Apple's AirPods Max launched five years ago today, marking the company's first push into the high-end over-ear headphones market under its own brand name.


Rumors about Apple's work on a pair of high-end headphones, at the time believed to be called the "AirPods Studio," heated up throughout 2020. They were announced abruptly via a somewhat unexpected press release on December 8, 2020 and went on sale the same day. Orders started arriving to customers one week later on Tuesday, December 15.

The ‌AirPods Max‌ offer many popular AirPods features such as the H1 chip, easy pairing, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, automatic switching, and Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, but in a premium over-ear design for the first time. They also offer a headband made of a flexible mesh canopy, replaceable magnetic earcups, a Digital Crown for physical volume controls, a button for switching between ANC and Transparency, and a Smart Case for storage and to put the headphones into a low power state.

Demand for the ‌AirPods Max‌ was high immediately after launch, with shipping estimates that stretched out several months. Initial reviews of AirPods Max were favorable, applauding the headphones for being "more than enough to compete with other high-end headphones" in terms of design and sound quality. While the recommended retail price remains at $549, the ‌AirPods Max‌ are often available with discounts of over $100.

The ‌AirPods Max‌ have also been subject to criticism since their launch, including for their price relative to rival sets of high-end over-ear headphones, the design of the Smart Case, condensation inside the earcups, poor battery life (something that was later fixed via a software update), ANC strength seemingly being reduced over time, the over-head canopy's poor durability, and the long period in which the device has been left without meaningful hardware update.

Last year, Apple refreshed the AirPods Max's selection of color options and swapped the Lightning port for USB-C, but there were no other changes. Since the changes were so minor, Apple does not seem to consider the "new" model a second-generation.
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Apple is preparing to bring support for its Car Keys feature to Toyota vehicles, evidence uncovered by MacRumors suggests.


Toyota introduced its own Digital Key feature as part of the available Remote Connect package several years ago, which allows drivers to use their smartphone as a key to access and drive the vehicle. Now, the company appears to be adding support for Apple ‌Car Keys‌, with the feature going live as of today on Apple's back end.

Introduced in 2022, ‌Car Keys‌ allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle via the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in the Wallet, and unlocking can be completed by holding an Apple Watch or ‌‌iPhone‌‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

Tapping on the door handle is enough to initiate an unlock, and while Face ID authentication is a security option, Apple offers an Express Mode that eliminates the need to authenticate for an even faster unlocking process.

It is unclear when Toyota will roll out support for ‌Car Keys‌ to its vehicles, and the company has not yet made any announcements related to the feature, but it is likely to be relatively soon since the feature is now live on Apple's back end.

At WWDC 2025, Apple confirmed that 13 vehicle brands would "soon" add support for digital car keys, including Audi, Acura, Porsche, GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Rivian, Smart, Lucid Motors, Tata Motors, Hongqi, WEY, Chery, and Voyah.

Vehicles from BMW, Genesis, Kia, Hyundai, Lotus, Mercedes, Volvo, and more already offer car keys support, with a list available on MacRumors.
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Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has said that he will never agree to share revenue with Apple for external purchases linked from iOS apps, even after a U.S. appeals court ruled that Apple is entitled to charge a reasonable fee for such transactions.


Speaking to The Verge following the U.S. Court of Appeals decision that partially modified the injunction in the ‌Epic Games‌ v. Apple case, Sweeney outlined his position on what Apple should and should not be allowed to charge developers as the dispute returns to the district court for further proceedings. The appeals court ruled that Apple must be allowed to collect some form of compensation for purchases made through external links in iOS apps, reversing a lower court order that had permanently barred Apple from charging any commission at all.

Sweeney acknowledged that Apple incurs operational costs in reviewing apps that include external payment links and said Epic would accept flat, submission-based fees tied directly to that work. However, he rejected outright the idea that Apple should receive any percentage-based commission on revenue generated outside the App Store.

