Sales of the Apple Vision Pro will soon begin in countries outside of the United States, reports Bloomberg. Hundreds of employees from international retail stores have been flying into Cupertino for multi-day Vision Pro training sessions.
Apple held similar training sessions ahead of when the Vision Pro launched in the United States, with employees learning how to provide customer demonstrations and answer customer questions. An exact launch date for the Vision Pro hasn't yet been announced, but it is expected to expand to additional countries after WWDC. This year's Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from June 10 to June 14.
Employees from stores in Australia, China, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore are attending the training sessions, so these are likely to be the first countries to get the Vision Pro after the United States. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuopreviously said the Vision Pro would launch in more countries prior to WWDC, but that may now be inaccurate with Bloomberg's information suggesting a June debut.
U.S. interest in the Vision Pro has died down in the months following the launch of the device, and Apple has allegedly cut Vision Pro shipments as a result. International sales could bring a renewed wave of excitement over the device, but at $3,500 USD, the price is still prohibitive. Pricing in non-U.S. countries has not yet been announced.
Following some early discounts for Best Buy members, we're now seeing the first discounts on the brand-new iPad Air and iPad Pro models available to all customers thanks to Amazon. The discounts are modest at up to $49 on select models, but any pre-order discounts are always welcome news.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Only select configurations and colors are seeing discounts and these may fluctuate over time, but at the moment we're seeing the following discounted prices:
If you're looking for more details about the M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air, be sure to check out our recap article of last week's Apple event, and be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.
Apple says the $29 screen repair option is limited to the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models with the M4 chip, and the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models with the M2 chip, and the devices must have no other damage in order to qualify.
For any other damage to the new iPad Pro and iPad Air, AppleCare+ charges a $99 fee. For previous-generation models, Apple charges $49 for screen repairs or any other damage if the device has AppleCare+ coverage.
As usual, skipping AppleCare+ could prove to be costly, with Apple charging between $449 and $999 for uncovered repairs of the devices.
Here is how much AppleCare+ costs for the new iPads:
13-inch iPad Pro: $169 or $8.49 per month
11-inch iPad Pro: $149 or $7.49 per month
13-inch iPad Air: $99 or $4.99 per month
11-inch iPad Air: $79 or $3.99 per month
The new iPad Pro and iPad Air models are available to order now and launch on May 15.
Apple today announced a new 10-day event counting down the 100 best albums of all time, as judged by Apple Music experts and a select group of artists. The event will see Apple Music revealing 10 albums from the list per day alongside a new microsite featuring analysis of each album, interviews, and more.
"Putting this list together was a true labor of love, both in that it was incredibly difficult to do and in that we are all so passionate about it," said Zane Lowe, Apple Music's global creative director and lead anchor for Apple Music 1. "We were tasked with selecting the 100 best — that's practically mission impossible. But as music fans, it was also amazing to really take a minute and sit and think about the music and albums and artists that we love so much in this context. If this list sparks more debate among fans outside of Apple Music and gets people talking passionately about the music they love, then we've done what we set out to do."
The first 10 albums from the list revealed today include:
100.Body Talk, Robyn 99.Hotel California, Eagles 98.ASTROWORLD, Travis Scott 97.Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine 96.Pure Heroine, Lorde 95.Confessions, USHER 94.Untrue, Burial 93.A Seat at the Table, Solange 92.Flower Boy, Tyler, The Creator 91.Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, George Michael
The countdown event will also include a takeover of the Apple Music Hits station on Apple Music Radio, featuring specials with various Apple Music Radio hosts and ongoing features, plus exclusive on-demand content drops on Apple Music and Apple Podcasts. The event will culminate in a roundtable discussion among artists Nile Rodgers and Maggie Rodgers alongside Apple Music hosts Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden as the top 10 albums are revealed on Wednesday, May 22.
Apple last week announced a new raft of iPad Pro and iPad Air models, but news about a new iPad mini was conspicuous by its absence.
Apple has not updated the iPad mini since 2021, so it is certainly ripe for a refresh, but fans of the smaller 8.3-inch device will have to wait a while longer for a seventh-generation model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman cautioned his readers not to expect a new iPad mini model "until the end of this year at the earliest." In other words, don't get your hopes up for an iPad mini 7 announcement during Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Gurman expects the next iPad model to feature a newer processor, but few other changes. Other sources have claimed new camera upgrades could be included, as well as a potential fix for the "jelly scrolling" display behavior on the latest model.
Gurman previously said that a new entry-level iPad model is similarly unlikely to make an appearance before late 2024 at the earliest. The current low-end iPad was last updated in October 2022.
Gamma, a new emulator for playing classic PlayStation 1 games on iPhone and iPad, has just hit the App Store.
Developed by Benjamin Stark, aka ZodTTD, Gamma features customizable onscreen controller skins, and includes support for Bluetooth controllers as well as wired and non-wired keyboards.
