New models of the Apple TV and HomePod mini are "nearly ready to launch," with Apple planning to release them "this fall," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In other words, the devices would likely launch around September or October.
The report said both devices will be equipped with faster processors that support Siri AI.
Earlier rumors claimed the next Apple TV would be equipped with the A17 Pro chip, which is the oldest chip that supports Apple Intelligence. The device is also expected to feature Apple's N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread.
The next HomePod mini is expected to use an Apple Watch's S9 chip or newer. Other previously-rumored features for the speaker include the N1 chip, improved sound quality, a newer Ultra Wideband chip, and a red color option.
The current Apple TV 4K was unveiled in October 2022, while the HomePod mini was introduced in October 2020, so there has been a long wait for new models. Rumors about new Apple TV and HomePod mini models have been circulating for years and years by this point, but the devices were seemingly postponed until Siri AI launches.
Siri AI is available in the iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 betas. Those updates are expected to be released to the general public in September, at which point Siri AI will finally be available to the masses.
The current Apple TV 4K has an A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13 series, while the HomePod mini uses the S5 chip from the Apple Watch Series 5.
Both devices received price increases last month. In the U.S., the Apple TV now starts at $199 (up from $129), while the HomePod mini is now $129 (up from $99).
At least briefly, Apple became a $5 trillion company today based on market capitalization, which is the total value of all of the company's outstanding shares.
Apple's stock surpassed the $340 mark today in intraday trading, which pushed the company's market cap above $5 trillion for the first time ever. However, the stock price is bouncing up and down.
Apple is once again the world's most valuable public company, having surpassed Nvidia.
Apple today launched Apple Upgrade, a new U.S. leasing program for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Apple partnered with Klarna for Apple Upgrade, and it replaces the current iPhone Upgrade Program and iPhone Payments.
Apple Upgrade has lower base prices than the iPhone Upgrade Program, with iPhones available starting at $17.99 per month and the Apple Watch available starting at $11.99 per month. Macs can be leased starting at $24.99 per month, and iPads start at $11.99 per month. AppleCare+ is optional and not included in the lease price, with customers also able to opt for AppleCare One.
There are 12-month and 24-month leasing options for the iPhone and Apple Watch, along with 24-month and 36-month leasing options for the Mac and iPad. Lease cost varies based on device, and is lower with a device trade-in that's applied on a monthly basis. Apple has some sample pricing, minus taxes and trade-in credits:
256GB iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099) - Typical monthly payment is $31.99 with a 24-month lease or $45.99 with a 12-month lease.
42mm Apple Watch Series 11 ($399) - Typical monthly payment for a 24-month lease term is $11.99 per month, or $21.99 for a 12-month lease term.
256GB iPad Pro ($1,199) - Typical monthly payment is $24.99 for a 36-month lease term, or $31.99 for a 24-month lease term.
16GB 14-inch MacBook Pro ($1,999) - Typical monthly payment is $38.99 for a 36-month lease, and $53.99 for a 24-month lease.
When leasing an iPhone, customers are required to choose a plan from AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile, and prepaid plans are not eligible. iPhones need to be leased with a carrier plan, but the iPhones are unlocked so customers can switch carriers if desired. MVNOs like Mint Mobile or Visible are not supported.
At the end of the leasing period, customers can choose to return the device and exit the program, pay off the remaining amount owed on the device with a one-time payment and keep it, or return it and upgrade to a new device with a new lease.
The payoff amount is the difference between what was paid during the leasing period and the retail price of the device, minus any remaining trade-in credits. Klarna is not charging a fee for the leasing program, so an iPhone that's $1,099 can be leased and then purchased for $1,099 with no extra cost beyond taxes.
As with trade-ins, Apple will send a pre-labeled and prepaid shipping box for device returns or upgrades.
If you don't opt to pay the purchase fee at the end of the leasing program, you will not own the device and must return it.
Apple is discontinuing the iPhone Upgrade Program, and iPhones can no longer be purchased with it. Current participants can continue to make payments until their existing iPhones are paid off, but at the next purchase, they will need to switch over to Apple Upgrade or another payment option. Apple Card users can continue to buy devices with the Apple Card Monthly Installments plan or choose Apple Upgrade and get 3% Daily Cash back on lease payments made with Apple Card.
