Ads are coming to Apple Maps soon in the US and Canada, and today businesses can start booking their own ads. Here are the details, including a limited-time promotional offer for businesses.

Ads are coming to Apple Maps soon in the US and Canada, and today businesses can start booking their own ads. Here are the details, including a limited-time promotional offer for businesses.

When SpaceX isn’t landing rockets, it’s apparently landing AI company deals. In February, the firm behind Starlink absorbed xAI, which includes Twitter-turned-X. In April, SpaceX inked a deal with Cursor, a competitor to Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. As of August 14, the purchase has been completed. SpaceXAI, as it’s now called, also recently released Grok Bot and Grok 4.6 models with the help of Cursor.

When SpaceX isn’t landing rockets, it’s apparently landing AI company deals. In February, the firm behind Starlink absorbed xAI, which includes Twitter-turned-X. In April, SpaceX inked a deal with Cursor, a competitor to Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. As of August 14, the purchase has been completed. SpaceXAI, as it’s now called, also recently released Grok Bot and Grok 4.6 models with the help of Cursor.

Overcast developer Marco Arment just launched a brand-new app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Called Unforgetful, the new task-management app is built for people who struggle to keep reminders from slipping through the cracks. Unforgetful is designed around persistent notifications, flexible snoozing, and a deliberately simple interface.

Apple One is getting better in iOS 27, with subscribers set to benefit from new features coming to bundled Apple services like iCloud+ and Apple Music. Here’s what’s new.

This AI-powered dictation app turns natural speech into polished writing on Mac, iPhone and more. Save on lifetime access to Contextli.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

In a significant strategic shift, Apple has trained its own large language model tailored specifically for the Chinese market, working closely with Alibaba, Reuters reports citing sources familiar with the matter. The move marks a departure from the company’s previous approach of relying primarily on third-party Chinese models to power generative AI features on devices sold in the country.

The China-specific model was developed with Alibaba’s technical support, the sources said. This gives Apple greater control over the AI experience on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Vision Pro devices in its most important overseas market, where it has faced intensifying competition from local rivals like Huawei that have aggressively rolled out AI-powered handsets.

Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of AI tools, is expected to launch in China in the coming months following an iOS update. The self-trained model would operate alongside third-party systems, including Alibaba’s Qwen, which is set to be incorporated into the China version of Apple Intelligence. Technology from Baidu is also expected to play a role.

This dual-track approach is highly unusual for a foreign company operating in China. It allows Apple to navigate the country’s strict regulatory environment while offering a proprietary AI model—the first such approval for a foreign firm by Beijing, according to the reporting. The Cyberspace Administration of China registered Apple’s generative AI service last month, clearing a key hurdle after a lengthy review process.

China remains a critical revenue market for Apple. The absence of advanced AI features on Chinese iPhones has been cited as a factor weighing on sales, as consumers have increasingly favored domestic brands offering built-in AI assistants. Apple first publicly confirmed its partnership with Alibaba in early 2025, when Alibaba’s chairman Joe Tsai noted that Apple had evaluated multiple Chinese companies before selecting Alibaba. The rollout faced delays as Apple adapted its features to meet local regulations.

Last week, Apple briefly published a Chinese-language guide explaining how Mac users in mainland China could connect Alibaba’s Qwen to Siri and Writing Tools, before later removing the document without explanation. The partnership has already drawn investor interest: Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares rose notably after news of the regulatory registration in July.

While details remain limited on exactly how Apple’s own model will interact with Qwen and other systems, the development underscores Apple’s determination to close the AI gap in China. In an era of heightened U.S.-China tech tensions, the collaboration stands out as a rare example of cross-border cooperation in the highly sensitive field of artificial intelligence.

MacDailyNews Take: Details on exactly how Apple’s proprietary model will play with Qwen and the rest are still scarce, but, Apple is methodically closing the AI gap in China the only way that matters: by taking control. This is Apple doing what Apple does best: quietly outmaneuvering everyone, owning the experience on its devices, and positioning itself to leave Huawei and the rest sucking Cupertino dust. Wait until Wall Street finally figures it out.

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I fully acknowledge that my DIY iPhone camera mod looks exceedingly silly – but it’s actually made my iPhone photography more practical and more enjoyable.

It was initially something I came up with to solve a problem for one particular video shoot, but I’ve actually found myself using it a surprising number of times …

We are weeks away from the unveiling of what is likely to be called the iPhone Ultra, Apple’s first major change tot he iPhone form factor in ages and first folding phone ever. We’ve got our video product Adam Patrick Murray (who fans of The Full Nerd will recognize) filling in for Roman on vacation, and he’s the perfect match because he’s been a fan of, and using, folding Android phones for years now.

While on the topic of advanced new iPhones, we bring up the 20th Anniversary iPhone expected to release next fall, when the iPhone turns 20. A financial analyst reported that the project had been cancelled, and a day later Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (the most reliable source for unannounced Apple products) published an article to specifically refute that, saying it’s still on track.

We answer a few reader emails, too.

Watch episode 995 on YouTube

Listen to episode 995 on Apple Podcasts

Tune in to episode 995 on Spotify

Get info 

Click on the links below for more info on what was discussed on the show. 

iPhone Ultra: Apple’s first folding iPhone design, display, and release rumors

The 20th anniversary all-glass iPhone might not happen after all

Reports of the 20th anniversary iPhone’s death seem to be greatly exaggerated

Comment Corner

I’ve noticed on the show that you’ve mentioned a couple of times that you can’t develop apps on an iPad. That’s not quite right! The Swift Playgrounds app lets you create apps and share them on the App Store.

Carlos Sola

It’s interesting that the 7” home hub is supposed to recognize and adapt to faces when Apple still refuses to allow multiple account on iPads. Do you think this will be specific to the “HomeHubOS” or do you think Apple will roll out multiple accounts to iPadOS as well?

Regarding Apple Home, the answer to 90% of the home automation problems discussed is Home Assistant.

Doug

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Apple

iOS 27 includes lots of useful improvements and tweaks to the Camera and Photos experience, and several of them revolve around making it easier to organize and find your big library of images.

One of the ways Apple is taking care of a common issue is in producing still images from videos. Prior to iOS 27, you’d have to use a special application or just freeze your video at the right spot and take a screenshot. But screenshots of videos are fraught with problems. The resolution is lower; you’ll see on-screen interface elements; black bars are shown; the format is PNG instead of HEIF; and the metadata classifies the image as a screenshot instead of a photo.

With iOS 27, Apple lets you save any frame from a video in your Photos collection as a new image in just a few taps. Here’s how.

In the Photos app, open one of your videos.

Use the seek bar to advance to the part of the video you wish to save as an image, and pause.

Tap the tree-dot (…) menu in the upper right.

