Top Stories: Apple Intelligence Siri Delay Sparks Concern, iOS 19 Redesign, and More

While Apple launched a bunch of new hardware this week, the biggest news was on the software side where a delay for some of the previously announced Apple Intelligence Siri features has led to scrutiny of Apple’s actions and uneasiness among those at the company.

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This week also saw revived rumors about a significant overhaul in design and functionality coming in iOS 19, while Apple’s latest Mac and iPad models began making their way into reviewers’ and consumers’ hands, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

John Gruber Says ‘Something is Rotten’ at Apple Following Apple Intelligence Siri Delay

Last Friday, Apple issued a statement announcing that it is delaying certain Apple Intelligence features around Siri personalization that had originally been planned for an update to iOS 18, now noting that the features will arrive “in the coming year,” which suggests they may not debut until iOS 19 or an even later update in the iOS 19 cycle.

Sad Siri Feature
In the wake of the news, Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber shared some strongly worded comments about the situation in a blog post titled “Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino.” Gruber outlined his belief that these more advanced Apple Intelligence features announced at WWDC 2024 amount to vaporware, with Apple still having shown no evidence that these actually exist in a functional form.

While Apple has in the past occasionally delayed or canceled software and hardware projects, Gruber is concerned that Apple has marketed its AI future around features that remain concept videos, threatening the company’s credibility and perhaps representing deep-seated issues at Apple.

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Apple’s annual developer conference is just three months away, and a new report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman says that the iOS 19 update that will be unveiled at WWDC 2025 will bring the biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 over a decade ago. macOS will see similar changes, with Apple looking to emphasize a more consistent cross-platform experience with simplified navigation and device control.

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light
While details are light, it appears design changes are “loosely based” on visionOS for Apple Vision Pro, which utilizes a lot of depth and transparency, though the 2D interfaces of more traditional devices won’t be able to fully adopt those qualities.

M4 MacBook Air Reviews Are Now Out, Plus Sky Blue Unboxing Videos

Following their introduction last week, Apple’s new Mac and iPad models have officially launched, with the list including new MacBook Air and Mac Studio models as well as updated versions of the iPad Air and entry-level iPad.

M4 MacBook Air Processor Pink and Teal
Apple says the M4 MacBook Air, which comes in a new Sky Blue color option, is up to 23x faster than the final Intel-based model from 2020, though only in one specific test. Still, anyone upgrading from a machine several generations old should see significant speed improvements in a variety of day-to-day tasks. For a look at our early impressions of the new MacBook Air, be sure to check out our hands-on video.

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on ‘Internal Documents’

Rumors about the designs for the iPhone 17 family continue to firm up, with a new set of mockups once again showing off the expected designs.

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While the standard iPhone 17 is expected to retain a very similar design to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to see a significant redesign with a much larger camera bump spanning the entire upper rear portion of the devices. The all-new ultra-thin “iPhone 17 Air” should see a similar but slimmer bump given it only has one rear camera compared to three on the Pro models.

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

The upcoming iOS 18.4 update will include two enhancements that will benefit some CarPlay users: a third row of app icons on certain larger infotainment displays and new EV routing to help Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owners find charging stations that use the North American Charging Standard (NACS).

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On a related front, iOS 18.4 will allow users in the European Union to set their own default navigation app such as Google Maps. The change, made in response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, will be a welcome one for users who prefer not to rely on Apple Maps for navigation.

Apple Introduced Its Most Controversial MacBook 10 Years Ago This Week

Apple announced the infamous 12-inch Retina MacBook a decade ago this week, an experimental new Mac that was as controversial as it was revolutionary.

2016 12 inch macbook feature
Introduced by Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple’s “Spring Forward” event on March 9, 2015, as a “reinvention” of the notebook, the MacBook was extremely controversial due to its under-powered performance, single USB-C port for both charging and data transfer, short battery life, unreliable butterfly keyboard, and high price point ($1,299 starting price in 2015—the same as a MacBook Pro at the time).

However, the 12-inch MacBook offered a glimpse at what was to come in the Mac lineup. It was the first Apple device with a USB-C port, terraced battery, butterfly keyboard, and haptic trackpad. It was also the first MacBook with a design focused on efficiency, a Retina display in a non-Pro model, multiple color options, and without a fan or an illuminated Apple logo.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we’ve covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

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Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by

The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple’s in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a…

John Gruber Says ‘Something is Rotten’ at Apple

Wednesday March 12, 2025 7:39 pm PDT by

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber today shared some strongly-worded comments about Apple’s delayed personalized Siri features. Gruber is a well-known Apple pundit who has been writing about the company for more than two decades. In a blog post titled “Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino,” Gruber said Apple’s credibility has been “damaged” by the delay:Keynote by keynote, product by…

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

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iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping …

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iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by

Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will “fundamentally change” the look of Apple’s operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system…

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Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to feature a significant design overhaul, and a new image apparently taken on an assembly line for the unreleased devices appears to confirm the biggest rumored change. Render of an iPhone 17 Pro model shared by Jon Prosser The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to adopt a horizontal camera bar reminiscent of Google’s Pixel…

Kuo: Apple Knows Apple Intelligence is ‘Underwhelming’ and Won’t Drive iPhone Upgrades

Thursday March 13, 2025 9:32 am PDT by

The Apple Intelligence features that Apple introduced with iOS 18 are not pushing people to upgrade their iPhones, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated today. Apple’s recent Siri failures are also going to have an impact on 2025 iPhone shipments, which the market is beginning to realize. As early as last July, Kuo said expectations that Apple Intelligence could drive iPhone upgrades were…

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by

Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple’s preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we’ve listed 12 new…

Major macOS 16 Redesign to Bring Biggest Changes Since Big Sur

Wednesday March 12, 2025 2:28 am PDT by

Apple is planning a radical redesign of macOS with version 16, and it could be the most significant visual refresh since macOS Big Sur was introduced in 2020, according to Bloomberg. MacRumors concept render The upcoming Mac operating system will reportedly be part of Apple’s sweeping effort to create a more consistent interface across all of its platforms, including iPhone, iPad, and Apple…

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