Hartley Charlton
Hartley is a Senior Editor at MacRumors and co-host of "The MacRumors Show" podcast; he contributes to daily news coverage and writes a wide range of content for the site. Various publications and aggregators often cite Hartley's articles. Additionally, he occasionally appears as a guest on other media outlets, such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, and CBS News, to share his knowledge of the industry.
Having closely followed Apple news and rumors for almost a decade, Hartley joined MacRumors in early 2020 as a Contributing Writer while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Nottingham. After graduation, he joined us as a full-time Editor. His work at MacRumors has since expanded into several areas beyond news coverage, including buyer's guides, roundups, and occasional product reviews.
In late 2021, Hartley helped launch The MacRumors Show and now co-hosts the popular podcast on a weekly basis, bringing our coverage to a wider audience, with a flare of personal opinion.
Hartley lives in Hertfordshire, England. Beyond technology, his other interests include travel, music, and tennis. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @ihxrtlxy and on Instagram at @hxrtlxy_.
Having closely followed Apple news and rumors for almost a decade, Hartley joined MacRumors in early 2020 as a Contributing Writer while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Nottingham. After graduation, he joined us as a full-time Editor. His work at MacRumors has since expanded into several areas beyond news coverage, including buyer's guides, roundups, and occasional product reviews.
In late 2021, Hartley helped launch The MacRumors Show and now co-hosts the popular podcast on a weekly basis, bringing our coverage to a wider audience, with a flare of personal opinion.
Hartley lives in Hertfordshire, England. Beyond technology, his other interests include travel, music, and tennis. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @ihxrtlxy and on Instagram at @hxrtlxy_.
Hartley Charlton's Articles
Report: Apple's OpenAI Lawsuit Threatens iPhone Rival Plans
OpenAI's ambitions to build a hardware rival to the iPhone are already running into trouble because of Apple's trade secret lawsuit, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who argues the damage is showing up well before any court ruling.
Apple sued OpenAI last week, accusing the company of pushing former employees, and even people it was trying to recruit, to hand over details on unreleased...
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Apple's Steady iPhone Pricing Pays Off as Rivals Scramble
Apple captured a record 20% share of the global smartphone market in the second quarter of 2026, even as worldwide shipments fell 4% year-over-year amid an ongoing memory chip shortage, according to a new report from Omdia.
It is Apple's best second-quarter showing on record, landing in what is normally its slowest stretch of the year. Omdia credits this to a strong iPhone 17 upgrade cycle,...
Apple Plans AirPods-Like Pairing for Meta's Glasses and Quest
Apple is developing a new API that will let third-party accessories, including Meta's Ray-Ban Meta glasses and Quest headsets, automatically pair across a user's Apple devices the same way AirPods and the Apple Watch do today, according to Apple's EU Interoperability Request page.
The plan responds to a request Meta filed in October 2025 under the EU's Digital Markets Act, asking Apple to...
Apple Watch Accounts for 90% of AI Smartwatch Shipments
Apple accounted for roughly 90% of all Edge AI-capable smartwatch shipments in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.
That dominance came as Edge AI penetration across the broader smartwatch market grew 70% year-over-year, reaching 25% in the first quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint's Global Smartwatch Shipments Tracker.
"Edge AI" refers to...
The MacRumors Show: Goodbye MacBook Pro? MacBook Ultra Is Coming
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the future of Apple's increasingly tangled high-end MacBook lineup, including the entry-level MacBook Pro and the rumored "MacBook Ultra."
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Apple's chip roadmap for the Mac is reportedly set to take an unusual turn over the next year. The company is said to be skipping the...
iPhone 18 Pro Max Component Costs Could Rise Nearly $300
The bill of materials for the iPhone 18 Pro Max is expected to rise by nearly $300 compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to a new Counterpoint Research analysis.
The estimate covers the 1TB storage model. NAND flash costs for the device are said to exceed $250 on their own, a figure that would cover roughly half of the iPhone 17 Pro Max's entire estimated component cost. DRAM pricing...
Apple's Manufacturing in India Gets Boost From New Tariff Exemptions
Apple stands to gain from India's decision to eliminate import duties on a range of components used in smartphone manufacturing, in a move that could further lower costs for the company's rapidly growing India-based supply chain.
According to a report from Reuters, the Indian government has done away with tariffs of 7.5% and 5% that had applied to inputs for wireless charging hardware,...
Apple Pulls Ability to Restore iPhone 5c, iPad Mini, and More [Updated]
Apple has stopped signing several older versions of iOS for a group of legacy iPhone and iPad models, cutting off the paths to reinstall or downgrade the affected software.
Apple will no longer validate over-the-air (OTA) or direct IPSW installs of the builds in question. Once a version is unsigned, there is no longer a way to restore or install it through Finder or iTunes.
