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: iPhone 17 Pro in Sky Blue, iOS and iPadOS 19 productivity upgrades, and more. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.
iPhone 17 Pro could go Sky Blue like MacBook Air
This week, leaker Majin Bu had a lot to share, starting with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
Bu says that while Apple is still working to finalize its color lineup for the 17 Pro line, Sky Blue is emerging as the most likely choice for a new color this year.
My takeaways
Anecdotally, Sky Blue has seemed like a hit among M4 MacBook Air shoppers. While I wouldn’t have expected Apple to debut the same color on the iPhone this year, it’s not at all out of the question.
I’m most interested, however, in what Sky Blue might mean for the rest of the color lineup. Is the gold-like Desert color going away? Or could we see a bigger shakeup of the standard Pro color options, coinciding with the expected reduction of Titanium this year?
iPadOS 19 getting Menu Bar and more
We’ve heard before that Apple plans for iPadOS 19 to bring big productivity improvements to the iPad. Majin Bu shared today what two of those may be:
- Menu bar (like on macOS)
- and ‘Stage Manager 2.0’
Both iPadOS 19 features, per Bu, will be triggered when the iPad detects it’s connected to a hardware keyboard.
My takeaways
I’ve used the iPad Pro as my primary computer for nearly a decade, so iPadOS rumors always pique my interest.
In my view, Apple doesn’t have the best track record with iPadOS productivity features. But these two changes do sound very exciting.
Bringing the menu bar to iPad seems like a no-brainer, and I’m not a fan of the current Stage Manager, so a fresh ‘2.0’ take sounds great to me. My excitement for iPadOS 19 is starting to outpace that of iOS 19. Speaking of…
iOS 19 boosting productivity with external display
Rounding out the trio of Majin Bu rumors this week, he also says that iOS 19 is getting major upgrades to external display support. This includes iPhones with USB-C gaining a “Stage Manager-like interface” when connected to a monitor—presumably with multiple apps running at once.
My takeaways
This change feels like a precursor to next year’s iPhone Fold supporting multitasking on its own, without a display connected. Gaining a large, foldable display won’t matter much if iOS can’t properly support running multiple apps on screen at once.
If that hunch proves true, the stakes are especially high for Apple’s Stage Manager overhaul to actually deliver—not just for the iPad’s sake, but also the iPhone’s.
iPhone 17e in the works already
Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital shared this week that Apple’s supply chain is already preparing for an iPhone 17e to launch next year. Reportedly, the setup of the production line is being planned, with trial production beginning soon.
My takeaways
When Apple discontinued the iPhone SE and launched its new budget model as the iPhone 16e instead, it raised a lot of questions.
One such question involved the plans for future ‘e’ models. And now the answer seems clear.
If an iPhone 17e is coming, I’ll be curious to see what kind of compromises it may bring compared to the base iPhone 17. But perhaps more important for budget-conscious shoppers: will the iPhone 16e stick around at a lower price?
Would you buy a Sky Blue iPhone? What are your takeaways from the other rumors? Let us know in the comments.
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