MacRumors

Apple has already given order commitments to chip supplier TSMC for its second-generation 3nm chip fabrication process known as N3E, which is expected to be used in all four models of next year's iPhone 16 lineup.

TSMC's next 3nm node upgrade to N3E is less expensive and has improved yield compared to the Taiwanese foundry's first-generation 3nm process, N3B, which made its debut on the smartphone market with the A17 Pro chip that powers Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models. The N3E process also focuses on enhancing chip performance and power consumption.

According to DigiTimes' sources, the foundry house has already moved N3E to volume production, and plans to have the upgraded version replace N3 starting 2024. Except for Samsung, all major chip vendors will embrace N3E, and TSMC has already obtained order commitments from its customers, the largest being Apple.

Apple is receiving all of TSMC's first-generation 3-nanometer process chips this year. As early as May, Apple was known to have booked nearly 90 percent of the foundry's 3nm production for its devices. Apple is now projected to take 100 percent of TSMC's capacity in 2023, due to delays in Intel's wafer needs owing to later modifications to the company's CPU platform design plans.

TSMC is expected to see 4-6 percent of its overall sales in 2023 to come from 3nm manufacturing, thanks to huge orders from Apple for N3B chips for its iPhone 15 devices. Apple alone is expected to contribute as much as $3.4 billion in sales for the foundry this year.

TSMC also plans to move N3P to volume production in the second half of 2024, according to the report. N3P is said to offer an additional boost to N3E with 5 percent more speed at the same leakage, 5-10 percent power reduction at the same speed, and 1.04x more chip density.

All four iPhone 16 models will be equipped with A18-branded chips based on TSMC's N3E node, according to Jeff Pu, an often-accurate analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are equipped with the A16 Bionic chip, so a jump to the A18 chip for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus would be significant.

Given that the iPhone 16 lineup is around a year away from launching, Pu is probably making an educated guess about the marketing names, so it remains to be seen if Apple actually moves forward with A18 and A18 Pro branding.

Apple today announced that its revamped Maps app is rolling out in Denmark and Greece.

The new experience provides more detail, improved navigation, custom-designed 3D models of popular landmarks, immersive turn-by-turn walking directions powered by augmented reality, and more.

Look Around, which was first introduced in iOS 13, is also expanding to both countries starting today. Look Around provides 3D street-level imagery in cities where it is available, and it is similar to Google's Street View.

Apple users in the above countries received notifications of the rollout this morning, and Apple Maps expert Justin O'Beirne also catalogued the expansion.

This is the twentieth time that Apple has expanded its new map data since its public launch in September 2018. It has since expanded to the U.K., Ireland, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, France, Germany, and select other countries and territories.

Microsoft's revised offer to buy Activision Blizzard has been approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after its initial acquisition attempt was blocked by the UK antitrust regulator.

Under the revised deal, French video game publisher Ubisoft will be given the rights to distribute Activision's games on consoles and PCs over the cloud.

The CMA said the reworked deal would "preserve competitive prices" in the gaming industry and provide more choice and better services. "We've made sure Microsoft can't have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market," the regulator added.

The approval brings an end to Microsoft's nearly two-year battle to secure the takeover. The company entered into a $68.7 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard in January 2022, but the CMA blocked it over concerns it would be anticompetitive in the cloud gaming market.

Microsoft was unable to finalize the deal globally until approval was granted.

Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was approved by regulators in several other regions and territories including Brazil, Chile, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, and most recently, the European Union.

Activision is one of the most popular video games publishers in the world, and the deal represents one of the biggest shake-ups in the games industry in recent history. The studio is the maker of hit titles such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush, World of Warcraft, and more.

Microsoft hopes the takeover will boost demand for its Xbox console and allow it to add more titles to its Xbox Game Pass streaming service, where members pay a subscription fee to access a catalog of titles via the cloud.

Xbox Game Pass is available on the iPhone and iPad through Safari, but not the App Store. While Apple does allow all-in-one gaming subscription services to be on the platform, every game offered on the service must be submitted individually for approval through the ‌‌App Store‌‌ review process.

Astropad today announced a new iPad app called Astropad Slate, which can be used to control the Mac with an Apple Pencil. Astropad Slate is available as a public beta, and because it's still in testing, it is free for everyone.