Apple Upgrade is available for online and in-store purchases. Customers can select their preferred leasing option, and after a soft credit check, get an instant approval from Klarna if eligible. Lease information like billing schedule, total price, and remaining payments can be managed in the Klarna app.
Most iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watch models are eligible for Apple Upgrade, but the program can't be used for iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, Apple Watch SE, MacBook Neo, Mac mini, iPad (A16), and Studio Display purchases. Apple Upgrade cannot be used with EDU discounts, and leases aren't available for refurbished devices. Apple also excludes purchases made with the Apple Employee Purchase Plan and business, government, veteran, and military purchase programs.
Fine Print
Lease participants can opt to end a lease early and return a device, but Apple says there may be "substantial fees" for terminating a lease before the end of the term. The fee is the remaining amount of the lease, so terminating a lease three months early means paying the remaining three months. There is no fee for paying off a lease early.
Customers must upgrade, end the lease, or purchase the device at the end of the lease term. If that doesn't happen, the lease converts to a month-to-month lease for up to six months. Month-to-month payments will remain the same, but if there was a trade-in credit being applied monthly, it ends when the lease does, so payments could go up. At the end of the month-to-month lease add-on, customers will be charged the purchase fee.
Damage to an iPhone, losing an iPhone, or having an iPhone stolen could incur fees. Klarna assesses damage at return and charges accordingly. With AppleCare+, the cost is the applicable service fee, but without it, the full cost of the assessed damage has to be paid.
If a customer misses a payment, the payment is rolled into the next month's payment, but there are no late fees incurred. If there are three consecutive missed payments, the lease agreement ends and the customer has to pay the full outstanding balance minus the value of the device when returned. If Klarna is unable to collect payment, the case will be handed over to Klarna's debt collection agencies. Apple says Klarna support offers a one-month payment deferral and an early lease termination option with a repayment plan.
Leases are restricted to customers who are 18 or older (or legal age in their resident state) with a valid SSN or ITIN. Customers must be U.S. residents, and territories are excluded. An Apple Account in good standing is required, as is a Klarna account and a credit or debit card.
Availability
Apple devices can be leased with Apple Upgrade in stores or online starting today.
Apple will exclusively rely on Samsung Display for the production of OLED touch panels for its redesigned upcoming MacBook Pro models, according to a new report from Korea-based The Elec.
Citing industry sources, the publication says that the 14-inch and 16-inch panels will be produced at Samsung's 8.6-generation OLED line at Asan, in Korea's South Chungcheong Province. The estimated initial supply is said to be 2.5 million panels, and mass production is expected to begin around August.
Apple reportedly didn't consider LG Display or China's BOE Technology Group for panel development due to yield and efficiency issues, as well as already-busy OLED production lines, making Samsung the default sole supplier. Samsung is said to have secured the position by working closely with Apple from the outset, and adapting its panel specifications and manufacturing capabilities during development.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has repeatedly claimed that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with an OLED touch screen are pegged to launch in late 2026 to early 2027. However, his most recent update on the matter said that early 2027 is now more likely because of the global chip shortage.
An OLED panel with touch-screen support is just one aspect of a major refresh planned for the high-end MacBook Pro models, with other rumored features including M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a Dynamic Island (i.e., no notch) and a thinner design. The laptops could have "MacBook Ultra" branding, and macOS 27 will include a touch-friendly interface ready for the laptops.
Apple's next high-end laptop is expected to bring the most substantial external changes to the MacBook Pro line since 2021. No renders, case leaks, or dimensions have emerged, but a series of reports have established much of what is set to change.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said there is a good chance the model represents a "true overhaul" for the laptop, thanks to the combination of an OLED display and a thinner design, and Apple is reportedly working toward the thinnest and lightest products in their categories across the tech industry. The design is also expected to extend beyond this machine, with the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro due in 2027 said to resemble it.
