be widely released to the public in December.

iOS 18.2 also includes additional Apple Intelligence features, such as Image Playground and Genmoji. Check out our list of everything new in the first iOS 18.2 beta for an overview of most of the new features and changes discovered so far.

Apple has teased an "exciting week of announcements" starting on Monday, and going on its teaser image, new Macs are sure to feature prominently. However, there are some hardware updates on Apple's roadmap that are unlikely to be a part of those announcements.

Below, we've recapped what not to expect from Apple's series of product announcements through the last week of October going into November.

M4 MacBook Air

Apple in March 2024 launched updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models equipped with Apple's M3 chip, and the company will soon start production of M4 versions ahead of an early 2025 launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. There are no new design changes planned for the ‌MacBook Air‌ models, and the focus will be on the M4 chip. The ‌machines will arrive next year between January and March.

M4 Mac Studio

Apple plans to refresh the Mac Studio after the M4 MacBook Air has been released in early 2025. It will be equipped with a variation of the M4 processor, which could be an M4 Ultra or Max chip. The current model comes in both M2 Max and M2 Ultra variants. Mark Gurman claims that the ‌Mac Studio‌ was on track to be updated alongside the ‌MacBook Air‌, but it is now going to see a refresh between March and June. In previous reports, he said the ‌Mac Studio‌ would come out in mid-2025, so it is unclear what has changed.

M4 Mac Pro

Apple last updated the Mac Pro in June 2023, adding an M2 Ultra chip and officially completing the transition away from Intel chips. Apple will refresh the Mac Pro in the summer of 2025, according to Mark Gurman. Like the Mac Studio, the next Mac Pro will skip the M3 series. Instead it will be equipped with the highest-end version of the M4 chip, codenamed "Hidra." Based on the description of the chip, it could be positioned as an "Ultra" or "Extreme" chip. It could also support up to 512GB of memory, a notable increase over the current 192GB limit.

iPhone SE 4

Apple plans to release a new iPhone SE with Apple Intelligence support early next year, with a launch in March or April most likely, according to Mark Gurman. The fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to have a similar design as the base iPhone 14, with rumored features including a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a newer A-series chip, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of RAM for Apple Intelligence support, and an Apple-designed 5G modem. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple suppliers will begin mass production in December.

iPad

Apple has already updated the iPad Air and iPad Pro this year, and the company released the new iPad mini 7 earlier this month, which leaves the entry-level iPad as the most likely candidate next in line to receive an update. Don't expect an announcement next week though.

Apple's most affordable iPad model will receive an 11th-generation update with Apple Intelligence capabilities in late 2025, according to Mark Gurman. The timeline indicates a significant gap since the last refresh of the entry-level iPad, which occurred in October 2022. The delayed update could be attributed to the technical requirements of implementing AI capabilities in a budget-friendly $349 device.

AirPods Pro 3

Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market, but they aren't expected to see a refresh until next year, according to Gurman. The 2025 ‌AirPods Pro‌ will be updated with a new design and a faster chip, plus the earbuds will inherit Apple's upcoming new hearing health features.

Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak on Thursday teased an "exciting week of announcements" planned next week, and that likely rules out a prerecorded Apple Event video this month, despite Apple streaming a short, spooky "Scary Fast" event last October.

Nevertheless, YouTube channel Front Page Tech has stepped in with its own rendition of the Apple Event we aren't getting this month. In the video, Jon Prosser does his best impression of Apple CEO Tim Cook and announces all of the rumored new Macs with M4 chips. The video is somewhat of a parody, so don't take it too seriously, but it's also an impressive production feat that Prosser's team spent nearly a month working on.

After you are done watching, check out our own recap of everything that Apple is expected to announce next week to learn more.

Apple plans to introduce the first Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.1, debuting Writing Tools, notification summaries, smart replies, and more. iOS 18.1 will be followed by iOS 18.2, which Apple started testing this week.

iOS 18.2 has Genmoji, Image Playground, and Siri ChatGPT integration, but there are still some ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features that won't be introduced until even later.

More Siri Features

Apple plans to make major updates to ‌Siri‌, and has outlined new functionality that will make ‌Siri‌ much more helpful. ‌Siri‌ will be able to learn more about you through your communications and actions on your iPhone, but this personal context won't be coming until a later update.

Personal context will incorporate texts, emails, notes, and more, so you'll be able to ask ‌Siri‌ for things like a flight number buried in an email, or a recipe that a friend once texted you.

