Apple's next-generation AI dictation feature for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air is not turned on by default in the first developer beta of iOS 27 . Apple says the new AI-powered dictation system delivers "a major boost in accuracy," with more reliable on-the-fly capitalization and punctuation than the existing dictation system. The feature runs on Apple's new AFM 3 Core Advanced model , which is a 20-billion-parameter, natively multimodal system that uses a sparse architecture, activating just one to four billion parameters at a time depending on the request. To fit a model that large onto a smartphone, the full model is stored in flash memory rather than DRAM, with a lightweight routing block selecting a fixed set of "experts" during initial processing and periodically reselecting them during generation, a technique Apple calls Instruction-Following Pruning. In side-by-side human evaluations against Apple's previous production dictation system across seven quality dimensions, AFM 3 Core Advanced was preferred on overall quality by a margin of 44.7% to 17.6%, with that preference holding consistently across the other six dimensions, which include punctuation, casing, layout, meaning capture, disfluency handling, and style. Because of the model's size, the upgraded dictation is limited to a handful of newer devices: the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ Max, the ‌iPhone Air‌, the Vision Pro with M5 chip, iPads with an M4 chip or later with at least 12GB of RAM, and Macs with an M3 chip or later with at least 12GB of RAM. Notably, the standard iPhone 17 is excluded, as it ships with 8GB of RAM rather than the 12GB the larger model requires. The same AFM Core Advanced model also powers Apple's new customizable expressive Siri voices , another opt-in preview as of beta 1. The new dictation model runs entirely on-device, so transcription quality stays the same whether or not the iPhone is connected to a network. It remains unclear whether the preview will stay off by default when ‌iOS 27‌ is released officially later this year, or whether Apple will switch it on automatically at some point during the beta cycle this summer. Related Roundups: iOS 27 , iPadOS 27 Tag: Apple Intelligence This article, " Advanced AI Dictation Not Enabled by Default in iOS 27 Beta " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
The on/off back and forth about when the iPhone Fold will be released continues, but now a shaky report claims the first batches have been manufactured and will ship alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September. Mockup of a possible design for the expected iPhone Fold - image credit: AppleInsider The likelihood of Apple launching an iPhone Fold in September 2026 seems to change depending on the day. The latest rotating rumors have been either that it's delayed until 2027 , or that it is exactly on schedule . Now according to China Securities Journal , a supplier has revealed that Apple has begun shipping the iPhone Fold in small batches. If correct, that would be a significant step considering that the iPhone Fold is believed to have only entered manufacturing testing in April 2026 . It's also variously been reported that this testing has uncovered serious problems with the hinge , and also the main circuit board . Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Samsung Display has received Apple's approval to begin module production of OLED panels for Apple's first foldable iPhone, according to a report today from TheElec . Citing industry sources, the report says Samsung Display has started operating part of its back-end production lines in Vietnam to fulfill an initial order of around three million panels scheduled for delivery this year. Module production approval requires a supplier to demonstrate final assembly quality and mass-production stability, and Apple's threshold is reportedly a yield rate of at least 70%. Samsung Display is said to have passed that bar after achieving final yields above 80%. Samsung Display is believed to be the exclusive supplier of OLED panels for the foldable iPhone under a three-year agreement, meaning Apple will not source foldable OLED panels from any other display maker during that period. Back-end processing, which includes adding driver circuits, flexible printed circuit boards, and protective components before final inspection and shipment, is being handled at Samsung Display's Vietnam facility. That site has around 80 production lines in total, with roughly 50 currently active, leaving capacity to spare given the relatively modest three million unit order. The panels are expected to use Color Filter on Encapsulation (CoE) technology, which removes the polarizer and forms a color filter directly on top of the encapsulation layer, along with Samsung Display's newest M16 OLED material set. The M16 stack is said to bring improvements to brightness, color performance, lifespan, and power efficiency over prior generations. Apple's foldable iPhone is rumored to feature a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover display, along with Touch ID instead of Face ID , an A20 chip, and Apple's C2 modem, with pricing expected to start around $2,000. Related Roundup: iPhone Fold Tags: Foldable iPhone , OLED , Samsung , The Elec This article, " Apple Approves Production of OLED Panels for Foldable iPhone " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
