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Anonymous form * close MacRumors * Front Page * Roundups + AirPods 4[1x1] + AirPods Max[1x1] + AirPods Pro 3[1x1] + Apple Black Friday[1x1] + Apple Deals[1x1] + Apple Pay[1x1] + Apple Pro Display XDR[1x1] + Apple Studio Display[1x1] + Apple TV[1x1] + Apple Vision Pro[1x1] + Apple Watch 11[1x1] + Apple Watch SE 3[1x1] + Apple Watch Ultra 3[1x1] + CarPlay[1x1] + HomePod[1x1] + HomePod mini[1x1] + iMac[1x1] + iOS 26[1x1] + iPad[1x1] + iPad Air [1x1] + iPad mini[1x1] + iPad Pro[1x1] + iPadOS 26[1x1] + iPhone 16[1x1] + iPhone 16e[1x1] + iPhone 17[1x1] + iPhone 17 Pro[1x1] + iPhone 18[1x1] + iPhone Air[1x1] + Mac mini[1x1] + Mac Pro[1x1] + Mac Studio[1x1] + MacBook Air[1x1] + MacBook Pro[1x1] + macOS Tahoe[1x1] + watchOS 26[1x1] * Guides * How Tos * Reviews * Buyer's Guide * Forums [ ][Submit] * iOS 26 * macOS Tahoe * iPadOS 26 * iPhone 17 * iPhone Air * iPhone 17 Pro * iPhone 16e * iPhone 16 * MacBook Pro * Apple Vision Pro * iMac * Mac mini * HomePod * Apple TV * iPad Pro * AirPods 4 * Apple Pro Display XDR * Apple Watch Ultra 3 * HomePod mini * Mac Pro * MacBook Air * iPad * AirPods Max * AirPods Pro 3 * Apple Deals * Apple Studio Display * Apple Watch 11 * Apple Watch SE 3 * Mac Studio * iPad Air * iPad mini * iPhone 18 * CarPlay * Apple Black Friday * Apple Pay * watchOS 26 All > * Front Page * Roundups * Guides * How Tos * Reviews * Buyer's Guide * Upcoming Products * Forums * Archives * Tips / Contact Us * iOS 26.3 Brings AirPods-Like Pairing to Third-Party Devices in EU Under DMA Monday December 22, 2025 3:20 pm PST by Juli Clover The European Commission today praised the interoperability changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 26.3, once again crediting the Digital Markets Act (DMA) with bringing "new opportunities" to European users and developers. iOS 26 The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to provide third-party accessories with the same capabilities and access to device features that Apple's own products get. In iOS 26.3, EU wearable device makers can now test proximity pairing and improved notifications. Here are the new capabilities that Apple is adding: * Proximity pairing - Devices like earbuds will be able to pair with an iOS device in an AirPods-like way by bringing the accessory close to an iPhone or iPad to initiate a simple, one-tap pairing process. Pairing third-party devices will no longer require multiple steps. * Notifications - Third-party accessories like smart watches will be able to receive notifications from the iPhone. Users will be able to view and react to incoming notifications, which is functionality normally limited to the Apple Watch. Notifications can only be forwarded to one connected device at a time, and turning on notifications for a third-party device disables notifications to an Apple Watch. The European Commission says that developers can test third-party TVs, smart watches, and headphones with the new features in iOS 26.3, with the functionality to be "fully available in Europe" in 2026. iOS 26.3 offers "another step towards a more inter-connected digital ecosystem to the benefit of all EU citizens," according to the European Commission. iOS 26.3 is expected to launch at the end of January. The changes to proximity pairing and notifications are only available for device makers and iPhone and iPad users in the European Union. [ 71 comments ] Get weekly top MacRumors stories in your inbox. [ ][ ][Subscribe] Popular Stories maxresdefaultmaxresdefault Where's the New Apple TV? Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by Juli Clover Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would... Read Full Article * 145 comments top stories 2025 12 20top stories 2025 12 20 Top Stories: iOS 26.3 Beta, Major Apple Leaks, and More Saturday December 20, 2025 6:00 am PST by MacRumors Staff You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates. This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories! Top Stories i... Read Full Article * 19 comments iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature PurpleiPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by Joe Rossignol Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen.... Read Full Article * 63 comments iOS 26iOS 26 iOS 26.3 Brings AirPods-Like Pairing to Third-Party Devices in EU Under DMA Monday December 22, 2025 3:20 pm PST by Juli Clover The European Commission today praised the interoperability changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 