Select Save Video Frame as Photo.

Foundry

This also works in the edit menu, when you’re trimming the ends of your video, cropping it, or adjusting colors. Just choose the three-dot menu, as before.

Note that this new image will be in a normal photo format (HEIF or JPG, depending on your settings) rather than PNG like a screenshot. It will be the full resolution of your video. And it will inherit metadata from the original video, including date and location.

This means your new photo won’t appear at the bottom of your photo library with your most recent images. You’ll have to scroll back to the date of your video to find the image you created.

Since it first launched around a decade ago, the Apple Watch’s exterior design has largely stayed the same. Sure, we got larger displays, thinner bezels, and a slimmer body, but the overall look today still resembles that of the Apple Watch Series 0. Many online users, in fact, have voiced their frustration over the smartwatch’s slow evolution, with some even suggesting that Apple should spice things up and switch to a circular design.

Be careful what you wish for. According to a recent report, Apple has internally explored several new designs, including a round model like the Pixel or Galaxy watches. While thinking differently to fuel innovation is always welcome, a round Apple Watch will almost certainly remain an unreleased prototype buried in a secret Cupertino basement. It just doesn’t work.

It’s not actually a watch

Let me start with a potentially controversial statement: the Apple Watch is not actually a watch; it’s a miniature computer strapped to our wrists. While, yes, it was inspired by analog watches and can tell the time, its purpose and the technology it packs transcend that traditional formula.

Mechanical timepieces typically come in circular designs to match the standard clock layout, but that’s not applicable to Apple Watches (or digital watches in general). You don’t hear people complaining about vintage Casio digital watches for having squarish designs. Just because a wearable sits on our wrists doesn’t mean it has to look the same as a traditional wristwatch. It’s okay to break free from archaic concepts when they become irrelevant.

All your other computing devices are rectangular. Why should the Apple Watch be any dfifferent?

Mahmoud Itani / Foundry

Back to the mini computer. Today, we’re surrounded by all sorts of computing machines. We’ve got laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, smart fridge displays, car infotainment systems, and so on. The vast majority of these displays are rectangular because we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the most intuitive form factor for computer screens. The Apple Watch is no different.

I’ve used round Android smartwatches, and they’re a nightmare to operate. The way text moves along the circle’s curved edges when scrolling makes reading messages deeply challenging, and the entire user experience is wonky. You wouldn’t want to use a round iPhone, let alone a round version of a much smaller accessory with limited screen real estate like a smartwatch.

Corners are more important than you’d think

Beyond the unintuitive UI/UX, adopting a round Apple Watch would come with hardware compromises.

Switching from a square to a circle while maintaining the same width/diameter would decrease the overall area by around 20%. The battery would have to shrink, along with the space that houses the smartwatch’s advanced sensors and health monitors. While they may seem insignificant, the Apple Watch’s corners actually play an integral role in its internal architecture.

Round smartwatches (such as the Google Pixel Watch 4) are tricky to use and require numerous hardware compromises.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Think about the Complications

Chopping off the corners would also affect one of the Apple Watch’s essential software features: Complications.

Most circular Apple Watch faces let you utilize the unused display corners by adding custom Complications. This handy perk allows you to quickly glance at the weather conditions, your heart rate, today’s date, Activity rings, battery level, and more. You can also use the feature to effortlessly launch apps or run shortcuts.

watchOS has been carefully crafted to take full advantage of the rectangular design, and no part of the screen currently goes to waste.

Defacing an icon

It goes without saying that moving from a rectangle to a circle would require redesigning the extensive watch face library. Some faces will have to be completely dropped, while others will work less effectively. More importantly, all first- and third-party apps will need to be fully overhauled to support the new design.

It would essentially require rebuilding the entire watchOS platform from the ground up, and that’s not something Apple is willing to do. The company strategically avoids shocking its users with transformative changes to fundamental elements in such a manner, especially when the change serves no constructive purpose.

On the contrary, Apple is bringing watchOS closer to iOS by adopting familiar user interfaces. Pre-installed Apple Watch apps now resemble their iPhone counterparts as far as is practical, featuring similar designs and more advanced functionality, further contributing to the smartwatch’s independence. In fact, all Apple platforms are en route to becoming tweaked iterations of each other, with OS 27 streamlining the design language through Liquid Glass. Apple won’t throw that all away.

You can kiss those beautiful faces goodbye.

Mahmoud Itani / Foundry

It’s an Apple Watch

Apart from the functional software and hardware downgrades, adopting a round design would weaken the Apple Watch brand.

Its present look has become an iconic representation of its identity, just like Pro iPhones’ rear camera arrangement. Anyone who spots the rectangular screen and protruding Digital Crown recognizes it’s an Apple Watch. A circular model would simply vanish into a sea of generic, uninspired round smartwatches; Apple would never let that happen.

TL;DR: A refurbished 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is on sale for $267.99 (reg. $1,499), packing an Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Not every Mac purchase needs to be a brand-new M-series machine, and this deal is proof. This Grade A refurbished 2017 MacBook Pro brings the Touch Bar era back for a fraction of its original price, and it still holds up for everyday use.

The 3.1GHz dual-core Core i5 chip (Turbo Boost to 3.5GHz) paired with 8GB of RAM handles browser tabs, docs, and light multitasking without complaint, while the 512GB SSD leaves plenty of room for apps, photos, and projects.

The 13.3-inch Retina display still looks sharp at 2560×1600, and four Thunderbolt 3 ports mean you’re not hunting for a dongle every time you want to charge or plug in an external drive. Touch ID handles logins and Apple Pay, and the whole thing weighs just over three pounds, so it travels well.

At $267.99 versus the original $1,499 price tag, it’s a low-risk way to get a legit Mac laptop for a backup machine, a kid heading to school, or a second computer for the home office.

Get this MacBook Pro with Touch Bar for $267.99 (reg. $1,499) while supplies last.

Apple Macbook Pro (2017) 13″ i5 3.1GHz Touchbar 8GB RAM 512GB SSD Space Grey (Refurbished)See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Apple marked the iconic iPhone X as obsolete, ending official hardware support for the device that reshaped the iPhone lineup.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

In addition to submitting its proposed commission structure for purchases made outside the App Store’s IAP system in the US, Apple filed a motion indicating it is willing to explore a settlement with Epic Games. Here are the details.

Apple has notified users in 110 countries who it suspects may have been targeted by spyware attacks. Here are the details.

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Apple has submitted its proposal for the fees it should be allowed to charge for purchases made outside of the App Store system in the Epic Games case. Here are the details.

Apple has updated its lists of vintage and obsolete products, moving the iPhone X and the 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro into the obsolete category. The change means the company will no longer provide any hardware service for these devices, and authorized service providers can no longer order parts for them.