There are several Mac functions that can be performed with the ‌Apple Pencil‌. It works as a cursor for controlling the desktop mouse, with a tap on the screen serving as a click. Handwriting done on the ‌iPad‌ will be translated into typed text on the Mac. Astropad Slate supports the ‌Apple Pencil‌ hover gestures on newer iPads, and there is a simulated hover option on older iPads, plus you can use two-finger touch gestures for actions like scrolling and zoom.

You can also use the ‌iPad‌ as a pen tablet with Mac apps that support drawing, sketching, and other creative work. The Astropad Slate app basically turns the ‌iPad‌ into a no-screen drawing tablet so you can focus on your work on the Mac. A Mac and an ‌iPad‌ can be connected using Wi-Fi, Peer-to-Peer networking, or an appropriate USB cable. Requirements include iPadOS 15 or later and macOS 11 or later.

The Astropad Slate app can be accessed by signing up for the beta on the Astropad website.

Lighting company Nanoleaf today announced the launch of new Essentials lights that are aimed at replacing some of the standard bulbs that are installed in ceilings, plus it is introducing a new series of products in partnership with Umbra.

The Essentials Matter GU10 and the Essentials Matter Recessed Downlight are compatible with smart home platforms that support Matter, which includes HomeKit. The lights can be added to a ‌HomeKit‌ setup as long as a Matter hub like the HomePod mini is available. The Essentials lights are also Thread enabled and will integrate with other Thread products for improved connectivity.

Nanoleaf's Recessed Downlights are four inches in size and can replace standard downlights that you may have in your home, while the GU10 bulbs can replace light fixtures that use that bulb style. Like all Nanoleaf Essential lights, the Downlights and GU10 bulbs support 16 million colors as well as a range of different white temperatures.

The lights can be controlled through the Nanoleaf app or through the Home app when added to ‌HomeKit‌, and can be activated through automations to have lights turn on at specific times or work in tandem with other smart home devices. Multiple bulbs can be grouped together so you can change the lighting in entire rooms at one time.

Nanoleaf today also announced that it is partnering with Umbra on two new Smart Lamps that are compatible with Matter. The Cono Portable Lamp and the Cup Lamp have unique designs created by Umbra with lighting technology supplied by Nanoleaf. The Cono and Cup Lamps work like other Nanoleaf lights, supporting millions of colors and working with scenes, automations, and more.

The Cono Portable Lamp has a built-in battery that lasts for up to five hours so it can be taken from room to room, while the Cup Lamp is a desktop lamp with a USB charging port and a cup base that is able to hold desk accessories.

Three of the GU10 bulbs can be preordered for $50, while the downlights are priced at $35 each. The Cono Portable Lamp is available for preorder now and is priced at $95, and the $130 Cup Lamp will be available in early 2024.

Apple today updated the public-facing vintage and obsolete products list on its website. The page confirms that all first-generation Apple Watch models are now obsolete, as we reported earlier this month based on an internal memo. Obsolete products are no longer eligible for repairs or service at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Another addition to the page is the Apple Watch Series 1, which is now classified as vintage. Introduced alongside the Apple Watch Series 2 in September 2016, the Series 1 was a more affordable model that lacked the Series 2's built-in GPS, brighter display, and improved water resistance. It was also only available with an aluminum case, whereas the Series 2 had aluminum, stainless steel, and ceramic case options. In the U.S., the Series 1 started at $269, compared to $369 for the Series 2.

Apple considers a product to be vintage once five years have passed since it was last distributed for sale. Apple discontinued the Series 1 in September 2018 after introducing the Apple Watch Series 4, so that five-year mark has now been reached. Vintage products are no longer guaranteed to be eligible for repairs at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, with service subject to parts availability.

Nowadays, the Apple Watch SE is the budget model, with pricing starting at $249.

Apple and its Wi-Fi chip supplier Broadcom have reached an agreement with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), putting an end to a years-long legal battle over wireless communication patents, reports Reuters.

The terms of the settlement have not been shared, but Caltech will be dropping its lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom with prejudice, preventing Caltech from refiling in the future.

Caltech sued Apple and Broadcom way back in 2016, accusing the two companies of infringing on a series of Wi-Fi patents covering encoding and decoding circuitry for improving data transmission and performance. The iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch were all targeted in the suit for using Caltech technology.

