This week in Apple news, we heard more rumors about the “imminent� launch of Apple’s Tile-like trackers known as AirTags. However, we’ve been hearing about how AirTags are right around the corner for over a year now. Are they ever going to launch, or are they the new AirPower?
In other Apple news, we heard plenty of iPhone 13 rumors, some news about the Apple Car, rumors related to Apple’s AR glasses, store closures throughout the UK, and some weak sales numbers for the smallest iPhone 12.
See the Apple news roundup below for all the latest.
The top Apple news stories of the past week:
- Leakers say AirTags are coming, but we’ve heard it all before: This week, frequent Apple leakers Ming-Chi Kuo and Jon Prosser both said that Apple AirTags are coming early this year. However, we’ve been hearing that for over a year now, so we’re starting to get skeptical. In Kuo’s case, he said AirTags were coming very soon in January 2020, so you can understand our skepticism.
- iPhone 13 Pro models could, finally, have 120Hz displays: According to The Elec, the two expected “Pro� models in the iPhone 13 lineup could feature 120Hz display refresh rates. This could be possible if the rumor that Samsung would exclusively supply LTPO OLED displays to Apple is true. One thing’s for certain: Apple better get on the ball with the high refresh rate trend sooner rather than later.
- LiDAR scanning could be on every iPhone 13 device: According to DigiTimes, it’s possible that every device in the main iPhone lineup this year could feature a LiDAR scanner. In the iPhone 12 lineup, only the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max have this feature. It certainly would be neat if Apple could bring the tech to the vanilla iPhone 13 and (we assume) iPhone 13 Mini and still keep consumer costs low. However, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, the lenses of iPhone cameras won’t see significant upgrades until 2022.
- Hyundai confirms the existence of Apple Car: In a statement responding to rumors, car maker Hyundai confirmed that it is in early discussions with Apple to create an Apple-branded vehicle. However, it quickly rolled back its statement to be much more vague, even removing the reference to Apple. Regardless, a Bloomberg report suggests that the car won’t be ready for at least five years, so we’ve got plenty of time to speculate.
- AR glasses are moving forward, says rumor mill: Along with AirTags, we’ve been hearing about Apple’s augmented reality (AR) glasses for a long time now. However, according to a new report from DigiTimes (via MacRumors), the long-rumored glasses have now moved into the “second phase of development.� That might be cool if we knew how many phases of development there were going to be.
- Apple closes all stores in the UK: After UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared a nationwide lockdown, Apple responded by closing all of its UK-based Apple Stores. At first, Apple tried to do an online-only service (in which you’d buy a product online and then go pick it up at a store), but now all stores are completely shuttered. As part of this change, all holiday returns will need to happen online rather than in-store, which will surely be disappointing for some folks.
- Q1 2021 earnings call scheduled: Apple will conduct its quarterly earnings call on January 27. During these calls, Apple divulges stats on how much money it’s made and how successful its various product lines are doing. Expect lots of talk about how great the iPhone 12 sales are but without any hard numbers to back that up. Except for one model, though…
- iPhone 12 Mini sales not so hot: According to sales numbers from third-party analyst firm CIRP, the iPhone 12 Mini is selling in very weak numbers as compared to the rest of the lineup. The data suggests that the iPhone 12 Mini accounted for just 6% of iPhone 12 sales during the past few months. That’s not a good sign for people who love small phones.
Thinking about making the switch?
If you are reading this Apple news article on an iOS device and thinking about making the switch to Android, we have multiple articles and guides that can help you with that process. Despite how it might seem, moving from iOS to Android is easier than ever, and many of the services and systems on iOS have similar or even the same counterparts on Android.
The best place to start would be our guide on how to switch from iPhone to Android, which goes over all the basics. We also have more specific guides, such as how to transfer your calendar from iPhone to Android. We also have app guides that will give you the best alternatives to iOS staples, such as our list of best alternatives to FaceTime on Android.
If you’re looking for a great Android device to replace your iPhone, consult our list of the best Android smartphones available now.