It's hard to believe, but today marks the 20th birthday of MacRumors, which was founded on February 24, 2000, with articles starting just a few days later. While longtime readers may be familiar with the site's origins, there are plenty of others who are unaware that it began as a hobby while our founder Arnold Kim was a medical student, and it remained a side project for over eight years until he decided to give up medicine to focus on MacRumors as a full-time career. That backstory and additional perspective were shared in a July 2008 New York Times article. MacRumors.com registered on February 24, 2000 I officially joined MacRumors on January, 1, 2009, but I had served as a volunteer forum staff member and occasional writer for several years prior and had been a regular reader almost since the site's debut. Over that time, I saw MacRumors grow from a niche aggregator of news about a beloved company looking to raise itself from the dead to the behemoth it is today, riding the wave of one hit product after another with the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and more. MacRumors as it appeared in May 2000 Through the years, we've added additional writers, editors, and other staff members, with the team now numbering roughly a dozen dedicated folks who live and breathe Apple news and rumors. We've covered plenty of major Apple news stories over the years, and here are just a few of the biggest ones: October 2001: Apple's New Thing (iPod) June 2003: PowerMac G5: World's Fastest Desktop Computer August 2004: New iMac G5 Announced June 2005: Macintosh Moving to Intel

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear Apple's appeal of a $440 million judgment in one of the patent infringement cases brought by VirnetX a decade ago, reports Reuters. VirnetX was originally awarded $302 million back in October 2016 in the dispute over VPN-related patents, but Apple appealed the ruling multiple times, and with interest and other costs tacked on, the judgment was later increased to $440 million. Apple argued on appeal that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had canceled "key parts" of several of the patents involved in the case, but the courts rescinded that cancelation. Apple continued to appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court, but the court has opted not to intervene, leaving Apple on the hook for the $440 million judgment. The case is one of two Apple has been embroiled in with VirnetX over the years. In the other case, VirnetX was initially awarded $502 million but the infringement ruling was partially overturned late last year and the case was sent back a lower court to determine a new amount for damages. Apple attempted to contest the validity of the remaining two patents at issue, but just two weeks ago, the court denied a rehearing on that aspect of the

In a report touching on several topics today, Japanese site Mac Otakara claims that Apple's Tile-like "AirTags" item trackers will be "completely waterproof" and use similar magnetic wireless charging to that seen on the Apple Watch. AirTag image found in iOS 13 build Evidence of ‌AirTags‌ has been found in builds of ‌iOS 13‌ since last summer, and it appears the small item trackers will show up in the Find My app and enable users to locate misplaced items. With ultra wideband support found in the iPhone 11 lineup and augmented reality, it looks like ‌AirTags‌ could offer high precision and direct the user straight to an item, even pinpointing it within a room. We're not sure when to expect ‌AirTags‌ to launch, but it looks like it may not be imminent yet, as noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said just last week that production isn't expected to ramp up until the second or third quarter, and today's report from Mac Otakara claims an announcement in the fall of this year, which would likely be alongside new iPhones in

Apple today issued an update on its financial guidance for the March quarter, announcing that the company will not meet its revenue goals due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic in China.Our quarterly guidance issued on January 28, 2020 reflected the best information available at the time as well as our best estimates about the pace of return to work following the end of the extended Chinese New Year holiday on February 10. Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated. As a result, we do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter due to two main factors.Apple cites both constrained iPhone supplies worldwide and lower customer demand for Apple products in China as the main impacts on performance for the quarter. On the ‌iPhone‌ supply side, Apple says all of its manufacturing partner facilities are located outside of the Hubei province epicenter for the epidemic and have reopened, the ramp-up to full production has been slower than expected. As for customer demand in China, Apple says store closings and limited hours have significantly reduced customer traffic, although corporate offices and contact centers have reopened and online stores have remained open. Apple says it is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide additional information on its quarterly earnings call in April. Apple also says it is more than doubling its previously announced donation to help in the public health fight against the Wuhan coronavirus. Apple

March is the most common month for Apple's spring media events, and the relatively long list of products with rumored imminent updates has pointed toward one of those spring events being held again this year. A new report [Google Translate] from German site iPhone-ticker.de claims that Apple is planning to hold a media event at the very end of March, with Tuesday, March 31 being the most likely date. A launch of the new low-cost iPhone, variously dubbed the "iPhone SE 2" or "iPhone 9" in rumors, is said to follow on Friday, April 3. In addition to the new low-cost ‌iPhone‌, rumors have indicated Apple is planning to release several other products in the next few months, including updated iPad Pro models and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro. Wildcard rumors for the first half of 2020 also include a MacBook Air update, Apple's Tile-like "AirTags item trackers, and perhaps a wireless charging

