MacRumors

Update: Apple has issued the following statement: "Apple is not a party to this case, and the order has no impact on any Apple products," confirming that current iPhones on the market won't be affected by the ruling. Original article follows.

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Apple could potentially end up having to drop a key supplier of iPhone OLED panels, following a preliminary ruling issued by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that found Chinese display maker BOE violated federal trade secret laws.

The ITC found that BOE and seven of its subsidiaries misappropriated Samsung Display's trade secrets to manufacture panels, violating Section 337 of the Tariff Act. The commission has proposed banning BOE's OLED imports and ordering existing U.S. inventories be removed from sale.

Apple could be looking at significant supply chain disruption if the ruling stands. BOE supplies around 20% of OLED displays for the iPhone 16 lineup and has built annual capacity for 100 million iPhone panels. The company has even established a dedicated facility in Sichuan province specifically for Apple orders after entering the iPhone display market with the iPhone 12.

The ITC will issue a final determination in November, followed by a 60-day presidential review. According to analysts, these sort of preliminary rulings are rarely overturned. Whichever way things go, existing Apple devices already imported to the U.S. wouldn't be impacted by the ITC ruling, however Business Korea notes that the legal risks could lead Apple to reconsider its dependence on BOE.

As for alternative suppliers, Samsung and LG Display would likely absorb BOE's iPhone panel orders if the import ban takes effect.

The trade secret ruling comes amid escalating patent disputes between the two display giants. BOE and Samsung Display now have six active cases against each other, including five patent infringement suits and the trade secret case.

BOE recently filed its second patent lawsuit in two months, targeting Samsung's Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold5, Fold6, and the S25 Ultra. BOE has asked the court to ban the import, sale, and distribution of the products in the U.S., as well as full legal cost compensation.

(Via DigiTimes.)

The British government may be forced to drop its plans to force Apple to build a backdoor to access encrypted user data, the Financial Times reports.

In February, it emerged that the British government had secretly demanded Apple gives it access to all encrypted user content uploaded to iCloud. It argued the ability, which is unprecedented for any other democratic country, is necessary for law enforcement and the security services to investigate serious crimes such as terrorism and child sexual abuse. In response, Apple removed Advanced Data Protection from the UK‌ and filed a legal complaint in an attempt to quash the demand.

Now, senior British officials speaking to the Financial Times say that the UK is likely to drop the plan amid pressure from the U.S. government:

This is something that the vice-president is very annoyed about and which needs to be resolved. The Home Office is basically going to have to back down.

One of the challenges for the tech partnerships we're working on is the encryption issue. It's a big red line in the US — they don't want us messing with their tech companies.

The demand to build a backdoor into ‌iCloud‌ and break Apple's end-to-end encryption could impede vital technology agreements with the U.S. related to artificial intelligence and data partnerships, and has already caused friction between the two governments. Senior members of the U.S. administration, including the President, Vice-President, and Director of National Intelligence, have all raised strong objections to the British government's request.

The Financial Times says that the British Home Office has handled the issue of Apple encryption "very badly" and now has "its back against the wall." For now, the government still appears to be pursuing the demand and apparently discussed next steps with lawyers as recently as this month.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

The first iOS 26 public beta should arrive this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

"All indications are that iOS 26 should go into the public beta phase this coming week," said Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.

In a social media post last week, Gurman said that the iOS 26 public beta would likely be released on or around Wednesday, July 23.

Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, but it did not provide a more specific timeframe.

The first public betas of iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, watchOS 26, and HomePod software 26 should be released alongside the iOS 26 public beta, and Apple is also planning to offer a public beta of its next major AirPods firmware update for the first time. Apple does not plan to offer a visionOS 26 public beta, though, according to its beta website.

Anyone can sign up to be a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, for free, and gain access to the public betas for testing. As always, we highly recommend backing up your devices before installing beta software, in case of issues.

All of the updates are already available in developer beta. A few years ago, Apple dropped the requirement to pay $99 per year for an Apple Developer Program membership in order to access the developer betas, but you still need to have an Apple Developer account. Technically, though, the public should wait for the public betas.

Looking ahead, the first iOS 27 rumor has surfaced.

According to Gurman, Apple will formally kick off development of iOS 27 soon, and the company plans to prioritize software features that are tailored for the long-rumored foldable iPhone. That device is expected to launch in the second half of next year.

Apple's next-generation iPad Pro models will be equipped with two front-facing cameras, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the upcoming iPad Pro models with the M5 chip will have both portrait and landscape cameras, letting you capture photos and go on video calls without having to worry about the device's orientation.

The current iPad Pro models with the M4 chip have a single front camera that is designed to be used in landscape orientation.

Face ID already works in any orientation on the iPad Pro.

After being updated with an OLED display and a much thinner design last year, the iPad Pro will likely receive relatively smaller upgrades this year. For now, the key rumored changes include the M5 chip and the dual front cameras.

Last year, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said iPad Pro models with an M5 chip would enter mass production in the second half of 2025. The current iPad Pro models with the M4 chip launched in May 2024, and Apple typically updates the iPad Pro on a roughly 18-month cycle, so the next models could be released in September or October.

OWC kicked off a new Back To School sale this week, offering big discounts on a variety of USB-C docks, memory cards, external drives and enclosures, and Mac accessories. Some of these deals won't be applied until you add the items to your cart, at which time an automatic coupon will be applied to your order.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with OWC. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

There are a few notable deals in this sale, including $130 off the popular 14-Port Thunderbolt Dock for Mac, available for $149.99, which is the steepest discount we've seen in months on the accessory. If you purchase a qualifying new or used Mac at the same time as this dock, you can get an additional $20 off the accessory at checkout.

Docks and Hubs

• OWC USB-C Travel Dock - $34.99, down from $49.99
• Thunderbolt Mini Dock - $89.99, down from $129.99
• Thunderbolt Hub - $109.99, down from $129.99
• 14-Port Thunderbolt Dock - $149.99, down from $279.99
• Thunderbolt Go Dock - $199.99 when added to cart, down from $349.99

Memory Cards

• 480GB OWC Atlas Pro - $149.99, down from $199.99
• 960GB OWC Atlas Pro - $299.99, down from $399.99

External Drives and Enclosures

• 2TB Envoy Pro FX SSD - $299.99, down from $379.99
• 4TB Envoy Pro FX - $459.99, down from $649.99

Miscellaneous

• 2M USB-C to USB-C Charging Cable - $3.99, down from $14.99
• Matias Wireless Multi-Pairing Keyboard - $49.99, down from $69.00

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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We're less than two months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 17 family, and it seems like things are starting to firm up about just which color options we might see across the four models in the lineup.

The iOS 26 public beta is also rapidly approaching, and we're continuing to hear details about Apple's plans for a foldable iPhone next year, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. An "internal document" obtained by Macworld allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models, including a new "orange" or copper color for the Pro and Pro Max.

Relatedly, a separate rumor claims there is a "special" color for the Pro models connected to the Liquid Glass theme of iOS 26. It's unclear whether this is the "white" color being mentioned by other sources, but it could have a somewhat refractive finish for a glassy look to match the user interface design.

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Apple has so far only said that public betas of iOS 26 and the other upcoming major operating system updates will be coming in July, but it now looks like we may have an approximate date, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claiming the iOS 26 public beta should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23.

For some of our latest iOS 26 coverage, check out our guides to changes and new features in Messages, Notes and Reminders, and the Camera app.

Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks

Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June.

While not everything exactly matched what Apple unveiled for iOS 26, Prosser's renderings were undoubtedly based on genuine iOS builds from earlier in the development cycle. Apple clearly took notice, as the company filed a lawsuit this week against Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti for misappropriation of trade secrets.

Foldable iPhone's Thickness and Price Range Detailed in New Reports

Apple appears to be gearing up for a late 2026 debut of its long-rumored foldable iPhone, finally putting it into direct competition with Samsung and other companies that have been offering foldables for years.

New rumors suggest the foldable iPhone could have a starting price in the $1,800–$2,000 range and have a thickness of at least 4.8 mm when unfolded. That compares to earlier rumors claiming it could be as thin as 4.5 mm.

Apple is said to be sourcing its "crease-free" display for the device from Samsung, with the cutting-edge technology also likely making its way into Samsung's own Galaxy Z Fold8 next year.

Ranked: The Best Features Rumored for the iPhone 17 Lineup

We have just under two months to go until the debut of Apple's iPhone 17 models, and rumors have been ramping up in recent weeks. To recap, we went through everything we know so far, pulling out the most exciting rumors and highlighting some other changes that aren't going to be so great.

Topping the list are the all-new thin "iPhone 17 Air," upgraded selfie cameras across the board, and a rumored new orange-ish color for the Pro models, while other changes like the large rear camera bump and a return to aluminum instead of titanium for the Pro models may be less well received.

