All of the iPhone 17 models coming later this year will feature two display upgrades, according to information shared by Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
First, the account said that the entire iPhone 17 series will feature thinner bezels. Apple says the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max feature the thinnest bezels around the screen of any product it has ever released, and those ultra-thin bezels should now expand from the Pro models to the lower-end iPhone 17 and "iPhone 17 Air" models.
Second, the account said that the iPhone 17 models will feature a new Dynamic Island user interface, but they did not elaborate. It may be that, on the software side, iOS 26 introduces a redesigned Dynamic Island exclusively on all iPhone 17 models. On the hardware side, a smaller Dynamic Island cutout has been rumored, but rumors have conflicted about whether it will debut on the iPhone 17 models this year or on the iPhone 18 models next year.
Digital Chat Station has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past, but these are still just rumors for the time being.
Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, so we will learn more about these rumored changes and more in less than two months from now.
The Apple Maps app in iOS 26 includes some useful new features for keeping track of where you've been and getting alerts if there are any delays that will impact your daily commute. In this guide, we've rounded up a list of everything new with Maps.
Visited Places
Apple Maps is able to keep track of the places that you've visited, either in your hometown or while traveling. It can track the restaurants, shops, parks, and landmarks that you go to, so you can look back and remember where you've been.
Google has long offered a timeline that automatically saves visits to places, and Apple's new Visited Places option matches the functionality available in the Google Maps Timeline.
After you upgrade to iOS 26, the Maps app pops up an alert letting you know about the new feature, so that you can opt in or opt out.
You can see your Visited Places by opening up the Maps app, tapping on your profile picture, tapping on Places, and then tapping into Visited Places. In this interface, the locations that you've visited are listed by month, plus there's a search option.
There are options to change how long visits are kept (three months, one year, and forever), and to clear your current history. You can also remove locations one-by-one by tapping on them, and report incorrect location readings. When you clear your history, Apple Maps pops up an option that lets you clear everything or clear everything and turn off Visited Places entirely.
If you want to turn Visited Places off or enable it at a later date, you can do so by going to Settings > Apps > Maps > Location. From there, toggle off Visited Places. You can also access the toggle by going to Privacy and Security > Location Services > Maps.
Precise Location needs to be toggled on for Visited Places to work, and places that you've been are stored on-device. The information is not uploaded to Apple's servers.
Preferred Routes
Using on-device intelligence, Apple Maps is able to learn the routes that you prefer to take to locations that you visit frequently, such as work, home, and school, and it keeps track of when you typically visit those places.
If there's a road closure or traffic that's going to impact your commute, the Maps app is able to alert you about the issue and offer up an alternative route so you can get there on time.
A Maps Suggestions Home Screen widget shows the same information if there are any route issues. This is an under-the-hood feature that only shows up when it's needed, so if you have a short commute that doesn't involve roads that frequently see traffic, you might not have it pop up.
You can turn it on or off by going to Settings > Maps > Location and toggling off the "Preferred Routes and Predicted Destinations" setting.
Liquid Glass Redesign
The Maps app has adopted Apple's Liquid Glass redesign, and it brings some subtle interface changes. The search bar and navigation menu are translucent so you can see some of the Maps background behind it, and place icons are larger than before.
Icons have the layered glass look, and the various menus, cards, and buttons are more rounded than before. The Share Sheet has a popover design and it too is transparent.
The Library tab that was accessible when you tap your profile picture is now called Places, and it has improved spacing and a new Visited Places section.
Turn-by-turn directions are in a smaller pop-up bar rather than taking up the top of the Maps display, and time of arrival, length of travel, and distance are shown more prominently.
Voice Controls
The Voice Volume section in the Maps app is now Voice Controls, and there are added toggles for Muted, Alerts Only, or Unmuted so adjusting how turn-by-turn directions are communicated is more intuitive.
These controls did exist in iOS 18, but only as toggles that had no explanation on the right side of the display when turn-by-turn directions are in progress.
Place Information
When you tap into or type a location on the Maps app, the Call, Menu, and Website buttons are now more prominently listed at the top of the interface, as are the location's hours and the order option if one is available. There's now a floating button to get directions to a place, and it's always available at the bottom right of the app.
Improved Incident Reports
It's easier to report an incident like a crash with a new incident button that's located on the right side of the iPhone when getting turn-by-turn directions, and more incident types have been added.
