Taking a look at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including iPhone SE release date controversy, upcoming iPhone battery technology, iOS 18.2.1 details, Apple AI news concerns, features The MacBook Air M4, the free AirPods offer and the 18th anniversary iPhone.
The Apple Loop is here to remind you of some of the many discussions surrounding Apple in the past seven days. You can also read my weekly roundup of Android news here on Forbes.
Customers experience an iPhone16 at Apple’s flagship store in Hangzhou, East China (Photo credit … [+]
iPhone SE Release Date… Or Not…
Conventional wisdom about the 2025 iPhone SE has been a late Q1 release, possibly launching in early April. This would be in line with previous SE launches and the last major iOS 18 update. However, some rumors suggest that we could see Apple’s budget iPhone in the next three weeks:
“According to an anonymous leaker that MacRumors claims has been ‘proven to be a reliable source over the past few years,'” the iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 will ship alongside iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Apple’s .3 updates typically come in January, so if this trend continues into 2025, we could see the iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 arrive this month.”
(Technical radar).
The future of batteries is silicon
As phones get thinner and processor demands increase, the limiting factor of the battery becomes more and more apparent. With some manufacturers turning to a silicon-based power cell, market leader Samsung and Apple have no choice but to follow:
“According to yeux1122’s blog, both entities have started their journey, but there is definitely that elusive question about when we might witness this technology. Seeing the recently announced Redmi Turbo 4, Xiaomi did not spare spared no expense to ensure that even its non-flagship smartphone has been treated to a silicon-carbon battery, with the device boasting a capacity of 6,550 mAh.”
(WCCFTech).
iOS 18.2.1 If you need to upgrade
iOS 18.2 brings new Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone, but as with all updates, it has introduced some code issues and there are issues left over from iOS 18.1 yet to be addressed. So while
“Bug fixes are key to this update, and while there weren’t any overwhelming issues featured in iOS 18.2, there were a lot of minor quirks experienced by a smaller number of users. Which are addressed here, well, we just don’t know.”
(Forbes).
Apple to address AI news concerns
Apple’s AI generation systems, like many others, face problems of understanding and accuracy. With Apple’s AI-powered news alerts pushing inaccurate news summaries, it has come under pressure to halt the service until it is seen as fit for purpose. Apple has acknowledged the flaws, but the service continues:
“Apple Intelligence features are in beta, and we’re constantly making improvements with the help of user feedback. A software update in the coming weeks will further clarify when the text that appears is the summary provided by Apple Intelligence. We encourage users to report a concern if they see an unexpected summary of the notification.”
(BBC News via 9to5Mac).
MacBook Air features
The Mac community is anticipating the release of the M4-powered MacBook Air — one of the last Macs to be upgraded to the M4 chipset. The community is also hoping for more features than a basic upgrade. What can they expect?
“The MacBook Air should see a comparable increase in performance, although since it relies on the fanless passive cooling that is part of the MacBook Pro, the thermal limitation will kick in a bit earlier. However, the excess power that the MacBook Air already has will increase . . .
(Forbes).
Apple’s free AirPods offer
Apple’s latest Back to School offer has started in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and South Korea (US deals tend to come out in June and offer gift cards instead of hardware, but it’s worth noting what’s on offer somewhere other:
“From January 8 to March 13, students and eligible higher education staff in these countries can get free AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or iMac, or an Apple Pencil Pro or free Apple Pencil (USB-C) with the purchase of any new iPad Pro or iPad Air.”
(MacRumors).
And at the end…
This week is the 18th anniversary of the launch of the iPhone. In those days there was a six-month gap between unveiling and retail availability, but the launch is seen by many as a pivotal moment in smartphone history:
“Today the opening segment showing what phones used to look like is a historical curiosity. But back then, this wasn’t the past, it was the present, and these archaic-looking phones were the best available. If you don’t like Apple, if Your personal preference means you buy Android instead of iPhone, you’re still benefiting from that flagship note today graphic that shows its position, like this one”
(Apple Insider).
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here at Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any future coverage. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here , or this week’s edition of the Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit , is also available on Forbes.