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know About Apple's Answer to Meta Ray-Bans

Apple is working on a set of smart glasses that will rival Meta's popular AI-equipped Ray-Bans, offering many of the same features. Rumors about Apple's work on the glasses have been picking up, and we've gathered all of the information we've heard in a recent guide.

While Apple is working toward augmented-reality smart glasses with a built-in display, it's going to start with display-less models that offer cameras, speakers, sensors, and AI integration to act an as iPhone accessory.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

All of the iPhone 17 models coming later this year will feature two display upgrades, according to information shared by Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

First, the account said that the entire iPhone 17 series will feature thinner bezels. Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max feature the thinnest bezels around the screen of any product it has ever released, and those ultra-thin bezels should now expand from the Pro models to the lower-end iPhone 17 and "iPhone 17 Air" models.

Second, the account said that the iPhone 17 models will feature a new Dynamic Island user interface, but they did not elaborate. It may be that, on the software side, iOS 26 introduces a redesigned Dynamic Island exclusively on all iPhone 17 models. On the hardware side, a smaller Dynamic Island cutout has been rumored, but rumors have conflicted about whether it will debut on the iPhone 17 models this year or on the iPhone 18 models next year.

Digital Chat Station has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past, but these are still just rumors for the time being.

Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, so we will learn more about these rumored changes and more in less than two months from now.

The Apple Maps app in iOS 26 includes some useful new features for keeping track of where you've been and getting alerts if there are any delays that will impact your daily commute. In this guide, we've rounded up a list of everything new with Maps.

Visited Places

‌Apple Maps‌ is able to keep track of the places that you've visited, either in your hometown or while traveling. It can track the restaurants, shops, parks, and landmarks that you go to, so you can look back and remember where you've been.

Google has long offered a timeline that automatically saves visits to places, and Apple's new Visited Places option matches the functionality available in the Google Maps Timeline.

After you upgrade to ‌iOS 26‌, the Maps app pops up an alert letting you know about the new feature, so that you can opt in or opt out.

You can see your Visited Places by opening up the Maps app, tapping on your profile picture, tapping on Places, and then tapping into Visited Places. In this interface, the locations that you've visited are listed by month, plus there's a search option.

There are options to change how long visits are kept (three months, one year, and forever), and to clear your current history. You can also remove locations one-by-one by tapping on them, and report incorrect location readings. When you clear your history, ‌Apple Maps‌ pops up an option that lets you clear everything or clear everything and turn off Visited Places entirely.

If you want to turn Visited Places off or enable it at a later date, you can do so by going to Settings > Apps > Maps > Location. From there, toggle off Visited Places. You can also access the toggle by going to Privacy and Security > Location Services > Maps.

Precise Location needs to be toggled on for Visited Places to work, and places that you've been are stored on-device. The information is not uploaded to Apple's servers.

Preferred Routes

Using on-device intelligence, ‌Apple Maps‌ is able to learn the routes that you prefer to take to locations that you visit frequently, such as work, home, and school, and it keeps track of when you typically visit those places.

If there's a road closure or traffic that's going to impact your commute, the Maps app is able to alert you about the issue and offer up an alternative route so you can get there on time.

A Maps Suggestions Home Screen widget shows the same information if there are any route issues. This is an under-the-hood feature that only shows up when it's needed, so if you have a short commute that doesn't involve roads that frequently see traffic, you might not have it pop up.

You can turn it on or off by going to Settings > Maps > Location and toggling off the "Preferred Routes and Predicted Destinations" setting.

Liquid Glass Redesign

The Maps app has adopted Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, and it brings some subtle interface changes. The search bar and navigation menu are translucent so you can see some of the Maps background behind it, and place icons are larger than before.

Icons have the layered glass look, and the various menus, cards, and buttons are more rounded than before. The Share Sheet has a popover design and it too is transparent.

The Library tab that was accessible when you tap your profile picture is now called Places, and it has improved spacing and a new Visited Places section.

Turn-by-turn directions are in a smaller pop-up bar rather than taking up the top of the Maps display, and time of arrival, length of travel, and distance are shown more prominently.

Voice Controls

The Voice Volume section in the Maps app is now Voice Controls, and there are added toggles for Muted, Alerts Only, or Unmuted so adjusting how turn-by-turn directions are communicated is more intuitive.

These controls did exist in iOS 18, but only as toggles that had no explanation on the right side of the display when turn-by-turn directions are in progress.

Place Information

When you tap into or type a location on the Maps app, the Call, Menu, and Website buttons are now more prominently listed at the top of the interface, as are the location's hours and the order option if one is available. There's now a floating button to get directions to a place, and it's always available at the bottom right of the app.

