MacRumors forum member Brett33 bought an "as is" MacBook Air on eBay for a selling price of $730. As it turns out, it appears the machine is actually a prototype model of Apple's MacBook Air.
After receiving the unit, Brett33 noticed that the bottom of the laptop was made of black aluminum and that the screen bezel did not have "MacBook Air" written on it. The laptop runs an interim build of Mac OS X 10.5 (8R4016).
No "MacBook Air" wording on Bezel
Black bottom (removed)
The serial number on the machine indicates that it was built in May 2007, over six months before the MacBook Air was introduced. Another poster was able to specify that this model represented "M82 PROTO2 ENC 4", based on the serial number.
Though rare, prototype Apple machines have been known to circulate.
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.
Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer."
The full description of...
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
Apple provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26, introducing the first changes and refinements to the new operating system since it debuted after the WWDC keynote. Because we're early in the beta testing process, there are quite a few tweaks to iOS 26, which we've rounded up below.
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Control Center
The background behind the...
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass.
iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right
The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system.
Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
watchOS 26 is adding a new "Show Data When Locked" setting to the Apple Watch.
MacRumors contributor Steve Moser discovered the new setting within the code for the first watchOS 26 beta, and a Reddit user has seemingly found it in action, but we have yet to figure out where it is exactly. Leave a comment if you know.
The new privacy setting allows you to toggle on or off the ability to...
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware.
MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year.
In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