The change is...
Apple to Drop Support for Encrypted Mac OS Extended Drives Next Year
Apple yesterday published a new support document warning that macOS 28 will no longer support encrypted Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes, meaning affected external drives will need to be decrypted or reformatted ahead of the update.
Starting with macOS 28, "the Mac OS Extended file system format will be supported only for volumes (disks and other storage devices) that aren't encrypted." Any...
iOS 27 Code Points to Car Key Support for Lucid and Xiaomi
Code spotted in the third developer beta of iOS 27 suggests that Apple is preparing to add car key support for Lucid and Xiaomi vehicles, and that the feature could be nearing launch.
The code references the identifiers "LCID" and "XIA1," which appear to correspond to Lucid and Xiaomi respectively. With an Apple car key, drivers can use their iPhone or Apple Watch to lock, unlock, and start...
Apple Begins Testing Controversial Chinese Memory Chips
Apple is testing DRAM memory chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), according to a new report from the Financial Times.
Last week, it emerged that Apple was in discussions with CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) about sourcing memory, with no deal finalized. The new details suggest Apple has since progressed to qualifying CXMT's ...
Tim Cook and John Ternus Attend Sun Valley Conference Together
Apple CEO Tim Cook and incoming CEO John Ternus are attending this year's Sun Valley Conference, according to Forbes.
Allen & Co., the boutique investment firm behind the event, uses the conference as an annual excuse to put media, tech, and finance leaders in the same rooms for a week of closed-door talks at the Sun Valley Lodge. This year's event began on July 7 and is expected to run...
iPhone 18 Pro Could Be Noticeably Thicker Than iPhone 17 Pro
The iPhone 18 Pro's aluminum frame and camera housing are both set to grow thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro's, according to new posts from the leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital."
In a post on Weibo today, the leaker said that aluminum alloy mid-frames are "going to be used in straight-edge phones for a long time to come," referring to Apple's continued use of the material introduced with...
iPhone 17 Pro Max Sealed in Time Capsule Until 2276
An iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange has been sealed inside a 250 year time capsule as part of America's Semiquincentennial celebrations, with the device not due to be seen again until the 23rd century.
America250, the congressionally appointed nonprofit leading the 250th anniversary celebrations, announced that "America's Time Capsule" was officially sealed and buried at Independence...
Apple and Broadcom Extend Chip Supply Deal to 2031
Broadcom has agreed to extend its chip partnership with Apple through 2031, expanding a deal that covers the development and supply of a wide range of custom chips, Reuters reports.
Today's extension builds on an existing supply relationship between the two companies, which have worked together for years. Apple is one of Broadcom's largest customers, believed to account for about 20% of its...
iPhone 18 Pro Battery Capacities Revealed by Regulatory Filings
New Chinese regulatory certification filings appear to confirm the battery capacities of Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models.
According to new filings in China's C3 database, spotted by the leaker known as "Digital Chat Station" on Weibo, the iPhone 18 Pro is seemingly rated for 4,056mAh in China and 4,288mAh in the U.S., up modestly from the iPhone 17 Pro's 3,988mAh...
The MacRumors Show: Latest iPhone 18 Pro Leaks and Rumors
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest leaks and rumors surrounding the iPhone 18 Pro.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Tata Electronics, one of Apple's manufacturing partners in India, was hit by a ransomware attack that resulted in more than 200,000 internal files being posted online, including component lists, supplier data,...
Sketchy Rumor Claims Apple Watch Series 12 Could Introduce Sensor in Band
The Apple Watch Series 12 could ship with a new health sensor built directly into one of its bands, according to a sketchy rumor from a known leaker.
The leaker known as "Kosutami" says the sensor will be injection-molded into a silicone band, and only a silicone band, apparently because Apple has not yet solved how to embed similar hardware in bands made from other materials. No detail was...
iPhone 18 Pro Could Use Qualcomm Modem in the US and C2 Elsewhere
Stolen data from Apple manufacturing partner Tata Electronics appears to reveal that the iPhone 18 Pro will use different modem chips depending on the market it is sold in, with U.S. models retaining Qualcomm hardware while international models will feature Apple's in-house C2 modem.
The finding emerged from a wide-ranging cyberattack on Tata, which alongside Foxconn assembles the iPhone....
Google Gemini Spark Comes to Mac With Local File Automation
Google today launched Gemini Spark for its macOS desktop app, allowing the AI agent to automate tasks involving local files and desktop workflows.
Google announced the update today, adding a dedicated Spark tab to the sidebar of the Gemini app for macOS. The feature allows the AI agent to take action on files stored locally on a user's computer rather than just responding to questions in a...
