Apple's annual Back to School offer for university students and educational staff is now available in many European countries, after initially launching in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates last month.
Apple's online educational store is now showing the limited-time promotional offer in a long list of countries. With the purchase of an iPad, MacBook, or iMac, students can receive an accessory such as the Apple Pencil Pro, AirPods 4, or AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation for free. Alternatively, for a fee, customers can upgrade to a pricier accessory while retaining their overall saving.
The available accessories, savings, and supplementary costs are as follows (UK pricing):
iPad
Apple Pencil Pro (£119.00 savings)
AirPods 4 (£129.00 savings)
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (£129.00 savings, after paying additional £50.00 fee)
AirPods Pro 2 (£129.00 savings, after paying additional £100.00 fee)
Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 11-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £130.00 fee)
Magic Keyboard for iPad Air 13-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £160.00 fee)
Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 11-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £160.00 fee)
Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 13-inch (£119.00 savings, after paying additional £210.00 fee)
MacBook
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (£179.00 savings)
AirPods Pro 2 (£179.00 savings, after paying additional £50.00 fee)
Magic Mouse (£79.00–£99.00 savings)
Magic Trackpad (£129.00–£149.00 savings)
Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (£179.00–£199.00 savings)
iMac
AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (£179.00 savings)
AirPods Pro 2 (£179.00 savings, after paying additional £50.00 fee)
The offer is now live in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and a few other countries and territories in Europe, as well as in Türkiye.
The free accessory is included in addition to Apple's standard year-round 10% educational discount on select Mac and iPad models. In Europe, the promotion ends on October 21. In the U.S., it ends on September 30.
Following the introduction of Samsung's latest foldables yesterday, Apple today began accepting three new flagship Android devices for trade-in.
The three devices are previous-generation flagship models. As indicated on Apple's trade-in webpage, their values are as follows:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Up to $405
Samsung Galaxy S24: Up to $290
Google Pixel 8 Pro: Up to $205
Prices for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S23, Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and Google Pixel 7 Pro remain the same at up to $330, $180, $135, and $120, respectively.
OpenAI is planning to introduce a web browser that would be available as an alternative to Safari and Google Chrome, reports Reuters. The AI-powered web browser is "close" to being ready to launch, and it will debut in the coming weeks.
The OpenAI browser will use artificial intelligence to change how consumers browse the web, and it will give OpenAI access to the very web search data that has allowed Google Chrome to remain the top browser option. OpenAI has asked for Google's search data to improve SearchGPT in the past, but Google refused.
Google parent company Alphabet uses information sourced from its Chrome browser to better target ads to customers, plus Chrome is a quick way to ensure that people use Google Search. OpenAI already has SearchGPT, so a browser that integrates its search product is a next logical step.
The browser that OpenAI is developing will keep some user interactions inside a ChatGPT-style interface rather than directing users to click through to websites. It could also include OpenAI's AI agent products like Operator, allowing the browser to complete tasks like making reservations or filling out forms at the direction of the user.
Back in April, an OpenAI executive said that the company would be interested in purchasing the Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell it as part of an antitrust remedy.
Since at least July 4, Apple Maps has failed to treat the privately-owned Highway 407 ETR in the Toronto, Canada area as a toll road, according to complaints from affected users. This issue is not limited to any particular device or software version, with users experiencing the problem across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and web.
As a result of this issue, local Apple Maps users who have turned on the "Avoid Tolls" setting may still be routed onto the Highway 407 ETR when using turn-by-turn directions. This can prove to be a very costly mistake, as the highway is notoriously expensive, with rates of up to 85 cents (CAD) per kilometer traveled for passenger vehicles.
MacRumors was able to reproduce the issue, and alerted Apple to the matter shortly before publishing, so hopefully a fix is implemented soon.
As of June 1 this year, the Ontario government stopped collecting tolls on the provincially-owned segment of Highway 407, which runs immediately east of the privately-owned ETR segment, as one continuous highway. Apple likely updated its Maps app to reflect this change, but mistakenly treated the entire Highway 407 as a toll-free road.