Apple classifies products as obsolete more than seven years after it stops selling them, though the exact timing is at the company’s discretion. Devices on the vintage list (typically those discontinued between five and seven years earlier) can still receive service as long as parts remain available.

The iPhone X, released in 2017, already lost major operating system support with the arrival of iOS 17 and is limited to iOS 16.7.16. The 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro is restricted to macOS Sequoia (currently up to version 15.7.7).

Owners of these models who need repairs will now have to rely on third-party services or used/refurbished parts. Apple maintains a public support page detailing its full vintage and obsolete product policies, including limited cases where service may continue for up to 10 years.
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MacDailyNews Note: More info about Apple’s vintage and obsolete products here.

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Chase recently added new benefits to its popular Sapphire Preferred credit card, including free Apple TV for a year or discounted Apple One. Here are the details.

The latest WhatsApp beta for iOS includes references to a revamped set of chat customization options, including animated wallpapers. Here are the details.

Amy Sedaris is the latest addition to the Apple TV comedy series “Protective Custody,” Variety reports. Sedaris will star alongside previously announced series lead Ben Stiller as well as fellow cast member Benicio Del Toro.

Joe Ottorson for Variety:
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The logline for the show states that it will follow “a disgraced financier (Stiller) accused of massive fraud who is thrown into protective custody, where he must navigate prison politics, salvage his reputation, and confront the consequences of his actions while awaiting trial.”

Sedaris is perhaps best known for starring in the cult hit comedy “Strangers with Candy,” which she co-created. Her other TV credits include “At Home with Amy Sedaris” and “BoJack Horseman,” while she has also starred in films such as “Jennifer’s Body,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Elf.”

Mike Judge is co-writing “Protective Custody” along with Steve Hely and Dave King. All three are executive producers and co-showrunners, with Judge also attached to direct.

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MacDailyNews Take: With Mike Judge writing and directing, wwe have high hopes for “Protective Custody.”

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OpenAI is giving ChatGPT and Codex a new way to learn from and remember how you use your Mac, even when that work happens outside the app.

HomePod mini arrived in 2020, and nearly six years later, Apple is reportedly preparing a long-awaited second generation. Here is everything we know so far.

Apple today updated its vintage and obsolete product lists, with the iPhone X and 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro now classified as obsolete. Here’s what that means.

Ted Lasso season 4 is off to a strong start, with Apple revealing to Deadline that it had “the biggest launch ever for Apple TV.” Here are the numbers.

Apple Wallet is getting several upgrades in iOS 27, including a new ‘Discover’ section that was just added in beta 5 this week. Here’s what it does.

Apple TV has expanded its streaming catalog with a selection of popular classic and mainstream Hollywood movies, available to subscribers at no additional charge. The move complements the service’s library of original programming and gives users more familiar titles to watch without renting or buying separately.

The additions appear under a new “Great Movies Available Now on Apple TV” (or similar) carousel in the Apple TV app. Availability varies by region, with the titles confirmed in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom; other countries may see a smaller selection. Apple has not indicated whether the movies are permanent additions or a limited-time promotion. The company previously offered temporary batches of licensed films in earlier years that later rotated out.

Movies Now Available (U.S. list)

U.S. subscribers can currently stream titles including:

• 21 Jump Street
• Arrival
• The Aviator
• A Beautiful Mind
• The Bourne Identity
• Charlie’s Angels
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Gone Girl
• I, Robot
• Looper
• The Martian
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• The Proposal
• The Rookie
• The Sixth Sense
• Titanic
• Zodiac
• Zoolander

These join Apple TV’s existing library of more than 300 originals. Subscribers can find the collection by opening the Apple TV app, selecting the Home section, and looking for the “Great Movies Available Now on Apple TV” row. The films stream on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV hardware, supported smart TVs, the web at tv.apple.com, and other platforms.

Apple TV (the streaming service formerly known as Apple TV+) is priced at $12.99 per month in the U.S. after a free trial for new users and is also included with Apple One plans.
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MacDailyNews Take: Viewers interested in the new classics are encouraged to check them soon, given the possibility that the licensed titles is likely to be temporary.

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Today Apple is celebrating the opening of its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Houston, Texas. Here are the details.

Benjamin and Chance talk about all the changes in iOS 27 beta 5, as Apple reportedly takes a fresh look at fitness wearables, details about the glassy iPhone 20, Friday Night Baseball on Vision Pro and more rumors about Apple TV sports rights — this time, golf.

And in Happy Hour Plus, out of the blue, Apple TV launches another round of its free movie catalog collection promotion. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

Sponsored by Bitwarden: Check out Bitwarden, featuring secure password management, passkey support, end-to-end encryption, and seamless autofill across all devices.
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Matic has added voice and gesture control to its robot vacuum and mop through a software update called Matic Cues. After testing both features, the short and sweet of it is that voice control is really good.

Just say, “Hey Matic, vacuum the kitchen,” and Matic gets to work. There is no phone to unlock, app to open, or smart home intermediary involved. You speak directly to the robot, and it responds.

Matic Cues understands commands in more than 70 spoken languages. The feature is rolling out to every existing Matic through an over-the-air software update and will be included on all new robots.

Apple’s baseline iPhone is reportedly about to get a boost to its RAM allocation, and potentially a very substantial one. This is particularly surprising in light of the memory shortage currently afflicting the consumer tech industry and causing cost headaches for Apple and many of its rivals.

The claim comes from a new research note by Jeff Pu (via MacRumors), in which the analyst predicts that next spring’s iPhone 18 will have a whopping 12GB of RAM. That’s a 50 percent jump from the 8GB on the iPhone 17, and would bring the baseline model in line with the currently top-end iPhone 17 Pro.

(By that point, of course, this fall’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will have taken the 17 Pro’s place at the top of the Apple range, and they may boast even more than 12GB of RAM. But that isn’t currently expected to happen, since 12GB is more than enough to run AI applications smoothly and anything more would inflate their cost to manufacture.)

The idea that the iPhone 18 will have 12GB of RAM isn’t entirely new. Another analyst made the same claim in April, and one Weibo expert made the call as long ago as October 2024. Mind you, the latter expert also claimed the iPhone 17 would get 12GB of RAM, which clearly didn’t work out.

Such predictive anomalies, sadly, are typical in this area. And while three analysts have separately pointed to the iPhone 18 getting 12GB, it’s worth pointing out that one recent and extremely credible source disagrees. In June, Ming-Chi Kuo, citing his latest industry checks, predicted that Apple’s “lower-end 1H27 iPhones, powered by the A20 chip, will move to 9GB DRAM.” That was the last word on the subject until this week.