Every MacBook Pro released since 2021 has measured 0.61 inches (15.5mm) thick for 14-inch models and 0.66 inches (16.8mm) thick for 16-inch models, figures that have remained unchanged across five chip generations. The next model is expected to be noticeably thinner and lighter, though no credible figure has been reported. Replacing the mini-LED backlight with a hybrid OLED panel removes a physical layer from the lid, so the reduction may be most pronounced in the upper half of the machine.
The notch is expected to be replaced by a hole-punch camera, a change first indicated by a roadmap from research firm Omdia and subsequently corroborated by Bloomberg. The cutout is said to be pill-shaped to accommodate an interactive Dynamic Island.
The notch has been the most distinctive feature of the MacBook Pro's display since 2021, and removing it would leave the menu bar as a continuous strip interrupted by a small island rather than divided in two. Apple appears to be preparing for the change in software, since the "Search or Ask" interface built into Spotlight in macOS 27 adopts a dark, pill-shaped design suited to a cutout of that shape.
The bezels surrounding the display may also shrink. Omdia claims Samsung Display will supply 14.3-inch and 16.3-inch panels, fractionally larger than the 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch displays currently in use, which within a largely unchanged chassis would result in narrower borders.
Apple is also said to be fitting a reinforced hinge so that the display does not wobble when tapped. Whether the lid will also tilt further back than the current model, which stops relatively early for structural reasons, is yet to be seen.
Several elements are expected to carry over. Bloomberg reported in February that the machine would look a lot like the current MacBook Pro, specifying that the keyboard and trackpad would be retained and that the device would remain a conventional clamshell in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, rather than a detachable or convertible design. HDMI, MagSafe, and the SD card slot were reinstated in the 2021 redesign after an unpopular absence, and no report has suggested they will be removed again.
A shortage of memory chips has impacted the entire computer market, affecting Macs and PCs alike. Apple and other companies have raised prices, but Apple is better positioned than its competitors. Machines like the Mac mini and the Mac Studio are in demand for on-device AI agent use, and Apple plans to take advantage by refreshing its Mac lineup across 2026 and 2027.
Apple already launched the MacBook Neo and refreshed the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with M5-series chips, but there are more updates coming before the end of the year.
Fall 2026 Launches
14-inch MacBook Pro - The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro is expected to get an M6 chip, and it'll be one of the first machines with Apple's 2-nanometer chip technology.
iMac - The 24-inch iMac will get an update, and it'll also probably get the new M6 chip. No design or display changes are expected, so it'll continue to look like the current model from 2024.
Late 2026 to Early 2027
OLED MacBook Pro - A MacBook Pro (or MacBook Ultra) with an OLED touchscreen display could launch in late 2026, but Apple might also hold it until early 2027. The higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook models will use M5 Pro and M5 Max chips because Apple isn't going to release M6 Pro and M6 Max chips. The OLED MacBook Pro will have an updated design.
Mac Studio - Apple is working on a refreshed version of the Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, but launch timing is unclear because of RAM shortages and costs.
Mac mini - There are M5 Pro and M6 Mac mini models in development, but as with the Mac Studio, launch timing is not known. We could get these two machines as soon as 2026, in early 2027, or they might even be held until later in 2027.
2027 Mac Plans
MacBook Air - Refreshed 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are planned for early 2027. The new machines are likely to get the M6 chip Apple is working on.
14-inch MacBook Pro - An updated entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M7 chip could come in as soon as early 2027. It will not have an OLED display like Apple's higher-end MacBook Pro machines coming in late 2026 or early 2027, but it is expected to get the same design overhaul.
MacBook Neo - There's a new version of the low-cost MacBook Neo coming, but we don't know exactly when. It's expected to use a faster A19 Pro chip and it will come with more memory. New colors are also a possibility.
Late 2027 to Early 2028
Second OLED MacBook Pro - A second-generation OLED MacBook Pro will come approximately a year after Apple releases the first version. The late 2027 to early 2028 MacBook Pro models will get Apple's M7 Pro and M7 Max chips, which are built for artificial intelligence workloads.
2028
OLED MacBook Air - Apple plans to bring OLED displays to the MacBook Air, but 2028 is the earliest we'll see an OLED MacBook Air, and launch timing could even be pushed back.
OLED iMac - Apple is also working on an OLED iMac, but it's not known when exactly it will come out. It could be released sometime around the OLED MacBook Air.
