MacRumors

Woot today kicked off a sale on Apple products, and it includes new record low prices on Apple's M3 iPad Air models. You'll see these all-time lows by entering the code APPLEFIVE at checkout to get an additional $5 off your order.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Woot. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

All iPads in this sale come in new condition and with a 90 day Woot limited warranty. Woot says that the extra APPLEFIVE coupon code will last through September 26 at 11:58 p.m. Central Time, but the overall Apple product sale lasts through October 8 or while supplies last.

With this sale, you can get the 11-inch M3 iPad Air (256GB) for $534.00, down from $699.00, and beating Amazon's current low price by $15. The 512GB model is also available on sale for $724.00 after you enter the coupon code, down from $899.00 and undercutting Amazon's deal by $25.

Woot also has a 13-inch M3 iPad Air on sale for a new record low price this week. You can get the 512GB model for $914.00 with the APPLEFIVE coupon, down from $1,099.00, which beats Amazon's current sale by $35.

Shoppers might note that Woot has mislabeled this as an 11-inch iPad Air in the product title, but the price, product description, and model number confirm that it is the 13-inch 512GB model.

Also worth noting is the warranty on these iPads, which is a 90 day Woot limited warranty, and not the typical one year Apple warranty. If these savings aren't worth missing out on Apple's warranty to you, Amazon still has those second-best prices on nearly every M3 iPad Air model this week.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

---

Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad.

Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value.

AirPods Pro 3 launched last week, and they are now included in the "Back to School" promotion, instead of the AirPods Pro 2. Students who purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad can get the AirPods Pro 3 for just $70, after a $179 discount is applied.

If you do not want any AirPods, the promotion also offers various other accessories for free or at a discount, such as the Apple Pencil Pro or Magic Keyboard.

For more details about the offer and eligibility, read Apple's full terms and conditions.

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.

The promotion is also running in Canada, Mexico, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates until September 30, and in select European countries such as the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands until October 21.

In iOS 26, Apple has added a new feature to its Home screen customization options that can match the color of your app icons with the actual color of your iPhone's case. Keep reading to learn how it works.

In iOS 18, Apple introduced Tinted app icons. The option applies a color filter over app icons, widgets, and even system UI elements. And with iOS 26, Apple has built on the theme with a new option that matches the color of your iPhone's removable case.

It's worth noting from the off that the color-matching feature only works with official Apple MagSafe cases that include a small NFC chip with color variant information. If you don't have such a case, you might want to consider trying another new tint option in iOS 26 that can match the color of your app icons with the actual color of your iPhone.

How to Tint App Icons to Match iPhone Case Color

This filter uses a base color taken from your iPhone's case color, then automatically adjusts brightness, saturation, and contrast so icons remain legible while still reflecting the case's tone. The following steps show you how it's done.

1. On your iPhone's Home screen, long press a space between app icons.
2. Tap Edit in the top-left corner, then select Customize from the popup menu.
3. Choose Tinted from the options panel that appears, then tap the iPhone case button, second-to-left, under the two horizontal color sliders.
4. Select Light, Dark, or Auto below that, based on your preferences.

Note that Tinted mode looks different in iOS 26 than it did in iOS 18. Rather than icons featuring a black background with colored graphics, icons adopt the full color that you select with white graphics in Light Mode. In ‌Dark Mode‌, backgrounds are a much darker shade of the color you choose, but aren't entirely black.

Logitech has announced the Signature Slim Solar+ K980, a full-size wireless keyboard that relies entirely on solar power. The device features a solar panel along its top edge and doesn't even have a USB charging connector, so if you dislike cable clutter, this could be your kind of thing.

The K980 uses Logitech's LightCharge technology, which needs a minimum of 200 lux of ambient light to maintain power, which can come from sunlight or artificial light sources. When fully charged, the keyboard can operate in complete darkness for up to four months, claims the company. Logitech also reckons the internal battery lasts up to 10 years before requiring replacement.

The keyboard includes a standard full-size layout with number pad, function keys, and dedicated media controls. Bluetooth connectivity for up to three devices is supported, and there's compatibility with both Windows and macOS systems through dual key legends. There's also a macOS-only version available.

Additional features include an AI Launch key that defaults to opening Copilot on Windows or Gemini on ChromeOS, customizable function keys through Logi Options+ software, and Smart Actions for productivity shortcuts. The device measures 430.8mm (w) x 142.9mm (h) x 20.2mm (d) and weighs 700 grams.

