MacRumors

Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June.

In his first video back in January, Prosser showed off a Camera app redesign with a simpler set of buttons for moving between photo and video modes, and he followed that up with a March episode of his Genius Bar podcast where he showed off the Messages app, complete with round navigation buttons at the top and rounded corners around the keyboard.

And he wrapped things up with an April video that gave a more complete look at the Liquid Glass redesign that ultimately debuted in ‌iOS 26‌, with rounder, glass-like interface elements, pill-shaped tab bars at the bottom of certain Apple apps, and more.

While the Camera app redesign didn't exactly match what Apple unveiled for ‌iOS 26‌, the general idea was correct and much of what else Prosser showed was pretty close to spot on, and Apple clearly took notice as the company filed a lawsuit today (Scribd link) against Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti for misappropriation of trade secrets.

Apple's complaint outlines what it claims is the series of events that led to the leaks, which centered around a development iPhone in the possession of Ramacciotti's friend and Apple employee Ethan Lipnik. According to Apple, Prosser and Ramacciotti plotted to access Lipnik's phone, acquiring his passcode and then using location-tracking to determine when he "would be gone for an extended period." Prosser reportedly offered financial compensation to Ramacciotti in return for assisting with accessing the development ‌iPhone‌.

Apple says Ramacciotti accessed Lipnik's development ‌iPhone‌ and made a FaceTime call to Prosser, showing off ‌iOS 26‌ running on the development ‌iPhone‌, and that Prosser recorded the call with screen capture tools. Prosser then shared those videos with others and used them to make re-created renders of ‌iOS 26‌ for his videos.

Lipnik's phone contained a "significant amount of additional Apple trade secret information that has not yet been publicly disclosed," and Apple says it does not know how much of that information is in the possession of Prosser and Ramacciotti.

In order to protect its trade secrets, Apple has filed the lawsuit to request an injunction against further disclosure of Apple's confidential trade secret information and is seeking damages over the misappropriation of them.

Lipnik's employment with Apple has already been terminated over his failure to follow the company's policies to protect development and unreleased devices and software. Lipnik also failed to disclose the breach to Apple once he learned of it through others who recognized his apartment in the recorded ‌FaceTime‌ call, with Apple learning of the details from an anonymous email.

Update 8:55 pm: In replies to our tweet about this story, Prosser takes issue with Apple's presentation of the events, claiming he was "unaware of the situation playing out" and saying he is "looking forward to being able to speak to Apple about it."

After poaching one of Apple's top artificial intelligence executives with a $200 million pay package to lure him away from the company, Meta has now hired two of his subordinates, Bloomberg reports.

Apple's Mark Lee and Tom Gunter are set to join Meta's Superintelligence Labs team, a newly established division tasked with building advanced AI systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.

Earlier this month, Ruoming Pang joined Meta. Until recently, he led Apple's foundation models team. Models developed by Pang's team are used for Apple Intelligence features like email summaries, Priority Notifications, and Genmoji. Lee was Pang's first hire at Apple, while Gunter was apparently known as one of the team's most senior members.

Meta has been spending heavily on new staff and engineers to keep up with advancements from OpenAI and Google. Apple is reportedly now offering some engineers raises in an effort to retain them, but they are still substantially less than Meta's offers.

Bloomberg notes that the three departures "reflect the continuing turmoil at the Apple Foundation Models team." Apple is now believed to be considering a major change of strategy by using external models from the likes of OpenAI or Anthropic to power Siri and other ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features due to the shortcomings of its own models.

Apple is simultaneously developing versions with both its own models and third-party technology, and has not yet decided which to use as the foundation for ‌Apple Intelligence‌ beginning next year.

NBC-owned streaming service Peacock is increasing its prices, and the ad-supported plan will soon be $3 more expensive. According to Variety, Peacock's ad-supported plan will be priced at $10.99 per month starting on July 23.

The Premium Plus plan that features limited ads in live programming is also increasing in price from $13.99 to $16.99. Yearly pricing for the Premium plan will be $110, and the Premium Plus yearly price will be $170.

This is the third price increase that Peacock has introduced in the last three years, and Variety claims that NBCUniversal executives believe that the service is underpriced compared to competing streaming services.

At $11 per month, Peacock's ad-supported tier will be more expensive than ad-supported options from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. Peacock is testing a lower-priced "Select" plan that features NBC and Bravo current seasons and a limited number of library titles. The plan will be priced at $7.99 per month.

While price increases will hit new subscribers on July 23, existing subscribers can expect to have to pay the higher fees starting after August 22 depending on their next billing date.

