Hartley Charlton
Hartley is a Senior Editor at MacRumors and co-host of "The MacRumors Show" podcast; he contributes to daily news coverage and writes a wide range of content for the site. Various publications and aggregators often cite Hartley's articles. Additionally, he occasionally appears as a guest on other media outlets, such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, and CBS News, to share his knowledge of the industry.
Having closely followed Apple news and rumors for almost a decade, Hartley joined MacRumors in early 2020 as a Contributing Writer while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Nottingham. After graduation, he joined us as a full-time Editor. His work at MacRumors has since expanded into several areas beyond news coverage, including buyer's guides, roundups, and occasional product reviews.
In late 2021, Hartley helped launch The MacRumors Show and now co-hosts the popular podcast on a weekly basis, bringing our coverage to a wider audience, with a flare of personal opinion.
Hartley lives in Hertfordshire, England. Beyond technology, his other interests include travel, music, and tennis. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @ihxrtlxy and on Instagram at @hxrtlxy_.
Having closely followed Apple news and rumors for almost a decade, Hartley joined MacRumors in early 2020 as a Contributing Writer while completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in History at the University of Nottingham. After graduation, he joined us as a full-time Editor. His work at MacRumors has since expanded into several areas beyond news coverage, including buyer's guides, roundups, and occasional product reviews.
In late 2021, Hartley helped launch The MacRumors Show and now co-hosts the popular podcast on a weekly basis, bringing our coverage to a wider audience, with a flare of personal opinion.
Hartley lives in Hertfordshire, England. Beyond technology, his other interests include travel, music, and tennis. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @ihxrtlxy and on Instagram at @hxrtlxy_.
Hartley Charlton's Articles
Apple Raised UK Banking Costs, Lawsuit Alleges
A new UK class action lawsuit against Apple seeks billions in damages by alleging that the company unlawfully restricted competition in contactless payments on the iPhone through Apple Pay, The Guardian reports.
The proposed opt-out collective action filed this week in the UK alleges that Apple abused its position in the market by limiting access to the iPhone's near-field communication...
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Apple's Siri Chatbot May Run on Google Servers
Apple is considering a significant shift in how it operates Siri by potentially running its next-generation chatbot on Google's cloud infrastructure rather than entirely on its own Private Cloud Compute servers, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In yesterday's report detailing Apple's plans to turn Siri into a chatbot in iOS 27, Gurman said that the company is in discussions with Google...
Report: Apple's New AI Strategy Firms Up Under Craig Federighi
Apple has restructured its artificial intelligence strategy under software chief Craig Federighi, accelerating plans to overhaul Siri by relying on external AI models after years of internal delays and organizational friction.
According to a detailed report from The Information, Apple's approach to artificial intelligence has undergone a significant shift over the past year. Apple software...
Apple's Secret Product Plans Stolen in Luxshare Cyberattack
The Apple supplier subject to a major cyberattack last month was China's Luxshare, it has now emerged. More than 1TB of confidential Apple information was reportedly stolen.
It was reported in December that one of Apple's assemblers suffered a significant cyberattack that may have compromised sensitive production-line information and manufacturing data linked to Apple. The specific company...
iPhone 18 Rumored to Feature Much Brighter Display
Apple's iPhone 18 will feature a significantly brighter display, according to a Chinese leaker.
In a new post on Weibo, the user known as "Instant Digital" said that Chinese supplier BOE has little hope of making panels for the iPhone 18 because Apple's brightness requirements for the next-generation device are unprecedentedly high. This suggests that the iPhone 18's display will see a...
New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest.
Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
Apple Regains Top Spot in China's Smartphone Market
Apple reclaimed the leading position in China's smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2025 as strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup offset a contracting market and growing supply-chain pressure from memory chip shortages.
New data from Counterpoint Research shows that smartphone shipments in China declined 1.6% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and fell 0.6% for the full...
Threads Usage Overtakes X on Mobile
Meta's Threads has now reportedly surpassed its rival X (formerly Twitter) in daily mobile usage globally.
Market intelligence firm Similarweb (via TechCrunch) reports that Threads recorded 141.5 million daily active users across iOS and Android worldwide as of January 7, 2026, compared with 125 million daily active mobile users for X.
The data indicates that Threads crossed ahead of X on ...
