Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including the iPhone SE release date controversy, future iPhone battery technology, iOS 18.2.1 details, Apple’s AI news concerns, MacBook Air M4 features, free AirPods offer, and the iPhone’s 18th anniversary.
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.
iPhone SE Release Date… Or Not…
The conventional wisdom around 2025’s iPhone SE has been a late Q1 release, possibly sneaking into early April. This would line up with previous SE launches and the final major update of iOS 18. Yet some voices are suggesting we could see Apple’s budget iPhone in the next three weeks:
“According to an anonymous leaker that MacRumors claims has “proven to be a reliable source over the past few years,” the iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 will land alongside iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Apple’s .3 updates usually land in January, so if that trend continues in 2025, we could see the iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11 arrive as soon as this month.”
(Tech Radar).
The Future Of Batteries Is Silicon
As phones get thinner and processor demands increase, the limiting factor of the battery becomes ever more evident. With some manufacturers turning to a silicon-carbon based power cell, the market leader of Samsung and Apple have little chocie but to follow:
“According to yeux1122’s blog, both entities have begun their journey, but there is obviously that elusive question regarding when we can witness this technology. Looking at the recently announced Redmi Turbo 4, Xiaomi spared no expense to ensure that even its non-flagship smartphone is treated to silicon-carbon batteries, with the device boasting a capacity of a whopping 6,550mAh.”
(WCCFTech).
iOS 18.2.1 Should You Upgrade
iOS 18.2 has new Aplpe Intelligence features to the iPhone, but as with all updates, it has introduced some issues with the code, and there are outstanding issues from iOS 18.1 still to be addressed. So while
“Bug fixes are the key to this update and while there haven’t been overwhelming issues introduced in iOS 18.2, there were plenty of little quirks experienced by smaller numbers of users. Which ones have been addressed here, well, we just don’t know.”
(Forbes).
Apple To Address AI News Concerns
Apple’s generative AI systems, like many, face issues of comprehension and accuracy. With Apple’s AI-powered news alerts pushing inaccurate news summaries, it has been 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 are continuously making improvements with the help of user feedback. A software update in the coming weeks will further clarify when the text being displayed is summarization provided by Apple Intelligence. We encourage users to report a concern if they view an unexpected notification summary.”
(BBC News via 9to5Mac).
MacBook Air Features
The Mac community is waiting for the launch 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 rather tha a base upgrade. What can they expect?
“The MacBook Air should see a comparable lift in performance, although as it relies on passive cooling without the fan that is part of the MacBook Pro, thermal limiting will kick in slightly earlier. Nevertheless, the excess power the MacBook Air already has will climb.”
(Forbes).
Apple’s Free AirPods Offer
Apple’s latest “Back to School” offer has begun in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Korea (the US offers tend to launch in June and offer gift cards instead of hardware, but its worth noting what is offered elsewhere:
“From January 8 through March 13, qualifying higher-education students and staff in these countries can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac, or a free Apple Pencil Pro or Apple Pencil (USB-C) with the purchase of any new iPad Pro or iPad Air.”
(MacRumors).
And Finally…
This week is the 18-year anniversary of the launch of the iPhone. In those days there was a six-month gap between reveal and retail availability, but the launch is seen by many as a key moment in the history of the smartphone:
“Today the opening segment showing what phones used to look like is a historical curiosity. But at the time, that wasn’t the past, it was the present and these archaic-seeming phones were the best available.If you dislike Apple, if your personal preference means you buy Androids instead of iPhones, you’re still benefiting from that keynote today. During the many times Apple would later go to court over the similarities between iPhone and Android, it would present a graphic demonstrating its position, such as this one”
(Apple Insider).
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.
