As 2026 begins, Apple is gearing up for one of its most transformative years in recent history, according to ongoing rumors and reports from MacRumors. The company is reportedly preparing to introduce its first foldable iPhone, a significantly upgraded Siri powered by large language models (LLM), and a potential change to its traditional annual iPhone launch cycle. These developments could mark a major evolution in Apple’s product strategy, focusing on innovative form factors, enhanced AI capabilities, and refreshed hardware across multiple lines.

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Apple’s ambitious 2026: Foldable iPhone, much smarter Siri, and a shift in iPhone releases MacDailyNews Jan 2   READ IN APP   As 2026 begins, Apple is gearing up for one of its most transformative years in recent history, according to ongoing rumors and reports from MacRumors. The company is reportedly preparing to introduce its first foldable iPhone, a significantly upgraded Siri powered by large language models (LLM), and a potential change to its traditional annual iPhone launch cycle. These developments could mark a major evolution in Apple’s product strategy, focusing on innovative form factors, enhanced AI capabilities, and refreshed hardware across multiple lines. The Long-Awaited Foldable iPhone One of the most anticipated launches for 2026 is Apple’s entry into the foldable smartphone market with the “iPhone Fold.” Rumors suggest this device will debut in September 2026, featuring a book-style design that unfolds from a compact 5.3-inch external display to a larger 7.6-inch internal screen—similar in size to an iPad mini when open. This represents the biggest form factor change for the iPhone since its original introduction in 2007. To address common issues with foldables, Apple is said to be employing advanced display techniques and a highly durable hinge to minimize the visible crease on the screen. The device is expected to be ultra-thin at around 4.5mm when unfolded, setting it apart from competitors like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series. A 3D mockup based on these rumors has even been created and printed for comparison with current iPhones, highlighting how the closed Fold feels more like a standard everyday phone. This launch aligns with Apple’s redirection of resources from a previously planned foldable iPad (delayed beyond 2026) to prioritize the iPhone Fold’s timely release. A Revamped Siri and iOS 27 Focus on Performance Apple’s AI strategy is poised to pay off in 2026 with the debut of a much smarter, LLM-based Siri. This upgraded virtual assistant is expected to bring advanced capabilities, potentially integrated across devices. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has described the accompanying iOS 27 update as a “Snow Leopard”-style release, emphasizing underlying performance improvements and quality enhancements over flashy new features.Some iOS 27 additions will cater specifically to the foldable iPhone, including interfaces optimized for the larger unfolded screen. Other rumored features, like enhanced Apple Maps via satellite, could work on existing hardware. Potential Change to iPhone Release Schedule Reports indicate Apple may alter its longstanding annual iPhone cadence in 2026. The premium models—iPhone 18 Air, Pro, Pro Max, and the new Fold—are expected to launch in fall 2026 as usual. However, the more affordable standard iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e models could be delayed until early 2027. This split release strategy would be a notable shift, potentially allowing Apple to stagger production and focus resources on the high-end and innovative foldable variant first. Other Expected 2026 Releases Beyond the iPhone spotlight, Apple has a packed lineup rumored for the year: • Mac Updates: Early 2026 could see M5 chip refreshes for the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro (with M5 Pro and M5 Max variants), and possibly a new low-cost MacBook aimed at affordability. • iPads and Accessories: New entry-level iPads, an updated iPad Air, and potentially a HomePod mini or Apple TV refresh. • Smart Home Expansion: Apple is reportedly developing a new home hub device with a display for controlling smart home features, music, video calls, and more, signaling a bigger push into this category. Additionally, a lighter and cheaper “Vision Air” version of the Vision Pro headset is in the works, though details remain sparse. Looking Ahead With these rumors circulating as of early 2026, Apple device and services enthusiasts have much to anticipate. The foldable iPhone and enhanced Siri could redefine user experiences, while the potential scheduling change addresses production complexities for diverse iPhone models. As the year progresses, more details are sure to emerge on what could be a pivotal chapter for Apple. MacDailyNews Take: 2026 is shaping up to be a year roaring success for Apple! And, yes, we still continue to hear Very Good Things about LLM Siri – coming soon! ‎ Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you! Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon. The post Apple’s ambitious 2026: Foldable iPhone, much smarter Siri, and a shift in iPhone releases appeared first on MacDailyNews. Invite your friends and earn rewards If you enjoy MacDailyNews, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe. 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Apple’s ambitious foray into spatial computing with the $3,499 Vision Pro headset has hit significant roadblocks, as the company sharply reduces production and marketing efforts amid disappointing sales.

