MacRumors

We're finally coming out of Apple's slower holiday season for news and rumors, and it looks like we've got some hardware and software updates arriving in the fairly near future to kick off what's expected to be a busy year for Apple.

The iPhone 17 lineup will be the big launch of the year as usual, but there's plenty more on the docket that should keep our attention all year long. Apple TV+ is also starting the year off with a bang with the highly anticipated season two premiere of Severance, the season two finale of popular sci-fi show Silo, and more, so read on below for all the details!

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 8 New Features

While the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max won't launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Among the more recent reports have been claims that the main camera sensor will be smaller than the one on the iPhone 16 Pro models and that all three rear cameras on both the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will feature 48-megapixel resolution.

Meanwhile, Apple is preparing to launch an all-new "iPhone 17 Air" model that will be the thinnest iPhone ever, measuring as little as 5.5 mm at its thinnest points.

MacBook Air Likely Apple's First Product Update of 2025: What to Expect

We're expecting several product announcements from Apple over the next few months, but it sounds like an updated MacBook Air may be the first out of the gate in just a few weeks.

We're not expecting major upgrades for Apple's cheapest laptop, but it will get the latest M4 chip and potentially some additional upgrades like an additional Thunderbolt port and an improved camera with Center Stage support.

Hearing a Mysterious Chime From Your AirPods Pro Case? It's a Feature

If you've been hearing a chiming sound from your AirPods Pro 2 case when the AirPods are charging, it's a feature that Apple added with the launch of Hearing Health last year.

In a support guide, Apple says that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ may play a sound every so often while in the case to ensure the microphones and speakers are working as intended.

Apple Promotes Severance Season 2 Premiere With Lumon Industries Pop-Up and Visits From Actors

With the highly anticipated second season of Apple TV+ series Severance debuting this week, Apple has been hyping things up across its social media channels and even brought cast members and producer Ben Stiller to a special pop-up event at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

The pop-up event featured a glass cube with computer workstations as seen in the series, with Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, and Tramell Tillman showing up as their characters to spend time in the office setting as their "innies."

Popular sci-fi series Silo also saw its season two finale released this week, adding to the flurry of Apple TV+ activity.

Apple Focusing on These Eight New Low-Cost Devices in 2025

While Apple looks to be planning upgrades across a broad array of products in 2025, the lower ends of the lineups may receive some special attention this year as there are at least eight products on the cheaper end of the scale that we're hoping to see this year. That's among the more than 20 total product launches we're expecting to see across 2025.

In addition to updates for major lower-end products like the iPhone SE, Apple Watch SE, standard iPad, and MacBook Air, we may also see smaller products like the HomePod mini, AirTag, and Apple TV receiving updates, plus the introduction of an all-new "command center" for the home.

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

iOS 18.3 is currently in beta for developers and public beta testers, with a public release expected as soon as later this month.

The upcoming iPhone software update appears to be relatively minor in scope, although the latest beta released this week includes some notable changes to Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries to address complaints about inaccuracies. For the time being, Apple has turned off Notification Summaries for the News and Entertainment category entirely while it works on improvements.

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!

For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the ‌iPhone 17‌ "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the ‌iPhone 17‌ Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the ‌iPhone 17‌, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max.

We know the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air is going to be super slim, but there have been mixed rumors on just how thin Apple will be able to make it. Rumors have coalesced around 6mm, though in a recent report, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that he expects the iPhone to measure in at about 5.5mm.

At 5.5mm, the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air will be the thinnest iPhone to date, a title currently held by the 6.9mm iPhone 6 that came out in way back in 2014. 5.5mm would be approximately 30 percent thinner than the iPhone 16, which measures in at 7.8mm thick, and 33 percent thinner than the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models, which are 8.25mm thick.

It won't be too far off from the 13-inch iPad Pro that Apple came out with last year. The new ‌iPad Pro‌ is also super thin, measuring in at 5.1mm. It's Apple's thinnest device to date, in fact.