Sweeney characterized the appeals court ruling as a decisive rejection of Apple's longstanding approach to ‌App Store‌ fees. He said the decision "completely shuts down, I think, for all time, Apple's theory that they should be able to charge arbitrary junk fees for access." He went on to suggest that the U.S. decision could influence regulators abroad, arguing that other countries would be unlikely to permit Apple to charge fees that a U.S. court had found to be unlawful.

However, the appeals court did not block Apple from charging commissions on external purchases. Instead, it said the district court went too far by permanently banning all commissions, calling that approach more like a punishment than a corrective measure. Although the court agreed that Apple deliberately violated the original injunction by making external links hard to use, it ruled that Apple must still be allowed to cover its costs and receive some payment for the use of its intellectual property.

As a result of the ruling, the case has been sent back to the Northern District of California to determine what constitutes an appropriate fee structure. The appeals court said that Apple may not charge any commission on purchases made via external links in iOS apps until the district court approves a rate.
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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through Apple's plans to refresh the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR.


Apple's next-generation Studio Display is widely expected to feature the same 27-inch screen size as the current model, but with mini-LED technology instead of LCD. This upgrade would result in increased brightness and a higher contrast ratio compared to the current model, bringing it in line with the MacBook Pro, which has touted mini-LED since 2021.

Leaked Apple code suggests that the new Studio Display will also feature an A19 chip. The Studio Display's chip supports features like Center Stage, Spatial Audio, and "Hey Siri" commands. The current Studio Display contains the A13 Bionic, a chip that started out in the iPhone 11 lineup back in 2019. The new model could also feature ProMotion for a refresh rate up to 120Hz, just like the ‌MacBook Pro‌, along with HDR.

Apple released the Studio Display in March 2022, alongside the first Mac Studio. The standalone display features a 27-inch LCD screen with a 5K resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, up to 600 nits brightness, a built-in camera and speakers, a single Thunderbolt 3 port, and three USB-C ports. In the U.S., the monitor starts at $1,599.

Reports suggest that the next-generation Studio Display will come out in early 2026, when we're also expecting new Macs with the M5 chip.

Apple has been rumored to be working on an updated version of the Pro Display XDR since 2022, adding an Apple silicon chip. As a result, the Pro Display XDR is likely to gain speakers, microphones, Hey ‌Siri‌ support, and a camera with Center Stage, just like the Studio Display. Further parity with upcoming Studio Display features such as mini-LED and ProMotion is also possible.

At the very least, the new monitor is expected to feature the same quantum-dot display technology adopted by the MacBook Pro. The latest quantum-dot display films have equal to better color gamut support, and offer improved motion performance, compared to the KSF phosphor film that Apple uses for the existing Pro Display XDR and previous ‌MacBook Pro‌ models. This means the new Pro Display XDR should have improved color accuracy and faster response times compared to the current model.

The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.



You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.



If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about Samsung's new Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone and how it could compare to Apple's upcoming foldable ‌iPhone‌.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

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Porsche is preparing to bring full support for Apple's Digital Key to its new all-electric Cayenne and Macan models.


The feature enables unlocking, locking, and starting the vehicle using an iPhone or Apple Watch via NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy, and Ultra Wideband. Digital Keys stored in Apple Wallet will continue to function even when an ‌iPhone‌ has run out of charge. Owners will be able to share access with up to seven additional users.

Porsche was highlighted as an upcoming partner when Apple outlined next-generation Car Key support at WWDC. Porsche Digital Key support will be available on 2026 model year versions of the electric Cayenne and Macan as part of the Comfort Access option.

MacRumors today discovered that Apple has now enabled the required infrastructure on its backend, meaning that Porsche simply needs to roll the feature out, suggesting that this will take place relatively soon. Earlier this week, Samsung announced that its Samsung Wallet service now supports Porsche Digital Key access for select models beginning with the 2026 Macan, using similar standards.
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The Pro Display XDR is six years old today, making it one of the oldest Apple products still on sale.


