All posts tagged: Apple Rumors

Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO next year

Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO next year

Published by Webster

According to the Financial Times, Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO as early as next year. And the board has started to seriously work out a succession plan. FT says that John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice-president of hardware engineering, is considered the frontrunner for the position. Rumors of Cook’s stepping down follow the retirement of Apple COO Jeff Williams, whose last day at the company was Friday. As part of that departure, there has been some shuffling of responsibilities at the executive level, including expanded roles for Services chief Eddy Cue, head of software engineering Craig Federighi, and Ternus. Regardless of who winds up taking over as CEO, it’s unlikely to be someone from outside Apple. Tim Cook has previously said there is a strong preference for an internal candidate and that the company has “very detailed succession plans.” Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the …

Apple helped kill netbooks. Will it bring them back?

Apple helped kill netbooks. Will it bring them back?

Published by Webster

Rumor has it, Apple is working on a low-cost MacBook. And not “low-cost for a Mac,” but a proper cheap laptop, possibly as low as $599. For a company that traditionally targets the more premium end of the market, this would be something of an about-face. Of course, Apple takes great pride in its design and aesthetics. So the company isn’t going to simply take the innards of a MacBook Air, slap them in a cheap plastic case, and call it a day. Instead, Apple is supposedly building a smaller laptop, with a lower-resolution screen and an “entirely new design” around an iPhone processor. That chip could be some version of the A19 found in the current iPhone lineup, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed earlier this year that the company was working on a laptop powered by last year’s A18. If the idea of a small, low-cost laptop running on an ultralow-power chip feels familiar, well, it should — we used to call them netbooks. Netbooks erupted on the scene at a weird time in …

Apple is planning to use a custom version of Google Gemini for Apple Intelligence

Apple is planning to use a custom version of Google Gemini for Apple Intelligence

Published by Webster

Apple is preparing to power its AI-upgraded Siri with a custom version of Google’s Gemini AI model, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The iPhone maker will reportedly pay Google around $1 billion annually to gain access to the technology, which will generate summaries and perform planning-related tasks. As noted by Bloomberg, Apple will run the custom Gemini model on its Private Cloud Compute servers, though it will continue to use in-house models to power some Siri features. Gurman reports that the Gemini model will use 1.2 trillion parameters to help inform its responses, far greater than the 150 billion-parameter model behind the cloud-based version of Apple Intelligence. Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that the new Siri is set to arrive next spring, while also leaving the door open for more third-party AI integrations with Apple Intelligence. Though Apple is reportedly moving forward on a deal with Google, Bloomberg says Apple will continue developing its own AI technology that it could use to eventually replace Gemini. Disclaimer: We do not …

Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app

Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app

Published by Webster

Apple plans to announce an app focused on video games for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV at its Worldwide Developer Conference next week, according to Bloomberg. The app will let you launch games you’ve installed on your devices and serve as a hub for things like achievements and leaderboards. Apple is expected to launch its gaming app alongside the next version of iOS this September, Bloomberg reports. It will apparently replace Apple’s Game Center, feature editorial content, and let you access games also available on the App Store. A 9to5Mac report from last year described the app as working similarly to the Xbox app for iPhone. A Mac version of the new app will let users “tap into games downloaded outside of the App Store,” Bloomberg says. Bloomberg’s report follows news that Apple bought its first gaming studio. The company confirmed to Digital Trends that it acquired RAC7, the two-person studio behind Sneaky Sasquatch, one of the first games released on its Apple Arcade games subscription service. RAC7 won’t be folding into any …

Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app

Apple is trying to get ‘LLM Siri’ back on track

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Apple Intelligence has been a wreck since its first features rolled out last year, and a big new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman details why — and how Apple is trying to piece things back together. And much of its effort hinges on rebuilding Siri from the ground up. Gurman has reported in the past that Apple is working on what it’s internally calling ‘LLM Siri’ — a reworked, generative AI version of the company’s digital assistant. Apple’s previous approach of merging the assistant with the existing Siri hasn’t been working. Gurman describes in great detail a number of reasons why, but here’s a quick summary: Now the company is trying to rejigger its approach. Part of that is a total overhaul of Siri, rather than just trying to make generative AI work in concert with the old Siri. According to Gurman, Apple has its AI team in Zurich working on a new architecture that will “entirely build on an LLM-based engine.” Gurman reported in November last year that the company was working on this, …