Apple is hoping a super thin design will entice people more than the iPhone mini and iPhone Plus models, neither of which has sold as well as the standard and Pro models. Apple discontinued the 5.4-inch iPhone mini option after the iPhone 13 mini, and the ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus will apparently be the last "Plus" iPhone.

Kuo says the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air will be 5.5mm at its "thinnest point," so it sounds like we can still expect a camera bump. Apple is planning for a single 48-megapixel rear camera, with the company opting for just one lens because of space constraints in such a small chassis.

Some of the early rumors about the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air suggested it would be more expensive than the Pro models, but it doesn't sound like that's going to be the case. It will be a mid-tier model in size and functionality, featuring a 6.6-inch display and an A19 chip that won't be as quick as the A19 Pro expected for the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models. It's also going to sport Apple's custom modem chip, which won't offer the fastest mmWave 5G speeds.

While Kuo has targeted 5.5mm, it is worth noting that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said in December that the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air will be 2mm thinner than the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models, which would actually put it at 6.25mm. 5.5mm will be closest to the ‌iPad Pro‌, but even at 6.25mm, it will be the thinnest iPhone to date.

The ‌iPhone 17‌ Air is expected to launch alongside the ‌iPhone 17‌, ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max in September of 2025. More information on what to expect from the entire ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup can be found in our dedicated roundup.

Amazon this week dropped the Apple Pencil Pro back down to $99.00, a match of the accessory's all-time low price. We're still tracking this deal, plus solid savings on MacBook Air, AirTag, and more.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple Pencil Pro

• What's the deal? Get $30 off Apple Pencil Pro
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Apple Pencil Pro dropped to $99.00 on Amazon this week, and it's still available today at this record low price. This is the first major discount on the stylus that we've tracked in 2025.

AirTag

• What's the deal? Take $29 off AirTag 4-Pack
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Early in the week, Amazon discounted the AirTag 4-Pack to $69.99, and this all-time low price is still available today.

MacBook Air

• What's the deal? Get $200 off M2 and M3 MacBook Air
• Where can I get it? Best Buy and Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Amazon and Best Buy introduced solid $200 discounts across the M2 and M3 MacBook Air lineup this week, starting at just $799.00 for the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air at Best Buy.

Jackery

• What's the deal? Save on Jackery accessories
• Where can I get it? Amazon
• Where can I find the original deal? Right here

Jackery has quite a few big discounts across its portable power station lineup this week, available only on Amazon. All of these deals require you to clip an on-page coupon in order to see the final sale price at checkout.

• Explorer 100 Plus Mini - $199.99 with on-page coupon, down from $229.99
• Solar Generator 240 + Mini Solar Panel - $269.00 with on-page coupon, down from $349.00
• Solar Generator 300 Plus + Solar Panel - $299.99 with on-page coupon, down from $399.99
• Explorer 500 - $529.00 with on-page coupon, down from $799.00
• Solar Generator 3000 PRO - $2,199.00 with on-page coupon, down from $3,999.00
• Explorer 3000 Pro + 200W Solar Panels - $2,499.00 with on-page coupon, down from $3,999.00
• Explorer 2000 Plus Kit with Expandable Battery and Solar Panels - $3,599.00 with on-page coupon, down from $4,999.00

---

iOS 19 will feature a redesigned Camera app inspired by visionOS, according to a new video from Jon Prosser, host of the YouTube channel Front Page Tech.

Prosser obtained video of the alleged new Camera app, but he elected to share his own re-created images to protect his sources. The images reveal that the app will allegedly gain translucent menus for various camera controls, with the design of these menus looking very similar to the visionOS interface on the Apple Vision Pro headset.

The camera controls are split into photo and video categories, with options for recording spatial video, turning on a timer for a photo, and more. Additional controls for video resolution and frame rate pop over at the top of the screen as necessary.

Overall, the new design has a cleaner aesthetic, with more of the Camera app's viewfinder visible on the screen compared to iOS 18.

A previous rumor indicated that iOS 18 would feature a visionOS-like redesign, but that never happened. An alleged screenshot of the Camera app with translucent menus even leaked a few months after that initial rumor, but it appeared to be fake. In the end, perhaps these are changes that Apple was working on for iOS 19 instead.

