MacRumors

Apple is widely rumored to be working on a 4.7-inch low-cost iPhone that resembles the iPhone 8, but code found in a leaked version of iOS 14 suggests that Apple could also release a larger 5.5-inch version of the new low-cost iPhone.

In a report that refers to the new 4.7-inch iPhone as the "iPhone 9," 9to5Mac suggests that Apple is also working on a 5.5-inch "iPhone 9 Plus" that would be sold alongside it. There is no word yet on what these iPhones will be called, and other rumors have referred to this low-cost device as the "iPhone SE 2."

These new 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones will replace the current 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and will be similar to the existing devices with an LCD display, thick bezels, and Touch ID Home button.

Multiple past rumors have indicated that though the new low-cost iPhone will have a design similar to the iPhone 8, it will feature the same A13 processor used in Apple's current iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. We can expect the rumored 5.5-inch version to have the same upgraded processor.

We've also heard that Apple is planning to sell the 4.7-inch low-cost iPhone for $399, and if that's the case, the 5.5-inch version could be priced accordingly at $499. Apple was said to be planning to release the new low-cost iPhone option in the first half of 2020, perhaps as early as March, but it is not clear how the coronavirus outbreak has affected the company's plans.

It's worth noting that there has been no prior mention of a 5.5-inch low-cost iPhone to be sold alongside the 4.7-inch iPhone that we've seen rumored time and time again, so Apple's plans here are not entirely clear.

We have, however, heard a rumor from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who suggests Apple is working on an "iPhone SE 2 Plus" with a full-screen design and no Face ID, meaning Touch ID is built into the power button on the side. Kuo says that this model will be 5.5 or 6.1 inches and will be released in the first half of 2021.

9to5Mac's report suggests the 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones referenced in iOS 14 code have Touch ID Home buttons and therefore, neither one is the higher-end "plus"-sized iPhone referenced by Kuo, but there is still some confusion around these two reports.

An Apple employee who works at Apple's Culver City campus, where its Apple TV+ and Apple Music efforts are headquartered, has tested positive for coronavirus, reports Billboard.

Employees at the Culver City office were notified about the infection on Saturday, but as of today, the campus remains open.

Apple has asked all of its employees with positions that allow them to work from home to do so in an effort to cut down on the spread of the coronavirus, but there are some employees who are not able to work remotely.

A recent report suggested that Apple's guidelines around product secrecy have made it difficult for some software developers working on sensitive products to bring their work home, as they are prevented from accessing important internal systems outside of Apple's campus.

This has led to many engineers continuing their work at Apple's campuses, and there are likely other employees in similar situations at other Apple campuses and offices worldwide, such as the Culver City location.

Culver City is known as a headquarters for movie and television production, and many major studios are located in the area. Apple's video content team works out of its Culver City offices, as does its ‌Apple Music‌ team.

Last week, an Apple employee who worked at a Santa Monica Apple Store contracted coronavirus, and Apple has since shut down all of its retail locations for the next two weeks.

News today also suggests that Apple CEO Tim Cook and iTunes chief Eddy Cue may have been exposed to coronavirus as Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge has been hospitalized after falling ill with the infection. Cook and Cue attended a birthday party for Grainge on February 29, but it's not clear if Grainge had the coronavirus at that time.

Since the virus takes two to 14 days on average to infect after exposure, Cook and Cue are likely safe if no symptoms have appeared at this point, though there are reports of a few outlying incubation times that exceed two weeks.

Apple on Friday shut down all of its retail stores outside of greater China for a two week period in an effort to cut down on the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States and other countries.

Following the store closures, Apple has published an FAQ that answers key questions customers might have about repairs and returns.

When it comes to returns, Apple says that it will accept returns for up to 14 days after its stores reopen, giving customers who need to return a product or an accessory a grace period while the stores are shut down.

Q: I want to return a product I recently purchased but the 14-day return period will end before March 28--what should I do?

A: Don't worry. We'll accept your return up to 14 days after we reopen.

The return policy excludes contracted iPhones in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia and carrier-financed devices in the United States.

As for repairs, Apple says that it is working to complete all repairs and that if a device is awaiting parts or is ready for pickup, an Apple employee will be in touch. Apple Stores have kept some staff available for customers to pick up devices on March 15 or 16 between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Devices ordered for in-store pickup prior to when stores closed can also be picked up between March 15 and 16.

For repairs that are not already in progress, Apple directs customers to its online support staff who will be able to assist customers with mail-in repairs while Apple retail stores are closed.