Apple ended up countersuing in an attempt to have the patents invalidated, a tactic that was unsuccessful. In 2020, a jury decided that Apple and Broadcom had indeed infringed on Caltech's patents, and Apple was ordered to pay $838 million, while Broadcom was told to pay $270 million.

The two companies combined were ordered to pay $1.1 billion, which would have been one of the largest payouts in U.S. history for a patent dispute. Apple and Broadcom appealed the decision, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ultimately decided that while the two companies had infringed on Caltech patents, the damages award was not justified. The prior court had used a two-tier system to award damages based on different royalty rates, which the appeals court said was "legally unsupportable."

A new trial was ordered, which would recalculate the amount that Apple and Broadcom would need to pay to Caltech. Rather than undergoing a second trial, Apple, Broadcom, and Caltech back in August told the court that a potential settlement was in the works, and now the settlement is official.

Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with Qualcomm's latest cellular modem, according to technology analyst Jeff Pu, enabling faster and more power efficient 5G connectivity for the devices.

In a research note this week with investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X75 modem. However, he expects the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to retain the Snapdragon X70 modem used for the entire iPhone 15 lineup. Apple has typically used the same Qualcomm modem across all models for each generation of iPhones, excluding the low-end iPhone SE, so this would be a change in strategy for the company.

Announced in February 2023, the Snapdragon X75 features improved carrier aggregation and other technology advancements for faster 5G download and upload speeds compared to the X70. The modem's combined mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G transceiver takes up 25% less circuit board space, and uses up to 20% less power, according to The Verge.

The Snapdragon X75 also supports the latest "5G Advanced" standard, which is described as "the next phase of 5G" and an "evolution towards 6G." 5G Advanced will include artificial intelligence and machine learning enhancements for improved 5G performance, and it will also expand 5G to additional types of devices and use cases.

Apple is likely to market the iPhone 16 Pro models as featuring "5G Advanced," much like the iPhone 6s gained support for "LTE Advanced" in 2015.

Apple is rumored to have been working on its own 5G modem for iPhones since 2018, but the project has reportedly faced development challenges, and the modem is not expected to be announced until 2025 or later should it ever materialize. In the meantime, Apple extended its 5G modem agreement with Qualcomm through 2026.

Apple should announce the iPhone 16 lineup in September 2024, so there is still plenty of time remaining until the devices launch.

iPhones will not adopt resin coated copper (RCC) foil for their printed circuit boards until 2025, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that Apple will not adopt this technology in 2024 because of its "fragile characteristics" and "inability to pass drop tests."

If Apple and its supplier Ajinomoto can improve the RCC material before the third quarter of 2024, the high-end iPhone 17 models could use it. Resin coated copper does not sound exciting, but it has the potential to slim down the size of circuit boards, freeing up space inside of the iPhone that can be used for larger batteries or other technology. Kuo says that it also makes the drilling process easier for ‌iPhone‌ manufacturing because RCC is fiberglass-free.

Late last month, a Weibo circuit expert claimed that Apple would adopt RCC for circuit boards starting in 2024, but it appears that we might not see the shift until 2025.

Now that Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days event has ended, many of the week's best sales have expired. However, we're tracking a few Apple products that remain at their best-ever prices even after the end of the sale, including the AirPods 2, 15-inch MacBook Air, and 9th generation iPad.

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.

15-Inch MacBook Air

An overall highlight of Prime Day has been a $250 discount across the entire 15-inch M2 MacBook Air lineup, and all of these sales are still around. The 256GB model is down to $1,049.00 and the 512GB model is down to $1,249.00, and both are record low prices.

AirPods

There were quite a few AirPods deals earlier in the week, but the only notable deal that has stuck around is on the AirPods 2. You can get these earbuds for $89.00, down from $129.00, which is one of the lowest prices of the year and an overall second-bet price.

If you're still shopping for the newest model of the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C, there is a sale on this model, it's just not at its all-time low Prime Day price. You can pick up these earbuds for $199.99, down from $249.00, which is still a good deal on the newest model of AirPods.

iPad

The major iPad deal that has stuck around post-Prime Day is on the 9th generation iPad (64GB Wi-Fi), which is available for $249.00, down from $329.00. This is a match of the best price we've ever tracked on the tablet, and the 256GB Wi-Fi option is on sale too, just not at a record low price.

Anker

Anker deals remain abundant in the wake of Prime Day, with steep savings on USB-C wall chargers, portable batteries, and power strips. All of the discounts below require you to clip an on-page coupon in order to see the deal price at the checkout screen.

• Nano Power Bank with Foldable USB-C Connector - $25.49 with on-page coupon, down from $29.99
• 67W 3-Port USB-C Wall Charger - $47.99 with on-page coupon, down from $59.99
• 67W 6-in-1 USB-C Power Strip - $52.79 with on-page coupon, down from $65.99
• 140W 6-in-1 USB-C Power Strip - $87.99 with on-page coupon, down from $109.99
• Prime 20,000 mAh Power Bank with Smart Digital Display - $109.99 with on-page coupon, down from $129.99

AirTag

Apple's Bluetooth tracker accessory hit $88.99 during Prime Day, and that $10 off discount is still available on Amazon today. This is for the 4-pack of the AirTag, and it's a solid second-best price on the device.

Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.

Apple this week published a new support document with some valuable tips for buying a preowned iPhone online or in person.

Apple starts off by touting that the iPhone "lasts longer than other smartphones," making a preowned iPhone a "great way to own an iPhone." Apple says it provides "industry-leading device support for software updates," although Google recently announced that its latest Pixel 8 phones will receive full Android updates for seven years, whereas iOS 17 only supports iPhone models released up to five years ago.

When buying a preowned iPhone online, it is very important to choose a trusted seller, as the device cannot be physically inspected at the time of purchase. If possible, make sure the iPhone is not Activation Locked, as this would prevent you from using the device unless you know the previous owner's Apple ID and password.

For in-person purchases, Apple shared a helpful checklist for inspecting a preowned iPhone. Apple explains how to check for damage, how to find out if parts have been replaced, how to view the battery's health, how to find out if the iPhone is locked to a carrier, how to ensure hardware like the camera and microphone are functional, and more.

While some of the tips are obvious, Apple's support document might be worth bookmarking if you plan to buy a used iPhone in the future.

There are a few Beats deals that remain available on Amazon following Prime Day, including the new Beats Studio Pro headphones at an all-time low price of $179.00, down from $349.99. This is an incredibly steep discount on these headphones, which just launched in July.

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.

You can get the Beats Studio Pro headphones at this price in Deep Brown, Navy, and Sandstone on Amazon. The headphones come with improved sound quality, voice performance, comfort and durability, and connectivity compared to previous generation Beats.

There are a few other Beats devices on sale today, starting with the Beats Studio Buds at $89.99, down from $149.95. Amazon has four colors on sale at this price, which is an all-time low price on the earbuds.

Lastly, the Beats Fit Pro are down to $159.99 in seven colors, down from $199.95. These earbuds include the Apple H1 chip, making them easy to pair with iOS devices, and they're built for workouts with flexible wingtips.

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 will release its first MacBooks based on TSMC's 3nm fabrication process in 2024, not this year as some rumors have suggested. That's according to a new five-year global notebook shipments forecast published by DigiTimes.

Predicting an end to a two-year decline in the notebook market, the report forecasts a 4.7% shipment growth in 2024 driven by the easing of inflation and the introduction of new products, including new MacBooks powered by 3nm-based chips. From the report:

In 2023, the share of notebooks built using Arm-based processors will likely decrease rather than increase because Apple, which adopts in-house designed Arm-based CPUs for most of its notebook lineups, is expected to experience a significant decline in shipments in 2023 as the US brand vendor plans to transit to CPUs built by a 3nm node at TSMC for performance upgrading in 2024.

In July, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said October of this year could see the announcement of the first Macs with the M3 chip. Given that Apple launched new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models in January, and more recently new 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, ‌Mac Studio‌, and ‌Mac Pro‌ models in June, Gurman said the first beneficiaries of the new M3 chip would likely be the next ‌iMac‌, 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

However, more recently in September, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that it seemed Apple will not launch new MacBook models with M3 series chips before the end of this year. Kuo only ruled out new MacBooks though, which appears to leave open the possibility of a new iMac coming this year. The current model featuring the M1 chip has now been on sale for over two and a half years.

DigiTimes itself recently suggested Apple would make a MacBook Pro announcement before the holidays. The Taiwan-based outlet earlier this month claimed Apple is preparing to ship new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with more power-efficient mini-LED displays before the year is out. That report did not mention the processor the models would be based on, but Gurman has previously said the next version of these two machines will feature M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, and that they will "probably" launch by the middle of 2024 at the latest.

