This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: Siri shake-ups, iOS 19 goals, C2 modem, and new Apple displays. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.
Siri shake-ups at Apple
Earlier today, Mark Gurman reported that Apple was making a major change to Siri’s leadership within the company.
Siri will no longer be part of Apple’s AI team with ultimate leadership from John Giannandrea. Instead, Craig Federighi is now the top exec overseeing Siri.
Even more significant, however, is that John Rockwell is being moved out of leading the Vision group to now own day-to-day management of Siri instead. As part of the shake-up, a second key Rockwell veteran is moving to the Siri team—joining Kim Vorrath.
My takeaways
This is a major change for Apple. And while Mike Rockwell might seem like a surprising choice to lead Siri, there have been rumblings that the Vision Pro creator has for years been angling to see Siri fixed.
Perhaps my biggest takeaway, which I’ll flesh out in a separate article, is that Siri finally has the kind of top-tier Apple leader in charge of it that can help it thrive. Rockwell may not have an AI background, but tasking such a major internal leader with management of Siri shows Apple taking the assistant very seriously.
iOS 19 redesign goals
Over the weekend, Mark Gurman reported on Apple’s internal efforts around the new iOS 19 design in his Power On newsletter.
First, Apple’s apparent goals for iOS 19 involve making it “simpler to use, faster to navigate and easier to learn.” It will also need to be ready for upcoming new designs, such as next year’s foldable iPhone, and optimized for an era of AI assistants.
The piece also mentions that “top Apple executives say they are confident that users will love the new look and feel.”
My takeaways
iOS 19 sounds like it’s attempting something very difficult, but also important. It aims to make Apple’s software ready to serve modern and future needs while also offering a fresh level of simplicity and ease for users.
That’s a very risky proposition in my mind, but one that could pay off big if Apple succeeds.
Multiple new displays in the works, not just Studio Display
Mark Gurman wrote recently about Apple having a new Studio Display in the works. It will reportedly launch later this year—likely alongside the M5 MacBook Pro—or else early next year.
But Gurman also added that Apple has a second new display being developed. Its codename is J527 while the expected Studio Display 2 is J427. He writes: “here are two possibilities: Apple is developing both and will choose one to launch, or it’s a second model with a different screen size or set of specifications.”
My takeaways
I’m very much looking forward to grabbing a new Studio Display when it does arrive, but this second monitor in development is especially curious. The simplest answer is that it’s a new Pro Display XDR, but the J527 codename being so similar to that of the Studio Display makes that seem unlikely. I suspect Gurman’s first guess is right, and Apple is still prototyping two different approaches for its next Studio Display but will only launch one.
C2 coming to iPhone 18 Pro models
Analyst Jeff Pu shared this week that he expects Apple’s next generation 5G modem—the C2—to arrive next year.
Rather than launching the C2 in all devices, he believes Apple will include it in the high-end iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.
My takeaways
I’m fairly skeptical of this rumor. Largely because I suspect Pu is basing his belief on a prior Bloomberg report about Apple bringing the C2 to “higher-end iPhones.” There’s nothing in that original report, though, about this happening to the exclusion of other iPhone models.
It’s certainly possible Apple will use its new in-house modems to differentiate iPhone models more than it has before. For example, putting the C1 in the entry iPhone 18, and C2 in the 18 Pro models. But right now, I don’t think we have any solid evidence that’s going to happen. Apple adding the C2 to the full iPhone 18 line seems a safer bet.
What are your takeaways from this week’s Apple rumors? Let us know in the comments.
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