A senior researcher's exit and a near-mutiny among Apple Intelligence engineers expose Apple's struggle to stay competitive in the AI arms race.


Apple is facing mounting internal fractures over its AI strategy, losing one of its top researchers while scrambling to keep key teams on board. It increasingly looks like a crisis of confidence in Cupertino.

Tom Gunter, one of Apple's most senior large language model researchers, has left the company after eight years. Colleagues say his deep expertise is tough to replace, especially as rivals like Meta and OpenAI throw around multimillion-dollar pay packages to poach talent.


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A rumor around Apple's AI initiatives suggests the company could turn to third parties instead of relying on its own Apple Intelligence for an upgraded Siri, but there's likely a different story.


Apple has been in some hot water optically since it announced Apple Intelligence upgrades that never shipped. More zealous customers and shareholders feel betrayed by the company, and lawsuits have even sprung up because of it.

However, according to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is exploring several options around how it can bring more powerful AI tools to its platforms. Specifically, it seems Apple could be looking to Anthropic or OpenAI to run the backend of an AI-powered Siri.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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Apple shouldn't have to change the App Store rules to meet a court order in the long-running lawsuit with Epic, a trade group insists, as it would violate Apple's First Amendment rights.


In April, the ever-persisting Epic vs Apple trial saw the court sanction Apple for deliberately violating a 2021 injunction to remove anti-steering barriers for third-party businesses. As part of the sanction, Apple was ordered to make quite a few changes.

The list of requirements ranged from not charging a fee on purchases made outside of an app, to stop limiting how developers promote alternative payment options within their apps, to allowing developers to more freely use links in apps, among other measures.


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Apple is facing fresh legal heat from privacy company Proton, which wants to break open the iPhone's closed App Store.


Swiss privacy technology company Proton has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Apple in California, claiming Apple maintains an unlawful monopoly over app distribution and payment processing. It cites harm to developers and consumers.

The proposed class action, filed in Oakland, alleges Apple forces developers to distribute apps only through its App Store. It also claims Apple imposes mandatory payment processing and extracts commissions of up to 30%.


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Apple is now on its second round of betas for its current-gen testing track, with new builds of iOS 18.6, iPadOS 18.6, macOS 15.6, watchOS 11.6, tvOS 18.6, and visionOS 2.6 now available for testing.


The second iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 developer betas have build number 22G5064d, replacing the first, 22G5054d. The second macOS Sequoia 15.6 build is 24G5065c, up from 24G5054d.

The second tvOS 18.6 build is 22M5065b and replaces 22M5054b, the second watchOS 11.6 build is 22U5065c taking over from 22U5054b, and the second visionOS 2.6 build is 22O5764b, up from 22O5754c.


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In the first major update since it was acquired by Apple, the Pixelmator Pro image editor for Mac has added features for pros with more RAW support, plus Image Playground from Apple Intelligence.


If you've been crossing your fingers since November 2024 that Apple wouldn't strip its newly-acquired Pixelmator Pro for parts, now is the first real clue of just how Apple intends to use the image editor. For Pixelmator Pro 3.7 adds only one new feature that's akin to its additions before the acquisition, but it's remained a separate app — with a lot of Apple elements added.

The most immediately obvious of which is that Pixelmator Pro now includes Image Playground. It's not quite as odd an inclusion as it was when professional video editing app Final Cut Pro got Image Playground, though.


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Apple's potential low-cost MacBook using the A18 Pro iPhone chip may have surfaced earlier than thought, with code references to the model apparently surfacing back in July 2024.


Early on Monday, commentary from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo advised that Apple was working on a MacBook that runs on an A-series processor instead of an M-series chip. Hours later, it seems that the model may have been teased quite a while ago.

According to posts shared by Aaron Perris via X in July 2024, code references in macOS 15.1 included a lot of iPhone, iPad, and Mac models. That list included a reference to "Mac17,1" a currently unused model identifier.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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The EU's DMA is said to be in the interests of consumers, but as its been implemented, it's just denying them iOS 26 features Apple can't risk giving away to rivals.