Apple says that Genius Bar appointments will not be accepted until Apple Stores are reopened on March 28, which is when Apple plans to open stores once again. At this time, it is not clear if that date will be pushed back.

More info can be found in the full FAQ on Apple's website.

Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes continues to report that new AirPods are forthcoming.

A paywalled preview of the report claims that suppliers of "Apple's upcoming AirPods series" are more worried about the COVID-19 pandemic affecting demand of the earphones than the virus impacting the supply chain. AirPods sales could be affected by factors such as closed Apple Stores and increasing calls for people to stay home if possible amid the pandemic.

Apple released higher-end AirPods Pro in October 2019 with several improvements over regular AirPods, including active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and water and sweat resistance, along with a new in-ear design. AirPods Pro are priced at $249 in the United States, while regular AirPods with a wireless charging case are $199.

Earlier this month, it was rumored that a new entry-level version of AirPods Pro will enter production by the second quarter of 2020, but no further details have been shared. It has been speculated that the earphones could end up being third-generation regular AirPods with the same design and sound quality as AirPods Pro, but without active noise cancelation. Apple released its second-generation AirPods on Wednesday, March 20 last year.

Launch timing of various rumored Apple products is uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple today filed an unreleased iPad model A2229 in the Eurasian Economic Commission database, as confirmed by MacRumors. The tablet is listed as running iPadOS 13, but it is unclear if it is an iPad, iPad Pro, or iPad mini.

In January, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasted that Apple will launch refreshed iPad Pro models with a triple-lens rear camera system and 3D sensing for augmented reality in the first half of 2020, although it is unclear if the COVID-19 pandemic has changed that plan. Earlier this month, Kuo said new iPad Pro, iPad mini, and 10.2-inch iPad models with Mini-LED backlit displays will be released by the end of 2021.

Eurasian Economic Commission filings like these have foreshadowed the release of new Apple products on numerous occasions over the years, including multiple Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPad Pro, Apple Watch, and AirPods models. The filings are legally required for any encrypted devices sold in Russia and select other countries.

The time between these Eurasian filings and Apple announcing new products can vary from days to months. March is a common month for Apple to launch new products, including new Powerbeats this morning, so it is possible that at least one new iPad model could be announced with a press release at some point this month. MacRumors learned that a new MacBook Air is also possible as early as this week.

Apple's stock opened at $241.31 today, down over 25 percent from a closing price of $327.20 on February 12. After the opening bell, stock market trading was automatically suspended for 15 minutes due to an over seven percent decline in the S&P 500.

Apple's stock price has seen wild fluctuations due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, with shares now rebounding above $250 on the intraday market.

In an internal memo to Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that its network of authorized repair shops will receive maximum payouts for qualifying product repairs for the months of March and April, regardless of their monthly performance metrics. Apple is making this move to ensure that its authorized technicians are financially supported amid the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple also told its technicians that it supports their decisions and encourages them to be thoughtful regarding the safety of its employees and the operations of their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple has taken several measures in response to the novel coronavirus. Last week, the company announced that it would be temporarily closing all of its retail stores outside of China until at least March 27, has committed $15 million to date for COVID-19 relief efforts, and has encouraged corporate employees to work remotely if their job allows. Apple also announced that WWDC 2020 will be an online event and that Apple Card customers are able to enroll in a program that allows them to skip their March payment without interest.

Apple's Beats subsidiary today announced an updated version of its Powerbeats 3 headphones, with the new version simply called "Powerbeats" with no number. Version wise, though, these are the rumored Powerbeats 4 headphones that we've been seeing in iOS 13 for the last few months, and they'll be officially available to purchase this Wednesday, March 18.

Design wise, the Powerbeats look similar to the Powerbeats 3, but have an angled earpiece that's closer in design to the Powerbeats Pro and a cord that trails down from the earhook rather than the opposite side. Apple says this makes for a natural, ergonomic contour around the neck.

Like the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌, the new Powerbeats have an angled in-ear fit and wraparound earhooks, but there is a wire between the Powerbeats that connects the two earbuds to one another. Apple ships the Powerbeats with eartips in four sizes for optimal sound and comfort for each user.

Physical playback controls are included on each earbud for doing things like adjusting the volume, skipping songs, declining or accepting incoming calls, and playing and pausing music.