The MacRumors Show: Apple Creator Studio and Gemini-Powered Siri
On this year's first episode of The MacRumors Show, we take a look at CES 2026, Apple Creator Studio, and the confirmation that Google Gemini will power the next-generation version of Siri.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Following CES 2026, we talk through this year's tech showcase, which saw major announcements related to robotics, AI, and display...
Apple Now Facing Unprecedented Competition for Chip Supply
Apple increasingly has to compete with other companies for chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), as surging demand for artificial intelligence reshapes capacity and customer priority.
According to a detailed report published by semiconductor analyst Tim Culpan on his blog Culpium, Apple is no longer guaranteed preferential access to leading-edge manufacturing capacity...
Spotify Increasing Subscription Prices in the US Again
Spotify today announced a price increase in the United States, Estonia, and Latvia, marking the company's third U.S. price increase in less than three years.
The company revealed the changes in a post published on its website earlier today, stating that Premium subscribers in the affected markets will receive an email over the coming month explaining how the new pricing will apply to their...
Apple's Foldable iPhone Rumored to Be Built With Liquid Metal and Improved Titanium
Apple is planning to use advanced liquid metal and improved titanium alloys for its first foldable iPhone, according to new supply-chain information.
According to the Korean Naver user known as "yeux1122," citing a material company source, the hinge used in Apple's first foldable iPhone will be made from liquid metal, an "amorphous" material Apple has been exploring for over 15 years. The...
Apple Struggling With Key Material Shortage as AI Chips Drain Supply
Apple is confronting a newly intensified supply-chain challenge for future chips as the AI boom has created a global shortage of a key material, Nikkei Asia reports.
Apple is said to be struggling to secure sufficient supplies of high-end glass cloth fiber, a material that plays a critical role in the printed circuit boards and chip substrates used in iPhones and other devices. The most...
Kuo: Apple's AI Deal With Google Is Temporary and Buys It Time
Apple is preparing to mass-produce its own AI-focused server chips in the second half of 2026 amid reliance on a short-term partnership with Google to meet immediate AI expectations, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a new post on X, Kuo said that Apple is facing mounting short-term pressure in artificial intelligence that is shaping its current strategy, even as it continues to pursue...
Mac Shipments Were Flat at the End of 2025 as Rival PC Brands Surged
Apple's Mac business ended 2025 with flat year-over-year shipments in the holiday quarter despite a broader rebound in the global PC market, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The findings suggest that global PC shipments rose 9.6% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 76.4 million units, exceeding expectations as brands accelerated purchases ahead of...
Apple's Patent Grants Declined in 2025 as Innovation Slows
Apple's U.S. patent activity declined sharply in 2025 amid a broader slowdown in patent filings, according to newly released data from IFI CLAIMS Patent Services.
The data shows that Apple was granted 2,722 U.S. patents in 2025, down from 3,082 in 2024, a year-over-year decline of roughly 12% that pushed the company down two positions to sixth place in IFI's annual ranking of the top 50...
Report: Rise of AI Is Corroding Apple's Influence Over TSMC
A detailed new report from SemiAnalysis argues that while Apple's partnership with TSMC created the modern leading-edge foundry model, the rapid rise of AI computing is changing who pays for new chip technologies and how much influence Apple holds over each new manufacturing node.
The report traces how Apple became the single most important customer in the global semiconductor industry by...
iOS 26 Shows Unusually Slow Adoption Months After Release [Updated]
Update: As noted by Nick Heer on his Pixel Envy blog, analytics data is unreliable because Safari on iOS 26 is reporting a different operating system version in the user agent string that analytics services rely on for data. For example, devices on several versions of iOS 26 are reporting themselves as being on iOS 18.7 when using Safari. The relatively low number of mobile devices correctly...
Apple Loses Safari Lead Designer to The Browser Company
Apple has lost another senior figure from its Safari team as a lead designer departs for The Browser Company, extending a pattern of high-profile exits from Apple's browser team amid intensifying competition around AI-driven browsing.
Marco Triverio was a lead designer for Safari and has now joined The Browser Company, the developer of the Arc and Dia browsers. The move was confirmed by The...
CES 2026: Twelve South Unveils Valet Tray With Qi2 and Modular Design
Twelve South today announced a new Valet tray with Qi2-certified wireless charging that combines 15W magnetic charging with a leather-lined catch-all for everyday items.
The Valet features Qi2 wireless charging, delivering up to 15W of power to compatible iPhone models and other Qi2 devices. It also includes a USB-C port capable of supplying up to 15W of power to a second device. It is...
