Tim Cook

Sept. 12 (UPI) — Apple is postponing the release of the latest version of its iPhone in China over regulatory issues related to the company’s eSIM, a digital version of a traditional SIM card used in wireless phones.

China’s three large telecom companies have yet to obtain the necessary approval from the country’s government to sell devices using the eSIM technology.

Apple China’s website has a message that says “release information will be updated later,” for the new iPhone Air.

The California-based tech giant announced this week it would start selling the ultra-thin iPhone Air, as well as the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models, on Sept. 19.

Global pre-orders for the devices began Friday.

The iPhone 17 uses the traditional, physical SIM card that can be removed from the device.

The iPhone Air does not contain the chip, with the eSIM built into the phone.

“It’s eSIM only, and so we were able to take the battery and extend the battery to areas that previously had the physical cell,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said Friday during an interview with CNBC.

The iPhone Air is the company’s thinnest so far, coming in at 0.22 inches.

The base model of the phones is expected to retail for $799.

Sept. 9 (UPI) — Apple debuted its new iPhone 17 during its annual Apple Event on Tuesday, with four new models including the thin iPhone Air, a base model and the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models.

The phones go on sale Sept. 19, with preorders starting Friday.

The event, titled, “Awe Dropping,” showcased the latest versions of its flagship devices.

The Apple Watch 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3 are the company’s latest smartwatches, with Apple launching a new standard smartwatch, and other entry-level and premium wearables. Apple also unveiled new AirPod Pro 3 earbuds.

The base model phone, which has upgraded storage, still starts at $799. The iPhone 17 Pro now costs $1,099, which is a $100 price raise from the iPhone 16 Pro. But the new phone comes with 256GB of storage.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199, the same as last year’s model.

The new iPhone Air debuts at $999. It’s $100 more than the iPhone 16 Plus it replaces in the lineup.

Apple says it made changes to the iPhone 17 Pro to manage the temperature of the device. There’s a new vapor chamber to help dissipate heat and deliver thermal performance.

Apple also launched iOS 26 with a new design, Apple Intelligence capabilities and improvements to apps. The new design is called Liquid Glass, which “makes apps and system experiences more expressive and delightful, bringing greater focus to content while keeping iOS instantly familiar,” Apple said. It will be released Monday.

Apple Intelligence now translates text and audio with Live Translation, helping users communicate across languages in Messages, FaceTime and phone, the company said.

Apple also introduced N1, a new Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. N1 improves the overall performance and reliability of features such as Personal Hotspot and AirDrop, the company said.

The new Apple Watch 11 offers longer battery life, more durable cover glass and 5G cellular capabilities in the thinnest design yet, Apple said. The new watch can notify users of chronic high blood pressure and better sleep insights. The watch has up to 24 hours of battery life and new glass that’s more scratch-resistant.

The new watch OS 26 has Workout Buddy, powered by Apple Intelligence, a wrist flick gesture and new watch faces. The Watch 11 is available for pre-order now and is available Sept. 19.

The new AirPods Pro 3 claims the world’s best in-ear active noise cancellation, removing up to two times more noise than the previous-generation AirPods Pro. The updated design helps AirPods Pro 3 fit better and offers better in-ear stability during activities. The AirPods Pro 3 can now measure heart rate and track over 50 workout types in the Fitness app on the iPhone. They also offer Live Translation. Pre-orders are available and the AirPods will come out Sept. 19.

Apple’s latest product announcements apparently didn’t excite investors. Apple shares were down about 1.5% when the event was over.

During an earnings call in July, Apple chief executive Tim Cook mentioned the company was working on a more personalized Siri, and it is expected to be released next year.

Sept. 4 (UPI) — Several leaders from the tech sector will travel to the White House on Thursday for the fist event in the newly renovated Rose Garden.

Guests expected to attend include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, among more than two dozen other prominent tech and business guests.

Venture capitalist David Sacks, who has served as the White House czar on AI and cryptocurrency, will also be in attendance.

According to a press release, First Lady Melania Trump will host a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education, at which she will speak, alongside Task Force members and leaders from the private AI technology sphere.