Released on December 10, 2019 alongside the redesigned Mac Pro, the Pro Display XDR was Apple's re-entry into the high-end external monitor market, following a three-year hiatus after discontinuing the Thunderbolt Display in 2016. The announcement came at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2019, where the company presented the display as a rival to traditional reference monitors. The XDR in its name stands for "Extreme Dynamic Range," a feature that Apple emphasized as a key differentiator from other high-resolution monitors available at the time.

It features a 32-inch Retina display with a 6K resolution of 6,016 by 3,384 pixels, powered by Apple's proprietary LED backlighting system. Apple utilized blue-colored LEDs with custom lenses and reflectors to achieve a maximum brightness of up to 1,600 nits in HDR mode, while sustaining 1,000 nits across the entire screen indefinitely. This allows for what Apple describes as "stunningly accurate colors and contrast," supporting the P3 wide color gamut and delivering a claimed 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

The rear of the display features the same lattice pattern used on the 2019 ‌Mac Pro‌, which functions as a heatsink to aid thermal management. The display is also available with matte nano-texture glass to cut down on glare—the first Apple product it's featured on.

Upon its release, the Pro Display XDR garnered significant attention for its high price. In the United States, the display starts at $4,999, and users who opt for the adjustable Pro Stand must pay an additional $999. The Pro Stand, which is sold separately, was met with mixed reactions upon its unveiling. Apple justified the cost by highlighting the engineering involved, with the Pro Stand offering height, tilt, and rotation adjustments, as well as support for both landscape and portrait modes. A VESA mount adapter is also available for those who prefer third-party mounting solutions.

As of its sixth anniversary, the Pro Display XDR remains one of only two external monitors sold by Apple, alongside the Studio Display, which was released in March 2022. Unlike the Pro Display XDR, the Studio Display comes with an integrated A13 Bionic chip, enabling features such as Center Stage for its built-in webcam, spatial audio, and support for Siri voice commands. The Pro Display XDR, however, has no webcam or any internal Apple silicon chip.

Speculation about a second-generation Pro Display XDR has been circulating for some time. In December 2022, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple was working on an updated version of the display, this time with an Apple silicon chip to enhance its capabilities. In July 2023, Gurman reiterated that Apple was still developing multiple new displays. Display supply chain analyst Ross Young added that the next-generation Pro Display XDR will feature quantum dot technology, just like the MacBook Pro.

Evidence of Apple's work on new external monitors has been spotted multiple times. The third beta of macOS 26.1 suggests that the Pro Display XDR 2 will feature a built-in Center Stage camera. The A19 Pro chip is also a possibility, along with a higher refresh rate.
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Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.


In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million accompanying external displays. With Samsung Display serving as the exclusive supplier of these components, the production plan implies that Apple's own target output for the first-generation foldable ‌iPhone‌ is in the range of 10 million finished devices, since suppliers usually produce more components than Apple needs to account for yield and quality variations.

This production plan is more than 30% higher than initial industry expectations, which placed early foldable ‌iPhone‌ shipments between six million and eight million units. Those earlier estimates were based on the historical performance of the global foldable smartphone market, which has hovered just above 20 million units annually.

The report reiterated that the device is expected to feature a book-style, inward-folding design with a 5.35-inch external display and a 7.58-inch folding internal display. It is believed to contain an advanced hinge design and specialized material properties to minimize the crease in the folding display.

Apple reportedly plans to adopt Color Filter on Encapsulation (COE), a method that removes the traditional polarizer layer and integrates its functionality directly into the OLED stack. Eliminating the polarizer can reduce thickness and improve brightness. The device is also rumored to incorporate an Under Display Camera (UDC), allowing the internal display to achieve a more seamless full-screen appearance without a punch hole or visible camera cutout.