EU Mac users still haven't got iPhone mirroring, and they aren't going to get Live Activities on the Mac, either. Now Apple has directly told the EU regulators that there are more iOS 26 features that its users at least won't see remotely as soon as anyone, anywhere else.

The only one named is Visited Places, but according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple's vice president of Apple Legal, Kyle Andeer, has used a new EU workshop to tell officials that there will be more.


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Early Prime Day sales are heating up, with today's MacBook Pro sale discounting the 14-inch model with an upgrade to 24GB RAM and 1TB of storage by a substantial $240.


Save $240: Pick up Apple's M4 14-inch MacBook Pro with 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD for $1,759 at Amazon and B&H Photo.

Save $240 on Apple's current 14-inch MacBook Pro with a bump up to 24GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage during an early Prime Day price war between Amazon and B&H Photo.


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Verizon denies that a database offered for sale on a public forum contains real customer records, describing it as old data not connected to the company or its users.


A report by cybersecurity researchers at SafetyDetectives found a forum post advertising a database labeled "Verizon USA" with over 61 million records. The listing claimed the data was 3.1 gigabytes in CSV or JSON format and included sample screenshots of personal information fields.

Verizon told TechRadar it reviewed the postings and dismissed the data as old information recycled from forums. The company insists it has no link to its systems or customers and rejects any claim of a new breach.


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On the latest HomeKit Insider Podcast, Ryan Okimoto joins to talk about the latest home automation news, and the relaunch of Brilliant.


Ryan Okimoto — or Oki — is the Senior Director of Customer Engagement at Brilliant, and is our special guest this week on the show. He has a long history in tech hardware companies, spending time at Sonos and Eero before Brilliant.

Brilliant had faced a future of uncertainty after it was unable to meet its financial obligations. Despite this, the company website and its servers never went dark.


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After a rocky start in Apple's display supply chain, display supplier BOE has bulked out its OLED panel supply chain in the hope it can secure more iPhone screen orders.


The display supply chain for iPhones has been dominated by Samsung Display and LG Display, with BOE being a much smaller supplier in comparison. However, BOE really wants to be a big player, and has expanded its production capacity in the hope that Apple will use it.

According to the China Display Trend Report from UBI Research, seen by ZDNet Korea on Friday, BOE has managed to construct an annual production capacity for 100 million OLED panels for iPhones.


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Marking ten years of Apple Music, the streaming service is hosting a week of special programming, ranging from the countdown of its top streaming chart, to documentaries about the streamer.


Since it launched on June 30, 2015, Apple Music has continuously streamed radio shows as well as individual tracks, and it has created performances from live sessions to the Super Bowl. Now, alongside unveiling a new Los Angeles studio for musicians, Apple has announced special programming for the streamer's anniversary day.

The programs start with "Don't Be Boring: The Birth of Apple Music Radio with Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden," which at time of writing is already streaming live on June 30, 2025. It's scheduled to run from 6 A.M. Pacific to 8 A.M. Pacific.


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Apple Music is turning 10, and to celebrate, it's giving you the "Replay All Time" playlist of your all-time most-played songs. Here's how to listen to it.


Apple Music's new Replay All Time playlist shows you the songs you've played the most since you joined the service. It is, essentially, your annual Replay, but for your entire listening history.




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Alongside celebratory shows on Apple Music live streaming, Apple is marking the first decade of its streaming service by opening a 15,000-square foot studio for musicians.


Apple Music went live on June 30, 2015, and since then has added Apple Music Classical, Spatial Audio — and opened a studio in Paris. Now Apple has announced a new complex that provides two studios, a soundstage, and facilities for artists in Los Angeles.

"Apple Music Radio has always been a home for storytelling and artistry, serving as a space for bold conversations and surprising moments," Rachel Newman, Apple Music's co-head, said in the announcement. "With this new studio, we are furthering our commitment to creating a space for artists to create, connect, and share their vision."


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The long-rumored Apple Glass smartglasses may actually reach consumers' faces in late 2027, Ming-Chi Kuo claims.


As a concept, Apple Glass has featured heavily in rumors. Smart glasses taking multiple forms is a hot favorite to come out of Cupertino at some point in the future.

