Firehose – News, Alerts, Docs
- Saturday April 04
- 06:33 amBuilt Buylog – an expense tracker that reads your receipts — TestFlight beta open | Reddit on iOS ProgrammingBuilt Buylog – an expense tracker that reads your receipts — TestFlight beta open
Snap a photo of a receipt, Buylog fills in everything automatically — merchant, date, every line item. No manual entry. Monthly budget tracker and spending charts included. Built with React Native (Expo) + Go backend. TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/skpp4bFZ Also at https://www.getbuylog.com. Send Feedback button in the Profile tab goes straight to me — would love to […]05:26 amHow I got around AlarmKit volume control situation
We all know the Clocks has only one volume, the system ringtone slider. AlarmKit is no different. To use your own ringtone as alarms, the tone must be eithered budled in app OR included in Library/Sounds. Bundled make the app huge. My first release was 200MB for an alarm clock so had to cut down […]04:51 amThis app keeps you active with form feedback/analysis and automatic rep counting. All “On-Device”, your data never leaves your phone. | Reddit on iOS ProgrammingThis app keeps you active with form feedback/analysis and automatic rep counting. All “On-Device”, your data never leaves your phone.
Learnings: Tired of manual logging of reps/durations. Most fitness apps in this space either need a subscription to do anything useful, require sign-in just to get started, or send your workout data to a server. This one does none of that. Platform – iOS 18+ Tech Stack – SwiftUI, Mediapipe Vision Framework, Apple Vision Framework […]04:17 amMac mini and Mac Studio face long shipping delays
Mac mini and Mac Studio orders are facing unusually long shipping delays, stretching up to 4-5 months. This could hint at an upcoming M5 refresh or supply constraints. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)04:01 amwe survived. barely.
submitted by /u/Chapper_App [link] [comments]03:42 amApple Studio Display XDR Standard/VESA is $100 Off
The Studio Display XDR features a 120Hz refresh rate for a smooth experience. It features Adaptive Sync for different frame rates with precision control, making sure that motion is as responsive as possible when being used. The display features a Mini-LED backlighting with 2304 dimming zones, minimizing blooming and halo. It features 1000 nits SDR […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:39 amApple Adds More Products To Obsolete and Vintage List
The MacBook Air 2017 13-inch model is now considered vintage and has been added to the list of vintage products. The device is still qualified for repairs at Apple Authorized Service Providers and Apple Stores, subject to parts availability. Other products, such as the Apple TV HD and iPad Mini 4, have been added to […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:38 amAirPods Max 2 Receive Firmware Update
Ahead of the release of the AirPods Max 2, the headphones have received a firmware update by Apple with the number 8E251. The AirPods Max 2 are powered by the H2 chip and have new features such as Loud Sound Reduction, Adaptive Audio, Live Translation, Voice Isolation, and more. To get the firmware for the […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:37 amApple Employees Getting Special Gifts For 50th Anniversary
Apple will be giving its employees a special gift for the 50th anniversary of the company on April 1. The employees will get an enamel pin and commemorative t-shirt alongside a limited-edition poster that has the Apple logo in a rainbow scribble-style. There is an Apple Park sign that says the products are made by […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:36 amApple Studio Display Standard/Tilt is $100
The display supports 600 nits of brightness and support for a billion colors, it features P3 wide color for stunning and amazing details and has 14.7 million pixels giving you an immersive viewing experience. It is measured at 27-inches and has 5K resolution The display has a six-speaker sound system with spatial audio four of […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:35 amCurved Design for iPhone 20 Planned
The 20th anniversary iPhone is reportedly going to feature a new curved design with thinner bezels. Posts were uploaded to X by a user with the username of @phonefuturist claiming that the device they refer to as an anniversary iPhone will have a bezel measured at 1.1mm around the display of the device paired with […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:34 amNew Psychological Thriller Trailer Uploaded by Apple
A trailer was released by Apple for the highly awaited series. The Cape Fear thriller show stars Patrick Wilson, Javier Bardem and Amy Adams, with the first 2 episodes streaming on Apple TV June 5. New episodes will be coming every Friday until the 31st of the month. The company gives us a synopsis of […] The post appeared first on iLounge.03:32 amIran Lists Potential Targets Including Apple
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted on Telegram today, warning that Apple is one of many large companies in America that may be a target in the middle of the conflict between Israel and America. The post has listed 18 companies as real targets; the targets listed are Tesla, JP Morgan, Apple, Google, Microsoft, […] The post appeared first on iLounge.01:59 amglass effect overlaying view. flicker bug returning to active.
fought for 8 hours myself and ran through every agent prompting 100x. i simply have a view. with glass effect modifier. overlaying a list background. every time return to active from background app, a flickering gray corner in bottom left, or all corners of this glass effect view. im simply trying to match my top […]01:45 amHow to deal with “I’ll do it if I feel like it” background tasks on iOS
I'm new to iOS development and in the process of porting an Android app to iOS using KMP and SwiftUI The app I am porting is for landscape photographers, one of its features is that it periodically checks weather data to determine if sunrise or sunset is going to be good or not, giving the […]Friday April 0311:57 pmQueue resource error
Apr 3, 23:57 UTCUpdate - We are continuing to work on a fix for this issue.Apr 3, 23:53 UTCIdentified - Cloudflare is investigating an increased level of errors for customers running updates to Queues via Terraform.11:19 pmThis interactive timeline shows every iPhone size, color, spec, and model ever released | 9 to 5 MacThis interactive timeline shows every iPhone size, color, spec, and model ever released
A new interactive data project from sheets.works lets you scroll through every iPhone model ever released, complete with tech specs, colors, and even a timeline of hardware features Apple removed from the device over the years. Check it out below. more…10:47 pmCustomers using our Email Security product might see some links flagged as suspicious
Apr 3, 22:47 UTCResolved - Emails were sent today with a signature that had a a minor typo inadvertently caused it to flag legitimate emails. We have immediately corrected the issue, and going forward, these emails will no longer be incorrectly flagged.09:56 pmNew Apple TV Waiting for Siri: Here's What's Coming When It Launches
We're long overdue for an Apple TV update, and there have been rumors about an imminent refresh since late last year. It's now sounding like we're not going to get a new version for several months because of Siri delays. If you're holding out for a new model, here's a recap on what to expect when it eventually comes out so you can decide whether to continue to wait, or buy now. Design Apple TV design updates are few and far between, and that's not changing in 2026. The next Apple TV is going to have the same squircle shape as the current model, and it'll continue to be made from a black plastic material. We're expecting the 2026 Apple TV to be indistinguishable from the existing Apple TV on the exterior. New Chip A new A-series chip will be the main Apple TV update, and rumors suggest that it will get the A17 Pro chip that Apple first used in the iPhone 15 Pro models. Compared to the A15 Bionic in the current Apple TV, the A17 Pro is a big update, and it's a good reason to hold off on buying the current model. The A17 Pro is built on a 3-nanometer process for faster speed and better efficiency, and it has hardware-accelerated ray tracing for higher-quality graphics in games. Given that Apple has held the Apple TV update for so long, it's entirely possible it'll get an even newer chip like the A18 or A19. A RAM update is possible too, especially if the Apple TV has any kind of Apple Intelligence support. Apple Intelligence and Siri The next Apple TV is supposedly ready to launch at any time, but new Siri features are the holdup. Apple wants to debut the Apple TV with the smarter version of Siri that's in the works, and it's not ready to go. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the Apple TV is linked to "new artificial intelligence features" that Apple has postponed until September 2026. Apple intended to launch the Apple Intelligence Siri features in spring 2026, but the company was still experiencing issues with Siri. At this point, we're not going to see new Siri capabilities until iOS 27, which also means a delay for all the devices that Apple is holding. Along with the Apple TV, the rumored home hub and a next-generation version of the HomePod are waiting on Siri. Updated Siri features will likely require more RAM and a faster chip, so if you want the smarter Siri on the Apple TV, that's another reason to wait before making a purchase. Wi-Fi The Apple TV could get Apple's N1 networking chip with Wi-Fi 7 support. Wi-Fi 7 works with the 6GHz band offered by newer routers. 6GHz connectivity is faster and less congested, which you generally want for a device designed for streaming content. Bluetooth The Apple TV 4K could get Bluetooth 6 for connecting devices like controllers and earbuds. Pricing There might be a cheaper version of the Apple TV available because there have been rumors of a price drop. Apple could release two models, one that's higher-end and one that has lower specs and a lower price tag, or it could keep the existing Apple TV around as a low-cost option. Launch Date If the new version of Siri has been pushed to iOS 27 and the Apple TV is tied to that update, we're not going to see the Apple TV refreshed until September 2026 or later.Related Roundup: Apple TVTag: SiriBuyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)Related Forum: Apple TV and Home TheaterThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums09:40 pm9to5Mac Daily: April 3, 2026 – Apple laptop shipments, 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. more…09:36 pmGet Microsoft Office 2024 for Mac or PC for $100
This discounted lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2024 is a great alternative to pricey monthly fees. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)09:34 pmDeveloper behind controversial AI apps sues Apple over App Store takedowns
Ex-Human, the developer behind Botify and Photify AI, is suing Apple over what it calls “arbitrary” App Store removals. Here are the details. more…09:34 pmHomeKit Weekly: The Onvis Smart Button is the perfect way to share Apple Home access with guests | 9 to 5 MacHomeKit Weekly: The Onvis Smart Button is the perfect way to share Apple Home access with guests
Whenever my family goes out of town, we have a dog sitter come by to check on our dogs. One challenge I always have is showing guests how to use our smart home. For our Level Lock Pro, I find it easier to just give them a fob or a physical key, since sharing a Home Key outside an iCloud family account is still a hassle. While sharing access to lights is possible, I find it much easier to use a product like the Onvis Smart Button instead. more…09:28 pmMac Studio delivery ‘4-5 months’ out for top RAM after Apple dropped 512GB option
Apple doesn’t typically sell you a product four to five months before delivery. There’s nothing typical about the global memory shortage, though. AI servers need a lot of RAM, and that’s seriously affecting Apple’s top Mac RAM inventory. more…09:18 pmBuilt a USCIS case tracker app in SwiftUI, now being considered for an App Store feature | Reddit on iOS ProgrammingBuilt a USCIS case tracker app in SwiftUI, now being considered for an App Store feature
I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on as a solo developer. I built an iOS app to track USCIS immigration cases, mainly because I went through the process myself and found it really confusing and stressful. I kept checking my case status but often didn’t understand what the updates actually meant. From […]08:45 pmAUS (Austin) on 2026-04-03
Apr 3, 20:45 UTCIn progress - Scheduled maintenance is currently in progress. We will provide updates as necessary.Apr 3, 20:28 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in AUS (Austin) datacenter between 2026-04-03 20:45 and 2026-04-04 00:00 UTC.Traffic might be re-routed from this location, hence there is a possibility of a slight increase in latency during this maintenance window for end-users in the affected region. For PNI / CNI customers connecting with us in this location, please make sure you are expecting this traffic to fail over elsewhere during this maintenance window as network interfaces in this datacentre may become temporarily unavailable.You can now subscribe to these notifications via Cloudflare dashboard and receive these updates directly via email, PagerDuty and webhooks (based on your plan): https://developers.cloudflare.com/notifications/notification-available/#cloudflare-status.08:39 pmiFixit tears down the new AirPods Max 2, isn’t surprised
You know the drill: new Apple product, new iFixit teardown. Here’s what they found when they dug into the new AirPods Max 2. more…08:31 pmApple TV has three series returning this summer, including a long-awaited hit
Apple TV just brought back one of last year’s biggest hit shows, and this summer at least three more series are scheduled to return—including a long-awaited title. Here’s what’s coming. more…08:07 pmApple Releases First iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5 and macOS Tahoe 26.5 Public Betas
Apple today provided public beta testers with the first releases of upcoming iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, watchOS 26.5, and tvOS 26.5 updates for testing purposes. The public betas come four days after Apple provided the betas to developers, though Apple seeded updated iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 betas to developers earlier today. After signing up for beta testing on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the updates using the Software Update section of the Settings app on each device. iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, and macOS Tahoe 26.5 include a new Suggested Places feature for recommending nearby locations to visit, and Apple is also gearing up to start showing ads in Maps. Apple is testing end-to-end encryption for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users again, and there are proximity pairing, notification forwarding, and Live Activities for third-party wearables in the EU.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS TahoeRelated Forums: iOS 26, macOS TahoeThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums08:07 pmApple releases public betas for iPadOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, and more