Aside from being a highly respected figure in the industry, Kuo has logic on his side. RAM is ruinously expensive at the moment, and Apple is currently fighting for its life trying to keep iPhone prices reasonable. What’s more, the company loves to maintain a clear hierarchy between its entry-level and premium products, and while it doesn’t publicly disclose RAM specs, the marketing team will want to dangle the carrot of superior performance if you spend a little more.

So on balance, and even though he’s outnumbered, we’d narrowly favor Kuo’s prediction of 9GB at this point. That’s still an improvement, however, and considering current market conditions we may be lucky to get even that.

The iPhone 18 is expected to launch in spring 2027, alongside the iPhone 18e. For all the latest news and rumors, bookmark our regularly updated iPhone 18 superguide, which covers both budget models.

Unlike every other streaming service out there, Apple TV subscribers sign up for one thing: original programming. However, this week, Apple TV users got a surprise in their Apple TV tab. Along with “Ted Lasso,” “Cape Fear,” and “Widow’s Bay,” subscribers now have access to more than a dozen popular movies.

This isn’t the first time Apple has randomly offered a collection of 19 “Great Movies” for subscribers. However, while previous offerings have been labeled “limited,” this offer doesn’t have any indication that it’s available for a short time. The titles available have a “Just Added” label and are accessible in the first row in the TV app.

In the U.S., these are the titles that are available for streaming:

21 Jump Street

Arrival

The Aviator

A Beautiful Mind

The Bourne Identity

Charlie’s Angels

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Gone Girl

I, Robot

Looper

The Martian

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

The Proposal

The Rookie

The Sixth Sense

Titanic

Zodiac

Zoolander

As it’s unclear whether this is a limited-time offer or a long-term deal, if you’re interested in watching any of these titles, you should probably do so sooner rather than later. There’s no accompanying press release to announce the movies, nor is there any indication to why these particular titles were chosen.

Leaked screen protectors for Apple’s rumored foldable “iPhone Ultra” have surfaced, offering one of the clearest looks yet at the device’s distinctive front design. Shared this week by the leaker known as Ice Universe, the accessories and accompanying hands-on video highlight asymmetric corners and a single punch-hole camera placement that align with earlier rumors about the upcoming foldable iPhone.

This is the screen protector for the iPhone Ultra. You can see, the iPhone Ultra actually has an irregular screen with one side square and the other round. Oh my God, can you even handle that? pic.twitter.com/qpQHZHiqcD

— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) August 11, 2026

The protectors feature square corners along the edge that would sit next to the hinge and rounded corners on the opposite side. This irregular shape matches months of reports describing a book-style foldable with the hinge on one side. Ice Universe noted that the film covers the full glass panel rather than matching the active display area precisely. The actual screen is still expected to maintain symmetrical rounded corners and even bezels all around.

The accessories also reinforce the device’s shorter, wider proportions compared to traditional smartphones. A single circular cutout for the front-facing camera appears on the right side of the panel instead of the center. Earlier speculation had left open the possibility of a centered cutout, but these protectors provide stronger evidence for the offset placement.

Because the iPhone Ultra is widely expected to rely on Touch ID rather than Face ID, it does not require the larger TrueDepth sensor array found on recent iPhones. This opens the door to a simple hole-punch selfie camera — the first of its kind on an iPhone.

These details follow recent leaks of protective covers for the device’s rear camera module, shown in silver and dark blue finishes. Broader rumors surrounding the iPhone Ultra point to a 5.5-inch outer cover display paired with a 7.8-inch inner screen, an A20 Pro chip, a roughly 5,000mAh battery, a 48-megapixel dual rear camera system, and 18-megapixel selfie cameras on both displays. The foldable is anticipated to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup in mid-September at a starting price of at least $2,000.

MacDailyNews Note: While accessory leaks can sometimes reflect manufacturing variations or early prototypes, the consistency with prior reports makes these screen protectors a notable data point in the ongoing iPhone Ultra rumor cycle. As always with unreleased products, official confirmation will come only when Apple unveils the device.

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Cross-platform PDF editor IndyPDF packs editing, converting, signing, OCR and encryption into one app for Mac, iPhone, Windows and Android.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

The post BOE Looking For Secondary Role for Refreshed iPad Air appeared first on iLounge.

The post Upcoming iPhone 18 Pro to Have 256GB Base Storage appeared first on iLounge.

The post Screen Components Now Being Stocked Up By Apple appeared first on iLounge.

New reports point to a major iPhone 18 RAM upgrade, plus a smaller Dynamic Island once rumored for the Pro models.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

MacBook Neo is still only a few months old, but it’s been a big hit for Apple. And rumors say its successor is coming next year, with MacBook Neo 2 getting the key upgrade it needs most: more RAM.

OpenAI is previewing a new way to run its most capable GPT-5.6 model at dramatically higher speeds. The company says its new Ultrafast service tier can run GPT-5.6 Sol up to 14 times faster than standard processing.

Anker Nano 45W charger

View Deal

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If you’re just as tired as we are of bulky chargers, today’s deal has your name on it. Amazon is selling this tiny Anker Nano charger for $26, a savings of $14 on its $40 MSRP and matching the best price we’ve ever seen.

Just as small as the price, this charger will fit into your pocket just as easily as your backpack, while still delivering enough power to fast-charge your gadgets. Even better, it comes with foldable prongs that go both 90 and 180 degrees, so you can use it with either a wall outlet or a desktop power strip.

Don’t let the size fool you, though, because this Anker model can deliver 45W of fast charging. This means it can take an iPhone 17 Pro to 50 percent in just 20 minutes, which is the perfect top-up when you’re in a hurry. Oh, and it will even recognize some iPhone models, automatically fine-tuning power for supported devices.

There’s a good reason why the prongs fold both ways too — because this will make it possible to see the smart display on top. The screen gives you information about real-time charging status, while double-tapping the little button will make you switch from Auto to Care Mode, which will lower the charging temperature and help protect your battery during long overnight battery refills.

At $26, the Anker Nano 45W Smart Display is a compact, travel-friendly charger that punches well above its size. So go grab one before the price jumps back up.

Formlabs, the world’s largest supplier of professional SLA and SLS 3D printing systems, announced on August 12, 2026, that Dan Riccio, 62, Apple’s former Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, has joined the company as a strategic advisor and personal investor.

Riccio, who spent more than two decades at Apple, will advise Formlabs’ leadership on product development, design rigor, and operational scaling as the company expands in industrial and professional 3D printing.

“Dan spent a career building some of the most beloved hardware products in the world, at an enormous scale, and he did it by obsessing over details most executives don’t care about,” said Maxim Lobovsky, Formlabs co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “As we scale Formlabs into the next generation of manufacturing hardware, learning from Dan is going to make our team stronger and our products better. We’re thrilled to have him as an advisor and as an investor in what we’re building.”

