"three-day flurry of announcements" -- Mark Gurman, Bloomberg
Apple has invited the tech press to a "special Apple experience" on March 4, but the company is planning to announce its next products differently than usual, with a three-day flurry of announcements culminating in hands-on events in New York, London, and Shanghai.
Instead of announcing all products at a single keynote event, Apple is shifting to a distributed announcement strategy spread across three days, with in-person demos offered at regional locations. The company is expected to announce at least five new products during this period, including a low-cost MacBook, iPhone 17e, iPad Air with M4 chip, entry-level iPad, upgraded MacBook Air, and new MacBook Pro models—marking a notable departure from Apple's traditional product launch format.
"Of course, one can't just trust what AI has written." -- Vladimir Varankin
Developer Vladimir Varankin used AI coding agents to build a native FreeBSD Wi-Fi driver for a 2016 MacBook Pro's Broadcom BCM4350 chip, a device previously unsupported by the operating system.
Varankin's project demonstrates both the potential and limitations of AI-assisted coding for complex porting tasks. Rather than attempting a direct code port, he had AI agents generate a detailed specification of how the Linux brcmfmac driver works, then used that specification as a blueprint to build a clean FreeBSD implementation from scratch. The approach proved more successful than initial attempts, though Varankin emphasizes the driver remains a study exercise with known issues and required significant human guidance throughout the process, including architectural decisions and iterative debugging.
"The 18 series is already in production testing. The production line of the iPhone 18 Pro has also started. According to the current information, the material has not changed much, and the current scheme specifications are still used as a whole." -- Fixed Focus Digital
The iPhone 18 Pro has entered test production ahead of its September launch, according to a leaker with a decent track record, though Apple may still be deciding on color options for the device.
Test production is a critical stage where Apple's assembly partners verify that no issues will arise during mass production, and it typically only occurs after all design decisions are finalized. However, a Bloomberg report suggests Apple is still evaluating a deep red color option for the next iPhone Pro lineup, creating potential tension between the two reports. The discrepancy could be reconciled if Apple is testing how the red color performs through production processes, or if the company plans to add the red option as a later release, similar to how it has introduced Product(RED) models in the past.
Apple TV set a new world record with a massive drone display featuring life-size replicas of monsters from the show "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" over Los Angeles on February 20.
The promotional drone display used 3,000 drones to create dot-based models of Godzilla, King Kong, and Titan X, occupying a space approximately the size of three football fields and flying as high as 500 feet. The 12-minute display broke the previous world record for the tallest aerial display of a fictional character formed by drones, which was held by Marvel's Wolverine display at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024. The record-breaking promotion comes ahead of the February 27 premiere of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" season two on Apple TV.
"Fortunately, the ability to pair and track a 2nd-generation AirTag is distinct from participating in Apple's crowdsourced Find My network, allowing its encrypted, privacy-protecting broadcasts to be recognized by all generations of Apple hardware." -- Glenn Fleishman
Glenn Fleishman examines whether Apple's second-generation AirTag creates compatibility issues or security loopholes related to Apple's crowdsourced Find My network and anti-stalking features.
The article addresses concerns that users unable to upgrade to OS versions 26.2.1 or later would be unable to track AirTag 2s or detect unwanted tracking. Fleishman clarifies that the ability to pair with AirTag 2 is separate from participating in the Find My crowdsourced network—meaning older devices can still report AirTag 2 locations even if they cannot pair with the newer model. Additionally, the AirTag 2 improves anti-stalking protections through a 50% louder alert sound and extended Bluetooth range, making it potentially more effective at deterring unwanted tracking rather than creating security vulnerabilities.
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"What I expect out of the software I use is a level of quality I simply do not see. I do not think I have a very high bar. The bugs in the big paragraph above are not preferences or odd use cases. They are problems with the fundamentals of the operating system and first-party apps." -- Nick Heer
Nick Heer critiques Apple's declining software quality, citing results from Jason Snell's annual survey showing operating system quality scores dropping to 2.7 out of 5 this year compared to 3.4 last year.
Apple's software quality has consistently underperformed relative to its hardware reliability for several years, averaging B to B– grades despite the company's premium positioning. Heer catalogs numerous recurring bugs affecting core system functions—from Finder and window resizing issues to AirPlay disconnections and unreliable Siri commands—and argues that this pattern of fundamental software problems persists despite complaints spanning over a decade. The disconnect is particularly stark given that users often prefer Apple's software on inferior hardware over superior hardware running competing operating systems, suggesting software quality should be Apple's priority.