Apple has just released public beta 1 for iPadOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, and more. Here’s what to expect. more…08:06 pmmacOS 26.5 public beta 1 now available, here’s how to install it
Following the release of the first developer beta of macOS 26.5 earlier this week, it’s time for users in the Public Beta program to take the upcoming macOS version for a spin. Here’s what to expect. more…08:03 pmApple releases first iOS 26.5 public beta
Apple has released the first iOS 26.5 public beta. The update follows the first developer beta release on Monday and a new revision earlier today. more…08:02 pmAirPods Max 2 teardown reveals nothing has changed beyond the H2 chip
Though the AirPods Max 2 offer new features, a teardown of the headphones shows they're still plagued by the same flaws of the original 2020 model.Apple's AirPods Max 2 gained the H2 chip, but not much else.Apple's AirPods Max 2 debuted on March 16, with their core feature being the H2 chip. With it, Apple's high-end headphones gained capabilities like Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and gesture controls, among others. Active Noise Cancellation was improved as well.However, as explained in our review, the AirPods Max 2 are an iterative upgrade, that ultimately leaves something to be desired. New features and ANC enhancements aside, Apple effectively delivered more of the same with its AirPods Max 2. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums08:01 pm“Vibe Coding” doesn’t automatically mean its a bad iOS app
I keep seeing this attitude in iOS spaces where the second someone mentions using AI to help build an app, people immediately jump to terms like “AI slop,” “vibe coding,” or act like using AI somehow makes you less of a real developer. I think that misses a lot of what is actually happening. And […]07:51 pmAI Is Becoming Part of iOS Development Whether We Like It or Not…
I got into building apps without a traditional coding background, and honestly, AI is one of the main reasons I was able to make real progress in iOS development. A lot of my work has been around iOS apps and React Native, and I can say pretty confidently that without AI, the path would have […]07:41 pmHappy Birthday, iPad: Apple's Tablet Turns 16
Today marks the 16th anniversary of when Apple released the first-generation iPad. After Steve Jobs announced the iPad on January 27, 2010, it launched a few months later on April 3, 2010. Apple's original iPad looked like a larger version of the iPhone, featuring thick bezels, a 9.7-inch multitouch display with a 1,024 x 768 resolution, a Home Button, and a 30-pin dock connector. The iPad was the first device that Apple released with a custom-designed chip, the Apple A4. The concept of a tablet device like the iPad actually predated the iPhone, and Apple had a prototype project in the works in 2004. Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs wanted to prioritize the iPhone, so the iPad was put on hold until after the iPhone was established. Apple priced the iPad at $499, and Jobs called it a "magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." Like the iPhone, the iPad dominated the tablet space, and it still continues to do so today. Apple sold a million iPads in the first month, and while competitors like Microsoft and Samsung quickly came out with competing tablets of their own, the iPad has no match. Apple has led the global tablet market for over a decade and no competitor comes close to matching its tablet market share. As of the fourth quarter of 2025, Apple's market share was 44.9 percent, with Samsung the next closest at 14.7 percent. Apple has expanded its iPad lineup over the years, and we now have multiple sizes at multiple price points. The 11-inch iPad is available for those who want a low-cost option, while the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air are mid-range products with a Mac chip. The 8.3-inch iPad mini is available for those who want a smaller-sized tablet, and for those who want top-of-the-line performance with Apple's latest Mac chip, the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models are available.This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums07:05 pmMicrosoft's LinkedIn is scanning installed browser extensions without user permission | AppleInsiderMicrosoft's LinkedIn is scanning installed browser extensions without user permission
Researchers have determined that Microsoft's LinkedIn is scanning browser plug-ins and other information without permission, building user profiles using data that the company did not get permission to take.SafariA European advocacy group claims LinkedIn is probing browser extensions through its website code. Fairlinked e.V. published its "BrowserGate" report alleging LinkedIn detects installed browser extensions by probing for known identifiers through JavaScript. The group says the technique reveals personally identifiable information.Safari users are less likely to be affected by this specific mechanism, based on how extension detection typically works across browsers. Apple's browser model limits fingerprinting surfaces, which reduces how much information sites can infer from installed extensions. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums07:02 pmNew AirPods Pro are coming this year: Here are three rumored upgrades
AirPods Pro 3 just arrived last fall, but reporting indicates Apple has another new AirPods Pro model coming this year. Here are three rumored new features. more…06:52 pmiFixit AirPods Max 2 Teardown: Same Design, Same Repairability Issues
Repair site iFixit today shared a teardown of Apple's new AirPods Max 2 headphones, and as expected, there are few changes. iFixit says the AirPods Max 2 are "basically the same" as the original AirPods Max headphones that came out in 2020. A comparison of the internal components of the AirPods Max 2 and the USB-C AirPods Max indicate the headphones are identical, and opening them up requires the same steps. The only difference is the updated H2 chips inside each earcup. Apple hasn't addressed the common failure points in the AirPods Max, such as condensation that builds up in the earcups in humid environments, and Apple doesn't have parts or repair manuals available. iFixit suggests that if Apple made instructions and components available through its self-service repair program and made the battery and USB-C port more accessible, the AirPods Max would be repairable and could have a much longer lifespan. With no updates to the AirPods Max 2 design, the headphones are no more repairable than the prior-generation models. iFixit gave the prior version a repairability score of 6/10.Related Roundup: AirPods Max 2Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Buy Now)Related Forum: AirPodsThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums06:45 pmDiscounted iPad Pro hits Apple refurb store with last-gen specs
Apple has added newer iPad Pro models to its refurbished store for a discounted price. However, there are key spec differences between the newest refurb iPad Pro models and new hardware. more…06:43 pmiOS 26.5 developer beta 1 gets revised release, for reasons unknown
A new version of the first iOS 26.5 beta has now made its way to developers, but what's been changed is not clear.The first developer beta of iOS 26.5 has received a revised release.Following the full public release of iOS 26.4 on March 24, Apple started beta testing of the next major operating system, iOS 26.5. Monday saw the debut of iOS 26.5 beta 1, which inadvertently enabled Apple Intelligence for some iOS users in China.Apple has now deployed an updated variant of the first iOS 26.5 developer beta, which increases the build number to 23F5043k, up from the initial 23F5043g. The relatively similar build numbers suggest that the revised developer beta doesn't include new features or additional changes. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums06:41 pmApple re-releases iOS 26.5 beta with a new build (23F5043g → 23F5043k)
submitted by /u/deferare [link] [comments]06:27 pmGet organized with advanced features in Notes and Reminders
I have a bunch of pro tips to help you organize the Notes and Reminders piling up in your iPhone. Apple has added tons of powerful features. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)06:22 pmFrance SMS Carrier Partner Maintenance
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Apr 15, 13:00 - 17:00 PDTApr 3, 11:06 PDTScheduled - Our SMS carrier partner in France is conducting a planned maintenance from 15 April 2026 at 13:00 PDT until 15 April 2026 at 17:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from France handsets.06:14 pmApple Now Sells Refurbished M4 iPad Pro Models Starting at $759
Apple is now selling M4 iPad Pro models in its online store for refurbished products, allowing customers to purchase like-new models at a discounted price. There are both 11-inch and 13-inch options available, in multiple storage configurations. Apple is offering Wi-Fi and Cellular refurbished models, and silver and black color options. Pricing on the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro starts at $759, down from the original $999 price. The 13-inch model is priced starting at $1,019, down from the original $1,299 price. Entry-level models are Wi-Fi only with 256GB of storage. Apple released the M4 iPad Pro models in May 2024, but this is the first time that refurbished models have been available for purchase. Apple discontinued the M4 iPad Pro models with the launch of the M5 iPad Pro in October 2025. Apple sells refurbished devices with the same one-year warranty that comes with a new Apple product. Refurbished iPads feature all manuals and accessories, plus Apple has a testing, repair, repackaging, and cleaning process to make sure that refurbished products are identical to new devices. Refurbished products are eligible for AppleCare+ protection.Related Roundup: iPad ProTag: Apple Refurbished ProductsBuyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Neutral)This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums05:58 pmApple Seeds Revised iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 Betas to Developers
Apple today seeded revised first betas of upcoming iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming four days after Apple seeded the initial betas. Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update. It's not clear why Apple has seeded new beta updates, but there may be a bug fix that couldn't wait for the second beta. iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 do not include new Siri capabilities, suggesting any Siri updates are being held until iOS 27. The Maps app has a Suggested Places feature for recommending locations to visit nearby based on trends and recent searches, plus Apple is laying the groundwork for ads. Apple is again testing end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for RCS messages between iPhone and Android users. Apple tested the feature in iOS 26.4, but removed it before the update launched. In the European Union, Apple is testing proximity pairing, notification forwarding, and Live Activities for third-party wearables like earbuds and smartwatches. More detail on what's new in iOS 26.5 can be found in our beta 1 features guide.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums05:57 pmApple releases new iOS 26.5 beta 1 build for iPhone
iOS 26.5 beta 1 arrived earlier this week for developers, but Apple has just shipped an updated beta 1 build for testing. more…05:36 pmmacOS 26.4 adds three new battery features on Mac, here’s how to use them
macOS 26.4 is the latest Mac software update, and alongside new emoji and a Compact Tab Bar option in Safari, the new release also adds three battery-related features. Here’s how to use them. more…05:30 pmThis Music Selection Tweak in iOS 26.4 Will Save You Bags of Time
If you often find yourself adding a track to an Apple Music playlist, going back, and then adding it to other playlists, iOS 26.4 includes an option that could save you bags of time: You can now select multiple playlists when adding a song. Previously, tapping Add to Playlist would take you to a list of your playlists, and you could only pick one at a time. In iOS 26.4, there's a new multi-select option that lets you check off as many playlists as you like in one go. Here's how it works. In the Music app, find the song you want to add. Long press the song, or tap the three-dot menu (...) next to it. Tap Add to Playlist. In the bottom-right corner, tap the new multi-select button. Select all the playlists you want to add the song to – each one gets a red checkmark. Tap the checkmark button in the top-right corner to confirm. The header at the top of the screen will update to reflect how many playlists you've selected, so you can keep track before confirming. It might seem like a minor addition, but if you maintain several playlists organized by mood, genre, or occasion, it eliminates so much back-and-forth navigation. It's no exaggeration to say that some users will have been waiting years for this option. In iOS 26.4, Apple has also given albums and playlists a new fullscreen design so that the album artwork colors style the entire background of the track list and other UI elements to give each album a more immersive, authentic look. To check out what's new, make sure your iPhone is up-to-date with the latest version by going to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Tag: Apple MusicRelated Forum: iOS 26This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums05:27 pmThe Weather Channel’s Storm Radar app lets you build your own AI weather presenter
This week, The Weather Channel released a new version of its Storm Radar app, introducing a customizable AI weather presenter and much more. more…05:18 pmThis $500 8BitDo keyboard is the perfect Apple 50th anniversary gift
Macworld Apple is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week. So, what do you get for such an occasion (other than giving Apple your hard-earned cash every time it releases something new)? If you’ve been a devoted Apple user for many of those 50 years–or maybe all of them–why not give yourself something nice for the occasion? 8BitDo’s Retro 68 Keyboard is designed as a replica of the classic Apple II keyboard that was released in June 1977 (so not quite 50 years ago). But the Apple II was the first computer for a lot of longtime Apple users, so this is the perfect item to pay tribute to those memories. Inside the retro design are a few modern touches. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and has a 6,500 mAh battery that offers 300 hours of runtime before you need to charge it. It has an RGB backlit and uses Kailh Box Ice Cream Pro Max switches for the keys. It weighs in at a hefty 4.85 pounds (2,200 grams), but you probably won’t be moving it very far. It also comes with a special edition of 8BitDo’s Wireless Super Buttons, which can be programmed to perform frequent functions. The Retro 68 Keyboard is $500–8BitDo does label it a “Limited Edition” keyboard, but doesn’t say how limited the inventory will be. The company does include a special anniversary certificate with the keyboard. The keyboard starts shipping in June and is available for preorder now. 8BitDo Retro 68 Keyboard – AP50th Limited Edition Price When Reviewed: $499.99 Best Prices Today: $500 at 8BitDo04:59 pmanimation cancels swiftui26
