On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Apple's apparent plan to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip.


Earlier this week, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is set to launch an all-new "affordable" MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors first spotted evidence of such a device in backend code related to Apple Intelligence last summer, and subsequently confirmed its use of the A18 Pro chip. The machine features the identifier "Mac17,1."

This would be the first Mac powered by an ‌iPhone‌ chip. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series chips, which offer higher core counts, support for larger amounts of memory, and better external display support. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year.

With the A18 Pro chip, the device is highly unlikely to feature Thunderbolt ports, more than 8GB of unified memory, and support for more than one external display. In line with how Apple tends to handle its other low-cost devices, the new MacBook could re-use the design and chassis of an older machine like the M1 MacBook Air to keep costs down and differentiate it from the MacBook Air. Apple could also revive the simple "MacBook" moniker, separating it from the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, and mirroring the iPad lineup, which simply has the iPad as the entry-level model.

According to Kuo, the new MacBook is expected to enter mass production late in the fourth quarter of 2025 or early in the first quarter of 2026, which situates launch in the first half of next year.

We also discuss Apple's broader low-cost device strategy, how it seems to be positioning its device lineups going forward, and more. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips.



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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear is talk through through the changes introduced in the second developer beta of iOS 26.

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 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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This article, "The MacRumors Show: Apple's Plan to Launch Low-Cost MacBook With iPhone Chip" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple saw its first year-over-year iPhone sales growth in China in two years during the second quarter of 2025, according to new data from Counterpoint Research, marking a temporary reversal of a prolonged decline in one of its most strategically critical markets.


The data indicates that ‌iPhone‌ sales in mainland China grew 8% year-over-year between April 1 and June 22, 2025. This period represents Apple's first quarterly sales increase in the region since the second quarter of 2023. The growth is attributed primarily to aggressive price adjustments in May, ahead of the country's mid-year 618 shopping festival, and bolstered by a national subsidy program that supported smartphone purchases.

In May, Chinese e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Tmall started offering heavy discounts on the iPhone 16 lineup, in some cases offering up to 2,530 yuan ($351) off retail prices. Simultaneously, Apple increased the value of trade-in credits for older ‌iPhone‌ models to incentivize upgrades. Select devices priced below 6,000 yuan purchased directly from Apple also qualified for up to 500 yuan in government subsidies, with certain Mac models eligible for discounts of as much as 2,000 yuan.

Apple's rebound in China follows a prolonged downturn. From the third quarter of 2022 through the first quarter of 2025, Apple experienced year-over-year revenue declines in China for all but one quarter. Contributing factors included persistent trade tensions, regulatory pressure, restrictions on ‌iPhone‌ use in government-linked workplaces, and competition from resurgent domestic brands. In the first quarter of 2025, Apple was the only major smartphone manufacturer to report a shipment decline in China.

During the second quarter of 2025, Huawei led all manufacturers in China by growth and market share, posting a 12% year-over-year sales increase, followed by Vivo, which experienced a 9% decline. Apple ranked third in overall unit shipments.

Apple also faces competition from Xiaomi and Oppo, which continue to target price-sensitive segments with hardware offerings that are broadly comparable with Apple's, but at a lower cost. Counterpoint claims that the Chinese smartphone market as a whole grew by approximately 1% during the quarter.

Still, Counterpoint analysts warn that Apple's growth in the second quarter may not persist into the second half of the year, partly because the national subsidy on smartphones is likely to be scaled back during the second half of 2025.

China is a crucial market for Apple. The country is believed to account for around 20% of global ‌iPhone‌ sales. Apple is scheduled to report its fiscal third-quarter earnings on July 31, which should include final figures for the April to June period covered in the Counterpoint analysis. The results ought to provide a fuller picture of the company's performance in China and other global markets.
This article, "iPhone Sales Finally Bounce Back in China" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research.


The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by revenue and brand recognition, the report suggests that volume growth will be led by lower-priced models under $50 from other brands, driven by emerging markets and replacement demand.

Counterpoint attributes Apple's continued strength to the introduction the AirPods Pro 3, which is expected to see strong demand among existing users. The new model is rumored to include enhanced immersive audio and health-related features.

However, due to the AirPods Pro's relatively high price point compared to competitors in the market, they're unlikely to drive growth. In fact, Apple is expected lose market share very slightly this year. "A more noticeable increase in volume is expected around 2027, when the standard AirPods and a new ANC-equipped version are released," Counterpoint added.

Counterpoint notes that while Apple remains unmatched in the premium segment, its unit volume growth is increasingly threatened by value-oriented brands such as Xiaomi and JBL, both of which are projected to record double-digit year-over-year shipment growth in 2025. Xiaomi's success is credited to its low-cost pricing strategy and broad global distribution network, while JBL has gained traction in markets like India by offering trusted mid-tier products with aggressive pricing and discounts.

Counterpoint believes that the broader TWS market now mirrors the trajectory of the smartphone sector, with replacement cycles lengthening and demand increasingly tied to ecosystem features and regional price dynamics.
This article, "AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital."


In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh:

• iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh


• iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh


• iPhone 13 Pro Max: 4,352mAh


• iPhone 14 Pro Max: 4,323mAh


• iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4,422mAh


• iPhone 16 Pro Max: 4,676mAh


• iPhone 17 Pro Max: ~5,000mAh

The battery life of the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max is 33 hours, according to Apple. This is up from 29 hours on the ‌iPhone‌ 14 Pro Max, and 28 hours on the ‌iPhone‌ 13 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 Pro Max had a battery life of just 20 hours. With an extra 300mAh of battery capacity, the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max could be on course to offer around 35 hours of battery life, or perhaps even more. Efficiency improvements from the A19 Pro chip and Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 modem should also contribute significantly to enhanced battery life.

