MacRumors

Amazon Prime Day has reached its fourth and final day, and is set to end later tonight. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront and we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now.

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.

For our coverage, we're focusing on discounts for Apple and Apple-related products that can be purchased right now on Amazon. As of today, this includes deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, MacBook Air, and more. We're also sharing deals being matched at retailers like Best Buy in some cases.

As is typical for Prime Day deals, these markdowns are very time sensitive, so sales listed below may disappear fast, and new ones may appear even faster. With this in mind, we'll keep this article updated over the next few days, and keep an eye on the MacRumors front page as we'll be posting particularly great deals in separate articles next week.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Amazon Prime Day requires you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers.

Special for 2025, Amazon is also offering a free six month trial to Prime for Young Adults right now. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime.

AirPods

Amazon has the USB-C AirPods Max on sale for $429.99, down from $549.00, and the AirPods Pro 2 for $149.00, down from $249.00. You'll also find an all-time low price on the AirPods 4 for Prime Day.

iPad

Amazon is taking up to $55 off Wi-Fi and cellular models of Apple's 11th generation iPad for Prime Day. Prices start at $279.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00, a new all-time low price on this model.

iPad Mini

Amazon has record low prices on every Wi-Fi model of the iPad mini 7 this week, starting at $379.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi tablet, down from $499.00. You'll also find a few deals on cellular models during this sale.

iPad Air

Amazon this week has discounts across nearly the entire M3 iPad Air lineup, offering $100 off these tablets. Prices start at $479.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch M3 iPad Air, down from $599.00. Best Buy is matching all of these deals on the iPad Air.

11-inch M3 iPad Air

• 128GB Wi-Fi - $479.00, down from $599.00
• 256GB Wi-Fi - $579.00, down from $699.00
• 512GB Wi-Fi - $779.00, down from $899.00
• 1TB Wi-Fi - $979.00, down from $1,099.00

13-inch M3 iPad Air

• 128GB Wi-Fi - $679.00, down from $799.00
• 256GB Wi-Fi - $779.00, down from $899.00
• 512GB Wi-Fi - $979.00, down from $1,099.00
• 1TB Wi-Fi - $1,179.00, down from $1,299.00

MacBook Air

Amazon today has low prices across nearly the entire M4 MacBook Air lineup, with up to $175 off both 13-inch and 15-inch models.

Starting with the 13-inch models, Amazon has $150 off all three configurations of this notebook. Prices start at $849.00 for the 256GB model, then raise to $1,049.00 for the 16GB/512GB model and $1,249.00 for the 24GB/512GB model. All of these are solid second-best prices on the M4 MacBook Air.

Moving to the larger display models, Amazon has both 512GB versions of the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air on sale this week, as well as the 256GB model. The 16GB/512GB model is available for $1,249.00 and the 24GB/512GB model is on sale for $1,427.14. Across the board, these are all second-best prices on the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air.

Apple Watch

Series 10

Amazon is offering numerous all-time low prices on Apple Watch Series 10 devices during Prime Day, including both GPS and cellular models at $119 off original prices. Best Buy is matching these prices in many cases.

Amazon has the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 10 for $279.00, down from $399.00, as well as the 46mm GPS model for $309.00, down from $429.00. Both of these are record low prices on the Apple Watch Series 10, and they're available in numerous case colors and band styles.

SE

In addition to Series 10 deals, Amazon is discounting the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE to $169.00 today, down from $249.00. This is the best price we've tracked so far in 2025, and it's available in Starlight, Silver, and Midnight Aluminum color options.

Additionally, you can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE for $199.00 today on Amazon, down from $279.00. This one is also available in Midnight, Silver, and Starlight Aluminum colors, and multiple band sizes.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Amazon has introduced a new all-time low price on the Black Apple Watch Ultra 2, available for $649.99, down from $799.00. This is the first time in a few weeks that we've tracked any notable discount on the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Accessories

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

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Apple today updated its trade-in values for some iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models.

The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values for these devices in the United States, according to its website.