hey guys, im trying to make a play/pause button for an apple music like program but im having an issue: when i click the button on the miniplayer ive made, the play/pause button doesnt do the replace animation and skips the dropping back down animation of the tab surface its on. if i dont have […]04:54 pmtvOS 26 recently added two Apple TV 4K features I’ve been loving
The wait continues for a new Apple TV 4K, but Apple has steadily added new features to tvOS 26 via recent updates, including two changes I’ve been especially enjoying. more…04:53 pmORD (Chicago) on 2026-04-07
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Apr 7, 06:00 - 12:00 UTCApr 3, 16:44 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in ORD (Chicago) datacenter on 2026-04-07 between 06:00 and 12:00 UTC.Traffic might be re-routed from this location, hence there is a possibility of a slight increase in latency during this maintenance window for end-users in the affected region. For PNI / CNI customers connecting with us in this location, please make sure you are expecting this traffic to fail over elsewhere during this maintenance window as network interfaces in this datacentre may become temporarily unavailable.You can now subscribe to these notifications via Cloudflare dashboard and receive these updates directly via email, PagerDuty and webhooks (based on your plan): https://developers.cloudflare.com/notifications/notification-available/#cloudflare-status.04:50 pmPages increased deployment errors
Apr 3, 16:50 UTCIdentified - Cloudflare has identified an issue impacting Cloudflare Pages deployments of Pages Functions with R2 bindings. Customers may experience failures deploying their Pages FunctionsWe are working to analyze and mitigate this problem. More updates to follow shortly.04:43 pmSnag an iPad Pro Magic Keyboard for $130 off right now
Macworld Apple Magic Keyboard Compatible with the 11-inch iPad Pro M4 and M5 View Deal An iPad experience is so much better when you have the Magic Keyboard, too, especially when you’re working on an iPad Pro. The only downside is that they can get pretty expensive. Well, instead of paying nearly $299 on one, you can grab the Magic Keyboard Case for the 11-inch iPad Pro M4 and M5 for $170 at Amazon’s Woot, a savings of $130 and the best price we’ve seen by a large margin. While technically new, Woot cautions that this keyboard will arrive in an open box. According to Woot, that means it was either used for a photo sample, a customer return, or a product with damaged packaging. It’s not refurbished and has all been tested to be new, but the box isn’t sealed, and it’s not eligible for Apple’s 1-year warranty (though you will get a 90-day Woot warranty). If you don’t mind that one catch, the Magic Keyboard Case is a model that works with the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro, but it will work just fine with the new M5 model, which has the same dimensions. It’s a fantastic accessory that magnetically attaches to your iPad and comes with backlit keys and a versatile hinge design that lets you adjust the viewing angle smoothly. It’s designed to fold up and protect your iPad when traveling, and is great for watching videos or working on the go. So go ahead and take advantage of this deal and get the Apple Magic Keyboard for $170 at Woot. Since this is an Amazon company, your Prime perks cross over.04:37 pmThis charger gives you real-time charging diagnostics, temperature data, and more
Over the years, as battery tech has progressed, chargers have gotten faster, smaller, and more efficient. Do you remember those small 5W chargers Apple used to give us? That same size can now fit 60 watts of power output. But now all of these chargers look and behave the same. Cuktech’s new 100W GaN charger adds a beautiful real-time diagnostics display that gives you all the information you would ever need and want. Having visibility into exactly how fast something is charging is something I have always wanted. And it does even more than just that. Here is what you need to know. more…04:19 pmViewer beware: Worst-rated Apple TV shows and movies
Despite its reputation for quality hits, Apple TV swings and misses sometimes. Here are the worst-rated Apple TV shows and movies. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)04:06 pmApple Watch Ultra 4: Four rumored new features coming this fall
Apple has had a big year for product launches already, but later this year Apple Watch Ultra 4 is coming, with four rumored new features expected so far. more…04:00 pmQ&A: How Plane Finder set itself up for the long haul
Plane Finder is a sparkling example of what happens when a small team grows with a platform.Launched in 2009, Plane Finder didn’t scale over the years by adding headcount, vendors, or complexity. Instead, founders Jodie and Lee Armstrong made a long-term bet on Apple’s ecosystem — staying native, sticking close to first-party tools, and reading platform signals early. And over time, an app that began as “planes on a map” evolved into a full end-to-end flight-tracking business — one that includes a global network of physical hardware — built and operated by a team of just eight people.We talked to the married founders about their early days, the new design and Liquid Glass, and the challenges of running a global flight tracking network.Plane Finder Available on: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch Team size: 8 Based in: UK Download Plane Finder from the App Store >Take us back to 2009. What sparked the idea for Plane Finder, and what were those early days like?Lee: We’ve been on the App Store since about a year after it opened. It feels like a lifetime. But the real spark was seeing the unveiling of the iPhone itself in 2007. We were actually in the United States when it came out, so we picked one up, not really knowing what we’d do with it. There was no App Store yet, and I couldn’t even use it as a phone in the UK. It was literally just to hold and swipe back and forth. But that moment became such a huge part of our journey. We still have that iPhone on display.In those early days, did you have aspirations of becoming an end-to-end flight tracking platform?Jodie: Not at all. We started with just the app. Today, we collect our own positional information directly from aircraft, put it inside apps, and sell our data commercially.You’re a small team of eight people. What’s that like?Lee: I don’t think we could have done it without Apple technologies. We’re a small team, and we wouldn’t have the platform or methods to market on a global scale without the App Store — credit cards, StoreKit, localization. We really value the App Store as a platform.Plane Finder is known for adopting Apple technologies and features — like ARKit, MapKit, and Liquid Glass — early. Which tools have made the biggest difference?Lee: It all goes back to MapKit. We flippantly say the app is “planes on a map,” and MapKit is core to that. We’re also big users of Metal for our 3D globe view. And we just wouldn’t be able to handle subscriptions and monetization with promotional offers without StoreKit 2. We don’t use any third parties or cross-platform frameworks. We’re all in on Apple technologies because they provide everything we need.What made you willing to be such early adopters?Jodie: I steer the company from the mindset of a quote I heard years ago: “When new technologies come along, you can either be part of the steamroller or part of the road.” We always want to be part of the steamroller. We’re quick to evaluate new technology, and if we can lean into it in a way that makes sense for our products, we go for it.Can you talk about the process of adopting Liquid Glass?Jodie: We were on board with the concept straight away. From a leadership perspective, we said, “This is the future. We’ve got to make it make sense for what we do.” The design and engineering teams worked incredibly hard bringing those two things together — staying current and leaning into the tech while making it make sense for our world.What does the developer community mean to you?Lee: It’s the reinforcement piece. When you’re working in silos, the community gives you confidence that you’re applying technologies correctly. It’s all well and good seeing WWDC sessions with slides and sample code, but that’s very specific. Seeing how it works in the real world is invaluable.Jodie: Everyone I speak to within Apple has passion and opinions about our app. They’re very engaged, and every piece of feedback is valuable. We’ve been asked questions over the years like “Why do you do this with your toolbar?” All that conversation is helpful.Plane Finder isn’t just an app. You’ve deployed thousands of flight tracking devices worldwide. How has Apple’s ecosystem enabled that?Jodie: There’s a symbiotic relationship between people enjoying the app and wanting to get involved by hosting receivers where we need coverage.Lee: When we first started, we had one receiver covering the south of the UK. People downloaded the app and said, “This is great, but I live in Scotland and can’t see any planes.” So we’d send them a receiver. Before long, we heard that from Sweden, the United States, Africa, and Asia.Jodie: Today, we use the app to find people in locations where we want to improve coverage. We’re leveraging the power of the audience to grow the network even further.What’s next?Jodie: We haven’t finished our Liquid Glass journey. We’re working on an internal project code-named “Plane Finder Double Glazed” — the next iteration with wider UI changes that we held back initially. We’re also looking at how we can leverage machine learning and foundation models.What’s one thing people don’t realize about running a global flight tracking network?Lee: We own and operate the network of receivers that power it. A lot of people think we buy that data like other companies do.Jodie: We’ve designed and manufactured receivers and antennas. There’s more to us than just being an app!Keep readingDeveloper stories explore best practices and philosophies from some of the most inventive developers in the Apple community. In each story, we go behind the screens with developers, designers, and engineers to find out how they brought their remarkable creations to life.Browse all developer stories >04:00 pmHow Infold Games fashioned an open world for Infinity Nikki
Infinity Nikki is a literally glowing example of what video game graphics can be.The fifth in a series of dress-up titles from Infold Games, Infinity Nikki is also the first to embrace elements of RPG action-adventure. But instead of tracking down weapons and battling bad guys, this installment finds its wide-eyed heroine solving puzzles by collecting enchanted outfits found throughout a series of wondrous lands.Infinity Nikki Available on: iPhone, iPad Based in: Singapore Awards: Apple Design Award winner for Visuals and Graphics (2025), App Store Awards Game of the Year finalist (2025), App Store Editors’ Choice Download Infinity Nikki from the App Store >The fashion-forward gameplay still remains, of course. Nikki’s dress sways and waves every step of the way, while capes sparkle and drift in the wind. Different outfits are imbued with different abilities that allow players to guide Nikki — and her cat companion, Momo — through clever puzzles. And from quaint cobblestone towns to distant mountains, every corner of the game’s Miraland — brought to life with cutting-edge visuals — is awash in beautifully realized lighting and effects from advanced shading techniques like Global Illumination. (Executive producer Kentaro Tominaga previously worked on several installments of the Legend of Zelda series.)It’s a wonderland of texture, light, and animation — and the 2025 Apple Design Award winner for Visuals and Graphics. To find out more, we caught up with Douhu, Infinity Nikki’s lead gameplay systems designer for outfits; Ade, lead programmer; and Dodie, art director.Why did you decide to make this fifth installment an open-world RPG?Douhu: When we started thinking about this six years ago, we already knew it would be an open-world game. So we asked ourselves: How do we go about bringing Nikki into that space? And how do we set it apart from other open-world games on the market?To make these worlds as immersive as we can, we keep an eye on all the details, all the time.Douhu, lead gameplay systems designer for outfitsThis is the first Nikki game to include action-adventure elements and light combat.Douhu: Yes, but we knew that combat wouldn’t be part of the game’s core play. The Nikki series has such a defined style. We thought a lot about how to maintain that.How many people worked on the visuals for this?Douhu: Oh, it’s a huge team — roughly 800 people. It’s a fun but a complicated job. We have a lot of visual pipelines all going at once: cutscenes, the NPC ecosystem, lighting, performance. The production complexity is so high.The payoff for that work seems to be everywhere: The game is full of fabrics, sparkles, environments, and natural elements.Douhu: And we think about all of them. For instance, when Nikki runs up a flight of steps in a cutscene, we don’t want her to stamp her feet down. We want her to move lightly and elegantly. All the sounds you hear are based on real-world sounds, though we’ve added some imagination to them in post-production editing. To make these worlds as immersive as we can, we keep an eye on all the details, all the time.Nikki’s double-jump is especially elegant; it’s almost like a glider coming in for the softest of landings.Douhu: That’s because we want players to have plenty of time to experience the world. Our core gameplay is based on jumping, but it’s not a very quick motion. It’s slow, like a micro-response for that specific floating motion. And that’s because we want to let players breathe and appreciate all the details of Miraland.What is Day 1 like on the visuals for something like this?Douhu: Because this is our fifth game with Nikki, we already have the character and philosophy built out, so those first days are more about sketching out the new world and its different maps.Ade: To start, we reconstruct the structure and physical performance of the fabrics in the engine, based mostly on reality. Then we’ll do extreme evolutions on the fabrics. We have so many fabric categories in our library, and a lot of those are heritage from previous titles. But we make all kinds of adjustments, and add all kinds of effects to make the game feel like it’s beyond reality.Douhu: We do have a big closet in our office! But we want to emphasize that we’re not just exporting real fabrics or trying to recreate reality. We’re adding layers of fantasy. We add complicated embroideries, more patterns, and glittering special effects to depict a more whimsical, fantastic version of reality. That’s why Nikki’s outfits look more gorgeous than they would in real life. Hopefully!Could you select an element in the game and share a little about how it was brought to life?Dodie: Color has always been central to our art creation, so I’ll share two examples from Version 2.0: the five-star outfit Behind Prayers and the location called Snail Ranch.The core design concept of Behind Prayers is ”a confined divine maiden,” so that meant a maximal design approach. The divine maiden longs for freedom, yet she’s draped in heavy layers of ornate garments and gemstones. These represent both sacred glory and the weight of restraint: dazzling and radiant, yet undeniably burdensome.We chose gold as the primary color to express sanctity and brilliance, and we introduced touches of green to break potential visual monotony. We further embellished the outfit with a rich array of multicolored gemstones and enhanced it with prismatic sparkle