Chip Mixing
According to Bloomberg, Apple is moving up development of its M7 chips that are built for AI workloads, skipping some M6 chips. Apple won't come out with an M6 Pro or M6 Max chip, which is why the first OLED MacBook Pro models will use M5 Pro and M5 Max chips instead of newer technology. Apple's rough chip release schedule:
M5 Ultra - Late 2026
M6 - Late 2026
M7 - First half of 2027
M7 Pro - End of 2027
M7 Max - End of 2027
M7 Ultra - 2028
Memory Prices
Global memory shortages caused Apple to make major changes to its Mac and iPad pricing in June, and prior to that, Apple discontinued some Mac mini and Mac Studio models that included higher RAM upgrade options. Limited memory availability could affect Apple's Mac launch plans, so timing could shift.
Buying Advice
If you're planning to pick up a MacBook Pro or an iMac, it's probably worth waiting because of the refreshes coming as soon as late 2026. The iMac is two years old and got a price hike recently, so it's an especially bad deal.
OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro models are likely to be even more expensive than the current models, so if you don't want to pay more for the new screen technology, it's an okay time to buy. It's probably best to hold off on an entry-level MacBook Pro until it's updated with the faster M6 chip.
Mac mini and Mac Studio models have extended shipping times already, and if you don't need something imminently, it's probably better to wait for new chips. Other Macs aren't getting refreshed until 2027, so now is a good time to buy the MacBook Neo and the MacBook Air.
Apple is on the verge of becoming a $5 trillion company based on market capitalization, which is the total value of all of the company's outstanding shares.
Apple's stock closed at $336.91 today, up around 22.5% since late June. The company's market cap is now around $4.94 trillion, although this figure is not precise due to the company buying back shares over time.
Apple is once again the world's most valuable public company, having surpassed Nvidia.
Apple today released iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6, and macOS Tahoe 26.6, all of which have a long list of security fixes.
iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 address almost 90 security vulnerabilities affecting everything from the App Store to the Neural Engine. Multiple kernel and WebKit vulnerabilities were fixed, along with problems affecting Wi-Fi, Siri, and the iPhone's image processing.
macOS Tahoe 26.6 has more than 130 vulnerability fixes, with many of those updates also available in macOS Sequoia 15.7.8 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.8. The latter two updates are available for Macs not running macOS Tahoe.
Apple's other updates, tvOS 26.6, watchOS 26.6, and visionOS 26.6, also have over 80 security fixes.
While Apple doesn't say that any of the vulnerabilities are known to have been actively exploited, now that the issues are public, devices that aren't updated could be vulnerable. It's a good idea to update all of your devices to the latest software that's available to keep yourself safe.
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.6, a small update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out last year. macOS Tahoe 26.6 comes a month after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.5.2.
Mac owners can download the software by opening the System Settings app and then navigating to the Software Updates section.
According to Apple's release notes for the update, macOS Tahoe 26.6 includes security fixes for the Mac and it optimizes Spotlight for the release of macOS 27.
Apple today released iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6, updates to the iOS and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. iOS 26.6 comes a month after the launch of iOS 26.5.2, a security update.
iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 include security fixes for the iPhone and iPad. The updates also optimize the Spotlight index in preparation for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
iOS 26.6 will be one of the final updates to the iOS 26 operating system. Apple is beta testing iOS 27, and the software is set to launch this September alongside new iPhone models.
Apple today released watchOS 26.6, the sixth update to the watchOS 26 operating system that came out in September. watchOS 26.6 comes over two months after Apple released watchOS 26.5.
watchOS 26.6 can be downloaded for free on an iPhone running iOS 26.6 by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update, or initiating an update in the Settings app on the watch. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery and it needs to be placed on a charger.
According to Apple's release notes, watchOS 26.6 includes unspecified bug fixes and security updates.
Apple today released tvOS 26.6, the sixth update to the tvOS operating system that came out last fall. tvOS 26.6 is available for the Apple TV 4K, and it comes two months after Apple released tvOS 26.5.
tvOS 26.6 can be downloaded using the Settings app on Apple TV. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. Apple TV owners who have automatic software updates activated will be upgraded to tvOS 26.6 automatically.
