MacRumors

Apple is planning to introduce a new version of the iPhone SE this year, and alleged dummy models are starting to leak out. Sonny Dickson today shared some images of an ‌iPhone SE‌ 4 dummy model, giving us insight into what it could look like.

For those unfamiliar with dummy models, they are non-functional mockups of new devices that case makers create based on information that leaks out of Apple's partner factories. There is big money in being the first to have a case for a new device, and over the years, leaked dummy models have turned out to be accurate in most cases.

Rumors have suggested the next ‌iPhone SE‌ will look like the iPhone 14, and that seems to be accurate based on the images. There's an iPhone-14 style chassis with an aluminum band, a glass back, and a single-lens rear camera.

There have been suggestions that the ‌iPhone SE‌ 4 could get an Action Button or the Camera Control button that's available on iPhone 16 models, but neither of those features is depicted on these dummy models. That doesn't mean it won't happen, but it does make it less likely because case makers would need to accommodate these features.

The upcoming ‌iPhone SE‌ has been largely referred to as the ‌iPhone SE‌ 4, but there was a recent rumor indicating that Apple might call it the iPhone 16E. Along with the visible features from the dummy model, the ‌iPhone SE‌ is expected to include a faster A17 Pro chip that supports Apple Intelligence, an Apple-designed modem chip, and 8GB RAM. While it will only have that single camera, the camera is the same 48-megapixel Wide camera in the current ‌iPhone 16‌.

We are expecting to see Apple debut the next ‌iPhone SE‌ sometime in March or April, and it will continue to be the company's lowest-cost device. It could go up in price a bit, but Apple is said to be aiming to keep it below $500.

The second season of hit television show Severance is set to be available to stream starting tomorrow, and Apple is continuing to promote the show. The company's main Apple.com website now has a section dedicated to Lumon Industries, the fictional business that "innies" work for in Severance.

On Tuesday, several key Severance actors attended a promotion at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The team sat at workstations modeled after the workstations they use on the show, and sat in a glass cube for several hours as part of a live-action Severance event attended by the public and members of the press.

Severance actors have also been attending talk shows. Adam Scott, one of the main characters of the show, visited The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Scott said that during the promotion at Grand Central Terminal, the actors were locked in the cube for several hours. "None of us peed at all, for three hours," he said. "Didn't leave a glass cube for three hours." Scott went on to say it was a lot of fun, though.

Members of the media have already been able to watch the second season of Severance, and it is so far receiving rave reviews.

The show is available on Apple TV+, Apple's streaming service that's priced at $9.99 per month.

Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.

Notification Summary Changes

Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.

• For now, summaries for apps in the News and Entertainment category have been disabled. Apple Intelligence will no longer summarize news notifications, but this is temporary and will be reinstated in a future update when Apple has made some changes.
• In the Settings app, the Notifications Summaries section makes it clear that this is a beta feature and that errors are a possibility.
• During setup, Apple has added the following wording for Notification Summaries: "Summarization may change the meaning of the original headlines. Double check important information."
• Summarized notifications are now shown with the text italicized to distinguish them from standard notifications.
• Notification Summaries can be disabled on a per-app basis directly from the Lock Screen by swiping on a notification and tapping on the "Options" button to get to an interface for turning off summaries.

All of the Notification Summary changes have been made in iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3.

Camera Control

On iPhone 16 models, the Camera Control section in the Settings has a renamed toggle. The toggle for AE/AF lock has been renamed to "Lock Focus and Exposure," which would be clearer to non-photographers who do not know what AE/AF Lock is.

Lock Focus and Exposure is an optional setting that lets you lock your settings with a light press and hold on the Camera Control button, and it is meant to work similarly to a DSLR camera.

Messages

In the Messages sidebar that's accessible by tapping on the "+" button in any conversation, there is now a Genmoji entry, and tapping it takes you to the ‌Genmoji‌ creation interface.

This is simply another way to get to the ‌Genmoji‌ creation tools, which have previously been available by tapping on the emoji keyboard button.

PDF Editing

When editing a PDF through the screenshot interface, if you crop content out, Apple now provides a warning that cropped content is not removed from the PDF.

"Content outside the cropped area won't be visible in most PDF viewers, but it can be made visible in some apps," reads the message.

