Apple will mass produce its own microLED displays in order to lessen its reliance on Samsung and increase its own control over supply, laying the groundwork to realize its ultimate goal of bringing the technology to iPhones, reports Nikkei Asia. According to the outlet's sources, Apple has spent at least $1 billion on microLED research and development over past decade, and once production starts, Apple will itself perform the critical "mass transfer" step of the manufacturing process, which involves placing at least tens of thousands of tiny microLED chips onto substrates. Apple plans to fabricate the tiny microLED chips directly on wafers, and will partner with ams-Osram for the microLED components, LG Display for the substrates, and TSMC for 12-inch…

Macworld Google wrapped up another I/O keynote and we heard a lot of what we expected to: there are several new Pixel devices, a dig at Apple for not supporting RCS (can’t say we disagree there), and a massive focus on AI. It wasn’t just AI taking the stage at Google’s event, but generative AI. It’s an annoying name but an important distinction. Generative AI is that which creates new stuff, rather than simply analyzing and adjusting what already exists. DALL·E and Stable Diffusion create new artwork from a text prompt, they don’t just tweak the exposure and sharpen up an image you supply. Chatbots such as ChatGPT and Bard answer questions and perform tasks by making new text. There…

Apple is working on new Beats Studio Pro headphones, according to code found in the macOS Ventura 13.4 release candidate. The headphones appear to have an A2924 model number, which is different from the model numbers for the upcoming Beats Studio Buds+ earphones. The Beats Studio Pro name was found by @aaronp613. pic.twitter.com/g6wWeKbRaX— Aaron (@aaronp613) May 9, 2023 Based on the name, the Beats Studio Pro will be a new version of the current Beats Studio3 headphones. The Beats Studio3 are several years old at this point, and there have been no new Beats-branded over-ear headphones launched since 2017. Apple appears to be developing the Beats Studio Pro headphones in collaboration with Samuel Ross of A-Cold-Wall. The design looks to…

The Verge Making sense of Apple’s messy MagSafe charging ecosystem, where the first-party options are far from the best ones. Wireless charging is inefficient in many ways. It charges your phone more slowly than using a cable, uses more energy, and requires near-perfect alignment on a charging pad to even work. But inefficiencies aside, it’s just so dang convenient. So when Apple added a ring of magnets to the iPhone 12 and dubbed it “MagSafe,” things got much more interesting. Not only do the magnets guarantee perfect alignment every time but also, with a MagSafe-certified charger, your iPhone can charge at up to 15W — double the 7.5W they get with other wireless chargers. And the magnets also allow for…

Macworld Apple’s AirPods wireless headphones offer an iconic look, exceptional convenience, and strong audio quality. They come with a premium price tag, however, so it’s important to shop around for a good deal… or find a bunch of tech experts who’ll do this for you. That’s where we come in. In this article, we round up the best AirPods discounts and bundle deals to help you save money. We’ve got the best prices on the 3rd-gen AirPods that were released in October 2021, the new 2nd-gen AirPods Pro that launched in September 2022, and the premium AirPods Max over-ear headphones from 2020. We’ve also got bargain deals on some older models, such as the early-2019 second-gen AirPods, where stock is…