Nikkei Business reports [Google translation] that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has reached an agreement with Apple that will see an LTE-enabled version of the iPad launch next summer, with an LTE iPhone to follow in the fall. The agreement is said to have been hammered out in discussions that saw NTT DoCoMo senior executives travel to Cupertino earlier this month to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The two companies reportedly reached a basic agreement on bringing the next-generation iPad and iPhone to the carrier, with more specific negotiations now focusing on details such as guaranteed sales volumes. Earlier this month it was reported that Apple and NTT DoCoMo were in discussions about the iPhone but that DoCoMo was hesitant to agree to Apple's demands on unit volume and its refusal to allow the carrier to add its own applications to the device.
Apple has yet to add LTE technology, which will enable faster data speeds, to its mobile devices over battery life concerns and a simple lack of chips appropriate for Apple's needs. But with carriers such as Verizon reaching a significant buildout of LTE and other major carriers also in the early stages of rolling out the faster network technology to their customers, Apple may be looking to take advantage of forthcoming LTE chips from Qualcomm to begin supporting the technology in 2012.
Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times.
The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said.
While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone.
iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by Juli Clover
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio.
MacBook Air (Early 2026)
The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account.
In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose.
Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3.
AirDrop
Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts.
iOS 26.2...
Did anyone really expect Apple not to release an LTE capable phone? Their MO is pretty consistent: adopt the latest and greatest when it doesnt compromise the experience. Sometimes that means Apple products are well ahead of the curve (e.g. FireWire, Thunderbolt, USB) sometimes it means theyre behind the curve (e.g. 3G, GPS, LTE) but they rarely miss the sweet spot of being a first class performer when the average consumer is ready.
LTE is great and all, but I don't totally get how stuck up people are on it. No matter what software tricks apple can do, 3G will probably always trump LTE battery wise. Until you can get an LTE phone to last all day whats the point when 3G does pretty darn good by itself?
I am talking more towards the att people here as Verizons network - while more extensive in more rural areas especially - isn't as fast as att, but do webpages generally load slow for all you guys/girls? I generally wait about one second for a mobile formatted web page to load, maybe 2 for a full version of some site. Id take that plus a couple/few hours longer on the battery? As for file downloads (like iTunes) I am unlikely to do that on LTE anyway, because by time I am forced to switch I am sure I will loose my grandfathered unlimited plan. I am not about to download a full album of songs and eat 150-200mb of a 2gb plan. ymmv of course.
On a completely different note, no one mentioned the other piece of the rumor regarding DoCoMo hung up on wanting to install their own cr@pware on the iPhone. That never flew on the mac (namely bc apple didn't have any third party companies involved with the mac), hasn't so far on the iPhone, and I hope never does. Telecoms can hardly manage their core business. Please stay out of the bloatware business. We see how well that worked on every single phone prior to the iPhone.
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4G LTE iPhone 5 on Verizon, June 2012.
I'm guessing more like October. Dollars to doughnuts thats the new upgrade cycle, Oct to Oct.
LTE support would be a nice addition but, unfortunately, LTE is still very rare in Europe so it will be more of a feature for the Americans and Asians.
Oh, and I would be - well, not pissed, but - dissapointed with Apple if they release a new iPad in Q2 2012, and than to release a newer iPad in Q3 or Q4 of 2012.
--------- I also expect from Apple to announce a huge upgrade over the iPhone 4S for the sixth generation iPhone in 2012. Apple is starting to lag behind when you look at the specs.
I'd just love to see a Super AMOLED Plus display in the next generation iPhone. First I was against it, but the "Plus"-variant is actually quite good. Great viewing angle, great battery life, great colours and a huge contrast. Although unlikely, I really hope they are going to use Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus (2?) displays in 2012 for the next-generation iPhone.
AT&T is really not as bad as people on this site make it out to be.
Yes... they are actually. They've been #1 worst carrier for years now, their tech support is worse than third rate, they nickel and time everyone, they drop calls, have horrible 3G coverage, have a very unstable network, are trying to lie by putting a 4G symbol on their iPhone 4S in place of a 3G symbol. Need I go on?
Did anyone really expect Apple not to release an LTE capable phone? Their MO is pretty consistent: adopt the latest and greatest when it doesnt compromise the experience. Sometimes that means Apple products are well ahead of the curve (e.g. FireWire, Thunderbolt, USB) sometimes it means theyre behind the curve (e.g. 3G, GPS, LTE) but they rarely miss the sweet spot of being a first class performer when the average consumer is ready.
Nikkei Business reports [Google translation] that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has reached an agreement with Apple that will see an LTE-enabled version of the iPad launch next summer, with an LTE iPhone to follow in the fall. The agreement is said to have been hammered out in discussions that saw NTT DoCoMo senior executives travel to Cupertino earlier this month to meet with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
