Apple is preparing a series of major design and format changes to its lineup of iPhones and potentially other products, in a bid to revive growth after years of largely incremental upgrades, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Starting next year, Apple plans to introduce an iPhone that will be thinner than the approximately 8-millimeter profile of current models, said people familiar with the company’s plans. The model is intended to be cheaper than other Pro models, with a simplified camera system to reduce costs.

The company is also planning two foldable devices, the people said.  A larger device, intended to serve as a laptop, would have a screen that unfolds to be nearly as large as some desktop monitors, at about 19 inches. A smaller model would unfold to a display size that would be larger than an iPhone 16 Pro Max, intended to serves as a foldable iPhone, the people said.

Both foldable designed have been in development for years, but some key parts weren’t ready. Major challenges included improving the hinge, a mechanism that allows the device to fold and unfold, and the display cover, a flexible material protecting the foldable screen.

Engadget reported: The Magic Mouse has gone a long time without any major changes to its design beyond things like dropping the AA batteries and gaining a USB-C port, but Apple is now reportedly planning an overhaul.

In the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports that Apple has started working on prototypes for a more modern version of the Magic Mouse, which was first released way back in 2009.

While some users have loved the Magic Mouse for its gesture controls, other aspects like its nonergonomic design and its underside charging port have been the subject of complaints for years. We don’t know exactly what the redesign will bring, but it’d be great to see those things finally addressed.

According to Gurman, “Apple is looking to create something that’s more relevant, while also fixing longstanding complaints — yes, including the charging port issue.” It could still be a while before we see the new Magic Mouse, though. Gruman notes that it could take another year to 18 months to get it ready for market.

TechCrunch reported: The next big upgrade to Apple’s mobile devices could be foldability, according to multiple reports published Sunday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is aiming to launch two foldable devices in the next few years. There’s a larger model with a 19-inch screen that could compete with desktop monitors, as well as a smaller model that would serve as a foldable iPhone, with a larger screen than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

In my opinion, it appears that Apple is intending on upgrading some of its products. It is unclear when those products will hit the market.

Apple is finally preparing to compete for the smart home market after falling behind Amazon and Google. For years, Apple Inc. has sold the go-to devices for our pockets, wrists, backpacks and desks. But it has struggled to achieve that kind of success in other key areas: the car, the face, and the home, Bloomberg reported.

Apple blew billions on a car project that it shut down earlier this year, and the company’s Vision Pro hasn’t yet provided that a face-worn technology can be a hit. Its home products, meanwhile, have had mixed results. While the HomePod smart speaker and Apple TV set-top box have their fans, both devices trail competitors’ products.

But now the company is setting out to conquer the smart home with an aggressive new strategy: putting Apple screens and software throughout the house in a way that creates an end-to-end experience.

The renewed effort follows years of mediocre performance in this category, with Amazon.com Inc.’s Google taking the lead. One reason Apple has struggled is its focus on making premium products that work in a closed ecosystem. That hasn’t been an effective strategy in the smart home, where consumers want equipment that can work with a wide range of other products.

For Apple’s next slate of home hardware to be successful, it has to support as many accessories as possible — and the company is preparing to do just that. It helped develop a smart home protocol called Matter that allows Amazon, Google, and Apple devices to all play nicely together.

The Wall Street Journal reported Vision Pro is struggling to attract major software-makers to develop apps for the device, a challenge that threatens to slow the progress of the company’s biggest new product in a decade.

New apps released on the Vision Pro every month have slowed since its launch in January. Some of the most successful virtual-reality software developers have so far opted not to build apps for the headset.

Without enough killer apps, certain users have found the device less useful and are opting to sell it.

“It’s a chicken-or-egg problem,” said Bertrand Nepveu, who previously worked on the Vision Pro at Apple and is now an investor in this area at Triptyq Capitol.

Nepevu and app developers think Apple should fund app makers to give them an incentive to port over their existing apps from other headsets or to develop fresh content. This practice has become common in the industry, with headset leader Meta Platforms funding many developers and even buying several app makers.

Many developers are already looking forward to a cheaper version of Apple’s headset, which is expected as soon as next year.

Mashable reported Apple’s Vision Pro headset is incredibly powerful, but also very expensive and quite bulky. The company is reportedly planning to launch a much lighter wearable device — though don’t expect it to arrive very soon.

Apple is also reportedly working on a version of AirPods with cameras. As Mashable previously reported, the idea for the earbuds is to enable new spacial audio experiences, perhaps when combined with the Vision Pro. Both the smart glasses and the AirPods might arrive as early as 2027.

In my opinion, Apple has a wide variety of products that it hopes people will purchase. I don’t think every Apple user is going to buy all of them. 

Europe’s top court ruled against Apple on Tuesday in the tech giant’s 10-year court battle over its tax affairs in Ireland. The case stems back to 2016 when the European Commission ordered Ireland to recover up to 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in back taxes from Apple, CNBC reported.

The European Court of Justice’s decision comes hours after the company unveiled new products to revitalize its iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPod lineups.

Apple shares were down about 1%.

In a statement, the Irish government said that the Apple case “involved an issue that is now of historical relevance only,” adding that its position has always been that it “does not give preferential tax treatment to any companies or taxpayers.”

Apple said in a filing on Tuesday that it will incur a one-time income tax charge of about $10 billion in its fourth fiscal quarter ending Sept. 28, 2024.

Politico reported the European Commission scored a surprise win against Apple that confirmed its €13 billion back-tax bill for one of the world’s richest companies.

The Court of Justice tossed out a lower court judgement that reversed the Commission’s decision that Apple’s tax arrangements with Ireland were illegal.

“Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover,” the Court of Justice said on Tuesday. It stressed that its ruling was the “final judgement in the matter.”

This is a massive win for Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s crusade against “aggressive tax planning,” mostly targeting U.S. multinationals, since previous cases have faltered in the European Union courts.

“It was a win that made me cry because it is very important,” Vestager told a press conference. “It is very important to show European taxpayers that once in a while tax justice can be done.”

The Apple case was part of a slew of probes aimed at how countries like Ireland and Luxembourg offered favorable tax treatment to hook the European headquarters of multinational firms.

ArsTechnica reported Apple has suffered a significant defeat after the EU’s top court ruled that the iPhone maker must pay 13 billion euros in back taxes, overturning an earlier decision in the Big Tech group’s favor.

The ruling relates to a 2016 case when the EU’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager said that Ireland had given the company an illegal sweetheart deal, amounting to a tax rate of less than 1 percent.

The European Court of Justice said on Tuesday in its final ruling that it “confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover.”

A lower court had in 2020 quashed the commission’s order and the ECJ’s decision to overturn that ruling was unexpectedly decisive.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has previously dismissed the commission’s position as “total political crap.” On Tuesday, the company said the EU was “trying to retroactively change the rules and ignore that, as required by international tax law, our income was already subject to taxes in the US.

In my opinion, this situation seems to be a long time coming. Apple might not like the outcome of the European Court of Justice’s decisions.