• Will Apple Release New Macs Soon? Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

The as-yet-unannounced M3 chip is widely expected to be fabricated with TSMC's 3nm process for performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the current 5nm-based ‌M2‌ chip, which debuted in June 2022. It will also likely feature an all new GPU with hardware ray-tracing, first introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip last month.

There appears to be a curious phenomenon that is causing some iPhone models to turn off temporarily at night, which can interrupt alarms and other ‌iPhone‌ features.

In a thread on Reddit, a user complains that two separate ‌iPhone‌ alarms in his home failed to go off. Several other users also chimed in with similar issues, and it turns out that some of the issues could be linked to the ‌iPhone‌ turning off at night. From Reddit:

Hijacking top comment. Check your battery settings and see if there is a gap during the night. Yesterday a lot of iPhones turned off for a few hours during the night. In my case the phone turned back on 1 minute before the alarm

Some other people noted having to put in their passcodes in the morning, an indication that the ‌iPhone‌ restarted or shut off during the night. 9to5Mac highlighted these issues earlier this week, and we've also experienced the problem here at MacRumors, as have multiple users on the MacRumors forums. From MacRumors:

So my iPhone 15 Pro Max with iOS 17.0.3 spontaneously rebooted last night (10. October around 01:00 AM CET). The same happened to 3 of my friends with the same iPhone and same iOS, and to someone else with an iPhone 13 Mini, also on the same iOS.

You can tell if your ‌iPhone‌ turned off at night by opening up the Settings app, navigating to Battery, and checking the charging status over the past 24 hours. If there's a gap, the ‌iPhone‌ was turned off for a period of time.

The problem affects iPhone 15 models, but it is also impacting other devices, suggesting that it's something in iOS 17. Not all users are experiencing the shutdown issues, nor does it appear to be happening every night.

It is not yet clear what is going on, and Apple has not commented.

California this week officially adopted new right to repair legislation, with California Governor Gavin Newsom this week signing SB 244 into law.

The Right to Repair law requires companies to provide customers with the tools to diagnose and repair consumer electronics and appliances. Apple in August sent a letter urging California to adopt the bill, despite the fact that Apple has lobbied against other Right to Repair legislation.

Apple has already launched a Self Service Repair program for iPhones and Macs, with the repair program providing customers with repair kits, repair manuals, and components for repairs. Apple also has repair programs for independent repair shops, such as the Apple Authorized Service Provider option and the Independent Repair Provider program.

California's law requires service and repair facilities that are not authorized repair providers to disclose whether they're using replacement parts that are not from the device manufacturer, which would prevent Apple repair stores from using non-Apple parts without making that explicitly clear. As legitimate repair parts must come from Apple, the repair law in California is to Apple's benefit.

Manufacturers are also not required to make tools, parts, and documentation available for any component that would disable or override antitheft security measures, which encompasses Apple features like Face ID.

Independent repair shops have in the past complained that Apple forces them to sign invasive contracts, and the kits that Apple sells for self-service repair are not much more affordable than simply getting a repair direct from Apple, but California's law does ensure that customers have options other than the Apple Store.

SB 244 requires that Apple and other companies provide components, repair manuals, and other repair information to be available for seven years after the sale of any product that costs more than $99.99. It is applicable to products sold after July 1, 2021.

T-Mobile will be forcing customers on older smartphone plans to move to newer, more expensive plans, according to information that has been shared on Reddit. The migration will be automatic, but customers can contact support to ask to opt out of the migration.

Those who had the prior Magenta and One plans will be upgraded to Go5G, while those on the Magenta 55+ plan will be upgraded to Go5G+. Simple Choice and Select Choice users will be moved to Magenta or Essentials Select.

With these migrations to new plans, customers will see price increases of $5 to $10 per line depending on current plan. Those on the Simple/Select Choice plans, for example, will see a $10 per line price increase.

Customers who miss the notification about the upcoming plan changes can still ask to revert back for a short period, though customer service will attempt to push customers to new plans with one-time credits.

As noted by The Mobile Report, customer support representatives will attempt to convince users about the benefits of the new plan. "We are not raising the price of any of your plans; we are moving you to a newer plan with more benefits at a different cost," T-Mobile instructs employees to say.