You can report a crash, speed check, traffic, roadwork, hazard, or road closure. In iOS 18, options are limited to crash, speed check, and hazard.
Read More
We have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup that goes into detail on all of the new features that are available in the update.
ASUS is planning to release its 32-inch 6K ProArt Display PA32QCV in August, with the device set to compete with Apple's Pro Display XDR and Studio Display. The upcoming ProArt Display was first announced at CES in January, but it's finally ready to launch.
The display has a 6016 x 3384 resolution, and ASUS says it offers Delta E>2 color accuracy, 98 percent DCI-P3 gamut, and 218 pixels per inch. Displays are calibrated at the factory for color accuracy, and there is a Mac-specific P3 color preset option for consistent colors on Macs. Macs can use the ASUS DisplayWidget Center for quick adjustments to brightness, contrast, and color temperature, and when a Mac is connected to the display, the display's brightness can be controlled with the built-in Mac brightness button.
Apple's Pro Display XDR features the same resolution and pixel density as the ASUS 6K ProArt Display, and ASUS promises text that's "sharp and easy to read," along with "enhanced visual clarity" for creative professionals. The ProArt Display supports HDR10 and VESA DisplayHDR 600 for bright whites and dark blacks, providing "exceptional contrast."
Multiple sensors ensure the display remains bright and at the right color temperature, with an ambient light sensor adjusting color gamut based on ambient lighting. ASUS added an anti-glare "LuxPixel" technology that minimizes reflections without compromising display quality.
Auto KVM is included for switching between and controlling two connected Macs or PCs with a single keyboard and mouse, and the display includes Thunderbolt 4 support and 96W power delivery for charging connected laptops like the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. There are multiple ports available in addition to dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, including HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, two USB-A ports, a passthrough port for headphones, a USB-C port for KVM Switch, and an additional downstream USB-C port.
Compared to the Pro Display XDR, the 6K ProArt Display has lower standard, peak, and sustained brightness, lower contrast, no local dimming, slightly less color accuracy, and no reference modes, but it is much more affordable and offers some of the same tilt and swivel adjustment options. There are also speakers, but no built-in webcam.
ASUS says that the ProArt Display PA32QCV will launch in late August, and it will be priced at $1,299.
The battery capacity of Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air will be below the 3,000 mAh mark, according to a recent post from Instant Digital, an account with more than 1.4 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Thanks to iOS 26's new Adaptive Power Mode, though, the account said that the iPhone 17 Air should achieve full-day battery life.
A previous rumor pegged the iPhone 17 Air's battery capacity at around 2,800 mAh, which would indeed be below the 3,000 mAh mark.
Some of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models were the last with battery capacities at or below the 3,000 mAh mark. Of course, you can only directly compare mAh values when the batteries have the same voltage, with Wh a preferred unit of measurement. iPhone batteries typically do have the same voltage, allowing for mAh comparisons.
A few months ago, The Information's Wayne Ma reported that the iPhone 17 Air would have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models, due to the device's rumored ultra-thin 5.5mm design limiting internal space for a battery.
In internal testing, Apple determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to that report. For other iPhone models, the report said that metric is apparently between 80% and 90%.
To mitigate this problem, the report said that Apple is planning to release a battery case as an optional accessory for the iPhone 17 Air.
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we catch up on all of the latest rumors about Apple's first foldable iPhone amid a multitude of reports about the device and its launch firming up for next year.
Apple's foray into foldable smartphones has been rumored for many years, but it looks like the rumors will finally come to fruition next year. Full-scale prototyping of the device reportedly began last month, Samsung has begun production on the OLED displays destined for the foldable, and it is now believed to be on track to reach launch alongside the iPhone 18 lineup in 2026.
The first foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, a unique hinge system, two rear cameras (wide and ultra wide), one front-facing camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID.
It is likely to be 4.5mm or so when unfolded, and between 9mm and 9.5mm when folded. For comparison, the latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 4.2mm when unfolded, and 8.9mm when folded. It also features three rear cameras, instead of Apple's anticipated two.
However, Apple is apparently seeking to outdo Samsung with a "crease-free" display thanks to an innovative design that uses a metal plate to disperse and control the stress generated by bending the display. This would be an industry first.