With the issue now receiving media coverage, it should be in the rearview mirror soon enough.
Apple is able to wirelessly update iPhones that are still in the box using a proprietary system called "Presto," and now 9to5Mac claims that the technology is going to be expanded to the Mac.
With Presto, Apple Store employees can place a sealed iPhone box on the Presto shelf. The iPhone then turns on, and the software the iPhone is running is updated to the latest available version. The process takes between 15 and 30 minutes, and it allows iPhones be updated to Apple's newest software before being sold to a customer.
There are hints of a similar Presto option for the Mac in the third beta of macOS Tahoe. As with the iPhone, Macs could be updated to the newest software ahead of when they're sold, which would prevent customers from having to do day-one updates after purchasing a product.
It's not clear how a Presto for Mac feature would work, given that the iPhone version relies on NFC and Macs don't have an NFC chip inside, nor is it known when the functionality could roll out to Apple's retail stores.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed Safari Technology Preview to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser.
Safari Technology Preview 223 includes fixes and updates for CSS, JavaScript, Rendering, SVG, Text, Web API, Web Extensions, and Web Inspector.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is compatible with machines running macOS Sequoia and macOS Tahoe, the newest version of macOS that's set to launch this later this year.
The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser from Apple’s website. Complete release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.
Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while it is designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download and use.
U.S. trade director Peter Navarro took aim at Apple again today, causing the company's stock to briefly drop. In an interview with Fox Business, Navarro said that Apple thinks that it is "too big to tariff," suggesting that Apple might be expecting a tariff exemption that won't be coming.
Earlier this week, Navarro targeted Apple in a CNBC interview criticizing Tim Cook for failing to move Apple manufacturing from China to the United States. Navarro accused Cook of delaying the manufacturing shift, and called it "the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley." Navarro claimed that Cook is not moving fast enough to meet Trump's demands for U.S.-based manufacturing.
Navarro went on to say that it is "inconceivable" that Apple is not able to manufacture the iPhone elsewhere.
Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China. I mean, it's the longest running soap opera in Silicon Valley. And my problem with Tim Cook is he never takes the steps to actually do that. And with all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it's inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country.
Apple is facing steep tariffs in China and other countries as the Trump administration renegotiates trade deals. This week, Trump has been announcing tariffs on various countries. The Philippines, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia are facing 25 percent tariffs, while tariffs in Indonesia are at 32 percent and tariffs in Thailand are at 36 percent. Vietnam tariffs are 20 percent. The tariffs announced this week are set to go into effect on August 1, a new extended deadline Trump implemented on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said several times that Apple is capable of manufacturing its iPhones and other devices in the U.S., but industry experts suggest that it's next to impossible. Disregarding the expense of the move and the cost of building up new factories with advanced machinery, it would be unlikely that Apple and its suppliers would be able to find enough people with the necessary skillset to make iPhones. Cook maintains that Apple manufactures its devices in China because China has specialized expertise in advanced manufacturing.
Apple sources components from more than 50 countries around the world, and it gets rare earth minerals from 79 countries. There is no feasible way for Apple to source all of the iPhone's components from a single country. Even if Apple were only assembling the iPhone in the U.S., and it had the skilled employees available, the cost of living and wages in the U.S. would raise the price of the iPhone significantly.
Back in May, Trump threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if Apple does not manufacture and build iPhones sold in the United States in the U.S. Trump also complained that he has had a problem with Cook "building all over India," and he went as far as demanding that Apple stop expanding in India.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Nvidia today became the first public company to hit a $4 trillion market value as shares briefly rose to $164. Stock has dropped back to around $163 per share, so the company is now hovering at the $3.9T mark.
Apple became the world's first $3 trillion company in January 2022, and it was at one point the world's most valuable public company, but it has been unable to maintain that position with competition from Nvidia and Microsoft.
