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iOS 26.4 added brand new widgets for the iPhone’s Home Screen, but you might not know that fairly recently, Apple also upgraded its popular Photos widget in two ways. more…
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 3 . The firmware has a version number of 8B40, up from 8B39. There is no word on what's included in the new firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance improvements. To get the updated firmware, make sure your AirPods Pro are in range of your iPhone, iPad , or Mac and are connected via Bluetooth. From there, connect your Apple device to Wi-Fi, put your AirPods in the Charging Case, and connect the Charging Case to power. Keep the case closed and wait at least 30 minutes for the firmware update to install. After that, check the version number and repeat the process if the update hasn't been installed. Related Roundup: AirPods Pro 3 Tag: AirPods Pro 3 Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Buy Now) Related Forum: AirPods This article, " Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3 " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Earlier this week, 9to5Mac 's Benjamin Mayo reported on an apparent charging issue affecting at least some of Apple's latest iPhone models. In short, Mayo said that when he attempted to charge his iPhone Air with a USB-C cable just seconds after the device ran out of battery, it failed to turn on and did not display the usual red battery icon that indicates charging is occurring. Mayo subsequently realized that several users have posted about this issue across websites such as Reddit and iFixit Answers, but it is unclear what the root cause is or how widespread it is. Apple has yet to publicly comment on the matter, and the issue does not appear to be fixed in the latest iOS 26.4.1 and iOS 26.4.2 software releases. As far as I can tell, I also experienced this issue with my iPhone 17 Pro Max earlier this month. While staying at a hotel, I accidentally forgot to charge the device one night, leading it to shut off on me when I woke up the next morning. Naturally, I plugged in a USB-C cable, but the screen remained black with no battery icon for many minutes. At the time, I thought that maybe the hotel's outlets were not working correctly, but I knew something was up after I tried a variety of different outlets and chargers without success. Just like Mayo, I was eventually able to get my iPhone to turn on by placing it on a MagSafe charger and waiting about 10 to 15 minutes. In my case, it was a MagSafe battery pack from Anker that I carry with me while traveling. A few Reddit users said the standard iPhone 17 model is also impacted. All in all, it would appear that the new iPhones have a hit-or-miss charging problem when they fully run out of battery, but there is no guarantee that everyone will experience it. With the issue now receiving attention on 9to5Mac and MacRumors , hopefully Apple is made aware and provides a fix in an upcoming iOS version. Related Roundups: iPhone 17 Pro , iPhone Air Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 Pro (Neutral) , iPhone Air (Buy Now) Related Forum: iPhone This article, " Some iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Users Experiencing a Charging Issue " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
In a social media post this week, Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reiterated that Apple is planning to release new AirPods with cameras "for Siri." Last month, Gurman said these AirPods will likely be priced above the current AirPods Pro 3, which Apple sells for $249. As a result, he said Apple is likely considering using "AirPods Ultra" branding for the camera-equipped AirPods. "AirPods Ultra" would not have typical cameras for capturing photos and videos. Instead, Gurman previously reported that the earbuds will be equipped with infrared cameras that use computer vision to feed data about a user's surroundings to Siri. The cameras should help to enhance the Visual Intelligence feature on the iPhone 15 Pro and newer. This would be similar to the infrared camera built into the Face ID system on iPhones. In June 2024, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said AirPods with cameras would potentially enable "in-air gesture control." In his post this week, however, Gurman said he does not expect the AirPods to support hand gestures. It was initially rumored that the camera-equipped AirPods would be a higher-end AirPods Pro 3 configuration , much like the AirPods 4 are available in variants with or without active noise cancellation. However, it is increasingly sounding like the earbuds will instead be "AirPods Ultra" positioned above the AirPods Pro entirely. Macworld 's Filipe Espósito recently reported that Apple plans to release an "iPhone Ultra" and a "MacBook Ultra" within the next year, so "AirPods Ultra" would be part of a trio of new "Ultra" devices. Apple already uses "Ultra" branding for the Apple Watch Ultra, CarPlay Ultra, and the M1 Ultra to M3 Ultra series of chips. It is not entirely clear when the "AirPods Ultra" will arrive, but September of this year is a possibility if Apple plans to announce them alongside the "iPhone Ultra," its long-rumored foldable iPhone. A redesigned "MacBook Ultra" with an OLED display and touch-screen capabilities is expected to follow by early 2027. Related Roundup: AirPods Pro 3 Tags: AirPods Ultra , Mark Gurman Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Buy Now) Related Forum: AirPods This article, " 'AirPods Ultra' Rumored to Feature a Major Upgrade Over AirPods Pro " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