effects, allowing it to shimmer vividly — even at night.Snail Ranch, meanwhile, is the player’s first destination in Itzaland — the place where Nikki first encounters the Shroomlings and the snails.The lighting in this area is intentionally bright and inviting. Sunlight filters through enormous leaves, creating a warm and relaxing atmosphere, while even small puddles along the path reflect the deep blue of the sky. The scene takes on a fairytale quality, inviting players to believe and lose themselves in the land.Talk about your approach to creating these fabrics and outfits.Ade: Infinity Nikki introduces a revolutionary material system. At the core is a re-engineered fabric algorithm that preserves the advantages of four-layer UV blending textures, while requiring only minimal parameter adjustments to accurately simulate a wide range of materials, including the natural coarseness of cotton and linen, the smooth sheen of silk and satin, as well as the delicate tactile qualities of various velvets and flannel. The system also provides deep support for custom reflections and diverse sparkle responses, making it easy to create distinctive highlights and dreamy glints, such as the unique interplay of gauze and silk in the Fairytale Swan outfit.Visual richness in Infinity Nikki extends well beyond fabric. We developed a specialized jewelry material system using advanced algorithms to simulate the brilliance of gemstones, including complex refraction, 3S light transmission, and highly variable specular highlights, as seen in the pearls and diamonds of the Fairytale Swan outfit. Dynamic presentation has also broken through previous limitations. To support animated patterns in high-end outfits such as Threads of Reunion, the team developed an innovative solution to mitigate Unreal Engine 5’s interference from engine-native motion blur on UV animations. This enables crisp and vivid celestial motion effects: three independent orbits allow full customization of planetary shapes, angular velocities, and trajectories, layered with flowing asteroid belts and lunar phase changes.And how do you approach physical simulation?Ade: We make flexible use of skeletal physics and Chaos Cloth to achieve natural, expressive motion. Through proprietary skeletal chain algorithms and enhanced cloth solvers, the team replaces costly and unstable traditional collision-based algorithms with more stable and controllable constraint-based algorithms. Let’s take Nikki running in a loose dress as an example. We introduced a flexible and soft-driven constraint stage during preprocessing, ensuring that even under dramatic movements, the initial garment avoids clipping the body.While pursuing physical realism, the system also preserves the intended artistic silhouette of garments, particularly structured garments with petticoat. These outfits must flow naturally like fabric, while maintaining behavior consistent with their physical construction. Our custom algorithms incorporate collision handling between different garment types and multiple clothing layers, enabling free outfit combinations without sacrificing stability. By carefully balancing visual effects and performance, we achieve consistent results across multiple platforms.Keep readingDeveloper stories explore best practices and philosophies from some of the most inventive developers in the Apple community. In each story, we go behind the screens with developers, designers, and engineers to find out how they brought their remarkable creations to life.Browse all developer stories >04:00 pmHey Siri, give us weather reports that work outside California
Some of my feature requests are more ambitious than others, but my latest one is extremely unassuming. I would simply like Apple to appreciate that there are places other than California when it comes to Siri’s weather reports. While I’m sure that the standard reports given by Apple’s voice assistant work just fine for Cupertino, they are lacking a vital ingredient for places like London … more…03:56 pmiOS UDID Finder — Find Your iPhone or iPad UDID
Here’s an easy way to find your iPhone or iPad UDID—handy when you’re registering a new device in your Apple Developer account. We don’t store anything on our servers. Try it out and let me know what you think. submitted by /u/robingenz [link] [comments]03:49 pmThe MacRumors Show: Everything We Know About iPhone 18 Pro
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through everything the iPhone 18 Pro will feature, according to the latest rumors. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Following last year's major redesign, the iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to feature a very similar design to their predecessors. There is likely to be a smaller Dynamic Island, with Face ID's flood illuminator component moved under the screen to reduce the cutout's size. It is rumored to be approximately 35% narrower than the iPhone 17 Pro's. The Pro Max will be slightly thicker than its predecessor, rising to around 8.8mm and over 240 grams to accommodate a larger battery of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh, up from the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 5,088 mAh. The rear will see a slight design shift as well. Apple is reportedly dropping the two-tone look found on iPhone 17 Pro models in favor of a more seamless aesthetic, with improved alignment between the Ceramic Shield back glass and the aluminum frame. The devices are also expected to come in a special red color. The camera system will undergo more substantial changes. Both Pro models' main 48-megapixel Fusion camera are rumored to feature variable aperture, which would allow users to control the lens opening to manage light intake and depth of field. The aperture would function similarly to a DSLR camera, giving photographers greater control over focus sharpness and background blur in different lighting conditions. Additionally, Samsung is developing a new three-layer sensor for the iPhone 18 Pro, designed to reduce noise, improve dynamic range, and enhance camera responsiveness compared to Sony's current sensors. The Camera Control button is also getting a simplification. Rather than supporting both capacitive touch gestures and pressure sensing as on the iPhone 17, the iPhone 18 will rely on pressure sensing alone, reducing manufacturing complexity and the cost of repairs, while improving ease of use. The A20 Pro chip will mark Apple's debut of a 2-nanometer processor, with a reported 15% speed increase and about 30% better power efficiency compared to the A19 Pro. The chip will use TSMC's Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module technology, integrating RAM directly onto the same wafer as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine rather than mounting it separately, which should improve performance and battery life while reducing the physical footprint of the chip. The iPhone 18 Pro models will also feature Apple's C2 modem, which is expected to bring faster speeds, improved power efficiency, and support for mmWave 5G in the United States, a capability absent from the C1 and C1X modems used in earlier iPhones. Other upgrades include Apple's N2 wireless chip and 5G satellite internet. The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to launch in September 2026, with the standard iPhone 18 and the lower-end iPhone 18e following in spring 2027. A foldable iPhone is also expected to debut alongside the Pro models in the fall. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel! You can also listen to The MacRumors Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or other podcast apps. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your player. If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about Apple's announcement of its 37th annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where the company is expected to unveil a major Siri overhaul alongside iOS 27, macOS 27, and other next-generation operating systems. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie. The MacRumors Show is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also email us at podcast@macrumors.com or head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.Related Roundup: iPhone 18 ProTag: The MacRumors ShowThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums03:43 pmAre new Macs on the way? Here’s what Apple is releasing in April
Macworld The biggest Apple event in April is definitely the company’s 50th anniversary. We have a lot of features related to the event, which took place on April 1. Other than the possibility of some M5 Mac refreshes, there’s not much else expected in April. The OS 26.5 updates will continue their beta tests, with a small chance of going into wide release late in the month. But we no longer expect any sort of Siri overhaul until the OS 27 releases later this year, leaving precious little in the OS 26 updates. There will be new Apple TV shows and Apple Arcade games, of course. But when it comes to new hardware, again, all eyes are now on WWDC in June rather than April or May. New hardware releases Though they were announced in March, the AirPods Max 2 only started to ship at the start of April. The new model takes the existing AirPods Max hardware (including the same colors) and upgrades the audio processor from the H1 to the H2, bringing with it some new features and improvements to noise cancellation. However, there’s a lot of other hardware still rumored to arrive in the first half of 2026, any of which could arrive this month: M5 Mac mini: Apple updated its M4 laptops to M5 processors, but its desktops still run M4 chips. The Mac mini is already low on stock or sold out everywhere, so it’s probably first in line to get an update. M5 Ultra Mac Studio: Now that the Mac Pro is retired, the Mac Studio takes the crown as Apple’s fastest and most powerful desktop Mac. Apple is expected to update the current model with an M5 Ultra chip, which will bring a significant performance boost over the M3 Ultra. That might not arrive until WWDC, though. M5 iMac: Like the other desktop Macs, the iMac also still has an M4 processor. However, Apple has skipped iMac generations before, most recently with the M2, so it’s possible it doesn’t get an update until the M6. Other products are seemingly close to release, but are waiting on the new Siri: a new Apple TV 4K, new HomePod mini, and a smart home hub many are calling “HomePad.” All of these products are dependent on new Siri capabilities that are nearly two years late, and with all the new Siri features now seemingly bumped back to the OS 27 releases this fall, these products might sit on the back burner until the fall. Apps and software updates The beta testing period for iOS 26.5 (and other 26.5 releases) has begun, and still no sign of the new Siri, even in a limited capacity. There are very few new features in the OS 26.5 releases so far—more RCS encryption testing and support for ads in Maps—and we don’t have big expectations for the final release. It will most likely arrive in early May, though it could arrive in late April. Services Apple TV+ Here are the shows, series, and movies we expect to release on Apple TV+ in April. If you want to know what’s coming later, check our full guide to upcoming Apple TV+ content. Your Friends and Neighbors (season 2): Jon Hamm is back to rob his rich neighbors in season 2. April 3 Outcome: A dark comedy starring Keanu Reeves as a hated celebrity trying to make amends for being so awful. April 10 Margo’s Got Money Troubles: A college dropout turns to camming when she needs money for her new baby. April 15 Criminal Record: A character-driven drama set in the heart of contemporary London. April 22 My Brother the Minotaur: When a minotaur raised by humans starts dreaming of his mythical past, he sets out on a wild adventure. April 29 Widow’s Bay: A horror-comedy about a sleepy island fishing town full of superstition and curses. April 29 Apple Arcade Apple releases most Apple Arcade games on the first Friday of each month. Check our Apple Arcade FAQ for a full list of Apple Arcade games and more details on the service. Occasionally, games are released with no forewarning, but you’ll usually see next month’s releases listed in the Coming Soon section. Dredge+: An absolutely fantastic Lovecraftian horror fishing game. April 2 HYKE: Northern Light(s): Top-down 2D pixel are RPG. April 2 My Very Hungry Caterpiller+: A colorful early education game for kids. Date Unpacking+: A simple cozy game in which you unpack boxes to set up and decorate rooms. April 203:33 pmDeals: M5 Pro MacBook Pro up to $284 off, Apple Sport Bands for $15, Powerbeats Fit, Nomad iPhone 17 cases, more | 9 to 5 MacDeals: M5 Pro MacBook Pro up to $284 off, Apple Sport Bands for $15, Powerbeats Fit, Nomad iPhone 17 cases, more
Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is headlined by the most affordable new 2026 M5 Pro MacBook Pro at $149 off (Amazon all-time low, or $284 off open-box) alongside another shot at $300 clearance price drops on M4 MacBook Air. We also have official Apple Watch Sport Bands at just $15 Prime shipped today, Amazon all-time lows on Apple iPhone 17e Cases, the Beats Powerbeats Fit at up to a massive $127 off, and Nomad leather iPhone 17 Pro/Max cases at 20% off with a FREE screen protector. Head below for a closer look. more…03:24 pmSave $400 on 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro with 20C GPU, 1TB SSD this weekend
Amazon is blowing out M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro inventory this weekend, with a staggering $400 discount on the upgraded spec with a 20-core GPU and 1TB SSD.Save $400 on a blowout 14-inch MacBook Pro with 20-core GPU - Image credit: AppleShoppers on the hunt for the greatest MacBook Pro savings can snap up a $400 discount with a closeout deal on the last-gen M4 Pro 14-inch model with multiple upgrades.Buy 14" M4 Pro/24GB/1TB for $1,999 Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums03:08 pmXcode Cloud never ending queues
Is anyone else having never ending queues? Just since four hours ago I have my builds queueing with no prior change on the workflow or anything. It is happening on my two projects which I am doing last build to deploy a new version, but it’s not moving forward. I have cancelled builds and restarted […]02:55 pmApple cheaped out on the iPad charger: Best options
Here's why Apple's iPad charger is bit rubbish — way underpowered for the job. There are much better options. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)02:31 pmBest Apple Deals of the Week: AirPods Max 2 Launch Deal Arrives, Plus $100 Off Apple Studio Display and More | MacRumorsBest Apple Deals of the Week: AirPods Max 2 Launch Deal Arrives, Plus $100 Off Apple Studio Display and More
