Taking a look at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including new iPhone 17 features, iPhone 16 camera disappointment, Apple’s Black Friday iPhone deals, Amazon’s MacBook Pro win, critical update of macOS security, iOS 18.2 release date, Apple’s 5G modem and product status (Red).,
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 shop at the largest Apple store in Asia in Shanghai, China, on September 22, … [+]
The new global function of iPhone 17
After the dedicated use of eSIM in the US, Apple seems ready to introduce the digital version of the venerable SIM card to a global audience, though not on every handset. After all, removing the physical hardware from inside an iPhone will help a certain thin project in 2025:
“Apple has yet to release any iPhones without a SIM card tray outside of the US, but it looks like the change will finally expand internationally starting with the iPhone lineup next September 17. Indeed, the report said that all “Actual iPhone 17 Air. Prototypes are missing a SIM card tray, this may change.”
(Information via MacRumors).
The iPhone 16’s camera falls short
DXOMark puts smartphone cameras through extensive tests and measurements to determine which is ‘the best’ according to their criteria. It has become one of the standards to aim for. Apple will at least have been pleased with the iPhone 16 Pro reaching 4th place in the chart, but the latest iPhone 16 test will have been less well received, as Apple’s vanilla iPhone 16 fell to 20th.
“In our reviews, the camera captured beautiful images and video with great exposure, good contrast, and nice skin tones. The video stabilization system kept things smooth and steady when recording moving images. On the downside , the lack of a dedicated TV lens meant that images captured at medium and long range TV settings lacked detail and texture.”
(DXOMark).
Apple Black Friday iPhone and iPad
Thanksgiving is here and the wave of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals is reaching a peak. Apple has typically avoided any extended deals, instead offering store coupons in a well-defined window from Friday to Monday, respecting the nature of the days on which the sale applies. The deals are available in many territories, and Forbes contributor David Phelan takes a look at what to expect:
“The event runs from midnight on Friday, November 29 until next Monday, December 2, inclusive of your time zone. Instead of taking money out of its products, Apple’s technique is to provide a gift card that can be spent anywhere in-store or online with Apple So if you’re planning to buy other things from Apple, it works as well as a discount.
(Forbes).
Amazon gives Apple a MacBook Pro Win
Apple may not offer cash discounts for the holidays (and those coupons are rarely available on the current generation of hardware), but that doesn’t mean Apple doesn’t benefit from sales. To show an example, Amazon sells new M4 MacBook Pro laptops for up to $300 off, but Apple brings customers into its ecosystem without spoiling its “high price buys quality” image:
“Given the interest in the new MacBook Pro models, along with the company’s reluctance to offer price cuts during Black Friday, many consumers bought their new laptops with confidence that the price they paid wouldn’t depreciate in the week of Black Friday. After all, Apple has a reputation for going on about the perceived status of the Mac platform associated with the higher prices it uses.
(Forbes).
MacOS security update
Apple’s confirmation of a serious security exploit in its various operating systems arrived last week. The problems are part of WebKit and Java. The need to update your hardware was reinforced by a call from a US government agency to do so immediately:
“Apple is warning billions of Mac and MacBook users worldwide to update macOS as a matter of priority…. The importance of applying this update has been reinforced thanks to an intervention by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency”.
(Forbes).
iOS 18.2 details leaked
The next big update for iOS 18.2 will offer many new features and software changes, but the one that will attract the most attention is the next step in bringing generative AI to the iPhone with ChatGPT integration through Siri. While some are seeing this Monday as the release date, it’s more likely to be a week or two after December:
“After all, this week includes Thanksgiving with its holidays and travel — missing key days right before a release wouldn’t always have been possible. The current developer and public betas don’t seem close enough to the final release.
“…I would say we should work on the principle that it will be one of the next two weeks, meaning the weeks starting on Monday, December 9th or Monday, December 16th.”
(Forbes).
Apple’s 5G Modem
It’s been a long time coming, but Apple may finally have something to show for its acquisition of Intel’s modem division. Qualcomm is currently the exclusive supplier of 5G modems, but Apple looks set to begin a phased rollout of its own hardware next year:
“The first device expected to have Apple’s 5G modem is the iPhone SE 4, which is said to be introduced in the first half of 2025. By the end of next year, at least one of the iPhone 17 models will also has the new modem. – most likely the iPhone 17 Air Despite the benefits in terms of battery consumption, Apple still doesn’t feel quite confident about its modem to put it in flagship products like the Pro. iPhone.”
(9to5Mac).
And at the end…
Apple is indelibly associated with the Product(red) initiative that raises awareness and funding to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa. It’s a long partnership, but Joe Rossignol has documented the slow decline of Apple’s product hardware (Red):
“Apple didn’t offer any iPhone 15 models in (Product) Red, and that trend has continued with the iPhone 16 models so far. It offered the aluminum Apple Watch Series 9 in (Product) Red last year, but that device has since has been discontinued and the color option is not available for the Apple Watch Series 10. Apple also discontinued the (PRODUCT)RED version of the Sport Band that was available alongside the Series 9.
“Apple continues to support the Global Fund through its annual Apple Pay donation program, which runs from November 29 to December 8.”
(MacRumors).
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.