Foldable iPhone rumors, Apple 50

0:00Welcome to 9-5 Mac Daily 4 Thursday, March 12th, 2026. I'm your host Chance Miller. We are supported this week by Cardpointers. Leading off today, Apple this week rolled out iOS 26.4 beta 4, and it includes a number of brand new emoji for iPhone users. Every year a group called the Unicode Consortium votes to approve a new batch of emoji that will later be added to the iPhone, as well as other platforms like Android and Windows. The iOS 26 batch of new emoji were officially approved last summer, and they're finally being added to the iPhone with iOS 26.4. The new emoji include ballet dancers, distorted face, fight cloud, hairy creature, landslide, orca, trombone, and treasure chest. Even though Apple Intelligence enables iPhone users to create their own gin emoji, these new official emoji are important additions because they join the cross-platform standard.

1:00So once iOS 26.4 and other compatible updates ship, you'll be able to send and receive these emoji easily across all of your favorite messaging platforms. You can get a closer look at these emoji at the link in the show notes below. Next of today, a pair of new rumors about the iPhone 18 Pro outline what to expect from the design, the dimensions, and more. The 18 Pro is only about six months away, and the latest rumors introduce some clarity, but also some fresh ambiguity into Apple's plans. From a design perspective, we've been expecting several changes, including a thicker design for a larger battery, a dynamic island that's about 35% smaller, and new colors. A new post this week specifies that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be 8.8mm thick. For context, the 17 Pro Max is 8.75mm thick, and the 16 Pro Max was 8.25mm thick. So the increase here is pretty small, especially compared to the increase from the 16 Pro Max

2:04to the 17 Pro Max. A separate report also says that Apple is considering reusing some of the production molds from the iPhone 17 Pro for the iPhone 18 Pro. If this happens, it means that face ID components that were expected to move under the display could actually remain unchanged. As a result, the dynamic island might not actually be smaller as we initially expected. Otherwise the iPhone 18 Pro is still expected to have an 820 Pro chip built with a new 2 nanometer process, a larger battery that's over 5,000 milliamp hours, and a variable camera aperture. Meanwhile, Bloomberg SmartGerman has new information about how the iPhone Fold will work from a software's perspective. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone Fold alongside the iPhone 18 Pro in September, and of course it will run iOS 27, a software update that will focus heavily on new software features to accommodate the folding iPhone form factor.

3:07German reiterates that the iPhone Fold will feature an interior foldable display, roughly the size of an iPad Mini. There will also be an external display that's about the size of an iPhone Mini. German says there are two benefits to Apple's foldable design, which is expected to have a wider aspect ratio compared to existing foldable smartphones. First is for watching video, which again will be made a lot more enjoyable by the wider aspect ratio, for more immersive experience compared to other foldables, and second is adapting existing iPhone apps for the new device. German says Apple is developing new iOS app layouts, and revamping its core iPhone apps to add sidebars along the left edge of the screen, similar to many of its iPad apps. Developers will also be able to adapt their iPhone software for the new interface, which will use proportions similar to an iPad in landscape mode. While the foldable iPhone won't be able to run several app windows at once like an iPad,

4:09and it also won't be able to actually run iPad apps, it will be able to show two iPhone apps side by side. In short, during development, Apple concluded that the two biggest shortcomings of current foldable phones were the narrow internal displays that affected video playback and the visible crease, the line that can be seen when the device is unfolded. So with those hardware optimizations and the robust software support, Apple thinks that it can set the iPhone fold apart from other foldable smartphones, some of which have been on the market for years at this point. We're sponsored this week by Cardpointers, the best way to earn more from your credit cards every day. Cardpointers shows you in-depth details about rewards and offers for each of your cards. Most cardpointers users save more than $750 per year with these recommendations. Cardpointers is available on all of Apple's platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. 9 to 5 Mac daily listeners can exclusively save 30% and get a $100 savings card by

5:15hitting the link in the show notes. My thanks to cardpointers for their support of the show. Running out today, Apple's 50th anniversary is next month on April 1, and Apple is already getting into the spirit. Apple CEO Tim Cook published a new letter on Apple's website today looking back on Apple's history. He said, quote, April 1 marks 50 years of Apple from the first Apple computer to the Mac from the iPod to the iPhone, the iPad to Apple Watch and AirPods, as well as the services we use every day. We've spent five decades rethinking what's possible and putting powerful tools into people's hands. Through every breakthrough, one idea has guided us, that the world is moved forward by people who think different, end quote. Elsewhere in the letter, he said, quote, at Apple were more focused on building tomorrow than remembering yesterday. But we couldn't let this milestone pass without thanking the millions of people who make Apple what it is today. Our incredible teams around the world, our developer

6:19community and every customer who has joined us on this journey. Your trust drives us to do better, and your stories remind us all we can accomplish when we think different. End quote. Interpress release, Apple also teased that in the coming weeks, it and its global community will celebrate the company's 50th anniversary to recognize the creativity, innovation, and impact that people around the world have made possible with Apple technology. There ups up another episode and another week of 95 Mac daily. As you might be able to tell by the sound of my voice, I am very under the weather, so I'm going to take tomorrow off to recharge ahead of a full week of Apple news next week. In the meantime, you can find all of the latest Apple news on 95Mac.com, follow along with me on threads at Chance H. Miller, and we'll be back on Monday for a new week of Apple news.