The first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is expected to launch next year alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max.
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Apple led global smartphone sales with the iPhone 16 in the third quarter of 2025 while simultaneously accelerating demand for the iPhone 17 lineup and expanding its promotional footprint in the United States, according to new analyses from Counterpoint Research.


Counterpoint Research's Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker shows that the ‌iPhone 16‌ was the best-selling smartphone worldwide during the third quarter of 2025. Well into its second year of life, the device's sustained performance is attributed to continued demand among users upgrading from older iPhone generations, expanded carrier promotions in developed markets, and the broad appeal of the standard ‌iPhone‌ configuration in regions where ultra-premium models represent a smaller share of total volume.

Alongside the ‌iPhone 16‌'s continued leadership, Counterpoint says the iPhone 17 Pro Max entered the quarterly global top-10 list and became the best-selling smartphone in September 2025, despite "limited availability towards the end of the quarter." According to the firm, demand for the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max was strengthened by a large cohort of users who purchased iPhones during the COVID-19 period and returned for major upgrades this year. New features such as a 48-megapixel telephoto camera with 8x optical zoom and a vapor-chamber cooling system represent one of Apple's most substantial year-over-year camera and thermal architecture revisions and contributed materially to monthly sales growth.

The same dataset indicates that, while Apple maintained its position at the top of the global rankings with the ‌iPhone 16‌ and expanded momentum with the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, Samsung increased its presence in the top-10 list to five positions, all from the Galaxy A series.

A separate Counterpoint analysis of the global foldable smartphone sector shows that the premium market segment where Apple has not yet entered continued to grow at a materially faster pace than the broader industry. The firm reports that global foldable shipments increased 14% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, which is the highest quarterly shipment volume ever recorded for the category.

Counterpoint attributes much of this performance to Samsung's Galaxy Z 7 series, especially the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which generated "exceptionally strong consumer response" due to a slimmer and lighter enclosure, reduced crease visibility, and an upgraded hinge mechanism designed for improved durability. While Apple has not released a foldable ‌iPhone‌, rumors suggest that the company will debut such a device as soon as next year.

Meanwhile, Counterpoint's U.S. Weekly Smartphone Promotions Index shows that Apple intensified its promotional activity in response to unusually early and aggressive Pixel 10 discounts led by Google. Apple finished the period overtaking Google.
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Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre.


Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year. The expansion increases total availability to 49 countries.

Hundreds of sessions will initially be available with digitally generated voice dubbing in Spanish and German, with Japanese added when the service launches in Japan. New dubbed episodes will be released weekly across all supported regions.

The new dubbing system uses a generated voice modeled on each of the 28 Fitness+ trainers' real voices. Users will be able to switch audio tracks after starting a session or set a preferred language in the Fitness app, which will automatically default to the dubbed version when available. Apple has not previously offered dubbed workout content on Fitness+, instead relying on subtitles for non-English markets since the service launched in 2020.

Apple is also adding a new K-Pop music genre to the service, which will be available across workout types. The new category joins existing genres such as Upbeat Anthems, Latest Hits, Hip-Hop/R&B, and Latin Grooves. Apple also noted that the latest episode of Time to Walk features Japanese Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda, and is available today.

Fitness+ is currently available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the U.S. The service will reach the newly announced 28 markets, which include Norway, Poland, the Philippines, Sweden, Vietnam, and others, on December 15.
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Apple today announced an expansion of the Apple Manufacturing Academy with a new set of virtual training programs for small- and medium-sized businesses across the United States.


The update marks the first time the Academy's training has been accessible online. It was previously only available via in-person sessions in Detroit. Apple describes it as a free resource intended to accelerate innovation among American manufacturers as part of its broader plan to invest $600 billion in the U.S. economy over the next four years.

Apple said the new online courses cover a range of advanced manufacturing topics, including automation, predictive maintenance, quality control optimization, and the use of machine learning with vision systems. The training program also incorporates professional development content on communication and presentation skills to help participants prepare for operational and leadership roles.