No new features were found in tvOS 26.6 during the beta testing period, so it likely focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements. Apple shares tvOS release notes on its website.
Apple today released visionOS 26.6, the sixth update to the visionOS 26 operating system that launched in September. visionOS 26.6 comes over two months after Apple released visionOS 26.5.
visionOS 26.6 can be downloaded on all Vision Pro headsets by navigating to the Settings app, selecting the General section, and choosing the Software Update option. To install an update, the Vision Pro headset needs to be removed, and there is a software progress bar available on the exterior EyeSight display.
Apple's release notes say that visionOS 26.6 includes bug fixes and security improvements in addition to optimizing the Spotlight index for the upcoming visionOS 27 launch.
visionOS 26.6 is recommended for all Vision Pro users.
Amazon is planning to deploy up to 5,105 low Earth orbit satellites that will use Globalstar spectrum to provide voice, data, messaging, and emergency services to devices like the iPhone. Amazon's project is expected to improve existing iPhone satellite features and support new features.
Apple uses Globalstar for the satellite features on the iPhone and Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Amazon is in the process of acquiring the company. Apple and Amazon have worked out a deal that will see Globalstar operating alongside Amazon's Leo satellite network, with Globalstar and Amazon Leo powering future satellite services for Apple.
Amazon's proposed 5,105-satellite constellation will allow devices to have satellite-based cellular service in areas where a cell tower is unavailable. Amazon says the system will give customers improved speed and throughput, and it will be able to reach any compatible mobile device with a satellite-capable chipset. Amazon specifically highlights its Apple partnership in its blog post announcing the satellite plan.
Amazon Leo already announced an agreement with Apple to power satellite services for supported iPhone and Apple Watch models—including Emergency SOS via satellite, Messages, Find My, and Roadside Assistance via satellite—and to collaborate with Apple on future satellite services using the expanded network.
Amazon plans to deploy five orbital shells meant to reach different parts of the planet. Three will cover heavily populated areas, while others will extend service toward polar areas. Amazon has filed an application with the FCC for the system, and is awaiting approval. Amazon expects to deploy satellites starting in 2028, with the Globalstar merger set to close in 2027 after it receives regulatory approval.
Starting today, the popular podcast platform Pocket Casts is available on all Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. The app was already available on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
"Your podcasts, your Up Next, your place in every episode, right on the screen in front of you," said Pocket Casts, in a blog post. "Start something on your phone at the bus stop. Finish it on the couch that night, exactly where you left it. Nothing to re-find. Nothing to sync by hand."
Amazon's prices on the 2026 MacBook Pro have now joined in on Apple's recent price hikes, meaning we're no longer tracking pre-hike markdowns on these devices. However, there are still notable sales to be found if you're shopping for a MacBook Pro this month, with up to $500 off new prices available right now on Amazon.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
14-Inch MacBook Pro
Prices start at $2,299.00 for the 24GB/1TB 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro, down from $2,499.00. Amazon is also providing $500 off both the 15-Core/24GB/2TB model, as well as the M5 Max 26GB/2TB model, both of which are new low prices in the wake of the price hikes.
In terms of the larger display models, we're tracking four total discounts on Amazon. These start at $2,799.00 for the 24GB/1TB M5 Pro configuration ($180 off), and reach up to $4,499.00 for the 48GB/2TB M5 Max device ($500 off).
If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
Deals Newsletter
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Memory prices have doubled, Macs and iPads have gone up, and iPhones are expected to follow. Ed Zitron – who writes the Where's Your Ed At newsletter, hosts the Better Offline podcast, and has been described by Politico as the AI boom's most "acerbic gadfly" – has spent years arguing the buildout driving those costs will never pay for itself.
We asked him what happens to Apple if he's right.
You've been calling AI a bubble since before it was fashionable. For MacRumors readers who mostly know it as ChatGPT or Apple Intelligence on their iPhone, what, in plain terms, is actually broken about the economics of the LLM industry?
At their very core, Large Language Models' costs run contrary to basically every model of selling software.
Consumers and enterprises alike have been trained to pay a monthly fee for a service, and while these services might have limits or strictures, basically nobody buying software expects to have a metered service, let alone one that's both metered and with hard to measure costs.