Apple has included an H1 chip in the Powerbeats for faster pairing with iOS devices, quick switching between devices that are signed into the same iCloud account, and hands-free "Hey Siri" support. Powerbeats work with Apple's audio sharing feature that lets two sets of Apple-designed headphones connect to one iPhone or iPad.

When it comes to sound, Powerbeats deliver the same rich audio as the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ with pistonic drivers that offer clean sound reproduction with low distortion across the frequency curve and enhanced clarity and dynamic range.

The Powerbeats have an IPX4 water resistance rating, which is the same water resistance rating as the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌. IPX4 means the new Powerbeats will be able to hold up to sweat and splashes of water, though keeping them as dry as possible is always preferable.

There are dual beamforming microphones inside of the Powerbeats for enhanced call quality along with Class 1 Bluetooth for extended range and fewer dropouts. Powerbeats will last for 15 hours on a single charge (3 hours longer than Powerbeats 3), plus there's a 5-minute Fast Fuel feature that provides an hour of listening time after a five-minute charge.

Unlike the ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ and the AirPods, the standard Powerbeats do not have a charging case and will need to be charged using a Lightning cable.

Powerbeats are a significant upgrade over the existing Powerbeats 3, but Apple is also dropping the price. While the Powerbeats 3 were priced at $199.95, Apple is charging $149.95 for the new Powerbeats.

The Powerbeats will be available in Black, White, or Red and can be purchased from Apple's online store starting this Wednesday, March 18.

France's competition watchdog on Monday fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.23 billion) for anti-competitive behavior in its distribution network and an abuse of economic dependence on its resellers, reports Reuters.

At the same time, France's Competition Authority also levied fines of $84.7 million and $69 million against Apple wholesalers Tech Data and Ingram Micro for their roles in the anti-competitive practices.

In announcing its largest ever fine, the Competition Authority's president, Isabelle de Silva, gave a statement summarizing the findings of its investigation that led to the decision, an English machine language translation of which follows:

"During this case, the Authority deciphered the very specific practices that had been implemented by Apple for the distribution of its products in France (excluding iPhones), such as the iPad. First, Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products. Secondly, so-called Premium distributors could not risk promoting or lowering prices without risk, which led to an alignment of retail prices between Apple's integrated distributors and independent Premium distributors.

"Finally, Apple has abused the economic dependence of these Premium distributors on it, by subjecting them to unfair and unfavorable commercial conditions compared to its network of integrated distributors. In view of the strong impact of these practices on competition in the distribution of Apple products via Apple premium resellers, the Authority has imposed the highest penalty ever pronounced in a case (1.24 billion euros). It is also the heaviest sanction pronounced against an economic player, in this case Apple (1.1 billion euros), whose extraordinary dimension has been duly taken into account. Finally, the Authority considered that, in the present case, Apple had committed an abuse of economic dependence on its premium retailers, a practice which the Authority considers to be particularly serious.

"Apple and its two wholesalers have agreed not to compete with each other and to prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products," it said.

According to the French anti-trust agency, the case originally opened after a dispute between Apple and one of its leading French wholesalers, eBizcuss. The premium reseller accused Apple of abusing its position and in 2012 it shut down in France as a result of what it claimed was unfair competition.

A spokesperson for Apple told CNBC:

"The French Competition Authority's decision is disheartening. It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards thirty years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries. We strongly disagree with them and plan to appeal."

Apple in its October earnings call said that France's competition authority had alleged that some aspects of its sales and distribution practices were in violation of French law, but did not provide details on which aspects of its business were under investigation.

Apple earlier this year was fined 25 million euros by French consumer fraud group DGCCRF for intentionally slowing down iPhone 6, ‌iPhone‌ SE, and ‌iPhone‌ 7 models with the power management software that was meant to prevent older iPhones with degraded batteries from shutting down during times of peak power usage.

Apple's unreleased A14 chip is rumored to be the first Arm-based mobile processor to officially exceed 3GHz, according to a new report by Research Snipers.

Apple's A14 processor, the successor to the A13 chip in both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, is expected to debut this fall in Apple's "iPhone 12" models. The report highlights the suspected Geekbench 4 score of the A14 chip, with a frequency reaching 3.1GHz. This would be 400MHz higher than Apple's current A13 Bionic chip with a frequency of 2.7GHz.

At such a frequency, the chip's Geekbench 5 running points have surged. The report mentions that the A14's single-core performance shows a score of 1658 (up 25% from the A13), and a multi-core score of 4612 points (up 33% from the A13). The extra processing power will be helpful in running simultaneous workflows, navigating through apps, and more.