Improved Incident Reports

It's easier to report an incident like a crash with a new incident button that's located on the right side of the iPhone when getting turn-by-turn directions, and more incident types have been added.

You can report a crash, speed check, traffic, roadwork, hazard, or road closure. In iOS 18, options are limited to crash, speed check, and hazard.

Read More

We have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup that goes into detail on all of the new features that are available in the update.

ASUS is planning to release its 32-inch 6K ProArt Display PA32QCV in August, with the device set to compete with Apple's Pro Display XDR and Studio Display. The upcoming ProArt Display was first announced at CES in January, but it's finally ready to launch.

The display has a 6016 x 3384 resolution, and ASUS says it offers Delta E>2 color accuracy, 98 percent DCI-P3 gamut, and 218 pixels per inch. Displays are calibrated at the factory for color accuracy, and there is a Mac-specific P3 color preset option for consistent colors on Macs. Macs can use the ASUS DisplayWidget Center for quick adjustments to brightness, contrast, and color temperature, and when a Mac is connected to the display, the display's brightness can be controlled with the built-in Mac brightness button.

Apple's Pro Display XDR features the same resolution and pixel density as the ASUS 6K ProArt Display, and ASUS promises text that's "sharp and easy to read," along with "enhanced visual clarity" for creative professionals. The ProArt Display supports HDR10 and VESA DisplayHDR 600 for bright whites and dark blacks, providing "exceptional contrast."

Multiple sensors ensure the display remains bright and at the right color temperature, with an ambient light sensor adjusting color gamut based on ambient lighting. ASUS added an anti-glare "LuxPixel" technology that minimizes reflections without compromising display quality.

Auto KVM is included for switching between and controlling two connected Macs or PCs with a single keyboard and mouse, and the display includes Thunderbolt 4 support and 96W power delivery for charging connected laptops like the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. There are multiple ports available in addition to dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, including HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, two USB-A ports, a passthrough port for headphones, a USB-C port for KVM Switch, and an additional downstream USB-C port.

Compared to the Pro Display XDR, the 6K ProArt Display has lower standard, peak, and sustained brightness, lower contrast, no local dimming, slightly less color accuracy, and no reference modes, but it is much more affordable and offers some of the same tilt and swivel adjustment options. There are also speakers, but no built-in webcam.

ASUS says that the ProArt Display PA32QCV will launch in late August, and it will be priced at $1,299.

The battery capacity of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air will be below the 3,000 mAh mark, according to a recent post from Instant Digital, an account with more than 1.4 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Thanks to iOS 26's new Adaptive Power Mode, though, the account said that the iPhone 17 Air should achieve full-day battery life.

A previous rumor pegged the iPhone 17 Air's battery capacity at around 2,800 mAh, which would indeed be below the 3,000 mAh mark.

Some of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models were the last with battery capacities at or below the 3,000 mAh mark. Of course, you can only directly compare mAh values when the batteries have the same voltage, with Wh a preferred unit of measurement. iPhone batteries typically do have the same voltage, allowing for mAh comparisons.

Instant Digital has accurately leaked Apple information before, such as the Yellow finish for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Titanium Milanese Loop. However, the account does not have a perfect track record.

A few months ago, The Information's Wayne Ma reported that the iPhone 17 Air would have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models, due to the device's rumored ultra-thin 5.5mm design limiting internal space for a battery.

In internal testing, Apple determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to that report. For other iPhone models, the report said that metric is apparently between 80% and 90%.

To mitigate this problem, the report said that Apple is planning to release a battery case as an optional accessory for the iPhone 17 Air.

Apple last released battery cases for the iPhone 11 lineup, followed by the since-discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12 models and newer. A battery case both protects an iPhone and provides additional battery life as necessary.

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we catch up on all of the latest rumors about Apple's first foldable iPhone amid a multitude of reports about the device and its launch firming up for next year.

Apple's foray into foldable smartphones has been rumored for many years, but it looks like the rumors will finally come to fruition next year. Full-scale prototyping of the device reportedly began last month, Samsung has begun production on the OLED displays destined for the foldable, and it is now believed to be on track to reach launch alongside the iPhone 18 lineup in 2026.

The first foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, a unique hinge system, two rear cameras (wide and ultra wide), one front-facing camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID.