It is possible the visionOS-like design changes could extend to other iOS 19 interfaces and built-in apps, but this is purely speculation. For example, Prosser visualized the translucent design extending to Home Screen widgets.

iOS 19 should be announced at WWDC 2025 in June, and released in September.

With TikTok on track to be banned from U.S. app stores starting on Sunday, Instagram is adding new features to Reels, its video-based feature that's modeled after TikTok.

Going forward, there will be a new Reels feed that includes videos that your friends have liked or commented on, so you can see what your friends have watched and what they like. Your friends will also be able to see the videos that you have liked, which is something to be aware of.

In this new Reels feed filled with friend recommendations, there will be an option to "start a conversation" with someone over a reel that they've liked.

"We want Instagram to not only be a place where you consume entertaining content, but one where you connect over that content with friends," Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a video announcing the change.

Instagram used to have a dedicated Activity feed that offered up this information, but it was removed several years ago. It is not yet known if Instagram plans to provide an opt-out for the new feed.

The new feed is rolling out in a handful of countries right now, with Instagram set to expand it in the future.

Instagram competitor TikTok could be unavailable to use starting on Sunday, which is the day U.S. app stores will be prohibited from distributing the app. Instagram could absorb some displaced TikTok users if that ends up happening.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an M2 iPad Air, an Apple Pencil Pro, and Astropad's best iPad accessory, the Rock Paper Pencil.

Rock Paper Pencil is an all-in-one kit that features a textured screen protector and ‌Apple Pencil‌ tip. The two components of the kit make writing and drawing on the ‌iPad‌ feel like you're writing on a piece of paper instead of on a glossy display.

Writing or drawing on an ‌iPad‌ feels distinctly different from writing or drawing with a paper and a pen, and Rock Paper Pencil does a great job at making you forget you're using a tablet. It feels like writing on paper, and it also sounds like writing on paper.

The screen protector uses NanoCling technology so it adheres to an ‌iPad‌ using static cling, and it can be taken off and put back on as needed with no residue left on the ‌iPad‌'s screen. With NanoCling, the screen protector fits right up to the display of the ‌iPad‌ to provide a flat surface with no gaps or ridges. Because of the slight friction from the texture of the screen protector, there's much more control over stroke output.

Rock Paper Pencil's pencil tip fits on the ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro (and other ‌Apple Pencil‌ models) and it can hold up to heavy daily use. The tip features a wear-resistant copper alloy core with a palladium exterior coating, and it is equivalent to an 0.7mm ballpoint pen for precision writing and sketching. Astropad includes two pencil tips with the kit, along with a protective storage sleeve so you can tuck away the screen protector when you're not using it.

Priced at $45, the Rock Paper Pencil kit works with all of Apple's modern iPads, including the ‌iPad Air‌, both iPad Pro models, the sixth-generation iPad mini, and the 7th-generation and later ‌iPad‌.

We have an ‌iPad Air‌ 2, Rock Paper Pencil, and ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro for one lucky MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prize(s). You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, following us on Threads, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (January 17) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on January 24. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after January 24 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

On Sunday, January 19, Apple will need to remove TikTok from the U.S. App Store, because the app will be officially banned in the United States. On the 19th, app distributors and websites will be prohibited from distributing, maintaining, or updating the TikTok app, though the app itself could continue to function on devices where it has already been downloaded. TikTok has said, however, that it plans to shut down the app when the ban begins.

TikTok did not receive a delay or reprieve from the United States Supreme Court, which today said [PDF] that it is upholding the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. TikTok can avoid a ban by severing its U.S. operations from Chinese control, which means that Chinese TikTok parent company ByteDance must divest the U.S. version of the app in order for it to continue to operate.

The law, which passed in April, requires TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese company. ByteDance was given nine months to sell the app prior to when the ban was scheduled to go into effect, but the company has focused on appealing the ruling. ByteDance argued that the law was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment, but the Supreme Court maintains that ByteDance does not have First Amendment rights as a Chinese company.