Made with recycled plastic, the Signature Slim Solar+ K980 costs $99.99 and is available from today in a graphite finish through Logitech's website and major retailers.

In iOS 26, seamless multilingual conversations in Messages are just a few taps away, thanks to Apple's new Live Translation feature. When chatting with friends or colleagues who speak different languages, you can now see instant translations without breaking the flow of your conversation.

Live Translation is an Apple Intelligence feature, so you'll need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone Air, or iPhone 17 model to use it.

Tranlsation works with nine languages including Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified), French, German, Italian, English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain). Your messages appear in both languages on your device, while recipients see everything in their preferred language, provided they are using a device running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS Tahoe.

Setting Up Live Translation

To enable automatic translation for a conversation:

1. Open Messages and tap on the contact's name at the top of a conversation.
2. Toggle on the Automatically Translate switch.
3. Tap Translate From to select the language.
4. Download the language pack if prompted (approximately 900MB).

Once the language pack has downloaded, the feature works instantly. Your outgoing messages display in both your language and the translated version, while incoming messages show the original text with translations underneath.

Using Quick Translation Controls

During active conversations, you can access translation controls directly. Simply tap the "Translating [language]" tab at the bottom of the conversation to switch between viewing modes. For example, select Spanish & English to see both languages, choose English Only to hide translations, or tap Stop Translation to disable the feature temporarily.

Translation on Older Devices

The feature works best when both people have iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS Tahoe, though you can still translate incoming messages from older devices or Android phones – your responses just won't be translated on their end.

WhatsApp has announced the rollout of its new translation feature, allowing users to translate messages into their preferred language directly within the app. The feature is launching gradually across iPhone and Android devices for one-on-one chats, group conversations, and Channel updates.

To translate a message, simply long-press on the text and tap the "Translate" option. Users can then select both the source and target languages, with the ability to download language packs for future use. WhatsApp says that all translations occur locally on the user's device, in line with the app's end-to-end encryption that ensures even parent company Meta can't see message content.

WhatsApp users on iPhone get translation support for over 19 languages, including Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Android users can access translation in six languages, but they do get an additional convenience feature: automatic translation for entire chat threads. Once enabled, all incoming messages in a conversation are automatically translated without requiring manual activation for each message.

The rollout follows Apple's introduction of Live Translation for Messages as part of its iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe launch earlier this month. WhatsApp plans to expand language support in future updates, but it didn't say when the feature will come to WhatsApp for web or desktop.

Algoriddim's award-winning djay apps for Mac and Windows are getting an update today, bringing Spotify integration to the popular DJ software. Subscribers to Spotify Premium can now access Spotify's entire music catalog from within the djay app, including their own libraries and playlists as well as Spotify's curated editorial playlists.

Spotify integration is available in 51 markets around the world and works with djay's Automix feature that intelligently transitions between tracks with beat-matching for seamless transitions across genres.

Djay has been one of several DJ apps supporting Apple Music, but Spotify integration taps into a significantly larger user base who can now bring all of their existing music content right into djay.

Algoriddim's djay app is a free download from the Mac App Store and the Microsoft Store, with an optional Pro subscription priced at $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year to unlock all features.

iFixit today disassembled the iPhone 17 Pro for one of its teardown videos, showing the device's internal components, like the new vapor chamber cooling system that distributes heat from the A19 Pro chip throughout the aluminum frame.

The iPhone 17 Pro's battery is attached to a battery tray, and the battery tray is connected to the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s aluminum frame with Torx Plus screws. iFixit says that if Apple sells replacement batteries in the tray, there won't be any adhesive to deal with when doing a battery swap.

The battery tray is on top of the A19 Pro chip, and the chip includes the vapor chamber cooling system. Heat from the chip is directed to the vapor chamber, which spreads it throughout the unibody aluminum frame. iFixit used a thermal camera to compare the iPhone 16 Pro Max to the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max. The ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro Max would get to 37.8 degrees Celsius and experience throttling, while the 17 Pro Max stayed cooler at 34.8 degrees Celsius, resulting in no throttling.

iFixit found that Apple's cooling system uses a lattice between two plates to distribute water throughout the vapor chamber. The water next to the A19 Pro chip boils and turns to steam, then the steam collects on the other side and cools down, condensing back into droplets that are sent back through the lattice structure.

iFixit conducted a scratch test on the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s aluminum frame, and found the camera plateau to be an area that's prone to scratching. The site spoke with David Niebuhr, a mechanical engineering professor at Cal Poly. Niebuhr said that the damage is called "spalling." The sharp, flat edge of the camera plateau doesn't allow for the anodized finish to adhere as well, so the color can rub off when exposed to hard objects like keys.

The ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models have a less repairable design than the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models because Apple did away with the dual-entry design that made repairs possible from either the back or the front of the device. It's only possible to repair the wireless charging assembly or replace the back glass from the back of the iPhone, and replacing the battery, a camera module, or the USB-C port requires removing the ‌iPhone‌'s display.

The battery tray that's only held in with screws makes the battery easier to replace once you get to it, plus the battery is encased in metal, which makes it safer. Replacing the USB-C port requires removing 22 screws, a process that iFixit found tedious.

Considering all of the changes, iFixit says that the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ is slightly less repairable than the iPhone Air, but Apple is providing day-one repair manuals and Apple's engineers appear to have taken repairability into account when designing the device, so it earned a repairability score of 7 out of 10.

Make sure to watch iFixit's full video to get a better look at the vapor chamber cooling system and the scratching experiments.

Apple may be working on new functionality that would expand what third-party smartwatches are able to do when connected to an iPhone. As noted by Macworld, iOS 26.1 code mentions a Notification Forwarding feature that could be designed for third-party watches.

"Choose Which apps can send notifications to your accessory," reads one line. "Notifications can be forwarded to one accessory at a time. Notifications will not appear on Apple Watch while Notification Forwarding is turned on," reads another line.

There are also references to new accessory pairing features, such as an AccessoryExtension framework for pairing a third-party device with an ‌iPhone‌.

The wording is ambiguous so there's no guarantee that it's applicable to third-party smartwatches, but the European Union's Digital Markets Act requires Apple to provide third-party smartwatches and other devices with access to notifications and other features that are normally reserved for the Apple Watch.

Apple's limited support for devices that compete with the Apple Watch is also one of the U.S. Department of Justice's key arguments in the Apple vs. DoJ antitrust case. The Department of Justice claims that Apple prevents third-party smartwatches from offering Apple Watch-like functionality by denying them the cellular connectivity options the Apple Watch has and restricting them from acting on incoming notifications.

What the DoJ has to say about smartwatch functionality is of interest because Apple has been addressing the claims in the DoJ's lawsuit in the year and a half since it was filed. The DoJ's claim that Apple suppresses cloud streaming games is no longer relevant, for example, because Apple added support for cloud streaming and apps offering mini games in iOS 17.4. The DoJ targeted Apple's delayed support for RCS, but with iOS 18, Apple implemented ‌RCS‌ support for better cross-platform messaging. The DoJ also took issue with Apple's refusal to allow digital payment providers to access the ‌iPhone‌'s NFC chip, and Apple opened up access to NFC in iOS 18.1.

If Notification Forwarding is indeed related to third-party smartwatches, it could be an EU-only function aimed at addressing the Digital Markets Act requirements in the EU, but it could also be a change that Apple plans to implement worldwide.

Early reports have suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are more vulnerable to scratches and scuffs, primarily due to damage spotted at Apple Stores.

Apple customers have discovered that the ‌iPhone Air‌ and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models Apple has out for display at its retail locations have scratching in the area of the MagSafe charger. Those devices are handled by hundreds to thousands of people a day and are also attached to proprietary metal charging stands, so it's been unclear if iPhone models owned by customers will see the same issues.

YouTuber JerryRigEverything did a scratch test over the weekend, and his results suggest there is an area of the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ that's vulnerable to scratching, but it's not where Apple Store iPhones are seeing damage.

The ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models are made from aluminum this year, and Apple uses an anodization process to add color. The process provides a strong, scratch resistant finish that is similar to sapphire in terms of hardness. It's not easily scratched, and JerryRigEverything demonstrated that most of the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s shell is going to hold up well against minor scratches, including the area where the Ceramic Shield 2 cutout is located for ‌MagSafe‌ charging.

Most is the key word when it comes to testing, because there is a vulnerable area. The camera plateau has a sharp, raised edge that is not chamfered, and it is a weak spot where the anodized layer is not well-adhered. The aluminum coating in the camera area does scratch easily.

Items typically found in a pocket, like keys and coins, did not cause damage anywhere on the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌, except at the edges of the camera plateau.

