Benjamin Mayo

As part of its iPhone 15 event, Apple today announced new higher storage options for its iCloud plans.

Previously, an individual iCloud account maxed out at 2 TB storage, for $9.99/month. But beginning September 18, Apple will offer 6 TB and 12 TB plans, offering more storage for personal photos, videos, documents and data. But these new large storage tiers will come to a large hit to your wallet …

Apple today announced that iPhone 15 Pro is powered by a new Apple Silicon chip, which Apple calls ‘A17 Pro’.

A17 Pro is fabricated using an industry-leading 3 nanometer process, housing a total of 19 billion transistors. Apple says the high-performance cores in A17 chip are up to 10% faster, and mean iPhone remains the fastest smartphone in the industry. However, the bigger focus this year is on the GPU performance.

Apple today unveiled the iPhone 15 lineup, which notably replaces the Lightning connector with USB-C. This means customer no longer need proprietary cables to charge their iPhone or transfer data.

USB-C cables are readily available, and are also used by most modern Android phones. However, some Apple customers will be frustrated that they will need to replace their collection of Lightning cables and accessories.

Apple today announced the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, featuring improved performance, the Dynamic Island previously seen on iPhone 14 Pro, a range of new colors, and a USB-C port replacing the Lightning connector. iPhone 15 stays at the same price as last year, starting at $799.

Like last year, iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus sport 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays. However, Apple said that maximum brightness can now go up to 2000 nits. You can preorder the iPhone 15 this Friday, with the device launching on September 22.

Just hours before Apple is set to unveil the new iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 lineup, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted that Apple is now unlikely to launch new iPads until 2024.

Last week, Kuo said that no new MacBooks are due until next year either. Save possibly an iMac refresh, it doesn’t seem like Apple will have much — if any — new hardware products to announce for the rest of the year, so today’s Wonderlust event might be it.

As is ritual, the Apple Store is down ahead of Apple’s September ‘Wonderlust’ event later today, where the company will officially announce the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, Apple Watch Series 9 and second-generation Apple Watch Ultra.

You can tune into the event from 10 AM Pacific Time, and stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements.

For the first time, Apple will sell new made-in-India iPhone models on launch day (via Bloomberg). That means the iPhone 15 you buy on September 22 could have been manufactured in India, a sign that Apple’s worldwide supply chain infrastructure is taking significant steps to expand beyond China.

While Apple has been making iPhones in India for some time, their production schedules have lagged behind the longstanding “primary” iPhone assembly facilities in China like Foxconn.

Apple today announced that it is partnering with Indian streaming channel aggregator Tata Play Binge to offer Apple TV+ as part of the premier bundle, which features 27 video services including content from Disney Hotstar, LionsgatePLAY and others.

The bundle including Apple TV+ costs 399 rupees per month. Although the move sacrifices some direct subscriber revenue potential, it gives Apple original TV shows and movies much more reach in a market where Apple was unlikely to make a big dent on its own.

Qualcomm announced today that Apple will continue to use Qualcomm 5G modems for the iPhone at least through 2026, two years longer than what the company had previously declared to investors.

The statement confirms that the original schedule for the Apple 5G modem has been pushed back from the initial 2024 release window, following internal delays with Apple’s modem chip development.

Via Bloomberg, Apple might not be ready to transition all of its iPhone headphone accessories in sync when Apple announces the iPhone 15 next week, which will replace the Lightning port with USB-C.

A USB-C case for AirPods Pro is expected to be available this fall, but a USB-C case for Apple’s lower-end AirPods is not due until 2024. Equally disappointing is the fact that Bloomberg says Apple’s high-end $549 AirPods Max will also become more out of date for a few months, as they are also not expected to be updated with USB-C charging until sometime next year.

Apple is set to announce the iPhone 15 Pro at its September event on Tuesday. Ahead of the official announcements, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has released his latest update on what to expect.

Excitingly, Gurman reports that the switch from stainless steel to titanium for the sides of the new chassis will translate to an overall weight reduction, as well as looking cool. According to this sources, the iPhone 15 Pro models will get about 10% lighter. And yet, thanks to the efficiency improvements of the new A17 chip, they will tout even longer battery life.

Dan Ives at Wedbush is the latest analyst to predict price increases for the iPhone 15, which Apple will officially unveil next week on September 12, as part of its “Wonderlust” media event.

The analyst is expecting the base model iPhone 15 price to remain unchanged, but sees $100 price bumps for both the 6.1-inch Pro and 6.7-inch Pro Max. This would be the first time Apple has increased pro iPhone prices since the iPhone X debuted at $999 in 2017. For context, the iPhone 14 Pro currently starts at $999, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099.

The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Apple iPhone and other foreign technology devices have been banned for use in Chinese government agencies. Workers are no longer allowed to use these devices for work, or even bring them into the office premises.

This is a significant expansion of a longstanding Beijing policy, which aims to cut reliance on foreign technology amid foreign cybersecurity threats.

Via Financial Times, Apple is claiming that iMessage is not big enough to classify as a gatekeeper service under the definitions of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulation. The justification for this argument is somewhat unclear, given that iMessage is a preinstalled app on every iPhone sold and is clearly one of the most used apps on the platform. Apple has not commented publicly.

The first list of gatekeeper services — which will be compelled to follow these tough new DMA regulations — is due to be published this week. Apple’s App Store is expected to be included, likely paving the way for alternative app stores and third-party iPhone app side-loading.

In the latest edition of Bloomberg’s Power On Newsletter, Mark Gurman reveals more tidbits about what he is hearing for the upcoming 2024 iPad Pro redesign. Specifically, the new Magic Keyboard will be significantly redesigned, using aluminum materials for the first time.

This will make it more like a laptop than ever, as referenced in a Bloomberg report published last week. The new Magic Keyboard case will also feature a larger surface area trackpad, for easier cursor movements on the iPad.

The price of Apple’s MLS Season Pass has dropped again, reflecting the fact we are approaching the final stretch of the 2023 season. It is now just $29 to subscribe for the rest of the year, or a discounted $25 rate for Apple TV+ subscribers.

The seasonal pricing will cover the remainder of the regular season games (running through October) and the playoffs. The monthly subscription price remains unchanged at $14.99/mo, or $12.99 for TV+ subscribers.

Apple has quietly ended a long-running new customer free trial offer for its streaming service, Apple TV+, in the UK. UK marketing pages for TV+ have today removed all mentions of the seven day free trial from ad copy.

New customers can still subscribe for one month and then cancel, but they now must immediately start a subscription – whereas before you could quit within the seven day window and pay nothing at all.

One of the big new features coming in iOS 17 is the addition of offline maps to Apple Maps, which lets you download a map region ahead of time and navigate without Wi-Fi or cell service.

Although several years behind Google Maps, the Apple Maps implementation of offline maps is very well done. In fact, it is even intelligent enough to remind you to download an offline map in advance, if you are getting directions to an area with poor reception.

Apple’s big-budget and star-studded series The Morning Show returns for season 3 next month, with episodes rolling out weekly following the premiere on September 13. Watch the new trailer below.

Premiering alongside the launch of Apple TV+, The Morning Show served as Apple’s first attempt at prestige drama, to mixed results. Nevertheless, the show is one of TV+’s most popular titles, in large part to the star power of Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon …