In 2022, Apple began rolling out Tap to Pay on iPhone, a system that allows small business owners and other merchants to accept contactless payments on an iPhone, with no point-of-sale hardware required. The feature allows customers to pay by simply tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch, credit card or debit card, or other contactless payment option on the merchant's iPhone. Payment is securely completed using NFC, like Apple Pay.
Some of Apple's retail employees have been using iPhone 14 units with Tap to Pay on iPhone, instead of a Bluetooth credit card reader affixed to the back of the device, and now the company apparently plans to go a step further.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple will be giving more retail employees newer iPhone 16 units to expand its in-store usage of Tap to Pay on iPhone.
"The tap-to-pay system in the iPhone 14 can sometimes be finicky and not support metal cards like American Express Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve," he explained. "But Apple has found that the iPhone 16 does a better job and eliminates the need for store employees to carry around the specialized terminals."
Apple's M7 Ultra chip coming in 2028 is designed to support up to 1.5TB of unified memory, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, whether such a configuration is offered may depend on the state of the ongoing memory chip shortage.
In 2019, Apple released an Intel-based Mac Pro with up to 1.5TB RAM.
Apple is working to satisfy upcoming EU requirements related to making batteries more replaceable, leading Gurman to believe that the new Apple Pencil models could be equipped with "new battery systems." While that wording is vague, it seems to suggest that the next Apple Pencil models could have replaceable batteries.
No other details were provided, so we do not know of any potential design changes or other new features that are planned at this time.
The current Apple Pencil with a USB-C port was released in November 2023, while the Apple Pencil Pro followed in May 2024.
The first public betas of iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and more will be released this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This aligns with Apple's promised July timeframe.
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, the key new feature is Siri AI, but there is a waitlist if you want to try it.
"Apple had been planning major neural-processing upgrades for the M7 family and ultimately decided those improvements were important enough to justify accelerating the next generation rather than completing the M6 lineup," he explained.
There won't be an M6 Ultra chip either, he said.
A new 14-inch MacBook Pro with a base M6 chip will be released later this year, and then Apple plans to move on to releasing the base M7 chip in the first half of 2027, M7 Pro and M7 Max chips in late 2027, and an M7 Ultra chip in 2028.
He said the M7 Ultra chip in particular "dramatically upgrades AI performance," and that it may power Apple Intelligence servers starting in 2029.
"AI is no longer just another feature Apple's chips need to support," said Gurman. "It is now shaping how those products are designed and when they are shipped."
Amazon today has the AirPods Pro 3 available for $199.99, down from $249.00. This is the best price we've seen on the AirPods Pro 3 since Prime Day ended last month, coming in around $20 higher when compared to that all-time low price.
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This model of the AirPods Pro launched in September 2025 and has 2x better Active Noise Cancellation than the previous generation, better audio quality, a revised fit that's meant to improve comfort and stability, Live Translation for in-person conversations, and heart rate sensing for workouts.
Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.
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Apple's stores will be rolling out Back to School marketing materials this week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This suggests that the offer will begin in the U.S. in the next few days.
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. The Back to School offer is in addition to the discounted prices already available through Apple's education store year-round, but it will be a bittersweet situation this year given that Apple recently raised prices on all Macs and iPads.
Anker's Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station has dropped to $99.74 on Amazon, down from $149.99. This is one of Anker's newest accessories, and Amazon's sale today is a match of the all-time low price that we last tracked during Prime Day.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
The Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station features Qi2.2 support, which lets a compatible MagSafe iPhone charge at up to 25W. It's the same speed as Apple's MagSafe charger, and it is 10W faster than the standard Qi2 MagSafe chargers. You can also simultaneously charge an Apple Watch and AirPods with the device.
Below you'll find a list of the best Anker discounts on Amazon this week, also including wall chargers, portable batteries, and more. There are a few more accessories that are matching their Prime Day prices, including Anker's SOLIX Power Station with Lantern. You can get this accessory for $189.99, down from $249.99.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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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.
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.
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
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.
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.
OpenAI has responded after being sued by Apple over alleged theft of the iPhone maker's trade secrets.
"We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets," said OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri. "We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."
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.
Two of Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will be relocating later this month, although they will only be a short distance from their existing locations.
Apple Renaissance at Colony Park
Apple Queens Center in Elmhurst, New York is moving to a temporary location in the shopping mall on Friday, July 17 at 10 a.m. local time, presumably to allow for renovations to be completed at the existing store over the coming months.
Apple Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland, Mississippi is moving to a new spot within the same shopping center on Friday, July 24 at 10 a.m. local time. Apple's new storefront will be located right in front of the Show Fountain.
Apple today accused OpenAI of stealing Apple trade secrets and intellectual property in its effort to develop an AI hardware device.