Apple might let you scroll with your eyes in the Vision Pro

Apple might let you scroll with your eyes in the Vision Pro

Published by Webster

Apple is testing a feature that will let users scroll through Vision Pro apps using the headset’s eye-tracking capability, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Eye-based scrolling will apparently work across all of Apple’s built-in apps, and Gurman says the company is working on letting third-party developers use the feature, too. How it would actually function is a mystery, but I could see a system where you have to look at the edge of a page long enough to start scrolling, or focusing on a UI element, then looking above or below it to move a page. You can do a version of eye-based scrolling with the Dwell Control accessibility feature, which lets you open menus or carry out actions by briefly resting your eyes on items in your view. To scroll, you can gaze at an icon until the page scrolls a set amount — it’s clunky, and I’d be surprised if what Apple is testing works the same way. Apart from accessibility alternatives, other ways to scroll include the default — pinching with your …

Apple could use AI to help your iPhone save battery

Apple could use AI to help your iPhone save battery

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Apple’s iOS 19 update could include an AI-powered feature designed to conserve battery, according to a report from Bloomberg. The battery management tool will reportedly optimize your iPhone’s power consumption based on how you use your device. The new feature will use “battery data it has collected from users’ devices to understand trends and make predictions for when it should lower the power draw of certain applications or features,” Bloomberg reports. Google launched its machine learning-powered Adaptive Battery on Android in 2018, and says it analyzes your phone usage patterns to determine which apps it should restrict from operating in the background, and which ones it should prioritize. The Android settings can control how apps are allowed to operate in the background, in order to check for updated data and notifications. iOS 19 will also reportedly include an indicator on the lock screen that shows how long it will take to fully charge your phone. As reported by Bloomberg, Apple is mainly launching AI battery management for the upcoming iPhone 17, which is rumored to …

Apple may release a ‘mostly glass, curved iPhone’ in 2027

Apple may release a ‘mostly glass, curved iPhone’ in 2027

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This morning, while summarizing an Apple “product blitz” he expects for 2027, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes in his Power On newsletter that Apple is planning a “mostly glass, curved iPhone” with no display cutouts for that year, which happens to be the iPhone’s 20th anniversary. That follows a report last weekend from The Information, which said that “at least one 2027 iPhone model that will place the front-facing camera underneath the screen to enable a truly edge-to-edge display.” Late last year, a report from The Elec said Apple is working with its display partners to create a bezel-less iPhone, but not one that curves the display down the side of the phone — a trick companies like Samsung and Vivo have employed in the past. But the “mostly glass, curved” part of Gurman’s prediction is more interesting to me, because what the heck does that mean? After all, I’d describe the iPhone 15 Pro sitting on my desk right now as “mostly glass,” with the only exterior metal being around the camera lenses and in …

Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app

Apple ‘iPhone Air’ rumor suggests a bigger screen coming in 2027

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Apple’s rumored super-slim iPhone “Air” isn’t expected until this fall, but supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says development has already begun on a redesigned version with a bigger screen. According to Kuo, Apple’s second iPhone Air / iPhone “Slim” model is planned for launch in the fall of 2026 as part of the usual annual refresh, but with the same overall size and design before the third iteration expands things the following year. Bloomberg reported in March that the 2025 iPhone Air was originally supposed to come with a 6.9-inch screen, but Apple reduced its size to 6.6 inches to avoid another bendgate scenario. Kuo’s list also indicates Apple is already working on its second foldable device for release in 2027. The rumor aligns with a report from The Information over the weekend saying Apple may begin to stagger releasing new iPhones. That would see high-end versions of the iPhone 18 – including the Pro, Air, and a rumored foldable iPhone – introduced in the fall, before the cheaper standard model and budget “e” version …

Apple is ready to replace Game Center with a more Xbox-like gaming app

Apple may stagger next year’s iPhones to make way for a foldable

Published by Webster

Apple is planning to shuffle its iPhone release schedule next year as it releases the first foldable iPhone to make things more manageable, reports The Information. The plan is for the foldable to come out with the iPhone 18 Pro and “Air” models, while the standard iPhone 18 gets shunted back to the spring of 2027, releasing alongside an iPhone 16E follow-up, according to the outlet. With the slimmer model in the lineup and a foldable expected in 2026, The Information says Apple needs to shuffle things around to keep a ballooning six-iPhone lineup manageable. As for what the foldable will look like, the outlet writes that Apple is going with a book-style form factor, rather than clamshell, with a 5.7-inch screen when closed and a just-under-8-inch display when open. Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously suggested it will be 4.5–4.8mm thick when unfolded and will use Face ID, rather than Touch ID. The report includes other tidbits, like that Apple will introduce a new battery case for the iPhone 17 Air, as its …