The scratch test results suggest that ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ owners won't have to worry about the kind of scratching seen on ‌iPhone‌ models in Apple retail stores, but the camera is an area of concern. It is likely to get scratched, so if you're worried about that, you might want to use a case to prevent it. The coating on the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models is thin, so more significant drops could cause damage in other areas.

Apple doesn't use the same anodization process for the ‌iPhone Air‌ as it does for the aluminum ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models. Apple has described its titanium coating process in the past, and it uses Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) to deposit a thin layer of colored titanium on the ‌iPhone‌. It's possible the ‌iPhone Air‌ is more vulnerable than the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌, though it is looking like the scratched models in retail stores may have been damaged by the metal on the chargers that Apple uses.

Digital ID, the iOS 26 feature that lets U.S. passport holders add their passports to the Wallet app, is coming later in 2025, Apple confirmed today.

Apple updated the release timing wording of Digital ID on its iOS 26 features page. "Digital ID will be coming later this year with US passports only," it reads.

Prior to today, the footnote for the feature said "Digital ID will be available in a software update with U.S. passports only," with no associated release timeline.

Curiously, Apple removed the mention of a software update, but in all likelihood, Digital ID will be introduced in an iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2 update before the end of the year. Apple has already seeded the first beta of iOS 26.1 to developers and Digital ID support is not included, but it could be added later in the beta testing period.

Digital ID builds on driver's license integration in the Wallet app. It allows U.S. iPhone users to add their passports to Wallet, with the digital passport able to be used in lieu of a physical passport for domestic travel at TSA checkpoints.

As with state driver's licenses and IDs, Digital IDs will work for age and identity verification in apps, retail store locations, and websites. The option to add a passport to Wallet for use as an ID option will expand digital identification features to many more ‌‌iPhone‌‌ users in the U.S., but Apple has not mentioned if the feature will eventually expand to other countries.

After a three-year wait, Apple finally upgraded the Apple Watch SE. The new Apple Watch SE 3 has several features that were previously reserved for more expensive models, but Apple didn't change the price at all.

The ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ supports Always-On display technology, which the SE 2 lacked. You can now glance at the time and see complications without having to wake the watch, which is much more useful. The standard Apple Watch models have had Always-On displays since the Series 5, so it's long overdue for the SE. The Ion-X glass that protects the display is more durable than before, and it is 4x more resistant to cracking.

There's a faster S10 chip inside the ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌, which means it works with the Double Tap and Wrist Flick gestures that have been limited to newer Apple Watch models. Double Tap enables one-handed interactions with notifications, while Wrist Flick lets you dismiss notifications, calls, and more while your hands are full.

On-device Siri works faster thanks to a 4-core Neural Engine, plus ‌Siri‌ can answer health-related queries like giving you your heart rate. The ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ also has double the storage of the SE 2, with 64GB.

Temperature sensing, Sleep Apnea detection, and Sleep Score are all ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ functions that weren't available on the prior-generation version. Temperature tracking is used for women's health features and monitoring vitals, while Sleep Apnea detection detects potential breathing issues at night. Sleep Score assigns a numerical value to your sleep quality, taking into account bedtime, time asleep, and number of times you were woken in the night.

Compared to the more expensive Apple Watch Series 11, the SE line lacks ECGs, blood oxygen sensing, and hypertension notifications. It is also limited to 40mm and 44mm screen sizes, and doesn't have the newer, thinner display that Apple introduced with the Series 10.

Like the Series 11, the SE 3 supports 5G connectivity instead of relying solely on LTE. It is able to charge faster than before, reaching an 80 percent charge in 45 minutes. A 15 minute charge allows for eight hours of normal use, and an eight minute charge is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking.

If you have an Apple Watch SE 2, the ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ is a great upgrade. It's also ideal if you've been waiting to upgrade from an older watch like the Series 4 or the Series 5.

The ‌Apple Watch SE 3‌ is priced starting at $249 for the GPS model, so it's $150 cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 11, which starts at $399.

The European Union is planning to query major tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Booking.com on whether they are doing enough to prevent online financial fraud, reports Financial Times.

European Commission tech leader Henna Virkkunen told Financial Times that the EC will ask the three tech companies for information on their efforts to block online scams that aim to steal money from Europeans. She said that financial scams are a new priority for the EC, with the commission looking to confirm that tech companies "take all their efforts to detect and prevent" fraudulent activity.