It is likely to be 4.5mm or so when unfolded, and between 9mm and 9.5mm when folded. For comparison, the latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 4.2mm when unfolded, and 8.9mm when folded. It also features three rear cameras, instead of Apple's anticipated two.

However, Apple is apparently seeking to outdo Samsung with a "crease-free" display thanks to an innovative design that uses a metal plate to disperse and control the stress generated by bending the display. This would be an industry first.

It is expected to cost $1,800 to $2,000. Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $1,999.99. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.

You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.

If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about Apple's roadmap for new Vision headsets and smart glasses over the next few years.

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 Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, 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, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.

This week's best deals include all-time low prices on AirPods 4 and Apple Watch SE, plus great deals on the M4 MacBook Air and Apple Pencil Pro.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

AirPods 4

• What's the deal? Get $39 off AirPods 4
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week has brought back the all-time low Prime Day prices on Apple's AirPods 4, available for $89.99, down from $129.00, and the AirPods 4 with ANC for $119.99, down from $179.00.

MacBook Air

• What's the deal? Get $150 off M4 MacBook Air
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon has a few M4 MacBook Air models at solid second-best prices this week, offering $150 off both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes of the computer.

Apple Watch

• What's the deal? Get up to $100 off Apple Watch SE and Series 10
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon this week introduced a few discounts across the Apple Watch SE and Series 10 models, with up to $100 in savings on these wearables.

Apple Pencil Pro

• What's the deal? Get $30 off Apple Pencil Pro
• Where can I get it? Amazon

The Apple Pencil Pro is still available for $99.00 this week on Amazon, down from $129.00, which remains the best price we've tracked to date.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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Apple today announced it will be opening a new store at the Touchwood Solihull shopping center in Solihull, a town near Birmingham in England.

Apple's existing store in the mall will be permanently closing on Thursday, July 24, at 6 p.m. local time, according to the company. The new store replacing it will hold its grand opening on Saturday, July 26 at 9 a.m. local time.

Apple first opened a store at Touchwood Solihull in 2007, so it has been serving customers there for nearly 18 years. The new store will have a modern design, with Apple now preferring to use engineered wood as its primary material of choice, rather than stainless steel. The new store is significantly larger than the current one, and it will likely be equipped with an Apple Pickup station for customers to collect online orders.

The new store will be located directly across the hall from Apple's existing location, in the Crescent Arcade section of the mall. Apple is taking over a unit previously occupied by Topshop, next to clothing retailer Superdry.

It has been a fairly busy year for Apple retail in the UK. Earlier this year, Apple opened a redesigned store at the Trafford Centre, near Manchester. And next month, Apple will be permanently closing its store in central Bristol.

Thanks, Filip Chudzinski!

Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June.

In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he followed that up with a March episode of his Genius Bar podcast where he showed off the Messages app, complete with round navigation buttons at the top and rounded corners around the keyboard.

And he wrapped things up with an April video that gave a more complete look at the Liquid Glass redesign that ultimately debuted in ‌iOS 26‌, with rounder, glass-like interface elements, pill-shaped tab bars at the bottom of certain Apple apps, and more.

While the Camera app redesign didn't exactly match what Apple unveiled for ‌iOS 26‌, the general idea was correct and much of what else Prosser showed was pretty close to spot on, and Apple clearly took notice as the company filed a lawsuit today (Scribd link) against Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti for misappropriation of trade secrets.

Apple's complaint outlines what it claims is the series of events that led to the leaks, which centered around a development iPhone in the possession of Ramacciotti's friend and Apple employee Ethan Lipnik. According to Apple, Prosser and Ramacciotti plotted to access Lipnik's phone, acquiring his passcode and then using location-tracking to determine when he "would be gone for an extended period." Prosser reportedly offered financial compensation to Ramacciotti in return for assisting with accessing the development iPhone.

Apple says Ramacciotti accessed Lipnik's development iPhone and made a FaceTime call to Prosser, showing off ‌iOS 26‌ running on the development iPhone, and that Prosser recorded the call with screen capture tools. Prosser then shared those videos with others and used them to make re-created renders of ‌iOS 26‌ for his videos.

Lipnik's phone contained a "significant amount of additional Apple trade secret information that has not yet been publicly disclosed," and Apple says it does not know how much of that information is in the possession of Prosser and Ramacciotti.

In order to protect its trade secrets, Apple has filed the lawsuit to request an injunction against further disclosure of Apple's confidential trade secret information and is seeking damages over the misappropriation of them.