Apple chipmaker TSMC is expected to ramp up production of Apple's 5nm-based A14 chipsets in as early as April of this year.

In addition to the A14 chip, rumors recently have mentioned both Arm processors with Mac Pro level performance and a Mac with an Apple-designed Arm processor are in the works.

According to new research by Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk, dozens of popular iOS apps are reading the contents of the pasteboard without user consent, which could include sensitive information.

The investigation discovered that many popular apps, such as TikTok, 8 Ball Pool™, and Hotels.com, quietly read any text found in the pasteboard every time the app is opened.

iOS and iPadOS apps have unrestricted access to the system-wide pasteboard, also known as the clipboard, as of iOS 13.3.

Text left in the pasteboard may be inconsequential, but it could also be highly sensitive data such as passwords or financial information. The potential security risks of this vulnerability have previously been investigated by Bakry and Mysk, where they found that precise location information was leaking through the system pasteboard.

A diverse range of apps, from popular games and social networking apps, to news apps of major news organizations such as Fox News or The Wall Street Journal, were examined using standard Apple development tools. Many of these apps do not provide any UI that manages text, yet they read the text content of the pasteboard every time they are opened.

It is also of note that if Universal Clipboard is enabled, an app may also access whatever has been copied on a Mac.

What exactly these apps do with the contents of the pasteboard once they have read it is unknown.

The process of tech companies sending thousands of employees home amid the coronavirus crisis has been messy, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The shift has been tough on Apple especially, due to strict guidelines and secrecy around its products.

The report mentions that software developers who were sent home have been complaining of both slow download speeds and confusion about what work they are allowed to perform. Other employees have been unable to access key internal systems from home due to Apple's stringent security policies.

Many engineers have continued to work at Apple's headquarters to adhere to Apple's policy of forbidding any unreleased products to leave the campus. Some staff say that Apple has loosened restrictions, however. One Apple employee mentioned "it's all about lowering the density," thus highlighting the importance of social distancing amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Apple has taken several measures in response to the coronavirus. Just this week, it was announced that Apple would be temporarily closing all Apple Stores outside of China, committing $15 million to date for COVID-19 relief efforts, and encouraging corporate employees to work remotely if their job allows. It was also announced that WWDC this year will be an online event and Apple Card customers are able to enroll in a program that will allow them to skip March payment without interest.

Apple today announced that it is evaluating COVID-19 coronavirus-related apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable and that developers presenting these apps are from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions.

Apple says only developers from one of the above types of recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19, adding that entertainment or game apps with a COVID-19 theme will not be allowed on the App Store.

Apple adds that recognized entities can request an expedited review of COVID-19 apps here.

Apple also gave a reminder that nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities that plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store related to COVID-19 can request to have their $99 annual membership fee for the Apple Developer Program waived, if based in an eligible country.

The full announcement:

The App Store should always be a safe and trusted place for users to download apps. Now more than ever that commitment takes on special significance as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities around the world are depending on apps to be credible news sources — helping users understand the latest health innovations, find out where they can get help if needed or provide assistance to their neighbors.

To help fulfill these expectations, we're evaluating apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable and that developers presenting these apps are from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions. Only developers from one of these recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19. Entertainment or game apps with COVID-19 as their theme will not be allowed.

We understand the need to get these apps into the hands of customers as soon as possible. We encourage developers that meet this criteria to select "Time-Sensitive Event" on the expedite request form to ensure prioritized review since App Store review may take longer.

If you are developing an app on behalf of a client, please advise your client to add you to the development team of their Apple Developer account. If your client does not yet have an Apple Developer account, they can enroll in the Apple Developer Program. Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities that plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store can request to have their annual membership fee waived, if based in an eligible country.

This is one of many measures that Apple is taking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple on Friday announced that all of its retail stores outside of the Greater China region are closed through March 27 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. However, multiple sources have indicated that Apple is keeping some of its retail stores open this weekend for customers with pending in-store pickups only.

At least some Apple retail employees in the U.S. and Canada are reportedly still being asked to go into work today to assist with in-store pickups tied to Apple's online store and Genius Bar repairs that had already been processed.

An online Apple support representative has indicated that customers will be able to collect their pending pickups between March 14 and March 16 during limited opening hours. All other in-store services are unavailable until March 27.

It is unclear if this policy is in place at all of Apple's stores in the U.S. and Canada, or in other countries, so we recommend contacting Apple.

