The MacRumors Show

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the imminent Apple product "launch" that is widely expected to be the fourth-generation iPhone SE. In a social media post on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.

We talk through the possibilities for the announcement and why it's most likely to be a new ‌iPhone SE‌, with rumored features including the A18 chip, a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, a USB-C port, Apple Intelligence support, and more. The launch of other new devices, such as the M4 MacBook Air, also appear to be right around the corner.

We also discuss Apple's new Powerbeats Pro 2 earphones, touting Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with Transparency mode, Personalized Spatial Audio, an H2 chip for improved power efficiency and Apple ecosystem integration, and Heart Rate Monitoring–a first time for an Apple audio product. We talk through the utility of the heart rate monitoring feature, fit, and how they compare to the AirPods Pro 2.


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(00:00) - Tim Cook Confirms Apple Launch for February 19th
(06:39) - Sponsor: Incogni 
(08:04) - More iPhone SE/New Product Launch
(23:29) - M4 MacBook Air Coming Soon
(29:16) - Powerbeats Pro 2 with Heart Rate Sensor 

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Earlier this week, Apple announced "Invites," which is designed to help users plan group events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. Users can choose a background image or generate one using Image Playground and customize the look of the invite with different fonts. Apple automatically adds in data from the Maps and Weather apps so that invitees have all of the information they need for an event. People who receive invites can RSVP and the sender can track who has responded. There are options to create a dedicated shared Photos album and a collaborative Apple Music playlist for the event. 

Invites is an iCloud+ service, which means that it is available to iCloud+ subscribers only. ‌iCloud‌+ is priced starting at $0.99 per month, and it provides users with additional ‌iCloud‌ storage over the free 5GB that comes with any device. While anyone is able to respond to an Invite that's sent out, creating invites is limited to ‌iCloud‌+ subscribers.

We discuss Apple's ‌iCloud‌ website and accessing the company's services from non-Apple devices, since Invites is also available via icloud.com. In addition, we reflect on the other apps that Apple has introduced in recent years, including Clips, News, Journal, and Sports. 

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the latest rumors about the iPhone SE 4 as it nears launch. The fourth-generation ‌iPhone SE‌ is widely rumored to feature an iPhone 14-style all-screen design with a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, and USB-C. Images of dummy models showcasing the new design were recently shared online.

Recent reports suggest that the fourth-generation ‌iPhone SE‌ is expected to support Apple Intelligence thanks to the A18 chip and 8GB of memory. Both the main and front-facing cameras are expected to receive major upgrades to 48- and 12-megapixel sensors, respectively. Contrary to earlier rumors, the device is no longer expected to feature the Camera Control, Action Button, or Dynamic Island.

The fourth-generation ‌iPhone SE‌ is highly likely to be the first to feature Apple's custom 5G modem. While it won't feature mmWave connectivity and may be slower than the Qualcomm components currently used in iPhones, it is expected to offer lower power consumption, improved cellular network scanning, and satellite connectivity enhancements.

The ‌iPhone SE‌ 4 is due to be released before iOS 18.4, sometime around March or April. It is expected to be slightly more expensive than the current model with a price point of about $470.

We also look ahead to the Apple Watch SE 3, which is expected to debut later this year. With an all-new plastic casing that evokes the ‌iPhone‌ 5C, we reflect on the direction of Apple's entry-level devices

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The MacRumors Show is back for 2025! On this week's episode, we look at how Samsung's latest announcements challenge Apple. Samsung this week announced the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25+, and the top-of-the-line Galaxy S25 Ultra. The new devices will directly compete with Apple's iPhone 16 and upcoming iPhone 17 lineup.

Similar to the ‌iPhone 16‌, AI is a major focus for the S25 lineup, with Samsung touting a new "Personal Data Engine" with a Dynamic Island-like "Now Bar" with a "Now Brief" that guides users through their day, Circle to Search, generative photo editing, context-aware searches with suggested actions, improved natural language understanding, third-party integrations via Gemini, Portrait Studio, and more.

