Top Stories: iOS 19 Compatibility, Top 5 Apple Products for 2025, and More

It's shaping up to be a busy 2025 for Apple, with a number of rumors and articles this week highlighting some of what we can expect.

While the unveiling of iOS 19 is still over five months away, we're already hearing about which devices are likely to support it, while in the much nearer term Apple is currently preparing an iOS 18.2.1 bug fix update that should be released very shortly. This week we also took a look at the top five new Apple products we're expecting to see in 2025, plus we're hearing rumors about timing for the first 2025 product launches and beyond, so read on for all the details!

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

According to a report from French website iPhoneSoft.fr, all iPhone models that are compatible with iOS 18 will also support iOS 19, meaning that devices all the way back to the iPhone XS/XR and second-generation iPhone SE will be able to run the next major update of iOS coming next year, though certain features will undoubtedly be limited to more recent models.

The report also claims the vast majority of iPad models compatible with iPadOS 18 will similarly be able to run iPadOS 19, with the exception of the seventh-generation iPad that was released in September 2019 and discontinued a year later.

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more.

As a look ahead to the new year, we've highlighted the top five Apple products that we believe will have the biggest impact in 2025.

iOS 18.2.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhone

iOS 18.2 was released to the public several weeks ago while iOS 18.3 remains in beta testing, so Apple is currently preparing an interim iOS 18.2.1 update that will be able to deliver security patches and perhaps some bug fixes before iOS 18.3 is ready for release.

We've seen signs of iOS 18.2.1 in our own web analytics, while a reliable source has even leaked the exact build number we should expect for the update.

New MacBook Air Models With M4 Chip Expected to Launch 'Earlier' Than iPhone SE 4 and iPad 11

We're expecting three significant new Apple products in the first part of 2025, but it looks like they won't all be arriving simultaneously.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, MacBook Air models based on the M4 chip should arrive first, while the fourth-generation iPhone SE and the eleventh-generation iPad will come a bit later.

Macs With M5 Chips Expected to Launch in This Order

Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this week outlined mass production timing for the M5 series of chips, which he expects to be used in both future Macs and Apple Intelligence servers. The rollout will likely begin next year.

Kuo expects the standard M5 chip to enter mass production in the first half of 2025, followed by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in the second half of the year. Then, he expects the M5 Ultra chip to enter mass production in 2026.

iPhone Sizes Change Next Year: What to Know

This year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and next year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup.

The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max won't be getting any bigger, so they'll be sticking with the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays found on the current Pro models. But the regular iPhone 17 should be matching its Pro sibling, up from the current 6.1-inch display on the iPhone 16.

Meanwhile, the Plus model will reportedly be replaced by an entirely new model, informally dubbed the iPhone 17 Air. This ultra-thin model will reportedly have a display measuring around 6.6 inches.

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