In a Monday post TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recaps and offers new forecasts on Apple's smart glasses endeavors.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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On June 30, 2015, Apple launched Apple Music, the service that has brought music pleasure to millions — and cost Apple billions in fines — plus it included a social media feature no one wanted.


If you joined Apple Music when it first launched and have stayed with it since, you have probably paid out at least $1,198.80. The price has gone up over the years, plus there are more expensive tiers with a family plan, cheaper ones with the student offering, and Apple Music is also part of the Apple One bundle, but you've been paying something for up to a decade.

What won't have happened, though, is that you've ever had the service for free — at least not above limited trials. Unlike its rivals, specifically Spotify, Apple Music does not offer a free ad-supported version.


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According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has two new Apple Vision Pro headsets in development, with the M5 version expected to arrive perhaps by the end of 2025.


Of all the rumors concerning future versions of the Apple Vision Pro, one of the most recent was that a lighter version would be released in early 2026. Ming-Chi Kuo now disagree with that, and chiefly claims there will be no new headsets at all in 2026 — and then a small raft of them starting in 2027.

In his blog post on the topic, Kuo states that five — including both Apple Vision Pro and other smart glasses designs — have confirmed launch dates, while two are yet to be determined. The full headsets include an M5 version of the Apple Vision Pro that he says will start mass production in the third quarter of 2025, but the others will come out between 2027 and 2028.


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Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple intends to launch a MacBook using the processor currently in the iPhone 16 Pro, as part of a plan to produce a significantly lower-cost Mac.


Apple has been designing its A-series processors for the iPhone — and originally the iPad — since its A4 release in 2010. Consequently, when Apple Silicon's M-series was first announced for Mac, comparisons were made between the then-current Intel Macs and the existing A-series processors.

Now according to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is going to turn that theoretical comparison into reality by making a MacBook that runs on an iPhone's A-series processor.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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Amazon has issued early Prime Day discounts on Apple's iPad range heading into July, with a return of a $100 price drop on the iPad mini 7.


Save up to $220: Grab an iPad for as low as $299 with early Prime Day savings.

The countdown to Prime Day is in full swing, with today's top deals including Apple's iPad range. Prices have fallen to as low as $299 for the iPad 11, with the iPad mini 7 returning to the year's best $399. Plus, grab an M4 iPad Pro at up $220 off.


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A prominent leaker has proposed it is time for the Apple Ring to be the company's next wearable. It's an idea that Apple has been working on for years, but is still far from becoming a reality.


The rumor mill often goes through a cycle where it surfaces hints and claims about unreleased Apple hardware. This often happens for products that sound like a logical leap for Apple's next release, but haven't been the subject of a rumor for quite some time.

On Sunday, it was the Apple Ring's turn, thanks to Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg. In the email to subscribers, Gurman proposes that the Apple Watch doesn't offer any real updates anymore, and that shifting to another wearable platform, like a smart ring, would serve Apple well.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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Compared to today's iPhone 16 Pro Max and what we know of the forthcoming iPhone 17 range, the very first iPhone that went on sale 18 years ago today was startlingly slow and incredibly limited — yet it changed the world.


It was on June 29, 2007, that the original iPhone went on sale in the US, and arguably that was the day that it truly began shaking up what users expected from a phone.

We and the phone industry had already known all about it for over five months. But it wasn't until you could buy it that the impact of this little device began to be felt — even inside Apple.


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New details on the New Jersey counterfeiting indictment, Brad Pitt's home was burgled while promoting "F1: The Movie," and more charges in the Los Angeles Apple Store looting feature in this week's Apple Crime Blotter.


The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.


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A leaker claims that Apple will change the position of the Apple logo on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro because of the expected camera bar at the top, marking the first such change in six years.


In a new image and post on his website, leaker Majin Bu, who has offered a mixed track record on rumors, claims that the new arrangement for the camera expected in the forthcoming Pro model will cause Apple to reposition the Apple logo lower. A new post from Bu says will be moved to the center bottom portion, below the camera bar.