Many of the values decreased, but some others are unchanged, and iPhone 14 Pro Max and entry-level iPad values went up very slightly. In addition, Apple is no longer accepting 12-inch MacBook or Apple Watch Series 4 trade-ins.

iPhone

iPhone Model	New Values	Old Values
iPhone 15 Pro Max	Up to $600	Up to $630
iPhone 15 Pro	Up to $480	Up to $500
iPhone 15 Plus	Up to $430	Up to $440
iPhone 15	Up to $380	Up to $400
iPhone 14 Pro Max	Up to $470	Up to $455
iPhone 14 Pro	Up to $380	Up to $380
iPhone 14 Plus	Up to $290	Up to $300
iPhone 14	Up to $270	Up to $290
iPhone SE (3rd generation)	Up to $100	Up to $100
iPhone 13 Pro Max	Up to $360	Up to $370
iPhone 13 Pro	Up to $300	Up to $300
iPhone 13	Up to $230	Up to $250
iPhone 13 mini	Up to $200	Up to $200
iPhone 12 Pro Max	Up to $280	Up to $280
iPhone 12 Pro	Up to $210	Up to $220
iPhone 12	Up to $160	Up to $170
iPhone 12 mini	Up to $110	Up to $120
iPhone SE (2nd generation)	Up to $50	Up to $50
iPhone 11 Pro Max	Up to $180	Up to $180
iPhone 11 Pro	Up to $150	Up to $150
iPhone 11	Up to $120	Up to $130
iPhone XS Max	Up to $110	Up to $120
iPhone XS	Up to $80	Up to $90
iPhone XR	Up to $90	Up to $100
iPhone X	Up to $60	Up to $60
iPhone 8 Plus	Up to $60	Up to $60
iPhone 8	Up to $45	Up to $45

iPad

iPad Model	New Values	Old Values
iPad Pro	Up to $710	Up to $710
iPad Air	Up to $435	Up to $450
iPad	Up to $190	Up to $185
iPad mini	Up to $190	Up to $190

Mac

Mac Model	New Values	Old Values
MacBook Pro	Up to $730	Up to $770
MacBook Air	Up to $345	Up to $380
MacBook	No longer accepted	Up to $60
iMac	Up to $290	Up to $295
iMac Pro	Up to $360	Up to $385
Mac mini	Up to $195	Up to $260
Mac Studio	Up to $990	Up to $1140
Mac Pro	Up to $530	Up to $550

Apple Watch

Apple Watch Model	New Values	Old Values
Apple Watch Ultra 2	Up to $375	Up to $385
Apple Watch Series 9	Up to $150	Up to $150
Apple Watch Ultra	Up to $285	Up to $295
Apple Watch Series 8	Up to $120	Up to $120
Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)	Up to $75	Up to $75
Apple Watch Series 7	Up to $85	Up to $85
Apple Watch Series 6	Up to $70	Up to $70
Apple Watch SE (1st generation)	Up to $50	Up to $50
Apple Watch Series 5	Up to $40	Up to $45
Apple Watch Series 4	No longer accepted	Up to $30

Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. Visit the trade-in page on Apple's website to learn more.

Amazon is discounting a collection of Beats headphones and speakers for Prime Day, including an all-time low price on the Powerbeats Pro 2. You can get this new 2025 model for $179.95 in three colors, down from $249.99. We've been tracking all of the best Apple-related accessories for Prime Day, including TVs, monitors, and more.

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.

This sale also includes major discounts on products like the Beats Pill, which has hit $97.95 on Amazon, down from $149.95. This discount is available in four colors of the Bluetooth speaker.

Additionally, Amazon has the Beats Studio Buds+ for $89.95, down from $169.95. These have up to 9 hours of playback (up to 36 hours with charging case), USB-C, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance.

You'll also find a few steep discounts on over-ear headphones, like the Beats Studio Pro at $169.95, down from $349.99. Many of these deals are matches for the record low price on each pair of headphones.

• Beats Solo Buds - $49.95, down from $79.99
• Beats Studio Buds+ - $89.95, down from $169.95
• Beats Solo 4 - $97.99, down from $199.95
• Beats Pill - $97.95, down from $149.95
• Beats Studio Pro - $169.95, down from $349.99
• Powerbeats Pro 2 - $179.95, down from $249.99

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

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Apple's iPhone 17 lineup could feature a notable RAM divide, with the base model potentially missing out on a rumored memory boost coming to the more high-end models.

According to leaker Fixed Focus Digital on Weibo, the iPhone 17 will stick with 8GB of RAM while the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will jump to 12GB. The leaker previously revealed the iPhone 16e name before its official announcement, lending some credibility to their claim.