The expanded program is intended to increase access for companies that have not been able to attend in-person sessions. Launched in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU) in August, the Apple Manufacturing Academy has already provided hands-on training and consultation to more than 80 businesses from Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Utah.

Businesses enrolled in virtual programming at manufacturingacademy.msu.edu. The current learning materials form the initial phase of what Apple says will be a continuously expanding digital curriculum.
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A new image shared by prototype collector and leaker Kosutami appears to show parts designed for an unreleased all-black Apple Vision headset.


The image shows what seems to be a Vision Pro's left power strap and audio pod with the attached power cable. It seems to be identical to Apple's existing hardware, but uses a dark finish not seen on any production Vision Pro hardware.

Kosutami previously claimed that Apple has been testing a thinner and lighter mixed-reality headset referred to internally as "Vision Air," featuring a Midnight-colored exterior and reduced weight achieved by switching several structural components and the battery enclosure to titanium. According to the leaker, this model would retain an aluminum exterior but adopt a deep bluish-black finish rather than the Vision Pro's current silver and white.

Earlier this year, Kosutami also shared images of a new Lightning-style connector in Midnight said to be intended for a next-generation Vision headset. The existing Vision Pro uses a 12-pin connector, while the unreleased cable featured only eight pins, which seemed to indicate that Apple may have been redesigning the external battery system for future headsets.

Apple had been widely expected to release a lower-cost headset called the "Vision Air," as well as a redesigned second-generation Vision Pro. However, Bloomberg reported in October that Apple paused development of all Vision headsets in order to accelerate work on AI-powered smart glasses.
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India is reviewing a proposal that would require Apple to keep GPS location services permanently active on every iPhone sold in the country, according to Reuters.


Under the proposal, smartphone makers including Apple would be required to activate satellite-assisted GPS on their devices at all times with no option for users to disable the feature. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) argues that location data from cell tower triangulation is not sufficiently precise for investigative use and that authorities should have access to meter-level coordinates provided by GPS.

GPS is typically activated only when specific apps request location access or when an emergency call is placed. The COAI has also asked the government to require smartphone makers to disable pop-up notifications that inform users when a carrier is attempting to access location information.

Apple has formally opposed the proposal. In a letter sent in July by the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents Apple and Google, the companies warned the government that forcing GPS to remain active at all times would constitute a regulatory overreach.

The news comes shortly after India reversed a separate directive that would have required all smartphone makers, including Apple, to preinstall a government app and prevent users from disabling its functions. The order was rescinded after widespread criticism.
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Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.


Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design and pioneered the transition to Apple silicon.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Meta had hired multiple significant Apple employees, including longtime Apple designer Alan Dye, while conducting its own recruiting blitz for AI and smart glasses development. Meanwhile, Apple announced the retirement of Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kate Adams, Lisa Jackson, Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, and AI chief John Giannandrea. Earlier this year, Apple lost Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, who is retiring, and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. There have also been rumors about Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ retiring, with rumors suggesting he is preparing to leave his role as soon as next year.

Gurman says that the losses are partly due to veteran executives nearing retirement age, but there is still a "disconcerting brain drain" taking place in the company. Nevertheless, Gurman says the accumulative weight of the departures all adds up to "one of the most tumultuous stretches of Cooks tenure." Some of the losses are said to be a "cause for deep concern," and Cook is now looking to prevent further loss of leading talent with stronger compensation packages.

Gurman notes that "Apple hasn't launched a successful new product category in a decade," leaving it increasingly vulnerable to having its talent poached by more agile rivals who are said to be better equipped to develop the next generation of devices and AI technologies.

Cook himself is thought to be likely to join the exodus and step down in the not-too-distant future. He turned 65 last month and now exhibits a noticeable, unexplained tremor in his hands. He is likely to transition to the role of chairman, rather than vacate the company entirely.

