Apple News 3d Briefing
×Apple's Manufacturing Moves Stateside
Apple macrumors.com announced that Foxconn will begin assembling Mac mini computers at a factory in Houston, Texas later this year. The company is working to bring more manufacturing to the United States, including chip fabrication and Mac mini assembly, but it's a slow-moving process. Apple appleinsider.com has announced that it plans to start manufacturing one of its Mac computers, the Mac mini, in the United States starting this year.
Upcoming Product Launches
We've got just over a week to go until Apple's "Special Experience" on March 4, and we're expecting to see the iPhone 17e macrumors.com announced during the week of the event. Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro has entered production testing ahead of a launch later this year, a Chinese leaker reported today. The iPhone 18 Pro 9to5mac.com is now in small-batch test production as regular as clockwork, Apple's supply chain is performing checks on the iPhone 18 family.
Software Updates and Beta Testing
Testing on the iOS 26.4 update is continuing, and Apple released the second beta today. The main new feature is an expansion of RCS macrumors.com encryption testing, but there are also app design changes that bring back iOS 18 aesthetics. Just a week after releasing mac OS 26.4 beta, Apple is now rolling out beta 2 for developers. New betas are now available for developers, with Apple having just released beta 2 updates for tv OS 26.4, vision OS 26.4, and more.
App Store and Services Updates
Apple today debuted a new Sales Coach app macrumors.com for the iPhone and the iPad, replacing the previous SEED app. Following last week's report that Apple was preparing to replace its "SEED" app with "Sales Coach," the new app is now live on the App Store. Apple just upgraded its Apple Sports app with new NCAA tournament tracking features, a huge soccer expansion, and the ability to track leagues and teams in more markets. Starting today, the Apple Sports app macrumors.com on the iPhone is available in 36 additional countries.
AI and Wearable Developments
Apple reportedly has several different AI wearable products in the works, with a new Air Pods Pro 3 model and smart glasses being developed. Apple's Visual Intelligence is expected to feature heavily in the company's upcoming set of AI wearable devices, which could include smart glasses, a pendant, and more advanced Air Pods. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Apple will be accelerating the development of three upcoming AI wearables.
Market and Trade Developments
The US Supreme Court has declared that most of the import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration last year were illegal. Trump's response to this now leaves Apple 9to5mac.com facing new tariffs after the Supreme Court ruling strikes down the old ones. Barely 24 hours after responding to his "reciprocal" tariffs being struck down and his retaliation of a 10% global tariff, President Donald Trump has upped the damage by making it 15%.
Deals and Discounts
Amazon this week has big discounts across Apple's Clear, Silicone, and Tech Woven Cases for the iPhone. Amazon this week has all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series, with discounts starting at $299. Numerous M4 MacBook Air models are eligible for a $150 discount during Amazon's month-end Apple sale.
Entertainment and Media
Apple TV's sci-fi epic Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premieres this week, and in a major marketing spectacle, the streamer's promotional drone display has set a new world record by creating life-size replicas of monsters from the series. The sound design team for Apple TV hit "F1: The Movie" picked up one prestigious UK award on Saturday and another on Sunday.
Developer and Enterprise Updates
Apple released videos from its 2025 AI Reasoning and Planning Workshop, with the newly published videos from Apple's two-day event focusing on three key areas related to AI: Reasoning and Planning, Applications to Agents, and Model Development. Apple is currently beta testing iOS 26.4 as its next major iPhone update, but per 9to5Mac's visitor logs, it appears there's a minor iOS 26.3.1 update coming soon as the next iPhone update.
Accessory and Ecosystem News
MOFT's long-awaited Mag Safe kickstand wallet with Find My support is now available, first unveiled at CES 2025 over a year ago. Find My is quietly one of the best things Apple has done in the last decade, starting with tracking your iPhone, expanding to the Mac and iPad, and eventually covering physical items with Air Tags. Microsoft finally makes One Drive look like a Mac app as it gets an all-new UI, having a habit of porting Windows apps to Mac without bothering to make the experience native.
Cultural Impact and Trends
Young adults are eschewing all-in-one devices like the iPhone and moving more towards purpose-built technology, renewing interest in "vintage tech" like i Pods. Veteran journalist David Pogue has posted a short video offering a quick preview of his upcoming book celebrating Apple's first 50 years. The iOS bootloader just got its first name change, from 'i Boot' to 'm Boot,' though as to why, nobody outside of Apple Park knows yet."