AirPods Pro 3 are one of Apple’s most highly anticipated new products. Even though launch timing for the new AirPods is still uncertain, rumors around features have been a little more solid, including a new feature that’s expected to be borrowed directly from Beats: heart rate monitoring.

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Apple's Beats brand is holding a special event this weekend at Madhappy's Pantry West Hollywood in the Los Angeles area to celebrate the recent launches of Beats-branded charging cables and retailer-exclusive Blush Pink and Navy Blue colors for the Beats Pill speaker.


This weekend's event runs from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Friday through Sunday, with attendees able to purchase a themed drink in the form of Beats Berry Sweet Cloud Matcha, which is a Nekohama matcha latte with raspberry syrup, topped with blueberry sweet cloud cold foam. The first 50 customers purchasing the drink each day will receive a free Beats cable.


All purchasers of the drink will receive a token (maximum two per person) to use in an onsite Beats claw machine for an opportunity to win an array of Beats products including Madhappy-designed Beats Pills in Blush Pink or Navy Blue, with only 20 of the limited-edition speakers available at the event. The full list of available prizes includes:

• Custom-designed Madhappy & Beats Pill portable speaker in Blush Pink or Navy Blue (Only 20 available!)


• Beats Solo 4 on-ear headphones in Slate Blue or Cloud Pink


• Beats USB-C to USB-C cables in Nitro Navy


• Beats iPhone 16 Cases with MagSafe in Sunrise Pink and Twilight Blue


• Custom Beats sticker sheet

The weekend will also include a DJ set by Lumia on Saturday, July 19, from noon to 3:00 pm, and the whole event takes place at Pantry West Hollywood by Madhappy, located at 8906 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood.
This article, "Beats Celebrating Recent Launches With LA Event Featuring Themed Matcha Lattes and Exclusive Beats Pill Speakers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Today’s best deals are kicking off with as much as $180 in savings on select M4 MacBook Air configurations joined by ongoing $150 price drops on the rest starting from $849. We also spotted some M4/Pro MacBook deals with 1TB 14-inch configs at $200 off and some of the higher-end models at over $310 off. Circling back around to some return Prime Day deals, we also have Twelve South’s wonderful 15W HiRise 3-in-1 Deluxe MagSafe stand back at the $75 all-time low as well as a nearly 40% price drop on Beats Solo Buds at $50. Just sure to also scope out the new Anker display-equipped 7-in-1 Nano Charging Station with two retractable USB-C cables and the rest of today’s discounts below. 

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Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models are likely to support up to 25W wireless charging using a variety of third-party MagSafe charging accessories, thanks to compatibility with the next-generation Qi 2.2 wireless charging standard.


Currently, iPhones featuring MagSafe use Qi 2, the Wireless Power Consortium's (WPC) widely supported second-generation charging standard. With third-party chargers, Qi 2 maxes out at 15W – although iPhone 16 models do support upgraded 25W MagSafe charging using an official 30W Apple charger.

That limitation is likely to change with the iPhone 17 models, which are expected to support Qi 2.2, based on regulatory filings for updated MagSafe Chargers on Taiwan's NCC certification website. It was originally believed – and widely reported – that the WPC's Qi 2.2 standard would support up to 50W output. However, this turned out to be based on incorrect information. Qi 2.2 officially supports up to 25W.


Expect iPhone-compatible third-party Qi 2.2 chargers to become increasingly prevalent as we edge closer to the launch of the iPhone 17 lineup in September. For example, Ugreen has already announced its MagFlow Magnetic Power Bank, which it says is the first in the world to receive official Qi 2.2 certification from the WPC. The power bank is set to launch across the US, Europe, and Southeast Asian markets in the third quarter of this year.

In addition to faster charging, Qi 2.2 offers improved magnetic alignment and charging efficiency compared to its predecessor. The standard also features backward compatibility with older Qi chargers.
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Apple’s Reminders app is getting a fresh Liquid Glass look in iOS 26, plus a handful of other new features. One standout addition enables you to create new reminders faster than ever, here’s how it works.

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Two years ago, Apple launched the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max with a big emphasis on a new, titanium design. Titanium remained a differentiator for iPhone 16 Pro, too. But reporting indicates the company will ship only one iPhone 17 model with a titanium design this year, and it’s a surprising choice.

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Amazon this week has brought back the all-time low Prime Day price on Apple's AirPods 4, available for $89.99, down from $129.00. This is the base model of AirPods 4 without Active Noise Cancellation, and Prime members in select locations should be able to get same-day delivery if ordered in the next few hours.

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.

