Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including the iPhone 17 Pro design, the iPad Pro M5, waiting for the new MacBook Air, listening to the iOS 18.2 update, Apple’s 2025 portfolio, the iPhone SE upgrades, and Apple takes on Spotify Wrapped.
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.
The Two Tone iPhone 17 Pro
Is Apple ready to shake up the look of the iPhone Pro? There is discussion online that Tim Cook and his team are considering a move towards a dual-material design. The iPhone started out with this style but moved to a uniform industrial design in a few short years. Could it move back, and if so why?
“The report says that there will be big changes to the way the iPhone looks at the back on the Pro models. “The back of the Pro and Pro Max models will feature a new part-aluminum, part-glass design. The top of the back will comprise a larger rectangular camera bump made of aluminum rather than traditional 3D glass. The bottom half will remain glass to accommodate wireless charging, two people said,” according to The Information.”
(Forbes).
The iPad Pro And The M5 Chip
Apple’s current desktop class M4 chipset debuted in Apple’s iPad Pro in May 2024 before arriving on the Mac in October, the first time the Mxx series debuted outside of a MacBook. The M5 may take the same route to market, with noted industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reporting from the supply chain on its planned debut.
“The iPad Pro equipped with the M5 processor is expected to enter mass production in 2H25. The company’s business momentum in 2H25 is anticipated to benefit significantly from Apple’s new product launches.”
(Ming-Chi Kuo on Medium).
Wait For The MacBook Air
Staying with the M4 chipset, when Apple brought it to the Mac laptop, it equipped the MacBook Pro range, but not the MacBook Air. Those needing workstation levels of power were well served, but they remain overpowered for consumers needing a well-rounded machine. That laptop would be the MacBook Air, but you’ll need to wait into the new year of you want the best value for money macOS laptop.
“…the M4 MacBook Air should offer a similar level of ports, similar hardware design, and the new M4 chipset that will provide more power and performance than any other consumer-focused Apple laptop currently on the market. If you have to buy a new MacBook in the holiday sales, be aware that Apple has plans for a cheaper and faster MacBook Air shortly.”
(Fobres).
Listening To The iOS 18.2 Update
With the upcoming release of iOS 18.2, Apple will bring a raft of new features to the iPhone—Forbes contributor David Phelan has a look at the change log—but one of the practical updates is to the ability to use AirPods to test hearing, as well as expanding the use of AirPods as medical-grade Hearing Aids to new territories:
“The five-minute test allows adults to identify if they have hearing loss by measuring their ability to hear different frequencies of sound. After completing the test, the results will show a hearing loss classification and recommended next steps. Apple has a support document with detailed information about the feature. iOS 18.2 also expands the ability to use AirPods Pro 2 as a clinical-grade hearing aid to the United Arab Emirates, according to Apple.”
(MacRumors).
Predicting Apple’s Future Portfolio
The broad strokes of Apple’s 2025 hardware follow a similar pattern as previous years—with new iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks—but it’s worth summarising what we can expect over the next twelve months. Michael Burkhardt looks ahead into 2025, including Apple’s smarthome display:
“Apple’s first smart home product with a display is also on track for a spring release, marking Apple’s first HomePod (of sorts) to support Apple Intelligence. It’s expected to be a cheaper display that’s both wall mountable and attachable to speakers. It’ll have a roughly 6-inch square display.”
(9to5Mac).
The iPhone SE’s Biggest Upgrade
Apple’s next iPhone—the iPhone SE—is expected to arrive in March. It brings Apple’s first mid-range release in three years, the first Apple-designed 5G modem, and the next upgrade to Apple Intelligence. At the core of all these updates need one thing. An increase in the power and performance of the SE:
“Most of these handsets will be updated in the first half of 2025, putting even more pressure on Apple’s iPhone SE brand. Given that it has been 1000 days since the last iPhone SE in March 2022, the new SE will need to stay relevant for a similar three-year window, and the specs will need to leapfrog over the Android-powered competitors by some distance.”
(Forbes).
And Finally
Apple Music Replay started this week, a data-driven look at each subscriber’s musical tastes in the last twelve months (co-incidentally, the similar Spotify Wrapped recap also launched this week). Apple’s version of the viral spark addresses many concerns from last year’s version to improve the experience:
“Apple finally addressed the biggest complaint about its version of Wrapped: it takes you out of the Music app and onto the web where signing in is required. That’s still true in some instances (the Mac and Vision Pro for example), but the Music app on iPhone and iPad presents the full Replay experience without leaving the app.”
(9to5Mac).
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.