For comparison, Samsung's latest Galaxy S25 models, which launched earlier this year, all come with 12GB of RAM. Google's Pixel 9 also comes with 12GB of RAM.

The leaker's information tallies with earlier predictions from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who suggested the same 12GB upgrade for the Air and Pro models. Kuo expressed uncertainty about the base iPhone 17's RAM configuration getting an upgrade due to potential supply constraints, and he has not provided an update on his thoughts since his original April prediction.

All current iPhone 16 models ship with 8GB of RAM, which meets Apple Intelligence's minimum requirement. The base iPhone 17 maintaining this amount would still support Apple's AI features, though the extra memory in higher-end models could enable more sophisticated processing and better gaming performance.

The iPhone 17 lineup is expected to launch around mid-September.

Smart home company Aqara's G410 video doorbell, which is Matter-compatible and supports Apple's HomeKit Secure Video, is now available to buy.

Announced in January, the Doorbell Camera Hub G410 introduces several notable upgrades, including a 2K resolution sensor for sharper video, a 175-degree field of view, and built-in mmWave presence detection to reduce false alerts.

The G410 also supports dual-band Wi-Fi, Thread, and HomeKit Secure Video, as well as options for secure storage via iCloud, local microSD, or NAS. It's ready for both battery-powered and wired setups.

The Aqara G410 video doorbell can be purchased on the Aqara website for $129.99 or through on-line merchants such as Amazon. We'll have a full review of the product soon.

Aqara today also announced the global availability of the Camera G100 ($34.99) and availability in the U.S of the Dimmer Switch H2 ($54.99) with Thread and Zigbee support.

The Camera G100 is a compact indoor/outdoor security camera offering 2K video, IP65 weather resistance, and a built-in spotlight for colour night vision.

It supports 24/7 monitoring and integrates with Apple Home (HomeKit Secure Video), Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, and RTSP-compatible platforms. Footage can be stored locally via microSD or NAS, while Aqara's cloud storage is end-to-end encrypted.

Lastly, the H2 is a smart dimmer switch for traditional dimmable lighting, designed to work with or without a neutral wire for broader installation compatibility. It supports both Thread and Zigbee, and its Matter integration enables seamless use with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, Home Assistant, and Homey.

Like Aqara's G410 video doorbell, the Camera G100 and H2 smart dimmer switch are available to buy directly from Aqara or other online merchants.

Production of foldable OLED displays for Apple's first foldable iPhone have begun ahead of its expected launch next year, Korea's ETNews reports.

The first foldable ‌iPhone‌'s displays are being produced by Samsung Display, who are establishing a production line dedicated to the upcoming Apple device its A3 factory in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do. The production line will make displays exclusively for the foldable ‌iPhone‌ and work on the facility is now believed to be in its final stage. It will be capable of producing 15 million 7-inch foldable OLED panels per year.

Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is expected to feature an inward-folding OLED display. It will likely sit alongside the other models in next year's ‌iPhone‌ lineup, including the iPhone 18, ‌iPhone 18‌ Air, ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro, and ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max. It will be refreshed annually in the fall just like the other models.

Apple is apparently planning to produce six to eight million foldable iPhones in 2026. While Samsung's production capacity of 15 million displays per year far exceeds Apple's requirements for 2026, the supplier is said to be preparing for new models and increasing sales in subsequent years.

Samsung Display apparently has secured an agreement with provide Apple with foldable displays as the sole supplier for several years. While Apple usually prefers to diversify its supply chain where possible, Samsung has unique technological expertise in foldable OLED displays due to offering its own foldable smartphones, which it has been making commercially since 2019.

As a result, Samsung is likely to remain the exclusive supplier of Apple's foldable ‌iPhone‌ displays for some time and a least be a key supplier thereafter. Samsung Display similarly led Apple's transition from LCD to OLED with the ‌iPhone‌ X and ‌iPhone‌ XS.

Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is expected to feature a super-thin design at 4.5mm, a 4:3 iPad-style 7-inch inner display with no visible crease, a durable hinge, a dual rear camera system with wide and ultra wide options, the "A20" chip, and Touch ID instead of Face ID. It could cost over $2,000.

Meta offered one of Apple's top artificial intelligence executives over $200 million to lure him away from the company, Bloomberg reports.

Ruoming Pang, who until recently led Apple's foundation models team, departed the company to join Meta's Superintelligence Labs, a newly established division tasked with building advanced AI systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.

