Tech Talk

B&H Photo and Amazon today are discounting Apple's 2023 MacBook Pros, including both 14-inch and 16-inch models. Most of the deals shared below are matching previous record low prices, with B&H Photo having the majority of the sales this time around. 14-Inch MacBook Pro Starting with the 10-Core M2 Pro, 512GB 14-inch MacBook Pro, this model is on sale for $1,899.00 [ Amazon / B&H Photo ], down from $1,999.00. At $100 off, this is actually a second-best price on this version of the MacBook Pro, as we saw a $200 discount in February for a very brief time. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. $100 OFF 14-Inch MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 512GB) for $1,899.00 The only other 14-inch MacBook Pro model on sale is the 12-Core M2 Pro notebook with 1TB, and it's priced at $2,299.00 [ Amazon / B&H Photo ], down from $2,49

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models are rumored to feature a customizable Action button like the Apple Watch Ultra, according to a MacRumors forum member who leaked accurate details about the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models last year. The source claimed the Action button will replace the Ring/Silent switch that has been included on every iPhone model since 2007. They did not explain how the Action button will work, but it will presumably be customizable like it is on the Apple Watch Ultra, allowing users to map the button to various system functions for convenient access. Apple's exact implementation remains to be seen, but here are some potential functions that could be controlled by tapping the Action button: Ring/Silent Do Not Disturb Flashlight Low Power Mode Light/Dark Mode Lock Rotation Show the Home Screen Show the Lock Screen Open Control Center Open Notification Center Open Camera Screenshot Screen Recording Run a Shortcut

Apple's Beats by Dre brand is launching a new collaboration with graphic artist Verdy and the Tokyo-based Girls Don't Cry project, featuring custom-designed Beats Flex earphones in a distinctive blue and red theme with a detachable heart charm on the cable. The collaboration includes an ad campaign featuring model Jasmine Daniels, who appears in a Girls Don't Cry-inspired bedroom listening to Koteri's "Something I Need." "Im really happy to work on the Beats Flex earphones because it's my wife's favorite style," said Verdy. "We've made a friends-and-family version in the past, so I'm really excited to release this special colorway to the public." Beats Flex originally launched in late 2020 as the lowest-cost option in the Beats family. An evolution of the previous BeatsX model, the Beats Flex connect to your device wirelessly over Bluetooth, but the individual earbuds are connected by a cable that wraps behind the ne

Apple is opening its fifth retail store in South Korea this Friday, and the company has enlisted K-pop girl band NewJeans to woo the country's users, reports Bloomberg . K-pop girl band NewJeans The new store will be located in the central Gangnam district of Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, and in a promotional event on Wednesday, Apple set up a pop-up studio inside the new store where visitors could listen to an exclusive version of NewJean's hit song "OMG" recorded in spatial audio. The marketing strategy of involving a K-pop band isn't new in South Korea – Samsung has a BTS edition of its Galaxy S20+ smartphone there – with such collaborations often going viral online. As Bloomberg notes, the move is another signal that Apple is ramping up its post-pandemic offensive in the key Asian growth market. Apple Pay went live in South Korea earlier this month, and local media reports that there are plans in place to open a sixth store in Seoul this

Verizon has been the best place to find discounts on Apple's trio of MagSafe Chargers so far in 2023, and its deals are still around as we head into April. You'll find the year's best prices on the MagSafe Charger, MagSafe Duo Charger, and MagSafe Battery Pack, and you don't need to be a Verizon user to order these products from the retailer's website. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Verizon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. In total, you can save 25 percent on MagSafe chargers with this sale, and no coupon is required. You can get the MagSafe Charger for $29.99 , down from $39.00. The MagSafe Duo Charger is down to $96.74 , from $129.00; and the MagSafe Battery Pack is down to $74.24 , from $99.00. 25% OFF MagSafe Chargers at Verizon Besides an occasional sale at Amazon, Verizon has been one of the only retailers to consistently discount all three of these

Lighting company Signify has indicated that its software update bringing Matter support to the Philips Hue Bridge will not appear in the first quarter of 2023 as originally planned. When Matter was officially launched in November 2022, Philips Hue declared itself a supporter of the new smart home standard. At the time, Signify said a software update that would bring compatibility to its Philips Hue lineup would be available to all users in the first quarter of 2023, which comes to a close this Friday. But responding to a request by hueblog.com on Monday for more information, the company offered the following update: For the launch of Matter, we are working together with many partners in the smart home industry. With Philips Hue, we always focus on convincing quality to meet our customers' expectations. Therefore, we will take a little more time than originally planned for the Philips Hue Bridge software update before making it available to all consumers. We will inform you

Twitter will prevent posts from unverified accounts from appearing in its "For You" algorithmic feed starting Saturday, April 15, CEO Elon Musk announced on Tuesday. The new policy means that only posts originating from paid-for Twitter Blue accounts will be included in the platform's stream of recommended tweets. In a post announcing the impending change, Musk said the decision to no longer recommend tweets from accounts that don't have a blue verified badge was "the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over." In the same tweet, Musk revealed that the ability to vote in polls on the social media platform would also require verification for the same reason. "It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle," claimed the Twitter chief. In an earlier post, Musk said that paid verification significantly increases the cost of using bots and makes it easier to identify them. Twitter relaunched its Twitter Blue subscription optio

iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models could launch without a SIM card tray in France this year, according to information obtained by French website MacGeneration . This means the devices would work with eSIMs only for cellular connectivity. If the SIM card tray is removed in France, it would likely be removed in at least some other European countries as well, as Apple typically sells one iPhone model in most of Europe. For example, the iPhone 14 Pro model A2890 sold in France is also sold in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and dozens of other countries . Apple already removed the SIM card tray from all iPhone 14 models in the U.S. last September, forcing customers to use an eSIM, a digital SIM that allows users to activate a cellular plan without having to use a physical nano-SIM card. Apple has a support document with a list of carriers that support eSIM technology around th

Apple CEO Tim Cook has praised his company's "symbiotic relationship" with China during his first visit to the country in the last three years. Tim Cook shares a photo of his visit to Apple's Wangfujing store via Weibo In his first visit since the pandemic began in 2020, the Apple chief gave a keynote speech over the weekend at the China Development Forum, where he said he "could not be more excited" to celebrate Apple's 30th anniversary in the country, where the company makes the vast majority of its iPhones. "Apple and China . . . grew together and so this has been a symbiotic kind of relationship," said Cook, according to a report by the Financial Times . Cook was among several U.S. tech company chiefs in Beijing, where the forum has been billed as an opening-up party after three years of lockdowns and restrictions as a result of President Xi Jinping's strict zero-Covid policy, which heavily impacted Apple's operations and l

Gordon Moore, co-founder and former chairman of Intel, died on Friday, March 24. He was 94. Tributes to the technology pioneer were shared on social media by Silicon Valley industry leaders over the weekend, including one from Apple CEO Tim Cook . Image credit: Intel "The world lost a giant in Gordon Moore, who was one of Silicon Valley's founding fathers and a true visionary who helped pave the way for the technological revolution," said Cook in a tweet . "All of us who followed owe him a debt of gratitude. May he rest in peace." In 1965, Moore famously claimed that the capacity and complexity of computer chips would double every year (10 years later, he revised this prediction to a doubling every two years). His prediction regarding the exponential growth of computer chip technology, which held up for decades, became known as Moore's Law. The world lost a giant in Gordon Moore, who was one of Silicon Valley’s founding fathers and a true visionary

Blood glucose monitoring technology designed for the Apple Watch is unlikely to launch for several years, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman believes. In February, Gurman reported that Apple has made major progress with its noninvasive blood glucose monitoring technology, allowing diabetics and others to test their blood glucose levels without needing to prick the skin for blood testing. Apple's system apparently uses a silicon photonics chip to shine light from a laser under the skin to determine the concentration of glucose in the body. In Bloomberg 's "Power On" newsletter , Gurman said that Apple "still needs to perfect the algorithms and on-board sensors" to bring the technology to market. Crucially, the company also needs to "shrink it down to the size of a module that can fit in the small and thin package that is an Apple Watch." Gurman believes this process "will take another three to seven years at least." Apple began wor

Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that ‌iOS 17‌ could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality headset. Writing in his latest "Power On" newsletter , Gurman explained that a change of strategy during the update's development process has added several new features: When Apple set out to develop iOS 17, the initial thinking was to call it a tuneup release — one focused more on fixing bugs and improving performance than adding new features (not unlike the approach the company took with Snow Leopard on Mac OS X back in 2009). The hope was to avoid the problems of iOS 16, an ambitious update that suffered from missed deadlines and a buggy start. But later in the developm

Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman . Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter , Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement in June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of staff around the company's next major platform. Senior Apple executives have got a peek at the headset every year since 2018, but these demonstrations were discreet looks at the project's progress rather than showcases of the complete device. Situated at the Steve Jobs Theater, latest preview was reportedly a far more significant event, being "polished, glitzy and exciting." While anticipation of the device's launch is growing inside Apple, Gurman added that the device is likely to

We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new features and hints of updated earphones coming from Apple and Beats. Meanwhile, we're continuing to hear about Apple's plans to expand its home audio product portfolio, so be sure to read on for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Single Volume Button and Mute Button We've been hearing for a while now that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will be equipped with solid-state buttons that do not physically move. Instead, the buttons will provide haptic feedback from Taptic Engines when pressed, similar to the Home button introduced with the iPh

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show , Christopher Lawley joins us to discuss iPadOS 17 and the next-generation iPad Pro . Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos Christopher is a YouTuber dedicated to the iPad , automation, and productivity. He was a full-time ‌iPad‌ user for several years, conducting all of his content creation, including video editing and podcasting, from the device, before feeling forced to switch back to the Mac due to the direction of iPadOS. We get his insights on Apple's upcoming iPadOS 17 update and the areas he feels Apple should focus on this year, with particular attention to some of the key issues he believes Apple needs to address with Stage Manager . We also touch on the need for "Pro" apps like Final Cut Pro and Xcode, a Notification Center and Control Center redesign, Lock Screen customization, and more. In addition, we talk through some of the most important information around the next-generation ‌

Apple plans to release second-generation AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case later this year, with mass shipments expected to begin in the second to third quarter, according to information shared today by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo . The second-generation AirPods Pro launched in September 2022 with a Lightning charging case. The updated version of the second-generation AirPods Pro would have a USB-C charging case instead, but it's unclear if any other changes are planned. Kuo believes references to new AirPods discovered in the iOS 16.4 Release Candidate earlier this week are related to the AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case. Kuo added that Apple currently has no plans to release USB-C charging cases for the second-generation or third-generation standard AirPods. Related Roundup: AirPods Pro Tag: Ming-Chi Kuo Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Buy Now) Related Forum: AirPods This article, " Kuo: AirPods Pro With USB-C Charging Case to Launch Later This

While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus: A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to be equipped with Apple's next-generation A17 Bionic chip , manufactured based on TSMC's 3nm process for continued performance and efficiency improvements. The standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are expected to have an A16 Bionic chip. Titanium frame: Like the Apple Watch Ultra, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a titanium frame instead of stainless steel. Ultra-thin curved bezels: Similar to recent Apple Watch models, the iPhone 15 Pro will have ultra-thin curved bezels around the display . Faster USB-C port: iPhone

With the ThunderBay 8 , OWC expands its vast range of professional-grade Thunderbolt accessories, offering an ultra high-capacity storage solution with eight hot-swappable universal bays for 3.5- or 2.5-inch hard drives or SSDs. The ThunderBay 8 can serve as a high-performance personal data center with multiple configuration options to suit ever-growing storage requirements. It can accommodate the needs of individuals with data-intensive video editing, high-resolution image, and VR workflows, who need abundant drive space to store large format files, as well as fast data transfer speeds to ensure that they remain workable. The ThunderBay 8 offers up to 160TB of storage depending on the configuration you choose, with additional options for standard and enterprise drives, pushing beyond the limits of more common four-bay storage solutions. Having eight drive bays allows for greater flexibility and customization in terms of drive configuration and RAID options. Users can choose to

Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least three days per week. Employees are required to be in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with most able to work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays. However, it appears that Apple is doubling down on this strategy as it looks for ways across the company to cut costs. In a post on Twitter, Schiffer said that Apple is now actively tracking in-person attendance using badge records and will give employees "escalating warnings" if they don't come in the required three times per week. According to Schiffer, some Apple offices have even warned staff that failure to com

Verizon today has deals for nearly every one of Apple's AirPods , including the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 3, and AirPods 2. As with all other Verizon deals, you don't need to be a Verizon customer to get these savings, and all orders receive free two-day shipping. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Verizon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Starting with the AirPods Pro 2, these are once again available for $199.99 , down from $249.99. This remains the best price of the year so far on the newest AirPods Pro model. $50 OFF AirPods Pro 2 for $199.99 Secondly, Verizon has both models of the AirPods 3 on sale. You can get the AirPods 3 with Lightning Charging Case for $149.99 , down from $169.99; and the AirPods 3 with MagSafe Charging Case for $159.00 , down from $179.00. Deals on the AirPods 3 have been rare over the past few months, so this is a great chance to finally get some sav