We've been hearing for some time that Apple is planning to launch a new low-cost iPhone based on the iPhone 8, but with upgraded internals. This device has been referred to in rumors as the "iPhone SE 2" or "iPhone 9," although concerns over the impact of the Wuhan coronavirus on production have raised some questions about timing for the launch. In a new research note seen by MacRumors, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo briefly mentions that the ‌iPhone SE 2‌ is still expected to launch in the first half of this year. The mention comes in a larger report about smartphone camera lens suppliers, with Kuo noting that the ‌iPhone SE 2‌ will not include a 7-element plastic (7P) lens, and so will not contribute toward shipments of those advanced lenses.Because Apple expects that the new ‌iPhone‌ SE2 released in 1H20 will not use a 7P lens, it will not help the 7P lens shipment momentum.It's unsurprising that the ‌iPhone SE 2‌ won't include a 7P lens, as the ‌iPhone 8‌ includes a 6P rear camera lens. With Apple looking to keep pricing on the new phone as low as possible, it will almost certainly be reusing components wherever possible, with the exception of key performance-related components like the A-series chip, which is rumored to move from the A11 chip in the ‌iPhone 8‌ to Apple's latest A13 chip. A separate report today claims that an update to Apple's iPad Pro lineup is expected "around March," so it's possible we could see a media event next month for Apple to introduce several new

Rumors have been pointing toward a significant iPad Pro update in the first half of this year, including a new triple-lens rear camera system supporting 3D sensing for immersive augmented reality experiences. MacRumors concept of ‌‌iPad Pro‌‌ with triple-lens rear camera system In a new paywalled blurb published today, DigiTimes claims that production on the device has already begun with a launch expected "around March," which is Apple's usual timeframe for a spring media event in years that it chooses to hold one. The blurb also says that production has been slow to ramp up following the Lunar New Year holiday, with impacts from the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic presumably also playing a role.Apple is scheduled to launch its new ‌iPad Pro‌ series around March, with related suppliers already kicking off production for the model ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. However, their output has started growing slowly after the extended Lunar New Year break in China with shipments unlikely to peak until after April, according to industry sources.It's looking like Apple has a fairly significant slate of products ready for updates, so the company may indeed hold a spring media event this year. In addition to updated ‌iPad Pro‌ models, we're also expecting a new low-cost "iPhone SE 2" or "iPhone 9," an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with the improved scissor-switch keyboard from the 16-inch model, and possibly a few other products. We'll update this article with any additional details once DigiTimes expands its blurb into a full

Last week, Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes made a passing reference to upcoming "AirPod Pro Lite" earphones without offering any details on the product, leading to confusion about whether this would be a third-generation version of the regular AirPods or a new member of the AirPods Pro family. While we still don't have a full picture of what to expect with these upcoming earphones, DigiTimes today published another short paywalled blurb specifically describing ‌AirPods Pro‌ Lite as an "entry-level version of Apple's ‌AirPods Pro‌ series" and saying that production will not kick off in the second quarter of this year as originally planned.Production of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ Lite, an entry-level version of Apple's ‌AirPods Pro‌ series, is unlikely to kick off in the second quarter as originally planned, according to industry sources.We haven't heard any specific rumors about these ‌AirPods Pro‌ Lite earphones, or updates to the ‌AirPods‌ and ‌AirPods Pro‌. The ‌AirPods Pro‌ were just released in October, so we're not expecting an update for some time yet, while the second-generation ‌AirPods‌ are coming up on a year old in March. We'll update this article with any additional details once DigiTimes expands its blurb into a full