This price first appeared last week during Prime Day, and it was one of the overall best deals during this year's event. No other AirPods model has hit their Prime Day prices again, but you can find solid second-best prices on AirPods 4 with ANC at $149.00 ($30 off) and AirPods Pro 2 at $169.00 ($80 off).



AirPods 4 feature the H2 chip, a more comfortable fit, force sensors, Adaptive EQ, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and more. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

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Samsung Display will supply Apple with "crease-free" displays for its long-rumored foldable iPhone, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.


To achieve a crease-free inner display, Kuo said the foldable iPhone will utilize a metal plate that can disperse and control the stress generated by bending the display. The metal plates will be primarily supplied by a company named Fine M-Tec, he said.

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 still has a visible crease in the middle of its inner screen, so it seems like Samsung Display would have to be developing a custom solution for Apple in order for the foldable iPhone to truly have a "crease-free" design. It is unclear why Samsung has not yet used this apparent technology for its own foldable smartphones, which also primarily use metal plates from Fine M-Tec, according to Kuo.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone would use a "much higher-quality hinge" compared to some other foldable smartphones, allowing for a "nearly invisible" crease when the inner screen is in an unfolded position.

Kuo said Apple is aiming to start mass production of the foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026, so it could launch next year. He previously said the device will have a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID sensors for user authentication.

The foldable iPhone will be as thin as 4.5mm when unfolded, and between 9mm and 9.5mm when folded, according to Kuo. By comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 measures 4.2mm when unfolded, and 8.9mm when folded. This means the first foldable iPhone would be very slightly thicker than Samsung's latest offering, but Apple is just getting started.

The news about Samsung supplying Apple with foldable iPhone displays was also reported by various South Korean publications.
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Apple’s Weather app went down for many users, showing no data. The issue applied on all platforms, suggesting a server issue. However, it now seems to be slowly returning …

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YouTube is rolling out, or at least widely testing, a new video player design for its web experience that feels much different.

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France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Greece are preparing to test a new age verification system as part of the EU’s push to regulate how children access online content. Here are the details.

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It’s widely acknowledged that while Apple is happy for any Vision Pro sales it can get, the primary purpose of the existing headset is to let the company take a first step in the journey towards an Apple Glasses product.

But while a cheaper Apple Vision still seems to be a couple of years away, along with the company’s equivalent of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, we are now seeing the potential emergence of smart goggles as an interim device – with TikTok entering the fray …

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Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game will be available on Thursday, July 17 for Macs powered by Apple Silicon through the Mac App Store, GOG.com, Steam, and Epic Games Store.

The launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on the Mac follows the debut of Assassin’s Creed Shadows on the Mac earlier this year.

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Apple today announced a $500 million multi-year commitment to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed by MP Materials, at a state-of-the-art factory in Fort Worth, Texas. Apple said the commitment is part of its overall pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. within the next four years, which it announced in February.


Apple and MP Materials will build out the Texas factory with a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products, the company said. Today, nearly all magnets across Apple devices are made with 100% recycled rare earth elements, including in the Taptic Engine in the iPhone 11 and newer.

The two companies will also work together to build a rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, according to the announcement.

"American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we're proud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a statement. "Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States."

Apple said its commitment will support dozens of new U.S. jobs in manufacturing and R&D.
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Earlier this year, Apple pledged a $500 billion investment in the United States over the next four years. Now, the company is further expanding that pledge with a $500 million plan to “launch an all-new recycling facility for processing recycled rare earth elements.”

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Back in May, analyst Jeff Pu suggested that while the iPhone 17 Pro models would get an A19 Pro chip, and the iPhone 17 Air would get an A19, the base model would get the same A18 chip as the iPhone 16.

In a note seen by 9to5Mac, Pu now says the supply chain evidence suggests he was wrong, and that the base iPhone 17 will get the same A19 chip as the Air – but with one significant difference …

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Following a recent Digitimes report that Apple’s foldable iPhone has reached the initial P1 prototyping stage, two new reports now claim that Samsung Display is preparing to begin panel production by the end of this year, including Ming-Chi Kuo.

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If you live in one of nine eligible states, you can buy a range of Apple products without paying state sales tax.

The sales tax holidays take place annually, with varying dates and product eligibility, but in almost all cases you get only a few days to act …

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YouTube is rolling out, or at least widely testing, a new video player design for its web experience that feels much different.

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Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.

In this episode of Apple @ Work, webAI founders David Stout and Tyler Mauer join the show to discuss how WebAI aims to put large language model data in the hands of IT teams, Apple Silicon’s role in enterprise AI, and much more.

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I have an on my keychain to keep track of my keys, but obviously an AirTag is too big and bulky to fit inside a wallet. That’s what the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is for.