Customers will begin receiving notifications about the upcoming plan changes on October 17, both through text messages and emails. Migration timing will vary based on bill cycle.

Both Apple and Google came out with new high-end flagship smartphones this autumn, debuting the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Pixel 8 Pro, respectively. As with any expensive smartphone, the cameras in both produce amazing images, but there are some notable differences that can be seen in our comparison video and article.

The ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max has a triple-lens camera system with 48-megapixel Main (wide) camera that can be set to three focal lengths, a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, and a 12-megapixel Telephoto lens that supports up to 5x optical zoom. The Pixel 8 Pro also has a triple-lens camera system with 50-megapixel Wide camera, a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera, and a 48-megapixel Telephoto camera also with 5x optical zoom.

The Google and Apple camera systems have similarities in available lenses and technologies like portrait mode, night mode, HDR, and more, but there are different software algorithms that are at work under the hood, and that's what brings in some of the biggest differences that we're seeing.

When it comes to landscape images that show a lot of sky, the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max looks more natural. The colors are more accurate and the differences between sky and cloud are more pronounced for an overall better looking image. The Pixel 8 Pro trends toward a more blue tint for sky images, and it also has a tendency to overexpose in some shots. You'll also notice that the Pixel photos tend to be brighter, while the iPhone photos are downright moody.

There are definite themes to color temperature, saturation, exposure, and other factors. Several of the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max images feel oversaturated compared to the Pixel 8 Pro, with Apple giving deeper blacks and more vibrant colors, while Google's images have a brighter feel with contrast bumped down. In the taxi image, for example, the cars were not that shade of yellow that Apple produced, but both images look good and choosing a favorite will depend on whether you prefer images that are more saturated or brighter.

Apple's 5x Telephoto lens is limited to 12 megapixels and it does not have the wide aperture of the Main lens, so it should not be a surprise that the images that come out of it look different in terms of sharpness and saturation. 5x images from the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max and the Pixel 8 Pro look similar in most instances, but the Pixel 8 Pro seems to have more pronounced textures because the images are brighter with the contrast bumped up a bit more than what we're getting with the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max.

Apple's 5x zoom lens has an edge when it comes to portrait mode because it can capture 5x portraits, while the Pixel is limited to 2x portraits. The ‌iPhone‌ really wins out in terms of background blur, and even in portraits with other lenses, Apple is doing better with color, skin tone, and blur. The Pixel's portrait images sometimes come out better in situations with lower light.

As for night shots, iPhones have always been a bit ahead in terms of a natural look, and that hasn't changed. The nighttime images from the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max are more true to life, while the Pixel 8 Pro is much brighter and doesn't have the same nighttime mood.

Apple's video stabilization has always been tough to beat, and the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max produces better video than you get with the Pixel 8 Pro. Google has caught up somewhat with its latest smartphones, but Apple remains a step ahead. For pros, Apple also has an option for ProRes Log recording, so you can record a flat image that can be used with custom LUTs in post-processing.

Google has added some fun AI features to its camera that Apple can't compete with. Best Take, for example, sorts through multiple group photos that have been captured and finds the best shot. You can go change each person's face, swapping in from another in the series so that each person is smiling and looking at the camera. Magic Editor lets you erase objects in an image and uses generative AI to fill in the blank spot, and the Audio Magic Eraser can pull out unwanted sounds.

Which images do you prefer? ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max or Pixel 8 Pro? Let us know in the comments below.

Apple's first MacBook Pro models with OLED displays are still at least three years away from launching, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants.

On a display-related webinar with Bloomberg Intelligence's Woo Jin Ho, Young said it will take a few years for Apple's supply chain partners to build out manufacturing lines for mass production of laptop-sized OLED panels, so he does not expect MacBook Pro models with OLED displays to launch until 2026 or 2027. He has shared this timeframe previously.

Compared to current MacBook Pro models with LCD screens, benefits of OLED technology would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more.

As widely rumored, Young reiterated that the next-generation iPad Pro models launching in 2024 will also be equipped with OLED displays. The first iPad Air and iPad mini models with OLED displays are not expected to launch until 2026; accordingly, Young confirmed that these devices will remain equipped with LCD screens next year.

Young has been a dependable source of display-related information for future Apple products for several years, with a highly-accurate track record.