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Apple slashes Vision Pro production and marketing due to weak sales MacDailyNews Jan 2   READ IN APP   Apple CEO Tim Cook Apple’s ambitious foray into spatial computing with the $3,499 Vision Pro headset has hit significant roadblocks, as the company sharply reduces production and marketing efforts amid disappointing sales. High prices, a limited app ecosystem, comfort complaints, and short battery life have hindered mass adoption, underscoring the challenges of turning cutting-edge mixed-reality hardware into a mainstream success. Michael Acton for Financial Times: ‎ Apple has scaled back manufacturing and marketing efforts around its Vision Pro headset… The company’s Chinese manufacturing partner Luxshare halted production of its “spatial computing” device at the start of last year, according to the market research group International Data Corporation, having shipped 390,000 units in 2024 during the Vision Pro’s launch. Apple has also reduced digital advertising spending for the headset by more than 95 per cent in the year to date in markets including the US and UK, according to market intelligence group Sensor Tower. IDC expects Apple to ship just 45,000 new units of the Vision Pro in the last quarter of 2025 during the crucial Christmas sales period. ‎ MacDailyNews Take: Shocker. [This] is exactly what you’d expect to occur when a product is released too early to average users… Apple Vision Pro is a devkit for developers, not for average users, and should have been released as a devkit for developers. – MacDailyNews, March 26, 2024 As we wrote on March 22nd: There are a lot of people inside and outside of Apple who think the company should have waited on the Vision Pro, but it’s fairly easy today to see why Tim Cook released this beta (alpha?) devkit: He likely knew last year, or had a strong inkling, that Project Titan was a goner and there wasn’t much excitement in Apple’s pipeline. He’d need something to point to as “innovation” while he continued on his seemingly unending quest to iterate and monetize products invented by Steve Jobs’ Apple (a very different place) while continuing Apple’s retail store buildout. He also needed something to energize developers and, who knows, they might come up with a killer visionOS app while Apple toils on the long road to real lightweight spatial computing glasses and beyond. More importantly, Apple last year had already come to the sad realization that they’d missed the generative artificial intelligence revolution and would need a distraction while they feverishly scrambled to catch up (the fruits of which — alongside what sound like disappointing partnerships which hopefully, somehow, preserve user privacy — we’ll hopefully begin to see at WWDC this June). You have to feel for Cook. After a decade plus of being able to iterate and monetize Jobs’ inspired products and services and continue adding retail stores around the world to spectacular effect, and being lauded for it, he now finds himself in a place that requires actual vision to be able to see which path to take. And he’s not the guy. Even the guy who put him in the position knew it. Tim’s not a product person, per se. – Steve Jobs See also: • Contrary to popular belief, Steve Jobs knew about Apple Watch – February 13, 2023 • Work on Apple Vision Pro began under Steve Jobs – August 23, 2023 Beyond the fact that Cook can’t even execute a compelling live keynote address, his big send off, the “Apple Car,” [the idea of which was also germinated under Jobs] fizzled in ignominious failure. See also: • Scrapped Apple Car ‘a massive disappointment that will alter the course of the company’s history, perhaps for decades to come’ – Gurman – March 11, 2024 • Apple employees referred to doomed Apple Car project as ‘The Titanic Disaster’ – February 29, 2024 So, despite myriad misgivings and protestations inside Apple, Cook pulled the trigger early on the Vision Pro. He had to have something to point to that would buy him some time. Even Apple’s rubber-stamping board of lackeys would wake up and start asking questions otherwise. While Cook is hemming and hawing when faced with shareholders (virtually, of course, never again in person for as long as Cook remains), Apple is currently in scramble mode trying to catch up to rivals in generative AI, a technology the company seems to have completely missed while focusing instead on the not-ready-for-primetime Apple Vision Pro, visionOS, its now-canceled decade-long multi-billion-dollar electric vehicle boondoggle, replacing leather in iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands with overpriced junk in a quest to “save the planet,” forcing employees to endure a constant barrage of time-wasting zero-productivity DEI sessions, and myriad other various and sundry “initiatives” which Cook deems of import. – MacDailyNews, February 28, 2024 When you lose your visionary CEO and replace him with a caretaker CEO, this is the type of aimless, late, bureaucratic dithering that ensues. – MacDailyNews, November 21, 2017 ‎ Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you! Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon. The post Apple slashes Vision Pro production and marketing due to weak sales appeared first on MacDailyNews. You're currently a free subscriber to MacDailyNews. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2026 MacDailyNews 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe