Former Apple CFO Luca Maestri is taking another step back from the company, reports Bloomberg. Maestri left his role as CFO in January 2025, but stayed at Apple to run the company's Corporate Services teams.
Maestri stepped down from that position in recent weeks, and Bloomberg says he is still at Apple but has no responsibilities other than hosting a class at Apple University. Maestri reported to former Apple CEO Tim Cook, but he does not report to new Apple CEO John Ternus. Maestri is slowly withdrawing from Apple, and visits the office about once a week.
Corporate services includes information systems and technology, information security, and real estate and development. The team is being taken over by Kevan Parekh, who became Apple's CFO after Maestri stepped down.
Bloomberg says Cook liked to keep departing executives in smaller roles, but Ternus may not continue that practice.
In his first memo to Apple employees as CEO today, John Ternus teased a "huge launch next week that's going to be phenomenal."
In a social media post today, Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak teased that Apple has "more to say" on Wednesday, September 9, which is when the company will be holding its next special event, starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.
During the event, Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, its first-ever foldable iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, and potentially AirPods 5. Of course, there could be other announcements and surprises too. MacRumors will be providing live coverage of the event from Steve Jobs Theater.
John Ternus officially became Apple's CEO today, with Tim Cook transitioning to a new role as Executive Chair. Ternus sent his first memo as CEO to employees this morning, praising Cook and sharing his excitement for Apple's future.
MacRumors obtained a copy of the memo, which you can read in full below.
Team,
Today, on my first day as CEO, I just wanted to send a quick note to thank everyone for the warm wishes. I also want to extend my deep appreciation to Tim for sharing so much of his knowledge and experience during this transition, and more importantly, for everything he contributed to Apple over the years. We're so lucky to have had a CEO who led with his values and with such decency and humanity. We are all better for it, and I'm so grateful he'll be our executive chairman.
I'm honored to be stepping into this role at what is truly the greatest company in the world, and I am so excited about everything we have in store. We have a huge launch next week that's going to be phenomenal. Thanks for everything you've all done to make it possible.
I'm just as excited about what lies beyond that, including the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven't even imagined yet that we'll dream up and create together. There's no team in the world I'd rather build the future with.
More to come. In the meantime, thanks for your excellent work!
John
Ternus is a longtime Apple employee, having first joined the company in 2001. Prior to becoming CEO, he was senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, so he has a product-focused background instead of the operations background Cook has. Apple's leadership team has been reorganizing during the transition from Cook to Ternus, and the full effect of the changes will play out over the next several years.
Johny Srouji is now Apple's chief hardware officer, taking over the Hardware Engineering team that Ternus previously led. Former engineering VP and Ternus lieutenant Laura Legros is returning to Apple, and the product design team was restructured.
On his last day as CEO, Cook told employees he took "enormous comfort" in handing leadership of Apple to "someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John."
Ternus has been on stage during Apple events before, but the September 9 "Surprise and Shine" iPhone event will be his first as Apple CEO.
Amazon and Best Buy this week have multiple discounts on the M4 iPad Air, providing up to $149 off these 2026 models. These are the best prices we've seen in the wake of Apple's summer price hikes.
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'll find savings on both the 11-inch and 13-inch models of the M4 iPad Air, with savings mainly focused on 128GB and 256GB Wi-Fi tablets. All of these discounts have been automatically applied and do not require a coupon code or a special membership.
The new iPad Air features the M4 chip, C1X modem, and N1 networking chip, which brings support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. In terms of design, the 2026 models are identical to the 2025 iPad Air tablets, with an edge-to-edge display, slim bezels, and aluminum chassis.
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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iPhone 18 Pro colors could include Dark Cherry, Sky Blue, and Black, with a Silver option unlikely to make the final lineup, according to the leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker "Fixed Focus Digital" said the iPhone 18 Pro has entered full mass production and predicted a slightly different color lineup from what previous rumors have suggested, featuring Dark Cherry (also referred to as Burgundy), Sky Blue, and Black.
The leaker said a Silver option will "most likely" not be offered, adding in a reply that they have not seen evidence of that color's existence in China. If accurate, the lineup would mean Apple is replacing all three iPhone 17 Pro colors with new options for iPhone 18 Pro, rather than carrying Silver over as many earlier reports had suggested.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurmanfirst described the iPhone 18 Pro's main new shade as "deep red." A Macworld report later called it "Dark Cherry," and said the other colors would be Light Blue, Dark Gray, and Silver.
Weibo leaker "Instant Digital" said Apple may skip black, then described Dark Cherry as a mix of burgundy, coffee, and deep purple. Dummy models from Sonny Dickson showed Dark Cherry, Light Blue, Black, and Silver, while SIM tray photos showed Dark Cherry with Light Blue and Dark Gray.