It is expected to cost $1,800 to $2,000. Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $1,999.99. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.
If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about Apple's roadmap for new Vision headsets and smart glasses over the next few years.
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.
This week's best deals include all-time low prices on AirPods 4 and Apple Watch SE, plus great deals on the M4 MacBook Air and Apple Pencil Pro.
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Amazon this week has brought back the all-time low Prime Day prices on Apple's AirPods 4, available for $89.99, down from $129.00, and the AirPods 4 with ANC for $119.99, down from $179.00.
The Apple Pencil Pro is still available for $99.00 this week on Amazon, down from $129.00, which remains the best price we've tracked to date.
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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Apple's existing store in the mall will be permanently closing on Thursday, July 24, at 6 p.m. local time, according to the company. The new store replacing it will hold its grand opening on Saturday, July 26 at 9 a.m. local time.
Apple first opened a store at Touchwood Solihull in 2007, so it has been serving customers there for nearly 18 years. The new store will have a modern design, with Apple now preferring to use engineered wood as its primary material of choice, rather than stainless steel. The new store is significantly larger than the current one, and it will likely be equipped with an Apple Pickup station for customers to collect online orders.
The new store will be located directly across the hall from Apple's existing location, in the Crescent Arcade section of the mall. Apple is taking over a unit previously occupied by Topshop, next to clothing retailer Superdry.
Earlier this year, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared multiple videos showing off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be called iOS 19 and which was eventually unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June.
While the Camera app redesign didn't exactly match what Apple unveiled for iOS 26, the general idea was correct and much of what else Prosser showed was pretty close to spot on, and Apple clearly took notice as the company filed a lawsuit today (Scribd link) against Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti for misappropriation of trade secrets.
Apple's complaint outlines what it claims is the series of events that led to the leaks, which centered around a development iPhone in the possession of Ramacciotti's friend and Apple employee Ethan Lipnik. According to Apple, Prosser and Ramacciotti plotted to access Lipnik's phone, acquiring his passcode and then using location-tracking to determine when he "would be gone for an extended period." Prosser reportedly offered financial compensation to Ramacciotti in return for assisting with accessing the development iPhone.
Apple says Ramacciotti accessed Lipnik's development iPhone and made a FaceTime call to Prosser, showing off iOS 26 running on the development iPhone, and that Prosser recorded the call with screen capture tools. Prosser then shared those videos with others and used them to make re-created renders of iOS 26 for his videos.
Lipnik's phone contained a "significant amount of additional Apple trade secret information that has not yet been publicly disclosed," and Apple says it does not know how much of that information is in the possession of Prosser and Ramacciotti.
In order to protect its trade secrets, Apple has filed the lawsuit to request an injunction against further disclosure of Apple's confidential trade secret information and is seeking damages over the misappropriation of them.
Lipnik's employment with Apple has already been terminated over his failure to follow the company's policies to protect development and unreleased devices and software. Lipnik also failed to disclose the breach to Apple once he learned of it through others who recognized his apartment in the recorded FaceTime call, with Apple learning of the details from an anonymous email.
Update 8:55 pm: In replies to our tweet about this story, Prosser takes issue with Apple's presentation of the events, claiming he was "unaware of the situation playing out" and saying he is "looking forward to being able to speak to Apple about it."
For the record: I certainly did not “plot” to access anyone’s phone and was unaware of the situation playing out.
— jon prosser (@jon_prosser) July 18, 2025
After poaching one of Apple's top artificial intelligence executives with a $200 million pay package to lure him away from the company, Meta has now hired two of his subordinates, Bloomberg reports.
Apple's Mark Lee and Tom Gunter are set to join Meta's Superintelligence Labs team, a newly established division tasked with building advanced AI systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.
Earlier this month, Ruoming Pang joined Meta. Until recently, he led Apple's foundation models team. Models developed by Pang's team are used for Apple Intelligence features like email summaries, Priority Notifications, and Genmoji. Lee was Pang's first hire at Apple, while Gunter was apparently known as one of the team's most senior members.
Meta has been spending heavily on new staff and engineers to keep up with advancements from OpenAI and Google. Apple is reportedly now offering some engineers raises in an effort to retain them, but they are still substantially less than Meta's offers.