More Features

Know of something new in the latest iOS 18.3 beta that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.

A minor software update for the Apple TV was released today.

tvOS 18.2.1 is now available for all Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models. It can be installed on the Apple TV by opening the Settings app and selecting System → Software Updates. It is a minor update with a data syncing bug fix.

According to Apple's release notes, the tvOS 18.2.1 update "addresses an issue where data may not sync correctly across devices."

The update has a build number of 22K160.

Apple also released iOS 18.2.1 and iPadOS 18.2.1 with "important bug fixes" earlier this month.

tvOS 18.2.1 follows tvOS 18.2, which was released in December with a Snoopy screen saver option on the second-generation Apple TV 4K and newer, along with support for ultra-wide 21:9 content with a home theater projector on the third-generation Apple TV 4K.

Next up is tvOS 18.3, which is currently in beta and likely to be released in late January. The update might introduce robot vacuum support in the Home app by time it is released, but otherwise it is shaping up to be a very minor update.

Apple reportedly plans to release the next Apple TV in the later months of 2025, with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip that could add Wi-Fi 6E support to the streaming device. The current Apple TV 4K was released in October 2022.

With the iOS 18.3 update, Apple made several changes to the Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries feature that aggregates incoming notifications into a single quick-access message.

For now, Notification Summaries for the News and Entertainment category have been temporarily disabled, and Apple is working on improvements. Notification Summaries for news will return in a future software update.

In the Settings app, when a user activates Notification Summaries, Apple has added a warning that this is a beta feature and that there could be errors.

For summaries that are still available through ‌Apple Intelligence‌, the text is now italicized as a way to distinguish them from traditional notifications.

There is also now an option to manage whether notifications are summarized for an app right from the Lock Screen. To turn off summaries from the Lock Screen, swipe to the left on a Notification Summary and then tap on options to get to the menu to disable it on a per-app basis.

Apple is making changes to Notification Summaries following complaints that the way ‌Apple Intelligence‌ aggregated news notifications could lead to false headlines and confused customers. Several BBC notifications, for example, were improperly summarized, providing false information to readers.

After BBC News complained, Apple said that it would update Apple Intelligence to cut down on confusion caused by inaccurate summaries. Apple said that a future software update would clarify when notifications were summarized by ‌Apple Intelligence‌.

Available on compatible devices in iOS 18.1 and later, ‌‌Apple Intelligence‌‌ notification summaries are designed to group multiple notifications from the same app together, providing a one-sentence overview of the content. These short summaries can cause problems when AI pulls the wrong details from news stories.

While summaries have been disabled for news for the time being, the feature is still available for other types of apps. Notification Summaries can be turned off entirely in the Notifications section of the Settings app.

Apple today provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming macOS Sequoia 15.3 update, with the third beta coming a week after Apple released the second beta.

Registered developers can opt-in to the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ beta through the Software Update section of the System Settings app. An Apple ID associated with an Apple Developer account is required to get the beta.

‌macOS Sequoia‌ 15.3 brings Genmoji to the Mac, a feature that was previously limited to the iPhone and iPad. With ‌Genmoji‌, Mac users can create custom characters with a text-based prompt, similar to how Image Playground works.

‌Genmoji‌ characters behave just like emoji on devices running iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ 15.1 and later, but on earlier versions of iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and Android devices, ‌Genmoji‌ are sent as images. ‌Genmoji‌ can be added from the emoji interface, and image generation is done on-device.

All macs with an Apple silicon chip support ‌Genmoji‌ and other Apple Intelligence features.

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the second betas.

iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software update. Apple has also seeded a new developer beta of visionOS 2.3, which can be downloaded through the Settings app on the Vision Pro.

There are no new Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, and few new features. The update is mostly focused on bug fixes, but it will likely bring support for robot vacuums in HomeKit.

Additional ‌Apple Intelligence‌ Siri updates coming in later in iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates that will follow iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. We're expecting to see the new software launch toward the end of January.

The popular weather app CARROT Weather today was updated with two key new features: CarPlay support and automatic Live Activities.