LLMs burn tokens at a per-million rate regardless of whether or not you get the response you want, or whether it does what you ask it to do. If you ask a coding agent to do some sort of software task and it goes off and spins its wheels in a loop, you're paying for the tokens regardless.
AI companies knew that consumers would never pay the actual cost of their AI services, so they have, for the most part, sold them monthly subscriptions with vague rate limits that allow them to burn way more in tokens than the cost of their subscription. SemiAnalysis found that you can burn hundreds of dollars on a $20-a-month subscription and thousands of dollars on a $200-a-month subscription, and while AI boosters will claim that these companies have "70% gross margins on tokens," there is little proof that this is the case, and my own reporting shows that OpenAI lost $20.9 billion on $13.07 billion in revenue in 2025.
Image credit: SemiAnalysis
This means the very basic economics are broken. If Anthropic and OpenAI believed customers would actually pay the real cost of AI tokens, they wouldn't have to give away 20 to 40 times the amount of tokens to subscribers.
Meanwhile, back in March of this year, both moved their enterprise customers over to token-based billing. Within a few weeks, it came out that Uber had spent its entire annual token budget in the space of a quarter, and its COO said that it was getting "harder to justify" the cost of AI because it was hard to track the cost of AI to any actual useful features shipping. Sam Altman would eventually say it was a "huge issue" but declined to say how it might be fixed.
This is a problem across basically every single AI-powered startup, which has to pay the per-million token rate. Perplexity, Cursor, GitHub Copilot (which moved to token-based billing in June) – every single AI startup is unprofitable because their users don't want to pay the actual cost of AI.
Another issue is that AI services are just not that useful or differentiated. While people get some sort of benefit out of AI-generated code, these tools actually end up making them slower, and are filling codebases full of slop. Otherwise, an LLM is an LLM is an LLM – it can generate, it can summarize, it can search, and that's about it, which means that every AI service is effectively the same. That's why 89% of all AI revenues are Anthropic and OpenAI, and why every AI startup talks in terms of "annualized revenue" (monthx12) – because actual revenues are very depressing. Even then, most are barely at $100 million annualized.
Then there are the data centers. An AI data center is very, very expensive to build, takes 18 to 36 months, and costs billions of dollars, which means effectively anyone building one will be raising debt and only get paid once a customer moves in... except there aren't really any customers for AI data centers outside of Anthropic and OpenAI, both of whom are so unprofitable that they've had to raise hundreds of billions of dollars even when Microsoft, Google and Amazon built all their infrastructure.
The only reason everybody isn't freaking out about this is because AI-related stocks have done well, even though none of the hyperscalers actually share their AI revenues.
You've argued that AI's demand story is essentially a mirage – that most of the data center capacity is being absorbed by OpenAI and Anthropic themselves, which is masking the absence of real enterprise demand. If that's right, who do you think will actually bear the cost when the whole thing unravels?
Honestly, it's going to be a lot of private credit funds, because they're the ones funding the data centers, and they're funded by pension funds like the SF teachers fund or CalPERS, which makes me really, really worried about the systemic contagion.
People will argue that this means there's going to be a bailout, but this isn't really a bailoutable thing. These data centers are funded by project financing, which means that the money is basically gone and the only way to "make them whole" would be to either buy out the debt or feed them revenues. While you could theoretically bail out these special purpose vehicles (SPVs), doing so would be to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars and be political cancer.
I also fundamentally believe that Oracle gets killed by OpenAI. Its revenues have been stagnating for 20 years, and the only way it's kept its head above water is $85bn+ in acquisitions, and even then, that's just kept things flat. Its bets on AI data centers – $340bn+ with hundreds of billions in debt – require OpenAI to become the largest, most-profitable company in the world by 2030, or Oracle runs out of money. Good luck on that one Larry.
The actual contagion from the collapse will be widespread. The TWSE is heavily reliant on Taiwanese ODMs like Quanta and Hon Hai (Foxconn) who have seen their revenues boosted by selling AI servers. While I don't think it kills these companies (especially as Hon Hai makes so much from Apple), it will cut their stock price, which will in turn cut the livelihoods of those investing. The same goes for Korean investors on the KOSPI, and eventually American investors in the various hyperscalers and semiconductor companies that are running entirely because of the AI bubble.
