Top Stories: Apple Black Friday Deals, iOS 18 Rumor Recap, and More

[MacRumors]

The holiday shopping season is now in full swing with Black Friday deals hitting all over the web yesterday. Many of them are continuing through the weekend and into Cyber Week, and we're keep track of all of the best ones.

This week, we also took a look at the upcoming iOS 17.2 update that's currently in beta testing, while we recapped news and rumors about iOS 18 coming next year, Apple's move to add RCS messaging support, and the next iPad Air, so read on below for all the details!

Apple Black Friday Deals Still Available for AirPods, iPhone, iPad and More

Black Friday itself may be over, but tons of deals are still going strong on a wide variety of Apple products and accessories, with noteworthy savings available on iPhones, iPads, AirPods, Macs, Apple Watches, and more.

Aside from our huge list of Apple products on sale at Amazon and elsewhere, check out Best Buy's mega sale on MacBooks and popular gifts of all types, Samsung's steep discounts on monitors, TVs, and more, Sonos' best prices of the year, and great deals on Anker's lineup of charging accessories.

26 New Things Your iPhone Can Do With Next Month's iOS 17.2 Update

iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for nearly a month now, and it is expected to be released in mid-December. The software update includes a long list of new features and changes for the iPhone, including a Journal app, new Apple Music features, and more.

We recently shared a list of 26 new things that you'll be able to do on your iPhone with iOS 17.2, so check it out for a closer look at everything new in the update.

iOS 18: All the Rumors and Known Features So Far

iOS 18 is still over seven months away from being announced, but there are already a handful of rumors and expected features for the update.

In his newsletter this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said iOS 18 could be a "relatively groundbreaking" update with "major new features and designs." He said Apple's senior management has internally described its upcoming operating systems as "ambitious and compelling."

What to Know About Apple's Plans to Support RCS on iPhones Next Year

Earlier this month, Apple surprisingly announced that it will finally support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting "later next year." This change will significantly improve the default messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices.

We've put together an in-depth overview of Apple's plans to support RCS on the iPhone.

What to Expect From the Next iPad Air in Early 2024

Over 600 days have passed since Apple last updated the iPad Air, as outlined in the MacRumors Buyer's Guide. In a recent article, we outlined rumored features and launch timing for the next iPad Air, which would be the sixth-generation model of the device.

New 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Air models are scheduled for mass production in the first quarter of 2024, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

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!

Article Link: Top Stories: Apple Black Friday Deals, iOS 18 Rumor Recap, and More

 

[jtmacb]

I am really tired of seeing commercials of what the newest Galaxy phones can do with their camera app. There should never be a time when any Android phone has better software or hardware when it comes to photography. I don’t give a damn about new colors or a slightly bigger screen or many of the other upgrades that Apple announces with each new version of software or hardware if Apple is not also going to give the millions of loyal iPhone owners not only a phone with comparable photo hardware and software to any Android phone but we should be getting the latest and greatest features. I’m tired of being asked by Android owners if my iPhone 15 Pro Max can do what these phones can do and I have to say no. Apple leaders, get your heads out of your asses and start delivery state of the art features. You have been playing catch up to Android phones long enough. And as a stockholder who owns a lot of your stock how about spending more of your profits on R&D and less on stock buy backs. Your stock price will go up quicker when you are once again on the cutting edge of phone technology. You haven’t been in that place for a long tim.

 

[iLuddite]

I am really tired of seeing commercials of what the newest Galaxy phones can do with their camera app. There should never be a time when any Android phone has better software or hardware when it comes to photography. I don’t give a damn about new colors or a slightly bigger screen or many of the other upgrades that Apple announces with each new version of software or hardware if Apple is not also going to give the millions of loyal iPhone owners not only a phone with comparable photo hardware and software to any Android phone but we should be getting the latest and greatest features. I’m tired of being asked by Android owners if my iPhone 15 Pro Max can do what these phones can do and I have to say no. Apple leaders, get your heads out of your asses and start delivery state of the art features. You have been playing catch up to Android phones long enough. And as a stockholder who owns a lot of your stock how about spending more of your profits on R&D and less on stock buy backs. Your stock price will go up quicker when you are once again on the cutting edge of phone technology. You haven’t been in that place for a long tim.