Similar to the fantastically popular Delta emulator, the Gamma app uses third-party cloud syncing services for backing up game files and save states, and also downloads game cover artwork.
Fortunately for PS1 fans, Gamma does not require BIOS files to run games, although some users have reported a few issues getting some ROMs to run smoothly, but bug fixes are likely coming soon. Stark is a veteran of the emulator field and has been making retro game emulators on mobile for over 15 years.
It's worth noting that while Gamma is free to download and contains no iAPs (as per Apple's emulator rules) its App Store page says that it collects identifiers that can be used to track you, and may collect location and usage data.
Apple has closed in on a deal with OpenAI that should see ChatGPT being used to power new features in its next iPhone operating system, according to Bloomberg.
In a report over the weekend, Bloomberg claimed that the two companies have been "finalizing terms for a pact to use ChatGPT features in Apple's iOS 18." How the popular chatbot would integrate with Apple's software is not yet known.
The agreement would see ChatGPT become another tool in a range of AI features that Apple is expected to bring to iPhones. Apple is also said to be in ongoing talks with Google to license its Gemini chatbot, but those discussions have not reportedly led to an agreement. Apple is known to have been in talks with OpenAI since February.
Apple at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month is expected to announce several AI features coming to iOS 18, which is said to be one of the biggest upgrades to the iPhone operating system in years. According to Haitong analyst Jeff Pu, Apple plans to run some of the features on data servers powered by its own in-house chips.
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed in February that Apple plans to "break new ground" in AI. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has previously reported that Apple is also working on its own chatbot tool that some engineers have dubbed "Apple GPT" to rival OpenAI's ChatGPT.
This week's best deals included a wide variety of Apple products and related accessories, ranging from the brand new M4 iPad Pro to Samsung's ViewFinity S9 5K Display.
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.
The most notable deal of the week appeared at Best Buy, which still has the new M4 iPad Pro on sale at $50 off for My Best Buy Plus/Total members. These iPad Pros were just announced this week, so this is the first pre-order discount we've seen on the tablets.
Adobe
What's the deal? Get 40% off Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps
Adobe is offering first-time subscribers of the Creative Cloud All Apps plan a 40 percent discount on the service, priced at $35.99 per month. This is for your first year of the subscription plan, and it includes access to more than 20 creative apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.
Amazon kicked off the week with the first notable discount on the AirPods 3 since February. You can still get these earbuds for $139.99 right now, down from $169.00, and the AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro 2 are also on sale.
M3 MacBook Air
What's the deal? Get up to $149 off M3 MacBook Air
Amazon introduced $149 off the M3 MacBook Air this week, starting at $1,149.99 for the 256GB model, down from $1,299.00. You can also get a few discounts on the 512GB models with both 8GB and 16GB RAM.
Samsung
What's the deal? Save on Samsung's best monitors and TVs
Samsung marked down a collection of monitors and TVs earlier in the week, with notable deals on the popular ViewFinity S9 5K Smart Monitor ($600 off) and Smart Monitor M8 ($300 off).
Finally, Amazon is discounting every model of the M1 iPad Air this week. You'll find $150 off these tablets, priced starting at $449.00 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model.
Keep up with all of this week's best discounts on Apple products and related accessories in our dedicated Apple Deals roundup.
Apple's "Let Loose" event this week went off largely as expected, headlined by new iPad Pro and iPad Air models.
The updated higher-end devices are complemented by some new accessories, while Apple also tidied up the lower-end of the lineup a bit, so read on below for all the details!
Everything Announced at the Apple Event
Apple held its first event of the year this week to announce several new devices and accessories, including new iPad Pro models with OLED displays and the M4 chip, new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models, the Apple Pencil Pro, and a redesigned Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.
In the U.S., the 11-inch iPad Pro now starts at $999, while the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299. The devices are available to order now and launch on May 15.
Apple Announces New iPad Air Models: M2 Chip, First-Ever 13-Inch Model, and More
The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models feature the M2 chip, a front camera on the landscape edge of the devices, Wi-Fi 6E support, new color options, and a few other minor changes.
This is the first time that Apple has offered the iPad Air in two display sizes. In the U.S., the 11-inch model starts at $599, and the 13-inch model starts at $799. The devices are available to order now and launch on May 15.
Apple Pencil Pro Unveiled With New Squeeze Gesture, Haptic Feedback, Find My, and More
You can squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro to bring up a tool palette, and a built-in gyroscope allows users to roll the Apple Pencil Pro's barrel for precise control of shaped pen and brush tools. You can also track the location of the Apple Pencil Pro in the Find My app if it is misplaced, and it supports haptic feedback for certain actions.
