More iPhone 13 rumors and colorful MacBook Airs, oh my!
Ah, another week has come and gone, and this week we got some exciting new things in the rumor mill, so let’s dive in.
As we all know, Apple will be unveiling the iPhone 13 sometime in the fall. But we have some exciting rumors this week revolving around the notch and camera bumps. The first rumor is that the iPhone 13 will be thicker with a bigger camera bump. Though I’m not ecstatic about the possibility of an even bigger camera bump, I would be excited to see the camera improvements that Apple brings to the table. As someone who doesn’t own a standalone digital camera, I pretty much rely on my iPhone for taking pictures of everything, from my dog to spontaneous moments with friends and family, and even for product photos here at iMore.
Again, I’m not a big fan of the bump in general, but if it means potentially having a bigger and better sensor to allow for more light, with more megapixels, or any other improvements, I’m all game. I always end up putting a case on my iPhone anyway because I’m just super clumsy and don’t trust myself with a naked iPhone, so it ends up being flush anyways. However, for those who don’t like cases, I would like to see Apple make the iPhone a little thicker, so the bump doesn’t need to exist, and everything can be flush, as it was supposed to be. C’mon, Apple, please? I mean, a thicker body could also mean slightly more battery life too, right?
The other rumor floating around is Apple going with a smaller Face ID chip, which could mean a smaller, narrower notch. I’ve had a strong dislike of the notch ever since it was introduced with the iPhone X, and while I’ve grown accustomed to it at this point, I do wish it would be narrower. If this rumor is true, then we could possibly see that this year. I mean, who wouldn’t want the notch to shrink a little? I would love to regain that space back to display important iPhone status icons or even show the battery percentage all the time, rather than only seeing it in Control Center.
As we talked about on the iMore Show this week, Joe Keller would like the notch to not just shrink by becoming more narrow but be shorter in height. This would make the notch much less obtrusive or noticeable when it comes to watching videos or even playing games, which I would also agree on. Either way, the notch in its current state is just a little much — it’s time for it to shrink. Or let’s go one step further and have it behind the screen, and let’s have an under-screen Touch ID sensor, too, while we’re at it.
In other news, leaker Jon Prosser made some renders of what the next MacBook Air could look like. The classic wedge shape could be no more; instead, going with a more Pro-like design with flat, symmetrical edges. The renders also show pastel colors like the iMac, a white keyboard with a physical Touch ID button like the new Magic Keyboards, and a thinner, white bezel. And they may come with the next-gen M-series chip, dubbed M2.
Honestly? I kind of dig these colorful new MacBook Airs, though I’m not too big on the white bezel part. The white keyboard looks nice with the lighter, pastel colors, and the removal of the wedge means a more uniform look across all of Apple’s products, like the iPhone 12, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, and the new iMacs. If these renders do end up being what Apple comes out with later this year, I would be very tempted to pick one up, either in pink or mint green. Either way, very exciting to see what the next MacBook Air (or MacBook?) could give us.
And with WWDC 2021 just weeks away, I’m super excited to see what iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 have in store. I already talked about some of the features I”m hoping to see in iOS 15, but one of the biggest things I want is better customization. I’m talking an easier way to set custom app icons directly from the app itself (complete with badges), theming, and letting us put widgets anywhere on an iPad Home screen.
I am also eager to see if Apple will be giving iPadOS 15 a major overhaul since the new iPad Pros are packing an M1 chip inside. After all, that just seems like a story half told — we’ll need to wait until what Apple announces in a few weeks to get the whole story.
That about wraps it up for this week. A lot of exciting stuff is coming, and I definitely can’t wait to see what else WWDC 2021 will bring. Anyways, until next week, folks!
- Christine Romero-Chan
