Deal Days dropped this near-mint MacBook Pro refurb from $1,999 to $430
Macworld TL;DR: A Grade A refurbished MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is on sale for $429.97 (reg. $1,999) through July 1. A new MacBook Pro starts well over $1,500, but the refurbished market sells the same hardware for a lot less. This Grade-A MacBook Pro with a 2GHz quad-core Intel i5, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD is in near-mint condition, but it’s still on sale for only $429.97 during Deal Days (reg. $1,999). This is the Touch Bar model with a 13.3-inch Retina display, True Tone for color matching to the room around you, and four Thunderbolt 3 ports that handle charging, fast file transfers, and external displays from one cable. The Magic Keyboard returned to a scissor switch design with this generation, so typing feels closer to a desktop than the older butterfly-key models. Touch ID lives at the top right for password-free logins. The Intel Core i5 chip turbo-boosts up to 3.8GHz, with Intel Iris Plus Graphics handling video playback, photo work, and lighter creative apps cleanly. 16GB of RAM keeps a stack of browser tabs, a document or two, and a video call open at the same time without slowing things down. 1TB of SSD storage covers a serious library of files and apps, and battery life runs up to 10 hours on a single charge. The machine ships with a charger included. July 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT is the cutoff to get a near-mint refurbished MacBook Pro on sale for $429.97. Check out the rest of the Deal Days Extended collection while you can. Apple MacBook Pro (2020) 13″ i5 2GHz Touchbar 16GB RAM 1TB SSD Space Gray (Refurbished)See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

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Claude Fable 5 cleared to return as US lifts Anthropic’s export control restriction
Anthropic has confirmed it will begin restoring access to Claude Fable 5 this Wednesday, July 1, nearly three weeks after US export controls forced the company to take the model offline. Here are the details.

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Claude Fable 5 cleared to return as US lifts Anthropic’s export control restriction
Anthropic has confirmed it will begin restoring access to Claude Fable 5 this Wednesday, July 1, nearly three weeks after US export controls forced the company to take the model offline. Here are the details.

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Claude Fable 5 cleared to return as US lifts Anthropic’s export control restriction
Anthropic has confirmed it will begin restoring access to Claude Fable 5 this Wednesday, July 1, nearly three weeks after US export controls forced the company to take the model offline. Here are the details.

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Tim Cook's government liaison position comes into focus before stepping down as Apple CEO
Apple CEO Tim Cook will soon be Executive Chairman and handle government interactions, but that isn't stopping him from taking a phone call today with a European Commission head over Apple AI in the EU.Apple CEO Tim Cook is ready to take on his role as government liaisonWWDC 2026 was focused on system optimization, child safety, and the new Apple Foundation Models. Apple Users in the EU were cut off completely from that last third of the keynote, as those features can't launch in the region as they exist today.According to a report from The Financial Times, first shared by 9to5Mac, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a virtual meeting with Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, which reportedly was "constructive." People familiar with the exchange said that the conversation centered around how Apple might launch its revamped AI tools in the EU without violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Tim Cook and EU tech chief hold ‘constructive’ virtual meeting over Siri AI standoff
Earlier today, Tim Cook reportedly held “constructive” talks with EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen as Apple and the bloc sought a way forward in their dispute over the delayed launch of Siri AI in Europe. Here are the details.

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9to5Mac Daily: June 30, 2026 – iPhone 18 and Ultra rumors, more
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. Sponsored by Backblaze: Backup you can rely on. Save 20% with code 9to5daily.

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US offers $10 million to identify hackers targeting Signal and WhatsApp users
The US State Department has announced a $10 million bounty for information that may help identify or locate members of two Russian state-backed hacking groups behind a campaign targeting Signal and WhatsApp users. Here are the details.

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American Express expands membership rewards points redemption with Apple Pay for U.S. card members
American Express is introducing seamless points redemption directly through Apple Pay checkouts. This update gives eligible U.S. Card… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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OpenAI’s personal finance features for ChatGPT expands to more customers
June 30, 2026: Personal finance is now available to ChatGPT Plus customers in the U.S., expanding the feature from OpenAI’s $100/month plan to the $20/month version. Original story from last month is below. OpenAI is catching up with some competitors and offering new personal finance features inside ChatGPT. The new personal finance experience is rolling out starting today for some subscribers.