The rumors point to Dark Cherry replacing Cosmic Orange as the signature Pro color, with Light Blue or Sky Blue, Silver, and Black or Dark Gray also possible. Black remains uncertain, after Apple reportedly considered black and steel gray for the iPhone 17 Pro before dropping both.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to be unveiled at the company's September event next week, alongside the company's first foldable iPhone, dubbed the "iPhone Ultra."
Apple's former hardware engineering chief John Ternus officially became CEO of the company today, with the change now reflected on Apple's leadership page.
Ternus joined Apple in 2001, became a vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and became senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021. He is 51, so he could serve as CEO for 10 to 15 years before reaching typical retirement age.
Tim Cook is now executive chairman of Apple's board of directors, after a 15-year run as CEO. In this role, Apple said Cook "will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world."
During his final day as CEO on Monday, Cook stopped by the Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino, California to meet some of Apple's retail employees from various stores, with photos and a video of the visit available on Instagram.
Mozilla today said it is adding an ad blocker to Firefox for iOS, allowing users to block many third-party ads and ad-related trackers.
The ad blocker uses the EasyList filter list and Apple's WebKit Content Blocker technology, which is the same content-blocker API Safari ad blockers use. App Store ad blockers only work with Safari, so Mozilla built the feature directly into the app.
Firefox won't block ads served by the site you're visiting, and ads shown in search results will still appear. Sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content shown by Firefox when you open a new tab are separate from ads and won't be blocked.
Ad blocking is turned off by default, and it can be turned on in the Firefox app by going to Settings > Browsing > Ad Blocker.
OpenAI yesterday denied Apple's allegations of trade secret theft, telling a federal court that Apple failed to show any confidential information was actually stolen by its former employees, according to Reuters.
In a new filing submitted to the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, OpenAI argued that the dispute is "a mess of Apple's own making." The filing is a direct response to Apple's new forensic evidence submitted against former Apple employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan, whom Apple accuses of stealing trade secrets related to hardware design, manufacturing, and supply chain operations after filing the lawsuit in July.
OpenAI says the lawsuit is an attempt to slow a rival and deter more employee departures. In court filings, it notes that it has hired about 400 former Apple employees for its hardware projects. The company argues that California law allows workers to move freely between competitors, while shifting attention to Apple's internal practices instead of addressing the forensic evidence allegation by allegation.
OpenAI alleges that Apple encourages staff to use personal iCloud accounts for work, potentially blurring the boundary between personal and company data after an employee leaves. It also says Apple's practice of immediately escorting departing employees off site leaves too little time to return devices or internal files, portraying the allegations as the result of a flawed offboarding process rather than intentional theft.
The filing says Liu retained access to Apple documents only to help former colleagues find files or answer questions, and that Apple employees repeatedly contacted him for support. Tan said he returned his Apple prototypes before leaving and kept only non-confidential materials, including a standard departure checklist.
OpenAI characterized the dispute as employees choosing to leave a company it says has been slow to adopt AI for a faster-moving competitor. It argued that Apple should not use its own internal failures to portray those departures as unlawful. Judge Edward J. Davila is scheduled to hear arguments on October 1.
Recent layoffs of Apple employees working on the Vision Pro were broader than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Last month, Gurman said that Apple cut around 100 jobs from the Vision Products Group, with those cuts centered on the headset's gaming and immersive video teams. Gurman now says the layoffs also reached Vision Pro staff across the rest of the company, including people working on device security, audio engineering, Siri integration, testing, and visionOS. The cuts follow the June departure of Paul Meade, the executive who ran Apple's Vision Pro and smart glasses division, who left Apple for OpenAI.
Gurman reports that people inside the Vision Pro group have spent months lobbying new CEO John Ternus to stay the course on the platform even as sales continue to underwhelm. Colleagues who have discussed the headset with Ternus say he was skeptical of it from the start, seeing it as too bulky and too costly to reach a mass audience.
Interestingly, since visionOS apparently runs on Apple's upcoming smart glasses, the wider layoffs impact software shared across both product lines rather than the headset alone. Ternus is still said to support Apple's smart glasses project, code named N50, which remain on track for launch next year, but Gurman says he would consider walking away from head worn devices as a category altogether if they never catch on with buyers. That willingness also could weigh on the overhauled Vision Pro successor, code named N224, which is not expected before the end of 2028.
Qualcomm is increasing prices for its chips by double digits starting tomorrow. Qualcomm announced the impending price hike back in July, letting customers know prices would go up for chips shipped after September 1.
Qualcomm said it cannot continue to absorb increasing supplier costs. "We're just passing through big cost increases that we have," said Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon in an interview with Reuters.
Apple has been transitioning to its own modem chips, but it is still sourcing modem chips from Qualcomm for the iPhone 17 models. Apple will discontinue the iPhone 17 Pro models when the iPhone 18 Pro is released in September, but it is likely to keep the iPhone 17 in the lineup.
