Top Stories: iPhone 17 and iPhone SE 4 Rumors, iOS 18.3 Incoming, and More

Rumors about upcoming Apple hardware updates continue to circulate, with the iPhone 17 lineup, iPhone SE 4, and new Powerbeats Pro all in the news over the past week.

On the software side, the public release of iOS 18.3 and related updates is right around the corner while we got a potential first glimpse at what could be some design tweaks for iOS 19 later this year, so read on below for all the details!

Here’s How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Apple is rumored to be releasing an ultra-thin “iPhone 17 Air” later this year, and one recent rumor claims it could be just 5.5mm thick. To provide an idea of just how thin this would be, we’ve mocked up what such a device would look like compared to the current iPhone 16 Pro Max at 8.25mm and the 13-inch iPad Pro at just 5.1mm.


In other iPhone 17 rumors, an alleged photo of a pair of rear shells for an upcoming iPhone model appeared this week, with the model presumably being the iPhone 17 Air considering it appears to only feature one rear camera. The unique design includes a horizontal bar across the top of the rear shell, so we’ll have to see whether or not this turns out to be accurate.

Here Are Apple’s Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Apple seeded release candidate versions of iOS 18.3 and related updates this week, suggesting a full public release is likely to come next week.


In addition to previously discussed changes around Apple Intelligence notifications summaries, iOS 18.3 brings several other changes including improvements to the visual intelligence feature for the Camera Control on iPhone 16 models.

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored ‘iPhone 16E’ Name

Noted mobile phone leaker Evan Blass this week shared some information indicating near-term updates for the iPhone SE, iPad, and iPad Air, but the most intriguing tidbits relate to the next iPhone SE.


Despite a recent rumor that Apple could call the new model the “iPhone 16E,” code leaked by Blass refers to the device as “iPhone SE (4th Gen).” That could be a placeholder, but it still casts more uncertainty on the 16E naming possibility.

A purported image of the upcoming devices also depicts the fourth-generation iPhone SE as having a Dynamic Island rather than a notch at the top of the display. There have been conflicting rumors about which way the next iPhone SE will go on that front, so we’ll have to wait and see on that one as well.

iOS 19 Rumored to Feature Redesigned Camera App Inspired by visionOS

iOS 19 will feature a redesigned Camera app inspired by visionOS, according to a recent video from Jon Prosser, host of the YouTube channel Front Page Tech.


Prosser obtained video of the alleged new Camera app, but he elected to share his own re-created images to protect his sources. The images reveal that the app will allegedly gain translucent menus for various camera controls, with the design of these menus looking very similar to the visionOS interface on the Apple Vision Pro headset.

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them ‘Imminently’

In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon.


In his Power On newsletter this week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are “due imminently.” In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is planning to hold product briefings with the media “in a week or so” to go over the new features of the wireless earbuds.

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!Tag: Top Stories
This article, “Top Stories: iPhone 17 and iPhone SE 4 Rumors, iOS 18.3 Incoming, and More” first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Related posts

Latest posts

Intel’s Panther Lake chips might not roar until 2026

Intel's next big laptop chip upgrade is expected to arrive by early 2026.

I saw Google’s Gemini AI erase copyright evidence. I am deeply worried

Gemini Flash AI model is removing watermarks from copyright-protected images. I witnessed it in action, and I am worried about the future of fair usage ethics.

Comprehensive Google Pixel 9a leak reveals pretty much everything

The upcoming Pixel 9a has appeared in a review video, detailing its innards and performance, while also giving Google’s mid-ranger a full unboxing treatment.

More RTX 50-series price hikes show scalpers aren’t the only problem

Scalpers aren't the only issue that gamers have to deal with. Now, even the manufacturers are raising GPU prices, leaving their old MSRP far behind.

Europe wants to get in on big tech — here’s why that could be good for everyone

If you're looking for a silver lining in all the current political strife, the "Euro Stack" could be it. More competition for big tech means more choices for us.

Apple might be working on two top secret monitors, and that could be big news for Mac users

Apple could be developing two new monitors, which might be upgrades for the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR. That would be great news for pro Mac users.

Even AMD is surprised by how fast it’s gaining on Nvidia

AMD's most recent GPU launch was widely successful, pushing the company to new heights in terms of market share in Japan.

CPUs to buy instead of the Ryzen 9950X3D

The AMD Ryzen 9950X3D is amazing, but it's out of stock and not for everyone. Here's what you should buy instead.

Apple now sells a two-story AirPower charging stand, but there’s a catch

If you were one of the people eagerly awaiting the launch of the AirPower wireless mat that Apple never actually launched, we have some news that might be music to your ears.  Unfortunately it’s not that Apple has decided to launch the AirPower charging mat after all, but there is a charging device available exclusively […]

Your Google Assistant just lost a bunch of features ahead of the move to Gemini

We’ve only just learned that , and now, it turns out that some features are being quietly retired as a result. Some will be available as part of , but devices that don’t yet have access to Google’s latest AI companion may not have an immediate replacement. Here’s what’s going away. As spotted by 9to5Google, […]