President Donald Trump will then lead an event in the Rose Garden with the guests, which will be the first such happening there since it was renovated under the direction of the Trumps.

“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Hill.

“The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio,” he added.

Those in attendance will see changes to the Rose Garden such as pavement over the former grassy space, with umbrella-shaded tables set in similar fashion to patio arrangements found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

One top tech leader not on the guest list is Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who served as an advisor to Trump and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Trump and Musk famously feuded shortly after Musk left working with the government.

Aug. 26 (UPI) — Apple announced Tuesday that it will unveil the iPhone 17 at an event in September that could include notable upgrades to one of the company’s signature gadgets.

The tech giant has been tight-lipped about what to expect about the September 9 event at its Cupertino, Calif., campus. Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a post on X to prepare for an “awe dropping” event that included a glowing image of the company’s logo.

The latest iPhone will include a “super thin” version at 5.5 millimeters thick, making it the thinnest iteration of the device to date, according to MacRumours. Other highlights of the event will include Pro versions of the iPhone, which will have an improved camera and will come in new colors, as well as better noise cancellation for AirPods.

Apple is also expected to update its Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3, reported TechCrunch.

The company previously showcased its iPhone 16 model at its annual hardware event on the same date last year. The model included artificial intelligence and the company also announced its upgraded Apple Watch would include a sleep apnea feature and its AirPod would have clinical-grade hearing aid functions.

Aug. 7 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s sweeping new tariffs on dozens of nations went into effect early Thursday following months of delays and threats from the American leader.

“IT”S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW LOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform announcing the levies were now in effect.

The American president has long relied on tariffs as a punishment, a negotiating tool and a measure to right what he views as negative trade imbalances that the United States has with other countries.

He has described these deficits as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States’ national security and economy.

Under the executive order he signed last week, most countries’ imports to the United States will be subjected to a baseline 10% tariff, which went into effect at midnight Wednesday. Other governments, such as South Korea, the European Union, Britain and Japan, will have more complicated and different tariff rates as they rushed to make deals with the Trump administration ahead of last month’s deadline.

Brazil, for instance is facing a total 50% tariff after Trump slapped a 40% levy against it over the prosecution of his ally, former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

He also raised tariffs to 50% on India on Wednesday over the country’s continued purchase of Russian oil.

Canada, the United States’ closest partner, was hit with a 35% tariff, up from 25%.

On Wednesday, Trump also announced he would be imposing a 100% tariff on semiconductor chips.

According to the nonpartisan Yale Budget Lab think tank, U.S. consumers will face an overall average effective tariff rate of 17.3% — the highest since 1935, during the Great Depression.

The think tanks states that the average per-household income loss will be $2,400 this year. Textiles and clothing will be disproportionally affected by the tariffs, with consumers expected to face 40% higher costs for shoes and 38% higher prices for apparel.

Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation states that Trump’s tariffs could raise $2.1 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years, but will reduce total revenue raised by $1.6 trillion and reduce GDP by 0.8%.

Despite what analysts say, the Trump administration has been bullish on the tariffs, saying they will generate billions for the United States.

During a press conference at the White House with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday, Trump said, “I think we’ll be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs.”

“We have a great country. We have a country that is going to be very rich. It’s a country that we’re very proud of, but it’s going to be very rich,” Trump said.

Trump initially announced the so-called reciprocal tariffs in April but then paused them for all countries but China for 90 days to allow time for the governments to hash out deals with the United States. In July, he delayed them again until Aug. 1. Then a day before the tariffs were to go into effect, he pushed their deadline a week.

Aug. 6 (UPI) — Apple CEO Tim Cook and President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a $100 billion investment plan to shift the tech company’s supply chain to the United States after earlier this year pledging $500 billion over four years.

The final assembly of Apple’s major products, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook, will continue to take place in China and India, Cook said in the Oval Office of the White House. In 2024, Apple generated $390 billion in revenue with 51% from iPhone sales.

This announcement comes as Apple, other countries and foreign nations are bracing for further impact from tariffs. Most reciprocal tariffs take place on Friday with some already in place and a 10% on most trading partners since April.

Ahead of a threatened 100% tariffs on foreign chips and semiconductors, Cook describes an increase in production of those items in the United States.