‌Siri‌ will also be able to do more in apps, both first and third-party, with in-app actions. ‌Siri‌ will be able to do things like edit a photo for you and then send it to someone in the Messages app, or pull a PDF from an email and save it to the Files app.

‌Siri‌ will also be able to get information and take action in third-party apps, doing things like getting a weather readout from Carrot Weather or scheduling an event in Fantastical.

New ‌Siri‌ capabilities will either come in iOS 18.3 or iOS 18.4 in 2025.

Genmoji on macOS

macOS Sequoia 15.2 includes support for ‌Image Playground‌, but it does not have ‌Genmoji‌ integration as of yet. You can create ‌Genmoji‌ with iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, but there is no Mac feature for making custom emoji characters.

Memory Movies on macOS

The Memory Movie feature that lets you create slideshows from your photos using text descriptions is limited to the ‌iPhone‌ and iPad in iOS/iPadOS 18.1 and later. It will come to ‌macOS Sequoia‌ in the future.

Priority Notifications

Apple is working on a feature that will show you your most important notifications first. Priority Notifications will show up at the top of your notification stack.

More Languages

Apple plans to add support for more languages in 2025, including Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, and more.

Apple Intelligence Release Timing

Writing Tools, the new ‌Siri‌ design, Type to ‌Siri‌, notification summaries, smart replies, Clean Up in Photos, and several other features are available in iOS 18.1, which will be released on Monday, October 28.

‌Image Playground‌, ‌Genmoji‌, ‌Siri‌ ChatGPT integration, and other features will be released in iOS 18.2, which will likely launch in December. iOS 18.2 will be the last iOS update of 2024.

All other ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features are expected in iOS 18.3 and iOS 18.4, which will be released in 2025. iOS 18.3 could come as soon as late January, while iOS 18.4 will likely be a March update.

As we get into the final months of 2024, now is a good opportunity to look back at devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year.

Apple products discontinued this year include the iPad 9, SuperDrive, FineWoven cases for the iPhone, and the Powerbeats Pro earbuds.

This list excludes most previous-generation devices that were discontinued this year as part of annual updates to Apple's product lineup, such as the iPhone 15 Pro and Apple Watch Series 9. The one exception to this rule is the iPad 9, as that device was discontinued in May, over a year and a half after the iPad 10 launched.

Check out our previous lists of Apple products discontinued in 2023, 2022, and 2021 as well.

iPad 9

On the same day that it unveiled new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in May, Apple discontinued the ninth-generation, entry-level iPad. In addition, Apple lowered the price of the tenth-generation iPad, which now starts at $349 in the U.S., down from $449.

SuperDrive

In August, the SuperDrive went out of stock on Apple's online store in the U.S., and it is now listed as sold out or unavailable in all countries. Given it has yet to return, it seems likely that Apple has discontinued the 16-year-old accessory.

Introduced in 2008, the SuperDrive is an external CD/DVD drive that was released alongside the original MacBook Air, which lacked a built-in CD/DVD drive. Despite having an outdated USB-A cable attached to it, the SuperDrive remained available on Apple's online store until just recently, becoming one of the company's longest-sold products.

FineWoven Cases

Apple last year discontinued its leather accessories, including iPhone cases, and it introduced a new "FineWoven" fabric material as a replacement.

"FineWoven" cases for the iPhone 15 series were widely panned, and it appears that Apple was well aware of this feedback, as the material is no longer offered for iPhone 16 cases just a year later. It is unclear if Apple will come up with a new solution.

Powerbeats Pro

Apple this month quietly discontinued the Powerbeats Pro, around five and a half years after the wireless earbuds launched.

Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks for a secure fit. Key features of the original Powerbeats Pro include the H1 chip that debuted in the AirPods 2, IPX4-rated sweat and water resistance, up to nine hours of battery life, and silicone ear tips with four size options.

In a short teaser video last month, Apple revealed that it will be launching new Powerbeats Pro 2 next year. The earbuds look similar to the original Powerbeats Pro, but they have a more vertical, slimmer design. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris later discovered iOS 18 code revealing that the Powerbeats Pro 2 will feature heart rate monitoring during workouts, and gain support for Active Noise Cancellation, Spatial Audio, and Adaptive Audio.

Apple today released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro 2, with the software available for both the USB-C and Lightning models. The ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 firmware has a build number of 7B19, up from the 7A305 firmware released in September.

The new ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 firmware comes just ahead of when Apple plans to launch Hearing Health features in iOS 18.1. Hearing Health includes a hearing test that mimics an audiologist's test, and hearing aid functionality should that test sense mild to moderate hearing loss.