In a lawsuit filed with the Northern District of California, Apple said it uncovered evidence of a months-long scheme to steal confidential information. Apple says OpenAI hardware lead and former Apple designer Tang Tan and former electrical engineer Chang Liu directed Apple employees interviewing with OpenAI to provide details on unreleased devices, components, manufacturing processes, and vendor relationships.
In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said it is suing to protect the hard work of its employees.
At Apple, our teams are constantly developing breakthrough technologies to create the best products and services in the world, and protecting their work and intellectual property is something we take very seriously. Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple's secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products. We will always defend our teams' hard work and innovations, and we are taking all appropriate steps to do so.
Tan is accused of using his internal knowledge of Apple's exit procedures to help employees covertly deliver information, and giving OpenAI key information about Apple suppliers that has benefited OpenAI's work on an AI device. From the lawsuit:
OpenAI also instructs new hires on how to avoid scrutiny when they leave Apple. For example, Mr. Tan warns them not to tell Apple that they have taken jobs at OpenAI, so they can stay at Apple as long as they can. After his own departure, Mr. Tan improperly retained or obtained an internal Apple managers' document marked "Need to Know" that describes security procedures for employee departures. Messages left on Apple-issued work devices show that Mr. Tan and his OpenAI colleagues have been sharing this document with new hires before they give notice to Apple of their departures, previewing Apple's security protocols. Unsurprisingly, Apple's investigation has found a pattern by employees who depart for OpenAI of taking steps to evade the security processes intended to protect Apple's confidential information.
Apple says it discovered a pattern of OpenAI recruits emailing themselves confidential information when leaving Apple, including Tan. Others were "improperly using their knowledge of Apple's confidential and trade secret information to assist OpenAI in developing hardware." OpenAI apparently used confidential Apple hardware information when approaching Apple suppliers, and tricked one company into using a "specific trade secret metal-finishing technique" for an OpenAI device by claiming it had Apple's permission to do so.
Apple says evidence on an employee's work-issued device indicates Tan instructed her to "bring some parts" she worked on to an interview, suggesting she show OpenAI batteries, SIPs, logic boards, and other hardware. It was not an isolated incident, and Apple claims several OpenAI interviewees were asked to do the same.
Liu allegedly kept an Apple-issued laptop after departing the company and exploited a vulnerability to download dozens of confidential Apple documents while he was working at OpenAI. He also maintained a relationship with Yu-Ting "Alyssa" Peng, an Apple employee who continued to give him updates on Apple's projects, vendor decisions, and engineering details. When Liu learned he still had access to Apple's systems, he texted Peng "LOL, I found out I can access the [network storage], so funny."
Apple accuses OpenAI leadership of creating a culture of hardware theft, and says OpenAI's hardware business is "rotten to its core" because of its reliance on information stolen from Apple.
This is the tip of the iceberg. Apple lacks visibility into what's been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership. This much is clear, however: at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple's trade secrets and confidential information. As a natural result, OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.
Apple attempted to contact OpenAI in February when it first learned of the potential theft, but OpenAI did not respond, leading Apple to investigate further. Apple claims OpenAI is under pressure to debut a hardware device, which has led to the company taking shortcuts instead of investing in legitimate development. "OpenAI has turned to trade secret misappropriation to free-ride off Apple's decades of innovation," reads the lawsuit.
Former Apple design chief and OpenAI designer Jony Ive is not named in the suit, but it does target io Products, which OpenAI acquired. While OpenAI CEO Altman is referenced, he isn't named as a defendant, and Apple doesn't suggest Ive or Altman were involved. Apple also does not appear to be targeting the ongoing OpenAI recruitment of Apple staff, though the lawsuit mentions that more than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
Apple mentions its ongoing partnership with OpenAI for Siri ChatGPT integration, but only to say that the agreement is not an issue in the lawsuit.
Prior rumors suggest the relationship between Apple and OpenAI has been souring, with OpenAI allegedly considering a lawsuit against Apple because the integration failed to live up to OpenAI's expectations and Apple's promises.
In its trade secret theft lawsuit, Apple is seeking an injunction to stop OpenAI from possessing, using, or disclosing its technologies as well as damages "in an amount to be determined at trial." It is also suing Tan and Liu for breach of contract for violating their agreements with Apple.
Apple accounted for roughly 90% of all Edge AI-capable smartwatch shipments in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.
That dominance came as Edge AI penetration across the broader smartwatch market grew 70% year-over-year, reaching 25% in the first quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint's Global Smartwatch Shipments Tracker.
