In this week’s top stories: Apple expands its truly wireless headphone lineup with new Powerbeats Pro, HomePod gets a worldwide price cut, iPhones to go all OLED by 2020, and more. Read on for all off this week’s biggest news.
9to5Mac exclusively revealed the look of the upcoming Powerbeats Pro last week, and Apple this week officially took the wraps off of the truly wireless earbuds. Powerbeats Pro include Apple’s H1 chip, Hey Siri support, and up to 9 hours of battery life. Should you buy Powerbeats Pro or AirPods 2? Read our full comparison here.
Apple made a series price cuts around the world this week. Apple Music saw a nice price cut in India, bringing it to a lower price than Spotify and YouTube Premium. The iPhone XR also got a 25% price drop in India. Lastly, Apple dropped the price of its HomePod smart speaker worldwide, making it $299 in the United States.
A supply chain report from Digitimes this week claimed to offer details on Apple’s long-term iPhone plans. According to the report, Apple will release three OLED iPhones in 2020. The new iPhones will reportedly come in three sizes ranging from 5.42-inches to 6.67-inches. Read all of the details here.
A report from The Wall Street Journal on Friday detailed the continued growth of Apple Music. According to the report, Apple Music has surpassed Spotify in the United States with 28 million paying subscribers.
These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.
iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |
- Comment: iOS 13 will be the most important release to date for iPad
- PSA: You probably don’t want to use these apps to get iMessages on Android phones
- Review: Lutron’s Fan Speed Control is the best way to retrofit your ceiling fan with HomeKit
iPhone |
- Report: Apple to release three OLED iPhones in 2020, featuring new screen sizes from 5.42- to 6.67-inches
- Apple’s price cuts continue, with 25% off the iPhone XR in India
- College students accused of profiting $1M worth of iPhones through counterfeit repair scheme
- Kuo: 2019 iPhones to feature larger batteries to accommodate bilateral wireless charging
- Apple ramping up in-house iPhone modem efforts as relationship with Intel grows strained
Mac + iPad |
- Review: Samsung’s 34-inch ultra wide monitor with Thunderbolt 3 is a tempting choice for MacBook users
- New iPad Air teardown finds machine almost identical to 10.5-inch iPad Pro
- Logitech launches Slim Folio Pro backlit keyboard case for 2018 iPad Pro
- 2019 iMac versus iMac Pro is not an easy choice, show two comparisons
- iPad mini 5 teardown exposes unchanged battery size, 3GB RAM, True Tone technology, more
Top Apple stories, retail |
- Apple reportedly abandons plans for Apple Store in Israel as mall owners reject terms
- Apple halts plan for store in Melbourne’s Federation Square following demolition permit refusal
- Redesigned Apple Store planned for New Jersey’s Cherry Hill Mall
- The evolving role of Apple Stores in a services era
Apple Watch |
- Apple Watch skeptic discovers Afib days after ECG app reaches Europe
- watchOS 6 Wish List: Bedtime mode, Activity Sharing upgrades, watch face design, more
- Reddit user says Apple Watch saved his life helping detect supraventricular tachycardia
AirPods + Beats + HomePod |
- Beats officially unveils ‘totally wireless’ Powerbeats Pro with Apple’s H1 chip in new AirPods, ‘Hey Siri’
- Apple starts advertising Powerbeats Pro ‘totally wireless’ headphones before release [U]
- Should you buy AirPods 2 or Powerbeats Pro? Here’s how Apple’s truly wireless earbuds compare
- AirPods 2: Running with ‘Hey Siri’, wireless charging without AirPower, more
- ColorWare custom AirPods 2 in glossy and matte finishes now available
- Apple cuts price of HomePod worldwide, now $299 at the US Apple Store
- AirPods competitor Bragi exits consumer hardware business, focusing on AI licensing instead
Apps |
- Cloudflare announces Warp: a new free VPN service for iOS
- WhatsApp groups getting a fix for their most annoying feature
- Plex reveals updated Apple TV app with new navigation & customization options, more
- Latest Sonos update adds new ‘Recently Played’ feature
Services |
- Report details Eddy Cue’s failed negotiations with NYT and Washington Post for Apple News+
- Apple’s latest price cut sees Apple Music undercut Spotify and YouTube Premium in India
- WSJ: Apple Music surpasses Spotify in US with 28 million subscribers, ahead by 2 million and growing
Top Apple stories, company |
- Excerpt from upcoming Tim Cook biography describes how he ‘bet the company’ on Apple’s fight with the FBI
- Apple employee suggests he was detained by border control because of his political views
- Apple poaches top Google machine learning expert as it continues to expand AI team
- ACLU files complaint over US border control’s intense ‘interrogation’ of Apple employee
- Apple loses semiconductor engineer who oversaw development of A-series chips in iPhone and iPad
Subscribe to 9to5Mac’s YouTube channel for more videos.
This week’s top videos |
- iPad Air 3 review: Semi-Pro [Video]
- How to upgrade the 27-inch 5K iMac (2019) with a massive 128GB of RAM [Video]
Happy Hour Podcast #219 |
This week Benjamin and Zac unpack AirPower’s demise including Apple’s statement on the cancellation and alternative recommendations, our first week with new AirPods including “Hey Siri” and wireless charging, newly announced Beats Powerbeats Pro specs, and the latest iPhone 11 rumors, and much more.
9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Stacktrace Podcast #030 |
John and Gui are joined by special guest Stephen Hackett to go on an epic journey throughout the many eras of Apple history. What major events and products defined each era, how did they move Apple forward, and how do some of them affect Apple even to this day? Fasten your seatbelt and pump up the volume — let’s go for a ride!
Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Making The Grade |
Making The Grade is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing 100s of Macs and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.
- Use cases for G-Suite login integration on macOS
- The 9.7-inch iPad didn’t get updated, but schools should keep buying it
- Apple Configurator 1.0 set the groundwork for modern iOS management
- How to avoid the biggest education mistakes with technology
- Making the Grade: Apple and Microsoft are the unlikeliest of friends in education
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