Instant Digital has a mixed track record for Apple rumors, but has provided some strikingly accurate information, such as the imminent launch of 2023's Yellow iPhone 14, the frosted back glass of the iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Plus, the Apple Watch Series 9 as a minor refresh, spatial video capture on the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro, the latest iPad Air and iPad Pro's landscape front-facing camera, the M4 ‌iPad Pro‌'s nano-texture display option, the ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌'s battery capacities, and continued Apple Watch band compatibility through the Apple Watch Series 10. As a result, their reports are worth taking seriously.
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Apple has filed a patent for a new type of image sensor that could give future iPhones and other Apple devices the ability to capture photos and videos with dynamic range levels approaching that of the human eye.


The patent, titled "Image Sensor With Stacked Pixels Having High Dynamic Range And Low Noise," was first spotted by Y.M.Cinema Magazine and describes an advanced sensor architecture that combines stacked silicon, multiple levels of light capture, and on-chip noise suppression mechanisms to reach up to 20 stops of dynamic range.

For comparison, the dynamic range of the human eye is estimated to be around 20 to 30 stops, depending on how the pupil adjusts and how light is processed over time. Most smartphone cameras today capture between 10 and 13 stops. If Apple's proposed sensor reaches its potential, it would not only surpass current iPhones but also outperform many professional cinema cameras, such as the ARRI ALEXA 35.

The patent outlines a stacked sensor design made up of two layers. The top layer, called the sensor die, contains the parts that capture light. The layer underneath, the logic die, handles processing, including noise reduction and exposure control.

Currently, Apple uses sensors made by Sony across the iPhone lineup. Those sensors also use a two-layer design, but Apple's version includes several original features and takes up less space.

One of the most important parts of the sensor design is a system called a Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor (LOFIC). This allows each pixel in the sensor to store different amounts of light depending on how bright the scene is, all in the same image. With this, the sensor can handle extremely wide lighting differences, such as a person standing in front of a bright window, without losing detail in the shadows or highlights.

Another part of the design focuses on reducing image noise and grain. Each pixel has its own built-in memory circuit that measures and cancels out heat-related electronic noise in real time. This is done on the chip itself, before the image is saved or edited by software.

Patent filings cannot be taken as evidence of Apple's immediate plans, but they do indicate areas of active research and interest for the company, as well as what it is considering developing for future devices.
This article, "Apple Researching Groundbreaking Image Sensor Tech to Achieve Dynamic Range on Par With Human Eye" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple moved its long-rumored foldable iPhone into its prototyping phase with suppliers last month ahead of a launch scheduled for next year, DigiTimes reports.


According to supply chain sources speaking to DigiTimes, Apple began its initial Prototype 1 (P1) phase in June. The device should complete prototype testing by the end of 2025 and then proceed to the Engineering Verification Test (EVT) stage, ahead of launch in the second half of 2026.

The P1 phase is followed by P2 and P3 phases before EVT. Each prototyping stage takes around two months. During this time, Apple's supply chain partners conduct limited trial runs before handing over assembly responsibilities to primary ‌iPhone‌ assemblers Foxconn and Pegatron, who will validate production yields and manufacturability.

The development status of the first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is now in line with the timeline of its other products, with P1 to P3 stages taking place around a year before Apple needs to start EVT, Design Verification Test (DVT), and eventually Mass Production (MP). The iPhone 17 lineup apparently concluded its EVT phase in the second quarter of this year.

‌DigiTimes‌ added that Apple has paused work on a foldable iPad, which was originally expected to launch around the time of the foldable ‌iPhone‌. The company's reasoning for this apparently includes manufacturing difficulties, increased production costs related to flexible display technology, and low consumer demand for big-screen foldables.

Apple's first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is currently likely to launch alongside the iPhone 18 lineup in the fall of 2026.
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Apple's effort to expand iPhone production in India has encountered a setback as Foxconn has recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians from its Indian factories, Bloomberg reports.


According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, Foxconn has been sending home a large number of Chinese workers previously stationed at its ‌iPhone‌ manufacturing facilities in southern India. The process began approximately two months ago, and more than 300 Chinese staff have now departed.

These individuals were primarily engineers and technicians responsible for supporting operations on-site, many of whom played a central role in training local Indian workers and optimizing production processes. Taiwanese support personnel remain in India, one source said.

Foxconn is Apple's largest ‌iPhone‌ assembler and has led much of the company's manufacturing expansion into India. The decision to withdraw Chinese staff comes at a critical time, as Apple and its partners prepare to ramp up production of the iPhone 17. Foxconn is also currently constructing a new production facility in southern India.

The specific reason for the recall of the personnel is not known, but Bloomberg suggests that it aligns with the wish of Chinese authorities to impose tighter controls on the transfer of technology, labor, and equipment to India and Southeast Asia, as Chinese companies face growing pressure from global clients to diversify production outside China.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously highlighted the expertise of China's assembly workforce as a core reason why the country remains central to Apple's supply chain. While the return of Chinese engineers from India is not expected to significantly impact the quality of iPhones produced there, one source told Bloomberg that the absence of experienced Chinese staff is likely to reduce operational efficiency on the assembly lines.

Foxconn continues to manufacture the majority of Apple's iPhones in China. Whether Indian facilities can maintain Apple's stringent quality and efficiency standards without the direct involvement of Chinese engineers remains to be seen.
This article, "Report: Apple's India Manufacturing Dream in Jeopardy Over Exodus of Chinese Workers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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