ByteDance has claimed that it is technologically impossible to divest TikTok, both due to the complexity of the code and the rearchitecture needed to uncouple it from ByteDance's software tools. ByteDance does not intend to hand over its proprietary algorithm, and the Chinese government has also opposed a sale so far. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled against TikTok, ByteDance and China may reconsider selling the app.

There is no doubt that, for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community. But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok's data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners' First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed.

Should ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. company, TikTok will be able to continue to operate as normal.

The TikTok ban will go into effect one day before Donald Trump takes office, and it is not clear how the administration change will impact the outcome. In a statement to CNN, Trump said "It ultimately goes up to me, so you're going to see what I'm going to do." He went on to say "Congress has given me the decision, so I'll be making the decision."

Trump asked the Supreme Court to delay making a decision and to delay TikTok's ban, but the court declined to do so. It will be up to Trump's administration to enforce the law going forward, and there are avenues that would allow Trump to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling so that TikTok remains operational, including an executive order that delays the ban.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

It has been nearly three years since Apple released the Studio Display. Below, we recap rumors about a potential next-generation model.

Apple released the Studio Display in March 2022 alongside the Mac Studio. The standalone display features a 27-inch LCD screen with 5K resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, up to 600 nits brightness, a built-in camera and speakers, one Thunderbolt 3 port, and three USB-C ports. In the U.S., the Studio Display continues to start at $1,599.

There have been on-again, off-again rumors about Apple planning a new 27-inch external display with mini-LED backlighting, which would allow for increased brightness and higher contrast ratio compared to the current Studio Display. In April 2023, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the display was slated for mass production in 2024 or early 2025. However, it is unclear if that remains Apple's plan.

In November 2024, an anonymous listener of the Relay FM tech podcast "Upgrade" claimed that Apple was developing 90Hz display technology that could be used for the next Studio Display. This higher refresh rate would make content like videos and text while scrolling look smoother to the eye, but 90Hz would stop short of the 120Hz refresh rate that iPhones and Macs with ProMotion support can achieve. It would nonetheless be an improvement.

It is not clear to us if the anonymous tipster has a proven track record with Apple rumors.

That's all we have currently for Studio Display rumors. Given that Apple's higher-end Pro Display XDR was released in 2019, and still has not received any hardware upgrades, it is quite possible that the Studio Display could also linger without upgrades for at least a few more years. Hopefully, though, Apple delivers something sooner.

Earlier this week, Woot brought back a massive sale on the Braided Solo Loop and Solo Loop bands for Apple Watch, and the sale is set to end later tonight. All bands are in brand new condition and come with a one year Apple limited warranty.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Woot. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Woot says the sale will end at 11:59 p.m. Central Time tonight, although there is a chance it could be extended due to its popularity. Either way, some colors and sizes of the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop are selling out, so be sure to place your order soon if you want one of these cheap bands.

You can get the Solo Loop for just $19.99 ($29 off) and the Braided Solo Loop for $29.99 ($69 off) in this sale.

Shoppers should note that this sale is focused on colors of the Braided Solo Loop and Solo Loop that Apple has stopped selling, and it doesn't include any of the new band colors. That being said, all of the bands in this sale are in new condition.

The entire sale is focused on Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop Apple Watch bands, so you'll need to know the size that works best for you before you buy. Apple has a measurement tool on its website that you can use to determine your exact size.

Solo Loop

• Black/White Hues - $19.99, down from $49.00
• Blue Hues - $19.99, down from $49.00
• Green Hues - $19.99, down from $49.00
• Purple Hues - $19.99, down from $49.00
• Red/Orange/Yellow Hues - $19.99, down from $49.00

Braided Solo Loop

• Black/White Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00
• Blue Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00
• Green Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00
• Purple Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00
• Red/Orange/Yellow Hues - $29.99, down from $99.00
• Pride - $29.99, down from $99.00

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

---

Amazon today has the USB-C AirPods Max on sale for $449.99 in every color, down from $549.00. This is a new all-time low price on the USB-C headphones, and the first time in 2025 that we've tracked any notable sale.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Colors available on sale include Blue, Midnight, Orange, Starlight, and Purple. Some colors are still available to be delivered in January, but others have started slipping into a February delivery estimate, so be sure to place your order soon if you're interested.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

---

Apple has launched its dedicated Apple Store app in India, marking another increase in the company's presence in the country (via TechCrunch).

