This digest compiles the latest from Apple Insider.
Today’s Apple Insider Roundup
Very late iPhone Fold display decision could mean fewer scratches than competition
Very late in the engineering process, Apple is reportedly considering using a premium display film for its first foldable iPhone, making it more scratch- and damage-resistant than phones from Samsung and others.
According to a new The Elec report, Apple is considering two different film materials that will sit atop the iPhone’s foldable glass. The film is the component users actually touch, and is there to help prevent damage to the underlying display.
While Samsung uses a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film on its foldable phones, Apple has other plans. It’s reportedly considering using a transparent polyimide (PI) film instead.
Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible
Apple Arcade's 'Civilization VII' is good, but falls short of greatness
Civilization VII arriving on Apple Arcade shows how far Apple’s gaming ambitions have come, and how poorly the service fits games designed to evolve over years rather than ship once and stand still.
Civilization has always been about long, immersive play where you think across centuries. The game rewards long-term planning and punishes short-sighted decisions.
Over the years, each game in the series has evolved through expansions, updates, and overhauls, making growth a key part of its identity. Players now view each release as a starting point rather than the end.
Apple Maps & Apple Ads aren't popular enough for the EU to regulate
The European Union has decided not to add Apple Maps or Apple Ads to list of online services sufficiently large enough to come under the purview of the Digital Markets Act.
When the EU first announced a list of gatekeepers, they included six Big Tech firms, ranging from Apple to ByteDance, then the owner of TikTok. In November 2025, the European Commission began investigating Apple Maps and also Apple Ads, to see if they meet this criteria.
Now according to Reuters, the regulator has decided against designating either service as a gatekeeper.
Low-cost MacBook on track for spring release, and $750 price
While the rumor mill has missed most of its guesses about the MacBook Pro release so far, it apparently feels confident about predictions for a low-cost MacBook coming in the spring.
As we approach the expected spring 2026 release of the low-cost MacBook, the rumor mill accelerates predictions, leaks and outright guess-work about the new unit. Mirror Daily throws its hat into the ring with not just specifications, but also expected order volumes for the unit.
Specs that the publication claims for the unit aren’t particularly revelatory. It assumes the A18 Pro processor will be used in the machine, as is the case with most of the rumors to date.
Rumor Score: 🤯 Likely
How to use filtering in Messages on iOS 26
If your Messages inbox is catching a lot of stray, unwanted messages, we’ll show you how to filter, report, and block spam messages on iOS 26.
At WWDC 2025, Apple announced that it would be bringing enhanced message filtering capabilities to Messages. As promised, they rolled out as part of iOS 26, released in September 2025.
The new features are designed to help manage the onslaught of texts everyone seems to get these days. Here’s how to do it.
Google & Apple CEOs offer seemingly contradictory statements regarding AI partnership
Apple will be using Google technologies to level up Apple Foundation Models, but the details of exactly how are still vague. While speculation is still wild, a true answer is emerging from the noise.
There is one concrete fact that we have about the Apple and Google partnership on artificial intelligence development, and it is that we’re not going to be told more publicly. Apple CEO Tim Cook did say that Apple won’t change its privacy stance while working with Google and indicated that Apple Intelligence and Siri will work on-device and via Private Cloud Compute (PCC).
That statement seems cut and dry on its own, but Google CEO Sundar Pichai and CBO Philipp Schindler shared seemingly contradictory statements during the Google earnings call. They both used the phrase “preferred cloud provider” when discussing Google’s relationship with Apple.
Xreal One Pro review: Fancy smart glasses you can use with your iPhone
The Xreal One Pro isn’t the full smart glasses experience you want, but it does still give you a decent spatial computing experience — assuming you’re fine with a cable snaking down to your pocket.
There have been rumors about Apple introducing its smart eyewear for years, but it still seems like a long time away from becoming a reality. While Apple is taking it’s time — as it always does — on perfecting the form, others have hit the market.
The latest installment from Xreal has arrived, in the form of the Xreal One Pro. Following on from the Xreal One from earlier in 2025, the Xreal One Pro goes a few steps further by upping the game on the display.
iOS 26.3 release candidate references new chips, possibly M5 Max and M5 Ultra
The release candidate build of iOS 26.3 was discovered to contain identifiers for two unreleased Apple chips, which may be the M5 Max and M5 Ultra.
On Wednesday, a week after the release of the third developer beta, Apple deployed the iOS 26.3 release candidate version. While the update itself doesn’t appear to contain any new features, the software includes files that reference unannounced Apple processing hardware.
Given that macOS 26.3 is tied to upcoming MacBook Pro models, as pointed out by AppleInsider in 2025, it’s not surprising that the iOS 26.3 RC contains mentions of the M5 Max chip. The code also references what appears to be the M5 Ultra, a chip that might debut with an upgrade to the Mac Studio.
End of today’s Apple Insider roundup.