The announcement coincides with significant board changes. Lobovsky has assumed the role of Chairman of the Board, succeeding co-founder Natan Linder. Linder is stepping down from the board after 15 years of service and will remain a strategic advisor to the company.

In addition, Chief Product Officer Dávid Lakatos has been named President and appointed to the Board of Directors.

Sitting board member Rob Willett, former CEO of Cognex Corporation, is also increasing his stake in Formlabs alongside Riccio’s personal investment.

“I said when I joined the board that Formlabs was uniquely positioned to lead the next era of digital manufacturing,” Willett said in a statement. “Everything I’ve seen since has convinced me to lean in further.”

Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, with global offices, Formlabs is the largest professional 3D printing company founded since the 1980s, with annual revenues exceeding $250 million. The SoftBank-backed firm positions these leadership and advisory moves as preparation for a new phase of growth and technology leadership in additive manufacturing.

MacDailyNews Note: Riccio, who oversaw Apple’s push into mixed-reality headsets and previously served as its hardware engineering chief, retired from Apple in November 2024 after a 26-years with the company.

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The 25% price drop on AirPods Pro 3 down at one of the best prices to date is still live, but today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is starting off with these M5 MacBook Air configs at $270 off courtesy of the official Apple Certified Refurbished Store and these 46mm Apple Watch Series 11 Cell models at $100 off. We also have the fist discount on new Schlage Home Key Sense Pro lock with Ultra Wideband, a return Amazon all-time low on Hyper’s 2026 120Gbps Thunderbolt 5 Dock with SSD enclosure for Mac, and some seriously deep clearance deals on Nomad’s leather and Sport iPhone 17 Pro/Max cases from $17. Scope it all out below. 

Apple’s next major Apple Watch software update, watchOS 27, will introduce two brand-new apps that expand how users interact with Siri and locate people, devices, and items directly from their wrist.

A Dedicated Home for the New Siri AI

Siri is receiving a significant artificial intelligence upgrade across Apple’s ecosystem this year, and watchOS 27 brings that overhaul to the Apple Watch in the form of a standalone Siri app.

The new app will appear alongside versions on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro. While users can still activate Siri by pressing the Digital Crown, the dedicated app offers a more persistent interface for starting conversations and, crucially, reviewing past ones.

Thanks to the more conversational nature of the updated Siri AI, the system will maintain a continuous record of queries and interactions. On the Watch, the Siri app will surface conversation history not only from the wearable itself, but also from a user’s iPhone, Mac, and other linked devices. This creates a unified chat log that travels with the user across Apple’s platforms.

Availability of the full Siri AI experience will depend on hardware; only newer Apple Watch models support the enhanced features.

Apple Watch models that support watchOS 27:

• Apple Watch SE (3rd generation)
• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch Ultra 3

One Find My App to Rule Them All

Apple is also consolidating its location tools. In watchOS 26, finding capabilities were split across three separate apps — Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People. watchOS 27 replaces those with a single, streamlined Find My app.

The new app delivers all the previous functionality in a more compact, map-focused interface. Users can switch between people, devices, and items using a simple menu in the top-left corner while viewing locations on a consistent map-centric layout. The result is a cleaner, faster experience for locating anything or anyone without jumping between multiple apps.

MacDailyNews Take: These two additions sit among a broader set of watchOS 27 improvements aimed at making the Apple Watch more intelligent and useful in daily life. As the update rolls out later this year, the new Siri and Find My apps should give users quicker access to AI assistance and location tools right from their wrist.

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Apple’s big September event is almost here, and the company has three new iPhone models set to launch: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Ultra. Here’s what to expect.

The very first Samsung Galaxy Fold launched back in 2019 proved so vulnerable to screen damage by dust and dirt ingress that the company cancelled all pre-orders for the device. Eight generations later, we’re today learning that the issue still hasn’t been fixed.

Ensuring that the iPhone Ultra did not share this vulnerability has reportedly been one of the reasons Apple waited so long before launching its own folding phone. We should know how well Apple has succeeded within minutes of next month’s launch …

While my preferred way to use an iPhone is with no case or screen protector, I’m actually enjoying both on iPhone 17 Pro and can recommend them. They’re inexpensive enough to try without committing for a year or more.

On August 13, 2002, Apple introduced the final redesign of its Power Mac G4, the Mirrored Drive Doors model. A flap over fan noise ensued.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Apple TV 4K is finally expected to get its first hardware refresh in nearly four years. If the latest reports are right, Apple’s next streaming box could arrive this fall with a much faster chip, possibly the new Siri, upgraded wireless connectivity, and more.

Here is everything we currently know about the next Apple TV 4K.

Apple TV just beefed up its regular catalog of original content with a collection of classic movies for subscribers to enjoy.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Apple shares fell roughly 5% after the company reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on July 30, even though the numbers themselves were solid. Revenue rose 16% year over year to $109.4 billion and earnings per share jumped 29% to $2.02. The pullback stemmed mainly from weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter, driven by ongoing supply constraints.

This kind of sharp post-earnings reaction is not new for Apple, The Motley Fool‘s Prosper Junior Bakiny points out. Over the past five years, the stock has experienced several drops of 3% or more right after quarterly reports. Notable examples include an approximately 4% decline on April 28, 2022 (strong results but cautious supply-related guidance), a nearly 5% drop on August 3, 2023 (weak iPhone performance), and a 4% fall on May 1, 2025 (soft results plus a warning about upcoming tariff impacts).

In each of those cases, the stock did not extend the losses into a multi-month or multi-year decline. Charts of the subsequent performance show recoveries rather than prolonged downturns.That historical pattern raises the question of whether investors should buy the latest dip. The past is no guarantee of the future. Near-term risks include the CEO leadership transition (Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO to become executive chairman, with hardware engineering SVP John Ternus taking the top job) which could create uncertainty and volatility. Of course, with a product-focused CEO finally at the helm once again, it could also deliver significant benefits after fifteen long years of Cook-era iterative tedium.

Broader economic worries, including a soft U.S. jobs report, recession fears, inflation, and geopolitical tensions, add to the caution.

Still, longer-term fundamentals remain supportive. Apple has historically held up relatively well during recessions thanks to a highly loyal, well-heeled customer base. The company generates substantial free cash flow, supporting dividends and share buybacks even in tougher times. Cupertino benefits from an installed base of more than 2.5 billion active devices, ongoing opportunities to expand high-margin services (aided by AI features), and potential new products such as a foldable iPhone.

While the stock could face further pressure in the short term, history and Apple’s underlying strengths suggest that any post-earnings weakness has often proved temporary for patient investors focused on multi-year returns.