"Edge AI" refers to artificial intelligence that runs directly on a device's own chip rather than being processed on remote servers. On the Apple Watch, that means the onboard Neural Engine handles tasks like recognizing an irregular heartbeat or detecting a fall in the moment, without sending data to a paired iPhone or the cloud first. Anshika Jain, Principal Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said:
Brands have been continuously upgrading their smartwatch hardware to make devices more AI-capable. Edge AI integration enables real-time health insights and faster responses while helping ensure data privacy. Currently, Edge AI penetration remains limited to leading brands, with Apple solely accounting for ~90% of Edge AI smartwatch shipments in Q1 2026.
Health and fitness monitoring remains the main use case for Edge AI on smartwatches. Counterpoint's data shows blood pressure monitoring shipments doubling and sleep apnea detection tripling year over year, with brands now apparently setting their sights on diabetes detection next.
Apple's head start traces back to 2023, when it introduced the S9 chip with a 4-core Neural Engine built specifically for on-device machine learning in the Apple Watch. Huawei only followed with comparable silicon in 2025, launching its own Kirin W80 chip to power its "Celia" voice assistant locally, and Qualcomm isn't entering the race until this year with its Snapdragon Wear Elite platform. Google is also said to be readying its own Tensor-based wearable chip, though it has yet to ship.
Counterpoint notes that a software-driven alternative to dedicated NPUs is also emerging, with Ambiq's Apollo platform running AI inference on vector-core silicon via Arm's Helium extensions rather than purpose-built neural hardware. This approach remains a niche compared to Apple's dedicated-chip strategy, but it could eventually help cheaper smartwatches offer some Edge AI features without the silicon Apple has spent years building into its devices.
Counterpoint only classifies a smartwatch as Edge AI-capable if it has a neural engine or NPU on board and at least one of its health, safety, or interaction features actually runs its inference on that chip, rather than merely including the hardware.
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the future of Apple's increasingly tangled high-end MacBook lineup, including the entry-level MacBook Pro and the rumored "MacBook Ultra."
Apple's chip roadmap for the Mac is reportedly set to take an unusual turn over the next year. The company is said to be skipping the M6 Pro and M6 Max entirely, jumping from the M5 generation straight to the M7 for its high-end laptops. A standard M6 chip will still arrive this year in an entry-level MacBook Pro, but there will apparently be no Pro or Max variant in that family.
As a result, Apple's first high-end OLED laptop will use the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips rather than newer silicon. First-generation buyers would therefore be paying a premium for a redesigned machine featuring the same processors already found in the current MacBook Pro, with M7 Pro and M7 Max models expected to follow in the second half of 2027.
The launch window remains fluid. The device was long expected to arrive in late 2026, but memory chip constraints and Apple's recent price increases have pushed it toward early 2027. A second-generation model with M7 chips is already planned for late 2027, meaning the first Ultra could remain on sale for a relatively short window.
The overlapping releases make for a crowded and confusing roadmap. Across roughly a year, Apple is expected to ship a base M6 MacBook Pro, a redesigned base M7 model in the first half of 2027, two M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Ultra models, their eventual M7 Pro and M7 Max successors, and perhaps new high-end MacBook Pro models with the M7 Pro and M7 Max. Notably, the entry-level M7 model is set to get the new design first, ahead of the pricier high-end MacBook Pro models.
The headline changes are reserved for the top-tier "Ultra" model. It is expected to be the first Mac with an OLED display, using the same hybrid tandem OLED technology as the iPad Pro, along with the first touchscreen on a Mac, a Dynamic Island in place of the notch, and a thinner chassis. Both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes are expected. Built-in cellular connectivity for the first time on a Mac is also rumored.
Apple is reportedly positioning touch as "touch-friendly, not touch-first," letting users move between touch, trackpad, and keyboard rather than treating the Mac like an iPad. That marks a reversal for a company that long resisted the idea. Steve Jobs argued in 2010 that vertical touchscreens cause arm fatigue, and as recently as 2021 hardware chief John Ternus said the Mac was "totally optimized for indirect input."
Signs of the shift are already visible in macOS 27 Golden Gate, which adds direct touch control to Sidecar, so users can tap and interact with macOS elements using a finger on an iPad. A reinforced hinge is also expected, so the display does not wobble when tapped.
Pricing is likely to be steep. Apple raised prices across the Mac lineup in June, and the current 14-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1,999, rising to $2,499 with the M5 Pro chip and $4,099 for an M5 Max. The 16-inch M5 Max reaches $4,399, and a fully specced configuration already exceeds $10,000. The high-end OLED model is expected to start higher still.
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The estimate covers the 1TB storage model. NAND flash costs for the device are said to exceed $250 on their own, a figure that would cover roughly half of the iPhone 17 Pro Max's entire estimated component cost. DRAM pricing is also climbing sharply, with both components facing pressure from a broader memory chip shortage tied to surging demand for AI hardware.
