Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including all-display iPhone leaks, iPhone 17 pricing, iOS 18’s last major release, AirPods Pro upgrades, discussing Apple’s 2025 problems, and the final F1 trailer drops.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.
The All-Display iPhone
Will Apple’s 20th Anniversary iPhone finally deliver on the sci-fi fueled goal of a one-piece iPhone? It’s unlikely. But what looks achievable is an iPhone that looks—at least from the front—to be just the display. New leaks around the design of 2027’s iPhone suggest that the bezels and frame will be “out of sight” for owners:
“ETNews writes that Apple is aiming to use “four-edge bending” display technology for the 2027 iPhone that would curve not just along the left and right sides as seen in some current smartphones, but also wrap around the top and bottom edges. This would create a truly borderless visual experience with content flowing seamlessly across all sides of the device.”
(MacRumors).
Prepare For A More Expensive iPhone 17
With trade tariffs suggesting a potential impact of over $900M to Apple in this quarter alone, many are speculating if Apple will raise prices to boost income, and the prime candidate for this offset is the upcoming iPhone 17. The Wall Street Journal’s Rolfe Winkler and Yang Jie look at the potential response, but highlight that, in the wake of Trump’s pushback on the idea of Amazon highlighting the impact tariffs, Cook will look elsewhere:
“At the same time, company executives are wary of blaming increases on tariffs.. These circumstances have led Apple to look at what supply-chain insiders described as the least-bad choice: raising prices on the new iPhones to preserve profit and finding reasons other than tariffs to explain the move. It couldn’t be determined what new features Apple may offer to help justify price increases.”
iOS 18’s Final Refresh
Ahead of next month’s Worldwide Developer Conference and the debut of iOS 19, the final regular update to iOS 18 has been released. Version 18.5 is not heavy on new features—leaning into security and bug fixes—but it does bring new display options and a tweaked Mail app interface to the iPhone platform:
“There’s the Pride Harmony wallpaper which helped confirm release date rumors. This wallpaper is a regular thing from Apple, at this time of year before Pride month (June). It’s available for the iPhone and iPad. There’s a new watch face for the Apple Watch, alongside a new Pride Edition Apple Watch Sport Band (full details here).”
(Forbes).
New AirPods Signposted
Like many of Apple’s products, AirPods Pro 2 will expect an update to AirPods Pro 3 in the future. That looks closer today, with code snippets suggesting Apple is upgrading the code in preparation for the next buds. Whether that is early at WWDC or later at an iPhone launch in September remains to be seen, but it does feel close.
“Where the code once referenced a task requiring “AirPods Pro 2nd Generation,” that same task now has a new description in the recent software release. Now, it says it requires “AirPods Pro 2 or later.” In other words, something in Apple’s code that currently required AirPods Pro 2 will work with AirPods Pro 3 as well, and Apple is preparing its software for that change.”
(9to5Mac).
Apple’s 2025 Problems In One Podcast
Is Apple simply too big? An interesting conversation between Nilay Patel and Jon Gruber touches on many issues, challenges, and legal jeopardy that Apple faces in 2025. Listen online now, after picking out some of the highlights:
“All of that combined with Apple’s scale created a kind of hubris and, as you’ll hear Gruber say, a major blind spot for Apple that has pushed it toward these high-profile and public legal defeats that could reshape its business. If all of that weren’t enough to put the heat on Apple, there’s also Trump’s tariffs to deal with and a Google antitrust trial that could see Google barred from striking an exclusivity deal for its search engine that currently pays Apple north of $20 billion a year.”
(The Verge).
And Finally…
The Apple-financed F1 movie has released a second trailer in the weeks before it goes on general release. Apple has many of its own films, but the wide theatrical release and promotion of F1 is new territory for the company:
“F1 is directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Brad Pitt and seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, among other respected names. Pitt stars as former F1 driver Sonny Hayes, who returns to partner rookie team mate Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, at the fictional APXGP team – the movie promising to capture the sport’s highs, lows and everything in between.”
(F1.com).
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.