"Deeply researched and lavishly illustrated in color, Apple: The First 50 Years includes new interviews with 150 key people who made the journey, including Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Jony Ive, and many current designers, engineers, and executives. The book busts long-held myths; goes backstage for both the titanic successes (450 million iPods, 700 million iPads, 2.2 billion iPhones) and the instructive failures (Lisa, Apple III, MobileMe); and assesses the forces that challenge Apple's dominance as it enters its second half century." -- David Pogue
Veteran journalist David Pogue has shared a preview of his upcoming book "Apple: The First 50 Years," which is set to launch on March 10 and is already the top seller in Amazon's History of Technology category.
The 600-page book represents two years of work by Pogue, who conducted 150 interviews with key figures including current Apple executives, Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, and Jony Ive. The book examines Apple's history through both major successes and notable failures, arriving as Apple marks its 50th anniversary on April 1, 1976, and as the company plans celebrations of its own. Following the book's release, Pogue will embark on a press tour across 11 scheduled dates in 10 cities.
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The company will move some production of the desktop computer to a Foxconn
facility in Texas.
The product: Apple Sports is a sports tracking app that allows users to follow NCAA tournaments, soccer leagues, and teams across multiple markets in real time, displaying matchups and results.
Cost: Free
Availability: Available on the App Store for iPhone; requires iOS 17.2 or later to install and run.
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, iPad Air, iPad mini, iPad Pro
"Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we're proud to significantly expand our footprint in Houston with the production of Mac mini starting later this year. We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we're excited to accelerate that work even further." -- Tim Cook, Apple's CEO
Apple has shared additional details, photos, and video of its Houston manufacturing facility where it plans to begin assembling Mac mini computers later this year while also accelerating production of AI servers.
Apple is expanding its US manufacturing footprint by doubling the size of its Houston campus through Mac mini assembly and establishing a 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center to train American businesses in advanced manufacturing techniques. The move represents Apple's commitment to domestic production of both consumer products and the AI infrastructure powering Apple Intelligence, while the timing of the announcement ahead of the State of the Union address suggests Apple is positioning itself favorably with the Trump administration amid ongoing tariff discussions.
"I'll never forget that first conversation with Steve. At the time, Apple had been struggling and Steve was working to right a ship that had drifted in his absence. Many people doubted the company could survive, and I was warned that accepting a job there would come with risks. But when Steve spoke, any trepidation I harbored instantly dissolved. I had never met someone with so much passion and vision." -- Tim Cook
The Steve Jobs Archive has published "Letters to a Young Creator," a collection of letters from notable figures including Tim Cook and Jony Ive, timed with what would have been Steve Jobs' 71st birthday.
The project features contributions from business, design, technology, and arts leaders responding to questions posed by Steve Jobs Archive Fellows. Previously available only in limited-release print editions distributed in 2024 and 2025, the letters are now accessible online at letters.stevejobsarchive.com. The collection is inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet," one of Steve's favorites, and reflects his practice of exchanging ideas as a path toward clarity.
Analytics firm Omdia reports that Apple set an all-time sales record for the iPhone in Europe during 2025, achieving 6% year-over-year growth and a 27% market share.
Apple shipped 36.9 million iPhones in Europe in 2025, driven partly by increased demand for replacement devices as older non-USB-C models were discontinued. The strong performance of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and iPhone 17 Pro Max contributed to the record-breaking year, despite the overall European smartphone market declining by 1%. This achievement is particularly significant as worldwide data from Counterpoint Research indicates that one in four smartphones sold globally in 2025 was an iPhone, with strong performance in key markets like China and the US.
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Google and Apple have announced they are now testing end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between Android and iOS devices.
This testing represents a significant step toward securing cross-platform messaging between the two dominant mobile operating systems. Apple introduced basic RCS support in iOS 18 last September to enable typing indicators, read receipts, and higher-quality media sharing with Android users, and committed to adding end-to-end encryption. The encrypted RCS feature, which is part of the GSMA's RCS Universal Profile, will display a lock icon in both the iOS Messages app and Google Messages to indicate secure communication, addressing long-standing complaints about unencrypted green-bubble messages between iPhone and Android users.