Nvidia first hit the $3 trillion mark in June 2024, and it's at the $4 trillion mark just over a year later. Nvidia is now the world's most valuable publicly traded company, with Microsoft taking second place and Apple coming in third.
Microsoft has a market value of $3.74T, while Apple has a $3.14T market value. Microsoft is expected to hit the $4T mark ahead of Apple. Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta have market values of $2.36T, $2.15T, and $1.84, respectively.
Nvidia's value has soared over the last few years due to demand for its AI server chips.
In March, Apple said that it planned to add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates, and we are still waiting for that to happen. As of the third developer beta of iOS 26 released this week, the upgrade has yet to be implemented on iPhones.
End-to-end encryption for RCS was announced in March, as part of version 3.0 of the RCS Universal Profile, a global standard for RCS features and specifications. This means that Apple has indirectly confirmed that it will support RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which includes not only end-to-end encryption for RCS, but several other iMessage-like enhancements for RCS that were originally introduced in RCS Universal Profile 2.7.
Apple has to wait on carriers to implement RCS Universal Profile 3.0 too, so it is understandable why the process is taking time.
Here are five new capabilities to expect for RCS conversations on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, once Apple rolls out support for RCS Universal Profile 3.0:
End-to-end encryption, which will prevent Apple and any other third party from being able to read messages and attachments while they are being sent between devices, as has always been the case with iMessage
In-line replies
Edit messages
Unsend messages
Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages, with no special workarounds
RCS support as a whole was added to the iPhone with iOS 18, which supports RCS Universal Profile 2.4. It is effectively a modernized version of the SMS standard, which remains available as a fallback option for text messages over a cellular network.
RCS will be playing catch up with iMessage in many ways. iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have already supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. In addition, iMessage has supported in-line replies since iOS 14, while the options to edit and unsend iMessages were introduced with iOS 16.
It seems likely that Apple will roll out these RCS upgrades at some point during the iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 software cycle.
OpenAI has completed its acquisition of Jony Ive's AI startup io Products, OpenAI said today in a letter from CEO Sam Altman and Ive.
The io Products team has now officially merged with OpenAI, though Jony Ive and his LoveFrom design firm remain independent. Ive and LoveFrom have taken over "deep design and creative responsibilities" at OpenAI. OpenAI paid an estimated $6.5 billion for io.
OpenAI first announced plans to purchase Jony Ive's startup back in May, and at the time, the two shared a video on their future plans. Ive and Altman are creating a new family of AI devices. "The products that we're using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology, they're decades old," said Jony Ive in the acquisition announcement. "It's just common sense to at least think surely there's something beyond these legacy products."
Ive will design the AI device that OpenAI will eventually launch, and several former Apple design employees who co-founded io with Ive are also moving to OpenAI. While Ive provides design, OpenAI will handle the AI expertise.
Recent information indicates that Ive and Altman's first device won't be an in-ear device or wearable, and will instead sit in a pocket or on a desk alongside a Mac and an iPhone. Other rumors suggest that the pocket-sized product will be contextually aware of the wearer's surroundings and life, providing insight screen-free.
Apple's annual Back to School offer for university students and educational staff is about to begin in many European countries, after initially launching in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates last month.
Apple's online educational store is currently showing a "we'll be right back" message in a long list of countries, and this is typically an indicator that the Back to School offer is incoming. The offer should begin in these countries within a matter of hours.
We did a quick check of Apple's website, and it appears the offer will be going live in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and a few other countries and territories in Europe, as well as in Türkiye.
In countries where the offer is already live, eligible students can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. Aside from AirPods, the promotion also offers various other accessories for free or at a discount, such as the Apple Pencil Pro or a Magic Keyboard.
The free AirPods or other accessory are included in addition to Apple's standard year-round 10% educational discount on select Mac and iPad models.
