With iOS 26, Apple has made a key strategy shift: it’s no longer pre-announcing major new features that won’t be available for months to come.

Here’s why I think that’s a great decision by Apple, and why it could make for an exciting 12 months.

Rumors about what to expect from the iPhone 17 Air are heating up as we approach the September iPhone event. A new leak today suggests that the iPhone 17 Air will be available in four colors: black, silver, light gold, and light blue.

Meanwhile, a separate rumor sheds more light on which chip the iPhone 17 Air will use …

Apple today announced that COO Jeff Williams will retire later this year, with Sabih Khan set to assume the COO role later this month.

In addition to his role as COO, however, Williams is also responsible for overseeing Apple’s design team. Once Williams officially retires later this year, Apple says that the design team will begin reporting directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple has announced that Jeff Williams is stepping down as chief operating officer later this month. Sabih Khan, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations, will assume the COO role as part of what Apple describes as a “long-planned succession.”

As expected, Apple has today formally appealed the €500 million fine it received from the European Commission for allegedly violating the Digital Markets Act.

Benjamin and Chance discuss the intriguing rumor from Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple is readying a new cheaper MacBook Air powered by an A18 Pro CPU. Also, Apple befuddles everyone with a new byzantine set of App Store rules in the EU, and Apple seems open to powering AI Siri using third-party models.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance walks through some tech updates after another big move. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Benjamin and Chance talk about all the changes in iOS 26 beta 2 and macOS Tahoe beta 2, try out all the new features in watchOS 26 for the first time, and talk about why availability of Apple features and services can be so splintered. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin saw the F1 film in IMAX, and en route observed some horror stories of how people actually use their phones in the real world. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Apple has announced several major changes to its App Store guidelines in the European Union as part of its ongoing efforts to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

The folks at Nomad are out this week with a new Leather Mag Wallet for iPhone. The accessory utilizes MagSafe to attach to the back of your iPhone and features built-in support for Apple’s Find My network, thanks to an integrated tracking card.

It’s available to order now from Nomad’s website for $79.

While a lot of the focus is on the all-new iPhone 17 Air, Apple is also planning some design changes to the iPhone 17 Pro coming later this year. New images posted to social media today provide us with what could be our best look yet at the redesigned camera bump on the iPhone 17 Pro…

In April, Apple was fined 500 million euros for violating the Digital Markets Act in the European Union. Since that penalty was announced, however, the company hasn’t detailed any further changes to its App Store Guidelines to avoid future fines.

A new report from the Financial Times today says that Apple is “locked in last-minute” negotiations with the European Commission about ways to ease its App Store anti-steering provisions.

Apple is continuing to face fallout from its Apple Intelligence rollout. As spotted by Reuters, Apple shareholders have sued Apple in a proposed class action securities fraud case for allegedly “downplaying how long it needed to integrate advanced artificial intelligence into its Siri voice assistant.”

The lawsuit alleges that this misrepresentation negatively impacted iPhone sales and Apple’s stock price.

Apple is working on a major revision to AirPods Pro, which could be released as soon as this year. Plus, new AirPods Max are also in the pipeline. Here’s everything we know about when to expect Apple to release new AirPods…

Update, June 21: Apple has removed the video from YouTube. It’s not clear why.

Original article, published June 20, below.

Apple kicked off its annual Back to School promotion earlier this week, offering free AirPods and other accessories with the purchase of a new Mac or iPad.

Now, as Back to School season ramps up, Apple has shared a humorous new video telling college students “how to convince your parents to get you a Mac.”

Benjamin and Chance catch up on all the stuff they didn’t get time to cover, still reeling in the haze of the WWDC hangover, discussing a bunch of cool new things across iOS, watchOS, and visionOS. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin and Chance go hands-on with all the new CarPlay changes in iOS 26. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Ming-Chi Kuo is out with an update today on Apple’s highly-anticipated foldable iPhone. According to the analyst, Foxconn is set to “kick off the project” later this year in late Q3 or early Q4. At this time, however, many of the component specifications for the foldable iPhone “have yet to be finalized.”

Apple’s Back to School promotion for 2025 is now available. For a limited time, eligible customers can get AirPods or another eligible accessory for free when they buy a new iPad, MacBook, or iMac. That comes in addition to the year-round discount Apple offers on items sold through the Apple Store for Education.

iOS 26 is full of new features for the Music app, including more expansive animated album art, in-app support for Apple Music Replay, and new pinning options.

Perhaps the most impressive new Apple Music feature of all, however, is a new AutoMix. Here’s how it works.

Apple has launched a new Service Program today for a “No Power Issue” affecting a small number of M2 Mac mini users. Affected users are eligible to have their Mac mini repaired at no charge.

iOS 26 is crammed full of upgrades for CarPlay users, including a refreshed Liquid Glass design, support for widgets, and more. There’s even support for a new “AirPlay video in the car” feature that developers and automakers can adopt if they so choose.