Apple Arcade is celebrating SpongeBob SquarePants this month, and several ‌Apple Arcade‌ titles will be updated with special SpongeBob-themed events.

Snake.io+ [App Store] and Crossy Road Castle [App Store] will temporarily gain SpongeBob characters. In Snake.io+, players can play underwater levels to unlock skins inspired by SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and Plankton. The event launches today, and will last until August 25.

In Crossy Road Castle, players can race through 40 Bikini Bottom-themed levels, playing as SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, or Sandy. Players are tasked with collecting Krabby Patties and avoiding jellyfish. The Krabby Patty Kollectathon event starts on July 21, and the Jellyfish Jam that runs August 4 through August 17 will follow.

Dedicated ‌Apple Arcade‌ SpongeBob Game SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit is also getting a new endless mode that features increasingly difficult levels with no checkpoints and no extra lives.

‌Apple Arcade‌ features more than 200 games, many of which receive regular updates. The service is priced at $6.99 per month, and it has no ads or in-app purchases.

Today is World Emoji Day, and Emojipedia's dedicated Emojitracker has a real-time list of the emoji that are most popular in the United States and other countries. Here are the top 10 most popular emoji in the U.S.:

The red heart is the number one emoji across all countries, followed by the checkmark, fire, sparkles, loudly crying face, and skull.

Emojipedia's Emojitracker tool shows the most popular 1,000 emoji globally and across select countries like the United States, UK, India, Brazil, Philippines, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.

The tool used to aggregate data from Twitter, but it now tracks the emoji that are copied from Emojipedia and the GetEmoji websites in real time.

Earlier today, Apple announced the launch of a new Emoji-themed game that's available to Apple News+ subscribers, plus the Unicode Consortium confirmed the new Unicode 17 emoji that will come to iOS 26 in the future.

With ‌iOS 26‌, Apple will introduce a new emoji-inspired Genmoji feature that will let users combine two or more emoji characters together to generate a new image that can be used in Messages conversations.

OpenAI today launched ChatGPT agent, a new agentic model that is able to think proactively and complete computer-based tasks on the user's behalf.

The ChatGPT agent is in the same family as o3. It combines several existing ChatGPT features, and it can do things like research and generate reports, execute code using Terminal, generate slides and spreadsheets, and connect to external data sources and applications.

OpenAI gives several examples of how ChatGPT agent can be used:

• Look at my calendar and brief me on upcoming client meetings based on recent news.
• Plan and buy ingredients to make Japanese breakfast for four.
• Analyze three competitors and create a slide deck.

The ChatGPT agent uses its own virtual computer, and it will navigate websites, filter results, prompt users to log into websites when needed, and deliver summaries of its findings. It is designed to seek permission before taking any "actions of consequence," and OpenAI says that users can interrupt tasks to add extra instructions, and stop tasks at any point.

ChatGPT agent is rolling out starting today for Pro, Plus, and Team users. Just select "agent mode" from the dropdown menu in the composer during a conversation. ChatGPT users are able to transition between conversations and action requests within the same chat.

Pro users will get access by the end of today, while Plus and Team users will get access over the next few days. OpenAI plans to add the functionality for Enterprise and Education users in the coming weeks. Pro users have access to 400 messages per month, and other paid users will get 40 messages monthly with additional usage available through flexible credit-based options.

Video hosting and sharing platform Vimeo today announced the launch of an updated Apple TV app, bringing Vimeo back to the Apple TV App Store for the first time in two years.

The updated Vimeo app has been rebuilt, and it is available on ‌Apple TV‌ units that are running tvOS 18 or higher. The Vimeo app supports discovering, searching for, and watching videos that have been uploaded to Vimeo.

It includes a Library, and Watch Later list, and a section for On Demand purchases, as well as Staff Picks. Enhanced playback with chapters, speed controls, and multi-language options, and 4K support is available.

While the Vimeo app was missing from the ‌Apple TV‌ ‌App Store‌, Vimeo users had to AirPlay from the Vimeo app on an iPhone or an iPad to watch videos on a bigger display. Vimeo says that its community has been asking for the return of the ‌Apple TV‌ app for watching premium, ad-free content.

Vimeo is free to use, but it offers paid Starter, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise plans starting at $20 per month for video creators.

In an interview this week with CNBC's Alex Sherman, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that Apple, NBC, and ESPN have each bid on the media rights to MLB's "Sunday Night Baseball" package, for the 2026 through 2028 seasons.

Manfred said he plans to choose a winning bidder for "Sunday Night Baseball" within the month, and the rights could be split up between two bidders.