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Apple unveils new AI features for Creator Studio subscribers
Macworld Apple on Tuesday announced several new AI-based features for Apple Creator Studio, its suite of creative apps geared towards professionals. The apps getting the new features include Pixelmator Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Logic Pro. “Featuring new AI capabilities that are dynamic enough for every creative discipline, these updates make Apple Creator Studio even more connected, capable, and intelligent,” Apple said in a press release. Here are summaries of the new features for each app. Final Cut Pro Generate Captions: audio is automatically transcribed, and subtitles are placed directly in the timeline. They style, font, color, and text position can be customized. Edit Detection: can take rendered video, analyze it, and automatically split it back into the original clips on the timeline. Auto Mask (Mac): Ai is used to recognize items such as skin, hair, sky, and clothing without the need for manual tracking. Magnetic Mask (Mac): editors have complete control over exactly what to identify, track, and mask. Match Color (Mac): this feature has been revised so that it produces more accurate and natural color matches across a wider range of footage and lighting conditions. Advanced Trimming: fine-tune incoming and outgoing frames one at a time. Direct connection to Pixelmator Pro: users can send a frame and edit it for thumbnails, social media, etc. Motion Native support for SVG files: Also SVG scaling to any size while maintaining image quality Distribute Layers: faster setup of complex animations. New timeline controls: stagger, cascade, or reverse clips to build complex animations in seconds Compressor Immersive Metadata Viewer: view immersive, temporal, and dynamic metadata before encoding. 180-degree Apple Projected Media Profile: for Apple Vision Pro Anaglyph View for Stereoscopic Video Preview Final Cut Camera Clean HDMI Out: sends a pristine video signal to external monitors and recorders. Expanded ProRes support: includes ProRes LT. Disable digital zoom option: for using optical zoom Pixelmator Pro iWork integration: an image can be selected in a Pages, Keynote, or Numbers document, then opened directly in Pixelmator Pro for editing. Generate Shapes simplifies creating vector shapes needed to fit a project, where shapes are fully editable and can be saved to a dedicated collection for use later.  Logic Pro Chord ID: rebuilt so its harmonic analysis is more accurate. Producer Project “Shoulda Never”: complete session produced by Khris Riddick-Tynes. Granular sync mode: opens up entirely new dimensions of sound design (also available in Mainstage). Also, a new Granular Alchemy Sound Pack. Beat Breaker: new filter and pan modes and intuitive randomization controls. iWork updates Apple has also updated Pages, Keynote, and Numbers: Keynote: new transitions and builds. Pages on iPhone and iPad: adds Auto-Hyphenate and Show Invisibles. Numbers: adds ability to hide or color-code individual sheets.

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Apple Maps is currently down for some users [U]
Update, 5:23 p.m. ET: Apple says both issues have now been resolved. However, its System Status page now lists a partial outage affecting Maps Display, which may appear “slow or unavailable” for some users. Apple’s System Status page says two outages are affecting Apple Maps right now, one affecting search and the other affecting routing and navigation. Here are the details.

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Gemini Spark rolling out to macOS app for local tasks, automation
As previewed at I/O 2026, Gemini for macOS now supports Gemini Spark. This is the first of two big desktop app updates coming this summer, with the other being a new voice experience.

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MacBook Ultra could be very good news for MacBook Pro users
Rumors indicate Apple’s long-expected MacBook Pro redesign will be branded ‘MacBook Ultra’ instead. Here’s why this could be good news for MacBook Pro users in light of a previous redesign misstep.

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This iconic iPhone design will get closer to retirement with iPhone 18 Pro
Almost a decade ago, Apple introduced the iPhone X with what became an iconic design trait: the notch cutout. And this fall with iPhone 18 Pro, what’s now called the Dynamic Island is rumored to take a big step toward being retired.

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iPhone 18 Pro leaks: Qualcomm or Apple C2 model, A20 details, camera upgrades
After a closer look at some new data, Apple's iPhone 18 Pro modem situation may not be cut-and-dried. Here's what the latest leaks say is in store for cellular connectivity, the A20 chip, and possible camera improvements.New details about the iPhone 18 Pro have emerged, thanks to data leaked from Tata.On June 25, AppleInsider exclusively revealed that iPhone 18 Pro schematics and documents were among the more than 630GB of files taken from Tata in a cyberattack.An initial analysis of the leaked documentation uncovered Apple's plans to use its proprietary C2 modem in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. Additional details have since come to light, thanks to new research conducted by us and an analyst we've worked with in the past. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple takes Epic fight over app store fees to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court will weigh if Apple contempt finding in Epic case is “erroneous.”

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Best Buy nabs retailer-exclusive Orange Beats Solo Buds
Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre has updated its Solo Buds with a new color, with consumers in the United States and Japan able to pick up a pair of bright orange earbuds from select retailers.Beats Solo Buds, but in OrangeOwners of Beats earbuds will be familiar with the blindingly bright orange colorway for some of its models. While you could get the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 and Beats Powerbeats Fit in the colorway, you could only get the Beats Solo Buds in a few more muted colorways.Fans of the safety-inspired color choice will now be able to complete their collection with an orange color option of Solo Buds. However, they are only available through specific retailers. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Threads adds translation to Live Chats and expands chat creation to more users
Threads is rolling out several updates to Live Chats, including translation support, new moderation tools, and expanded access for Community Champions. Here are the details.

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Apple iPhone 18 Details Leaked In Tata Data Breach
"Another breach at Tata has leaked details about Apple's iPhone 18, along with documents belonging to several other Tata clients," writes Longtime Slashdot reader Ritz_Just_Ritz. "It's becoming a recurring theme for the company." Reuters reports: Reuters has previously reported the Tata Electronics leak of more than 200,000 files on the dark web by World Leaks had files with purported component design papers of older iPhones and some parts of Tesla -- both Tata clients. They also included documents of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Qualcomm, both of which make parts used in iPhones. New documents reviewed by Reuters show there are at least six files that map many components in the iPhone 18 Pro models to the specific company that supplies them. These include details of chips on its main circuit board and parts of the battery and cameras. Apple considers this detail sensitive and is concerned about the documents being shared on the dark web as they relate to unreleased models, according to the person familiar with the matter. The data maps suppliers to iPhone parts, which Apple does not disclose in its public database of suppliers, the person added. In all, the documents detail hundreds of parts to be on the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models. The records also show where Apple draws a part from several suppliers and where it relies on just a few, laying bare both its bargaining leverage and its vulnerabilities. More broadly, the leak threatens Apple's trust in Tata just as Tata is becoming central to its effort to shift iPhone production away from China. With India expected to produce roughly a quarter of the world's iPhones in 2026, any deterioration in that relationship could complicate Apple's diversification strategy and force tighter security controls across its suppliers. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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