Apple News 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 14, 2026, 1:39 AM ET
Apple's 50th Anniversary Celebrations
Apple kicked off its 50th anniversary celebrations macrumors.com with a surprise Alicia Keys concert at its Grand Central Terminal store in New York, after mysteriously shutting down macrumors.com the location earlier in the day. CEO Tim Cook shared a "50 Years of Thinking Different" letter macrumors.com commemorating the milestone, while Apple launched global celebrations macrumors.com that will continue throughout the year. The festivities began with a Computer History Museum panel featuring Apple veterans and journalist David Pogue, who recently released the book "Apple: The First 50 Years," which explores the company's history and its often overlooked co-founder Ronald Wayne macrumors.com.
New Product Launches and MacBook Neo
Apple released seven new products macrumors.com this week, headlined by the highly anticipated MacBook Neo, which is being hailed as potentially "Apple's most disruptive product" in over a decade 9to5mac.com. The MacBook Neo features modular ports macrumors.com, a glue-less battery design, and zero tape construction, making it the most repair-friendly Mac laptop to date. Launch day discounts are available 9to5mac.com with prices starting at $569 for the base model, while Amazon is offering a 15-inch MacBook Air M4 appleinsider.com with 512GB storage for $1,079, marking a $320 discount from its original $1,399 price point. Meanwhile, Apple's refreshed Studio Display models now feature doubled internal storage macrumors.com to 128GB, and the Studio Display XDR is reportedly working with select Intel Macs despite being officially compatible only with Apple Silicon machines appleinsider.com.
iPhone Lineup and Foldable Rumors
Apple's iPhone 17e is being praised as finally getting the entry-level iPhone right 9to5mac.com, with reviewers noting its combination of affordability and solid performance. The device is available on T-Mobile without requiring a trade-in appleinsider.com, and buyers are weighing options macrumors.com between the iPhone 17e and the iPhone 16 to determine which budget-conscious option best suits their needs. rumors suggest Apple's foldable iPhone may not be called "iPhone Fold" after all, with a new leaker claiming it will instead be branded as the "iPhone Ultra" appleinsider.com. The device is expected to feature 12GB of RAM macrumors.com supplied by Samsung, with production reportedly beginning in the second quarter of this year. Meanwhile, Apple may keep prices unchanged for the iPhone 18 Pro models macrumors.com, despite speculation about potential adjustments.
Apple TV Content Expansion
Apple TV continues to expand its content library 9to5mac.com, with six nominations for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards including "F1: The Movie," "The Lost Bus," and "Come See Me In The Good Light." The service claimed a viewership victory macrumors.com over ESPN for its first Formula 1 race of the 2026 season, demonstrating the success of its exclusive streaming rights partnership. Apple TV is premiering five weeks of new content 9to5mac.com, including the true crime series "Twisted Yoga" 9to5mac.com and the star-studded comedy "Margo's Got Money Troubles" 9to5mac.com, which is already receiving positive reviews. Additionally, "Imperfect Women," a new prestige thriller, is set to premiere next week with early reviews already in 9to5mac.com. The service will also host MLB games macrumors.com starting Friday, March 27, for the 2026 season.
Software Updates and Features
Apple is preparing to launch iOS 27 macrumors.com at WWDC 2026, which is expected to feature a fully revamped version of Siri and numerous enhancements. In the meantime, iOS 26.4 adds three new customization options 9to5mac.com for iPhone users, while iOS 26's Passwords app introduces a new feature 9to5mac.com designed to simplify password management. On the Mac front, mac OS 26.4 will bring four new features 9to5mac.com to users, and an app has been developed that allows any Mac to access the special accent color options previously exclusive to the MacBook Neo and iMac 9to5mac.com. Apple also released updates macrumors.com for older iPhone and iPad models, including iOS 16.7.15, iOS 15.8.7, iPad OS 16.7.15, and iPad OS 15.8.7, specifically designed to address the Coruna exploit vulnerability 9to5mac.com.
Developer and App Store Changes
Apple announced a reduction in App Store developer fees macrumors.com in China, lowering commission rates for standard in-app purchases from 30% to 25%, effective March 15. Parallels has confirmed macrumors.com that the MacBook Neo can run Windows in a virtual machine, addressing concerns about compatibility. On the streaming front, Amazon announced Prime Video Ultra 9to5mac.com, a new streaming tier that replaces the current ad-free option with additional features at a higher price point. Meanwhile, Spotify is testing a new feature 9to5mac.com called "Taste" that gives users more direct input over music recommendations, and Alt Store has updated its PAL versionREF