It all really sucks.
One of OpenAI's "Stargate" data centers (image credit: OpenAI)
Hyperscalers building out data centers have hoovered up so much of the world's memory supply that DRAM prices have roughly doubled this year. Tim Cook has called Apple's recent price increases "unavoidable" – Macs and iPads are already up, and iPhone models are expected to follow soon. It seems the clearest sign yet that the bubble's costs are being passed onto ordinary consumers. If the buildout is as speculative as you say, are people basically paying more for hardware to subsidise data centers that may never turn a profit?
I don't think any of them turn a profit, no.
Hyperscalers have spent over $1 trillion in capex since 2022. If we assume that even half of that is AI data centers, they need to make over $1.5 trillion in brand spanking new profit, not revenue, but actual profit, to justify any of these expenditures.
And yes, we are all paying more for stuff for effectively no reason other than that everybody in big tech has gone insane and wants to build as many data centers as possible. I wrote about this in the Hater's Guide To The Memory Crisis.
The hyperscalers are collectively spending north of $650 billion on AI infrastructure this year, whereas Apple is spending about $14 billion. It's as if Cupertino is treating AI as a commodity by paying Google around a billion a year for Gemini to run Siri and doing what it can on-device. The company was previously said to be dangerously behind on AI. That no longer seems to be the case, but at the same time, is it really more savvy to be renting a dependency on the very companies you say can't survive?
So, I think Apple Intelligence was both the worst and best thing to happen to Apple as far as the AI bubble goes.
It was a mass-radicalization of its users against AI – an attempt to cram a barely-functional series of add-ons that nobody asked for in the most-obtrusive way possible, with summaries that were almost immediately turned into memes and a new Siri that was, somehow, even worse than the old Siri.
And I think that told Apple to pump the brakes. It's barely spent anything on capex. It's barely done anything with AI. Despite headline after headline claiming it's "falling behind," nobody can really explain what it is it's falling behind on or why it matters. People hate Apple Intelligence, and I think Apple knows that, and so they're going to jingle the keys for the markets by putting "AI" on stuff without ever really putting their back into it.
If the bubble deflates the way you expect (write-downs, too much compute supply, possibly OpenAI cratering), can you walk us through what that would actually look like for Apple? Does anything break for iPhone users, or does Apple mostly watch it happen from the sidelines? Could it even benefit Apple?
I think things would look much the same for Apple. I think they will sit on the sidelines and watch everything burn. I could see them doing some choice acquisitions as things begin to collapse, but I could also see them do nothing.
I think Apple is in a very weird place at the moment. The Vision Pro was a dud, but it was also the most interesting and future-forward thing I've seen anyone put out in a while. If they were smart, they'd tread water and sink as much money into making that as small as humanely possible – no matter how long it takes – because the entire AI bubble is a result of everybody running out of hypergrowth ideas, mostly because we're flat out of new interfaces.
I want to be clear that what they want to do with the Vision Pro requires it to basically be weightless and invisible and never need adjustments. When it works, it's genuinely awesome. But that's a load-bearing when. One slight movement means the whole thing goes out of focus. I can't even use mine anymore because it needs an update that requires you to wear the thing the whole time. So much promise, released too early, shoved out the door by a CEO on his way out.
AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss plans for the iPad and Apple Watch will be available starting Tuesday, August 4 in four additional countries, including Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
These plans provide coverage for up to two incidents of theft or loss every 12 months, with each incident subject to a service fee.
AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss was already available for the iPhone in these countries. In the U.K., for example, AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss for an iPhone 17 Pro costs £11.99 per month or £239 upfront. If the iPhone were to be lost or stolen, you would be required to pay an additional service fee of £109 per incident.
The standard AppleCare+ benefits are included with the Theft and Loss plans too, including repairs for accidental damage and 24/7 priority tech support.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
At least briefly, Apple became a $5 trillion company today based on market capitalization, which is the total value of all of the company's outstanding shares.
Starting today, the popular podcast platform 
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