Bloomberg notes that the three departures "reflect the continuing turmoil at the Apple Foundation Models team." Apple is now believed to be considering a major change of strategy by using external models from the likes of OpenAI or Anthropic to power Siri and other Apple Intelligence features due to the shortcomings of its own models.
Apple is simultaneously developing versions with both its own models and third-party technology, and has not yet decided which to use as the foundation for Apple Intelligence beginning next year.
NBC-owned streaming service Peacock is increasing its prices, and the ad-supported plan will soon be $3 more expensive. According to Variety, Peacock's ad-supported plan will be priced at $10.99 per month starting on July 23.
The Premium Plus plan that features limited ads in live programming is also increasing in price from $13.99 to $16.99. Yearly pricing for the Premium plan will be $110, and the Premium Plus yearly price will be $170.
This is the third price increase that Peacock has introduced in the last three years, and Variety claims that NBCUniversal executives believe that the service is underpriced compared to competing streaming services.
At $11 per month, Peacock's ad-supported tier will be more expensive than ad-supported options from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. Peacock is testing a lower-priced "Select" plan that features NBC and Bravo current seasons and a limited number of library titles. The plan will be priced at $7.99 per month.
While price increases will hit new subscribers on July 23, existing subscribers can expect to have to pay the higher fees starting after August 22 depending on their next billing date.
Apple Arcade is celebrating SpongeBob SquarePants this month, and several Apple Arcade titles will be updated with special SpongeBob-themed events.
Snake.io+ [App Store] and Crossy Road Castle [App Store] will temporarily gain SpongeBob characters. In Snake.io+, players can play underwater levels to unlock skins inspired by SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and Plankton. The event launches today, and will last until August 25.
In Crossy Road Castle, players can race through 40 Bikini Bottom-themed levels, playing as SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, or Sandy. Players are tasked with collecting Krabby Patties and avoiding jellyfish. The Krabby Patty Kollectathon event starts on July 21, and the Jellyfish Jam that runs August 4 through August 17 will follow.
Dedicated Apple Arcade SpongeBob Game SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit is also getting a new endless mode that features increasingly difficult levels with no checkpoints and no extra lives.
Apple Arcade features more than 200 games, many of which receive regular updates. The service is priced at $6.99 per month, and it has no ads or in-app purchases.
Today is World Emoji Day, and Emojipedia's dedicated Emojitracker has a real-time list of the emoji that are most popular in the United States and other countries. Here are the top 10 most popular emoji in the U.S.:
The red heart is the number one emoji across all countries, followed by the checkmark, fire, sparkles, loudly crying face, and skull.
Emojipedia's Emojitracker tool shows the most popular 1,000 emoji globally and across select countries like the United States, UK, India, Brazil, Philippines, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.
The tool used to aggregate data from Twitter, but it now tracks the emoji that are copied from Emojipedia and the GetEmoji websites in real time.
With iOS 26, Apple will introduce a new emoji-inspired Genmoji feature that will let users combine two or more emoji characters together to generate a new image that can be used in Messages conversations.
OpenAI today launched ChatGPT agent, a new agentic model that is able to think proactively and complete computer-based tasks on the user's behalf.
The ChatGPT agent is in the same family as o3. It combines several existing ChatGPT features, and it can do things like research and generate reports, execute code using Terminal, generate slides and spreadsheets, and connect to external data sources and applications.
OpenAI gives several examples of how ChatGPT agent can be used:
Look at my calendar and brief me on upcoming client meetings based on recent news.
Plan and buy ingredients to make Japanese breakfast for four.
Analyze three competitors and create a slide deck.
The ChatGPT agent uses its own virtual computer, and it will navigate websites, filter results, prompt users to log into websites when needed, and deliver summaries of its findings. It is designed to seek permission before taking any "actions of consequence," and OpenAI says that users can interrupt tasks to add extra instructions, and stop tasks at any point.
ChatGPT agent is rolling out starting today for Pro, Plus, and Team users. Just select "agent mode" from the dropdown menu in the composer during a conversation. ChatGPT users are able to transition between conversations and action requests within the same chat.
Pro users will get access by the end of today, while Plus and Team users will get access over the next few days. OpenAI plans to add the functionality for Enterprise and Education users in the coming weeks. Pro users have access to 400 messages per month, and other paid users will get 40 messages monthly with additional usage available through flexible credit-based options.