"[A] company we collaborate with, specializing in producing cases for the iPhone 17 Pro line, has confirmed they are already working to start production of cases with the updated design," Bu reported, providing a illustration of the change. Both the repositioning of the Apple logo and the introduction of a full camera bar across the top are presently unconfirmed, but the latter change is seen as very likely.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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Savings of up to $100 off are in effect on a large selection of Apple Watch Series 10 and SE 2 styles during this weekend's early Prime Day sale.


Save up to $100: Early Prime Day Apple Watch deals have dropped prices to as low as $169 at Amazon.

The weekend price drops include a selection of Apple Watch Series 10, Ultra 2, and SE 2 models, with various case sizes and band styles eligible for double-digit and triple-digit savings. You can jump directly to Amazon's sale page or peruse highlights from the sale below and in our Apple Watch Price Guide.


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A self-described computer geek has revealed a previously secret "easter egg" image file buried in the ROM code of the 27-year-old Power Macintosh G3 that shows the team that worked on the project.


Doug Brown, who maintains a blog that documents his experiments and research into older computers, said that he accidentally discovered the Easter egg while looking through resources in the Power Mac G3's ROM. This model was made by Apple between November 1997 and August 1999.

The same ROM was used for the minitower, all-in-one, and beige desktop models. Brown said he was spending "a lazy Sunday" using a pair of tools called ROM Fiend and Hex Fiend to look through the G3's ROM resources.


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After some controversial advertising, Apple's 'F1' will be the company's best-ever theatrical debut, after a $10M preview and an immersive trailer for the Apple Vision Pro.


The company's strong push to promote the new Brad Pitt movie F1 — including a controversial ad within the Wallet app — position the Apple Original Films theatrical release to have the company's best-ever opening weekend.

Apple's new film, which stars Brad Pitt as a race-car driver returning to the Formula One circuit after 30 years away, drew $10 million during its first US preview, according to industry tracker Deadline. It is projected to bring in more than $55 million in its first full weekend, playing at 3,661 theatres.


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The AlgoLaser Pixi Smart Laser Engraver is great starter machine for etching onto practically anything, without taking up too much desk space. The software leaves something to be desired, though.


The maker movement helped propel a new market of small hardware for producing or designing things. It helped the widespread adoption of 3D printing, while speciality hardware like Cricut is seeing massive growth.

The success of high-end tools for consumers to get creative with has also spread into the field of engraving. While you could previously try to freehand an etched design using a Dremel and some careful fingerwork, even engraving has become so much easier to do.


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Meta's latest feature gives Facebook the power to continuously upload your private photos to its cloud — even the ones you never intended to share. Here's how to stop it.


In a time where internet users are goaded into giving away their data to nearly every company, Meta has decided to take it several steps further. It wants you to give Facebook access to your entire camera roll and allow it to upload your photos to its cloud.

The "feature," spotted by TechCrunch has recently begun rolling out to users. When creating a story, a prompt pops up and asks users to opt into "cloud processing."


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The FTC is handing out $126 million in "Fortnite" refunds after years of shady charges, surprise bills, and retaliatory bans. Here's how to get yours.


Nearly one million Fortnite players are getting refunds totaling $126 million. The payouts address years of unauthorized charges and access restrictions tied to billing disputes.

This round of payouts is for those who submitted a valid claim before February 14, 2025. The FTC is currently reviewing claims that were made after February 14 and will provide information to claimants at a later date.


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Early Prime Day Mac mini deals continue to roll in, with a weekend sale knocking $100 off the latest model with Apple's M4 chip and a bump up to 512GB of storage. Plus, save up to $900 on upgraded models.


The $100 price cut can be snapped up at Amazon and B&H Photo, as both retailers engage in a price war less than two weeks before Prime Day.

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AI agents are learning to tap through your iPhone on your behalf, but Apple researchers want them to know when to pause.


A recent paper from Apple and the University of Washington explored this disparity. Their research focused on training AI to understand the consequences of its actions on a smartphone.

Artificial intelligence agents are getting better at handling everyday tasks. These systems can navigate apps, fill in forms, make purchases or change settings. They can often do this without needing our direct input.


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A new rumor claims that the iPhone 17 will have a larger screen than the current iPhone 16, making it the same size as the iPhone 16 Pro.