When accessed via CarPlay, CARROT Weather becomes a navigation app like Google Maps. You can enter your destination and receive turn-by-turn directions, with the added benefit of being able to view the weather along your driving route. The weather features include live radar, severe weather warnings, wind speeds, visibility levels, and more.

CARROT Weather's turn-by-turn directions are as snarky as its weather forecasts, so prepare for remarks such as "turn left on Rodeo Drive, meatbag," or "you went the wrong way, idiot, now I have to recalculate your entire route."

With auto-starting Live Activities, CARROT Weather's next-hour precipitation chart can now start automatically when precipitation is in the area. Users will receive a notification around 15 minutes before rain or snow begins, and then a Live Activities widget will continuously appear on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island until the precipitation stops. Previously, you had to open the app to start a Live Activity each time.

Both new features require a CARROT Weather Premium subscription.

CARROT Weather version 6.2 is available in the App Store.

Following a false alarm last week due to a prematurely-updated Apple support document, Synchrony as of today is actually available as a buy-now, pay-later option when checking out with Apple Pay online and in apps on iPhone and iPad. However, you need a Synchrony Mastercard in order to access these payment plans.

After adding an eligible Synchrony Mastercard to the Apple Wallet app, iPhone and iPad users running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 can select from fixed monthly payment options during the Apple Pay checkout process. Look for the "Pay Later" option when checking out with Apple Pay to access payment plans available from Synchrony.

Eligible cards include the Synchrony Preferred Mastercard, Synchrony Plus World Mastercard, and Synchrony Premier World Mastercard.

Synchrony also announced that, starting later this year, users will be able to view and redeem rewards from eligible Synchrony-issued cards when checking out with Apple Pay online and in apps on the iPhone and iPad.

Apple discontinued its own buy-now, pay-later service called Apple Pay Later last year, and started partnering with third-party providers. Apple Pay Later let qualifying customers split a purchase made with Apple Pay into four equal payments over six weeks, with no interest or fees. Affirm, Klarna, and now Synchrony offer similar financing options.

Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony about becoming its new financial partner for the Apple Card, according to Reuters sources.

The report today added that Apple has also been holding discussions with Chase Bank owner JPMorgan since last year, so there are at least three potential companies in the running to take over the Apple Card from current partner Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs had reportedly approached American Express about taking over the Apple Card a few years ago, as well, but nothing came of it. Apple's credit card uses the Mastercard network, and that might have prevented an American Express takeover.

Goldman Sachs is in the process of winding down its consumer lending business, which has lost billions of dollars in recent years. On a recent earnings call, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the company is contracted to be the Apple Card's lender until 2030, but he said there is a "possibility" that the partnership will end earlier.

In 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs wanted out of the Apple Card partnership, but it has yet to part ways with Apple.

Last year, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Apple and Goldman Sachs nearly $90 million combined after finding the companies mishandled transaction disputes and misled iPhone users about interest-free payment options.

"Apple Card is one of the most consumer-friendly credit cards available, and was specifically designed to support users' financial health," said Apple, in response to the fine. "Upon learning about these inadvertent issues years ago, Apple worked closely with Goldman Sachs to quickly address them and help impacted customers."

If the Apple Card does eventually get a new financial partner, it is unclear if there would be any major changes to the card's features and policies.

Launched in 2019, Apple's credit card remains available in the U.S. only.

Amazon this week is discounting a collection of Beats audio devices, including a return of the all-time low price on the new Beats Pill. You can get this portable Bluetooth speaker for $99.99 in Champagne Gold, down from $149.95.

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

This sale includes major discounts on products like the Beats Solo Buds, which have hit $59.99, down from $79.99. These are a solid entry-level option and feature up to 18 hours of playback, USB-C, and Spatial Audio.

For an upgraded model, Amazon has the Beats Studio Buds for $99.99, down from $149.95. These have up to 9 hours of playback (up to 36 hours with charging case), USB-C, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and an IPX4 rating for sweat and water resistance.

You'll also find a few steep discounts on over-ear headphones, like the Beats Studio Pro at $249.99, down from $349.99. Many of these deals are solid second-best prices on each pair of headphones.

• Beats Solo Buds - $59.99, down from $79.99
• Beats Studio Buds - $99.99, down from $149.95
• Beats Pill - $99.99, down from $149.95
• Beats Studio Pro - $249.99, down from $349.99

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.