This week was the launch of the AirPods Max 2, and Amazon has the first cash discount on these brand new headphones for launch week. Below, you'll also find great deals on the M5 MacBook Air, 2026 Studio Display, and M4 iPad Air. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. AirPods Max 2 What's the deal? Take $20 off AirPods Max 2 Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $20 OFFAirPods Max 2 for $529.00 Apple's new AirPods Max 2 launched this week, and Amazon is one of the only retailers offering any sort of discount on the headphones. You can get the Midnight and Starlight color options for $529.00 on Amazon, down from $549.00. M5 MacBook Air What's the deal? Take up to $84 off M5 MacBook Air Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $66 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $1,033.00 $84 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (24GB/1TB) for $1,415.50 Amazon has introduced a few new record low prices on the new M5 MacBook Air this week, with up to $84 off these notebooks. The biggest markdowns can be found on the 13-inch MacBook Air, but there are still some solid deals on 15-inch models as well. Apple Studio Display What's the deal? Take $100 off the new Studio Display Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $100 OFFApple Studio Display (Standard/Tilt) for $1,499.00 $100 OFFApple Studio Display (Standard/VESA) for $1,499.00 $100 OFFApple Studio Display (Nano-Texture/VESA) for $1,799.00 $100 OFFApple Studio Display (Standard/Tilt and Height) for $1,899.00 Apple just launched the new line of Studio Displays last month, and Amazon already has a few $100 discounts on select models. You can get the Standard Glass Studio Display with Tilt-Adjustable Stand for $1,499.00, down from $1,599.00, an all-time low price. M4 iPad Air What's the deal? Take up to $80 off M4 iPad Air Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $40 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air for $559.00 $50 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air for $749.00 Last month saw the launch of all of Apple's new products, and Amazon is already offering good discounts on many models of the M4 iPad Air. We're seeing up to $80 off both the 11-inch and 13-inch models, which is solid for a brand-new product. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2026? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season! Related Roundup: Apple DealsThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums02:21 pmiOS 26.5 and iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone
Earlier this week, Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 26.5 to developers. The software update is relatively minor so far, which is not too surprising given that Apple is likely shifting its focus towards iOS 27. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and the update should be released in September. Below, we outline what is new in iOS 26.5 so far, along with rumored iOS 27 features. iOS 26.5 iOS 26.5 lays the groundwork for two changes, including end-to-end encryption for RCS in the Messages app and ads in the Apple Maps app. End-to-end encryption for RCS is a security feature that ensures that messages sent between supported iOS 26.5 and Android devices are encrypted and cannot be intercepted and read by a third party while they are being delivered. Apple already tested end-to-end encryption for RCS in the iOS 26.4 beta, but the feature did not make it into the final release of iOS 26.4 last week. It remains to be seen if the feature launches with iOS 26.5, or if it will be removed again before beta testing ends and return at some point during the iOS 27 software cycle. Last month, Apple announced that ads are coming to the Apple Maps app on the iPhone and iPad in the U.S. and Canada starting "this summer," and there is evidence of Apple preparing for that within iOS 26.5's code. Apple says businesses in the U.S. and Canada will be able to place ads in search results and at the top of a new "Suggested Places" section in the app. The new "Suggested Places" section is visible in the iOS 26.5 beta. "Ads on Maps will appear when users search in Maps, and can appear at the top of a user's search results based on relevance, as well as at the top of a new Suggested Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on what's trending nearby, the user's recent searches, and more," says Apple. Similar to the ads that are already shown in App Store search results on the iPhone and iPad, ads in Apple Maps will have an "Ad" label, and Apple promises strong privacy protections. For example, Apple says a user's location and the ads they see and interact with in Apple Maps are not associated with a user's Apple Account. Read our coverage of Apple's announcement for more details about the ads. In the iOS 26.5 beta, Apple is working to extend iPhone features like notifications, Live Activities, and AirPods-like pairing to third-party smartwatches and headphones in the EU, as required under the Digital Markets Act. Beyond that, iOS 26.5 has only a few other minor changes. iOS 27 Apple's long-awaited Siri revamp is finally expected to arrive with iOS 27. The more personalized version of Siri will have understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, during its WWDC 2024 keynote, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps. That is not all, though, as iOS 27 will reportedly feature a dedicated Siri app with its own chatbot functionality and conversation history, or users will be able to tap into third-party chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Anthropic's Claude through a so-called "Extensions" feature in the app. Earlier this year, Apple and Google announced that Gemini will help to power Apple Intelligence's underlying models and features, including the more personalized version of Siri. iOS 27 will likely expand Apple Intelligence to additional Apple apps, and it was rumored that this will include the Apple Calendar app. iOS 27 will reportedly support 5G satellite internet connectivity, although this functionality might be limited to the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models with Apple's next-generation C2 modem. Additional satellite features have been rumored, including Apple Maps via satellite and the ability to send and receive photos when using Messages via satellite. iOS 27 may be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is apparently focused on improving "quality and underlying performance." Apple is expected to focus on bug fixes, improved stability, and Liquid Glass design enhancements. Apple has reportedly tested an updated iPhone keyboard with enhanced autocorrect. The features should debut on iOS 27 if Apple moves forward with it. Similar to Grammarly, the keyboard "expands autocorrect by offering alternative words." iOS 27 is not expected to include any major Liquid Glass design changes, but the update may add a system-wide Liquid Glass slider for precisely adjusting the opacity of the interface. A similar slider already exists for the Lock Screen's clock. Of course, these are only the known or rumored features so far.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, iOS 27Related Forum: iOS 26This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums02:16 pmScott Forstall among many former Steve Jobs-era Apple execs at Apple Park this week
One year after becoming Apple CEO in 2011, Tim Cook made waves by firing Scott Forstall, a top lieutenant to the late Steve Jobs. Thirteen years later, Forstall and several other former Steve Jobs-era Apple executives were spotted at Apple Park. more…02:14 pmU.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March, well above expectations
The U.S. Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 178,000 jobs in March. That figure was well above the expectations of… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.02:05 pmWhen you’re about to hop on public Wi-Fi, do this before logging in
Lock down your devices with a VPN and a password manager with the FastestVPN & Security Lifetime Bundle bundle for just $39.99. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)01:57 pmCarPlay got two brand new apps this week that are big iPhone hits
CarPlay has been around for so long that it’s rare to see brand new apps debut from big-name companies. The most noteworthy CarPlay apps have typically been on the platform for years already. But this week, CarPlay got two brand new apps that are big iPhone hits: ChatGPT and Google Meet. more…01:51 pmApple's iPad is still showing the world how to do tablets, 16 years later
The iPad was mocked at launch, has been threatened by rivals throughout, and yet still remains the best-selling tablet ever made, 16 years after it first shipped to customers on April 3, 2010.It's easy to name alternatives to the iPad, you could be here all day listing myriad Android tablets. But it's impossible to name even one true iPad competitor.For after all of these years since it launched, and after all of the rival devices that have launched after that moment, there isn't any one tablet that sells enough on its own to compete with the iPad. Its competition is the mass of cheaper rivals, which is not to be ignored, yet none of them have come close to the success of the iPad.The closest is surely the Microsoft Surface, but if that's the best and the best-known rival, it doesn't appear to be doing all that well. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums01:49 pmProvider-Agnostic Logging in Swift with os.Logger
submitted by /u/unpluggedcord [link] [comments]01:45 pmToday in Apple history: ‘Magical’ first iPad debuts in stores
On April 3, 2010, Apple’s first tablet hit store shelves after months of anticipation. The first iPad quickly became a major success. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)01:37 pm∞ The Dalrymple Report: Ear Monitors and Apple at 50
Dave and I are back and this week we talk about Future Sonics Ear Monitors, how they sound, where they came from and why they are so important for your hearing. We also talk about Apple's 50th birthday. Such an incredible story of a company that changed the world, with so many different products. Follow this podcast Brought to you by: Squarespace: Check out squarespace.com/DALRYMPLE to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DALRYMPLE. Show Notes: Future Sonics Ear Monitors Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference returns the week of June 8 Apple rings opening bell at NASDAQ Apple celebrates its 50th anniversary with special animated homepage Apple’s special 50th anniversary merch for employees Chris Espinosa, featured by New York Times Paul McCartney Blazes Through Career-Spanning Set at Apple Park for 50th Anniversary Celebrations When Steve Jobs came back to Apple Shows and movies we're watching Surface, Apple TV Launch of the Artemis II space craft Sinners, HBO01:36 pmiPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for more than five more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component will be moved under the screen on the devices, which will result in merely a smaller Dynamic Island. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of April 2026:Red Color: The special color for the iPhone 18 Pro models will reportedly be red. Smaller Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that Face ID's flood illuminator will be moved under the screen on the iPhone 18 Pro models, paving the way for a smaller Dynamic Island on the devices. 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch Display Sizes: The next Pro models are expected to have the same overall design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, including 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras. LTPO+ Displays: More power-efficient displays could contribute to longer battery life. Variable Aperture: The main 48-megapixel Fusion camera on both iPhone 18 Pro models is rumored to have a variable aperture, which would allow users to control the amount of light that passes through the camera's lens and reaches the sensor. This would provide greater control over depth of field. However, given that iPhones have smaller image sensors due to smartphone size constraints, it is unclear exactly how meaningful this improvement would be. A20 Pro Chip: Apple's next-generation A20 Pro chip is expected to use TSMC's first-generation 2nm process, whereas the A19 Pro chip is 3nm. With a 2nm architecture and a new packaging design, the A20 Pro chip should deliver solid year-over-year performance and power efficiency gains. C2 Modem: Apple's custom C1 cellular modem for 5G and LTE debuted in the iPhone 16e last year, and that was followed by a C1X chip in the iPhone Air. Apple says the C1X modem is up to twice as fast as the C1 modem, and the most power-efficient modem in an iPhone ever. The improvements should continue with Apple's third-generation C2 modem in the iPhone 18 Pro models. N2 Chip: Most of the iPhone 17 models and the iPhone Air are equipped with an Apple-designed N1 chip that enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Apple says the N1 chip also improves the overall performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop. iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to have Apple's next-generation N2 chip, but it is not yet known what improvements would come with this upgrade. A simplified Camera Control button with no swipe gestures. Design changes to the rear Ceramic Shield for MagSafe charging, potentially including a more frosted glass appearance. Web browsing via satellite. The iPhone 18 Pro Max may be slightly thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, perhaps to accommodate a larger battery.Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a foldable iPhone in September, followed by a standard iPhone 18 model, a lower-end iPhone 18e, and potentially a second-generation iPhone Air early next year.Related Roundup: iPhone 18 ProThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums01:36 pmApple at 50, Siri, Apple Vision Pro, and vibe coding, on the AppleInsider Podcast
Apple has marked its 50th anniversary, although arguably a year too soon but we'll get into that, plus there's good news for users of the Apple Vision Pro, hopeful news about Siri, and bad news for certain vibe coders, all on the AppleInsider Podcast.Looking back at Apple's history — image credit: AppleThe fiftieth anniversary celebrations are, quite reasonably, marking the half century since the partnership of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, was founded on April 1, 1976. But the Apple we know today, the corporation, was created in 1977.It seems unlikely that Apple will do another round of parties and events, but we'd be up for it if they did. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums01:35 pmHow are these stats for a recent free app launch?
Hi all, this is the first app I’ve developed and I’m wondering how this performance is in the grand scheme of things. It’s completely free at the moment but I am thinking about keeping all current features free and adding even more behind a “pro” membership. I’ve had some initial success getting downloads from sharing […]01:15 pmTop 8 clean setups: Great cable management pays off
Untangling cord spaghetti may seem tedious, but the result? Glorious. Take tips from the best cable management we've seen in setups. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)01:15 pmTop 8 clean setups: Great cable management pays off
Untangling cord spaghetti may seem tedious, but the result? Glorious. Take tips from the best cable management we've seen in setups. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)01:00 pmThe iOS Weekly Brief – Issue 54 (News, tools, upcoming conferences, job market overview, weekly poll, and must-read articles) | Reddit on iOS ProgrammingThe iOS Weekly Brief – Issue 54 (News, tools, upcoming conferences, job market overview, weekly poll, and must-read articles)
One of the most loved developer tools was built on code most engineers would flag in review. Nobody cared. News: – App Store now supports 11 new languages – What’s new in Swift – Xcode 26.5 beta Must read: – the SwiftUI lifecycle split that explains every onAppear mystery – a Claude Code skill that […]12:40 pmIs Apple One worth it for you?