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Below we've collected some of the best TV deals you can find during Prime Day, including those from Samsung, Sony, Hisense, LG, Panasonic, Toshiba, and more. Shoppers should remember that Prime Day sales are typically time sensitive, so purchase quickly if you're interested.
It's also worth noting that some deals require an Amazon Prime membership to get Prime Day deals. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Prime on Amazon if you're a new customer; afterwards the service runs for $14.99/month or $139/year.
Special for 2025, Amazon is also offering a free six month trial to Prime for Young Adults right now. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime.
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 plans to introduce a new version of the Vision Pro this year, with the main update focused on the chip inside, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The device will use the M4 chip that Apple has already debuted in the iPad Pro and several Macs.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said late last year that a new Vision Pro coming in 2025 would have an M5 chip, and Gurman also said around the same timeframe that Apple would update the Vision Pro with the M5 chip. Just last month, Kuo maintained that the updated Vision Pro would use an M5 chip, but it now appears that information about the M5 could be incorrect.
The current version of the Vision Pro includes an M2 chip, so even if the upgraded model won't get the M5 chip, the M4 should still bring significant performance improvements. Apple is also testing a version of the device that has an upgraded Neural Engine with a higher number of cores, which would improve processing for AI tasks.
Along with the faster processor, Apple plans to update the Vision Pro with a strap that will make the headset more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. Straps that Apple is working on are meant to cut down on head pain and neck strain, but there's no information on what Apple has in mind. Apple already has two Vision Pro straps, including one that goes around the back of the head and a second add-on strap that better distributes weight at the top of the head.
After the second-generation Vision Pro that's coming out this year, the device will not see another update in 2026. Apple is instead planning to debut a redesigned model in 2027. The redesigned model, which Kuo has referred to as a "Vision Air," is expected to be significantly lighter.
Gurman says that Apple is working on another variation of the Vision Pro that could be tethered to an iPhone or Mac for enterprise applications and reduced lag. Apple had been designing Mac-connected glasses that would work as a computer display, but Apple paused work on that project back in January.
Apple is developing a set of smart glasses that are similar to Meta's Ray-Bans and that are supposed to come out in 2026. Those glasses won't feature augmented reality capabilities, but they will serve as a precursor to true AR glasses.
The lines between iPad and Mac have never been blurrier – and with iPadOS 26, currently in beta and coming this fall, Apple is leaning further into that overlap than ever before. The latest update brings a suite of powerful new features that elevate the iPad's utility, bridging the gap between touch-first tablet and full-fledged desktop machine.
From enhanced multitasking to advanced file management, iPadOS 26 pushes Apple's tablet deeper into Mac territory, without sacrificing the unique strengths that make the iPad so versatile. Here are eight ways iPadOS 26 makes the iPad feel more like a Mac than ever.
Menu Bar
Within any active app, swipe down from the top of the screen and you will see a new, fully functioning macOS-style menu bar. With the foremost dropdown menu being the app's name (where app settings are typically accessed), other standard menus can include File, Edit, Format, View, Window, and Help. As you'd expect, the menu bar is dynamic, and will display menus specific to the app. In Safari you get Bookmarks and History, for instance.
Windowed Apps
In Settings ➝ Multitasking & Gestures, there's a new Windowed Apps mode that essentially lets you arrange and resize multiple windows in a single space, just like on a Mac. The new mode can also be invoked from Control Center, thanks to a new button that with a long press lets you switch between Windowed Apps and Stage Manager.
You can move multiple app windows and stack them on top of each other by dragging each window from the top, and you can individually resize them by dragging the bottom-right corner. And if you quickly drag an app window to a corner of the screen, it will automatically expand to fill that half of the screen. Tapping a space on the Home Screen will also scatter all open windows to the sides of the screen, giving you space to open other apps.
Traffic Lights
In the top-left corner of every window you'll now see three familiar traffic lights, straight out of macOS. Tapping the symbol expands it into red, amber, and green buttons for closing, minimizing, and expanding the window to fullscreen.