ESPN held the rights to "Sunday Night Baseball" through the 2028 season, but the network and MLB mutually opted out of the $550-million contract earlier this year, so ESPN's rights now expire after the 2025 season. Apple is now looking to pick up those final three seasons, along with NBC, and even ESPN is looking to renegotiate a deal.

Apple TV+ already streams MLB's Friday Night Baseball games, and the service could offer Sunday Night Baseball too if Apple wins the rights.

Following the 2028 season, all regional and national MLB media rights will be expired, and the league is hoping to table a bigger all-in-one package of rights. Apple would likely be very interested in such a package, as it would allow the company to offer an MLB equivalent of MLS Season Pass through the Apple TV app. However, MLB is much bigger than MLS, so it remains to be seen if MLB would be willing to go all-in with Apple.

Apple continues to push into sports content, with the company reportedly likely to secure the rights to Formula 1 racing. In the past, the company unsuccessfully bid on NFL's "Sunday Ticket" package, and on the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

In celebration of World Emoji Day, the Unicode Consortium this week confirmed the new emoji characters that will be added to Unicode 17 in the fall.

Emoji characters that are coming include trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature (aka Bigfoot or Sasquatch), fight cloud, apple core, orca, landslide, and ballet dancers.

After Unicode 17 is released later this year, artists at Apple will begin creating new emoji characters in the Apple emoji style. It takes several months for Apple to introduce new emoji after a Unicode update, so we can expect to see these characters next spring.

Apple will add the emoji to an iOS 26 update next year, likely in iOS 26.4. Apple most recently added new emoji in iOS 18.4, an update that came out in late March.

iOS 18.4 introduced the Unicode 16 emoji, which included bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.

The Unicode Consortium releases Unicode updates on a yearly basis, adding new emoji characters each time. Anyone can submit an emoji proposal that the Consortium will consider.

It looks like Apple's foldable iPhone will have some "crease-free" competition.

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Samsung's next-generation Galaxy Z Fold 8 will use the same laser-drilled metal display plate as the foldable iPhone, with the component to be supplied by South Korean company Fine M-Tec.

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 still has a visible crease in the middle of its inner screen. However, Kuo said that Apple's stricter crease-free requirement for the foldable iPhone has essentially raised the bar for foldable devices, so it sounds like next year's Galaxy Z Fold 8 will feature a "crease-free" screen as well.

Earlier this week, Kuo said the laser-drilled metal plate can disperse the stress generated by bending, allowing for a "crease-free" screen.

The foldable iPhone's inner screen will be supplied by Samsung, according to Kuo, but it is the Fine M-Tec plate that will enable the "crease-free" feat.

Kuo said Apple is aiming to start mass production of the foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026, so the device should finally launch next year. He expects the device to have a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID.

Apple today shared a new iPhone 16 ad that highlights the Clean Up feature that's available in the Photos app. In the spot, a man snaps a photo of a woman with her cat, and then removes the cat from the image using Clean Up.

Both the cat and the woman are upset with the change, so he undoes it, demonstrating the reversible nature of the feature.

Clean Up is an Apple Intelligence tool that is able to remove unwanted and distracting objects from a photo. It is accessible through the editing interface in the ‌Photos‌ app. You can swipe over whatever you want removed in an image, and the Clean Up tool will do its best to replace it by cloning the background and other elements of the photo.

‌Apple Intelligence‌ is available on the iPhone 15 Pro models, the ‌iPhone 16‌ models, and it will be available on the upcoming iPhone 17 models.

A new rumor out of China today has sparked speculation that Apple may be readying a unique new iPhone 17 Pro color that somehow reflects the new design language of its iOS 26 software.

Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital on Thursday hinted that the iPhone 17 Pro has a "special" color variant that is said to be "connected to the iOS 26 Liquid Glass design."

The leaker, who only claims to have heard of it but not seen it, seems to believe that the color is what previous leaks have simply referred to as white, "but it appears differently depending on the lighting."

While speculative, a white base material that subtly shifts hues depending on light and angle could add a dynamic, refractive quality to the color. Combined with the Liquid Glass UI aesthetic of iOS 26, a shimmering surface could potentially create a sense of motion or unity with the glassy elements of the software interface.

The account Instant Digital has accurately leaked Apple information before, such as the Yellow finish for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Titanium Milanese Loop. But its track record isn't perfect.

On Wednesday, a Macworld report claimed to reveal all of the colors that each iPhone 17 model will come in. Allegedly based on an "internal document," the report listed white as a color option for all models, including the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Other colors that have now been rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models by multiple sources include a new copper-like orange, black, gray, and dark blue. Whether Apple chooses different names for the colors it ultimately goes with remains to be seen.

