This week, Apple filed for the Figurative Trademark for Apple A18 chip. What is Apple Inc.'s A18 chip?

The Apple A18 is a 3 nm, ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., introduced in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. This chip features a six-core CPU (with two high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores), a five-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

Here's a bit more detail:

• CPU Performance: It's up to 30% faster in CPU performance compared to the iPhone 15 with the A16 chip and 50% faster than the A15 chip.
• Energy Efficiency: The A18 chip delivers the same performance as the A16 chip, but at 30% less power consumption.
• GPU Performance: The five-core GPU provides up to 40% better GPU performance compared to the A16 chip, while consuming at least 35% less power.
• Special Features: It also has hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading support, improving graphics rendering and realistic textures in games.

The A18 comes in two variants, with the A18 Pro offering a sixth GPU core and greater overall speed. Both variants are also built using a second-generation 3 nm process by TSMC.

Today, Apple release a formal press release about TikTok and more as presented in-part below.

About availability of TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. apps in the United States

TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. apps are no longer available in the United States, and visitors to the United States might have limited access to features.

Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates. Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries — including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, and others — will no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store for users in the United States starting January 19, 2025.

The following are some of the apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries that are affected:

• TikTok
• TikTok Studio
• TikTok Shop Seller Center
• CapCut
• Lemon8
• Hypic
• Lark - Team Collaboration
• Lark - Rooms Display
• Lark Rooms Controller
• Gauth: AI Study Companion
• MARVEL SNAP

Apple-TikTok: If you live in the United States

If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device. But they can’t be redownloaded if deleted or restored if you move to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible.

Users in the United States won’t receive updates for these apps, which could potentially impact performance, security, and compatibility with future versions of iOS and iPadOS, and some app functions might become limited or stop working since the app can’t receive updates.

Also in Apple news this morning

Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter noted today that Apple's newly designed Mail app will soon be available on the Mac platform with the macOS 15.4 update. This Mail app was originally launched on the iPhone with iOS 18.2 in December last year , but has not yet appeared on other Apple devices.

It's expected that the macOS 15.4 version will enter the testing phase in the next few weeks and will be officially released in April , when Mac users will be able to experience this upgraded Mail app. The biggest highlight of the new app is its AI function, which can intelligently prioritize emails and classify the content into different inboxes. Currently, this feature is only available to iPhone users, while Mac users have not been able to experience it. Gurman said: "This situation will change with the release of macOS 15.4."

The new version of the Mail app will automatically classify emails into different categories such as main inbox, offers, promotions, updates, and all emails, helping users manage emails more efficiently.

As for the iPhone SE 4 (or whatever they brand it), rumors have point to March or April time frame for release. The new entry-level iPhone could be the first iPhone to introduce Apple's own home grown 5G modem.  Gurman commented that Apple's inventory for the iPhone SE 3 is running low, which is usually a sign that Apple is nearing it's debut of the new iPhone SE 4.

Lastly, Gurman notes that Apple plans to update their Magic Keyboards for the new 11" and 13" iPad Air models are coming in the not-too-distant future.