Critical iPhone 17 Upgrade, Safari AI To Fight Google, WWDC’s Ambitious Goals

Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including a critical iPhone 17 upgrade, disrupting Apple’s iPhone schedule, WWDC’s three big themes, refreshing the Apple Watch line, Safari’s AI answer to Google, and Pride Month products arrive.

Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.

Apple 17 ’s Long-Awaited Upgrade

Apple is expected to bring ProMotion displays—one of the key display features from the iPhone Pro—to both the vanilla iPhone and the iPhone 17 Air this year. Crucially, this will allow the refresh rate to be dynamically altered, opening up potential battery-saving techniques, and an always on display:

“And it’s the capability to drop the refresh rate right down to 1Hz that enables the industry-leading always-on lock screen on handsets like the iPhone 16 Pro. In turn, this helps create an always-on screen when the phone is plugged in, called StandBy. This works briefly on the iPhone 16, but can show a clock, calendar or other items all night long on the iPhone 16 Pro, as long as it’s in horizontal orientation.”

(Forbes).

Apple Prepares To Disrupt The iPhone

Is Tim Cook preparing to alter the traditional iPhone launch dates and split the iPhone Pro and vanilla iPhone models away from each other? That’s the intriguing suggestion made by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. While the iPhone 17 family would all release Sept 2025, the “Pro” iPhone 18 models would arrive in Sept 26 while the lower-specced iPhone 18 and 18e would not arrive until Q1 2027:

Kuo cites two reasons for the changes, both of which are reactions to more competitive schedules from the Android -powered competition:

“The primary reason Apple adopts a bi-annual iPhone release schedule, with launches in 1H and 2H, is intense competition, particularly in China, prompting a shift in its marketing strategy.1. Competitors typically release new models in 1H. By launching new iPhones in 1H, Apple could close the marketing gap.2. Due to intense competition, Apple needs to offer more iPhone models. Launching them all in 2H risks diluting marketing efforts. For instance, the growing shipment ratio of the Pro series is overshadowing budget models.”

(Ming-Chi Kuo, Medium).

WWDC’s Three Big Themes

Next month’s Worldwide Developer Conference is a chance for Apple to lay out its future plans and offer direction to the community. This year, the key areas will be bringing the six operating systems into closer alignment, improving the awkwardly backronymed Apple Intelligence, and enhancing iPadOS to bring it closer to desktop- levels of interaction. Many are focused on the next move with Apple Intelligence:

“Surprisingly though, I may be even more curious about new Apple Intelligence capabilities. Essentially what I’m wondering is: will Apple show new features that truly impress, adding real value to the everyday user’s experience? Or will its AI announcements point more to a company still playing catch-up in this increasingly important area of computing?”

(9to5Mac).

Time To Refresh The Apple Watch

The Apple Watch remains one of the most visibly successful smartwatches in the mobile space, but even the brand power and tight integration with the iPhone is struggling to increase its year-on-year sales.

“The brand witnessed declines in all regions except India. However, its global decline was mainly driven by the significant decline in the North American market, which contributes more than half of Apple’s smartwatch shipments. 2024 was the second consecutive year to witness a YoY shipment decline.”

(Counterpoint Research).

Safari Browser Looks To AI To Replace Google

INFO Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, made the disclosure Wednesday during his testimony in the US Justice Department’s lawsuit against Alphabet Inc.” END

“Apple Inc. is “actively looking at” revamping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines, a seismic shift for the industry hastened by the potential end of a longtime partnership with Google.”

(Bloomberg).

And Finally…

Apple’s celebration of Pride Month brings a new colorful band to the Apple Watch along with a maching watch face.

“Featuring a tapestry of rainbow stripes that vary in shape and size, each Pride Edition Sport Band is assembled by hand from individual stripes of vibrant color that are compression-molded together, creating subtle yet striking variations. No two bands are exactly alike, reflecting the individuality of all members of the LGBTQ+ community,” Apple says in its announcement of the Pride month celebration.”

(Forbes).

Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.