Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from across the Apple world, including iPhone 18 Pro profit margins, iPhone Ultra camera details, important iOS 26 security updates, AirPods camera model delayed, MacBook Ultra features, VisionOS downgraded, and Apple updates EU app limits.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.
How Apple Can Protect The iPhone 18 Pro Profit Margins
The smartphone market is seeing rising costs across the board, and those costs will need to be covered. Companies will be looking to maintain profit margins without weakening sales by raising the sticker price too much. Apple is facing this situation with the iPhone 18 Pro launch. How can it maintain margins without spooking customers? I looked at the options earlier this week, including the new leasing options:
“While the sticker price may rise, Apple’s launch of a hardware leasing program – Apple Upgrade – turns the purchase of an iPhone away from a single focused point of pain at purchase to monthly payments spread over a much longer period, potentially out to 24 months. As a rough rule of thumb, the potential $100 price, spread over 24 months, is a little over $4 per month, an increase that is far less threatening to consumers.”
Will The iPhone Ultra Have A Camera Advantage?
With the upcoming iPhone Fold looking to cost more than the newly released Galaxy Z Fold8 – potentially up to $500 more – what can Apple’s faithful community expect to arrive in the first foldable from Cupertino to make that price difference worthwhile? Forbes contributor Janhoi MacGregor takes a closer look, starting with the camera:
“The iPhone Ultra is expected to launch with a wide and ultrawide too, also without a telephoto lens. The question is how good the cameras actually are and how they compare to the main iPhone 18 range. If Apple brings its full iPhone 18 Pro Max camera abilities to the iPhone Ultra, which you would expect at $2400, that’s a meaningful advantage over Samsung’s tech. Particularly so on video, where the iPhone consistently outperforms Android flagships regardless of megapixel count.”
Apple Pushes Latest iOS Update
With the arrival of iOS 26.6.1, Apple has rolled out a small update to iOS 26 ahead of the step up to iOS 27 with the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro family. There are no major software updates, but there are critical security updates that should be applied as soon as possible:
“In total, there are 29 issues which are addressed in the update, most of them, 21 in all, related to WebKit, the beating heart of Safari on the iPhone. Some of these could cause memory corruption and many more could cause unexpected Safari crashes, for instance. The details were revealed by Apple in a support document.”
The All-Seeing AirPods Are Delayed
Apple has confirmed that the next major update to the AirPods will ship with built-in cameras to capture more data for Visual Intelligence. Yet the expected arrival in September looks to be delayed until next year. David Phelan examines the potential capabilities:
“Whenever they arrive, the new earbuds will not use the cameras to shoot video or take photos — the privacy issues raised would be way too much for Apple to sanction that, it’s thought. Instead, they would be used for Visual Intelligence, the smart feature which uses the camera on the iPhone to translate the poster in front of you, add the content to a calendar and more. Right now, there’s no way to use this feature on AirPods as they are camera-free.”
What Makes The MacBook Ultra Attractive?
Speculation is growing that Apple’s top-tier macOS laptop – the MacBook Ultra – will arrive before the end of 2026. A raft of hardware updates are expected, and many will bring the Mac platform parity with the established hardware norms on Windows laptops. Ryan Christoffel picks out some of the highlights, including the OLED display:
“Every iPhone now has an OLED display, and the iPad Pro gained a gorgeous tandem OLED in 2024 too. But the Mac has been an outlier—until now. The MacBook Ultra is set to adopt OLED, the first Mac to feature the display technology. OLED should enable truer blacks, better contrast, and better off-angle viewing. It could also help MacBook Ultra get better battery life.”
The Lights Are Dimming On VisionOS
Tim Cook’s grand introduction of the promise and potential of Visual Computing, led by VisionOS and the Apple Vision Pro, looks to be coming to an end. Incoming CEO John Ternus is putting the project “on ice”. Wesley Hillard has more:
“According to a reliable source speaking to AppleInsider, Apple has laid off at least 60 employees tied to Apple’s VR team, the Apple Vision Group, and similar positions. We’ve heard this tale before, and while this doesn’t mean the end of Apple Vision Group, it is a sign of a cooling off for that category. Apple Vision Pro arrived with a high price tag and a high barrier to entry with its heavy design and limited developer support. In the years since, Apple hasn’t done much to move the needle, though it isn’t clear if it needs to.”
And Finally…
To meet the requirements of the Digital Markets Act, Apple has updated its business terms for third-party app developers and publishers in Europe. This impacts alternative payment processors, Apple’s revenue share, and the Core Technology commission: Reuters has more:
“Apple will introduce a single set of terms for developers operating in the EU that are similar to the commission-based terms it offers in markets such as Japan and Brazil, the company said.
Japan and Brazil have sought to open up Apple’s App Store business model, under which developers have long paid commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases of digital goods and services. Apple is still litigating over what it can charge developers in the United States.”
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.