Apple offers a broad range of services nowadays, ranging from Apple TV to Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, and more. In addition to those individual services, Apple offers an a compelling Apple One bundle where you get access to different subscription offerings at a discount. Is Apple One worth it? Here’s what you need to know. more…12:22 pmUnited Kingdom SMS Carrier Maintenance – BT OnePhone
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Apr 16, 15:00 - 21:00 PDTApr 3, 04:55 PDTScheduled - The BT OnePhone network in the United Kingdom is conducting a planned maintenance from 16 April 2026 at 15:00 PDT until 16 April 2026 at 21:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from BT OnePhone United Kingdom handsets.11:52 amUnited Kingdom SMS Carrier Maintenance – Virgin
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Apr 8, 13:00 - 19:00 PDTApr 3, 04:52 PDTScheduled - The Virgin network in the United Kingdom is conducting a planned maintenance from 08 April 2026 at 13:00 PDT until 08 April 2026 at 19:00 PDT. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from Virgin United Kingdom handsets.11:44 amApple at 50: Michael Spindler, the CEO who brought in the clones
He's Apple's Chief Operating Officer who became the CEO — but he's not Tim Cook. Instead, this was how Michael Spindler replaced John Sculley, and made himself ill trying to save the company in the 1990s.Apple CEO Michael Spindler — image credit: AppleMichael Scott was the first Apple CEO, brought in by Mike Markkula, who became the second CEO when Scott was shown the door. Markkula was then responsible along with Steve Jobs for recruiting John Sculley, until he was also shown the exit sign.But while it was Sculley who made Spindler Chief Operating Officer, and then it was the board that made him CEO, Markkula was again behind all of this. It was Markkula who recruited Spindler to join Apple in September 1980. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums11:20 am'The Bonfire of the Vanities' series headed to Apple TV
Maybe the third time is the charm. Writer/producer David E. Kelley is adapting Tom Wolfe's "The Bonfire of the Vanities" novel into a series for Apple TV, with "The Batman" director Matt Reeves.Apple TV is dramatizing "The Bonfire of the Vanities" — image credit: AppleDavid E. Kelley is still best known for "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal" shows, but he's also the writer of Apple TV's "Presumed Innocent" and "Margo's Got Money Troubles." Now according to Deadline, he's dramatizing Tom Wolfe's famous 1987 novel of greed and Wall Street money.Not to spoil the story, but as excellent as it is, Wolfe's novel feels as if it fades out rather than have a big finish, which has made it difficult to successfully adapt. It was filmed in 1990, with Tom Hanks starring and Brian DePalma directing from a screenplay by Michael Cristofer, but that was a flop. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums11:15 amThe Tim Cook era: Apple’s most important products from 2016-today
Macworld On April 1, 1976, three visionaries decided to start building computers at a humble, California-based garage. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak took care of marketing and hardware, while Ronald Wayne briefly assisted with administration. Success was far from guaranteed at the time, and Apple Computer Company had to undergo multiple evolutions before earning its current status as the most influential corporation. And it’s not even close to slowing down. In the last 10 years alone, Apple has put out one of the most dramatic iPhone redesigns, a couple of groundbreaking gadgets, plus a ton of other advancements in tablet and desktop computing. Here’s a look at the most noteworthy products released between 2016 and today: September 2016: AirPods Roman Loyola/IDG When Apple made the controversial decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7, it created a problem that needed a solution. The wireless AirPods were more than that. While they were the butt of more than a few jokes after their debut, AirPods popularized the wireless earbud format, pushing rivals to develop their own copycat models. Apple has since rounded out the lineup with the higher-end AirPods Pro and over-ear AirPods Max, along with tight ecosystem integrations, including Hearing Protection, Spatial Audio, Find My, and other handy perks that contribute to their undeniable popularity. September 2017: iPhone X Foundry Everyone knew something big was coming at the 2017 iPhone event, but no one was prepared for Apple to reinvent the phone again. To mark the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, Apple unveiled the iPhone X with a “One more thing” announcement, and it was worth the fanfare. The revolutionary redesign did away with the classic Home button and thick bezels and made way for Face ID, gesture navigation, and the first Liquid Retina display with rounded corners and an edge-to-edge aesthetic. The iPhone has been through numerous updates since the iPhone X’s unveiling, but the impact of the all-screen design and multi-touch navigation continues to be felt across all of Apple’s product lines. September 2018: Apple Watch Series 4 Apple In 2018, the Apple Watch Series 4 debuted, featuring the first major design overhaul. The smartwatch offered larger size options and a sharper display with rounder corners and slimmer bezels. But the biggest chance wasn’t the design. The Apple Watch Series 4 leaned heavily into health, with a new electrical heart rate sensor, the first ECG sensor, Fall Detection, the ability to detect Atrial Fibrillation, and other fitness enhancements. The Apple Watch Series 4’s design still feels fresh today on the SE 3, and its focus on wellness is on full display on the latest Apple Watch Series 11. October 2018: 3rd-gen iPad Pro Foundry When the first iPad Pro arrived in 2015, it was basically a larger version of the iPad we already knew. In 2018, it came into its own with a transformative design upgrade. Smaller, skinnier, and drop-dead gorgeous, the 3rd-gen iPad Pro was the start of a years-long tablet redesign that dropped the Home button, slimmed down the bezels, and adopted the iPhone X’s Liquid Retina display. Apart from the all-screen look, the iPad Pro also adopted the universal USB-C port and introduced the Apple Pencil 2, which magically attached to the top edge when charging. October 2020: M1 Macs Jason Cross/Foundry 2020 was the year that changed everything for the Mac. While Apple had been through processor changes before, the Mac’s transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon wasn’t a mere chip upgrade. The shift unlocked higher power and efficiency levels, making Macs significantly more reliable and efficient, and dramatically boosting performance and battery life. Apple launched the M1 chip in three existing Macs—the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini—to showcase its raw power. But it wasn’t just speed—Apple silicon also introduced support for iOS apps on the Mac and made it easier for developers to optimize their iPhone apps for the Mac. Today, M chips can also be found in higher-end iPads, unlocking unrivaled capabilities in impossibly thin tablets. April 2021: AirTag Foundry Despite its small size, the launch of the AirTag in 2021 had a remarkable impact on how we keep track of our personal belongings. For just $29, any iPhone user can find the exact location of a tagged item—as long as another Apple user is in its vicinity. Thanks to a network of billions of iPhones, the Find My network is the most reliable of its kind, outdoing third-party solutions like Tile and others. Countless stories have been shared about how AirTag was able to locate misplaced baggage while traveling, stolen cars, bikes, wallets, and even pets. It may not be the fanciest Apple product, but it has certainly been one of the most valuable introductions of the past decade. June 2023: Vision Pro David Price / Foundry After years of rumors, Apple finally kick-started its spatial computing era with the Vision Pro. Announced at WWDC 2023, the headset utilizes several cameras and sensors to 3D-map and analyze users’ surroundings. It then generates a virtual reality where users get to pick the level of immersion. With visionOS, users can place floating app windows and widgets anywhere in their view, turning any room into a large digital canvas. While its $3,499 price tag has barred most iPhone users from even considering buying one, the Vision Pro gives us an early glimpse of Apple’s vision for the future of computing. March 2026: MacBook Neo Foundry Perhaps the most recent impactful Apple release of the past 10 years is its newest: the low-cost MacBook Neo. Starting at $499 for students and educators, this MacBook is the cheapest, most accessible laptop Apple has ever made. While some power users will naturally complain about its A18 Pro iPhone chip, the device isn’t for them. It’s Apple’s first laptop made for switchers, students, and kids who need a reliable machine for web browsing, checking emails, handling documents, and light photo or video editing. Given Apple’s established reputation and the MacBook’s premium build, Neo is bound to disrupt the affordable laptop market for years to come. This is part five of a five-part series exploring 50 years of Apple product releases. You can catch up on anything you missed here: (1976-1985; 1986-1995; 1996-2005; 2006-2015).11:00 amWho’s in Apple’s top 10? Here’s the full list of the most influential people of all time
Macworld April 1 marks Apple’s 50th anniversary, a milestone it couldn’t reach without the help of some very talented people. So we decided to put together a list of the 50 people who made Apple the company it is today. Some worked there for just a year or two; others for almost the entire half-century, while others never actually worked for the company at all. But all influenced Apple’s journey in some profound way. This is all, of course, deeply subjective. It is very unlikely that every reader will agree with the author’s selections, far less with his rankings. Which is fine, we welcome the conversation. Our only rule is that if you complain about someone’s exclusion, tell us who you would cut to make room. We’ve reached the top 10: What did we get wrong? Drop us a message on Bluesky or Threads. 50-41 50. Katie Cotton Apple PR legend Katie Cotton joined Apple in 1996, shortly before the return of Steve Jobs, and worked closely with him for the next 15 years. For better or worse, she was instrumental in shaping the company’s communications strategy and famous culture of secrecy, fiercely controlling Apple’s portrayal in the press. As we wrote upon her retirement in 2014, she “largely turned public relations on its head.” Cotton sadly passed away in 2023, but like Jobs himself, her legacy lives on in Apple Park.10:51 amI got my first invite to WWDC
I’ve watched this live-stream as long as I can remember, and with the launch of my own app earlier this year, I applied and I got in. 🥹 Is this rare? What can I expect? And if I go alone, is that weird? submitted by /u/Prize-Diet-4645 [link] [comments]10:30 amEnough looking back, what do Apple’s next 10 years look like?
Macworld It’s unusual for a major technology company to not only survive and grow for a half century, but to steadily increase its cultural relevance and market dominance. A lot of time has been spent this week looking back at the last 50 years and the products, people, and events that make Apple special. It naturally leads one to ask: What about the next 50 years? Honestly, it’s impossible to predict. Even the most respected futurists and prognosticators have all been proven wrong, time and again, when trying to guess what the world will be like in half a century. Nobody predicted the technology landscape of 2026 back in 1976. But we can at least look forward 10 years. A decade feels like an eternity in tech, but it’s a horizon we can at least see from here. Out with the old guard Apple has gone through a number of leadership changes over the years, but executive turnover has been relatively low lately. The next decade is likely to be different. By the time 2036 rolls around, the Apple Leadership page is going to look very different. Tim Cook has been rumored to be on the verge of retirement for a while, likely to be replaced by hardware chief John Ternus. Maybe that will happen in a year, maybe two, or three, but no way does Cook go another 10 years without retiring. Apple’s John Ternus could be the next CEO once Tim Cook retires.Apple/Youtube That will mean a new CEO and a new Senior VP of Hardware, but there are a number of other executives who are likely to make their exit as well: Services and Health VP Eddy Cue is 61 and has been with Apple since 1989. Software boss Craig Federighi is 57 and worked at NeXT, joining Apple when it was acquired, then left, before coming back again 17 years ago. Greg “Joe” Joswiack, who replaced Phil Schiller as marketing VP in 2020, is 62 and has been with Apple since 1986. COO Sabih Khan just replaced Jeff Williams last year, but is 60 and has been with Apple since 1995. Retail chief Dierdre O’Brian is also 60 and has been with Apple since 1988. Chip architect Johny Srouji is 62 and has been at Apple since 2008, when he joined to lead development of Apple’s first in-house system-on-chip, the A4. In other words, most of the key players at the top of Apple’s org chart are going to be 70 or older in 2036 and will have been with the company for decades. Smart money says most will retire before Apple’s 60th anniversary. Nobody can really tell you what this wholesale change in Apple leadership, from the CEO down, is going to mean for the direction of the company. Apple has cultivated a strong corporate culture, but new leadership always comes with changes in priority and process. The iPhone still reigns supreme The tech media is always looking for the next big thing, and is quick to proclaim that we’ll all be using some totally different gadget in just a few years. In reality, it takes a long time to shift the habits and preferences of billions of people. Software and services can move quickly. Social media took over society in record time. AI is spreading like wildfire. But hardware is slower. Facebook was so sure that we’d all be strapped into VR headsets all day that it bought Oculus for a whopping $2 billion. That was 12 years ago, and VR is still a niche technology. Laptops overtook desktops as the dominant computing platform 20 years ago, and both are still used every day, with hundreds of millions of sales per year. Apple will surely enter new product categories over the next decade, but the iPhone will still reign supreme.Apple So yes, Apple will introduce new hardware. Smart glasses. A cheaper Vision headset. All sorts of smart home accessories, from robotic hubs to cameras and more. Some might even sell very well. But the iPhone will remain at the center of the Apple universe. Its form factor will evolve—some will fold (horizontally or vertically), the camera bump will change size and shape, the button layout will get tweaked, and the holes in the screen for cameras will move and resize. In a recent interview, Tim Cook said, “The