Apple Loop: Apple’s New iPhone App, iPad Air’s OLED Upgrade, iPhone Emulation Guides

Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from Apple, including iPhone 16 Pro’s camera upgrades, iPhone 16 getting the capture button, a new app for iOS 18, iPad Air redesign, iPhone SE details, accelerated Mac release schedule, and a guide to retro emulation on the iPhone.

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.

iPhone Camera Flare No More

The next iPhone will address the greatest enemy of Apple’s camera community. Leaked details around the camera for the iPhone 16 family point to a new coating that will combat the Hollywood level of lens flare. It’s all down to using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) manufacturing process.

“Unlike commonly used vapor deposition techniques, the ALD process deposits coatings in layers that are just a single atom thick. This gives more precise control over their creation and increases effectiveness on highly curved surfaces such as iPhone camera lenses.”

(Forbes).

iPhone 16’s Secret Buttons

We have a better look at the iPhone 16 design this week with a video of the machined mock-ups of the four iPhone 16 models. These show the external dimensions and, more importantly, the layout of the new external buttons of Apple’s next smartphones:

“As illustrated by the blanks, the action button has been added to all four iPhone 16 models, so developers can be confident that it is present on any new iPhone… Not only will all four iPhone 16 models pick up the presumptively named Capture Button, but the recessed design in the blanks point to using a capacitive button, presumably with Apple’s “Taptic Engine” creating enough feedback to give a genuine button feel.

(Forbes).

A New App For iOS 18

Every major update to iOS tends to offer a major update to an app and sometimes includes a new app. That looks to be true for iOS 18, with details on a new Notes app to be bundled into the platform.

“Among its new features will be audio recording support built in at the application level, similar to integrated Voice Memos, according to people familiar with the matter. The feature is currently under development for iOS 18 and macOS 15 and should ultimately make its way to the new version of iPadOS as well.”

(Apple Insider).

A New Look For The iPad Air

While the community continues to wait for the iPad Pro release, Display Supply Chain Consultants’ Ross Young has discussed details on the next iPad Air. A change is coming to the display, and its going to be a bright and vivid change:

“Yong commented, “Surprise! The upcoming 12.9″ iPad Air has a MiniLED display. This will consume left over panels from the 12.9″ MiniLED iPad Pro and offer lower power than an edge lit LCD…” The display on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is sensational, with the many miniLED backlights giving a brightness, deep contrast and vividness that regular LCD can’t manage. It’s easily the best display on any iPad.”

(Forbes).

iPhone SE Four Details

Apple’s plans for a fourth iPhone SE became clearer this week, with details on 2025’s iPhone SE leaking. The design is being tweaked, although it’s still going to be an iteration or two behind the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. After all, the bill of materials needs to be much lower for the mid-range iOS smartphone:

“The device is expected to have front and rear glass, eschewing the Ceramic Shield that Apple uses on other iPhones. For comparison, Hung says the front looks more like the iPhone 13 that has been previously rumored. Although, the rear of the iPhone SE 4 would look more like an iPhone XR because of the single camera. “

(Tom’s Guide).

The Next Mac Will Arrive Sooner Than AI Thinks

Apple’s refresh cycle between Mac generations has been on the order of 18 months to 2 years since the debut of Apple Silicon. That’s not the case this time around, as the M3 lifespan is going to be cut short to bring in the M4 generation, and it’s down to 2024’s favourite buzzword:

“Although Apple updated the MacBook Pro with M3 technology late October 2023, and the MacBook Air in March 2024, the M3 platform is lacking in one vital area… Artificial Intelligence…AI-focused hardware will be the key improvement in the M4 family, so much so that Apple is expected to upgrade its various MacBook Pro laptops as quickly as possible.”

(Forbes).

And Finally…

With Apple’s change in App Store policy to allow emulation into the closed iOS system, developers have been rushing to bring suitable apps to the store. Some have been quick reworks of open-source projects, and some have broken other guidelines, but the first big hitter to arrive is Delta. Russ from Retro Game Corp takes you through the rather involved set-up process on YouTube:

“After 15+ years of waiting, Apple is now allowing retro game emulators on their App Store, and after a few crash-and-burn releases, we have the first legitimate emulator app on the store. Today we’re going to talk about Delta, show you how to set it up, and then highlight all of its many features (and a couple shortcomings, too).”

(Retro Game Corps).

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.