Lipnik's employment with Apple has already been terminated over his failure to follow the company's policies to protect development and unreleased devices and software. Lipnik also failed to disclose the breach to Apple once he learned of it through others who recognized his apartment in the recorded ‌FaceTime‌ call, with Apple learning of the details from an anonymous email.

Update 8:55 pm: In replies to our tweet about this story, Prosser takes issue with Apple's presentation of the events, claiming he was "unaware of the situation playing out" and saying he is "looking forward to being able to speak to Apple about it."

After poaching one of Apple's top artificial intelligence executives with a $200 million pay package to lure him away from the company, Meta has now hired two of his subordinates, Bloomberg reports.

Apple's Mark Lee and Tom Gunter are set to join Meta's Superintelligence Labs team, a newly established division tasked with building advanced AI systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.

Earlier this month, Ruoming Pang joined Meta. Until recently, he led Apple's foundation models team. Models developed by Pang's team are used for Apple Intelligence features like email summaries, Priority Notifications, and Genmoji. Lee was Pang's first hire at Apple, while Gunter was apparently known as one of the team's most senior members.

Meta has been spending heavily on new staff and engineers to keep up with advancements from OpenAI and Google. Apple is reportedly now offering some engineers raises in an effort to retain them, but they are still substantially less than Meta's offers.

Bloomberg notes that the three departures "reflect the continuing turmoil at the Apple Foundation Models team." Apple is now believed to be considering a major change of strategy by using external models from the likes of OpenAI or Anthropic to power Siri and other ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features due to the shortcomings of its own models.

Apple is simultaneously developing versions with both its own models and third-party technology, and has not yet decided which to use as the foundation for ‌Apple Intelligence‌ beginning next year.

NBC-owned streaming service Peacock is increasing its prices, and the ad-supported plan will soon be $3 more expensive. According to Variety, Peacock's ad-supported plan will be priced at $10.99 per month starting on July 23.

The Premium Plus plan that features limited ads in live programming is also increasing in price from $13.99 to $16.99. Yearly pricing for the Premium plan will be $110, and the Premium Plus yearly price will be $170.

This is the third price increase that Peacock has introduced in the last three years, and Variety claims that NBCUniversal executives believe that the service is underpriced compared to competing streaming services.

At $11 per month, Peacock's ad-supported tier will be more expensive than ad-supported options from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. Peacock is testing a lower-priced "Select" plan that features NBC and Bravo current seasons and a limited number of library titles. The plan will be priced at $7.99 per month.

While price increases will hit new subscribers on July 23, existing subscribers can expect to have to pay the higher fees starting after August 22 depending on their next billing date.

Apple Arcade is celebrating SpongeBob SquarePants this month, and several ‌Apple Arcade‌ titles will be updated with special SpongeBob-themed events.

Snake.io+ [App Store] and Crossy Road Castle [App Store] will temporarily gain SpongeBob characters. In Snake.io+, players can play underwater levels to unlock skins inspired by SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and Plankton. The event launches today, and will last until August 25.

In Crossy Road Castle, players can race through 40 Bikini Bottom-themed levels, playing as SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, or Sandy. Players are tasked with collecting Krabby Patties and avoiding jellyfish. The Krabby Patty Kollectathon event starts on July 21, and the Jellyfish Jam that runs August 4 through August 17 will follow.

Dedicated ‌Apple Arcade‌ SpongeBob Game SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit is also getting a new endless mode that features increasingly difficult levels with no checkpoints and no extra lives.

‌Apple Arcade‌ features more than 200 games, many of which receive regular updates. The service is priced at $6.99 per month, and it has no ads or in-app purchases.

Today is World Emoji Day, and Emojipedia's dedicated Emojitracker has a real-time list of the emoji that are most popular in the United States and other countries. Here are the top 10 most popular emoji in the U.S.:

The red heart is the number one emoji across all countries, followed by the checkmark, fire, sparkles, loudly crying face, and skull.

Emojipedia's Emojitracker tool shows the most popular 1,000 emoji globally and across select countries like the United States, UK, India, Brazil, Philippines, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.

The tool used to aggregate data from Twitter, but it now tracks the emoji that are copied from Emojipedia and the GetEmoji websites in real time.

Earlier today, Apple announced the launch of a new Emoji-themed game that's available to Apple News+ subscribers, plus the Unicode Consortium confirmed the new Unicode 17 emoji that will come to iOS 26 in the future.

With ‌iOS 26‌, Apple will introduce a new emoji-inspired Genmoji feature that will let users combine two or more emoji characters together to generate a new image that can be used in Messages conversations.