We"re back with another issue of our "Apple Rewind" monthly roundup series on Apple Inc., talking about all the new launches, speculations, and cool rumors you are waiting to hear. In April, Apple announced its new final boss, celebrated its 50th birthday, and its latest iPhone went to Space to take some pictures. Let"s get started.
You can check out our previous issues of the "Apple Rewind" monthly roundup here.
Cook >>>> Ternus
Apple leadership saw a tectonic shift last month. While many already guessed, the company announced that Tim Cook will retire later this year, on September 1, and that John Ternus will become the new final boss. Ternus has been at Apple for more than two decades, overseeing hardware engineering across iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Mac, Vision Pro, and other categories.
Currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Ternus also played a critical role in the Apple Silicon transition. Meanwhile, Apple has appointed Johny Srouji as the Chief Hardware Officer to assume an expanded role.
You can read about the ten new products Apple is expected to launch after Ternus takes charge.
Apple turns 50
The massive Apple transition came in its birthday month. On April 1, Apple became a 50-year-old multinational behemoth after starting in a garage in Los Altos, California, in 1976. Apple hosted live events at Apple Stores in different cities, invited music legend Paul McCartney to perform, and put old Apple devices on display.
Big Apple Museum
For those who want to dive deep into Apple history, the Netherlands opened the biggest Apple Museum in Europe at The Wall in Utrecht on April 2. Marking the 50th anniversary, it"s a 2000-square-meter space featuring themed rooms that showcase how Apple has transformed technology and product design over the decades.
iPhone in the Space
Some humans went into space last month and looped around the far side of the Moon, becoming the first humans to travel the farthest distance from Earth since Apollo 13. The astronauts kept the excitement high at home by taking iPhone photography to new heights (literally). They sent back photos taken using an iPhone 17 Pro Max, like the one above featuring mission specialist Christina Koch.
Google on Apple
A new official Gemini app for macOS launched in April, allowing you to "see" anything on your screen, whether it"s a document, a design, or a webpage you"re working on. You no longer need to use the clipboard to give contextual awareness to the Google AI chatbot. You can press Option + Space to open a mini overlay from anywhere.
You now have one less excuse to skip your meeting calls, even if you"re in a car. Google Meet is now available for Apple CarPlay, allowing you to join a meeting on the go. Of course, you can only join a Google Meet in audio-only mode and can"t see anything that is being presented.
iPhone 18 rumors
Apple could continue the tradition of launching new colors for flagship iPhones. According to Chinese leaker Ice Universe, we might see the iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max sporting "Dark Cherry" as the flagship color, replacing "Cosmic Orange." While Cosmic Orange is hard to ignore, Dark Cherry is expected to have a relatively muted tone.
Meanwhile, its cheaper sibling is expected to downgrade some components, coming close to the iPhone 18e in terms of specifications. It was reported that Apple"s cost-cutting measures for the iPhone 18 could include changes to the manufacturing process, chip specifications, display, or memory.
iPhone Fold on a diet
Apple"s foldable iPhone might finally see the light of day this year. A recent rumor suggests the passport-style iPhone Fold (aka iPhone Ultra) will be thinner than expected, measuring 9.23mm instead of 9.6mm when folded. The maximum thickness will be along the camera bump, which is said to reach 13mm.
Huawei unveiled the Pura X Max in April as an answer to the upcoming iPhone Ultra (and the Galaxy Wide Fold). It resembles a mini tablet due to its wide foldable design, with a noticeable camera bump.
Upgraded MacBook Neo
Apple"s new budget MacBook Neo took the tech world by storm with its price-to-feature ratio. A recent bit from the rumor mill suggests Apple is planning a beefed-up version of the MacBook Neo, fitted with the A19 Pro chip and 12GB RAM. It was reported that Apple underestimated MacBook Neo"s demand and initially planned to produce around five to six million units.
Look what we got
Last month, Apple showcased its research behind the AirPods Pro 3 at the CHI 2026 conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. The company presented three studies focused on using AI for product design and accessibility, and held hands-on demo sessions for the AirPods Pro 3. One of the papers discusses how multimodal LLMs can help blind users make better use of street-level imagery and descriptions.