iPhone is going to be around for a very long time. There’s so much left we can do with the iPhone. And I think it’s going to continue to be the center of people’s digital lives.” Spatial Computing stalls When Apple announced Vision Pro, it coined a new buzzword for AR/VR experiences: Spatial Computing. At the time, Tim Cook hailed it as the next step, the next evolution of personal computing after desktop, laptop, and mobile. Then, generative AI blew up and everything changed. The fact is, even without the pivot to AI, spatial computing is sort of a solution in search of a problem. Mixed reality is great for consuming entertainment, sports, or playing games. It’s a lot less useful for all the everyday tasks that we use our MacBooks and iPhones for. Like transparent displays, VR/AR is one of those things that looks cool in the movies but doesn’t quite hold up in real life. Spatial Computing has a long way to go before it hits the mainstream.Foundry I’m sure if you walked through the Apple offices in Cupertino, I’m willing to bet you’d would find that the vast majority of employees are not at their desks with Vision Pro headsets on. If it delivered a real productivity boost, even a small one, Apple employees would all be wearing them while working. We haven’t seen any evidence of that. Apple will get better at VR. Lower-cost headsets will come in the next decade, and the software will get better. But Spatial Computing will still be something that people do on the side, primarily as a way to consume and not create. At best, these Vision products will end up like iPads: a popular secondary device you use when you want to do specific things or escape for a while. AI software begets AI hardware The real growth category for Apple will be AI-powered hardware accessories. Apple, like every tech company, is investing heavily in a wide variety of AI initiatives and partnerships. Right now, none of it is great. Eventually, some of these bets will pay off, and Apple’s AI will stop being a joke and start being a real strength. But Apple doesn’t want to sell software, really. It was to sell things that run Apple’s software. That’s much harder to compete with at Apple’s level and a lot more profitable. That’s how Apple’s AI future is really going to manifest: in new AI-first products. Apple intelligence will surely spawn a variety of new products over the next 10 years.Foundry Apple will likely start simple, with new smart speakers and cameras that can recognize what they’re looking at in order to trigger actions. Privacy will be Apple’s selling point: processing done on-device, or in special cloud infrastructure that minimizes data collection. But before the decade is out, Apple will introduce real assistants. Siri with an actual personality. A tabletop display/camera/speaker on a robotic arm that moves and gestures like it’s alive. Perhaps the most successful “AI accessory” Apple sells will be smart glasses, which could show up in its first iteration as soon as next year. As opposed to more complicated, difficult, and expensive augmented reality glasses that have to integrate 3D graphics into the space around you, smart glasses have either no display or a “heads-up display” fixed in place in front of you. Like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, but with Apple design, branding, software, and services, and Apple’s reputation for privacy and security. Apple will profit from selling a variety of AI-first devices, but more importantly, they’ll make the lock-in effect to the Apple ecosystem stronger than ever. A whole category of products that exist as a medium to interact with advanced AI and other Apple services–that’s Apple’s next big growth area. What Apple won’t do Just as important as looking at what Apple is going to do and change in the next decade is considering where things will stay the same. Services, for example, will expand as expected. Particularly in Health, though it wouldn’t surprise me to see a paid AI service from Apple, or a bigger subscription play in sports. But major new service initiatives into areas in which Apple isn’t already involved–like when the company launched a streaming TV service–are probably not in the cards. Apple’s services expansion will be in existing areas of focus, from tools for creative professionals (hello, Apple Creator Studio) to music, TV, health, maps, sports, and news. Apple probably won’t figure out how to do games over the next 10 years.Foundry Apple still won’t figure out premium gaming. The iPhone will dominate mobile gaming, of course, but Apple doesn’t know or isn’t willing to do what it takes to make the Mac a popular gaming device, or the Apple TV box, or anything else that relies on a steady stream of day-one AAA titles. Apple doesn’t “get” gaming, and there’s no sign that it’s about to. The company will also not change its stance on its draconian control over its software ecosystem. Every ounce of freedom that users get to use Apple’s products the way they want, to run the software they want, paid for the way they want, will be gained under duress. Developers will get to make and distribute software without Apple’s explicit blessing only under court order. Apple considers the ability to develop and sell software for its products to be a gift it benevolently bestows upon the world, and that attitude isn’t going to change in 10 years. And despite the increasingly important role of social networks in society, Apple won’t start its own. Trading in personal information is anathema to the company’s values, and even though Apple’s meager official social media presence will increase a lot in the next decade, it won’t ever run its own service. Apple can still surprise us A lot of what Apple will get up to over the next decade has already been telegraphed, through interviews, leaks, and product roadmap so predictable that relatively minor changes, like a cheaper MacBook, are hailed as massive company shifts. But Apple can still surprise us. The touchscreen Mac we all thought would never happen now appears to be on the way. MacBook Neo could be the start of a series of Apple “budget” products—real budget products, not the iPhone “e” line that still costs twice what a budget smartphone does. Apple is not exactly a surprising company. Innovative, but rarely first. But ten years is a long time, and plenty of time for something new to come out of left field. After all, five years ago nobody was even thinking about generative AI, and now the entire tech industry, including Apple, is spending unlimited money, power, water, and other resources to cram it into everything. The most surprising change in Apple over the next ten years will probably come from a global shift that nobody is even aware of yet.10:07 amFacebook Lead Ads and Microsoft apps are returning 'Cache key will cause errors if used with memcached' errors when creating new connections | ZapierFacebook Lead Ads and Microsoft apps are returning 'Cache key will cause errors if used with memcached' errors when creating new connections
Status: InvestigatingWe are investigating 'Cache key will cause errors if used with memcached' errors when creating new connections to apps such as Facebook Lead Ads and Microsoft apps including Outlook and Teams09:54 amThis Apple TV show is one of the ten most popular originals in the United States right now | 9 to 5 MacThis Apple TV show is one of the ten most popular originals in the United States right now
Another Apple TV show has appeared in the Nielsen chart for streaming originals in the US, which is by no means a guarantee given the relatively small size of the streamer. The second season debut of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters just scraped in the Top 10 at position 10, with 467 million minutes viewed for the week of March 2 – March 8. more…09:44 amExtremely Slow approval process
I am new to iOS dev. trying to get approvals on a fairly simple app submitted to the store and every time I submit for approval takes around a week to get a reply/review. They reply with a tweak or issue. I fix immediately and resubmit then wait another week for a reply. First started […]09:31 amHi everyone, I’m going to tell you about my free [Felingo – Cat Translator] project. | Reddit on iOS ProgrammingHi everyone, I’m going to tell you about my free [Felingo – Cat Translator] project.
Since childhood, I've been curious about how animals communicate with humans and how humans understand them. As I grew up, I became a software developer and I own a cat. While working on understanding her, I created an app based on a doctoral thesis, organizing its categories and striving to provide the most realistic answers […]09:21 amKensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Dock for MacBook review: Fast with special guest stars
Macworld At a glance Pros Thunderbolt 5 19 ports Integrated M.2 slot for an SSD Dedicated function keys Optical audio KonstantCharge for undocked peripherals Cons Premium price 180W power supply lesser than rivals Our Verdict For the premium price you get a lot of connectivity (19 ports!) and a tidy storage M.2 enclosure that you can upgrade as and when you wish, not when and with what Apple demands. The optical audio port, CompactFlash slot and hot keys are nice extras rarely found on docking stations. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$449.99 Best Prices Today: Kensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Dock for MacBook Retailer Price $389.49 View Deal Kensington $449.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Kensington’s EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Dock for MacBook, known to its friends as the SD7100TS, is a dock stacked with 19 ports, a dedicated SSD slot for you to add extra storage, and special Mac hot keys for easy iPhone photo backup and a Focus Mode. It even has “Designed for MacBook” on the box, but this could be because Windows hasn’t quite caught the Thunderbolt 5 wave yet. This is a horizontal docking station with solid good looks in a gunmetal-gray with nicely rounded corners. Dock specs One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W) Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W) One USB-C port (10Gbps, 30W) One USB-C port (10Gbps, 7.5W) Four USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W) Ethernet (2.5Gb) NVMe M.2 SSD slot (up to8TB) UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps) UHS-II microSD card reader (312MBps) One 3.5mm combo audio In/Out jack (front) One 3.5mm audio In jack (back) One 3.5mm audio Out jack (back) One TOSLINK optical audio (back) 180W power supply Simon Jary Kensington has decided against including a dedicated video port such as HDMI or DisplayPort in favor of the full set of Thunderbolt 5 ports. While that might mean you have to supply your own USB-C to HDMI/DP adapter cable if your monitor doesn’t support a USB-C/Thunderbolt connection, it does offer you more flexibility in choosing what you want each port to do. If a dock has a DisplayPort or HDMI port, for instance, and you want to connect via Thunderbolt, that video port is wasted. Having the maximum three downstream Thunderbolt 5 docks gives you the freedom to decide what to use each port for. Thunderbolt 5 (TB5) is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and 3, so even if your Mac isn’t yet built for TB5, you can rest assured that it will work with earlier Thunderbolt versions and be ready for your eventual TB5 Mac upgrade. Thunderbolt 5 Macs get 80Gbps data-transfer rates and up to 120Gbps in Bandwidth Boost mode for top-end video demands. One TB5 port is “upstream”, meaning it connects to your Mac. The other three are “downstream” for connecting other devices such as monitors and storage drives. Simon Jary Power One TB5 port is at the front, which might suit you but strikes me as odd and a potential cause of cable-clutter, especially as there is a 30W 10Gbps USB-C port at the front already—nicely placed for charging your iPhone or even connecting a wireless charger. Also at the front is another 10Gbps USB-C port with a weaker 7.5W power rating. The Thunderbolt ports are rated at 15W. The four legacy USB-A ports are not up to much charging at just 4.5W. Indeed, the EQ Pro feels a bit under-powered, with a max 180W power supply. The PD 3.1-rated upstream Thunderbolt 5 port is great, supplying up to 140W: enough to fast-charge even the top-end 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the 30W USB-C is meaty. The other ports probably have all the power your connected devices require but in comparison the CalDigit TS5 Plus has 330W for its two 36W TB5 ports and 36W USB-C, and the Sonnet Echo 13 has a 60W TB5 port. A “KonstantCharge” feature allows devices to be charged even when the dock isn’t connected to a laptop, so you can use it like a desktop charger. In his charging tests my PCWorld colleague Mark Hachman found the 30W charging port delivered 28.6W under load, and the other USB-C port provided about 6W. The downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports delivered 13.6W of power. On the back of the dock is a power button, which we appreciate as many docking stations don’t have them. Although modern devices have sophisticated battery safeguards and battery management, I prefer not to keep my MacBook constantly connected to a power source. Yes, I can pull the cable out but an On/Off button is cleaner and less wearing on the hardware. The power supply is rated at 180W, so is the maximum shared power load the dock can supply. With a possible 240W of port power potential, plus the power needed by the dock and SSD slot, that 18W is not up to the full load. Other docks offer 240W (or even 300W for the CalDigit TS5 Plus), which would have made more sense than an under-powered 180W power supply. It’s likely that 180W will be enough at most times, but a 240W charger would have been a more sensible choice from Kensington. Network speed The dock matches similar Thunderbolt 5 docks with a faster 2.5Gbps Ethernet port. Even if your network is stuck at 1Gb Gigabit Ethernet, it’s backwards compatible so builds in more future-proofing to your setup. Audio From an audio perspective, as well as a single 3.5mm combination mic/headphone jack on the front of the dock, there are separate mic, speaker, and headphone I/O ports, plus an optical connection to pass lossless audio to some high-end audio systems—a boon for those editing video or audio. Simon Jary Hotkeys Another curiosity bonus feature is the set of two hotkeys on the top of the dock; pictured above. These include one for backing up your iPhone photos and videos to your Mac or SSD plus another offering a Focus Mode for Mac, including ‘Do Not Disturb’, or you can customize the buttons for other functions using the Kensington Konnect. Turning on Do Not Disturb is pretty easy anyway via Control Center in the Mac’s top menu bar, but it’s undeniably a little easier with a physical button. Play around in the software to hone these buttons to your own one-touch functionality requirements. Portable storage At the front are two fast UHS-II SD/MicroSD card reader slots, and as a surprise bonus even CF 4.0 (CompactFlash) card slot that will please those professional photographers who use older high-end DSLRs that require it. The EQ Pro is the only modern docking station we’ve seen with one of these. Simon Jary Super store A feature that is becoming more common with docking stations is an integrated PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD enclosure. This is usually found on the bottom of the dock, but the Kensington EQ Pro has it on the top, secured by a screw on one side of the dock itself; see our photo above. You’ll need your own tiny Phillips cross-head screwdriver as Kensington doesn’t include one in the box—other dock makers such as Ugreen and iVanky do include a screwdriver, so this will be missed as you search your office or home for one the right size. Apple doesn’t make MacBook storage cheap—the 14-inch MacBook Pro comes with 1TB as the base level, with 2TB costing an extra $400 and 4TB a whopping $1,000! Once you’ve purchased, you can’t go back to add more. The dock doesn’t come with an NVMe M.2 SSD, unlike the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock that is sold as 1TB ($479), 2TB ($649) and 4TB ($999) models. Go to Amazon to find a NVMe M.2 SSD from a reliable brand, such as Samsung, WD and SanDisk. 