Virkkunen plans to look at how Apple and Google handle fake apps in their App Stores, like fake bank apps. Google and Microsoft will be asked about fake search results in Google Search and Bing, while Booking.com will be queried about fake listings.

The EC is just asking for information at this point, but there could be an investigation that leads to fines. The Digital Services Act allows for penalties up to six percent of a company's annual global turnover.

In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said that it has continually improved its antifraud measures to keep consumers safe from ever-evolving fraud tactics. Apple also pointed out the hypocrisy of the EU's fraud investigation when EU law mandates support for alternative app marketplaces that can skirt Apple's antifraud protections.

As digital threats have evolved in scope and complexity over the years, Apple has expanded its antifraud initiatives to address these challenges and protect users. Every day, teams across Apple monitor and investigate fraudulent activity and utilize sophisticated tools to stop bad actors. Unfortunately, the European Commission is undermining our efforts by forcing Apple to allow alternative app distribution and payments, despite warnings that this puts users at greater risk of fraud and scams. While the regulator focuses on issuing misguided and counterproductive threats of investigation and fines, we will continue to advocate for the safety and security of our users.

Apple shares yearly reports on how its App Store review process prevents fraud and keeps consumers safe. In 2024, Apple said that the ‌App Store‌ prevented over $2 billion in fraudulent transactions. Over 146,000 developer accounts were terminated over fraud concerns, and 1.9 million ‌App Store‌ submissions were rejected due to security, reliability, and user experience concerns, including privacy violations and fraud concerns.

In the European Union, Apple is required to support third-party app marketplaces that allow consumers to install apps outside of the ‌App Store‌. Apple has a Notarization process that checks apps for "egregious fraud," but there are far fewer rules that non-App Store apps have to follow. Apple has continuously argued that the Digital Markets Act and alternative app marketplaces in the EU expose users to fraud and weaken Apple's security standards.

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.

Disney is increasing the price of Disney+, with the cost of the subscription service set to increase starting on October 21, 2025. Bundles that include Disney+ will also be more expensive.

The Disney+ ad-supported plan is currently priced at $9.99 per month, but the price is going up to $11.99 per month. The ad-free Premium plan is $15.99 per month, but it will be increasing to $18.99 per month.

• Disney+ With Ads - $11.99, up from $9.99
• Disney+ Ad-Free - $18.99, up from $15.99
• Disney+, Hulu Bundle (Ads) - $12.99, up from $10.99
• Disney+, Hulu Bundle (No Ads) - $19.99 (No Change)
• Disney+, ESPN, Hulu Bundle (Ads) - $19.99, up from $16.99
• Disney+(No Ads), Hulu (No Ads), ESPN Select (Ads) - $29.99, up from $26.99
• Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (Ads), ESPN Select (Ads) - $24.99, up from $21.99
• Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Basic (Ads) - $19.99, up from $16.99
• Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Basic (No Ads) - $32.99, up from $29.99

Pricing on the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited bundles is not changing at this time, nor is pricing for the Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL+ Premium plans.

Disney last increased the price of Disney+ in October 2024, so prices are going up again after just a year. Prior to October 2024, Disney+ ad-free was $13.99 per month and Disney+ with ads was $7.99 per month.

After Disney raised its prices in October 2024 and started cracking down on password sharing, it lost 700,000 subscribers. It is a curious time for Disney to implement a Disney+ price increase given the recent reaction to Disney's decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel's show off of the air.

Last week, Disney-owned network ABC said that Jimmy Kimmel Live would no longer be aired, leading to a social media campaign encouraging subscribers to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions. Disney reversed its decision following the backlash, but the price increase could prevent some subscribers from returning to the service.

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.

Apple's thin and light iPhone Air is built with a durable titanium frame, and as we've seen demonstrated, it is highly resistant to bending even though it's only 5.6mm thick. Less has been shared about its drop protection, but device insurance provider Allstate Protection Plans today shared the results of its annual iPhone drop test. The drop test provides insight into the durability of both the ‌iPhone Air‌ and the iPhone 17 Pro models.

The ‌iPhone Air‌ and the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ use Ceramic Shield 2 instead of glass for both the front and back, which Apple says is better able to hold up to drops and scratches. The ‌iPhone Air‌ has the titanium frame, while the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ has an aluminum frame. The ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s design uses more aluminum than before, with just a rectangular Ceramic Shield cutout at the back for MagSafe charging.