The updated Vimeo app has been rebuilt, and it is available on Apple TV units that are running tvOS 18 or higher. The Vimeo app supports discovering, searching for, and watching videos that have been uploaded to Vimeo.
It includes a Library, and Watch Later list, and a section for On Demand purchases, as well as Staff Picks. Enhanced playback with chapters, speed controls, and multi-language options, and 4K support is available.
While the Vimeo app was missing from the Apple TV App Store, Vimeo users had to AirPlay from the Vimeo app on an iPhone or an iPad to watch videos on a bigger display. Vimeo says that its community has been asking for the return of the Apple TV app for watching premium, ad-free content.
Vimeo is free to use, but it offers paid Starter, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise plans starting at $20 per month for video creators.
In an interview this week with CNBC's Alex Sherman, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that Apple, NBC, and ESPN have each bid on the media rights to MLB's "Sunday Night Baseball" package, for the 2026 through 2028 seasons.
Manfred said he plans to choose a winning bidder for "Sunday Night Baseball" within the month, and the rights could be split up between two bidders.
ESPN held the rights to "Sunday Night Baseball" through the 2028 season, but the network and MLB mutually opted out of the $550-million contract earlier this year, so ESPN's rights now expire after the 2025 season. Apple is now looking to pick up those final three seasons, along with NBC, and even ESPN is looking to renegotiate a deal.
Apple TV+ already streams MLB's Friday Night Baseball games, and the service could offer Sunday Night Baseball too if Apple wins the rights.
Following the 2028 season, all regional and national MLB media rights will be expired, and the league is hoping to table a bigger all-in-one package of rights. Apple would likely be very interested in such a package, as it would allow the company to offer an MLB equivalent of MLS Season Pass through the Apple TV app. However, MLB is much bigger than MLS, so it remains to be seen if MLB would be willing to go all-in with Apple.
In celebration of World Emoji Day, the Unicode Consortium this week confirmed the new emoji characters that will be added to Unicode 17 in the fall.
Emoji characters that are coming include trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature (aka Bigfoot or Sasquatch), fight cloud, apple core, orca, landslide, and ballet dancers.
After Unicode 17 is released later this year, artists at Apple will begin creating new emoji characters in the Apple emoji style. It takes several months for Apple to introduce new emoji after a Unicode update, so we can expect to see these characters next spring.
Apple will add the emoji to an iOS 26 update next year, likely in iOS 26.4. Apple most recently added new emoji in iOS 18.4, an update that came out in late March.
iOS 18.4 introduced the Unicode 16 emoji, which included bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.
The Unicode Consortium releases Unicode updates on a yearly basis, adding new emoji characters each time. Anyone can submit an emoji proposal that the Consortium will consider.
It looks like Apple's foldable iPhone will have some "crease-free" competition.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Samsung's next-generation Galaxy Z Fold 8 will use the same laser-drilled metal display plate as the foldable iPhone, with the component to be supplied by South Korean company Fine M-Tec.
Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 still has a visible crease in the middle of its inner screen. However, Kuo said that Apple's stricter crease-free requirement for the foldable iPhone has essentially raised the bar for foldable devices, so it sounds like next year's Galaxy Z Fold 8 will feature a "crease-free" screen as well.
Earlier this week, Kuo said the laser-drilled metal plate can disperse the stress generated by bending, allowing for a "crease-free" screen.
The foldable iPhone's inner screen will be supplied by Samsung, according to Kuo, but it is the Fine M-Tec plate that will enable the "crease-free" feat.
Kuo said Apple is aiming to start mass production of the foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026, so the device should finally launch next year. He expects the device to have a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID.
Apple today shared a new iPhone 16 ad that highlights the Clean Up feature that's available in the Photos app. In the spot, a man snaps a photo of a woman with her cat, and then removes the cat from the image using Clean Up.
Both the cat and the woman are upset with the change, so he undoes it, demonstrating the reversible nature of the feature.
Clean Up is an Apple Intelligence tool that is able to remove unwanted and distracting objects from a photo. It is accessible through the editing interface in the Photos app. You can swipe over whatever you want removed in an image, and the Clean Up tool will do its best to replace it by cloning the background and other elements of the photo.
Apple Intelligence is available on the iPhone 15 Pro models, the iPhone 16 models, and it will be available on the upcoming iPhone 17 models.
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