Recycling milestone
The Cupertino giant has a broader goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. In an environmental milestone update, Apple shared that 30% of materials used across all products shipped in 2025 came from recycled sources, reportedly the highest it has ever achieved. Apple has transitioned to fully fiber-based packaging for its products, and MacBook Neo is the lowest-carbon MacBook to date.
Sorta affordable
Apple has announced a new option for developers who offer subscriptions on the App Store. They can now offer monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment for their apps as a new payment option. Apple thinks breaking annual payments into small chunks can make subscriptions more affordable for users. The feature will roll out next month worldwide on iOS 26.4 (and later), except in the US and Singapore.
Loophole closed
Apple fixed a vulnerability in its iOS operating system that allowed the FBI to extract messages from the iPhone of a suspect charged with alleged Antifa activities. It was reported that the FBI successfully recovered deleted, encrypted Signal messages without breaking the messaging app"s end-to-end encryption feature or the app itself.
The vulnerability (CVE-2026-28950) was present in Apple"s internal push notification database. Apple has since patched it in the recently released iOS 26.4.2 and iPadOS 26.4.2 updates for the iPhone and iPad.
Spec-tacular...
Apple had a dry season with the Vision Pro headset, but that doesn"t mean it isn"t exploring new roads. Apple is rumored to launch a pair of display-free smart glasses for everyday use to rival Meta. The latest information suggests it"s testing four different designs, including a large rectangular frame similar to Ray-Ban Wayfarers, a slimmer rectangular design like the one worn by Tim Cook, larger oval frames, and a smaller, more refined circular option.
Fake Zoom updates
Microsoft Threat Intelligence joined forces with Apple to fix a major security loophole that enabled credential theft and other sensitive data, like crypto wallets. A sophisticated campaign was carried out to target macOS users, focusing more on social engineering than on exploiting security flaws. Attackers set up recruiter profiles and lured unsuspecting job seekers into downloading fake Zoom updates.
The Outlook app for iOS went down due to an outage. The Redmond giant came forward for damage control and acknowledged the complaints made by users online. It confirmed that a recent change caused the issue and performed a rollback to fix it.
Not your type
Apple quietly made a small but controversial change. It modified the duckhead removable plug on the 140W USB-C Power Adapter included with the 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro/Max. The change was initially spotted on MacBook Pro units in China and Australia at the time of reporting, making accessories such as the Power Adapter Extension Cable and World Travel Adapter Kit incompatible. Apple"s Australian website no longer lists the Power Adapter Extension Cable as compatible with the 140W charger.
Project Indigo
Adobe updated its lesser-known camera app for iPhone with new features and changes. Project Indigo added support for more devices, including the iPhone 17e and iPads with at least 6GB of RAM, noting that the experience is "not yet tuned for iPad operation." The app introduced a new grid view in the filmstrip and new filters, among various features.
Internet from space
Apple is trying to improve the satellite game on iPhone, and its latest partnership with Amazon could bring new benefits. Amazon is set to acquire Globalstar, a satellite communication provider, to boost its LEO initiative. "We’re excited to support Apple users through the Leo D2D system and look forward to working with mobile network partners to help extend coverage to every corner of the planet,” it said.
Formula 1 returns to Apple TV
Formula 1 is getting renewed for another season, and you can catch up on all the action from the Miami Grand Prix on Apple"s streaming service with a confusing name. The races will have English and Spanish commentary and access to up to 30 additional live feeds, including Driver Tracker for a bird"s eye view, session timing, and data feeds, and more.
There is a dedicated playlist on Apple Music (called Formula 1: Sounds of the Circuit) and a comprehensive circuit map with turn numbers, grandstands, and custom-designed 3D landmarks on Apple Maps.
Apple Arcade
Apple will launch Nick Jr. Replay! on May 7 to revisit more than 50 retro titles from the franchise, bringing characters from popular kids" shows like Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues & You!, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomi, and more.
On May 7, Apple will also get the food business simulator Good Pizza, Great Pizza+, the physics puzzler Perchang World, and Ultimate 8 Ball Pool+ for head-to-head pool showdowns with photorealistic graphics.
So, these were some of the biggest updates around Apple from the month of April. There will be more issues of the Apple Rewind series in the following months. You can check out other tech updates in our 7 Days and Microsoft Weekly roundups.
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