Apple Card holders today received an email informing them that should they need financial assistance due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, they can enroll in a new customer assistance program that will allow them to skip their March payment without incurring interest charges for that billing cycle.

To initiate the process, send the following message to Apple Card support via iMessage: "I would like to enroll in the Customer Assistance Program."

The email was shared by Reddit user exjr_:

This is one of many measures that Apple is taking in response to the pandemic, along with announcing that WWDC 2020 will be an online event, temporarily closing all Apple Stores outside of China, committing $15 million to date for COVID-19 relief efforts, encouraging corporate employees to work remotely if their job allows, and more.

It was a massive week for news and rumors, led by Apple officially announcing that this year's WWDC will be a digital-only event due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. Apple is also closing all of its retail stores outside of China for the next two weeks.

On the rumor front, there were a ton of iOS 14 leaks this week, while we also heard some rumors from several sources about upcoming notebook updates, so check out our video above and read on below for all of the details!

Apple Announces WWDC 2020 Will Be a Digital-Only Event Set to Take Place in June

In what shouldn't come as a tremendous shock to anyone, Apple has announced that this year's Worldwide Developers Conference will be a digital-only event with no physical gathering due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus around the world. The online-only event will take place in June.

We don't yet the know exact dates or just how the digital event will be structured, but Apple says WWDC will be "packed with content" for consumers, press, and developers alike. Millions of creative and innovative developers will be provided with early access with new software, and will be able to engage with Apple engineers.

iOS 14 Leak: Apple Testing New iMessage Features Such as Slack-Like Mentions and Unsending Messages

Beyond WWDC, this week's Apple news was dominated by iOS 14 leaks, including new iMessage features exclusively shared by MacRumors.

For starters, Apple is testing a new Slack-like mention system that would allow users to tag other contacts with their name like @Joe or @Jane. This would be particularly useful in busy group chat conversations, as it would be possible to enable the "Hide Alerts" setting and only receive push notifications when you are mentioned by someone directly.

Other features in development include the ability to retract messages after sending them, typing indicators in group chats, and the option to mark the last message of a conversation as unread after opening it.

Apple Closes All Retail Stores Outside of China Until March 27

Apple, like many large companies, has been taking a number of precautions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading up to the announcement that it will close all of its retail stores worldwide outside of Greater China until March 27. The company has also formally announced several other measures including increased donations, flexible work arrangements with expanded leave policies, and more.

Apple's rumored March event has allegedly been canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and in addition to WWDC, many other large events like Google I/O, Facebook F8, and GDC have also been canceled, postponed, or converted to digital-only.

iOS 14 Leak: Apple Developing Fitness App That Lets You Download Guided Workout Videos

Apple appears to be working on a new fitness app for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV that is designed to let users download guided fitness-related videos that will walk them through various workouts.

The app, which is codenamed "Seymour" in iOS 14, may be named "Fit" or "Fitness" when it is released. Apple appears to be aiming to release the app for iOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14, and it seems to be a standalone app that will be available alongside the existing Activity app.

More Leaks in iOS 14, Expanded Cursor Support on iPad Pro, New Apple TV Remote, and More

Apple is rumored to be working on a ‌Smart Keyboard‌ for the iPad Pro that includes a trackpad, and we've now learned that iPadOS 14 will likely include expanded cursor capabilities and new gestures.

Other leaks this week include Apple Watch blood oxygen monitoring, an icon depicting over-ear headphones with AirPods branding, watch face sharing, a new augmented reality app codenamed "Gobi," a new Apple TV remote, and more.

Camera Comparison: iPhone 11 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra

Last week, we picked up a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and did a feature overview to see if it's worth $1,400, but we also thought we'd take a deeper look at Samsung's newest smartphone to see how the cameras measure up to the cameras in the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Subscribe to MacRumors on YouTube for new Apple-related videos every week!

New MacBook Air Possible as Early as Next Week

According to a source with a reasonable track record, Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models next week. We have yet to confirm this information, but given the tipster's established track record, we have elected to share this rumor. We don't have any other details from this source, but we're also waiting for a number of other product releases from Apple, so we'll have to see if there's more in the works for the weeks ahead.

This claim comes following a research note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo Apple indicating that Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with scissor keyboards in the second quarter of 2020.

Kuo also said Apple plans to launch MacBook models with its own custom processors in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021, followed by MacBook models with an all-new design in the second or third quarter of 2021.

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