MacDailyNews Take: We see Apple as laughably undervalued. Mom-and-pop panics and manufactured crises that drive down the price of Apple shares are buying opportunities. As Warren Buffett said so compellingly, “Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”

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iOS 27 is packed with new features for Apple’s Photos app, including two that have long been on many users’ wish lists: full-featured slideshow creation and upgraded iCloud Shared Albums.

I today discovered a feature tucked away in the System Settings app that I never knew existed: you can set different default languages for individual Mac apps. If you already knew this, then there’s nothing to see here, move right along. But otherwise, this is how it does (and doesn’t) work …

iPhone Ultra’s unveiling is only a few weeks away, and a new report claims the initial rollout could be extremely limited, including being US-only at launch.

Apple is a large and wealthy company which employs roughly 166,000 people, so a fair amount of staff turnover is to be expected. What’s striking about the past couple of years, however, has been the number of employees leaving high-profile roles at Apple Park.

Last December, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman discussed what he called Apple’s “biggest personnel shake-up in decades,” listing 18 big-name departures that had either happened that year or were expected to happen soon. By February, the situation had become so noticeable that CEO Tim Cook was moved to comment, sagely observing that “when people get to a certain age, some are going to retire. This is kind of a natural thing,” and insisting that the departures had been carefully orchestrated.

Whether planned or not, the high-profile personnel changes keep coming, with two more emerging this week.

First, Apple internally announced the retirement of Jennifer Bailey, who has been at the company for more than two decades, most recently as head of Pay and Wallet services. In an article revealing the move, Gurman claimed Bailey’s exit “is seen as a major loss within Apple, according to people with knowledge of the move” and that staff fears it will “presage a broader exodus of senior leaders in their 60s.” Bailey will retire in October, although services boss Eddy Cue (current age: 61) insists she will continue in an advisory role and that a succession plan will be announced nearer the time. The current lack of a succession plan (or disinclination to reveal one) hints that this departure was less orchestrated, but there may be other factors we don’t know about.

Second, and more positively, it was announced (again by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg) that Apple is hiring a new head of government affairs. Nate Gatten, formerly an exec at American Airlines, will take on this “delicate role,” for which his Republican ties are likely to be seen as an advantage.

A big-name signing is a win, of course, but there are complications. For one thing, this is connected to another retirement: legal chief Katherine Adams is leaving at the same time as Jennifer Bailey, and she currently serves in a similar but lower-profile role of senior VP of government affairs. For another, the need for a full-time head of government affairs reflects the murky political waters Apple currently has to navigate.

Some pundits (including this one) have speculated that this year’s biggest personnel change–Tim Cook stepping down as CEO–will see the current boss spend more time liaising with the White House, but even Cupertino’s most famous workaholic may not be able to handle the workload on his own.

Finally, Gurman reported last week that incoming CEO John Ternus will be rehiring Laura Legros, who served as a vice president of hardware engineering until she retired in 2022. Legros will assume a vice president role, “working cross-functionally with different parts of the company,” according to the report.

Legros was one of Ternus’ “most trusted deputies,” Gurman reports. In 2018, she appeared during an Apple event in New York to introduce an updated MacBook Air and was also front and center for the iPad Air design, two important products in Apple’s recent history.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted Apple a short-term halt in its ongoing antitrust fight with Epic Games on Wednesday, pausing lower-court proceedings for at least one day.

Justice Elena Kagan issued an administrative stay that temporarily freezes action in a California trial court. The order gives the high court additional time to review Apple’s request for a longer pause on further lower-court steps in the long-running dispute over App Store practices and fees.

Without the stay, Apple would have been required to make a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Wednesday afternoon. Kagan’s order suspends proceedings until 5:00 p.m. Washington time on Thursday.

The case stems from Epic Games’ challenge to Apple’s App Store rules, including commission rates and restrictions on how developers can process payments and communicate with users. The two companies have been locked in litigation for years following Epic’s 2020 attempt to bypass Apple’s in-app payment system with its own system in Fortnite.

Apple has sought higher-court intervention to prevent additional lower-court activity while it pursues further review. The administrative stay is a procedural step that does not decide the merits of the underlying issues; it simply buys time for the justices to consider Apple’s emergency request more fully.

The pause is set to expire Thursday evening unless the Supreme Court extends it or takes additional action. Both sides are expected to continue pressing their positions as the broader antitrust battle over mobile app marketplaces unfolds.
‎
MacDailyNews Take: Again, it’s Apple’s App Store, not Epic’s. Apple has a right to charge developers for use of its App Store.

Apple’s 30% commission (reduced to 15% for many smaller developers) has always funded the secure infrastructure, rigorous app review process, fraud protection, payment systems, and ongoing platform development that benefit users and honest developers. Epic wanted all the upside of that ecosystem with none of the contribution.

The bottom line is clear: Epic Games wants to enjoy all of the benefits of Apple’s App Store, including access to well over one billion of the world’s most affluent users for free. That is illogical, unfair, and, basically, theft. – MacDailyNews, May 4, 2021

How much did it cost developers to have their apps burned onto CDs, boxed, shipped, displayed on store shelves prior to Apple remaking the world for the better for umpteenth time? Apple incurs costs to store, review, organize, surface, and distribute apps to over one billion users. — MacDailyNews, June 10, 2022

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A newly filed Apple AI interruption patent shows how iPhones could learn when to nudge you and when to stay silent.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Jeff Johnson, developer of the popular StopTheMadness Safari extension, has said that “obvious” App Store ratings fraud is going undetected by Apple despite the company’s claims to review listings.

He said that although he doesn’t go proactively looking for App Store fraud, he does encounter it rather frequently, citing the latest example …

It’s a table-stakes feature for almost all headphones, but for some reason Apple has resisted adding it to AirPods. Until now. With iOS 27, Apple is adding a simple equalizer to its AirPods controls, after years of user complaints.

Here’s how to use it.

How to find and use the custom EQ for AirPods

With your AirPods connected to your iPhone, enabling and adjusting the custom EQ is simple once you know where to look.

Open the Settings app.

Tap your AirPods name at the top of the screen.

Select Audio and Routing.

Tap Equalizer and then select Custom.

Foundry

The EQ is a very simple three-band adjustment that only lets you increase or decrease the lows, mids, and highs. But if you find your new AirPods are too bass-heavy or that your hearing needs a little help with bright high frequencies, it gets the job done.

This is a new iOS 27 feature and requires you to run both iOS 27 and have a related firmware update to your AirPods. If you’re using the beta, you’ll need to enable Beta Updates for your AirPods.