Release notes for the update are as follows:

• When used with an iPhone or iPad running iOS 18.1 or iPadOS 18.1 or later, AirPods Pro 2 with firmware update 7B19 enable three new features—a Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection.
• The Apple Hearing Test feature provides scientifically-validated hearing test results from the comfort of home (intended for users 18 years or older).
• The Hearing Aid feature provides personalized, clinical-grade assistance that is automatically applied to sounds in your environment as well as music, videos, and calls (intended for users 18 years or older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss)
• The Hearing Protection feature helps users minimize exposure to loud environmental noise across listening modes (available in the United States and Canada)

Features require AirPods Pro 2 with firmware version 7B19 or later. All features may not be available for all countries or regions.

Apple has approval for the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 to function as an over-the-counter hearing aid in the United States. The hearing aid capabilities will boost conversations and other environmental sounds for those who have hearing loss issues.

The update also includes a Hearing Protection feature that will continuously monitor the wearer's environment to reduce the impact of loud sounds. This functionality will be limited to the U.S. and Canada at launch.

Hearing Health will be introduced in iOS 18.1, which is set to be released next Monday.

Apple doesn't have a way to manually upgrade AirPods software, but firmware is generally installed over-the-air when the AirPods are in a charging case and connected to an iOS device or Mac.

Apple today updated its TestFlight app, adding new features that are designed to streamline the app beta testing process. TestFlight is the app that developers can use to distribute their app to beta testers ahead of when the app is released.

The app has also been redesigned on the iPhone and iPad.

Invites to beta test an app include an app description, plus developers can opt to include screenshots and information about their app category.

To narrow down potential testers, developers can set tester criteria that must be met in order to join a beta. Testers who decide not to join a particular beta can provide feedback to a developer explaining why. Apple's release notes for the update are below.

This update includes several key improvements to enhance your testing experience:

• Invitations include a beta app description and developers can now also choose to include screenshots and their app category.
• Developers can now set tester criteria you must meet in order to join a beta.
• You can share with developers why you decided not to join a beta through a new feedback option.

Additionally, this update includes stability improvements and bug fixes.

TestFlight is a free app for ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, Mac, and Vision Pro, and it can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Private Cloud Compute is a cloud intelligence system that Apple designed for private artificial intelligence processing, and it's what Apple is using to keep Apple Intelligence requests secure when they need to be processed in the cloud.

Apple promised to allow security and privacy researchers to verify the end-to-end security and privacy promises that Apple made with Private Cloud Compute, and today, Apple made its Private Cloud Compute Virtual Research Environment (VRE) and other materials publicly available to all security researchers.

Apple has a Private Cloud Compute (PCC) Security Guide that details all of the components of PCC and how they work to provide privacy for cloud-based AI processing. Apple released the source code for select components of PCC that help implement its security and privacy requirements, which allows for a deeper dive into PCC.

The Virtual Research Environment is a set of tools that lets researchers perform their own security analysis on PCC using a Mac. The VRE can be used for inspecting PCC software releases, verifying the consistency of the transparency log, booting a release in a virtualized environment, and modifying and debugging PCC software for deeper investigation. The VRE can be accessed in the macOS 18.1 Developer Preview and can be used with a Mac that has an Apple silicon chip and 16GB+ unified memory.

Along with these tools, Apple is expanding its Apple Security Bounty to include rewards for vulnerabilities that demonstrate a compromise of the fundamental privacy and security guarantees of Private Cloud Compute. Security researchers who locate a vulnerability can earn up to $1 million.

Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the second release candidate version of an upcoming macOS Sequoia 15.1 update, with the new software coming one week after Apple released the seventh beta. Apple introduced the first RC on Monday, and there's likely a new version to address an underlying bug.

Registered developers can opt-in to the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. An Apple ID associated with an Apple Developer account is required to get the beta. Public beta testers can sign up on Apple's website.

‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.1 introduces the first Apple Intelligence features, adding support for Writing Tools, new Siri features, Smart Replies in Mail and Messages, Priority messages in the Mail app, Memory Movie and Clean Up in Photos, and more.

The update does not include Image Playground, Genmoji, or more advanced ‌Siri‌ functionality.

Using Apple Intelligence features requires a Mac that has an Apple silicon chip.

Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased that the company has an "exciting week of announcements" planned next week. Joswiak said to "Mac" your calendars, and the post includes an animated icon for the Finder app on the Mac, so it is clear that at least some of next week's announcements will be related to the Mac.

Below, we have recapped what to expect from Apple's announcements next week.

Hardware

MacBook Pro

Apple is expected to announce new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, including an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.