Sounds like you may as well vote with your wallet and buy an Android device.

 

[Fuzzball84]

I am really tired of seeing commercials of what the newest Galaxy phones can do with their camera app. There should never be a time when any Android phone has better software or hardware when it comes to photography. I don’t give a damn about new colors or a slightly bigger screen or many of the other upgrades that Apple announces with each new version of software or hardware if Apple is not also going to give the millions of loyal iPhone owners not only a phone with comparable photo hardware and software to any Android phone but we should be getting the latest and greatest features. I’m tired of being asked by Android owners if my iPhone 15 Pro Max can do what these phones can do and I have to say no. Apple leaders, get your heads out of your asses and start delivery state of the art features. You have been playing catch up to Android phones long enough. And as a stockholder who owns a lot of your stock how about spending more of your profits on R&D and less on stock buy backs. Your stock price will go up quicker when you are once again on the cutting edge of phone technology. You haven’t been in that place for a long tim.

As a stock holder... I think you have quite a mis understanding of Apple. Apple has only occasionally been at the forefront of new technologies. For example with their Retina screens, Apple Silicon, Apple Watch, iPad.. and more recently the Vision Pro. But, its often the case that Apple are late to the 'party' as they tend to be more cautious, taking their time to bring their customers the best quality and reliability (I admit, not always as in case of Butterfly keyboard etc). So other companies bring out things like 48 MP cameras, folding screens etc etc.. while Apple 'appears to be behind'. But what's happening is that behind the scenes they are working to ensure something is high quality and robust, that the performance is there. And in the case of cameras... even with less MP, their cameras for most consumers are way ahead on quality and performance (especially when combined with the power of Apple Silicon). Im way more interested in quality and performance over gimmicky AI tricks changing peoples faces, and the nonsense MP battle.. there is way more to a camera sensor than MP.

In any case... I think the whole package of what you get with Apple products (the device, the ecosystem, the support in AppleCare and Apple stores...) exceeds by miles what most other companies offer.

On a non stock holder level... you should be thinking.. Who cares what an a few Android users say, and vice versa, who cares what a few Apple users say. As long as you buy what you need, getting the value for your money, for your requirements etc. that you are happy with what you bought.

I have an iPhone mini 13 and I don't really care what anyone else thinks about its cameras, its screen, its processor. Im happy with it.

 

[iLuddite]

As a stock holder... I think you have quite a mis understanding of Apple. Apple has only occasionally been at the forefront of new technologies. For example with their Retina screens, Apple Silicon, Apple Watch, iPad.. and more recently the Vision Pro. But, its often the case that Apple are late to the 'party' as they tend to be more cautious, taking their time to bring their customers the best quality and reliability (I admit, not always as in case of Butterfly keyboard etc). So other companies bring out things like 48 MP cameras, folding screens etc etc.. while Apple 'appears to be behind'. But what's happening is that behind the scenes they are working to ensure something is high quality and robust, that the performance is there. And in the case of cameras... even with less MP, their cameras for most consumers are way ahead on quality and performance (especially when combined with the power of Apple Silicon). Im way more interested in quality and performance over gimmicky AI tricks changing peoples faces, and the nonsense MP battle.. there is way more to a camera sensor than MP.

In any case... I think the whole package of what you get with Apple products (the device, the ecosystem, the support in AppleCare and Apple stores...) exceeds by miles what most other companies offer.

On a non stock holder level... you should be thinking.. Who cares what an a few Android users say, and vice versa, who cares what a few Apple users say. As long as you buy what you need, getting the value for your money, for your requirements etc. that you are happy with what you bought.

I have an iPhone mini 13 and I don't really care what anyone else thinks about its cameras, its screen, its processor. Im happy with it.

13 mini was the best iPhone I’ve ever owned; sometimes less is really more and I love that Apple’s design decisions often seem informed by such a philosophy (although arguably sometimes it seems to backfire, like with 8GB RAM in a 2023 MacBook “Pro”).