To do this, open Settings, tap your AirPods name, then scroll to the bottom and select AirPods Beta Updates. Make sure Beta Updates is enabled, then put your AirPods back in the case and plug them in to charge. It can sometimes take hours or more for new firmware to be delivered to your AirPods, and there’s not much you can do to make it go faster. You’ll need firmware newer than 8B41. The first beta firmware to support this feature was 9A292e.

The Apple TV 4K has long been cord-cutters’ go-to set-top box due to its ad-free experience, fluid performance, superior app quality, and much more. Apple had been offering the 3rd-generation model for a tantalizing starting price of $129, with the maxed-out Ethernet variant going for $149. While there have always been cheaper options, at those prices, it was hard not to recommend Apple TV to anyone looking for a standalone set-top box. 

However, following a significant price increase and stagnant innovation, this device has rapidly lost its appeal—making it challenging for newcomers to justify buying an Apple TV 4K. And from what the rumors say, it doesn’t look like the new model will make it much more compelling.

Make it make cents

Perhaps the Apple TV 4K 3’s biggest con is its updated, illogical pricing. The entry-level model now costs $199 while the pricier one sells (or doesn’t) for a whopping $249—a 67 percent increase and the most expensive it’s ever been. While it’s understandable to see iPad and Mac price hikes due to the memory crisis, the set-top box is four years old and packs a five-year-old A15 Bionic chip with just 4GB of RAM. It’s neither new nor powerful enough to justify such a crazy price bump.

For comparison, Google’s TV Streamer costs just $99, and there are a ton of more affordable TV sticks from Roku, Amazon, and others that get the job done for a fraction of the price. Unlike personal computing devices, smart TVs don’t heavily revolve around essential ecosystem integrations and personal data sync. Most users exclusively rely on them to download streaming apps like YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, and Hulu. These services typically share the same main UI across different smart TV platforms and let you quickly sign in with any smartphone by simply scanning a QR code.

While nice to have, a pretty interface and the Apple ecosystem tie-in won’t be worth it for many budget-conscious iPhone users, especially when the app’s already on their other devices.

Siri-ous setbacks

In the age of AI, smart assistants are expected to be baked into all of our everyday devices. Despite costing 50 percent less than Apple TV 4K, Google’s TV Streamer has managed to port the Gemini experience, letting users control their big screens via speech, ask complex questions, and more. Amazon Fire TVs similarly offer an Alexa integration to assist viewers with various tasks.

When tvOS 27 arrives, Apple TV 4K will still ahve the old Siri.

Foundry

The latest Apple TV 4K, on the other hand, is still plagued by the outdated Siri, which can barely answer any meaningful questions or get anything done. It’s true that Apple Intelligence and the overhauled Siri AI require at least 8GB of RAM on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but that didn’t not stop Apple from bringing Siri AI to 2023’s Apple Watch Series 9 with the S9 chip. Granted, it needs an iPhone nearby, but it’s safe to assume nearly every Apple TV 4K will also have an iPhone connected to the same network.

Furthermore, the Apple TV 4K won’t need to generate Genmoji or index emails, messages, and documents, so it shouldn’t need as much memory as an iPhone. tvOS could’ve at least adopted the more conversational Siri with world knowledge and ChatGPT integration, as it heavily relies on cloud processing anyway and isn’t locally demanding. Its omission sends the wrong message to anyone who has or may be looking to buy an Apple TV 4K.

Playing games

The Siri exclusion would’ve been more tolerable had tvOS 27 introduced other noteworthy features that keep users engaged. Alas, tvOS was barely mentioned at WWDC, with its main highlights including AutoMix for Apple Music, a redesigned Podcasts app, and other minor enhancements. In fact, even Apple’s own OS 27 preview webpage fails to include a tvOS section. Adding the lack of AI and the dramatic price hike into the mix makes it hard to recommend the Apple TV 4K to customers.

You can play games on your Apple TV 4K, but it’s a far cry from a gaming machine.

Foundry

Instead, Apple could’ve promoted gaming on tvOS 27 by building a native Steam Link alternative. The Apple TV 4K already supports PlayStation, Xbox, and MFi-certified controllers, letting users quickly pair and customize them. Its game library, however, is too underwhelming due to the processing constraints and the platform’s unpopularity among serious console gamers and game developers.

Letting Mac gamers seamlessly access their titles—beyond Steam games—on Apple TV 4K could contribute to its unique selling points. Apple TV 4K would become an entertainment hub that houses movies, music, games, and more. Alternatively, Apple could’ve introduced an Xbox Cloud Gaming rival service on tvOS, eliminating the need for a nearby Mac and enabling any user to run demanding AAA games using the tiny box. Such a move would’ve potentially increased its subscription service revenue, too.

Eye on the future

The Apple TV 4K 4 is rumored to launch this fall, packing the A17 Pro chipset. This will reportedly allow Siri AI on tvOS and introduce significant performance gains. Whether Apple will come up with innovative ways to harness the power of the A17 Pro and unlock its full potential—through heavier gaming or otherwise—is yet to be seen, but most reports suggest this will be a minor update with few additional features.

Will Siri be at the center of the new Apple TV 4K?

Foundry

Regardless, time is running out. Unless the company makes fundamental changes to the set-top box’s direction, software, and use cases, Siri AI won’t be enough to justify the marked-up pricing. Plus, the millions of people who already own an Apple TV will be stuck with the old Siri until they pay to upgrade to a model that’s pricier than the one they own.

With the more capable HomePad home hub likely coming soon, Apple needs to make a decision about Apple TV. Because a chip-and-ship upgrade after four years isn’t going to cut it. Not at these prices.

Get these $20 Comply foam eartips for AirPods Pro

Learn more

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This is not a sponsored post. I am not being paid to promote this product. But it transformed my experience of using my AirPods Pro 2 so much that I want you to know about it.

Comply foam tips, which generally sell for around $20 on Amazon, make my AirPods Pro more comfortable, more secure, and better-sounding. They’re so good that Apple did something similar with AirPods Pro 3. I’ve used both, and I can report that if your main reason for upgrading is the fit of your AirPods Pro, don’t bother. Just get these $20 tips, as I wrote in my review: “While [the AirPods Pro 3 tips] still look and act more-or-less like the familiar silicone flanges, there’s enough foam buried inside to create the same snug and comfortable fit I’m used to with the aftermarket tips.”

Apple knows that people have different ears, which is why it offers several AirPods Pro ear tips for different ear shapes. But before AIrPods Pro 3, they were just hollow silicone flanges, which isn’t ideal for all ears. Comply (and a few other companies) saw the issue and decided to make really excellent replacement tips that are made of memory foam. They attach just like Apple tips—just pop off the ones on your AirPods Pro and snap on the foam tips in their place. They fit as securely as the AirPods Pro’s ear tips and don’t interfere with their fit in the charging case.

