Ben Lovejoy

Updated to note that Euro prices have also been reduced, as well as sterling.

In what is almost certainly Apple’s response to currency fluctuations, the company has introduced iPhone price rises in China and India, and has reduced prices in Europe. Price changes have also been seen in other products, like AirPods.

The price changes do vary between models, however, suggesting that Apple is trying to balance the effect of currency changes with the likely impact on demand …

iOS 16 last year introduced a Clean Energy feature, which lets you set your iPhone to charge during times when your local energy grid is using carbon-neutral electricity. In iOS 17, a new Grid Forecast feature takes a first pass at expanding this capability to any device in your home.

Grid Forecast shows up in the Home app, and shows a prediction of when your energy provider will be generating electricity from carbon-neutral sources like solar and wind …

One of the pre-launch rumors suggested that there would be iPhone 15 RAM increases, at least for the two Pro models. Reliable source Aaron (@aaronp613) and Joe Rossignol say they’ve now been able to confirm this from files present in Xcode.

They found that both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have 8GB RAM, increased from the 6GB found in the equivalent iPhone 14 models …

A day after the iPhone 15 launch, the situation regarding a reported Chinese iPhone ban is, if anything, less clear than it was beforehand – and that’s probably not accidental.

The Chinese government has now said that it has not banned either the purchase or use of iPhones, but made reference to claimed “security incidents” related to Apple devices …

Apple has announced Apple Watch Ultra 2, replacing the top-end model first introduced a year ago.

The new model gets improved internals – shared with the Apple Watch Series 9 …

Most iPhone 15 displays will be made by Samsung, after competitors LG and BOE failed to gain Apple approval for their planned initial production.

Samsung is reported to be the only company making displays for the standard iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max …

We’re still awaiting today’s Apple event, but alongside the anticipated new products, we’re expecting confirmation of something which might seem relatively minor, but which could prove hugely influential: Apple dropping leather from its iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands.

While the move is not yet official, there does seem to be strong evidence that the company will this year be taking an environmental stand on the issue …

Twitter user Kosutami, who often manages to get their hands on prototype versions of Apple products, has posted a sneak preview of a FineWoven Apple Watch band.

The new fabric material is expected to replace leather for both iPhone cases and Watch bands, and to be officially announced alongside the iPhone 15 lineup and one or more new Apple Watch models in today’s event …

The TSMC Arizona chip plant is behind schedule, over budget, and the subject of contention in online forums – and now an analyst says that it will be little more than a useless paperweight, even when it does finally begin production.

Not only will it only make chips for older Apple devices, but it can’t even complete the process of making those without sending them back to Taiwan for final assembly …

One day ahead of the launch of the iPhone 15 line-up, CNN took a look back at every iPhone which preceded it, from the original iPhone in 2007 onward. That got me thinking about my favorites, and wondering: Which were yours?

When Steve Jobs presented the first ever iPhone – with his famous “an iPod, a phone and internet communicator … are you getting it?” reveal – he said it was a magical product which was five years ahead of anything else on the market …

One of the rumors about this year’s iPhone lineup was that the top-end model might be called the iPhone 15 Ultra, instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But just ahead of the reveal, we noted Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is confident the Pro Max name is sticking around.

In a new report detailing what to expect at next week’s “Wonderlust” event, Bloomberg says Apple is planning to stick with the “Pro Max” branding this year …

A new WhatsApp third-party chats feature has been spotted in the latest app code, indicating that the app is preparing to comply with European law on messaging interoperability.

Apple is so far pushing back on suggestions that iMessage would be subject to the same antitrust law, making the unlikely-sounding argument that it doesn’t have enough European users to count …

Spotify is planning to offer free audiobooks to paying subscribers over the next few months, as it continues to seek ways to make money, according to a new report today.

The company is said to be working with some of the largest publishers in the US to offer premium subscribers up to 20 hours of free audiobook listening per month – but don’t expect it to last long …

iPhone 15 Pro Max sales will account for 40% of all purchases of this year’s models, according to a prediction by market intelligence company TrendForce.

It says that the periscope lens unique to the top-tier model will be enough to drive consumer demand, despite a potential $100 price increase over last year’s Pro Max …

Leaker yeux1122 says that Apple Store staff have been told to make sure iPhone 15 buyers know about the change from Lightning port to a USB-C one, when they make their purchase.

Staff will advise them that the box includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, but not a charging brick, so they may need to buy one …

The iPhone 15 ultrawide-band chip will reportedly be a new U2 version – the first time the location-finding chip has been updated since the U1 first seen in the iPhone 11 Pro.

The report says that this further improves on the already impressive location-finding abilities of the first-gen chip …

A new patent application describes how Crash Detection accuracy could be improved by using multiple Apple devices.

In particular, it suggests that using motion sensors in AirPods could be used to detect incidents that could result in head injury without necessarily registering an impact on an Apple Watch or iPhone …

A studio that adapted Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: The Seven Ravens into an augmented reality experience for the Magic Leap 2 believes that combining a physical book with AR content could make a cool Vision Pro experience.

Rather than the purely virtual book brought to life in Magic Leap, the studio sees the potential for using Vision Pro’s high-resolution passthrough feature to create something truly special …

Back in 2020, we saw an Apple patent for a matte black MacBook, with the company explaining at the time why it hasn’t (really) made one yet.

Three years later, the company is still working on it, with an approach using carbon nanotubes to address the problem of light reflections …