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In his newsletter today , Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman reiterated that a new "Apple Upgrade" program is set to launch in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 28. Apple will stop accepting iPhone Upgrade Program sign-ups on the same day, but he said customers who are already enrolled will be able to remain in the program "for the time being." Apple is partnering with buy-now, pay-later company Klarna on the program, he said. The program will allow you to lease most iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models, with a 24-month term for iPhones and Apple Watches and a 36-month term for iPads and Macs. Customers will have various options, including returning their device after the term, upgrading to a newer device, paying a fee to keep the device, and so forth. Some lower-priced devices, including the Apple Watch SE, the entry-level iPad, the iPhone 16, and the MacBook Neo, will not be eligible, he said. Unlike the iPhone Upgrade Program, Apple Upgrade plans will apparently not include AppleCare+ coverage bundled into the monthly price. Apple plans to advertise the program as a way to have lower monthly payments compared to current financing programs, according to the report, so it sounds like Apple Upgrade will be focused on leasing rather than traditional financing, and it will apparently replace the iPhone Upgrade Program for new purchases going forward. Tags: Apple Upgrade Program , Mark Gurman This article, " 'Apple Upgrade' Program Launching on Tuesday " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Bloomberg 's Mark Gurman today outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 this year. Spoiler: not very much. While it was rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch Series 12 , Gurman said he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models. Touch ID probably counts as a major design change, so the rumor now sounds increasingly unlikely. Another sketchy rumor claimed that the Series 12 will have a band with an embedded health sensor , but Gurman did not mention that. Instead, he expects more ordinary changes, including faster performance and unspecified improvements to health and fitness tracking. The Series 11 and Ultra 3 both have an S10 chip that debuted in the Series 10 and Ultra 2, so the S11 chip or newer should provide the first Apple Watch performance improvements in years. There will not be an Apple Watch SE 4 this year, he said. Bigger changes are in the works for the Apple Watch, but he said they are unlikely to arrive for another year or two. Even further ahead, he added that Apple continues to develop a blood sugar detection feature with a goal of releasing it by 2030. Related Roundups: Apple Watch 11 , Apple Watch Ultra 3 Tag: Mark Gurman Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Don't Buy) , Apple Watch Ultra (Neutral) Related Forum: Apple Watch This article, " What to Expect From Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Apple is reportedly testing its September 2026 Apple Watch lineup, but the new models are expected to be minor updates while more substantial changes are much further off. The sensors on the back of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 Most recent rumors have claimed that the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 12 will not feature any hardware improvements over its predecessor. Now backing up those reports, Bloomberg says that neither the Apple Watch Series 12 nor the expected Apple Watch Ultra 4 will get visible upgrades to their design. Instead, the updates will be concentrated on giving the new Apple Watches a significant performance boost through a new processor. There may also be health and fitness tracking improvements, though previous reports have claimed that there won't be new sensors, so this may be a software update. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
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