In bend tests, the ‌iPhone Air‌ performed almost as well as the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌. The ‌iPhone Air‌ was able to withstand 190 pounds of pressure before it bent, while the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ withstood 200 pounds of pressure. The ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max performed even better, only bending at the 240 pound mark.

The ‌iPhone‌ 6, best known as the "bendgate" ‌iPhone‌, was able to be bent at 110 pounds of pressure.

In face-down drop tests, the ‌iPhone Air‌ and the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s displays shattered from a six-foot fall. The iPhones remained functional, but the Ceramic Shield 2 material was too sharp to use with bare hands.

The ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s aluminum frame protected it from damage during a back-down drop test, and it only received minor scuffs at the six-foot mark. The ‌iPhone Air‌'s less durable design resulted in a rear panel crack when it was dropped, but it was still usable.

Last year, the iPhone 16 Pro Max display shattered and the device was unusable after a six-foot face-down drop. In the back-down drop test, the rear glass shattered after a single drop and it wasn't safe to use because of broken glass. This year's ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models are much more durable than the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models, and that improved durability does carry over to the ‌iPhone Air‌. It's not quite as resistant to drops as the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌, but it performed better than the ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro models.

Allstate used to do dunk tests, but ‌iPhone‌ models have such good water resistance at this point that it's no longer worthwhile. The ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models and the ‌iPhone Air‌ continue to offer IP68 water and dust resistance. IP68 means the iPhones can survive 19 feet under water for up to 30 minutes.

Since Allstate always performs its drop tests in the same way, with the same apparatus, and from the same height, it's a useful way to see year-over-year changes in drop resistance. It looks like Apple's claims of improved durability are accurate, though Ceramic Shield 2 is still a glass-like material that has the potential to break.

In a real-life situation, the angle of an ‌iPhone‌'s drop, the drop height, and the surface that it lands on will impact the outcome of a fall, and it's still a good idea to have a protective case or a protection plan like AppleCare+.

While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead.

Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors.

Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's plans can change.

Smaller Dynamic Island

The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will not feature under-screen Face ID, according to the Weibo account Instant Digital.

There were conflicting rumors about whether the iPhone 17 Pro models would have a smaller Dynamic Island, but its size did not change. Now, the rumor is back on the table for the iPhone 18 series, and there is a decent chance it will be true this time around, as it would be a stepping stone towards the rumored 20th-anniversary all-glass iPhone.

Under-screen Face ID, however, is no longer expected until the iPhone 19 Pro models or later.

Instant Digital has around 1.5 million followers on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform. The account has accurately leaked information about future Apple products in the past, such as the iPhone 17 Pro models featuring a vapor chamber cooling system, the Yellow finish for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Titanium Milanese Loop. However, the account does not have a perfect track record, and some of the other iPhone 17 rumors it shared in recent months did not materialize.

'Translucent' MagSafe Area

Overall, the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a similar design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to Digital Chat Station, a previously-accurate leaker with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

The leaker said the devices will have the same rear camera system design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a "plateau" housing three lenses in a triangular arrangement. They also expect the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes used since the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Notably, the leaker claimed that the Ceramic Shield area on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro models will feature a "slightly transparent design," without elaborating.

Perhaps this just means the Ceramic Shield cutout on the back of the iPhone 18 Pro models will have a more frosted appearance than it does on the iPhone 17 Pro models, but we will have to wait for additional rumors to surface for clarification.

Variable Aperture

The main 48-megapixel Fusion camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models will offer variable aperture, according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

With variable aperture, users would be able to control the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens and reaches the sensor. The main cameras on all of the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro models have a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, and the lens is always fully open and shooting with this widest aperture. With the iPhone 18 Pro models, users would be able to manually change the aperture, according to this rumor.

A variable aperture on iPhone 18 Pro models should provide users with greater control over depth of field, which refers to how sharp a subject appears in the foreground compared to the background. However, given that iPhones have smaller image sensors due to size constraints, it is unclear exactly how meaningful this improvement would be.

None of the iPhone 17 Pro cameras offer variable aperture.

Other Rumors

• A20 Pro chip fabricated with TSMC's latest 2nm process, for more significant year-over-year performance improvements
• Apple's custom-designed C2 modem, with mmWave 5G support in the United States
• A redesigned Camera Control button, with a focus on pressure-sensitive controls, rather than swipe gestures

Read our iPhone 18 roundup for more information.

Apple today announced that four additional games will be added to the Apple Arcade library throughout October, including NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition.