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Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.

Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.

We have outlined some examples below:

Device	New Value	Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max	Up to $630	Up to $650
iPhone 15	Up to $400	Up to $410
iPhone 14 Pro Max	Up to $450	Up to $500
iPhone 14	Up to $270	Up to $300
iPad Pro	Up to $520	Up to $555
iPad Air	Up to $270	Up to $275
iPad mini	Up to $200	Up to $215
Apple Watch Ultra 2	Up to $390	Up to $375
Apple Watch Series 8	Up to $145	Up to $140
Apple Watch Series 7	Up to $100	Up to $105
MacBook Pro	Up to $915	Up to $875
MacBook Air	Up to $425	Up to $445
Mac Studio	Up to $1140	Up to $1170

Apple's trade-in values also changed for some Android smartphones.

Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website or at an Apple Store, and the credit can be applied towards the purchase of a new Apple product, or placed on an Apple gift card for later use. Apple's trade-in page offers a complete list of values.

Apple today shared photos of its upcoming store at MixC Hefei in China, revealing a new design element that could expand to other locations in the future.

Specifically, the store features a combined Genius Bar and Apple Pickup station, so customers can receive support and collect their online orders in a single area.

Today at Apple creative sessions will also be offered at the store, for free.

Apple MixC Hefei opens to the public on Saturday, January 18, at 10 a.m. local time. The store features a wide, curved glass entrance.

In its press release previewing the store, Apple reminded customers that it is currently offering special-edition AirPods 4 with an engraving for the Year of the Snake in China. They will be available to purchase at the store.

Apple is also opening a new store at the Miami Worldcenter complex on Friday, January 24, and it is renovating two other stores in Florida and Texas.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook recently sat down for an interview with Table Manners podcast hosts Jessie and Lennie Ware when he visited London in December. Cook shared insight into his daily routine, his focus on work, and his retirement plans. He also provided some fun details about Apple and some of his favorite things.

Cook revealed that Apple collects the fruit from the trees that are around the Apple Park campus, using it to make jam. He shared spiced apple jam created from ‌Apple Park‌ trees with the podcast hosts. Apple primarily has apple trees because the land where the ‌Apple Park‌ campus is located used to be an orchard, but there are also cherry trees.

While Cook does intend to retire at some point, it won't be the "traditional definition" of retirement. He doesn't see himself "being at home doing nothing" and "not intellectually stimulated." He says he'll "always be wired in that kind of way and want to work."

Cook said that his upbringing was "centered on work." He had a newspaper route at age 11, and at age 14, he "flipped burgers" at a fast food place called Tastee-Freez. His parents "instilled hard work," and the value of it has stayed with him "for a lifetime."

As Cook has said several times before, he wakes up before 5:00 a.m. to start work. He begins his day answering emails while it's still quiet. When asked why he starts with emails, he said it's the part of the day that has no surprises. "Well, as it turns out, it's the part of the day that I can control the most," he said. "As the day starts to unfold, it becomes less predictable."

The early morning is his favorite time of the day because he can "kind of block out the world and focus on a few critical things, and just be silent for a while."

Cook said that he works from ‌Apple Park‌ four days a week, but on Fridays, he tends to work from home. He said he works at home because "nobody's in the office and it's depressing when there's nobody there." Apple has a hybrid working schedule where employees are allowed to work from home up to two days a week.

There were no real hints of new products, but Cook said that there are "so many things" in the pipeline, as he often does. "We have so many things coming up," he said.

Some other tidbits:

• Cook loves white wine, specifically Chardonnay. His favorite is Kistler.
• For breakfast, he eats a protein rich cashew cereal from Whole Foods with unsweetened almond milk.
• Cook doesn't cook, and eats most of his meals during the week at Caffé Macs. He takes dinner home.
• Ethel's Fancy in Palo Alto is one of his preferred restaurants, where he likes to get the octopus.
• He eats a lot of fish.
• Cook loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
• Table Manners has a tradition of asking guests about their last meal. Cook said his would be an appetizer of hamachi crudo with jalapeno, a branzino for a main dish, broccolini as a side, and anything chocolate for dessert.
• When not working, Cook likes to hike, and he likes to go to national parks for vacation.
• Cook recently went caving in Slovenia.