Apple's iPhone 17e and iPhone Air use its C1X modem, and rumors suggest some iPhone 18 Pro models and the foldable iPhone could use a new Apple-designed C2 chip with faster 5G speeds. Apple may still rely on Qualcomm for modem chips in the United States, according to leaked iPhone 18 Pro documents from Tata Electronics.
Prices have gone up for DRAM and storage due to supply issues, which has affected most device manufacturers. Apple raised prices of Macs and iPads in June, and the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to be more expensive than their predecessors.
Amon also said in July that Qualcomm is expecting the revenue it earns from Apple to decline faster than previously anticipated, dropping approximately 50 percent from the September quarter to the December quarter. He blamed supply constraints, which will reduce the share of Qualcomm components used in the iPhone 18 lineup.
In addition to supplying modem chips to Apple, Qualcomm makes mobile chips for Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers. Qualcomm is raising prices across its lineup, and increases will be negotiated with customers individually.
Apple today released the sixth public betas of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate, allowing anyone with a compatible device to download and test the new software. The sixth betas come a week after Apple seeded the fifth betas and a few hours after the eighth developer betas.
You can get started by signing up on Apple's beta website and then opting in to the public beta by opening up the Settings app on your device, selecting General, and choosing Software Update.
We are nearing the end of the beta testing process, and no notable new features were found in today's developer betas. We are expecting the release candidate versions of the software next week following Apple's September 9 iPhone event.
Apple today submitted new evidence in its lawsuit against OpenAI, with the hope that the new information will persuade the judge to grant an expedited discovery process.
Apple filed a theft of trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan in July, accusing them of using multiple methods to steal data from Apple. Liu kept an Apple-issued MacBook after he left for OpenAI, and Apple got it back after the lawsuit was filed. Apple now says forensic analysis of the laptop has uncovered more evidence of Liu's use of Apple information and his attempts to hide what he'd done.
From the lawsuit:
Mr. Liu not only downloaded a confidential Apple circuit schematic but also used it in his work at OpenAI;
Far from his unauthorized access to Apple's third-party cloud storage being unknown to him, Mr. Liu and others at OpenAI were well-aware of that access;
Mr. Liu, upon learning of Apple's internal investigation of him, sent instructions for destroying evidence to an OpenAI colleague who confirmed she would comply; and
Mr. Liu used a tool in his work at OpenAI that has the same name as an internal Apple engineering application used for Apple development work.
Liu downloaded the circuit schematic from Apple in March, two months after he left the company. Liu used the schematic to run a simulation using electrical engineering tool LTspice, and then messaged people telling them he ran the simulation for power conversion development work. Liu described how he trained an AI agent to run LTspice.
According to the filing, he said he was "[f]eeling AI all day long," and that "[i]n the past hour," his AI "agent learned how to run LTspice, look at result, tune compensation parameter." "I try to make a behavior buck," he wrote. "With voltage outer and current inner. Everything ideal. It still took me a day.. now it's two hour. Including learning fresh."
"Oh man! Why do they even need you then?" the person Liu was talking to reportedly replied.
Liu used the Apple schematic on a Mac mini that later synced to the MacBook he took from Apple, which is why Apple knows about it. Apple now wants to investigate the Mac mini and other devices Liu still has in his possession.
Apple says the "shocking evidence" is proof that its trade secrets are in active use and evidence is being destroyed, which is why expedited discovery is needed.
Apple initially asked for expedited discovery earlier this month, also requesting an injunction preventing OpenAI from using its trade secrets. OpenAI responded by asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming the accusations were "meritless." OpenAI also published a public statement calling the lawsuit "careless, aggressive and oddly personal" and stating that it does not "have, nor want, any of their trade secrets" because it is "much more interested in building innovative products and technologies that push the frontier."
Judge Edward J. Davila is set to hear arguments in the case on October 1.
Apple's AirPods with cameras could improve spatial audio on the iPhone and other Apple devices by detecting the position of the display the wearer is looking at. Details on the capability were found in macOS Tahoe 26.7 code, and shared on the MacRumors forums by member pdfu.
Sensors in the current AirPods power a spatial audio head tracking feature, and cameras could take that further. Code suggests the camera-equipped AirPods will find the physical screen the wearer is watching content on, comparing the screen's direction with the direction estimated by the motion sensors in the AirPods.
The AirPods may be able to identify laptops, displays, smartphones, tablets, and TVs, even detecting multiple displays and narrowing audio to the one the wearer is looking at. Screen detection will work behind the scenes and may pause when the wearer is in motion.
Devices with Face ID already use the Face ID sensors to assist with head tracking, but if the user also has AirPods with cameras, the AirPods will prefer camera input over Face ID.
Code also references a server-based visual reasoning feature, further reinforcing rumors of Visual Intelligence support. The AirPods will reportedly send camera data to Apple's servers for Visual Intelligence requests.
The macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate that came out in August leaked a long list of references to unreleased Apple products, including the AirPods with cameras. Though multiple references to the AirPods were found, rumors suggest the product isn't going to launch until fall 2027.
Apple today added three Macs to its list of obsolete products. The 2018 Retina MacBook Air, the 13-inch 2018 MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and the 13-inch 2017 MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 3 ports are now considered obsolete.
The three products were previously part of the vintage list, but have been moved. Apple adds a product to the vintage list when it's been five years since it was last distributed for sale, and it becomes obsolete at the seven-year mark.
Vintage products can still be repaired at Apple retail locations and by Apple Authorized Service Providers if Apple has the parts available. Devices that are obsolete are generally not eligible for repair, and Apple stops making repair components.
Apple has a battery-only repair policy for Mac laptops for up to 10 years after the Mac was last distributed for sale, so 2017/2018 MacBook Pro and 2018 MacBook Air owners may still be able to get battery replacements.
The 2018 MacBook Air was the first in the Air line with Touch ID and a Retina display. Prior MacBook Air models had a non-Retina display with much lower resolution and less vibrant colors. 2018 was also a redesign year for the MacBook Air, with Apple introducing smaller bezels and a thinner, lighter chassis.
Apple's 2017 MacBook Pro used Intel's Kaby Lake processors, and it was a minor processor update with few other changes. The 2018 refresh added True Tone display support for the first time and a third-generation keyboard with butterfly keys.
Apple's press release for the new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips last week initially stated that the computer had "next-generation SSD architecture built on PCIe Gen 6." However, as spotted by the French blog MacGeneration, Apple removed the PCIe 6.0 mention from the announcement shortly after it was published.
The press release still mentions that the new Mac Studio has a "next-generation SSD architecture" that delivers up to twice as fast storage speeds compared to the previous generation, but it no longer mentions PCIe 6.0. Apple has yet to respond to our request for comment, but it seems like the company simply made a mistake in the press release, as it is much more likely that the new Mac Studio supports the PCIe 5.0 standard.
First, we already know that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the same M5 Max chip available in the new Mac Studio have SSDs with PCIe 5.0, and Apple likewise advertised up to twice as fast SSD speeds for those laptops. Second, there are no consumer PCs on the market yet that have SSDs with PCIe 6.0 support.
The M5 Ultra chip is all new, but it probably supports PCIe 5.0 as well, or else Apple would not have needed to edit its Mac Studio press release.
All in all, the new Mac Studio appears to support PCIe 5.0, not PCIe 6.0.
Apple today provided developers with the eighth beta of macOS Golden Gate, with the update coming a week after Apple seeded the seventh beta.
Developers can download macOS Golden Gate by going to System Settings > General > Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled, and a free developer account is required.
macOS Golden Gate includes multiple design improvements. Liquid Glass opacity has been improved to increase readability, there's a slider for controlling the level of transparency, and changes to shadowing make it easier to tell when a window is active. Apps now have uniform toolbars, edge-to-edge sidebars, and less rounded corners, and there are fewer icons in menu bars.
Siri has been transformed into Siri AI, a chatbot-style assistant that combines general world knowledge, your personal data, and onscreen awareness to answer questions about anything and find information for you. Siri lives in Spotlight, and you can ask questions with the new Search or Ask interface.
There's also a Siri app where you can chat with Siri and view past conversations, and on newer Macs, you can set a custom voice for Siri with personalized pace and expressivity. Visual Intelligence is now on the Mac so Siri can answer questions about what's on your screen, and a Write with Siri feature lets Siri generate text or give feedback on your writing.
There are AI photo editing tools in the Photos app, AI tab organization in Safari, an option to use AI to automatically update weak passwords in the Passwords app, and a revamped Image Playground app that can generate photorealistic images.
Apple today seeded the eighth betas of iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming one week after Apple released the seventh betas.
Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.
iOS 27 introduces Apple's smarter version of Siri, Siri AI. Siri AI is a chatbot similar to ChatGPT, incorporating general world knowledge, personal data from apps like Messages and Mail, and onscreen awareness to answer questions and find information for you.
There are new Apple Intelligence features in apps like Photos, Safari, Shortcuts, Wallet, and Passwords, plus Apple added a standalone Siri app that houses Siri conversations. Write with Siri is available systemwide for generating text or offering feedback on your writing, and Visual Intelligence has been relocated to the Camera app with a new Siri mode.
Apple improved the look of Liquid Glass and added a slider for customizing transparency. There are multiple performance improvements to speed up iOS, so everything feels faster, even on older iPhones. Apps launch quicker, AirDrop transfers are faster, the keyboard pops up more quickly, and devices are better at transitioning between Wi-Fi and Cellular to keep you connected.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
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Apple's new CEO John Ternus now 