1TB should cost around $150-200, 2TB around $350 and 4TB $600-700. Storage prices are notoriously volatile so you find them more affordable or more expensive when you’re searching for one. Many users will use a dock to add two external displays, but the latest M5 Pro/Max chips will allow three or four via daisy-chaining.Kensington Displays: M5 Pro/Max mean more monitors While Thunderbolt 4 docks continue to be capped at two external displays on the Mac, the latest top-end M5 Pro and M5 Max chips support up to three external displays with the Kensington EQ Pro. The M5 Max can handle four but as there aren’t enough ports to hang so many monitors off you’ll need to daisy-chain the fourth screen from the third. Maximum resolution for a dual-monitor setup is two 6K monitors at 60Hz. A single 8K/60Hz display is possible with M5/M4 Base/Pro/Max plus Pro/Max versions of the M1/M2/M3 chipped Macs. On one end of the EQ Pro are two Kensington security slots plus the screw to take off the dock’s lid to reveal the hidden SSD enclosure.Simon Jary Kensington EQ Pro performance From a performance standpoint, Kensington’s dock was slightly slower than other Thunderbolt 5 docks tested by my colleague Mark: the Sonnet Echo 13 transferred data from our test SSD at about 436MBps, while the Plugable TBT-UDT3 was about the same. Kensington’s drive transferred data at 398MBps, or 9% slower. The EQ Pro boasts more ports, though, remember. We copied multiple gigabytes of data from a folder on my desktop to the dock’s SSD. The dock performed normally, taking about 16 seconds. (Sonnet’s dock is the fastest here, at about 14 seconds.) While streaming, that dropped to 17.3 seconds. Obviously, that difference would enlarge the more data you transferred at a time. Our tests found that that SSD inside Kensington’s dock performed essentially the same as the Razer Thunderbolt Dock Chroma, another Thunderbolt 5 dock with an M.2. SSD slot, when performing a folder copy: 16.8 seconds by itself, and 17.5 seconds while streaming 4K video. Foundry / Mark Hachman Price The Kensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station is priced at $449.99. For a dock with this many ports this is comparable with the 15-port $399 CalDigit TS5 or 23-port iVanky FusionDock Max 2, both of which lack the SSD enclosure. The $479 Sonnet Echo 13 has the built-in SSD slot (with SSD included from $479 for 1TB) but fewer ports and the $499 Ugreen 17-in-1 Maxidok has the slot but fewer ports, so the Kensington EQ Pro measures up well when compared to docks with that feature. To get full value from this dock you’ll want to add the SSD card, which will up the cost significantly but also massively enrich your Mac setup with a ton more upgradable storage at hand. Should you buy the Kensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station (SD7100TS)? $449 (plus the cost of the SSD if you want to use this dock to its full potential) is a lot of money but for the level of connectivity (19 ports!) and a tidy storage M.2 enclosure it’s more affordable than its closest rivals. The optical audio port, CompactFlash slot and hot keys are nice extras rarely found on docking stations.09:21 amKensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Dock for MacBook review: Fast with special guest stars
Macworld At a glance Pros Thunderbolt 5 19 ports Integrated M.2 slot for an SSD Dedicated function keys Optical audio KonstantCharge for undocked peripherals Cons Premium price 180W power supply lesser than rivals Our Verdict For the premium price you get a lot of connectivity (19 ports!) and a tidy storage M.2 enclosure that you can upgrade as and when you wish, not when and with what Apple demands. The optical audio port, CompactFlash slot and hot keys are nice extras rarely found on docking stations. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$449.99 Best Prices Today: Kensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Dock for MacBook Retailer Price $389.49 View Deal Kensington $449.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Kensington’s EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Dock for MacBook, known to its friends as the SD7100TS, is a dock stacked with 19 ports, a dedicated SSD slot for you to add extra storage, and special Mac hot keys for easy iPhone photo backup and a Focus Mode. It even has “Designed for MacBook” on the box, but this could be because Windows hasn’t quite caught the Thunderbolt 5 wave yet. This is a horizontal docking station with solid good looks in a gunmetal-gray with nicely rounded corners. Dock specs One upstream Thunderbolt 5 port (80Gbps, 140W) Three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports (80Gbps, 15W) One USB-C port (10Gbps, 30W) One USB-C port (10Gbps, 7.5W) Four USB-A ports (10Gbps, 4.5W) Ethernet (2.5Gb) NVMe M.2 SSD slot (up to8TB) UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps) UHS-II microSD card reader (312MBps) One 3.5mm combo audio In/Out jack (front) One 3.5mm audio In jack (back) One 3.5mm audio Out jack (back) One TOSLINK optical audio (back) 180W power supply Simon Jary Kensington has decided against including a dedicated video port such as HDMI or DisplayPort in favor of the full set of Thunderbolt 5 ports. While that might mean you have to supply your own USB-C to HDMI/DP adapter cable if your monitor doesn’t support a USB-C/Thunderbolt connection, it does offer you more flexibility in choosing what you want each port to do. If a dock has a DisplayPort or HDMI port, for instance, and you want to connect via Thunderbolt, that video port is wasted. Having the maximum three downstream Thunderbolt 5 docks gives you the freedom to decide what to use each port for. Thunderbolt 5 (TB5) is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and 3, so even if your Mac isn’t yet built for TB5, you can rest assured that it will work with earlier Thunderbolt versions and be ready for your eventual TB5 Mac upgrade. Thunderbolt 5 Macs get 80Gbps data-transfer rates and up to 120Gbps in Bandwidth Boost mode for top-end video demands. One TB5 port is “upstream”, meaning it connects to your Mac. The other three are “downstream” for connecting other devices such as monitors and storage drives. Simon Jary Power One TB5 port is at the front, which might suit you but strikes me as odd and a potential cause of cable-clutter, especially as there is a 30W 10Gbps USB-C port at the front already—nicely placed for charging your iPhone or even connecting a wireless charger. Also at the front is another 10Gbps USB-C port with a weaker 7.5W power rating. The Thunderbolt ports are rated at 15W. The four legacy USB-A ports are not up to much charging at just 4.5W. Indeed, the EQ Pro feels a bit under-powered, with a max 180W power supply. The PD 3.1-rated upstream Thunderbolt 5 port is great, supplying up to 140W: enough to fast-charge even the top-end 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the 30W USB-C is meaty. The other ports probably have all the power your connected devices require but in comparison the CalDigit TS5 Plus has 330W for its two 36W TB5 ports and 36W USB-C, and the Sonnet Echo 13 has a 60W TB5 port. A “KonstantCharge” feature allows devices to be charged even when the dock isn’t connected to a laptop, so you can use it like a desktop charger. In his charging tests my PCWorld colleague Mark Hachman found the 30W charging port delivered 28.6W under load, and the other USB-C port provided about 6W. The downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports delivered 13.6W of power. On the back of the dock is a power button, which we appreciate as many docking stations don’t have them. Although modern devices have sophisticated battery safeguards and battery management, I prefer not to keep my MacBook constantly connected to a power source. Yes, I can pull the cable out but an On/Off button is cleaner and less wearing on the hardware. The power supply is rated at 180W, so is the maximum shared power load the dock can supply. With a possible 240W of port power potential, plus the power needed by the dock and SSD slot, that 18W is not up to the full load. Other docks offer 240W (or even 300W for the CalDigit TS5 Plus), which would have made more sense than an under-powered 180W power supply. It’s likely that 180W will be enough at most times, but a 240W charger would have been a more sensible choice from Kensington. Network speed The dock matches similar Thunderbolt 5 docks with a faster 2.5Gbps Ethernet port. Even if your network is stuck at 1Gb Gigabit Ethernet, it’s backwards compatible so builds in more future-proofing to your setup. Audio From an audio perspective, as well as a single 3.5mm combination mic/headphone jack on the front of the dock, there are separate mic, speaker, and headphone I/O ports, plus an optical connection to pass lossless audio to some high-end audio systems—a boon for those editing video or audio. Simon Jary Hotkeys Another curiosity bonus feature is the set of two hotkeys on the top of the dock; pictured above. These include one for backing up your iPhone photos and videos to your Mac or SSD plus another offering a Focus Mode for Mac, including ‘Do Not Disturb’, or you can customize the buttons for other functions using the Kensington Konnect. Turning on Do Not Disturb is pretty easy anyway via Control Center in the Mac’s top menu bar, but it’s undeniably a little easier with a physical button. Play around in the software to hone these buttons to your own one-touch functionality requirements. Portable storage At the front are two fast UHS-II SD/MicroSD card reader slots, and as a surprise bonus even CF 4.0 (CompactFlash) card slot that will please those professional photographers who use older high-end DSLRs that require it. The EQ Pro is the only modern docking station we’ve seen with one of these. Simon Jary Super store A feature that is becoming more common with docking stations is an integrated PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD enclosure. This is usually found on the bottom of the dock, but the Kensington EQ Pro has it on the top, secured by a screw on one side of the dock itself; see our photo above. You’ll need your own tiny Phillips cross-head screwdriver as Kensington doesn’t include one in the box—other dock makers such as Ugreen and iVanky do include a screwdriver, so this will be missed as you search your office or home for one the right size. Apple doesn’t make MacBook storage cheap—the 14-inch MacBook Pro comes with 1TB as the base level, with 2TB costing an extra $400 and 4TB a whopping $1,000! Once you’ve purchased, you can’t go back to add more. The dock doesn’t come with an NVMe M.2 SSD, unlike the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock that is sold as 1TB ($479), 2TB ($649) and 4TB ($999) models. Go to Amazon to find a NVMe M.2 SSD from a reliable brand, such as Samsung, WD and SanDisk. 1TB should cost around $150-200, 2TB around $350 and 4TB $600-700. Storage prices are notoriously volatile so you find them more affordable or more expensive when you’re searching for one. Many users will use a dock to add two external displays, but the latest M5 Pro/Max chips will allow three or four via daisy-chaining.Kensington Displays: M5 Pro/Max mean more monitors While Thunderbolt 4 docks continue to be capped at two external displays on the Mac, the latest top-end M5 Pro and M5 Max chips support up to three external displays with the Kensington EQ Pro. The M5 Max can handle four but as there aren’t enough ports to hang so many monitors off you’ll need to daisy-chain the fourth screen from the third. Maximum resolution for a dual-monitor setup is two 6K monitors at 60Hz. A single 8K/60Hz display is possible with M5/M4 Base/Pro/Max plus Pro/Max versions of the M1/M2/M3 chipped Macs. On one end of the EQ Pro are two Kensington security slots plus the screw to take off the dock’s lid to reveal the hidden SSD enclosure.Simon Jary Kensington EQ Pro performance From a performance standpoint, Kensington’s dock was slightly slower than other Thunderbolt 5 docks tested by my colleague Mark: the Sonnet Echo 13 transferred data from our test SSD at about 436MBps, while the Plugable TBT-UDT3 was about the same. Kensington’s drive transferred data at 398MBps, or 9% slower. The EQ Pro boasts more ports, though, remember. We copied multiple gigabytes of data from a folder on my desktop to the dock’s SSD. The dock performed normally, taking about 16 seconds. (Sonnet’s dock is the fastest here, at about 14 seconds.) While streaming, that dropped to 17.3 seconds. Obviously, that difference would enlarge the more data you transferred at a time. Our tests found that that SSD inside Kensington’s dock performed essentially the same as the Razer Thunderbolt Dock Chroma, another Thunderbolt 5 dock with an M.2. SSD slot, when performing a folder copy: 16.8 seconds by itself, and 17.5 seconds while streaming 4K video. Foundry / Mark Hachman Price The Kensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station is priced at $449.99. For a dock with this many ports this is comparable with the 15-port $399 CalDigit TS5 or 23-port iVanky FusionDock Max 2, both of which lack the SSD enclosure. The $479 Sonnet Echo 13 has the built-in SSD slot (with SSD included from $479 for 1TB) but fewer ports and the $499 Ugreen 17-in-1 Maxidok has the slot but fewer ports, so the Kensington EQ Pro measures up well when compared to docks with that feature. To get full value from this dock you’ll want to add the SSD card, which will up the cost significantly but also massively enrich your Mac setup with a ton more upgradable storage at hand. Should you buy the Kensington EQ Pro Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station (SD7100TS)? $449 (plus the cost of the SSD if you want to use this dock to its full potential) is a lot of money but for the level of connectivity (19 ports!) and a tidy storage M.2 enclosure it’s more affordable than its closest rivals. The optical audio port, CompactFlash slot and hot keys are nice extras rarely found on docking stations.Firehose II – Jobs, Deals, Apps
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