The memory foam shapes to the contours of your ear and is denser than that little silicone flap, so it forms a better seal. This slightly improves sound quality (especially on the low end) and is better at blocking out more outside noise, which in turn makes active noise canceling more effective.

These little foam replacement tips are a huge improvement to my AirPods Pro 2.

Foundry

But they’re also more comfortable to wear for long periods and help the earbuds stay in place, which is a frequent problem for me—with Apple’s AirPods Pro 1 and 2 eartips, no matter which size I choose, one or both earbuds eventually work themselves loose if I’m doing something active like yard work or working out at the gym. With the Comply foam tips, they never come loose.

The tips come in sets of three pairs. At first, you buy a set where you get one small, medium, and large pair. Once you’ve found your size, you can buy three of the same size when you need a new set. Which brings us to the downside of these tips: You need to replace them after a few months of daily wear as the memory foam eventually starts to break down and wear out. So it’s good that you get three pairs.

You can get them in a few different colors too, which adds a nice bit of flair to the plain white AirPods Pro.

One set of $20 ear tips will last for a year or so of daily use. It’s a small price to pay to give your AirPods Pro a more secure and fit and better sound. If your AirPods Pro aren’t entirely comfortable, give them a chance—you’ll never want to use your AirPods Pro without them again.

The Apple store in the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading, UK, is reopening with a completely new design in December.

Ahead of this, Apple Festival Place store in Basingstoke will be closing in November, leaving the company with 38 retail stores in the UK …

TL;DR: Pay $59.99 once for lifetime access to Pok Pok, an award-winning, ad-free learning app.

Not every minute your child spends with a screen has to involve flashy rewards, loud sound effects, or endless ads. Pok Pok Lifetime is built around giving kids a calm, open-ended space to explore, create, and learn at their own pace. Right now, lifetime access is just $59.99 (reg. $250).

Inspired by Montessori principles, Pok Pok replaces levels and high scores with digital toys that encourage curiosity. Kids can explore space, experiment with shapes, make music, solve puzzles, play with dinosaurs, and discover new ways to interact with the world—all without being told they’re “winning” or “losing.”

That thoughtful approach helped Pok Pok earn a 2023 App Store Award, recognizing it as one of the standout apps on Apple’s platform. It’s the kind of recognition that suggests this isn’t just another kids’ game trying to grab attention.

Parents may appreciate what’s missing just as much as what’s included. The app is completely ad-free, works offline, avoids in-app purchases, and regularly adds new activities to keep playtime fresh. One lifetime subscription also covers the whole family across compatible devices.

Made for kids ages 2–8, Pok Pok has also received the Academic’s Choice Smart Media Award.

Get lifetime access to Pok Pok for just $59.99 (reg. $250).

Pok Pok: Lifetime SubscriptionSee Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Apple reportedly wants to strike multi-year deals with publishers and pay them whenever Siri AI uses or displays their content.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Marketed as a streaming service of originals, the Apple TV streaming service has been slowly growing its catalog of exclusive TV shows and movies. But Apple has just complemented its offering with a bunch of classic movies to stream with your subscription at no extra charge.

It’s currently not clear if this new initiative is intended to be permanent, or a limited time promotion. The service experimented with something similar a few years ago, but it didn’t last too long.

Today, Apple TV published the trailer for the fifth season of Stillwater, the platform’s Peabody and Emmy Award-winning mindfulness series. Watch it below.

People often accuse Google of stealing from Apple, but here’s something Apple should pinch from its rival ASAP.

(via Cult of Mac – Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has been pursuing content deals worth up to nine figures to improve Siri AI’s access to current news and information. Here are the details.

As WhatsApp approaches the official rollout of usernames, the app now lets users save a contact’s username alongside their name and phone number. Here are the details.

The Supreme Court has granted Apple a 24-hour extension to a California court deadline requiring the company to propose what commission, if any, it should be allowed to charge on purchases made outside the App Store. Here are the details.

In the New York Magazine review of the soft-reboot fourth season of “Ted Lasso,” critic Nicholas Quah argues that Apple TV’s return of Jason Sudeikis’ relentlessly optimistic coach feels forced and stuck in purgatory. After undercutting Ted’s happy Kansas ending to bring him back to coach AFC Richmond’s new women’s team, the Lady Greyhounds, the show recycles its familiar fish-out-of-water formula while flattening real issues in women’s sports into simplistic lessons and self-congratulatory awareness—prioritizing sterile niceness over complexity or genuine conflict. “Smug liberalism that mistakes sensitivity for insight,” is how Quah describes it.

Nicholas Quah for New York Magazine:
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The opening volley of this season exhibits the very same problem that plagued the bloated back half of Ted Lasso’s original run: Its unwavering commitment to a morally uncomplicated worldview leaves little room for texture, ambiguity, or any semblance of actual conflict. Rather than truly exploring its characters or any of the ideas it routinely gestures toward, the show routinely loops back into a smooth fantasy where everyone is fundamentally decent and reconciliation is the default destination. That flattening impulse is most apparent in the season’s handling of women’s sports, ostensibly its central concern. Early in the premiere, Higgins wanders into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, where an employee named Charles recounts the struggle Black players endured integrating professional baseball. “They didn’t do it for fame or fortune,” he says. “They did it because to not play would have been unacceptable.” When Higgins responds that the story reminds him of the decades women in England were barred from playing football, Charles immediately pushes back. “Not similar, sorry,” Higgins concedes. “What happened here — much worse, much, much worse.” It’s quintessential Ted Lasso. The show acknowledges the two histories aren’t equivalent yet invokes the comparison anyway, congratulating itself for recognizing the distinction while still harvesting the emotional weight of the analogy. Rather than examining the cross-comparative history with any depth, it settles for the reassuring glow of its own awareness, a form of smug liberalism that mistakes sensitivity for insight…

Professional sports involve hard questions about investment, infrastructure, and sustainability. The series briefly acknowledges as much when Rebecca and Higgins commission a study concluding that the women’s team is financially risky, only to brush it aside because it’s the right thing to do and they believe themselves special. The tension between principle and practicality — the very thing that could make this story interesting — gets mostly waved off, sublimated instead into interpersonal hang-ups.

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MacDailyNews Take: Through two episodes, “Ted Lasso” is already pretty cringey this season (but less so than in season three, blessedly).

It seems that Hollywood’s perennial Achilles heel is once again bared: The “oh-so enlightened” simply can’t resist the urge to lecture their soon-to-be-former audience on how they should think, even when it means torching their own product in the process.

When even New York Magazine, hardly a bastion of conservatism, sees it clearly and publishes it… ouch!

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The post ‘Ted Lasso’ season four: ‘Smug liberalism that mistakes sensitivity for insight’ – New York Magazine appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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