Samsung also previewed the all-new "Galaxy S25 Edge," a super-thin variant of the S25 set to launch in the first half of 2025. It appears to be positioned as a direct rival to Apple's upcoming "‌iPhone 17‌ Air," which is expected to be the thinnest iPhone ever at just 6mm and a radical departure from previous devices with a 6.6-inch display with ProMotion, a single speaker, a single rear camera, and Apple's custom 5G modem.

Finally, Samsung unveiled its upcoming "Project Moohan" AR/VR headset, which it has designed in collaboration with Google. It is designed to compete with Apple's Vision Pro bears a striking similarity to the it in terms of design.

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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we take a look ahead to all of Apple's expected hardware announcements for 2025. Rumors and reports from a range of reliable sources suggest that Apple will release at least 22 new products in 2025, with a series of minor to major updates and refreshes planned for the iPhone, iPads, Mac, Apple TV, HomePod, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch, as well as one entirely new product. 

What do you think of Apple's rumored plans for 2025? Let us know in the comments. We'll be back next year! Happy New Year everyone!

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we take a look back at all of Apple's biggest announcements this year.

Apple's year started out with the launch of Apple highly anticipated Vision Pro headset in February. This "spatial computer" marked Apple's first brand new product line in years, seeking to blend the physical and digital worlds. Powered by the M2 and R1 chips, the Vision Pro uses over a dozen sensors and cameras to map environments in real-time, boasting two high-resolution displays for immersive experiences and advanced hand-tracking.

In March, Apple refreshed its popular MacBook Air lineup, unveiling new 13-and 15-inch models powered by the M3 chip. May brought significant updates to the iPad lineup. Apple launched the iPad Air 6, now available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes and powered by the ‌M2‌ chip, and the redesigned iPad Pro, featuring OLED displays for the first time and the debut of the M4 chip. Accompanying these devices was the Apple Pencil Pro, offering precision enhancements and haptic feedback for creative professionals, and the Magic Keyboard for ‌iPad Pro‌, which further bridges the gap between iPads and laptops.

Apple hosted its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, unveiling iOS 18 with enhanced Home Screen customization, a redesigned Control Center, and more. The company also previewed macOS Sequoia, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, tvOS 18, and visionOS 2, but the biggest announcement was Apple Intelligence – a new suite of AI tools for Apple devices.

As usual, September was packed with major announcements. The iPhone 16 lineup debuted, with the standard models embracing Pro-like features such as the Camera Control button, Action button, and spatial video capture. The iPhone 16 Pro and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max gained bigger displays, longer battery life, an improved ultra wide camera, and more.

The Apple Watch Series 10 launched in September, showcasing a thinner design, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 gained a back colour option and a new titanium Milanese Loop. Apple also debuted the fourth-generation AirPods, now with optional ANC, and a USB-C version of the AirPods Max. October saw a minor refresh of the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip and ‌Apple Intelligence‌.

Apple closed the year with a focus on its Mac lineup, bringing the M4 family of chips to the iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. Most notably, the ‌Mac mini‌ was completely redesigned with an even smaller enclosure measuring just 5 inches by 5 inches. The ‌iMac‌ and ‌MacBook Pro‌ also gained enhanced cameras and a nano-texture display option for the first time, along with a series of other small but significant improvements. Alongside this, Apple finally refreshed its Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard with USB-C connectivity.

What do you think about Apple's releases this year? Let us know in the comments.

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the rumored launch of Apple's first foldable in 2026 and the company's plans to move aggressively into the smart home market.

Earlier this week, display analyst Ross Young reported that Apple is expected to "enter the foldable market" in the second half of 2026. Apple's "dominant position in flagship smartphones" could potentially lead to significant growth for the foldable market in 2026, ultimately leading to a record year for foldables. There have long been rumors suggesting that Apple is developing a foldable iPhone, and several analysts believe that Apple will finally debut a foldable iPhone around September of 2026.

The first foldable ‌iPhone‌ could be between 7.9 and 8.3 inches in size, and it may have a "clamshell" design like Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip. A clamshell ‌iPhone‌ would fold in half vertically rather than horizontally, allowing for a full-size ‌iPhone‌ when unfolded, and a smaller, pocketable device when folded.