On Thursday, October 2, three existing App Store games will be added to Apple Arcade, including the classic tile-matching game Dominoes by MobilityWare, puzzle game Piffle by Hipster Whale, and kids game Thomas & Friends: Let's Roll by StoryToys.

NBA 2K26 Arcade Edition arrives to Apple Arcade on Thursday, October 16, ahead of the NBA's 2025-26 regular season, which begins Tuesday, October 21. In the latest version of the game, you can relive the greatest eras in the NBA's history with the new "NBA Eras" option in The Association mode. And in MyCAREER mode, there are new player templates, so you can build players that look just like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or other stars.

As always, team rosters have been updated, too.

Apple Arcade is a subscription service that provides access to hundreds of games across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. All of the games are free of ads and in-app purchases. In the U.S., Apple Arcade costs $6.99 per month, and it is also bundled with other Apple services in all Apple One plans.

Apple Arcade can be accessed through the App Store, and in the new Apple Games app.

The iPhone 16e joined the lineup as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone 16 earlier this year. Despite sharing most of their features, there are still more than 25 differences between the devices to be aware of.

Following the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup and the iPhone Air, Apple discontinued the iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone‌ 15 Plus, and bumped the ‌iPhone 16‌ and ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus down in price by $100.

This means that the ‌iPhone 16e‌ and ‌iPhone 16‌ now represent the two cheapest ‌iPhone‌ options available directly from Apple, with just $100 between them. To justify this, the ‌iPhone 16e‌ misses out on features such as the Dynamic Island and MagSafe connectivity. However, it still features the A18 chip with Apple Intelligence support, the same main rear camera, and more. Here's everything that's different:

‌iPhone 16e‌ (2025)	‌iPhone 16‌ and ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus (2024)
"Notch"	‌Dynamic Island‌
Ceramic Shield front	Latest-generation Ceramic Shield front
6.1-inch display	6.1- or 6.7-inch display
800 nits max brightness (typical)	1,000 nits max brightness (typical)
1,200 nits peak brightness (HDR)	1,600 nits peak brightness (HDR)
	2,000 nits peak brightness (outdoor)
	1 nit minimum brightness
Glass back	Color-infused glass back
Available in White and Black	Available in White, Black, Ultramarine, Teal, and Pink
	Camera Control
	12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera
1x or 2x optical zoom options	0.5x, 1x, or 2x optical zoom options
Optical image stabilization	Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
Portrait mode with Depth Control	Next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control
Photographic Styles	Latest-generation Photographic Styles
	Macro photography
	Spatial photos and videos
	Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field (up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps)
	Action mode
A18 chip with 4-core GPU	A18 chip with 5-core GPU
Apple C1 modem	Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem
	mmWave 5G connectivity
Wi‑Fi 6 connectivity	Wi-Fi 7 connectivity
	Thread connectivity
	Ultra Wideband chip for Precision Finding
26-hour battery life	22 or 27-hour battery life
Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W	Qi 2 wireless charging up to 15W
	‌MagSafe‌ wireless charging up to 25W with 30W adapter or higher
	Compatible with ‌MagSafe‌ cases, wallets, wireless chargers, and more
128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage	iPhone 16: 128GB iPhone 16 Plus: 128GB or 256GB
Starts at $599	Starts at $699

At a markedly more accessible price point, the ‌iPhone 16e‌ will be the go-to ‌iPhone‌ for many customers, especially those buying on a budget. Unlike the ‌iPhone‌ SE that came before it, the ‌iPhone 16e‌ has very few compromises and offers almost all of the ‌iPhone 16‌'s most important features. In fact, it has considerably better battery life, partly thanks to Apple's custom modem technology, which is also now used in the ‌iPhone Air‌.

Some customers will not care about the lack of an Ultra Wide camera, camera control, additional color options, or Wi-Fi 7. The ‌iPhone 16e‌ is a newer device and many will not be able to justify the extra $100 to upgrade to the

However, the lack of ‌MagSafe‌, a brighter display, the ‌Dynamic Island‌, and a large array of camera capabilities may be a dealbreaker for some. Those who want a little more out of their ‌iPhone‌, especially when it comes to the rear camera, should consider the ‌iPhone 16‌ over the ‌iPhone 16e‌.

That being said, most prospective customers should likely opt for the ‌iPhone 16e‌ over the pricier ‌iPhone 16‌, unless the larger display of the ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus is essential.