After a busy few weeks of news and rumors, things slowed down a little bit this week, but there were still some major stories worth highlighting. Those include our first hands-on look at dummy models of all three upcoming iPhone models, a new iOS 13 beta with some interesting changes and tweaks, a possibility of Apple's old six-color rainbow logo returning to some products, and of course some emoji news!

Read on for details on all of those stories and more from the past week.

What to Expect From the 2019 iPhones: Hands-On With Dummy Models

We're almost certainly less than two months away from the unveiling of the 2019 iPhone lineup, which means leaks are heating up. We got our hands on some dummy models for all three devices we're expecting to see in September.

iphone 2019 dummies
Rumors suggest we'll be seeing a very similar lineup to the current trio of models, including the same 5.8-inch, 6.1-inch, and 6.5-inch display sizes. The most obvious change looks to be enhanced rear cameras, with the iPhone XS and XS Max successors moving to a triple-lens system while the iPhone XR successor bumps up to a double-lens camera. All three phones are expected to feature a much larger square camera bump on the rear.

Make sure to check out our video for our best look yet at what we should expect when it comes to the design of the next iPhones, and read through the entire article outlining our overall expectations for the devices.

iOS 13 Beta 4 is Out: Here's What's New!

iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 beta testing continues this week with the release of the fourth developer betas and corresponding third public betas of each operating system. We've rounded up everything new in iOS 13 beta 4, including some changes to 3D Touch functionality.

test iOS 13
Apple also seeded the fourth developer betas of macOS Catalina, watchOS 6, and tvOS 13, along with the corresponding public betas, and the seventh beta of iOS 12.4 as the Apple Card nears launch.

Apple's Rainbow Logo May Return to Some New Products as Early as This Year

Apple may be planning to reintroduce its classic rainbow logo on some of its new products as early as this year, according to a well-connected MacRumors tipster who spoke with an Apple employee.

iPhone XR rainbow Apple logo concept
Apple's rainbow or "six-color" logo made its debut on the Apple II computer in 1977 and was widely used until 1998, when it began to be phased out in favor of a monochrome Apple logo similar to the one used today.

Apple's 2019 256GB MacBook Air Includes Slower SSD Than 2018 Model

The 2019 MacBook Air with 256GB storage appears to have a slower SSD than the equivalent 2018 model, according to recent testing.

blackmagicdiskspeedtest
While the 2019 model's SSD write speeds are on par if not slightly better than the 2018 model, read speeds appear to have dropped by around 35 percent, based on the Blackmagic Disk Speed benchmark.

Apple may have gone with a slower SSD in order to drop the MacBook Air's price to a more affordable level, but regardless, it's not a change that most users are likely to notice in day to day usage of the machine.

iPad Air vs. Microsoft's Surface Go: Which Is a Better Laptop Replacement?

On our YouTube channel this week, our videographer Dan compared the new 10.5-inch iPad Air to Microsoft's Surface Go to determine which device he liked better for on-the-go computing.

ipad air surface go featured
Dan's comparison is based on how well each device serves as a laptop replacement, including performance, operating system, and accessories like keyboards.

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

Apple Previews Upcoming 2019 Emoji

Just ahead of World Emoji Day this week, Apple previewed its upcoming 2019 emoji coming to the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.

foodanimalemoji2019
Additions will include animals like an otter, skunk, and flamingo; new food items like a waffle, onion, garlic, butter, and oyster; new gestures like a yawning face; interracial couples; accessibility-related emoji like a hearing aid, wheelchairs, a prosthetic arm and leg; and much more.

The new emoji will likely be available in iOS 13.1 around October if Apple sticks to the same timeframe from the past few years.

Apple Readies 3D Sensing Rear Camera Component Supplies for 2020 iPhones

Apple has reportedly asked one of its manufacturing partners to ready VCSEL components for use in rear-facing 3D time-of-flight camera lenses, a widely rumored feature on 2020 iPhones.

2019 iphone triple camera rendering
While the TrueDepth system on iPhone X and iPhone XS models relies on a structured-light technique, time-of-flight calculates the time it takes for a laser to bounce off surrounding objects to create a 3D image of the environment. This allows for more accurate depth perception and better placement of virtual objects, and should also result in photos better able to capture depth.

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!

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...