Curiously, the leaker Majin Bu recently shared images of third-party lens covers purportedly reflecting Apple's iPhone 17 colors. A white color was not shown, but another, identified as "Transparent," appeared in its place. When asked why the transparent accessory is included in the images, Bu has equivocated, but the leaker has since alluded to another "surprise" color that Apple is currently still testing, without giving anything else away.

In a change to last year's all-titanium iPhone 16 Pro models, Apple is believed to be using a part-glass, part-aluminum design for the iPhone 17 Pro chassis. This could potentially usher in all-new color choices for Apple's high-end iPhone 17 models. What they look like in reality is something we'll learn in just a couple of months. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17 series in September.

Development studio CD Projekt Red today released acclaimed role-playing action game Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for the Mac, and it looks like the developers have gone all-out to make the experience as impressive as possible for Mac gamers with the right hardware.

The 2020 triple-A game has been Metal API-optimized for a variety of Macs with Apple silicon, from the first M1 models right up to the latest M4 models. The only caveat is that Cyberpunk 2077 requires a minimum of 16GB of RAM to play, so 8GB M1 and M2 chips don't get a look in.

The open-world action-adventure role-playing game lets players take on the role of V, a cyber-enhanced mercenary ready to do whatever it takes to make a name for themselves in Night City — a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour, and body modification. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition features the base game, starring Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand, and the critically acclaimed spy-thriller expansion Phantom Liberty, starring Idris Elba as Solomon Reed. It also contains every update released for the game so far, including the brand new Update 2.3 — which introduces new quests, new vehicles, AutoDrive, extra Photo Mode options, and more.

To make the most of your machine, the CD Projekt Red team has created "For this Mac," a dynamic preset that assigns settings and resolution based on your Mac's hardware capabilities "to deliver an optimal balance between visual quality and performance."

For example, the Minimum configuration (M1 chip and 16GB of RAM) runs at 1,440 x 900 or 1,600 x 900 resolution with a target FPS of 30, while the Recommended preset requires an M3 Pro chip and 18GB of RAM, and produces an 1,800 x 1,125 or 1,920 x 1,080 resolution with a target FPS of 60.

Users with higher spec Mac models can look forward to enabling two special configurations: High Fidelity requires an M2 Ultra or M3 Max chip and 36GB of RAM, and produces 2,294 x 1,432 or 2,560 x 1,440 resolution with a target FPS of 60. Meanwhile, Very High Fidelity requires an M3 Ultra or M4 Max chip and 36GB of RAM, and produces 2,294 x 1,432 or 2,560 x 1,440 resolution with a FPS target of 60.

In addition, Apple XDR Display owners and owners of other HDR-equipped monitors will get HDR support in the game, while AirPods owners can enable Spatial Audio and head tracking. Lastly, users who want to play with Ray Tracing on can enable it manually in Settings ➝ Graphics, under the Quick Preset menu. Ray Tracing is available on M3 and newer chips.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition supports cross progression across all platforms, and includes the Phantom Liberty expansion as well as all subsequent patches. The title requires macOS 15.5 or later, as well as 92GB of storage when downloaded from GOG, Epic Games Store, or Steam, and 149GB of storage when downloaded from the Mac App Store. Prices vary depending on the store, but GOG currently is offering a 53% discount on the game's usual $87.69 price that ends on July 23. Note that players who already own a copy on these storefronts can download it for free on their Apple silicon Mac.

Amazon is discounting the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE to $169.00 today, down from $249.00. This is a match for the best price that we've ever seen on the Apple Watch SE, and it's available in Starlight, Silver, and Midnight Aluminum color options.

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.

Amazon has six 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE at this price, including multiple sizes of the Sport Band model. Most are in stock and available to be delivered by the end of July.

Additionally, you can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE at the low price of $199.00 today on Amazon, down from $279.00. This one is available in Midnight, Silver, and Starlight Aluminum colors, and in both Sport Loop and Sport Band options.

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.

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You may have missed it, but select Apple Watch models are gaining a new Wrist Flick gesture in watchOS 26 that allows users to dismiss notifications and return to their watch face with a simple wrist movement.

The gesture works by turning your wrist over and back, using the accelerometer and gyroscope to detect the motion. With the gesture, you can dismiss incoming notifications, mute calls, silence alarms and alerts, and return to the watch face without needing to use your other hand.

Wrist Flick joins the existing Double Tap gesture as another one-handed control option for Apple Watch users. The feature can be toggled on or off in Settings ➝ Gestures ➝ Wrist Flick.

