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This week’s top stories: iPhone 12 charger rumors, Apple Card updates, new iOS 14 tidbits, more

Chance Miller | Jul 5 2020 - 6:47 am PT

In this week’s top stories: More rumors about the iPhone 12 and its accessories, benchmarks from the Apple Silicon Mac mini, new iOS 14 tidbits, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.

Following similar claims from other sources, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said this week that Apple will sell the iPhone 12 at a similar price to the iPhone 12, but will remove in-box accessories including wired EarPods and the charger. As of right now, it’s unclear if Apple will also stop including the Lightning cable in the box.

There are a few benefits for Apple. Removing the in-box charging brick and headphones will dramatically shrink the packaging size. Kuo also suggests that it will help Apple offset the cost of the more expensive 5G components in this year’s iPhone 12.

In other news, The New York Times announced this week that it is completely leaving the Apple News platform, saying that Apple had offered little in the way of direct relationships with readers and little control over the business. The decision is effective immediately, with Times stories no longer appearing alongside other publications in Apple News.

For Apple Card users, this week brought a pair of new promotions. First, you’ll now earn 3% cash back when you pay with Apple Pay at Exxon and Mobil gas stations. Second, new Apple Card sign ups can receive a $50 bonus after they sign up for any Apple service. So for instance, if you sign up for Apple Arcade, you’ll receive a $50 Daily Cash bonus. This also applies to Apple Music subscriptions, App Store purchases, Apple TV+, and more. You can also now pay and manage your Apple Card statements on the web.

Finally, despite the confidentiality clauses in the developer agreement, benchmarks for the Developer Transition Kit have already surfaced on Geekbench. The machines seem to be achieving around 800 on the Geekbench v5 single-core test, and around 2600 on multi-core. For comparison, the entry-level $999 2020 MacBook Air achieves a Geekbench score of 1005 on single-core and 2000 on multi-core. Read more in our full coverage right here.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.

iOS |

iPhone |

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Mac |

Apps |

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This week’s top videos |

9to5Mac Daily |

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

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9to5Mac Watch Time episode #26 |

Zac Hall and Michael Potuck from 9to5Mac unpack the latest updates to watchOS 7 and Apple Watch in this special live edition of 9to5Mac Watch Time.

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9to5Mac Watch Time is a podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how the Apple Watch is affecting their lives. 9to5Mac Watch Time is available on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and your favorite podcast player through RSS.

Happy Hour Podcast #284 |

This week Benjamin and Zac discuss Apple’s Developer Transition Kit ARM Mac mini, rumors that iPhone 12 won’t include a charger in the box, Apple Watch losing Force Touch in watchOS 7, Apple Arcade’s shifting game strategy, and new Apple Card features.

9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Stacktrace Podcast #90 |

The macOS Big Sur redesign doesn’t mean the end of the world, right? Or does it? John and Rambo discuss the reveal of Apple Silicon, macOS 11, iOS apps coming to the Mac, and much more — all during a recording session stretched out over two days in the middle of a Brazilian lightning storm.

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Apple @ Work Podcast |

In this episode of the Apple @ Work podcast, Bradley is joined by Andrew von Nagy of Celona to discuss CBRS and private LTE for the Apple-focused enterprise.

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. .

Apple @ Work and Making the Grade |

Apple @ Work is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing hundreds of Macs and hundreds of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.