Apple is advising its authorized premium resellers and dealers to prepare for new products with 10 and 12 digital serial numbers, days ahead of when it's expected to reveal a slew of new products.
MacRumors previously reported that Apple plans to switch to randomized serial numbers for future products starting in early 2021. The company now seems to be preparing for that roll-out, telling authorized resellers and dealers in a memo obtained by MacRumors to ensure that their "systems, warehouses, and processes are in place and able to receive and ship the two serial number formats."
The reminder from Apple to its authorized partners comes less than a week from when the company will hold its "Spring Loaded" event on Tuesday, April 20. That event is expected to headline the launch of new iPad Pros with mini-LED displays and possibly the company's AirTags tracker's long-awaited release.
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
CarPlay Ultra...
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today revealed another iOS 27 change: notifications will slide in from the left side of the screen instead of from the top.
In addition, accessing Notification Center on iOS 27 will require swiping down on the top-left corner of the screen. If you swipe down on the Dynamic Island area, a new "Search or Ask" interface tied to the revamped Siri will appear, instead of...
Apple is set to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote this Monday, and there are many rumored features and changes for iPhones.
The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September....
I'd think there is probably some scam going on where people somehow scam Apple by providing serial numbers for devices that they don't own. With this change, it should be impossible to figure out the serial number of an existing device unless you have that device in your hands. So a repair shop cannot charge Apple for replacing a motherboard under warranty for a device that was never in the repair shop.
I'd think there is probably some scam going on where people somehow scam Apple by providing serial numbers for devices that they don't own. With this change, it should be impossible to figure out the serial number of an existing device unless you have that device in your hands. So a repair shop cannot charge Apple for replacing a motherboard under warranty for a device that was never in the repair shop.
I can see two immediate benefits (to Apple at least)
1) counterfeit products being sold with genuine serial numbers - when the end user looks up the serial number everything checks out. Think Facebook marketplace “AirPods”.
2) iMessage and FaceTime are tied to serial numbers. It’s quite common in the hackintosh scene to generate a serial number that will allow it to work.
Well that sucks for IT Support and Infosec. I often need details about a Mac and providing the Serial Number at EveryMac helps: https://everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
