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on July 24, 2026

Apple Loop: iPhone Price Rises, 2027 Mac Plans, Apple Finally Patches Email Flaw

Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from across the Apple world, including the iPhone 18 Pro super cycle, leasing your next iPhone, Japanese prices rise, 2027’s Mac plans, iOS 27 differences, fixing the Hide My Email flaw, and exploring the UI of the Macintosh 128K.

Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro’s Super Cycle Release Plans

The launch of Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro will be accompanied by a renewed push on AI. Both Apple Intelligence as a whole and Siri AI specifically are taking significant steps towards matching the AI prowess of the Android-powered competition. Apple will be hoping that this triggers a super-cycle of upgrades as consumers move early for the new technology that’s only available on the new iPhones, as I laid out earlier this week:

"AI is seen as a necessity for smartphones in 2026. To get it, you’ll need to hit 12 GB of RAM and use the latest Apple Silicon chipsets. And that means, in the short-term, you’re going to look for the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max. The faithful Apple community, finally seeing a workable AI solution to rival Android, knows what to do and when to buy."

Apple Set To Offer Lease Arrangements For Your Next iPhone

Bloomberg reports on a new leasing program for Apple hardware. Expected to launch before the end of July, Apple Upgrade is a partnership with Klarna. The suggestion is that a lease arrangement will be cheaper than standard financing and will offer flexibility for consumers at the end of the program on "what happens next” with the hardware.

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With smartphone prices on the rise in 2026, and the upwards trend set to continue, an Apple leasing program would bring the more expensive premium handsets within easy reach of customers. The iPhone 18 Pro is expected to see a $100-$200 price rise over the iPhone 17 Pro when it is launched in September, no doubt the leasing offer will be in place by then:

"The Apple Upgrade service will work like a subscription and users can pay off the device early during their term, upgrade early to a new model or keep it at the end of the leasing period. In certain cases, those transactions will incur an additional fee. Like a car lease, it can also be returned at the end of the term.

"Leases for iPhones and Apple Watches will run for 24 months, while Mac and iPad plans will run for 36 months. Users will need to be approved for the program via a soft credit check."

Apple Raises Japanese iPhone Prices

Following price rises on its Mac and iPad lines due to ongoing supply issues with memory and storage driven by the rapacious demands of AI, Apple is raising prices on existing iPhones. As expected, Japanese prices have risen. Although the culprit may be the financial markets, many will take this as further evidence of an AI squeeze on components. Joe Rossignol reports:

“The iPhone 16, iPhone 17e, iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max all received price increases on Apple's online store in Japan today. Prices increased by up to 11%. Apple attributed the Mac and iPad price increases last month to the ongoing memory chip shortage, which has driven up chip prices. In this case, however, the increases are likely due to the Japanese yen's depreciation against the U.S. dollar over the past year.

2027’s Extensive Mac Plans

Apple plans to refresh every Mac model in its portfolio over the next year, starting in Q4 2026. Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg on which models can be expected when. Apple is working hard to get a cadence to the MacBook models, but it’s the irregular update to the Mac Mini and Mac Studio models that many will be watching for with keen interest:

"Apple also has plans for new Mac mini and Mac Studio models with upgraded chips. The Mac mini in testing uses M5 Pro and M6 processors, while the Mac Studio has the M5 Max and M5 Ultra. But the timing of those machines — and the planned chip and memory configurations — hinge on the state of memory-chip supplies.

How iOS 27 Will Make A Difference

The public beta of iOS 27 continues to showcase the new features we’ll see in the iPhone 18 Pro family, as well as in the existing portfolio when upgraded to the new software. There are small improvements across the board, and Juili Clover has picked out their Top Ten for MacRumors, including faster app launching:

"Apps launch up to 30 percent faster in ‌iOS 27‌, and that includes Apple's own apps and third-party apps. When you're opening apps dozens of times a day, less loading time adds up and makes the system feel faster. Apple says it tested the app launching speed improvements using an iPhone 11 Pro Max running iOS 26.4.2 and ‌iOS 27‌."

How The Hide My Email Flaw Was Patched

Following 404 Media's disclosure of a security issue with the Hide My Email feature that could expose a user’s real email address, Apple has patched the vulnerability. Joseph Cox goes into detail on 404’s reporting of the flaw, approaches made to Apple, and the eventual outcome:

"Apple only fixed the vulnerability after 404 Media wrote about it at the start of July, despite Apple knowing about the issue for more than a year… On Wednesday Apple told 404 Media it deployed a patch for the issue on July 3, which the company says has fully resolved the issue."

And Finally...

Design Docs’ latest feature looks at Susan Kare and her work, the design and implementation of the UI for the Macintosh 128K. The full half-hour documentary is available on YouTube:

"Hired into the Macintosh software group in 1983 as its only graphic designer, Kare drew the Happy Mac, the trash can, the paintbrush, and the looped-square Command symbol still printed on every Mac keyboard. She named her typefaces after world cities at Steve Jobs's insistence, and one of them, Chicago, ran on the Mac and the first iPods for two decades."

Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.

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