The rumor: Apple is not planning to update the Apple Watch SE until next year, according to Mark Gurman (89.1% accurate, via Bloomberg).
Our take: I don’t know of a case where Apple has updated a SE product year-over-year yet, so don’t look for a new SE watch until 2022.
The rumor: Apple is planning to introduce a major new health sensor in the 2022 Apple Watch, according to Mark Gurman (89.1% accurate, via Bloomberg).
Our take: I’ve been asking Apple for a body temperature sensor for years now (way before the pandemic was here), and I’m ecstatic to hear that it’s finally coming. I think a launch this year would be timely though, as we likely (hopefully) won’t be thinking about COVID-19 in September 2022.
The rumor: The Apple Watch Series 7 will include moderate upgrades over last year’s model, according to Mark Gurman (89.1% accurate, via Bloomberg).
Our take: I’m curious to see how much closer Apple can get the display to the front glass of the watch because looking at mine now…it already seems as close as it can get (and it looks great). Interesting to note that Gurman doesn’t mention a full redesign, however, as other sources have suggested.
The news: Apple just announced their latest pair of Beats headphones: Beats Studio Buds, a stemless pair of truly wireless earbuds.
Our take: These look great, and the price is crazy here…keep in mind the cheapest AirPods start at $159. Most fascinating bit of info here is the lack of an Apple chip inside, apparently it’s some custom Beats silicon enabling a lot of H1 chip-like features. With AirPods 3 still nowhere in sight, it will be hard to pass these stemless, more innovative-looking buds up.
The rumor: Apple will no longer require vaccinated customers to wear masks in some stores as soon as later this week, according to Mark Gurman (89.1% accurate, via Bloomberg).
Our take: With the most recent CDC guidance, I was surprised when I was asked to put on a mask earlier last week at my local Apple Store in St. Louis. Glad to see the requirement will be dropped for those of us who have been vaccinated!
The rumor: Apple’s first pair of stemless earbuds are launching next month, according to Jon Prosser (73.6% accurate, via FrontPageTech).
Our take: Every piece of evidence was suggesting an imminent launch, and even Mark Gurman (89.1% accurate) has said BSB are coming in July… Pretty excited to try these out.
The leak: A slew of new renders depicting the upcoming, redesigned iPad mini have been shared by Jon Prosser (73.6% accurate, via FrontPageTech.com) and designer Ian Zelbo.
Our take: This looks phenomenal, and it’s what iPad mini users have been asking for, for years. I don’t think it’s the right tablet for me, but this will certainly become the best small tablet on the market overnight.
The wallpaper: Apple included two new wallpapers in the first beta of macOS 12 Monterey, and you can download them here.
Following WWDC 2021, here’s a look at the updated source leaderboard and where the best (and worse) Apple sources place.
Note: As you may have noticed, no source is perfect. That’s because even the best get some info right and some info wrong: do not harass anyone for their track record. The leaderboard functionality on AppleTrack is here only to help tech enthusiasts better understand how likely a rumor really is.
As always, if you notice a discrepancy on someone’s record, let us know.
The news: Apple included two tags hidden in the metadata of their WWDC 2021 keynote that point to a new MacBook Pro, as spotted first by YouTuber Max Balzer.
Our take: I’ve seen a lot of takes that ‘this was just for SEO’ or ‘wow, Apple is so genius for optimizing the video based on rumors’ but I disagree completely. Every rumor pointed to a new MacBook Pro coming at this event, and it seems like Apple decided to push it back last minute.
The news: Apple just released a new version of AirPods Max software, as noted first by MacRumors.
Our take: My gut says this has something to do with yesterday’s music updates, but we won’t know for sure unless Apple confirms it. The March AirPods Max update fixed battery drain issues.