Top Stories: AirTag 2 Rumors, Black Friday Deals, and More

2024 may be winding down, but things are still busy in the Apple universe as the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear with massive deals while we're also tracking a number of rumors about upcoming Apple products.

top stories 23nov2024
This week also saw several operating system updates from Apple to address some security issues, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch Next Year With These New Features

It's been over three years since Apple debuted its AirTag item tracker, and it looks like the company is gearing up to launch a next-generation version around the middle of next year.

airtag purple
Among the changes we're expecting or hoping to see are a new chip for improved location tracking and better range, as well as design changes that will make it harder to remove the speaker, making it more difficult for those who might try to silence an AirTag to use it for stalking purposes.

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now: AirPods, iPads, and More

Black Friday is quickly approaching, and deals are already in full swing. Keep an eye on our Apple Black Friday roundup and our ongoing news coverage to be alerted about the best deals as they drop.

General Black Friday Deals 24 Green Tinsel
We're already seeing record-low prices on a number of Apple products, as well as major sales from Anker, Sonos, and Samsung.

Apple will also be running its traditional Black Friday/Cyber Monday gift card promo, though better deals can usually be found through other retailers.

iPhone SE 4 With Apple's Own 5G Modem 'Confirmed' to Launch in March

In a research note this week, Barclays analysts said they have "confirmed" with suppliers that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previous rumors, that time frame suggests the new iPhone SE will be announced in March, just like the current model was in 2022.

iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3
The fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to have a similar design as the base iPhone 14, with rumored features including a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a newer A-series chip, a USB-C port, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, 8GB of RAM to enable Apple Intelligence support, and the previously-mentioned Apple-designed 5G modem.

Apple Releases iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 With Security Fixes

Apple this week released several software updates, including iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1.

ios 18 1 1 security
Users are encouraged to update their devices, as these versions include fixes for security issues that have been actively exploited on Intel-based Macs, though the vulnerabilities exist on other platforms.

'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Surpass iPhone 6 as Thinnest iPhone Ever

iPhone thicknesses have been growing over the years as Apple has packed more hardware and battery into the devices, but Apple is rumored to be taking things in the other direction with at least one model next year, a device being informally called the "iPhone 17 Air."

iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux
Apple analyst Jeff Pu this week said he agrees with rumors indicating the iPhone 17 Air could be as thin as 6mm, compared to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus at 7.8mm and the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max at 8.25mm.

Hide iPhone Find My Location Without Raising Suspicion

Ever need a moment of privacy without raising suspicion? If you're secretly shopping for a holiday gift or planning a surprise party, you might want to temporarily obscure your actual location in Apple's Find My app on your iPhone without completely turning off location sharing.

FindMy Feature
Check out a clever trick that lets you keep sharing enabled while displaying a different location – all by using another Apple device you own.

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

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 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 ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
18 weeks ago

iPhone thicknesses have been growing over the years as Apple has packed more hardware and battery into the devices, but Apple is rumored to be taking things in the other direction with at least one model next year, a device being informally called the "iPhone 17 Air."
The iPad Air is thicker then iPad Pro. It seems the "Air" name is meaningless now, more like it would work better then continuing the use of the confusing "Plus" with the next iPhone 17 line. For the iPad line the "Air" is lower priced then the "Pro". its also lower priced on the MacBooks product line.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)