Apple's expected shift to a 2nm chip is described as the second-largest contributor to the cost increase. The iPhone 18 Pro is rumored to debut the A20 Pro, manufactured on TSMC's N2 process, which reportedly carries a steep premium in wafer pricing over the current N3P node used for the A19 Pro. Early yield ramp costs on a new process node typically add to per-unit chip pricing as well.
Counterpoint says display costs and other miscellaneous components may actually decline compared to the iPhone 17 Pro Max, partially offsetting the memory and chip increases. Camera costs are expected to rise slightly, which the firm attributes to new technology, likely a reference to the variable-aperture main camera rumored for the Pro models.
The report arrives weeks after Apple raised prices on 14 products, including every Mac and iPad, along with the Apple TV, HomePod, HomePod mini, and Vision Pro. Apple attributed those increases to the same memory chip shortage cited in the Counterpoint report, saying that the "supply-demand imbalance" driven by AI data center buildouts had made further price increases necessary. iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods pricing was left unchanged in that round of hikes, but the iPhone 18 Pro lineup is widely expected to be next.
The Wall Street Journalpreviously reported that the iPhone 18 Pro could start as high as $1,399, citing estimates that Apple's DRAM cost per unit could climb from $39 to $145 and its flash storage cost from $13 to $51. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the outlet that the company is "still working through" which devices will see price increases. Separately, IDC has estimated a $200 increase to the Pro and Pro Max models specifically, while Weibo leakers have separately suggested Apple could raise its Chinese starting price for the lineup by around 11%.
To manage the higher costs without giving up margin entirely, Apple is expected to apply different retail price increases across storage tiers rather than a flat increase across the lineup, concentrating the impact on higher-capacity models. Even with an average $200 retail price rise, Counterpoint still expects the iPhone 18 Pro Max to land at a slightly lower gross margin than the iPhone 17 Pro Max achieved in 2025.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to launch alongside Apple's first foldable iPhone in the fall.
There are a few solid low prices on Apple devices available this week, including $99 off the Apple Watch Ultra 3, $150 off the M5 MacBook Air, and $450 off the M5 Pro MacBook Pro. You'll also find great deals on Anker accessories available on Amazon right now.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Amazon this week has a few deals on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, providing $99 discounts on select models. We did track these models at $149 off during Prime Day this year, but those discounts are long gone and Amazon's prices today are still solid second-best options for anyone who missed those sales in June.
You can get the 24GB/2TB 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro for $2,549.00 this week at Best Buy, down from the new price of $2,999.00. This is one of the last few remaining Apple devices remaining at pre-hike prices, and we're not expecting the sale to last much longer.
Amazon is taking $150 off multiple models of the M5 MacBook Air, including deals on both 13-inch and 15-inch models. These are some of the lowest prices we've seen on the notebooks in the wake of Apple's price hikes last month.
Anker's popular Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station has dropped to $99.74 on Amazon, down from $149.99. This is one of Anker's newest accessories, and Amazon's sale today is a match of the all-time low price that we last tracked during Prime Day. There are plenty of other Anker accessories on sale this week, which you can find in our original post.
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Meta has been warned by the European Commission that its endlessly scrolling Facebook and Instagram feeds may violate the EU's new Digital Services Act rules.
In preliminary findings published on Friday, the Commission said that its investigation into features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems, found that Meta "did not adequately assess the risks of their addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults."
These features fuel the user's urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into 'autopilot mode,' contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use.
Moreover, Meta disregarded available information about the time minors spend on Instagram or Facebook at night and how the optimization of its different formats – such as reels and stories – could lead to excessive or compulsive use of the services.
The Commission additionally criticized Meta's risk mitigation measures, saying that the platforms' time management tools could be easily dismissed and don't meaningfully limit the time users spend on the services. It also found fault with Meta's parental controls, which the Commission said were "only effective if parents and guardians possess adequate technical expertise, as well as devote effort and time to understand them."
The Commission said that at this stage of its investigation, it believes Meta needs to make design changes to both Instagram and Facebook. These could include disabling addictive features such as autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introducing effective screen time breaks, and modifying its recommender system to make it less focused on driving engagement.
Meta on Friday said it disagreed with the Commission's findings, claiming they "don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens."
The Commission said Meta now has the opportunity to exercise its right of defence by reviewing the documents in the investigation file and responding in writing to its preliminary findings. If those provisional conclusions are upheld, the company could face a fine of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
Apple's 
The first 
Apple's stores will be rolling out Back to School marketing materials this week, according to 
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OpenAI has responded after being 
Apple Renaissance at Colony Park