Meanwhile, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple's long-rumored HomePod with a display has been delayed again and is now expected to launch after WWDC 2025, likely in the third quarter of the year. The new smart speaker is expected to feature Apple's A18 processor and a 6-7 inch display, with support for Apple Intelligence, says the analyst. According to Kuo, the delay is primarily attributed to software development challenges, rather than hardware issues.

There have been a multitude of rumors about a ‌‌HomePod‌ with a display since 2021, and Apple actually seems to have several products in the works. Kuo's latest report harks back to previous predictions from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who suggested Apple was developing several HomePod variants with screens, including one with an iPad-like display and another featuring a screen mounted on a robotic arm. Gurman had indicated these devices were unlikely to launch before 2025.

The new ‌HomePod‌ will reportedly emphasize smart home functionality more than current models, suggesting a strategic repositioning of the product line. The idea that Apple is targeting the smart home market follows a recent report by Gurman about Apple developing an all-in-one home management hub with a square-shaped display, thick bezels, and a hemispherical base similar to the iMac G4.
We also discuss smart home ecosystems more broadly and the Sonos Ace over-ear headphones as rivals to the AirPods Max.

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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the recently leaked design of the iPhone 17 "Air" and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro. Earlier this week, a report from The Information's Wayne Ma revealed that the ‌iPhone 17‌ Air will have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone 16 models are 7.8mm thick and iPhone 16 Pro models are 8.25mm thick.

Due to this ultra-thin design, some compromises are said to be necessary. The device currently lacks a physical SIM card tray, a speaker on the bottom edge, an ultra-wide camera, and ultra-fast mmWave 5G support. Unsurprisingly, the device will also have a "smaller battery" than current iPhones, but it remains to be seen how battery life ultimately compares. With just one camera, the unit is expected to be large and centered on the rear of the device for a dramatically different look compared to current models. The device should launch in September 2025 alongside the standard ‌iPhone 17‌ and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro models, with no ‌iPhone 17‌ Plus expected.

Meanwhile, the ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 17‌ Pro Max are expected to offer some of the most significant design changes in years. Both models will drop titanium and return to an aluminum frame for a more lightweight design and feature a new part-aluminum, part-glass rear to enable continued support for wireless charging. The camera bump is also purportedly larger and rectangular, cut into the aluminum top half of the rear rather than 3D glass. We discuss the implications of these design changes and more.

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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through some of the biggest changes in our personal Apple ecosystems this month.

We discuss alterations in behavior motivated by the likes of AirPods malfunctions, better library management in music streaming services, the iPhone 16 Pro's improved battery life, and a desire for smaller devices. Have you made any changes to your setups recently? Let us know in the comments.

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YouTuber Kevin Nether joins us on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show to discuss Apple's latest updates to its array of Pro apps and the acquisition of Pixelmator.

Apple this week released a series of updates for its Pro apps, including Logic Pro 11.1, Logic Pro for iPad 2.1, Final Cut Pro 11, Final Cut Pro for ‌iPad‌ 2.1, and Final Cut Camera 1.1. Most notably, the latest version of Final Cut Pro for the Mac includes spatial video editing support and AI-driven features such as Magnetic Mask and Transcribe to Captions.

Earlier this month, Apple announced that it has acquired Pixelmator, the company behind popular photo and image editing apps Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator. The apps are exclusive to Apple platforms with a focus on user experience and one-off purchasing, unlike many of its rivals. Pixelmator is designed to be a challenger to Adobe Photoshop, while Photomator is a Lightroom competitor.

Both Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro were Apple acquisitions, so it's possible that Pixelmator and Photomator may become the next Apple Pro apps with a focus on image editing. It could also fold some of its features into the Photos app. While Apple used to offer a Lightroom competitor called Aperture, it discontinued the app just over a decade ago, and it has never made a Photoshop rival. What exactly Apple will do with the acquisition remains to be seen, but the company has teased "exciting updates to come." See more of Kevin's work over on his YouTube channel "Kevin The Tech Ninja."

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