The departure of Srouji is said to be "a more imminent risk" and Cook is purportedly working hard to retain him by offering a substantial pay package and the potential of more responsibility. Some executives have suggested elevating Srouji to the role of chief technology officer. This would move him to oversee a broad range of hardware engineering and silicon technologies, making him Apple's second-most powerful executive.

Gurman says this change would likely require John Ternus to be promoted to CEO, but Srouji apparently would prefer to not work under a different CEO, even with an expanded remit. If he does leave, Srouji would likely be replaced by Zongjian Chen or Sribalan Santhanam. Beyond Srouji and the other reported departures, Apple is believed to be contending with a significant talent drain among its key engineers.

Gurman explains that there has been "a broader collapse within Apple's artificial intelligence organization" triggered by AI models chief Ruoming Pang departing earlier this year, along with colleagues such as Tom Gunter and Frank Chu. Apple lost Siri and search overseer Robby Walker, as well as his replacement, Ke Yang, to Meta.

Apple's AI group is apparently suffering from low morale and there is growing worry over the increasing use of external AI technology such as Google Gemini. Around a dozen of Apple's leading AI researchers have also now departed.

The company's AI robotics software team has seen widespread departures, including its leader Jian Zhang, who joined Meta. The user interface team has also lost members, such as Billy Sorrentino, culminating in Dye's exit.

Apple's hardware design group "has been nearly wiped out," with many employees vacating to other companies or following former design chief Jony Ive to his studio, LoveFrom. Abidur Chowdhury, the designer behind the iPhone Air who narrated its unveiling in September, left for an AI startup.

The company has lost a key director in charge of display technologies, Cheng Chen, to OpenAI. He also oversaw the optics of the Vision Pro headset. In addition, one of Apple’s top hardware engineering executives, Tang Tan, similarly left for OpenAI.

Apple has even lost the dean of Apple University, Richard Locke. Apple University is the internal program intended to preserve the company's practices and culture following the death of Steve Jobs.

The exodus has become a major concern for Apple's leadership, which has instructed human resources to ramp up recruitment and retention efforts. See Gurman's full report for more information.
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On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Samsung's new Galaxy Z TriFold smartphone and how it could compare to Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone.


Samsung this week introduced the Galaxy Z TriFold, its first smartphone with two folding sections instead of one. When unfolded, the device presents a 10-inch screen, while the cover display measures 6.5 inches. Samsung says it has minimized visible creasing across the panels.

The Galaxy Z TriFold uses an inward-folding design intended to protect the main display. The folding mechanism has been engineered with an alert system that notifies users if the device is being folded incorrectly. Samsung is using a titanium Armor FlexHinge with two differently sized hinges joined by a dual-rail structure. According to the company, this enables a smoother and more stable fold despite uneven panel weight distribution, and increases durability thanks to a thin metal reinforcement that protects the hinge assembly.

A third of the unfolded display measures 3.9mm thick, increasing slightly around the triple-lens camera module. The center display section is 4.2mm thick, while the segment containing the side button is 4mm. The device includes a reinforced overcoat atop a shock-absorbing display layer for impact resistance, and an aluminum frame prevents the screens from coming into contact when closed.

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy Z TriFold with a 5,600 mAh three-cell battery, with one cell behind each display panel. The company says this is the largest battery it has ever used in a smartphone. The rear camera system includes a 200-megapixel wide camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Two 10-megapixel selfie cameras are integrated into the cover display and the main display.

The Galaxy Z TriFold supports three portrait-layout apps running side-by-side, multi-window resizing, full-screen video viewing, and a vertical reading mode. Samsung has also added standalone Samsung DeX, enabling up to four workspaces with five apps active simultaneously. Samsung apps have been optimized for the triple-panel layout, and Google's Gemini Live has been optimized as well.