The full Table Manners podcast with ‌Tim Cook‌ can be listened to through Apple Podcasts on the web, iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be one of several tech CEOs in attendance at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, reports Bloomberg.

Earlier this month, Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, and when Trump won in November, Cook sent congratulations on social media site X. Cook also visited Mar-a-Lago in December, where he had dinner with Trump.

Tech CEOs and tech companies have been lavishing Trump with money and attention since November. Google, Amazon, Meta, Uber, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Coinbase, Toyota, Ford, GM, AT&T, and more made donations to Trump's inauguration fund, and as a result, Trump has raised $200 million.

Trump has made it clear that he plans to put new tariffs in place, and Cook is likely aiming to avoid them with an exemption. During Trump's first term, Apple was able to skirt tariffs on its the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, though it had to pay some tariffs for the Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod. In 2019, Trump said Cook "made a good case" that tariffs would put Apple at a disadvantage.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla's Elon Musk will also be at the inauguration.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Four months have passed since Apple released the iPhone 16 lineup. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been using an iPhone 16 Pro Max since launch, and over on our YouTube channel, he did a multi-month review to provide his thoughts on durability, battery life, Camera Control, and other features.

The titanium chassis has held up well, with just minor scratches and scuffs on the edges. Battery health remains at 100 percent at 101 cycles and battery life has been impressive, but this is the ‌iPhone 16‌ with the biggest battery.

Camera Control has been a hit or miss feature. It's useful for opening the camera quickly to snap photos, but digging into the extra menus with swipes and gestures is clunky and takes too long.

Apple Intelligence is about the same, and it's not always super useful. One of the better features is Clean Up, which removes unwanted images from photos. Clean Up has improved over time since it was first introduced in iOS 18.1, and it's more useful than it was initially. Genmoji is fun, but it needs improvement because a lot of simple requests just don't pan out.

Unsurprisingly, the camera has been great, especially the improved 48-megapixel Ultra Wide lens that Apple added. Photographic Styles adds useful customization options, and it's easier to make quick edits that give your images a uniform look.

Have an ‌iPhone 16‌? Let us know what you think of it after using it for a few months.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said that there's "some possibility" the company's Apple Card partnership with Apple could end early, reports Reuters. Goldman Sachs and Apple have a contract that is supposed to last until 2030, but the financial services company wants to get out of consumer banking and out of its deal with Apple.

Back in November 2023, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested that Apple was aiming to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months. The 12 month mark has already passed, and 15 months is coming up at the end of February, but there hasn't been recent news on the dissolving of the partnership.

Apple partnered with Goldman Sachs for the ‌Apple Card‌ and the Apple Savings account, so Apple needs to find a replacement partner for these services before it can move on from Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs initially approached American Express about taking over the deal, but the ‌Apple Card‌ needs to run on the Mastercard network until 2026 because of a prior contract. Apple held discussions with Synchrony Financial and Capital One, but those talks seem to have ended. As of September 2024, Apple was reportedly in talks with JPMorgan Chase about an ‌Apple Card‌ takeover, but establishing a deal could take months.

Goldman Sachs has faced customer service issues and customer complaints over the ‌Apple Card‌ and Apple Savings account, which ultimately led to an investigation by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Customers were unhappy with long wait times for disputed ‌Apple Card‌ transactions and issues with transferring money from the Apple Savings account, and Apple is not happy with the poor customer service reputation its financial products have as a result.

Apple's financing partner Affirm this month started offering interest-free financing on iPhone purchases in Canada again, after stopping doing so in mid-2023. With a 0% loan from Affirm, you can pay for an iPhone over 24 months with zero interest added.

This change, first reported by the blog iPhone in Canada, could help to boost iPhone sales in Canada following the recent holiday shopping season.

Affirm is still charging interest on iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro purchases in Canada, with APRs ranging from 4.99% to 7.99%.

Many of Apple's financing options in the U.S. are not available in Canada, including the iPhone Upgrade Program and Apple Card Monthly Installments, leaving customers in the country with no other options directly from Apple beyond Affirm.

Affirm acquired Apple's former financing partner in Canada, PayBright, in 2021.