At Apple, he was in charge of a team with approximately 100 employees that work on Apple's large language models. Models developed by Pang's team are used for Apple Intelligence features like email summaries, Priority Notifications, and Genmoji.

People familiar with the matter speaking to Bloomberg said Meta's offer to Pang includes a substantial base salary, a signing bonus, and a large stock award that forms the majority of the compensation. The full payout is contingent upon performance milestones and continued employment over several years.

Apple apparently did not even attempt to match the offer. The proposed sum significantly exceeds the compensation of all Apple employees, other than that of CEO Tim Cook. Pang's compensation is among the highest ever offered in a corporate setting, rivaling packages for chief executives at major global banks.

In a podcast interview last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Meta had been offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million to attract top talent: "[Meta] started making these giant offers to a lot of people on our team. You know, like $100 million signing bonuses, more than that in compensation per year."

Apple has reportedly appointed Zhifeng Chen as the new head of its Foundation Models team and implemented more a distributed management structure, with responsibilities split among several senior engineers.

In addition to Pang, Meta's Superintelligence Labs now includes prominent figures such as former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, AI startup founder Daniel Gross, and Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang.

Apple's annual Back to School offer for university students and educational staff is now available in many European countries, after initially launching in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates last month.

Apple's online educational store is now showing the limited-time promotional offer in a long list of countries. With the purchase of an iPad, MacBook, or iMac, students can receive an accessory such as the Apple Pencil Pro, AirPods 4, or ‌AirPods 4‌ with Active Noise Cancellation for free. Alternatively, for a fee, customers can upgrade to a pricier accessory while retaining their overall saving.

The available accessories, savings, and supplementary costs are as follows (UK pricing):

iPad

• ‌Apple Pencil‌ Pro (£119.00 savings)
• ‌AirPods 4‌ (£129.00 savings)
• ‌AirPods 4‌ with Active Noise Cancellation (£129.00 savings, after paying additional £50.00 fee)
• AirPods Pro 2 (£129.00 savings, after paying additional £100.00 fee)
• Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 11-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £130.00 fee)
• Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Air‌ 13-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £160.00 fee)
• Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 11-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £160.00 fee)
• Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Pro‌ 13-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £210.00 fee)

MacBook

• ‌AirPods 4‌ with Active Noise Cancellation (£179.00 savings)
• ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 (£179.00 savings, after paying additional £50.00 fee)
• Magic Mouse (£79.00–£99.00 savings)
• Magic Trackpad (£129.00–£149.00 savings)
• Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (£179.00–£199.00 savings)

iMac

• ‌AirPods 4‌ with Active Noise Cancellation (£179.00 savings)
• ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 (£179.00 savings, after paying additional £50.00 fee)

The offer is now live in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and a few other countries and territories in Europe, as well as in Türkiye.

The free accessory is included in addition to Apple's standard year-round 10% educational discount on select Mac and ‌iPad‌ models. In Europe, the promotion ends on October 21. In the U.S., it ends on September 30.

Following the introduction of Samsung's latest foldables yesterday, Apple today began accepting three new flagship Android devices for trade-in.

The three devices are previous-generation flagship models. As indicated on Apple's trade-in webpage, their values are as follows:

• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Up to $405
• Samsung Galaxy S24: Up to $290
• Google Pixel 8 Pro: Up to $205

Prices for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S23, Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and Google Pixel 7 Pro remain the same at up to $330, $180, $135, and $120, respectively.

OpenAI is planning to introduce a web browser that would be available as an alternative to Safari and Google Chrome, reports Reuters. The AI-powered web browser is "close" to being ready to launch, and it will debut in the coming weeks.

The OpenAI browser will use artificial intelligence to change how consumers browse the web, and it will give OpenAI access to the very web search data that has allowed Google Chrome to remain the top browser option. OpenAI has asked for Google's search data to improve SearchGPT in the past, but Google refused.

Google parent company Alphabet uses information sourced from its Chrome browser to better target ads to customers, plus Chrome is a quick way to ensure that people use Google Search. OpenAI already has SearchGPT, so a browser that integrates its search product is a next logical step.

The browser that OpenAI is developing will keep some user interactions inside a ChatGPT-style interface rather than directing users to click through to websites. It could also include OpenAI's AI agent products like Operator, allowing the browser to complete tasks like making reservations or filling out forms at the direction of the user.

