The current MagSafe battery pack market is pretty insane right now. There are literally thousands of magnetic power banks all over Amazon. Most of them are the same: they attach to the back of your phone, trickle-charge your iPhone, and get warm the longer they charge. When you look for one on Amazon, they all look like slightly modified versions of the previous one. But every once in a while, you see one that actually looks, feels, and functions differently. That is exactly what the new Sharge IceMag 3 has. It’s fast, has a very unique look, and can do more than just charge your phone. Let’s take a look.

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Nomad today introduced a new version of its popular titanium Stratos band that's designed for the Apple Watch. The new version features a limited edition icy blue glow colorway, providing a subtle glow-in-the-dark effect that can be seen between the titanium links of the band.


Available for $189, the Stratos Apple Watch band combines the look of titanium with the comfort of fluoroelastomer. The band features outer links made from metal injection molded Grade 4 titanium, paired with molded FKM material on the interior.


The fluoroelastomer connects each titanium link, offering flexibility and comfort that's unavailable with traditional metal bands, including Apple's own titanium band. The FKM material peeks through the rounded titanium links, adding visual interest and space for ventilation to bolster moisture evaporation and breathability.


Nomad makes the Stratos band in Silver and Black titanium, with black, ultra orange, volt, and icy blue glow FKM color options. The latter is the new color, and we were able to try out the band before it launched. Nomad's imagery largely depicts the band in the dark with a rich, blue glow coming from the fluoroelastomer underlayer, but the actual blue shade in the light is much subtler. The color is a soft, muted blue that's close to white from a distance.

Exposing the band to sunlight or bright light produces a glow effect, but it's faint. The FKM material of the Stratos band is beneath the titanium and against the wrist, so it sees little light exposure. Light is needed for the glow to work, which means the overall result is subdued. For the most part, expect the band to look more white than blue between the links, but you will see thin lines of the blue color peeking through the links in the dark.


The band is comfortable on the wrist, and it's simple to remove links with the included tool to get a custom fit. The magnetic clasp is easy to close, and it only opens when squeezing the sides of the buckle, so it should remain secure. The clasp can pinch the skin when it's being closed, so be wary of that when putting the band on.


Having the fluoroelastomer underneath the titanium makes for a softer feel on the wrist than just titanium alone, and Nomad's band options are far cheaper than Apple's similar bands.

You can order the Icy Blue Glow Stratos Band from the Nomad website for $189.
This article, "Nomad Launches Hybrid Titanium Apple Watch Band in New 'Icy Blue Glow' Color" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Last week, Apple officially announced that it is turning to Google to power new Apple Intelligence features coming to iPhone as soon as this year. Here’s a look at what features are coming soon.

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Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest.


Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major changes to the AirPods' hardware. AirPods Pro 2 debuted at the iPhone 14 event in September 2022, and they were updated with a USB-C charging case and a few other tweaks in September 2023. Otherwise, Apple has waited about three years to update all of its AirPods models.

Kuo said that the 2026 AirPods Pro will feature a "more significant" hardware upgrade in the form at least one tiny infrared camera. He previously said AirPods with infrared cameras could recognize hand gestures and provide an enhanced spatial audio experience with Apple's Vision Pro headset.

The Chinese leaker known as "Instant Digital" subsequently corroborated the rumor with some additional details and clarifications. Rather than being a new generation, the 2026 AirPods Pro will apparently be a pricier, high-end variant of the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ introduced in 2025, suggesting that both models will ultimately be on sale alongside each other. It is worth noting that Apple offers two version of the AirPods 4 at $129 and $179 price points, so this is a highly plausible move.

The current AirPods lineup has offerings priced at $129, $179, $249, and $549. An additional product between the $249 ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ and $549 AirPods Max seems possible, especially given the rise of higher end Bluetooth earbuds from the likes of Bang Olufsen, Bowers & Wilkins, and Bose.

As Kuo first said, Instant Digital similarly believes that the key differentiator will be an infrared camera for gesture controls. In fact, Apple may remove the high-end model's pressure-sensors and go all-in on gesture controls.

