Apple's next iPad mini will apparently be the first iPad with a water-resistant design, and the tablet is now expected to arrive by October. Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reported last year that Apple is working on an updated casing that offers protection comparable to the iPhone , making the ‌iPad mini‌ safe for casual use in wet environments like a bathroom or a pool area. No ‌iPad‌ currently carries an official water resistance rating, and Apple does not consider the existing models safe to get wet. To achieve this, Apple has reportedly designed a vibration-based speaker system that removes the need for traditional speaker holes. Sound would instead emit from flat surfaces on the tablet's chassis, effectively turning parts of the body into a speaker diaphragm and eliminating one of the main routes through which water and dust enter a device. The approach differs from the method Apple uses on the iPhone, which relies on adhesives and gaskets to seal speaker openings and other ingress points. It is not yet known what IP rating the ‌iPad mini‌ will carry. The iPhone is rated IP68 and can withstand submersion in water up to six meters deep for 30 minutes. Apple has been building toward the technology for some time. A 2014 patent from the company describes a "mechanically actuated panel acoustic system" that vibrates flat panels to generate sound, negating the need for speaker grilles altogether. A sealed design would also close one of the everyday gaps between the ‌iPad mini‌ and dedicated e-readers. Devices like the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Color are rated to survive immersion, and the ability to read in the bath or by the pool has long been one of the practical advantages they hold over Apple's smallest tablet. Gurman recently said that Apple plans to release the new iPad mini by October . Korean outlet ETNews reported in June that Samsung Display had begun mass production of OLED panels for the device, lending weight to a launch in that window. Water resistance is one of at least four major changes expected this year. The switch to OLED will make the mini the second ‌iPad‌ line to adopt the technology after the iPad Pro , delivering higher contrast, true blacks, and better power efficiency than the LCD screen in the iPad mini 7 . A Korean source claimed earlier this month that the panel is an 8.4-inch LTPS design clocked at 60Hz , which would rule out ProMotion. Apple is also reportedly planning a "major processor leap" for the tablet. Code accidentally published by Apple pointed to the A19 Pro chip used in the iPhone Air , while other evidence in a macOS kernel debug kit suggests the device will use the unreleased A20 Pro . Apple last updated the ‌iPad mini‌ in October 2024 with the A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence support. The tablet now starts at $599 following the company's sweeping price increases in June, and Gurman previously suggested the ‌OLED‌ model could command up to $100 more , though that estimate predated the June rises. This article, " Apple's First Water-Resistant iPad to Launch Later This Year " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight . This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact . NeoCam is a fun, new camera app for iPhone and iPad that brings a Game Boy camera style look to all of your photos. It works in real time, can be adjusted on the fly, and more.
We’re about two months away from Apple’s annual iPhone debut in September. This year, though, will be a bit different. Instead of the entire iPhone lineup debuting at once, only the iPhone 18 Pro , iPhone 18 Pro Max , and all-new foldable iPhone will launch this September. Here’s why.
iOS 27 includes new iCloud capabilities across several apps like Apple Home, Siri , Photos , and more. There are some direct ‌iCloud‌ improvements like upgrades to photo uploads and sharing, along with some indirect new features. HomeKit Secure Video Cameras (iCloud+) If you have HomeKit Secure Video cameras, the Home app in ‌iOS 27‌ has a couple of useful new Apple Intelligence features. You can get text-based summaries of what's going on, sent as notifications. So when you get a notification for movement, it will say something like "Someone was seen," or "Animal seen." The text descriptions are also shown in the video playback timeline, and you can search for specific events. Events that take place across two cameras, such as the same person walking from room to room, are paired together to give an overview of action across the home. ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features in the Home app require a 2TB or higher iCloud+ plan , which is priced starting at $9.99 in the United States. The 2TB plan is also the plan required for an unlimited number of ‌HomeKit Secure Video‌ cameras. ‌HomeKit Secure Video‌ cameras have always required an ‌iCloud‌+ plan to store the camera footage in ‌iCloud‌. A single camera can be added with the 50GB plan, and five cameras can be added with the 200GB plan. To use the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ Home app features, you need a home hub like a HomePod , HomePod mini , or Apple TV 4K, as well as a device that supports ‌Apple Intelligence‌ (iPhone 15 Pro or newer). ‌HomeKit Secure Video‌ cameras can also record up to 4K footage in ‌iOS 27‌, but that feature does not use ‌Apple Intelligence‌. Apple Intelligence Limit Increase (iCloud+) Apple said at WWDC that some ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features like image generation with Image Playground will have limits on daily use. Those limits can be increased with most ‌iCloud‌+ plans. Apple has not given a list of features that will have limits beyond ‌Image Playground‌, nor has it said what the limits will be without an ‌iCloud‌+ plan and with the tiered options. Siri ‌Siri‌ conversations in the ‌Siri‌ app sync across devices using ‌iCloud‌. The ‌Siri‌ app lets you revisit previous conversations, start new conversations, pin important chats, and continue chats across iOS, macOS, and iPadOS. Photos There are several new ‌iCloud‌ features in the ‌Photos‌ app. Prioritize Syncing - There's a toggle to force all of your photos to upload to ‌iCloud‌ regardless of battery status. It turns on for 24 hours and then turns off. Shared Albums - Android and Windows users can upload photos to Shared Albums. Shared Albums also keep full-resolution photos and videos to support the cross-platform sharing feature. Upload Speed - iPhones will now start uploading to iCloud Photos more quickly to make images available across devices faster. Collaboration Link Previews - ‌iCloud‌ collaboration links now show richer previews so you can more clearly see what you've been sent. Access Requests - Users can send access requests for items shared via ‌iCloud‌. Speed - Apple says users will get faster access to shared content on iCloud.com. Links - Creating links to ‌iCloud‌ content is easier with a more accessible share link. Journal You can now see the ‌iCloud‌ sync status for each journal entry. Passwords The Passwords app can use ‌Apple Intelligence‌ to automatically fix weak passwords in ‌iOS 27‌. It uses ‌iCloud‌ Keychain and Safari to operate. An Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone is required to use the feature. Read More More information on the features in ‌iOS 27‌ can be found in our roundup . Launch Date ‌iOS 27‌ is available to developers and public beta testers. It will launch in September alongside new iPhone models. Related Roundups: iOS 27 , iPadOS 27 This article, " iOS 27: All the New iCloud Features " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