Apple touts that there are now over 500 car models supporting CarPlay, and Nissan's luxury brand Infiniti is one of the most recent (and perhaps the last significant brand in the U.S. other than Tesla) to add the feature with the 2020 Q50 and Q60 sedans, QX50 crossover, and QX80 SUV. I've had an opportunity to spend some time with a 2020 Infiniti QX50 and check out how the updated InTouch infotainment system and ‌CarPlay‌ work with the dual screens dominating the center of the dashboard, and I've come away fairly impressed with the performance and ease of use. The 2020 QX50 comes in five trim levels starting at $37,250 for the base Pure trim and topping out at a little over $60,000 for a fully loaded Autograph trim. All trims are available with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, with the latter costing an extra $2,000. ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto are standard on all trims, and dual center touchscreens with an 8-inch display on top and a 7-inch display on the bottom are uniform throughout the lineup. My test vehicle was an all-wheel drive Essential trim, which is the middle of the five available trims, and it came with a $1,200 "Edition 30" appearance package that also bundles in the ProASSIST features such as distance control, intelligent control, blind spot monitoring, lane departure prevention, and adaptive front lighting. Toss in upgraded Majestic White paint and some welcome lighting and cargo packages, and my tester checked in at just under $50,000. InTouch Hardware and Software Infiniti is certainly not the only manufacturer to pursue a

Apple is said to be working with supply chain partners in Taiwan on several upcoming products, including a so-called "AirPod Pro Lite," according to DigiTimes. Other products mentioned include next-generation iPad, Apple Watch, and iMac models, all of which will be due for updates in the coming months, although some like the ‌iPad‌ and ‌Apple Watch‌ are unlikely to launch before September. The AirPod Pro Lite mention comes without further details, buried in a report about Apple looking to ramp up production with partners in Taiwan as it seeks to geographically diversify Apple's supply chain amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic that has significantly impacted production in China.Apple, maintaining partnerships with supply chains in both Taiwan and China, may have its Taiwanese partners handle more production of new-generation ‌iPad‌, ‌Apple Watch‌, AirPod Pro Lite and ‌iMac‌ devices to be released later, as the epidemic has raised risks of raw materials supply shortages and shipments disruptions arising from uncertain resumption of normal operations at components suppliers and assembly plants in China, the sources said.It's unclear exactly what DigiTimes is referring to by "AirPod Pro Lite," as Apple just released the AirPods Pro in October of last year. That followed the launch of second-generation regular AirPods in March 2019, and with only $50 separating the ‌AirPods Pro‌ from the wireless case version of the regular ‌AirPods‌, we're not sure how a "Lite" version of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ would fit into Apple's lineup. While DigiTimes often has some insight into Apple's product

Pioneer has long been one of the biggest names in aftermarket car audio, and the company's lineup of NEX receivers offers a terrific option for adding CarPlay and other enhanced functionality to older cars or entry-level models that lack some of the latest technology. Pioneer's 2019 NEX lineup includes models at a range of price points offering varying feature sets. Several months ago, Pioneer offered me the opportunity to try out the top of the line AVIC-W8500NEX, which offers a nearly 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with onboard HERE navigation, wired and wireless ‌CarPlay‌ support, a DVD/CD player, and more. As the top-end model in the lineup, the AVIC-W8500NEX carries a list price of $1200, so it's not necessarily for the budget-conscious customer. You can generally save hundreds of dollars by buying through Amazon sellers and other sources, but many of these are not authorized Pioneer dealers so you do want to be careful about where your unit is coming from. And the unit itself is not the only item you'll need in order to add this receiver to your car. Anytime you're swapping out the radio system on your vehicle, you'll need a few other accessories like an appropriate wiring harness and dashboard trim plate for your specific vehicle. And depending on any other integration like steering wheel controls and backup camera connections, you may need a few more things.

Flexibits today is launching version 3.0 of its popular Fantastical calendar app, bringing a host of improvements across all platforms including Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Along with all of the feature updates, Fantastical is transitioning to a premium subscription model that unlocks access across all devices and will provide continued feature additions and improvements on an ongoing basis. With the new updates to the Fantastical apps, everything has been unified across the various platforms, so users will essentially find feature parity on all of their devices. An all-new design brings a full-screen calendar window, support for native OS features like Today widgets, action and share extensions, and Handoff, and much more. I've had a chance to try out the new Fantastical, and I've come away impressed with the sleek look, slick management of significant amounts of information, and of course the natural language parsing Fantastical has been known for that lets you easily create events and tasks by simply typing a few words. Among the key additions in Fantastical 3.0: - AccuWeather integration displays small weather icons in relevant places, bringing forecasts right into your calendar so you can see what the weather is going to be like for your various events, even taking into account event locations. Fantastical for ‌iPad‌ with AccuWeather MinuteCast forecasts and RealFeel temperatures - Calendar sets let you quickly manage your various calendars and tasks, allowing you to toggle multiple calendars with a single click and even change displayed calendars