The H3 chip is also a possibility. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the next-generation audio chip is in development. The ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ launched last year stuck with the same H2 chip from their predecessor released in 2022.

Launch timing is currently unclear, but Apple typically announces new AirPods in the second half of the year. The original AirPods, AirPods Pro 2 and their subsequent USB-C revision, ‌AirPods 4‌, and ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ were all announced at Apple's annual ‌iPhone‌ event in September.
This article, "New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Last year, Nomad introduced an Apple Watch band that I had never seen before. It combined the athletic-minded FKM rubber they use for their sports bands with the high-end, high-quality titanium they use for their Titanium Band, and called it Stratos. This band blew me away, and I’ve used it basically every day since then. Now they are back with a new colorway, and they have just bought their Icy Blue Glow material over to the Stratos band for a limited time. This thing is a showstopper.

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Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is now ready to roll. We have spotted a new Amazon all-time price on this Apple Watch Series 11 Titanium model with the Milanese Loop at $127 off alongside a chance to score a Best Buy refurb black Apple Watch Ultra 2 at $349 off the original list price. From there we move over to open-box offers on Apple’s latest M4/5 Magic Keyboard case at up to $120 off as well as more accessory offers – 25% off the black TechWoven iPhone 17 Pro case, official Apple MagSafe 3 Cables for $22, and Samsung’s Mac mini-ready M8 Smart Monitor at $300 off. Check it all out below. 

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Respected veteran display analyst Ross Young has added his support to a new leak today about the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design.


In a new post on X (Twitter), the now-retired Counterpoint Research VP said that Chinese leaker Instant Digital's latest explanation of how Apple will shrink the Dynamic Island is what he was alluding to in a report last year.

Back in June 2025, Young said that while some parts of Apple's Face ID system would move under the display on iPhone 18 Pro models, the devices would retain visible Face ID elements – meaning the Dynamic Island would persist, albeit in a smaller form than on the iPhone 14 Pro through iPhone 17 Pro.

That's effectively what Instant Digital claimed earlier today: the leaker explained that only the IR flood illuminator would move under the display to the top-left corner, while the dot projector, infrared camera, and selfie camera would remain housed in a reduced, centered Dynamic Island. Another Chinese leaker has since backed the claim, which also corresponds to reporting last year by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Young's corroboration directly contradicts a recent report by The Information's Wayne Ma that said Apple would move the selfie camera to the top-left corner of the iPhone 18 Pro's display, resulting in a hole-punch cutout and the removal of the pill-shaped Dynamic Island.

It seems increasingly likely that details from Ma's sources were either lost in translation or misinterpreted, possibly due to partial knowledge of an under-display Face ID component.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.
This article, "Latest iPhone 18 Pro Leak Corroborated by Respected Former Analyst" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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At CES 2026, Anker unveiled a pretty neat new 45W charge brick with a smart display. You might’ve heard about it already, but as of today, it’s now available for purchase.

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Amazon today has dropped the price of the new M5 MacBook Pro to $1,449.00, down from $1,599.00. This is the 10-Core model with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD, and it's a solid second-best price on the M5 MacBook Pro.

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.

Additionally, the 16GB RAM/1TB M5 MacBook Pro is available for $1,629.00 ($170 off) and the 24GB RAM/1TB M5 MacBook Pro has hit $1,825.00 on Amazon ($174 off). All three models have estimated delivery dates around January 25.






This version of the MacBook Pro launched in October and it comes with the newest M5 chip, which offers up to 15% faster CPU performance and up to 45% faster graphics when compared to the M4 chip. 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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This article, "Amazon Takes Up to $174 Off Apple's M5 MacBook Pro" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple reclaimed the leading position in China's smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2025 as strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup offset a contracting market and growing supply-chain pressure from memory chip shortages.