Disguised inside a thin, credit-card form factor, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder connects to the Find My app on your iPhone, so you can follow its location, and it even houses a speaker so you can make it beep to help you find your wallet when it inevitably gets lost somewhere in your home. Read on for my review …

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The European Commission appears to have reversed its plans to impose a significant digital tax on large technology companies, including Apple.


The change was confirmed in a draft document circulated within the European Commission late last week that was obtained by Politico. The document outlines potential revenue sources for the EU's next seven-year budget, covering the period beginning in 2028.

Notably absent from this list is the widely discussed digital services tax, which had been under consideration as recently as May. The tax was framed as a tool to ensure that large digital companies contribute fairly to the European economy.

Apple has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny in Europe and was among the primary targets of the now-abandoned proposal. The digital levy would have imposed additional taxes specifically on digital companies generating significant revenue from European users without being physically based in EU member states.

Instead of the digital services tax, the Commission now proposes three new levies: an EU-wide excise tax on tobacco products, a tax on discarded electrical and electronic equipment, and a corporate levy on large companies with annual EU turnover exceeding €50 million, such as Apple. The proposals will require unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states.

The timing of the change is widely understood to be linked to ongoing negotiations over a new transatlantic trade agreement between the EU and United States. According to Politico, the Commission's decision to withdraw the digital levy is seen as an attempt to avoid derailing trade negotiations with the United States and secure more favorable terms in a prospective agreement.

The finalized proposal for the EU's 2028–2035 budget is scheduled to be published on Wednesday, July 16. While the digital services tax remains off the table for now, the outcome of the upcoming trade talks with the United States and the ongoing DMA enforcement actions will continue to shape the regulatory environment for Apple in the European Union.
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FORM has long been one of the leaders in the smart swim goggles market, with Apple even carrying the company's Smart Swim 2 goggles online and in select stores over the holiday shopping season last year. The goggles feature an augmented reality display inside one of the goggle lens, allowing you to see a variety of metrics such as time and distance, and even heart rate thanks to a built-in heart rate monitor that sits on your temple.


Today, FORM is launching the Smart Swim 2 PRO, an upgrade that builds on the previous model by using lenses made of Corning's Gorilla Glass 3 for improved durability and clarity compared to the plastic traditionally used in goggle lenses.

The lens stack provides a 50+ UPF rating to block 98 percent of harmful UV rays, and the switch from plastic to glass only increases the overall weight of the goggles by about 5 percent (3.4 grams). Because traditional anti-fog coatings don't stick to glass, the Smart Swim 2 PRO goggles come with a cost-effective anti-fog spray based on baby shampoo that can be quickly applied before each swim.


I've had a chance to test out the Smart Swim 2 PRO in both the pool and the open water over the past couple of weeks, and they've provided some valuable features and insight for tracking my swims. In the pool, the screen inside the goggles dynamically changes based on where you are in your swim, thanks to accelerometer readings.

For example, during a swim it can show you elapsed time and distance during the majority of your swimming, but then briefly show your speed over the previous interval when it detects you've made a turn, and show your rest interval when it detects you've stopped swimming, all the while displaying a near real-time measure of your heart rate.

Any of these views can be customized to show different information such as stroke rate, pace over different distances, and even some technique scores such as your head pitch and roll to help you improve your stroke. The FORM platform pulls pieces of this data together to generate a FORM score as a measure of your overall efficiency, and that's another display option.


Rather than having to configure just one set of data to view within the goggles, you can save up to five different dashboards and cycle through them with a quick press of a button on the goggles. The dashboard options come pre-populated with sets focused on Fitness, Technique, Pace, and Intervals, but any of these can be edited to display your preferred metrics and a fifth dashboard can be created from scratch.

FORM offers a Premium subscription plan that comes with a one-month free trial and offers features such as over 1,500 guided workouts, automated HeadCoach technique analysis that can provide tips during and after your swims, and SwimStraight, a digital compass for open water swimming.


FORM has been gradually rolling out new features for its Premium plan to increase the value proposition, including HeadCoach Plans to offer customized workouts that evolve over time as you progress, and Smart Set to automatically display intervals and sets as you swim to help you keep track of repetitions during workouts. Launching in September will be HeadCoach Insights with personalized data-driven guidance following each workout that is tailored to your goals.

For open water swims, the goggles can show your stroke rate, elapsed time, and heart rate, and once they've collected enough pool data to understand your speed, they can estimate your open water pace and distance. You can also pair your goggles with an Apple Watch or Garmin fitness watch for more accurate GPS-based pace and distance data. One of the neatest open water features is the aforementioned SwimStraight digital compass that after just a quick calibration prior to your swim can help you stay on your intended course, reducing the frequency of physical sighting required during your swims.