No major external design changes have been rumored for the laptops this year, with improvements such as an OLED display and thinner design not expected until 2026 at the earliest. However, the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro is expected to gain an additional Thunderbolt port compared to the current model, based on alleged leaks earlier this month. Those same leaks revealed that the MacBook Pro lineup might finally start with 16GB of RAM, instead of 8GB, which was rumored even before the leaks happened.

Apple last redesigned the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2021, and the latest models with the M3 family of chips were released last October.

iMac

The next iMac is expected to be equipped with the standard M4 chip, up from the M3 chip in the current model released a year ago. No major design changes have been rumored for Apple's all-in-one desktop computer this year.

It is likely that the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad accessories that are included in the box with the iMac will finally feature USB-C ports, as part of Apple's transition away from Lightning. More on that below.

Mac mini

The next Mac mini is expected to be available with M4 and M4 Pro chip options. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the next Mac mini to be smaller, making it closer in size to an Apple TV, and he said that the computer will gain two front-facing USB-C ports. All in all, the Mac mini is expected to receive its biggest redesign since 2010.

It is unclear if the next Mac mini will also start with 16GB of RAM, instead of the current 8GB.

USB-C Magic Accessories

MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris recently discovered code references to new versions of the Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard, and these accessories will likely switch from Lightning to USB-C for charging alongside the new iMac. In the EU, a regulation requiring USB-C as a common charging port goes into effect later this year.

It is unclear if the accessories will have any other changes.

Software

iOS 18.1 With First Apple Intelligence Features and More

Apple recently confirmed that new AirPods Pro 2 hearing health features will be available as part of iOS 18.1 next week, so there could be an announcement when the software update is released, especially since it also includes the first set of Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models.

Gurman said Apple has planned to release the update on Monday, October 28.

The following other updates are expected to be widely released next week as well:

• iPadOS 18.1
• macOS Sequoia 15.1
• watchOS 11.1
• tvOS 18.1
• HomePod Software 18.1
• visionOS 2.1

Earnings

Apple will be discussing its earnings results for the fourth quarter of its 2024 fiscal year on Thursday, October 31 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. That call will provide early insight into iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10, and AirPods 4 sales, and Apple will likely touch on some of its Mac-related announcements on the call too.

Apple's Greg Joswiak today made it clear that Apple plans to reveal new products next week, teasing refreshed Macs. In a social media post, Joswiak said to "Mac your calendars" because there's an exciting week of announcements that start on Monday morning.

With Joswiak's announcement, it appears that there will not be a dedicated October event for Macs this year, with Apple instead introducing new products via press release. Monday will see the launch of the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 software updates, but new Mac announcements could also start on Monday. In prior years, Apple has done a launch-per-day release schedule for new products when there wasn't an event planned.

Rumors and multiple MacBook Pro leaks indicate that Apple is ready to unveil the first M4 Macs. We are expecting new models of the Mac mini, iMac, and ‌MacBook Pro‌.

The ‌iMac‌, entry-level ‌Mac mini‌, and entry-level ‌MacBook Pro‌ will all include the M4 chip, which we actually already got earlier this year in the iPad Pro models. Higher-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models will use M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, while the ‌Mac mini‌ will also get the M4 Pro.

We aren't expecting design changes for the ‌iMac‌ or ‌MacBook Pro‌, but the ‌Mac mini‌ is rumored to be smaller, closer in size to the Apple TV. With the decrease in size, it could be a bit thicker. For all entry-level models, rumors suggest RAM is going to start at 16GB instead of 8GB, providing better performance for Apple Intelligence features.

Whatever comes next week, we'll have full coverage of the new announcements at MacRumors.com.

The high-end iPhone 17 Pro Max launching next year will feature a smaller Dynamic Island, according to technology analyst Jeff Pu, who has a fairly good track record with Apple rumors. This reiterates information that he first shared in May.

In a research note with investment bank Haitong International earlier this month, obtained by MacRumors, Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro Max will adopt a "metalens" for Face ID that results in a "much narrowed" Dynamic Island on the device. He does not expect this change to apply to the smaller iPhone 17 Pro, or any other iPhone 17 models.

While a traditional iPhone camera has curved lenses that redirect light towards the image sensor, a metalens is a thin and flat lens with microscopic patterns etched onto it that can focus light more precisely. In his research note this month, Pu did not provide any specific details about how Apple plans to use a metalens for the Face ID system, nor did he explain how the change would result in a narrower Dynamic Island.

Apple introduced the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro models in 2022, and it is also available on all iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series next September, and more details about this metalens may surface over the coming months.