Apple today announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter of 2020, which corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of 2019. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $91.8 billion and net quarterly profit of $22.2 billion, or $4.99 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $84.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $20.0 billion, or $4.18 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. The quarter was the best in Apple's history in terms of revenue and profit, topping the first fiscal quarter of 2018. Gross margin for the quarter was 38.4 percent, compared to 38.0 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 61 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.77 per share, payable February 13 to shareholders of record as of February 10. “We are thrilled to report Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, fueled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, and all-time records for Services and Wearables,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “During the holiday quarter our active installed base of devices grew in each of our geographic segments and has now reached over 1.5 billion. We see this as a powerful testament to the satisfaction, engagement and loyalty of our customers — and a great driver of our growth across the board.”Apple's guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 includes expected revenue of $63-67 billion and gross margin between 38 and 39 percent. Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q1 2020 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will

Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of the iPad, and alongside that milestone, Input has published an interview with Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, two of the key Apple employees behind its development. The interview is an interesting read, with Chaudhri and Bongiorno sharing a few bits about their histories with Apple and the ‌iPad‌, thoughts on the team's mindset during development of the ‌iPad‌, their perspectives on how the ‌iPad‌ evolved to fit how people have used it, and more. One of the more interesting tidbits relates to cameras, which actually weren't included on the original ‌iPad‌ even though a digital photo frame was intended as one of its primary use cases, driven in large part by Steve Jobs. Only after the ‌iPad‌ launched did Apple discover that people really didn't want to set their iPads up as static photo frames, and then later once the ‌iPad‌ did gain a camera, the team was surprised to see how much people were using it to take photos.Bongiorno: We talked about the hope that it would be kind of this photo frame, like ‘“How are they going to get the photos on it?” We actually didn't believe that people would walk around taking pictures with their ‌iPad‌. It was actually a funny internal conversation when we started seeing people outside taking their ‌iPad‌ with them and taking photos on vacation. I don't think we actually thought people would use it that way — and they ultimately did. [...] Chaudhri: But the [‌iPad‌] camera is super funny. That's the other thing that we didn't anticipate being so big. But it was a segment of the population at

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) today announced the upcoming launch of its next-generation infotainment system, Uconnect 5. The new version of Uconnect has been rebuilt from the ground up on an Android platform with a number of new features including wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, a familiar-yet-revamped user interface, support for up to five user profiles for customization, Alexa support, improved voice control, and more. Uconnect 5 home screen We've been fans of the current Uconnect 4 infotainment system and the way it nearly seamlessly blends ‌CarPlay‌ into the native system, and making ‌CarPlay‌ wireless will no doubt make that experience even better. Many of the other improvements in Uconnect 5 such as enhanced customizability, faster hardware performance, and new features and services should also make for a better user experience. Uconnect 5 user profiles The award-winning Uconnect system offers new conveniences, keeping customers engaged and informed all while keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Apple ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto are currently available on more than 80 percent of FCA's North American applications. Uconnect 5 will bring Apple ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto to 100 percent of FCA's North American offerings. The feature also adds wireless connectivity, allowing customers to wirelessly project phone apps quick and easy, while leaving phones securely stowed. Uconnect 5 TomTom navigation Wireless ‌CarPlay‌ has so far been largely limited to a handful of luxury brands like BMW, Audi, and Porsche, with some aftermarket systems also supporting

LG today expanded on last week's announcement of new 8K OLED TVs with new details on the full lineup of 13 new OLED models, including a new 48-inch size. Most notably for Apple fans, LG says the new lineup of OLED TVs will include an Apple TV app, letting users access ‌Apple TV‌+, ‌Apple TV‌ channels, and iTunes video content. In addition to the new 2020 models, LG says the app will also be coming to 2019 and 2018 models later this year, although exact details on which models will be getting the app have yet to be shared.New for 2020, the ‌Apple TV‌ app allows customers to subscribe and watch ‌Apple TV‌+ and ‌Apple TV‌ channels as well as access their iTunes video library and buy or rent more than 100,000 films and TV shows. Customers with 2018 and 2019 LG TV models will also be able to enjoy the ‌Apple TV‌ app this year.While AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support have rolled out to a number of TV models from LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio, the ‌Apple TV‌ app has until now been exclusive to certain 2018 and 2019 Samsung models. The ‌Apple TV‌ app is also available on certain Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, providing owners of non-Samsung TVs with some alternatives beyond the ‌Apple TV‌ set-top box, but native integration with ‌Apple TV‌ on additional TV brands will be a welcome