The new gesture is only available on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 – the same models that support the Double Tap gesture.

Apple doesn't say exactly why older models don't support the feature, despite having the same sensors, but it does use a new machine learning model, suggesting that only the newer chips found in recent Apple Watch models are powerful enough to handle it.

The watchOS 26 beta is currently available through the Apple Developer Program, with a public beta coming later this month, followed by a general release in the fall.

OpenAI has expanded access to Record Mode in ChatGPT for macOS, bringing the AI-powered transcription feature to Plus subscribers after its initial rollout to business users last month.

The new capability adds a simple "Record" button to the input window in the desktop app that allows you to capture both microphone and system audio during meetings or calls.

When recording stops, ChatGPT processes the audio on OpenAI's servers, generating structured notes complete with summaries, action items, and timestamped references. Microphone and system audio permissions must be enabled by the user first.

Sessions are limited to 120 minutes, with the original audio deleted after transcription. It's likely to be a convenient addition for some paying ChatGPT users, but the feature raises privacy considerations that the company openly acknowledges:

"Please make sure you check local laws and always get the right consents before recording others," the company warns in its documentation.

OpenAI also says that notes and transcripts from record mode can be referenced in new chats and my be used to improve its models, though this can be disabled in the app's settings. Team, Enterprise, and Edu workspaces are all automatically excluded from model training by default.

The feature remains exclusive to macOS for now, with no immediate plans announced for Windows or mobile platforms. Team, Enterprise, and Education workspace administrators can disable the feature through ChatGPT's settings if needed.

Apple's all-new "Emoji Game" for Apple News+ subscribers is now available for users running iOS 18.4 or newer.

The Emoji Game was initially unveiled at WWDC earlier this year as an iOS 26 feature, but to coincide with World Emoji Day today, Apple has released the game for all ‌Apple News‌+ subscribers running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, or newer.

The game shows words and blank spots with a selection of emoji and emoji combinations below, and the player needs to drag an emoji into the blank spot to fill in the word. If the word is "disappear," for example, you would drag a pear to the blank spot in the word. Pear could also be used to finish off the word "fruitful." The Emoji Game also uses Genmoji to offer unique emojis.

The game is limited to ‌Apple News‌+ subscribers. ‌Apple News‌+ is priced at $12.99 per month, but the whole family can use the service. Apple has been aiming to increase the number of games that are available, and the app also features Crossword, Quartiles, and Sudoku.

New Emoji Game puzzles will be released on a daily basis. The game is currently available in the U.S. and for English-speaking users in Canada. It can be accessed from the Following tab in the News app. Results can be tracked on Game Center leaderboards.

The AirPods market appears to be flatlining in the United States, but the launch of AirPods Pro 3 later this year could boost sales, a new report claims.

According to a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), approximately 44% of iPhone owners in the United States now report owning Bluetooth earbuds, up from 41% in the previous year. Of those, 59% say they use AirPods. This represents a small gain from 57% the year before, effectively bringing the figure back to its 2023 level. This means AirPods are used by roughly 26% of all ‌iPhone‌ owners in the United States today.

While the data reflects a recovery in Apple's share of the Bluetooth earbuds market among ‌iPhone‌ users, it does not indicate meaningful growth beyond previous highs. The size of the market is increasing slowly, and Apple is maintaining its portion, but not expanding it.

AirPods face growing challenges from competitors including Samsung, Sony, and Bose, as well as a wide array of low-cost alternatives. Apple released the AirPods Pro 2 in September 2022, featuring the H2 chip, improved noise cancellation, enhanced Find My integration, and more.

‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 were offered at a substantial discount during Amazon Prime Day earlier this month, with the price reduced from $249 to $149. Best Buy and Walmart quickly matched the pricing, despite Apple maintaining its full price on its website and in stores.

The $100 discount represented one of the steepest markdowns ever for the current-generation model. CIRP speculated that Apple and Amazon may have sought to clear out existing inventory ahead of the anticipated launch of a new model. The more likely explanation was apparently a desire to drive high-volume sales through temporary margin flexibility.

The AirPods Pro 3 are likely to be announced later this year, perhaps alongside new ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch models in September. The new model is expected to feature improved ANC, enhanced sound, design tweaks, and heart rate monitoring.

The refresh is expected to target both new customers and existing users with degrading batteries or older models. CIRP says that, as one of the most frequently reordered items on Amazon, AirPods provide Apple with an opportunity to capitalize on a faster-moving product line amid slowing ‌iPhone‌ upgrades.