In May 2025, display analyst Ross Young claimed that the iPhone 17 would feature a 6.3-inch screen, compared to the 6.1-inches of the iPhone 16. Now regular, even prolific, leaker "Digital Chat Station" agrees.

"The screen size of iPhone 17 has changed to 6.27/6.3 inches," says the leaker (in translation). The first figure listed is the more precise diagonal size of the screen, but it will be referred to as 6.3-inches.


Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible


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Apple has annoyed some users with its F1 Wallet promotion, and pleased others with its Finder icon redesign. Plus, there's news of the M5 iPad Pro, how Apple Intelligence briefly went down, and more, on the AppleInsider Podcast.


It had already seemed as if Apple had found every possible way to promote its "F1: The Movie," and yet no, there was at least one more way — and judging by social media, it deeply aggravated users. But Apple using its Wallet app to promote a Wallet offer is arguably useful, so let's argue it.

Plus this is week three of the OS 26 betas, and it's the first time that Apple Intelligence has gone down. Apple will surely never admit to a problem, but host Wesley Hilliard has figured out how on-device Apple Intelligence can possibly go down.


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Apple has added a $350 million campus to its growing Bay Area portfolio, spending over half a billion dollars on local real estate this week.


Apple has been on a Bay Area shopping spree this week. Earlier we learned that it bought the Tantau office complex for $160 million — but it seems like Apple still had money to burn.

Its newest acquisition is a two-building campus located at 615 and 625 North Mathilda in Sunnyvale, Santa Clara County. The location is just under seven miles from Apple Park.


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Trump has signed a trade deal with China that will see it withdraw the rare minerals ban that affects iPhones, though it still leaves US consumers paying far more for imported goods.


Among the responses to Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, China halted rare earth mineral exports in April 2025. Now according to multiple sources including Reuters, that ban may be lifted.

There are few details so far, and no confirmation of whether all such rare mineral exports will resume. The news broke as Trump casually mentioned "we signed with China yesterday," and officials subsequently revealed that the deal was made earlier in the week.


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While the new glass-like design may be the most visible change within iOS 26, the operating system also has five features that might be particularly appealing for business users.


iOS 26 made its debut on June 9 at WWDC 2025, in a relatively subdued keynote event. While Apple put a strong emphasis on its cross-platform "Liquid Glass" design language, there's more to iOS 26 than meets the eye.

Some of the upgrades and improvements in iOS 26 allow you to express your creativity more easily, like the new ChatGPT-powered styles for Image Playground. Other features, meanwhile, will help you get work done, and they might be especially useful for those in the business world.


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DeepSeek has been declared by German regulators to contain illegal content because of its security issues, and the local government wants it removed from the App Store and Google Play Store.


DeepSeek is the Chinese generative AI app that jumped to the top of the US App Store, was famously developed for a fraction of what OpenAI spent on ChatGPT, and has even been politely praised by Tim Cook. However, it also comes with severe security issues, and this is what has prompted Germany's decision.

According to Reuters, Germany's data protection commissioner Meike Kamp has asked Apple and Google to remove it after DeepSeek failed to meet requested security standards. She asked DeepSeek in May 2025 to meet requirements, or to voluntarily withdraw its app, and it did neither.


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The latest Apple Store in Australia is in a historic Commonwealth Bank Building, and it has opened to customers with unique features to the region.


Apple's ambitious retail plans continue to be carried out unabated as a new Apple Store opens in Perth, Australia. It is technically a store that was moved from a different location in Perth and now resides in a historic Commonwealth Bank Building.

According to comments provided to The West by Apple SVP of Retail and People Deirdre O'Brien, Apple wanted to elevate the experience for local shoppers. Like other stores in historic locations around the world, Apple worked to restore and lean into attributes that make the location unique to the region.


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The Aura Triple Boost 14 Pro adds three 14-inch folding displays to your MacBook Pro, for when you really need to work on the move — assuming you've got the cargo capacity.


One of the main benefits of having a desktop computer is the ability to use multiple monitors. With more than one screen at your disposal, your digital workspace increases considerably, allowing you to see and work on more things at once time.

At a desk with a Mac mini or Mac Studio, this is an environment that is easy to create. It becomes a much tougher problem when it comes to portable workstations.


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