Top 10 Most Discussed MacRumors Stories of 2019: AirPower Canceled, Apple Card Launches, and More

MacRumors published thousands of stories in 2019, as part of our continued coverage of the latest Apple news and rumors. Below, we look back at the top 10 most discussed stories of the year in our forums, with topics ranging from the AirPower mat being canceled to the launch of the Apple Card.

airpower apple card

  1. Apple Officially Cancels AirPower (1,948 comments): At its iPhone X event in 2017, Apple previewed a new wireless charging mat called AirPower that would have been able to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods simultaneously, regardless of each device's position on the mat. Apple failed to release the mat in 2018 as promised, however, leading to relentless rumors and speculation. In March 2019, Apple's hardware engineering chief Dan Riccio finally came out and said the AirPower was canceled due to the product's inability to meet its high standards.
  2. Apple Card Rolling Out Today to Limited Number of Customers (1,920 comments): After being previewed at its March 2019 event, Apple rolled out its all-new credit card to select users in the United States in the first week of August 2019, followed by a wider launch later in the month. Built into the Wallet app on an iPhone, the Apple Card features Apple Pay support, up to 3% daily cashback, color-coded spending summaries, zero fees beyond interest, and much more.
  3. Live 2019 iPhone Event Coverage: 'By Innovation Only' (1,855 comments): Live coverage of Apple's September 2019 event at Steve Jobs Theater, where the company unveiled the iPhone 11 lineup, Apple Watch Series 5 models, and 10.2-inch iPad.
  4. Live Apple Event Coverage: 'It's Show Time' (1,537 comments): Live coverage of Apple's March 2019 event at Steve Jobs Theater, where the company unveiled four new services: Apple News+, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Card.
  5. Live From WWDC 2019: Coverage of Apple's Keynote with iOS 13, macOS 10.15, and More (1,494 comments): Live coverage of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference from the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. Apple announced iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, tvOS 13, and watchOS 6, in addition to previewing its new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR.
  6. AirPods Pro Launching on October 30 for $249 (1,173 comments): With a press release, Apple introduced higher-ends AirPods Pro with several improvements over regular AirPods, including active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and water resistance.
  7. Spotify on Apple's Response to App Store Dispute: 'Every Monopolist Will Suggest They Have Done Nothing Wrong' (1,094 comments): Last year, Spotify filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in Europe over unfair App Store practices. Apple labeled the complaint as "misleading rhetoric" and argued that "Spotify wants all the benefits of a free app without being free." Spotify fired back, claiming that "every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong."
  8. Apple to Release Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR on December 10 (1,037 comments): Over two years after confirming that it was working on a new Mac Pro, Apple finally announced that the new Mac Pro and companion Pro Display XDR would be available to order starting December 10, 2019. Watch our hands-on video!
  9. Intel Expecting Apple to Transition to Custom Arm-Based Chips Starting in 2020 (1,007 comments): Apple is planning to ditch Intel processors and transition to custom Arm-based chips starting in 2020, according to Bloomberg. Axios then cited multiple unnamed sources within Intel who said the rumor is true.
  10. Apple Reveals All-New Mac Pro With Up to 28-Core Processor and 1.5TB of RAM, Starting at $5,999 (989 comments): After years of anticipation, Apple previewed its new Mac Pro at WWDC 2019 with up to 28-core Intel Xeon processors, 1.5TB of RAM, and 8TB of SSD storage. Base pricing of $5,999 was announced, but it was not until months later that maxed-out pricing of over $50,000 was revealed.

MacRumors will celebrate its 20th anniversary next month, having been founded on February 24, 2000. We look forward to another year of sharing the latest Apple news and rumors and we thank all of our readers for their support.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

When Will Apple Release iOS 26.2?

Monday December 1, 2025 4:37 pm PST by
We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week. Past Launch Dates Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
iphone 17 cyber

iPhone 17 Demand Is Breaking Apple's Sales Records

Tuesday December 2, 2025 9:44 am PST by
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC. Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple. Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to...
Touchscreen MacBook Feature

Here Are the Four MacBooks Apple Is Expected to Launch Next Year

Monday December 1, 2025 5:00 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Below is a breakdown of what we're expecting over the next ...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air's Resale Value Has Dropped Dramatically, Data Shows

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:27 am PST by
The iPhone Air has recorded the steepest early resale value drop of any iPhone model in years, with new data showing that several configurations have lost almost 50% of their value within ten weeks of launch. According to a ten-week analysis published by SellCell, Apple's latest lineup is showing a pronounced split in resale performance between the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air....
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

iPhone 17 Pro Lost a Camera Feature Pro Models Have Had Since 2020

Thursday December 4, 2025 5:18 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro models, it turns out, can't take photos in Night mode when Portrait mode is selected in the Camera app – a capability that's been available on Apple's Pro devices since the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020. If you're an iPhone 17 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro Max owner, try it for yourself: Open the Camera app with Photo selected in the carousel, then cover the rear lenses with your hand to...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...

Top Rated Comments

JimmyBanks6 Avatar
77 months ago
Can you do an equivalent article for the 2010's
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
77 months ago

Can you do an equivalent article for the 2010's
Here is all-time: https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/macrumors-com-news-discussion.4/?order=reply_count&direction=desc
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benshive Avatar
77 months ago
Even with the failed AirPower project I think that 2019 was a really good year for Apple :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
77 months ago

This kind of statistic is heavily influenced by how many articles Macrumors publishes on a specific topic and how close time-wise these multiple articles are published. Other things like time of the day (and week) will also affect the results.
It seems like there was an article every week reminding us AirPower wasn‘t shipping yet but still nobody could restrain themselves from commenting about Apple not delivering a charging mat that they thought was too expensive and unnecessary...

The great AirPower whinge of ‘18/‘19 was truly something to behold.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JilzVT Avatar
77 months ago
The people have spoken - more tech stuff, less entertainment stuff!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
77 months ago

AirPower wasn’t Apple’s finest hour.
That’s because Jim, it was only mentioned for a minute during the keynote. ?

Seriously though, what’s the big deal? Do you think Apple is the first company to cancel a product because they couldn’t successfully launch it due to XYZ reason(s)? It’s not like they had this marketed for quite some time, it was mentioned briefly during a keynote. Who cares that they didn’t release it, the fact that they owned up to it and didn’t release a product that potentially could pose problems, says more about the company itself. I mean, not to pick on Samsung, but they have a lengthy history of releasing products that have been flawed and/or half-baked <—which transcends into damaging the reputation.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)