The Galaxy Z TriFold launches in Korea on December 12, followed by China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the UAE. It will arrive in the United States in the first quarter of 2026. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Meanwhile, recent rumors suggest that Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ will feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera for the inner display, as well as a Samsung-supplied OLED panel, virtually no crease, a hybrid titanium and aluminum frame, and a 5,400–5,800 mAh battery. Analyst estimates currently place pricing at around $2,400.

The device is only expected to include two rear cameras, unlike the TriFold and all of Samsung's book-style foldables. Apple will likely use a wide and an ultra-wide camera, similar to the iPhone 17, while reserving a telephoto camera for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Early information also suggests it will also not be as thin as Samsung's Galaxy Fold 7.

We discuss the importance of rear camera setups on foldables, the rumored price point of Apple's version, and the risk of it falling victim to some of the same pitfalls as the iPhone Air. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.



You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player.



If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about we talk through the latest rumors about Apple's upcoming iPad mini 8.

Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.
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There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge.


Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan, or marketing head Greg Joswiak.

Ternus is 50 and has worked at Apple since 2001. He is known for being dependable and good at following orders with an obsessive attention to detail. Colleagues describe him as calm, emotionally intelligent, logical, and conservative. He purportedly took the fall for Apple's butterfly keyboard internally, which earned him respect. He also led the transition of the Mac to Apple silicon to much success. These situations are said to have helped Ternus earn Cook's trust.

However, some voices in the company believe that Ternus is not ready to take on the role, which could delay a succession announcement. Some skeptics inside the company say that Ternus is too risk averse, leading to frustrations within his group. For example, some in Apple's hardware engineering department were disappointed that Ternus declined to fund more ambitious projects.

One of these individuals was vice president Tang Tan, who now leads OpenAI's project to build an AI hardware device designed by Apple's former chief designer, Jony Ive. Tan and Ive have since poached a large number of hardware engineers from Ternus' team to work on the unreleased device. Other critics say that Ternus "isn't a charismatic leader" and has had little involvement in the geopolitical affairs that have dominated the attention of Cook in recent years.

While Craig Federighi could succeed Cook due to his high profile, there are concerns that his focus on software may make him a poor fit for the role. He apparently prefers tackling technical problems rather than dealing with the kind of broader issues that the role of CEO demands.

Federighi is also risk-averse and voiced disproval over the Apple's spending on the Vision Pro and its now-canceled self-driving car project. He was also initially skeptical about AI, believing that the technology was overhyped and too unpredictable.

Cook has said publicly that he wants Apple's next CEO to come from within the company, but it is possible that the company could opt for a former employee. One such individual is said to be former Apple hardware executive Tony Fadell, who co-created the iPod.

Fadell reportedly told associates recently that he would be open to replacing Cook as CEO. Some former Apple executives believe that Fadell would help "shake up" the company from the perspective of a brash product leader.

Other individuals within Apple see the prospect as "unlikely," since Fadell was a "polarizing figure" when he worked at the company. Apple passed on acquiring Fadell's smart home company Nest in 2014 because some staff did not want him to return to the company.

Regardless of who succeeds him, Cook is now thought to be highly likely to retire in the not-too-distant future. Some analysts believe that ‌Tim Cook‌ "hasn't moved fast enough" or with the urgency of executives at Meta and Google to respond to the growing challenge of AI.

There are reportedly growing signs in Cook's personal life that he could be planning to move on soon. He apparently no longer routinely rises at 4 a.m. as he once did to go to the gym. Individuals around Cook have begun to notice a slight tremor in his hands, which was also visible during a recent visit to the White House.

In addition, Cook surprised colleagues when he purchased a luxury home outside Palm Springs, California. The report notes that he used to be noticeably more frugal, such as when he chose to rent a home in Silicon Valley rather than buying one to save money.

Senior Apple employees are said to be so sure of the likelihood of major management changes at the company, which could open up new opportunities, that they have raised the situation to many who have tried to recruit them.
This article, "Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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