Apple’s California Streaming event: rumors, news, and announcements – The Verge

How to preorder the Apple Watch Series 7

2021-10-08T14:31:31-04:00

The Apple Watch Series 7 features larger screens. | Image: Apple

The new Apple Watch Series 7 was announced alongside the iPhone 13, iPad, and iPad Mini, but it's the final device of Apple's new fall products to launch. This newer model sits atop Apple's current lineup of smartwatches, which still includes the SE and Series 3 rounding out the line. Featuring a slightly revamped design and larger display, the Series 7 comes in either a 41mm (up from 40mm) configuration starting at $399 or a 45mm (up from 44mm) configuration - each with optional cellular radios if you want to pay for service with your carrier.

After Apple's initial announcement billed them for release "later this fall," we now know the new …

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How to buy the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro

2021-09-24T08:13:59-04:00

All of the colors of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. | Apple

Apple announced a fleet of new products at its "California Streaming" event. Chief among them - you guessed it - was the iPhone 13. This one is coming in various sizes and colors, but with smaller notches, the new A15 Bionic chipset, and with redesigned and improved cameras located around the back. Going from smallest to largest, Apple will soon release the iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and finally the iPhone 13 Pro Max. With the Pro and Pro Max, you'll be able to get the first iPhone to ship with 1TB of storage, along with 120Hz refresh rate displays.

If you're looking forward to ordering any of the four iPhone 13 models, the g …

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How to preorder Apple’s new iPad and iPad Mini

2021-09-17T17:48:45-04:00

As expected, Apple's "California Streaming" was loaded with a flurry of announcements, from the iPhone 13 to the Apple Watch Series 7. Apple also used its annual fall showcase to introduce its latest tablets, specifically the ninth-gen iPad and all-new iPad Mini, the latter of which is a follow-up to the 2019 iPad Mini that takes heavy design cues from last year's iPad Air. The new models are set to launch on Friday, September 24th, starting at $329 and $499, respectively, and preorders have already gone live at several retailers.

We'll have reviews up for both models in the near future, however, if you're looking to purchase Apple's latest …

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The iPhone’s notch: should it stay or should it go?

2021-09-17T13:59:02-04:00

Apple's iPhone 13 lineup comes with the biggest change Apple has made to the front of its iPhones since it first introduced Face ID with the iPhone X: that controversial notch has finally been shrunken down a bit. Apple says the new notch is about 20 percent smaller than the old one, although eagle-eyed observers have noticed it comes with the tradeoff of being a hair taller, too.

The new and improved notch is still a notch. A big notch, too, compared to the hole-punch cameras and teardrop cutouts that competitors like Samsung or OnePlus have been offering on their flagship phones.

Naturally, we here at The Verge have some thoughts on the …

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The iPad Mini doesn’t support mmWave 5G

2021-09-16T20:19:25-04:00

Apple's newly redesigned iPad Mini was one of the most exciting announcements at its iPhone 13 event on Tuesday, but in the aftermath a limitation has been identified: As spotted by Jason Snell from Six Colors, the new iPad Mini doesn't support mmWave 5G. There's also a hint that its new A15 Bionic processor might be downclocked in comparison to the version that appears in the iPhone 13 line (via MacRumors).

Support for 5G on the cellular version of the iPad Mini was one of Apple's major highlights, but looking at Apple's tech specs, while it supports low- and mid-band 5G, it doesn't offer mmWave. Apple first started playing into the 5G hyp …

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The Apple rumors were wrong

2021-09-15T19:43:08-04:00

Pictured: Tim Cook, knowing he’s not about to announce the thing I want. | Image: Apple

For many who follow tech news closely, Apple's event on Tuesday had a few big surprises - not because there were completely unexpected announcements, but because we didn't see things we really thought we'd be getting. Rumors that had enough smoke to be almost a sure-fire thing in previous years ended up falling flat.

For example:

The Apple Watch was rumored to get a complete redesign, featuring flat edges and a flat screen. We saw this design in renders, reportedly leaked CAD files (which act as a 3D blueprint for products), and even heard that it'd be happening from noted Apple reporter Mark Gurman two days before the event. While the App …

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The iPhone 13 event was a case study in Tim Cook-era product refinement

2021-09-15T18:55:05-04:00

For the past ten years, Tim Cook's greatest accomplishment as Apple CEO has been vastly more of the same. More iPhones, more iPhone accessories, more apps, and so much more money. While the Mac and iPad have occasionally fallen into disrepair, the company keeps coming back with new reasons to buy its greatest hits every year - and this year's iPhone 13 event is a near-perfect case study in how far refinement can take you.

As my colleague Jon Porter points out, the iPhone 13 is effectively the iPhone 12S, an iterative, incremental update to last year's phones instead of something that feels brand new.

Almost everything got better

But oh, w …

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Apple’s tvOS 15 update arrives September 20th sans SharePlay

2021-09-15T15:04:02-04:00

The refreshed Apple TV 4K hit shelves in April, but the anticipated tvOS 15 update that introduces exciting updates to the Apple TV experience was previously only available in beta. That will change next week: Apple has confirmed tvOS 15 will become widely available to everyone on September 20th.

Apple confirmed to The Verge that the tvOS 15 update will go live the same day as its other operating system updates, which include iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8. The tvOS 15 update brings a number of new features to the Apple TV experience. SharePlay is arguably the most exciting addition to the experience and will allow FaceTime users to strea …

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The iPhone 13 is a pitch-perfect iPhone 12S

2021-09-15T13:59:34-04:00

The iPhone 13, featuring a very similar design to the iPhone 12. | Image: Apple

Apple had a lot of new features to announce with its iPhone 13 lineup this week. The iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max have better battery life, faster A15 Bionic processors, smaller display notches, upgraded cameras, and, when it comes to the Pro models, high refresh rate 120Hz ProMotion displays.

It's a nice collection of updates, but take a step back and the range starts to look an awful lot like an iterative update over last year's iPhone 12. They have an almost identical look to the squared-off design introduced with last year's models, and Apple was careful to not directly compare the performance of its n …

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Where are Apple’s new Macs? Here’s what we’re still expecting Apple to announce this year

2021-09-14T20:21:36-04:00

Apple's "California Streaming" event was packed with announcements, from the iPhone 13 and forthcoming Apple Watch Series 7 to a sixth-gen iPad Mini. We expected much of this, yet, there were a number of things we had anticipated that Apple might announce but didn't, including new MacBook Pros and next-gen AirPods.

However, it looks like there's still hope they may make an appearance soon, especially given that October is historically when Apple will showcase new Macs. According to Bloomberg's reliable Apple-watcher, Mark Gurman, Apple will likely hold at least one more online event within the next "several weeks," which means Apple may sti …

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