Apple's rumored foldable iPhone "Ultra" is expected to begin mass production at the end of July, according to a new report by The Elec.


Although some recent reports suggested the book-style device could be delayed due to hinge-related issues, the Korean outlet's sources indicate that Apple is still targeting a September launch as planned.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in March that the new foldable iPhone won't ship to customers in the same September timeframe as the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max. A month later, Gurman said that the foldable iPhone remained on track for a September debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models, and that Apple is aiming to put it on sale at roughly the same time or slightly later.

Gurman noted at the time, however, that "the release is six months away and production has yet to ramp up" and "the timing isn't final."

The foldable iPhone will use a foldable 7.8-inch OLED panel supplied by Samsung. The display uses a newer design that eliminates one of the traditional screen layers and instead builds the color-filtering layer directly into the display stack, making the screen thinner, lighter, and more power-efficient.

The hinge will reportedly be supplied by Taiwan's Shin Zu Shing and U.S.-based Amphenol. Both companies are said to be providing hinges manufactured using 3D-printing techniques.

The Elec's latest sources said Apple did encounter some challenges with the hinge during testing. After undergoing durability tests involving millions of folds, the mechanism reportedly began producing slight "noise," while wider-than-expected manufacturing tolerances in parts of the assembly process contributed to higher defect rates. However, most of these issues have since been addressed, according to one Taiwan-based industry source cited by the outlet.

In addition to the inner display, the foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 5.5-inch cover display, as well as Apple's A20 chip and C2 modem, a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID, and two rear cameras, with pricing rumored at around $2,000. Apple's book-style foldable could launch as the "iPhone Ultra," as suggested by reports.
This article, "Foldable iPhone 'Ultra' Set for Production in July Despite Hinge Issues" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple appears to have closed the loophole that let Mac users skip the Siri AI waitlist in the latest macOS 27 Golden Gate beta.


As we covered earlier this month, beta 1 testers can switch on the enhanced version of Siri straight away using a single Terminal command, effectively sidestepping Apple's waitlist.

However, many users who are running the second developer beta of macOS 27, which was released on Monday, are finding that the command does not work for them. Users who enabled Siri AI this way in the original beta are also reporting that they have been kicked back to the waitlist after updating.

Apple has not said anything about the reported change, but one possibility is that the entitlement check that the Terminal command taps into has been switched from a local feature flag to a server-validated state.

Apple could still be building out its server capacity for the redesigned Siri, which is why it is granting access to testers in batches as more comes online. It's likely the reason why the workaround is no longer working for some people.

In any case, if you applied the bypass trick in macOS 27 beta 1 and want to retain access, you probably won't want to update to beta 2.

Some users are suggesting alternative methods involving submitting Apple Intelligence feedback to accelerate approval, but the claims remain anecdotal, and at this point it may just be worth waiting in the queue. Apple appears to be granting access to new beta testers in a matter of days.

Siri AI is now a fully fledged chatbot, and can draw on personal context understanding to search across messages, emails, photos, and more. It can now get things done across apps thanks to even more system-wide app actions.

On Mac, ‌Siri‌ AI is also integrated into Spotlight and available via right-click context menus on any file or window.

Note that Siri AI remains unavailable in the EU on iPhone and iPad, but the limitation does not apply to the Mac.
This article, "Apple Seemingly Killed Siri AI Waitlist Workaround in macOS 27 Beta 2" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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