Apple Announces Redesigned Magic Keyboard for New iPad Pro Starting at $299
Key new features of the redesigned Magic Keyboard for the new iPad Pro include an aluminum palm rest, a larger trackpad, and a row of function keys with shortcuts for brightness, volume, and more.
The new Magic Keyboard is compatible with the new iPad Pro models with the M4 chip only. It is available in black and white, with U.S. pricing set at $299 for the 11-inch model and at $349 for the 13-inch model.
iPad 9 Discontinued, iPad 10 Now Starts at $349
While only the iPad Pro and iPad Air were updated this week, Apple did make some changes to the lower end of the iPad lineup.
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
Sonos this week released a major redesign for the Sonos app, introducing customizable home screen meant to deliver a personalized listening experience. The update was announced back in April, but just went live, and unfortunately, it removes a number of features while also introducing several bugs.
Multiple complaints on social media have called the app a "step back" with missing features like editing a song queue, managing playlists, shuffling a music library, and setting alarms and timers, along with slow performance and hard-to-access system controls. There has also been feedback from users about missing accessibility features.
The Verge asked Sonos about the negative feedback, and in response, Sonos said that it's aware of the complaints, but "it takes courage" to rebuild a core product.
Redesigning the Sonos app is an ambitious undertaking that represents just how seriously we are committed to invention and re-invention. It takes courage to rebuild a brand's core product from the ground up, and to do so knowing it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future.
The app's revitalization not only aims to address what customers have been asking us for in the short-term, but is also critical for supporting the exciting innovations to come from Sonos in the years ahead.
We realize there are beloved features our listeners are eager to continue enjoying now. We are working diligently to reintroduce them in the coming months, alongside additional enhancements that will make for an even better app experience.
This is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Sonos as we continue to expand the way listeners can access and enjoy all the content they love in a more personalized and seamless way. We have always and will continue to listen to customer feedback so we can create sound experiences that well exceed both our standards and the standards of our listeners.
Sonos said that it is working to address the missing features "in the coming months," and the update will ultimately lead to "exciting innovations" in the years to come. There is no way for iOS customers who have already upgraded their apps to go back to the prior version, though users are calling for Sonos to roll back the update until the new app is more fully fleshed out.
TikTok this week announced that it has started automatically labeling AI-generated content created on third-party platforms, preventing AI images and videos from confusing and misleading viewers.
Content made using TikTok's AI creation tools has included an AI label for more than a year, but going forward, TikTok will also label AI images made through other platforms. TikTok's tool will read Content Credentials, a technology from the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA). Content Credentials are designed to attach metadata to AI content, facilitating AI labeling.
TikTok's AI labeling started rolling out today on images and videos, and it will soon be coming to audio-only content. Content created with AI will have a label that says "AI-generated" under an account's TikTok username.
Labeling may be gradual, as content needs to have Content Credentials included for it to be identified and labeled. As other platforms adopt credentials, AI identification will increase across all social networks.
In the future, TikTok will add Content Credentials to TikTok content that will remain when images and videos are downloaded, so people and other social networks can use the C2PA Verify tools to identify AI content that was made on TikTok.
Apple's shift to develop its own AI technology to keep up with competitors was today detailed in a The New York Times report.
Citing sources familiar with Apple's work, the report explains that the decision to revamp Siri was taken early last year by Apple's most senior executives. Senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi and senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy John Giannandrea are said to have spent several weeks testing OpenAI's ChatGPT to understand the ways in which the competitor made Siri look antiquated. The Siri team purportedly failed to receive attention and resources compared to other groups inside Apple, and the company has struggled to recruit and retain leading AI researchers.
Apple executives are said to be concerned that AI threatens the iPhone's market share because it has the potential to become a more compelling operating system with an ecosystem of AI apps that undermine the App Store. Apple apparently fears the iPhone becoming a "dumb brick" compared with other technology.
This conclusion triggered a significant reorganization at Apple amid determination to catch up in the race to develop AI tools. The company moved to reallocate employees and resources toward AI, and the change of strategy was a contributing factor in the decision to cancel its electric vehicle project. Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 models will supposedly feature more memory to support AI features.
Apple is expected to reveal a series of AI tools at its WWDC keynote on June 10, including an improved version of Siri that is more conversational and capable, with the ability to "chat" rather than merely respond to individual queries. The company is working on making Siri better at handling tasks such as setting timers, creating calendar appointments, adding items to Reminders, and summarizing text. Apple plans to market the new version of Siri as a more private alternative to rival AI services because most requests will be processed on-device rather than remotely in data centres. See the full The New York Times article for more information.
The iPhone 16 Pro may feature a display that is up to 20% brighter for typical SDR content, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a recent post, the Weibo user claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro will feature up to 1,200 nits of typical SDR brightness – a 20% increase over the current models. Peak HDR brightness will apparently remain the same at 1,600 nits.