Back in April, an OpenAI executive said that the company would be interested in purchasing the Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell it as part of an antitrust remedy.

Since at least July 4, Apple Maps has failed to treat the privately-operated Highway 407 ETR in the Toronto, Canada area as a toll road, according to complaints from affected users. This issue is not limited to any particular device or software version, with users experiencing the problem across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and web.

As a result of this issue, local Apple Maps users who have turned on the "Avoid Tolls" setting may still be routed onto the Highway 407 ETR when using turn-by-turn directions. This can prove to be a very costly mistake, as the highway is notoriously expensive, with rates of up to 85 cents (CAD) per kilometer traveled for passenger vehicles.

MacRumors was able to reproduce the issue, and alerted Apple to the matter shortly before publishing, so hopefully a fix is implemented soon.

As of June 1, the Ontario government stopped collecting tolls on the provincially-owned segment of Highway 407, which runs immediately east of the privately-operated ETR segment. Apple likely updated its Maps app to reflect this change, but perhaps it mistakenly treated the entire Highway 407 as a toll-free road.

If you scroll to the bottom of the Apple Maps menu, there is a "Report an Issue" button that allows you to alert Apple to this issue.

With the issue now receiving media coverage, it should be in the rearview mirror soon enough.

Thanks, John Naismith!

Update: Apple fixed the issue as of July 11.

Apple is able to wirelessly update iPhones that are still in the box using a proprietary system called "Presto," and now 9to5Mac claims that the technology is going to be expanded to the Mac.

With Presto, Apple Store employees can place a sealed iPhone box on the Presto shelf. The ‌iPhone‌ then turns on, and the software the ‌iPhone‌ is running is updated to the latest available version. The process takes between 15 and 30 minutes, and it allows iPhones be updated to Apple's newest software before being sold to a customer.

There are hints of a similar Presto option for the Mac in the third beta of macOS Tahoe. As with the ‌iPhone‌, Macs could be updated to the newest software ahead of when they're sold, which would prevent customers from having to do day-one updates after purchasing a product.

It's not clear how a Presto for Mac feature would work, given that the ‌iPhone‌ version relies on NFC and Macs don't have an NFC chip inside, nor is it known when the functionality could roll out to Apple's retail stores.

U.S. trade director Peter Navarro took aim at Apple again today, causing the company's stock to briefly drop. In an interview with Fox Business, Navarro said that Apple thinks that it is "too big to tariff," suggesting that Apple might be expecting a tariff exemption that won't be coming.

Earlier this week, Navarro targeted Apple in a CNBC interview criticizing Tim Cook for failing to move Apple manufacturing from China to the United States. Navarro accused Cook of delaying the manufacturing shift, and called it "the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley." Navarro claimed that Cook is not moving fast enough to meet Trump's demands for U.S.-based manufacturing.

Navarro went on to say that it is "inconceivable" that Apple is not able to manufacture the iPhone elsewhere.

Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China. I mean, it's the longest running soap opera in Silicon Valley. And my problem with Tim Cook is he never takes the steps to actually do that. And with all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it's inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country.

Apple is facing steep tariffs in China and other countries as the Trump administration renegotiates trade deals. This week, Trump has been announcing tariffs on various countries. The Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia are facing 25 percent tariffs, while tariffs in Indonesia are at 32 percent and tariffs in Thailand are at 36 percent. Vietnam tariffs are 20 percent. The tariffs announced this week are set to go into effect on August 1, a new extended deadline Trump implemented on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said several times that Apple is capable of manufacturing its iPhones and other devices in the U.S., but industry experts suggest that it's next to impossible. Disregarding the expense of the move and the cost of building up new factories with advanced machinery, it would be unlikely that Apple and its suppliers would be able to find enough people with the necessary skillset to make iPhones. Cook maintains that Apple manufactures its devices in China because China has specialized expertise in advanced manufacturing.

Apple sources components from more than 50 countries around the world, and it gets rare earth minerals from 79 countries. There is no feasible way for Apple to source all of the ‌iPhone‌'s components from a single country. Even if Apple were only assembling the ‌iPhone‌ in the U.S., and it had the skilled employees available, the cost of living and wages in the U.S. would raise the price of the ‌iPhone‌ significantly.

