Public betas, bigger iPad Pro, and AirPower — This Week in Apple

By Malcolm Owen

In this week's roundup, Apple's supply chain is preparing for this year's product updates, as well as rumors about the iPad Pro, and the possibility that AirPower may still exist.

Keep up with the last week of Apple news

Each week, AppleInsider posts tons of stories about Apple, its products, rumors, and information about related vendors and other firms. Our weekend video series "This Week in Apple" condenses down the week's stories into an easy-to-digest video recap.

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Along with a summary of the week, there's insight and analysis about the key events, as well as what may have transpired since the original reports were published. Sources for featured stories are published below, if you want to look into the events in more detail.

Possible new MacBooks, superized iPad Pros, and AirPower beyond the grave

This week's main Apple news revolved around its milestone operating systems coming out this fall. After weeks of the developer betas being out, Apple has finally issued public betas for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8, along with macOS Monterey, giving non-developers their first taste of the new operating systems.

Rumors chiefly concerned the iPad Pro line, with subjects including the product family gaining OLED screens in 2023 to being offered to consumers in larger sizes than the current biggest model, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Some murmurs were also made about the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro, which the supply chain is reportedly gearing up to produce before the end of 2021.

Lastly, while AirPower is officially a canceled project, Apple seemingly can't keep away from the concept. A patent surfacing on July 29 describes how an AirPower-style wireless charging mat could cope with devices moving on it.

While not a clear sign that AirPower is on the way, it does show the lengths Apple went to design the product.

Rumors

News

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