In this week’s top stories: New details on the upcoming Powerbeats Pro, Apple planning two new versions of AirPods, WWDC 2019 details for developers, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.
Beats is planning to release its truly wireless Powerbeats Pro headphones next month, and this week it received FCC approval for them. Furthermore, we learned that at launch, Powerbeats Pro will only be available in black. The other three colors – ivory, navy, and moss – won’t be available until an undetermined date later in the summer.
Continuing the headphone focus, a new analyst note from Ming-Chi Kuo this week said that Apple is planning two new AirPods modems for later this year. Kuo says that one tier of AirPods will feature an all-new design, as well as a higher price tag. Details are unclear on what features the new AirPods might offer, but past reports ache suggested water resistance and noise isolation.
Later this year Apple will also release a trio of new iPhones, and this week we got a look at several different imaginations of those iPhones. One report suggested that the 2019 iPhones will feature a new back glass design, as well as a redesigned mute switch. Meanwhile, CAD renders offered a 360-degree video and comparison between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max.
A report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday detailed growing turnover on Jony Ive’s famed industrial design team. The report explained that the team is losing three of its most veteran members, which is unusual as the industrial design team has had famously low turnover throughout its years.
These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.
iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |
- WWDC 2019 for developers: Siri, Marzipan and AR improvements, more
- iOS 13 concept imagines mouse support, enhanced multitasking, more for iPad [Gallery]
- Apple releasing third iOS 12.3 developer beta today [U: Now available]
- macOS 10.15 concept envisions rumored Screen Time feature with ambitious design [Gallery]
iPhone |
- Report: 2019 iPhones to feature new back glass design, redesigned mute switch, more
- JCPenney drops Apple Pay support from retail stores and app
- Chimpanzee browsing Instagram on iPhone with precision goes viral [Video]
- iPhone XR continues to dominate US smartphone sales, says CIRP
- iPhone 11 dummies use 3D printing to give rough look at the rumored design [Video]
- iPhone 11 Max CAD renders offer up 360-degree video and iPhone 11 comparisons
Mac + iPad |
- Apple now repairing MacBook keyboards in-store, promising next-day turnaround time
- Comment: Apple’s in-store MacBook keyboard replacement program is a smart PR move
Apple v Qualcomm |
- Court documents show Apple purposefully bought pools of cheap patents to help make Qualcomm’s royalty demands appear overpriced
- 5G iPhone using Qualcomm and Samsung chips, Apple could ship 200 million iPhones in 2020
- WSJ: Apple considered buying Intel’s smartphone modem business prior to Qualcomm settlement
Top Apple stories, retail |
Apple Watch |
- Lens is a modern and feature-packed Instagram app for Apple Watch that works without the iPhone
- Apple Watch lost at sea returns to owner in working condition after 6 months
- AliveCor monitor gets FDA approval to detect two more heart conditions than Apple Watch
AirPods + Beats |
- Apple granted FCC approval for Beats Powerbeats Pro totally wireless earphones as launch nears
- Beats releasing black Powerbeats Pro earphones in May, other color options coming this summer
- Kuo: Two new AirPods models in Q4 2019 – Q1 2020, one features an all-new design and higher price
- Digitimes: AirPods 3 launching at the end of 2019 with noise cancellation features
Apps |
- Instagram adds new quiz sticker for asking multiple choice questions through Stories
- Reeder 4 RSS app launches for Mac and iOS with automatic dark mode, iCloud syncing, Bionic Reading mode, more
- What’s the best Twitter app for the Mac?
AirPlay 2 + HomeKit |
- Bowers & Wilkins unveils ultra-premium ‘Formation’ home speaker line with AirPlay 2
- Arlo HD smart video doorbell shows up in new images, HomeKit support unknown
- Sony launching first new 4K TVs to gain AirPlay 2 and HomeKit from $1400
Top Apple stories, company |
- New York City teen sues Apple for $1B after being falsely linked to a string of Apple store thefts
- Apple losing three key members of Jony Ive’s famed industrial design team
- Apple now paying Amazon over $30M each month for cloud services, likely to continue growing
- Apple loses another legal battle with Swatch, this time over ‘one more thing’ trademark
- Apple recalling travel kit and wall plug adapters used in three countries
- Tim Cook calls for regulation of tech industry with ‘serious issues,’ says government encryption case was rigged
- Wall Street expects AAPL Q2 2019 revenue to be down 5-6%; more iPhone price-cuts likely
- Jony Ive and Dior designer Kim Jones discuss the environmental cost of design, challenges of working for the future, more
Subscribe to 9to5Mac’s YouTube channel for more videos.
This week’s top videos |
- Which iPad should you buy? Hands-on with the iPad, iPad mini 5, iPad Air 3, and iPad Pro
- Wireless Charging Case for AirPods review – a worthy $80 upgrade for first-gen AirPods? [Video]
9to5Mac Deal of the Month |
This month we’ve teamed up with Withings for 9to5Mac’s Deal of the Month to offer a special discount on its sleek Wi-Fi smart scale for a limited time. The Body+ scale works with the Withings Health Mate app on your iPhone and Apple Watch to automatically sync readings for not just weight, but also body fat, water percentage, muscle and bone mass and more directly to Apple’s Health app.
Get 20% off Withings Body+ Smart Scale at the company’s website or Amazon (Reg. $99)
Happy Hour Podcast #222 |
This week Benjamin and Zac discuss 9to5Mac’s Gui Rambo’s latest week of scoops including Siri Shortcuts and Screen Time coming to the Mac, new Apple Watch features in macOS 10.15, and WWDC 2019 for developers, plus Ming-Chi Kuo’s latest iPhone 11 camera predictions, a flood of rumors about AirPods 3, Samsung’s big Galaxy Fold blunder, 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 #033 |
Another week full of delicious scoops — expanded macOS authentication using the Apple Watch, WWDC news for developers, more signs of AR headset(s!), Siri shortcuts on the Mac, and much more. Also, how does Rambo get his hands on all this information anyway?
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.
- Why is Apple ignoring services in the enterprise?
- A look back at the LAUSD iPad hacking scandal
- The next age of enterprise computing is cloud-first
- Use cases for G-Suite login integration on macOS
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