The iPhone 14 Pro touted a significant increase in brightness over its predecessor, featuring up to 400 nits higher HDR brightness. However, the iPhone's typical SDR brightness has been the same at 1,000 nits since the introduction of the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021. The iPhone's typical SDR is used in the majority of situations, so a 20% increase in standard brightness would be a significant upgrade.
The iPhone 16 lineup is expected to launch as usual in the fall, with the Pro models featuring larger displays, an all-new "Capture" button, the A18 chip, and more.
iOS 18 will include new audio transcription features in the Voice Memos and Notes apps, according to information obtained by AppleInsider.
The report claims that transcriptions of audio recordings will be available in both the Voice Memos and Notes apps on iOS 18. In addition, the Notes app will apparently be able to provide AI-generated summaries of key points in audio recordings. These features are also expected to be included in iPadOS 18 and macOS 15.
Apple is expected to announce iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, and other software updates during its WWDC keynote on June 10. The first betas of the updates will likely be made available to members of Apple's Developer Program immediately following the keynote, and they should be widely released in September.
We explore the updates to the iPad Pro's hardware, such as the introduction of the M4 chip, OLED displays, a landscape front-facing camera, an Adaptive True Tone flash, and a thinner design. The iPad Air is now available in a larger, 13-inch display size option and offers the M2 chip, a landscape front-facing camera, and Apple Pencil hover.
The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro now features an aluminum top case, a new trackpad with haptic feedback, and a function row, while the Apple Pencil Pro introduces the squeeze gesture, barrel roll, haptic feedback, and Find My integration.
We evaluate these new products and discuss the potential implications of the upgrades for users, including professionals who rely on the iPad out in the field. The MacRumors Show is now on its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips going forward:
The MacRumors Show is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.
WhatsApp is receiving a refreshed design on iPhone and Android, the first interface overhaul of its kind since 2021.
The new design rolling out for the Meta-owned social media platform is meant to be fresh, approachable, and simple, according to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp says that sending photos and videos on iOS is now easier, thanks to a new attachment layout. Instead of a full screen menu, there's an expandable tray for accessing features when sending media, documents, polls, and more.
Icons have been updated to a rounded, outlined style, and there are new illustrations with added animations for a "more playful" aesthetic.
New WhatsApp attachment tray
There's also a new "consistent" green color palette throughout the app, as well as a new dark mode that's one shade darker, which aims to reduce eye strain in low-light environments.
The new changes are rolling out to WhatsApp users on iPhone and Android now, according to the company.
When introducing the new M4 iPad Pro models, Apple showed a video of a hydraulic press crushing all manner of creative tools, including musical instruments, electronic equipment, arcade games, paint and brushes, computers, cameras, and more, with the aim of demonstrating how the iPad represents all of the tools condensed into a single device.
The ad was a play on the popular hydraulic press videos that are popular across social media sites, but creatives found the concept to be in poor taste. Actor Hugh Grant referred to the ad as the "destruction of the human experience," director Reed Morano told Apple to "read the room" and called it "actually psychotic," and Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson said it "symbolizes everything everyone has ever hated about digitization."
The upset over the Crush ad led Apple to issue an apology. In a statement to Ad Age, Apple marketing vice president Tor Myhren said that the video ultimately "missed the mark."
Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it's incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world. Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we're sorry.
Apple left the Crush video on its YouTube channel, but the ad won't be running on television.
Benchmarks for the new M4 iPad Pro models have popped up on Geekbench, giving us an idea of how much faster Apple's second-generation 3-nanometer chips are compared to the M3, M2, and other prior-generation Apple silicon chips.
The 10-core variant of the M4 chip earned an average single-core score of 3,695 and an average multi-core score of 14,550 across 10 benchmarks. When it comes to single-core performance, the M4 is faster than the M3 Max MacBook Pro, and it's comparable to the M2 Max in multi-core performance.
For context, here are the single-core and multi-core scores of prior chips (all max CPU/GPU variants):
M4 - 3,695/14,550
A17 Pro - 2,908/7,234
M2 - 2,540/9,360
M2 Pro - 2,651/14,295
M2 Max - 2,802/14,800
M1 - 2,272/8,208
M3 - 3,087/11,702
M3 Pro - 3,112/15,286
M3 Max - 3,128/20,957
Compared to the M2 in the prior version of the iPad Pro, the M4 is 46 percent faster when it comes to single-core performance, and 55 percent faster in multi-core performance. Apple didn't use the M3 in an iPad, but it is up to 24 percent faster than the M3.
Apple said that the M4 delivers up to 1.5x faster CPU performance than the M2 in the prior-generation iPad Pro, which is accurate based on the benchmarks we've seen so far.
Apple plans to bring the M4 chip family to all of its products across 2024 and 2025, with the first M4 Macs slated for later this year.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
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.