Long-pressing the buttons also reveals the Mac-style Move & Resize and Fill & Arrange options, as well as an option to park the app off-screen to Add a New Window (if the app supports it).
App Exposé
In the new Windowed Apps mode, iPadOS 26 also includes an App Exposé-style view that's similar to the App Switcher. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to invoke the view, which shows all the open apps in the current space. You can also scroll the new interface to see your other open apps, whether they're sharing spaces or open in full-screen mode.
Preview
The iPad finally includes the Mac's long-standing Preview app, only now with Apple Pencil support, enabling you to easily open, edit, and mark up a range of images, documents, and file types. The Preview app's browsing menu is a lot like the Files interface, where you can browse your files and check out recent and shared items. You can also scan documents from right within the app.
Trackpad Pointer
If you have a Magic Keyboard trackpad or a Bluetooth mouse connected to your iPad, the cursor is now a Mac-like pointer rather than a circle. And if you shake it, the pointer will get bigger so that you can easily locate it on the screen.
Advanced File Management
In iPadOS 26, the iPad's Files app is enhanced with a new List view that features resizable columns and collapsible folders, and new filters, allowing users to see more document details at a glance and organize their files. To help you identify folders more easily, the app now supports folder customization with custom colors, icons, and emoji, all of which sync across devices.
In Files, iPadOS 26 also allows you to set a default app for opening specific files or file types, thanks to a new Open With... option in the contextual dropdown menu. You can also change the default app in the new Get Info panel.
Folders in Dock
In the Files app, long press on a folder and you'll see a new Add to Dock option in the contextual dropdown menu. So you can now park any folder in your Dock, and if you long press on its icon, you'll see Mac-style display options to view the content as a Grid or a Fan, as well as the typical sorting preferences.
In iPadOS 26, you can now fit up to 23 icons in the Dock, so there's nothing stopping you from adding multiple folders. In Settings ➝ Multitasking & Gestures, there's also a new option to Automatically Show and Hide the Dock, just like in macOS.
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors.
The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account was seemingly first to reveal the name of the iPhone 16e before the device was announced, so their latest information has merit, but they do not have a lengthy track record yet.
The base model iPhone 17 will have 8GB of RAM, matching the amount included in all iPhone 16 models, according to the account.
Here is an overview of Fixed Focus Digital's RAM expectations:
iPhone 17: 8GB
iPhone 17 Air: 12GB
iPhone 17 Pro: 12GB
iPhone 17 Pro Max: 12GB
In April, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will each have 12GB of RAM. At the time, he was unsure if the base model iPhone 17 would have 8GB or 12GB of RAM, due to potential RAM supply constraints. He has not provided an update on that since then.
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Starting with the 13-inch models, Amazon has $150 off all three configurations of this notebook. Prices start at $849.00 for the 256GB model, then raise to $1,049.00 for the 16GB/512GB model and $1,249.00 for the 24GB/512GB model. All of these are solid second-best prices on the M4 MacBook Air.
Moving to the larger display models, Amazon has both 512GB versions of the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air on sale this week, as well as the 256GB model. The 16GB/512GB model is available for $1,249.00 and the 24GB/512GB model is on sale for $1,427.14. Across the board, these are all second-best prices on the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air.
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.
Deals Newsletter
Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!
Apple plans to offer the iPhone 17 Air in at least four colors, including Black, Silver, Light Gold, and Light Blue, according to a leaker known as Majin Bu.
The new lighter blue color option for the device was first mentioned a day ago by Fixed Focus Digital, a Weibo account with more than two million followers, and Majin Bu said that he has confirmed this information with his own sources.
It is unclear if Light Gold and Light Blue will be Apple's actual marketing names for those colors, if this rumor proves to be accurate.
Majin Bu said that the Light Blue color will be similar to the Sky Blue finish offered for the latest MacBook Air, so perhaps Apple would opt to extend the Sky Blue name to the iPhone 17 Air. This is merely speculation on our part.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
