Apple Daily Digest: Price Hikes, OpenAI Legal Battles, and iOS 27 Tweaks — 2026-07-17#

Highlights#

Apple’s ecosystem sees major pricing shifts today as the company increases subscription rates for Apple Music, Apple One, and international iCloud+ plans, alongside a price hike for iPhones in Japan. Meanwhile, the company is intensifying its legal strategy, sending preservation letters to former employees now at OpenAI regarding trade secret theft, while simultaneously entering early settlement talks with the DOJ over an antitrust lawsuit. On the software front, developers and enthusiasts are digging deeper into the iOS 27 beta, uncovering new CarPlay features and an overhauled Recovery Screen.

Top Stories#

• Apple Music Now Costs $11.99 as Apple Increases Subscription Prices: Apple increased the price of Apple Music to $11.99 per month for individuals and bumped the Apple One Family and Premier plans by $2. The company cited rising licensing costs for the Apple Music adjustment, which is the first base increase for the service in nearly four years.
• Apple sends legal letters to former employees now at OpenAI: Following last week’s lawsuit against OpenAI, Apple has sent legal preservation letters to approximately 40 former employees now working at the AI firm. The company suspects trade secret misappropriation regarding hardware engineering and product development may stretch beyond the engineers originally named in the suit.
• Apple and DOJ Hold Early Settlement Talks in iPhone Antitrust Case: Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice are reportedly in early settlement discussions over the landmark 2024 smartphone monopoly lawsuit. Apple has made multiple offers to bring the case to a close, though there is no guarantee an agreement will be reached before a potential trial.
• Apple ordered to remove 8 AI nonconsensual undressing apps from the App Store: Under pressure from the San Francisco City Attorney, Apple is removing several AI “nudify” and face-swapping apps from the App Store and terminating the offending developers’ accounts. These applications violate the App Store’s strict prohibition on generating, distributing, or consuming pornography.
• Apple Raises iPhone Prices in Japan: Apple has raised the prices of the iPhone 16, 17, 17e, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and Air in Japan by up to 11%. This follows last month’s global price increases on Macs and iPads, though today’s iPhone-specific adjustment is likely a response to the Japanese yen’s significant depreciation against the U.S. dollar.

Articles Worth Reading#

iOS 27: Access the New iPhone Recovery Screen The upcoming iOS 27 update introduces a major overhaul to how users interact with a malfunctioning iPhone by removing the limitation that forced users to wait for an automatic recovery drop. Users can now manually boot into a Mac-style Recovery Assistant by holding the side button during startup, with no computer required. The new menu offers straightforward options to update software, erase the device, run diagnostics, or even initiate a nearby device recovery using another close-by Apple product.

The best CarPlay upgrades to try in the iOS 27 public beta While many wait for next-generation CarPlay, iOS 27 brings solid improvements to existing in-car setups, including the integration of Siri AI for better contextual understanding and hands-free control. The update features a persistent “Now Playing” MiniPlayer with an audio scrubber, newly added wallpapers, and behind-the-scenes stability improvements for wireless connections and GPS accuracy. Developers can also now create dedicated video apps for CarPlay, though this will require support from automakers before becoming widely available to drivers.

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features As the September launch approaches, the iPhone 18 Pro is shaping up to be a compelling update with rumors pointing to a smaller Dynamic Island, achieved by moving the Face ID flood illuminator under the screen. Expected hardware upgrades include TSMC’s 2nm A20 Pro chip, a variable aperture on the main 48-megapixel fusion camera, and support for 5G via satellite using a new C2 modem. The devices are also rumored to adopt a simplified pressure-sensitive Camera Control button and feature a new “Dark Cherry” color option.