Apple's annual iPhone event is just two months away, but we're still not quite clear on when and in what quantities the new foldable "iPhone Ultra" will be available. It sounds like we could end up in a situation similar to that of the iPhone X where it was introduced at the September event but didn't become available for pre-orders until around six weeks later. Other news this week included a third round of developer betas for iOS 27 and related updates, some fresh iPhone 18 Pro rumors, a recap on where things stand with the next-generation Apple TV, and more, so read on below for all of the details! Top Stories 'iPhone Ultra' Likely to 'Repeat the iPhone X Story' With Delayed Launch Apple will likely "repeat the iPhone X story" by unveiling its foldable iPhone at the same time as the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, but starting foldable iPhone pre-orders at a later date, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo this week said manufacturing challenges have limited early production of the foldable iPhone, which will reportedly be named iPhone Ultra. As a result, he believes the device may launch at some point after the iPhone 18 Pro models. In 2017, Apple unveiled the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X on September 12. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-orders began just three days later, while iPhone X pre-orders began six weeks later on Friday, October 27. Likewise, Kuo believes the foldable iPhone may not be available to pre-order until the fourth quarter of 2026. Everything Coming in the 2026 Apple TV 4K The Apple TV 4K hasn't been updated since 2022, and it's due for a refresh. An update is planned for 2026, but Apple is likely going to wait to launch it until Siri AI launches in iOS 27. Check out our recap of everything we're expecting for the next iteration of Apple's set-top box, from specs and feature support to pricing and a launch date. Everything New in iOS 27 Beta 3 Apple is continuing to refine iOS 27 ahead of its planned September launch, and the third developer beta released this week includes several new features . Siri is more customizable, there's a fun new wallpaper action, and there are some useful improvements to Photos and Shortcuts. On the Mac side, the new macOS beta includes gorgeous new Golden Gate-themed wallpapers that can also serve as screen savers. Public betas of the upcoming releases will be available sometime this month . Apple Intelligence Home Features Require 2TB iCloud+ Plan in iOS 27 Using Apple Intelligence camera features in the Home app will require an iCloud+ plan starting at 2TB , according to Apple. In iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, the Home app is able to generate written summaries for motion alerts from HomeKit Secure Video cameras. It's also able to group footage from separate cameras for an overview of activity and pull out noteworthy recordings, plus it supports natural language search. Apple said at WWDC that some Apple Intelligence features would require an iCloud+ plan, but it hadn't specified which tier users would need to subscribe to. For the Home features, users will need the $9.99/month 2TB iCloud+ plan or better. iPhone 18 Pro Battery Capacities Revealed by Regulatory Filings New Chinese regulatory certification filings appear to confirm the battery capacities of Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models . According to filings in China's C3 database, spotted earlier this week by the leaker known as "Digital Chat Station" on Weibo, the iPhone 18 Pro is seemingly rated for 4,056mAh in China and 4,288mAh in the U.S., up modestly from the iPhone 17 Pro's 3,988mAh and 4,252mAh. The iPhone 18 Pro Max shows a bigger jump, rated for 5,391mAh in China and 5,567mAh in the U.S., compared with 4,823mAh and 5,088mAh on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, an increase of nearly 500mAh. The foldable "iPhone Ultra" will reportedly include two battery cells registering at 1,921mAh and 2,962mAh , for a combined minimum rated capacity of 4,883mAh. When is Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer? It is now July and we are still waiting for Apple to begin its annual Back to School offer in countries like the U.S. and Canada — if it is still coming. In the U.S., Apple launched its Back to School offer in June from 2020 through 2025, but it has waited until July in the more distant past. Last year, college students and educational staff could receive a free accessory like AirPods 4 or an Apple Pencil Pro with the purchase of a qualifying Mac or iPad model. It is unclear what Apple plans to offer this year, but given the company recently raised prices on all Macs and iPads, this year's promotion would be rather bittersweet. MacRumors Newsletter Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view. So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter ! Tag: Top Stories This article, " Top Stories: 'iPhone Ultra' and Apple TV Rumors, iOS 27 Beta 3, and More " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Apple's Mail app is getting some useful updates in iOS 27 , with Apple making big improvements to search and introducing new AI features. Search ‌iOS 27‌ has an overhauled search system that extends to the Mail app. Instead of surfacing results based on keywords and recency, Mail app search ranks results by relevance and intent. Search results that come up in Mail are more relevant than before, so you find exactly what you're looking for. If you search for "Sprouts" because you want to find a recent order, it'll show your order before it shows marketing emails you might have from the same retailer. Siri AI The Mail app has a built-in "Ask Siri " feature. Long press on any email and you can ask ‌Siri‌ to summarize, find an item in the email, track a package, get a flight number, save a photo, and more. Once you get a response, you can swipe down to enter the ‌Siri‌ interface for asking follow-up questions. Conversations are logged in the ‌Siri‌ app. ‌Siri‌ can complete tasks in the Mail app too, like deleting all emails from a specified sender or adding information from an email to your Reminders list. Writing Tools The Mail app has a Write with ‌Siri‌ interface above the keyboard, which you can tap to get writing help. ‌Siri‌ can draft an email for you, check over an email you've written, help you reword an email, change the style of the email, or give you writing tips. Write with ‌Siri‌ is able to match your standard writing style, punctuation, and tone, so emails sound more like you and less like AI. Your iPhone also now flags both typos and grammar errors while you write. Smart Reply Smart Replies that your iPhone suggests to you are now tuned to your writing style, which means the one-tap suggestions sound like things you might actually type. Contextual Suggestions The contextual suggestions that you see at the top of the Mail app are now available to third-party apps, plus Apple has revamped the design. An email that includes a flight time or a restaurant reservation has a one-tap button for adding it to the Calendar app. An email with directions may let you see the route in Maps, and emails with tracking information can be tracked with the Wallet app. Call Context Call Context is a feature that works between the Mail app and the Phone app. When you call a business like an airline or a retailer where you have a relevant email, the Phone app will show information pulled from that email. You might see it bring up a reservation number for a flight, or an order number for a call with a retailer. Call Context works on-device, looking at who you're calling and not call audio. Performance Improvements Messages in Mail load faster, search indexing is more reliable, and unread badges between platforms like iOS and macOS sync more reliably. Apple also updated list formatting. Requirements The Mail app search improvements are available on all iPhones that run ‌iOS 27‌, but AI features like ‌Siri‌ AI integration, Write with ‌Siri‌, Call Context, and Contextual Suggestions require an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence . ‌Siri‌ AI is not available in the European Union or China, and Contextual Suggestions are English-only at launch. Related Roundups: iOS 27 , iPadOS 27 This article, " iOS 27: What's New With the Mail App " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
In what will be a blockbuster suit, Apple is suing OpenAI, alleging that two ex-employees, one of whom was Apple's previous Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch , maintained an ongoing and successful effort in stealing intellectual property to enrich OpenAI's development efforts. Tang Yew Tan did design work for Apple for years on iPhone and the above pictured Apple Watch Ultra Series 3 In the suit, filed on Friday, Apple goes into some detail about what two named defendants, Chang Liu and previous Vice President of Product Design for iPhone and Apple Watch Tang Yew Tan have done to draw the company's ire. Specifically, the suit claims that for months after leaving Apple, they stole and used Apple intellectual property to advance OpenAI's goals. And, OpenAI didn't do anything about it, nor did they respond to Apple asking questions about the hires, the data, and what was being done with it. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