The app builds upon Apple's existing retail infrastructure in India, which includes its online store, which launched in September 2020, and its first physical retail locations that opened in Mumbai and New Delhi in 2023.

The ‌Apple Store‌ app is available in most major markets across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America, but there are still some notable exceptions such as South Korea.

Apple has confirmed plans to open four additional retail stores in Bengaluru, Pune, and other parts of Delhi and Mumbai by 2025. The company has also steadily increased its manufacturing footprint in India, starting with iPhone assembly in 2017 and expanding to include the production of "Pro" iPhone models in 2024.

2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year.

Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could update some products that have not received any hardware refreshes in at least a few years, including the iPhone SE, AirTag, Apple TV, HomePod mini, and Mac Pro.

Below, we recap what to expect from Apple this year.

First Half of 2025

The following products are rumored to launch before the end of June.

• MacBook Air models with M4 chip
• A new iPhone SE (or "iPhone 16E")
• A new AirTag
• A new iPad Air
• iPad 11
• Powerbeats Pro 2
• Mac Studio with M4 Max and M4 Ultra chips

Second Half of 2025

The following products are rumored to launch from September through December.

• iPhone 17
• "iPhone 17 Air"
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch Ultra 3
• Apple Watch SE 3
• A new Apple TV
• A new HomePod mini
• MacBook Pro models with M5 chips

Timing Less Clear

The following products are expected to launch at some point in 2025, but the exact timeframe has yet to be narrowed down for these.

• An all-new smart home hub
• Mac Pro with M4 Ultra chip
• iPad Pro with M5 chip (rumored for late 2025 or early 2026)
• Apple Vision Pro with M5 chip (rumored for late 2025 or 2026)

For more details, read our Upcoming Apple Products Guide: What's Coming in 2025.

The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report.

The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup, consisting of the ‌iPhone 17‌, ‌iPhone 17‌ Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader.

Vapor chamber technology is already used in many high-end Android devices. Vapor chambers work by spreading heat evenly across a larger surface area, preventing thermal throttling and maintaining consistent performance, which is particularly beneficial in slim devices.

While the notorious thermal issues of the iPhone 15 Pro were seemingly resolved thanks to the iPhone 16 Pro's new aluminum thermal substructure, graphene sheet, and back glass, the report claims that the device still struggles under intense thermal load. A vapor chamber heatsink would apparently resolve this and allow for better sustained performance.

Last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the ‌‌iPhone 17‌‌ Pro Max will also have an exclusive cooling system that combines vapor chamber technology with graphene sheets. Contrary to the latest report, Kuo said that the other new iPhone models launching in 2025 will continue to rely solely on graphene sheets.

The supply chain for Apple's upcoming HomePod or smart home "Command Center" with an LCD display is increasingly visible as launch approaches, DigiTimes reports.

The paywalled report claims that the device's 7-inch LCD panel will be exclusively supplied by Tianma Microelectronics in China, corroborating other reports dating back to early 2023.

The display panels are believed to cost just $10 each, undercutting other suppliers. Tianma doesn't currently make any displays for existing Apple products, with the company usually opting for the likes of Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE.

DigiTimes adds that Taiwan's Radiant Optoelectronics will handle backlight module production, while China's BYD will be the sole assembly partner.

The device was originally rumored launch in early 2024, but faced repeated delays, initially to late 2024. Supply chain sources claim that Apple issued a shipment schedule targeting a launch in March 2025, but this timeline may have now slipped to the second half of 2025.

Apple is planning to introduce a new version of the iPhone SE this year, and alleged dummy models are starting to leak out. Sonny Dickson today shared some images of an iPhone SE 4 dummy model, giving us insight into what it could look like.

