Top Stories: ‘Thinner, Lighter’ MacBook Air, Smaller iPhone 13 Notch, iOS 14.4 Incoming

We continued to hear a lot more about Apple’s plans for its Mac lineup this week, including word of a redesigned high-end MacBook Air and the return of an SD card slot as part of the upcoming. MacBook Pro redesign. It also looks like Apple has been working on Face ID for Mac, but it won’t appear in a redesigned iMac this year as originally intended.

This week has also seen rumors of the iPhone 13 getting a smaller notch, and Apple is set to release a bunch of operating system updates, including iOS 14.4 and macOS 11.2, while versions Release Candidate of all updates were passed on to developers and other testers this week. Read on for more details on all of those stories from the past week!

Apple is working on ‘thinner, lighter’ high-end MacBook Air with MagSafe, could launch in second half of 2021

Following the series of rumors from last Friday, BloombergMark Gurman’s released a new report this week sharing some additional details on Apple’s product plans. Most notably, Gurman says Apple is working on a thinner, lighter MacBook Air that could launch later this year or next. The new MacBook Air will feature an updated Apple silicon chip, MagSafe charging, and possibly a smaller case enabled by shrinking display bezels.

The redesigned MacBook Air is said to be a premium model that will be sold alongside cheaper models that continue to use the current design. Apple reportedly considered making a 15-inch version of the MacBook Air to accompany the popular 13-inch size, but chose not to go ahead with the model, at least for the next generation.

IPhone 13 reportedly has a smaller notch and sensor shift camera stabilization on all models

Apple plans to combine various Face ID components into a single module to allow for at least a slightly smaller notch on iPhone 13 models, according to DigiTimes.

The same report claims that Apple plans to expand optical image stabilization by sensor shift across the entire iPhone 13 lineup, compared to only the iPhone 12 Pro Max among current models. The technology stabilizes the camera sensor instead of the individual lenses for even greater image stabilization. Coupled with a larger sensor, users can expect even better photo quality.

Earlier this month, DigiTimes announced that the LiDAR scanner will also be extended to the entire iPhone 13 lineup, while mmWave 5G is expected to be available on iPhone 13 models sold outside the United States.

Face ID for iMac likely postponed to second iteration of upcoming redesign

Gurman also shared that Apple is working on developing Face ID technology for its Mac lineup and plans to introduce it in the upcoming redesigned iMac which he discussed last week, Apple has decided not to include it in the initial version.

Additionally, he says Apple has tested the cellular connectivity offering for its Mac lineup, but it doesn’t appear to be happening either.

Next MacBook Pro with SD card reader

Redesigned MacBook Pro models are also in the works, as reported Bloomberg last week, and one of the details of that initial report was that the new designs will include more ports than the current models.

This week’s report exposes a bit of that claim, specifically claiming that new MacBook Pro models will include the return of an SD card slot, which will allow photographers and other users of the popular removable storage standard to use. cards directly from their Macs. without the need for a separate card reader.

The Release Candidate version of iOS 14.4 is now available

This week, Apple released the Release Candidate version of iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 to developers and public beta testers. This version should reflect the final version of upcoming software updates.

iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 are relatively minor updates. Apple Release Notes Confirm iOS 14.4 Introduces Notification When Camera Cannot Be Verified as New Genuine Apple Camera on iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and there are several other bugfixes. The update also improves the Handoff functionality with the HomePod mini.

Apple has also prepared the Release Candidate versions of macOS 11.2, watchOS 7.3, and tvOS 14.4 for testing. All software updates are expected to be released to the public in the near future.

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