Apple today sent out an email advertising its latest Apple Pay promotion, which includes 20 percent off delivery orders from Grubhub through January 1. The deal is valid when paying via ‌Apple Pay‌ through the Grubhub app and website with promo code CELEBRATE20. The code is one-time use for personal Grubhub accounts and offers a maximum value of $10 on order subtotals before taxes, tips, and fees. In addition to Grubhub, Apple's email also promotes other ways to use ‌Apple Pay‌ to "ring in the new year," including movie tickets on Fandango, hotel deals on HotelTonight, and car rentals through Turo. Finally, Apple notes that it's the last chance to receive 6 percent back on Apple Store and apple.com purchases when paying with Apple Card through December

If you're perhaps looking for an accessory to go with a new holiday gift, a couple of Apple's more popular ones have received price cuts today to the lowest levels we've ever seen in our tracking. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Apple Pencil 2 While we saw the Apple Pencil 2 drop to as low as $104.99 for My Best Buy members ahead of the holidays, the iPad Pro accessory has hit a new low of $99.00 at both Amazon and Best Buy, a roughly 25 percent discount from its regular $129.00 price. The Apple Pencil 2 works with Apple's latest iPad Pro models introduced in 2018, including the new 11-inch size and the third-generation 12.9-inch model. It magnetically attaches to the side of the iPad Pro, charges wirelessly, and supports customizable double-tap gestures such as switching between drawing tools and bringing up a color palette. AirPods Wireless Charging Case Amazon has also discounted the AirPods Wireless Charging Case to just $46.33, an over 40 percent discount compared to the regular price of $79.00. Compatible with both the first- and second-generation AirPods, the standalone case accessory lets you upgrade from the standard case that charges only over a wired Lightning connection to one that also charges wirelessly via a Qi charging

Earlier this year, I spent some time in a 2019 Nissan Altima, checking out how CarPlay interfaces with the native NissanConnect infotainment system, and I came away fairly impressed with the flexibility and ease-of-use of NissanConnect and the carmaker's decision to make ‌CarPlay‌ standard across all trims. Looking to show off more of its technology and how some of it integrates with iPhones, Nissan recently asked me to take a look at the 2019 Leaf, specifically the Leaf Plus, a new-for-2019 extended-range version of the popular electric vehicle that's been on the market for nearly a decade. The base Leaf starts at $30,000 before tax credits that can knock $7,500 off the price, and it comes with a 40 kWh battery that delivers up to 150 miles of range. There are three trims of the regular Leaf, with only the entry-level S model lacking ‌CarPlay‌ support. In fact, that base model comes with a basic 5-inch non-touchscreen display for the infotainment system, so most technology-heavy users will want to step up to at least the second-level SV trim on the regular Leaf. The Leaf Plus begins at $36,550 before tax credits and upgrades to a 62 kWh battery that offers up to 226 miles of range. The extended-range Plus lineup also comes in three trims, all of which include ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto support. My test vehicle was the top-of-the-line Leaf SL Plus, which checks in at an MSRP of $42,550 before tax credits, with a couple of minor add-ons like floor mats and splash guards pushing my vehicle's sticker price to just under $44,000. For those looking to squeeze out

CalDigit is a popular maker of docks, external storage, and other accessories that work well with Apple's ecosystem, and the company recently released a new Tuff nano external solid-state drive that packs blazing-fast transfer speeds into a tiny package. I don't have a huge need for external storage with my MacBook Pro, but when I have needed it I've used CalDigit's previous Tuff SSD, which I reviewed a couple of years ago. The original Tuff was available in both SSD and traditional hard disk versions, with the hard disks offering greater capacity at slower speeds while the SSDs offered faster speeds but with lower capacities and higher prices. The cost of SSDs has come down over the past couple of years as the drive modules have also gotten smaller, and CalDigit has taken advantage of those advances to create the Tuff nano. The Tuff nano is currently available only in a 512 GB version priced at $150, and while it's big enough to back up my entire ‌MacBook Pro‌, some power users may want more. Regardless, when you need speedy data transfers in a compact form factor, it's a great option, and CalDigit is planning to launch a 1 TB version late in the first quarter of next year (pricing to be announced closer to launch), so you might want to hold out for that if you need a bit more storage space. The Tuff nano is built for the road, with the compact size easily fitting in a pocket or bag and the SSD offering great shock protection. The drive casing is made of aluminum to help dissipate heat, but the whole thing is wrapped in a silicone bumper to protect