Back in May, Trump threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if Apple does not manufacture and build iPhones sold in the United States in the U.S. Trump also complained that he has had a problem with Cook "building all over India," and he went as far as demanding that Apple stop expanding in India.

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.

Nvidia today became the first public company to hit a $4 trillion market value as shares briefly rose to $164. Stock has dropped back to around $163 per share, so the company is now hovering at the $3.9T mark.

Apple became the world's first $3 trillion company in January 2022, and it was at one point the
world's most valuable public company, but it has been unable to maintain that position with competition from Nvidia and Microsoft.

Nvidia first hit the $3 trillion mark in June 2024, and it's at the $4 trillion mark just over a year later. Nvidia is now the world's most valuable publicly traded company, with Microsoft taking second place and Apple coming in third.

Microsoft has a market value of $3.74T, while Apple has a $3.14T market value. Microsoft is expected to hit the $4T mark ahead of Apple. Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta have market values of $2.36T, $2.15T, and $1.84, respectively.

Nvidia's value has soared over the last few years due to demand for its AI server chips.

In March, Apple said that it planned to add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates, and we are still waiting for that to happen. As of the third developer beta of iOS 26 released this week, the upgrade has yet to be implemented on iPhones.

End-to-end encryption for RCS was announced in March, as part of version 3.0 of the RCS Universal Profile, a global standard for RCS features and specifications. This means that Apple has indirectly confirmed that it will support RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which includes not only end-to-end encryption for RCS, but several other iMessage-like enhancements for RCS that were originally introduced in RCS‌ Universal Profile 2.7.

Apple has to wait on carriers to implement RCS Universal Profile 3.0 too, so it is understandable why the process is taking time.

Here are five new capabilities to expect for RCS conversations on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, once Apple rolls out support for RCS Universal Profile 3.0:

• End-to-end encryption, which will prevent Apple and any other third party from being able to read messages and attachments while they are being sent between devices, as has always been the case with iMessage
• In-line replies
• Edit messages
• Unsend messages
• Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages, with no special workarounds

RCS support as a whole was added to the iPhone with iOS 18, which supports ‌RCS‌ Universal Profile 2.4. It is effectively a modernized version of the SMS standard, which remains available as a fallback option for text messages over a cellular network.

RCS will be playing catch up with iMessage in many ways. iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have already supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. In addition, iMessage has supported in-line replies since iOS 14, while the options to edit and unsend iMessages were introduced with iOS 16.

It seems likely that Apple will roll out these RCS upgrades at some point during the iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 software cycle.

OpenAI has completed its acquisition of Jony Ive's AI startup io Products, OpenAI said today in a letter from CEO Sam Altman and Ive.

The io Products team has now officially merged with OpenAI, though Jony Ive and his LoveFrom design firm remain independent. Ive and LoveFrom have taken over "deep design and creative responsibilities" at OpenAI. OpenAI paid an estimated $6.5 billion for io.

OpenAI first announced plans to purchase Jony Ive's startup back in May, and at the time, the two shared a video on their future plans. Ive and Altman are creating a new family of AI devices. "The products that we're using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology, they're decades old," said Jony Ive in the acquisition announcement. "It's just common sense to at least think surely there's something beyond these legacy products."

Ive will design the AI device that OpenAI will eventually launch, and several former Apple design employees who co-founded io with Ive are also moving to OpenAI. While Ive provides design, OpenAI will handle the AI expertise.

Recent information indicates that Ive and Altman's first device won't be an in-ear device or wearable, and will instead sit in a pocket or on a desk alongside a Mac and an iPhone. Other rumors suggest that the pocket-sized product will be contextually aware of the wearer's surroundings and life, providing insight screen-free.

Apple's annual Back to School offer for university students and educational staff is about to begin in many European countries, after initially launching in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates last month.

Apple's online educational store is currently showing a "we'll be right back" message in a long list of countries, and this is typically an indicator that the Back to School offer is incoming. The offer should begin in these countries within a matter of hours.

We did a quick check of Apple's website, and it appears the offer will be going live in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and a few other countries and territories in Europe, as well as in Türkiye.

In countries where the offer is already live, eligible students can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. Aside from AirPods, the promotion also offers various other accessories for free or at a discount, such as the Apple Pencil Pro or a Magic Keyboard.

The free AirPods or other accessory are included in addition to Apple's standard year-round 10% educational discount on select Mac and iPad models.

In the U.S., the promotion ends on September 30.