New data from Counterpoint Research shows that smartphone shipments in China declined 1.6% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and fell 0.6% for the full year, reflecting weaker consumer demand driven primarily by rising prices linked to escalating memory costs. Within that environment, Apple's performance diverged sharply from the market as a whole. Counterpoint said Apple's shipments in China rose 28% year over year during the holiday quarter, allowing the company to rank first in the market with a 22% share in the fourth quarter.

The improvement marks a notable reversal from earlier in 2025, when Apple trailed domestic competitors in China. According to Counterpoint, the change was driven by strong demand for the ‌iPhone 17‌ lineup, which accounted for roughly 20% of Apple's shipments in China during the quarter. The firm noted demand was particularly concentrated among the Pro models. Counterpoint added that Apple benefited from an accelerated supply ramp up late in the year, enabling it to meet holiday demand more effectively than some rivals that were constrained by component availability.

The notable exception within Apple's lineup was the iPhone Air. Counterpoint said the model captured only a low single-digit share of Apple's China shipments following its debut. This is attributed to a slower start due to the device's later launch compared with other regions and to perceived trade-offs between its ultra-thin design and overall feature set.

For the full year, Apple did not lead the Chinese market, but it narrowed the gap with domestic competitors. Counterpoint said Huawei ranked first in China for 2025 with a 16.4% market share, followed closely by Apple and vivo at around 16% each. Xiaomi and Oppo trailed slightly behind at roughly 15% each.

According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, global smartphone shipments reached 1.26 billion units in 2025, up 1.9% year over year. Globally, Apple remained the largest smartphone vendor in 2025, shipping 247.8 million iPhones for a 19.7% market share. Apple's shipments grew 6.3% year over year. Samsung ranked second with 241.2 million units shipped and a 19.1% share, while Xiaomi placed third with 165.3 million units and a 13.1% share, despite a year-over-year decline.
This article, "Apple Regains Top Spot in China's Smartphone Market" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Woot this week kicked off a new Apple sale that includes some of the lowest prices we've tracked on the Studio Display in months. The items that we're focusing on in this sale are all in new condition and come with a one year Apple limited warranty, but there are other items that are refurbished.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Woot. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Prices on the 27-inch Studio Display start at $1,349.00 for the standard glass/VESA mount adapter, down from $1,599.00, and also includes all of the nano-texture glass options. We haven't tracked deals on the Studio Display in quite a while, so these are solid markdowns for anyone who's been waiting for a sale.



Another notable discount in this sale is Apple's 1m Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) Pro Cable for $35.99, down from $69.00. This accessory is also in new condition and it comes in bulk packaging. You'll find a few similar charging accessories on sale during this event, including Apple first party USB-C and Lightning cables.

In addition to the base discounts, you can use the code APPLEFIVE at checkout to get an extra $5 off every item in this sale. 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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This article, "Woot's New Apple Sale Takes Up to $450 Off Studio Display and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Leaker Fixed Focus Digital gained credibility for being one of the first to report the iPhone 16e naming, and continues to insist that an iPhone Air 2 will launch this year despite contradictory reports.

In a new Weibo post today, they double down on a claim made last month and add a little more detail …

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Late last year, a Reddit post caused something of a furore. A user posted a photo of their Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro that had turned pink. A few other examples followed.

However, while you should continue to follow Apple’s advice on how to avoid this, tests have shown it’s unlikely to happen accidentally …

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Amazon has long offered the ability to sync ebooks with their audiobook equivalent, a convenient option for those who prefer to read when sitting down but like to continue with the book while on the move. Spotify is currently testing a feature called Page Match, which can pull off the same trick with paper books …

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Apple will launch a second-generation iPhone Air this year, despite reports that it has been delayed until 2027, according to the Weibo leaker known as Fixed Focus Digital.


Doubling down on a similar claim they made late last year, the leaker says feedback coming from the production line still suggests that the iPhone Air 2 will launch in the fall – presumably alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models and a rumored foldable iPhone.

The second-generation device will have "very minor changes," making it "basically a routine upgrade," the leaker said in comments machine-translated from Chinese.