Trump and Cook announced the launch of the American Manufacturing Program to boost the supply chain to the United States. Apple is working with Corning, Coherent, GlobalWafers America, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, Samsung and Broadcom.

“I’m glad to be here with you today, and I’m very proud to say that today, we’re committing an additional $100 billion to the United States,” Cook told Trump during their White House event.

In the United States, Apple will manufacture the glass covers on all iPhones and Apple Watch devices sold worldwide. Corning, which has made glass products for more than 60 years, will dedicate its entire facility in Harrodsburg, Ky., to the Apple products under a $2.5 billion commitment.

Cook gave Trump some glass made at the plant.

“Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain for the iPhone, and will build the largest and most sophisticated smart glass production line in the world,” Trump said.

Other changes are in the works.

“Apple will also build a 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing facility in Houston, and invest billions of dollars to construct data centers across the country from North Carolina to Iowa to Oregon,” Trump said.

Apple earlier said the Houston server plant will open next year.

In its plan to invest $500 billion in the United States, the company will open a manufacturing academy in Detroit and source rare earth — critical for electronics such as smartphones and TVs — from U.S.-based supplier MP Materials.

Most Apple items are exempt from tariffs, though the company had an $800 million payout in the last quarter from duties and predicts another $1.5 billion in the next three months.

The United States and China are negotiating on a deal with 30% now charged. India has been informed the duty will be 50%.

“Tim Cook is known to be the supply chain genius of technology,” Ted Mortonson, technology sector strategist at financial services company Baird, told CNN. “And I think his whole supply chain team is well aware … before it happens, what the Trump administration is thinking and not thinking.”

With a threatened 100% tariff on all computer chips imported into the United States, Cook said Apple will produce more than 19 billion chips for its products this year in 24 factories in 12 states.

“I’m proud to say that Apple is leading the creation of an end-to-end silicon supply chain right here in America, from design to equipment to wafer production to fabrication to packaging,” Cook said during the event.

Trump on Wednesday said the government is “going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors … But the good news for companies like Apple is, if you’re building in the United States, or have committed to build, without question, committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge.”

Trump had hoped for Apple products to be built in the United States, posting on May 23 on Truth Social: “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”

He changed his tune on Wednesday.

“So I don’t know when it shows up, but there are a lot of factories and a lot of plants that are either under construction or soon we’ll be starting construction,” he said. “So can’t tell you exactly when, but I want to be around in about a year from now and two years from now, because we’re going to see an explosion, I think.”

Ahead of the meeting, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to CNN: “President Trump’s America First economic agenda has secured trillions of dollars in investments that support American jobs and bolster American businesses. Today’s announcement with Apple is another win for our manufacturing industry that will simultaneously help reshore the production of critical components to protect America’s economic and national security.”

Apple shares closed Wednesday with a 5.09% gain to close at $213.25 in it biggest single-day increase this year. Apple shares reached a record $247.10 on Feb. 24 and was down to $172.42 on April 8, before Trump announced a 90-day pause of reciprocal tariffs.

Apple has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion. At one time, Apple had the biggest amount in the United States, but now it is third behind two other tech companies, Nvidia leads with $4.02 trillion and Microsoft at $3.73 trillion.

July 15 (UPI) — Apple announced a $500 million deal with MP Materials for the development of a recycling facility and rare earth magnets to boost production on Tuesday.

The company will buy rare earth magnets created by MP Materials. Both companies will combine on a new recycling line in Mountain Pass, Calif., to meet global demand. Apple said it plans to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next couple of years on advancing manufacturing and next-generation recycling technologies.

“Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States. We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of the American people,” said Apple’s CEO Tim Cook in a press release.

Apple said the deal plans on creating dozens of new jobs and building a new pool of U.S. expertise in magnet manufacturing.

Nearly all magnets in Apple devices are made with recycled rare-earth materials.

“The collaboration with MP Materials will help secure domestic supply of this critical material, strengthen the U.S. rare earth industry’s capabilities to capture more raw material, and advance environmental progress with innovative recycling methods,” Apple said in a press release.