26.3, once again crediting the Digital Markets Act (DMA) with bringing "new opportunities" to European users and developers. The Digital Markets Act requires Apple to provide third-party accessories with the same capabilities and access to device features that Apple's own products get. In iOS... Read Full Article * 71 comments ios 18 security updateios 18 security update Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18 [Update: Now Unavailable] Friday December 19, 2025 10:37 am PST by Juli Clover Since the beginning of December, Apple has been pushing iPhone users who opted to stay on iOS 18 to install iOS 26 instead. Apple started by making the iOS 18 upgrades less visible, and has now transitioned to making new iOS 18 updates unavailable on any device capable of running iOS 26. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, Apple is no longer offering new versions of iOS 18, even though there... Read Full Article * 439 comments iOS 26iOS 26 iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock... Read Full Article iPhone ChipsiPhone Chips Apple Clings to Samsung as RAM Prices Soar Monday December 22, 2025 6:17 am PST by Hartley Charlton Apple is significantly increasing its reliance on Samsung for iPhone memory as component prices surge, according to The Korea Economic Daily. Apple is said to be expanding the share of iPhone memory it sources from Samsung due to rapidly rising memory prices. The shift is expected to result in Samsung supplying roughly 60% to 70% of the low-power DRAM used in the iPhone 17, compared with a... Read Full Article * 66 comments iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature PurpleiPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by Joe Rossignol While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in... Read Full Article * 66 comments Top Rated Comments MangoAvocado Avatar MangoAvocado 23 hours ago at 03:25 pm Let the lord be praised my 450EUR Bose can finally be treated like a first class citizen. Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree) Mikep976 Avatar Mikep976 23 hours ago at 03:53 pm I truly don't understand those that are against the DMA, and all I can imagine is its because they see their devices as "pure" or some crap and don't want others to have a choice. Even if it's from a security perspective, great. Don't use other headphones or smart watches, but to me, even if I may only use an Apple Watch or AirPods, is such a nice step in the right direction, because it's going to be great for those that do need it (see what I did there? It's almost like something can benefit others that doesn't benefit me! Wild!). In addition, it puts other accessories on equal footing and will make Apple work harder from competition (where I CAN benefit) Wish all this would hit the US too, bug sigh... Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree) JohnC1959 Avatar JohnC1959 23 hours ago at 03:43 pm Some of the DMA changes are good and some not so much. Yeah, I've been happy with maybe 80% of their rules. For a few, I tend to agree with Apple that the changes could introduce security issues. I love having USB-C for everything now. Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree) Havalo Avatar Havalo 23 hours ago at 03:29 pm Third party watches would also be nice without installing separate application. Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree) philosopherdog Avatar philosopherdog 23 hours ago at 03:54 pm sad that apple only does this when pushed. this isn't conducive to any warm feelings. just cold hard capitalism Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree) ronno Avatar ronno 18 hours ago at 08:42 pm The EU didn't bring USB-C to iPhones. Apple was already planning to. Apple had high-speed USB-C in the A17 Pro processor (iPhone 15 Pro) which came out a full year before the EU mandate on USB-C was to come into effect. Given the long lead times to design a new processor the final decision to add USB-C to an iPhone would have been made almost a full 3 years before the EU mandate. The EU just wants to take credit for something Apple decided years earlier. Apple put the USB-C in the processor because they knew it was coming. I remember reading an interview with someone at Apple several years ago, that person claimed that Apple could not innovate if they were forced to use USB-C. It would simply ruin them as a company, because everything hinged on their proprietary connector ?. 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