The rumor comes in contrast to a November report from The Information that said Apple had decided to delay the launch of the next-generation ‌iPhone Air‌ until 2027 as a result of poor sales. A second report from the same outlet claimed Apple will use the delay to work on a redesign of the device that could include a second rear camera, as well as a lighter weight, vapor chamber cooling, and a larger battery capacity.

Notably, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman responded to these reports shortly after they were published, claiming his sources indicated that the iPhone Air 2 was not in fact delayed, because it had never been earmarked for 2026 in the first place. "The fact that Apple named the device the iPhone Air (rather than the iPhone 17 Air) signaled that it didn't want to tie the product to an annual release schedule," said Gurman at the time.

Gurman believes a refreshed Air could potentially roll out in spring 2027 alongside the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e, as part of Apple's new split-launch strategy. In addition, Gurman's sources said the main focus of the second Air will be a move to a 2-nanometer chip that will improve the device's battery life, rather than introducing major structural changes.

It is still possible that a new ‌iPhone Air‌ could launch this coming fall, but the previous reports cast doubt on the Chinese leaker's claim. Fixed Focus Digital previously broke the news ahead of launch about the iPhone 16e name.
This article, "iPhone Air to Get Minor Refresh This Year, Claims Leaker" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple’s Mac icons in Tahoe have come under fire from quite a few people. Adjectives that have been applied to them include terrible, awful, amateurish, dumbed down, and objectively bad.

With the announcement of Apple Creator Studio, the company has gone even further in terms of minimal icons for its creative apps, provoking further controversy …

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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, Aruna Ravichandran, SVP & CMO – Collaboration, Enterprise Networking, at Cisco, joins the show for a 2-part series to talk about the state of AI and networking.

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Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely.

Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the situation.


According to the leaker, early reports from Chinese and Korean sources about the possible relocation of an infrared Face ID component were later mistranslated in some English-language coverage as a visible left-side hole-punch front camera. That leap conflated different Face ID elements and overlooked how Apple typically evolves its front sensor layout, allowing a minor internal change to be misread as a major external redesign.

To illustrate, Instant Digital shared an image (below) of a Face ID sensor assembly made up of three distinct modules mounted on a single flex cable: an infrared flood illuminator on the left, and a centered dot projector with an infrared camera to its right.

Crucially, the leaker is suggesting the layout shows that the flood illuminator – being relatively small and optically simple – is the only Face ID component likely to be placed under the display, in the top-left area of the screen. The dot projector and infrared camera, by contrast, would remain centered and housed within a reduced, pill-shaped Dynamic Island, where the selfie camera would also remain.

Last month, The Information reported that the front camera would be moved to the top-left corner of the display on iPhone 18 Pro models, explicitly claiming this change would eliminate the pill-shaped cutout. Instant Digital now appears to be pushing back on that interpretation.


In short, reports of a top-left hole-punch camera on the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max now appear to be incorrect. The only visible change suggested by the leak is a smaller, centered Dynamic Island – as per some reports – enabled by relocating the IR flood illuminator outside of it and under the display.

Apple is likely to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September. Barring any more conflicting rumors, we now have a clearer picture of what to expect the front display to look like.

Update: Today's leak has since been corroborated by the X account "ShrimpApplePro," which has accurately leaked some details about Apple devices in the past.

Update 2: Respected former display analyst Ross Young has also backed Instant Digital's latest claim.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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An effort led by security research lab CovertLabs is actively uncovering troves of (mostly) AI-related App Store apps that leak and expose user data, including names, emails, and chat history. Here are the details.

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Apple may have replaced standalone 3-month trials of Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro with Apple Creator Studio’s 1-month test period, but there’s one way to still get up to 90 days of access, at least for now. Here’s how to do it.

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Over the holiday break, I finally decided to take the plunge and get a new iPhone after four years holding on to my iPhone 13 Pro Max. Here are the main differences I’ve been noticing so far.

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Google is working on an on-device data migration feature on iOS that will let Safari users import their browsing data directly into Chrome. Here are the details.

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Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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One of the longest-standing wishlist items for users of the web-based version of WhatsApp is at last on the way. Here are the details.

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