For those unfamiliar with dummy models, they are non-functional mockups of new devices that case makers create based on information that leaks out of Apple's partner factories. There is big money in being the first to have a case for a new device, and over the years, leaked dummy models have turned out to be accurate in most cases.

Rumors have suggested the next iPhone SE will look like the iPhone 14, and that seems to be accurate based on the images. There's an iPhone-14 style chassis with an aluminum band, a glass back, and a single-lens rear camera.

There have been suggestions that the iPhone SE 4 could get an Action Button or the Camera Control button that's available on iPhone 16 models, but neither of those features is depicted on these dummy models. That doesn't mean it won't happen, but it does make it less likely because case makers would need to accommodate these features.

The upcoming iPhone SE has been largely referred to as the iPhone SE 4, but there was a recent rumor indicating that Apple might call it the iPhone 16E. Along with the visible features from the dummy model, the iPhone SE is expected to include a faster A17 Pro chip that supports Apple Intelligence, an Apple-designed modem chip, and 8GB RAM. While it will only have that single camera, the camera is the same 48-megapixel Wide camera in the current ‌iPhone 16‌.

We are expecting to see Apple debut the next iPhone SE sometime in March or April, and it will continue to be the company's lowest-cost device. It could go up in price a bit, but Apple is said to be aiming to keep it below $500.

The second season of hit television show Severance is set to be available to stream starting tomorrow, and Apple is continuing to promote the show. The company's main Apple.com website now has a section dedicated to Lumon Industries, the fictional business that "innies" work for in Severance.

On Tuesday, several key Severance actors attended a promotion at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The team sat at workstations modeled after the workstations they use on the show, and sat in a glass cube for several hours as part of a live-action Severance event attended by the public and members of the press.

Severance actors have also been attending talk shows. Adam Scott, one of the main characters of the show, visited The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Scott said that during the promotion at Grand Central Terminal, the actors were locked in the cube for several hours. "None of us peed at all, for three hours," he said. "Didn't leave a glass cube for three hours." Scott went on to say it was a lot of fun, though.

Members of the media have already been able to watch the second season of Severance, and it is so far receiving rave reviews.

The show is available on Apple TV+, Apple's streaming service that's priced at $9.99 per month.

Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.

Notification Summary Changes

Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.

• For now, summaries for apps in the News and Entertainment category have been disabled. Apple Intelligence will no longer summarize news notifications, but this is temporary and will be reinstated in a future update when Apple has made some changes.
• In the Settings app, the Notifications Summaries section makes it clear that this is a beta feature and that errors are a possibility.
• During setup, Apple has added the following wording for Notification Summaries: "Summarization may change the meaning of the original headlines. Double check important information."
• Summarized notifications are now shown with the text italicized to distinguish them from standard notifications.
• Notification Summaries can be disabled on a per-app basis directly from the Lock Screen by swiping on a notification and tapping on the "Options" button to get to an interface for turning off summaries.

All of the Notification Summary changes have been made in iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3.

Camera Control

On iPhone 16 models, the Camera Control section in the Settings has a renamed toggle. The toggle for AE/AF lock has been renamed to "Lock Focus and Exposure," which would be clearer to non-photographers who do not know what AE/AF Lock is.

Lock Focus and Exposure is an optional setting that lets you lock your settings with a light press and hold on the Camera Control button, and it is meant to work similarly to a DSLR camera.

Messages

In the Messages sidebar that's accessible by tapping on the "+" button in any conversation, there is now a Genmoji entry, and tapping it takes you to the ‌Genmoji‌ creation interface.

This is simply another way to get to the ‌Genmoji‌ creation tools, which have previously been available by tapping on the emoji keyboard button.

PDF Editing

When editing a PDF through the screenshot interface, if you crop content out, Apple now provides a warning that cropped content is not removed from the PDF.

"Content outside the cropped area won't be visible in most PDF viewers, but it can be made visible in some apps," reads the message.

More Features

Know of something new in the latest iOS 18.3 beta that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.