Overall, the FORM Smart Swim 2 PRO goggles are targeted at triathletes and developing swimmers looking to improve their technique and stamina, and FORM's data shows that users who subscribed to the Premium plan and used guided workouts saw 1.4x greater gains in performance than those simply using the goggles in an unstructured manner. For swimmers without access to regular in-person coaching, FORM's platform fills the gap with a remarkably robust set of features to track swims, suggest workouts, and provide technique advice.

For serious swimmers doing coached workouts and race-focused training for the pool, FORM's goggles have a bit less to offer, though features like live heart rate display and Smart Set counting can help even those swimmers keep tabs on their workout performance. But the higher physical profile of the goggles necessitated by the electronics can cause some issues keeping them on when diving into the pool and the design offers a narrower field of view than some more traditional goggle options.

When you're done with a swim, you can optionally sync your data to the Apple Health platform, allowing you to track metrics in the Health app and workouts in the Fitness app. You can also sync directly to Strava, TrainingPeaks, and TriDot.

With up to 14 hours of battery life, I haven't needed to recharge the goggles yet, but doing so is simple with an included cable that magnetically attaches to charging pins on the goggles, though I wish the opposite end of the cable was USB-C rather than USB-A.

The Smart Swim 2 PRO goggles launch today in the United States and Canada through FORM's website and select retailers, with global availability coming early next month. They're priced at $329 in the United States, a $50 premium over the standard Smart Swim 2 model. After the one-month free trial, FORM's Premium subscription is priced at $15 per month or $119 per year, although you can get your first year for $99 if you add it at the time of goggle purchase.

Note: FORM provided MacRumors with the Smart Swim 2 PRO goggles for the purposes of this news coverage. No other compensation was received.
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Research firm LightShed partners says Apple should consider replacing Tim Cook as CEO, but the change is unlikely to occur any time soon.


In a note to clients seen by Bloomberg, analysts Walter Piecyk and Joe Galone say that "Apple now needs a product-focused CEO, not one centered on logistics."

Bloomberg notes that Apple shares have "badly lagged" behind rivals like Microsoft and Meta this year after losing ground in the race to deliver compelling artificial intelligence features. Apple shares have fallen 16% in 2025, compared with gains of 25% for Meta and 19% for Microsoft. The note added:

Missing on AI could fundamentally alter the company's long-term trajectory and ability to grow at all. AI will reshape industries across the global economy, and Apple risks becoming one of its casualties.

It is worth noting that this year's slump in Apple shares is a comparative blip in the company's long-term performance with Cook at the helm. Apple shares have gained over 1,400% since Cook started as CEO, compared to 430% for the S&P 500.

The comments come after Apple announced that Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams will step down from his position this month. He will be replaced by Sabih Khan.

Williams was once thought to be Cook's most likely successor. Now, senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus is believed to be the frontrunner. LightShed says "‌Tim Cook‌ was the right CEO at the time of his appointment and unquestionably has done a great job," but in the wake of Williams' departure, "it's time for more disruptive change, not less."

However, Cook is unlikely to step down anytime soon. In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that "there's no immediate successor ready to take the helm. There also haven't been signs internally that Cook is getting ready to leave or begin the process of grooming a replacement."

More significantly, "the board doesn't feel the need to make a change. Apple's directors are Cook loyalists like Arthur Levinson, Susan Wagner and Ronald Sugar." Gurman says:

There's no question Cook bears responsibility for Apple's current struggles. That includes the company's AI missteps, an aging product lineup, the erosion of its design-focused culture, a decade-long drought of breakthrough mainstream hardware, and its growing tensions with developers and regulators. But there's also no question that the board still sees him as the only person capable of turning things around.

Put simply: No crisis is big enough to shake the board's faith in Cook.

In fact, Cook's influence at Apple may grow. Gurman believes he could become Apple's chairman, in addition to his role as CEO:

Levinson, Apple's longtime chairman, has already surpassed the company's recommended board retirement age. So it wouldn't be surprising to see Cook eventually step into that role himself, as Iger, Dimon, Microsoft Corp.'s Satya Nadella and Cisco Systems Inc.'s Chuck Robbins have done at their companies. That would give Cook an even tighter grip on the iPhone maker.

Nevertheless, Apple apparently recognizes the need for change at the company. Senior executives such as services chief Eddy Cue have warned that Apple risks becoming the next BlackBerry or Nokia if it doesn't adapt quickly.


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