Why does my app not support English in App Store? My app has English localization as default and use Base Internationalization. However the App Store does not display that the App has English support. Did you run into similar issues? How do you solve it? submitted by /u/Snoo_75348 [link] [comments]
Watch out for fake Amazon Prime Video billing emails hitting inboxes right now A reasonably convincing set of faked Amazon Prime Video renewal notices is circulating widely and tricking users. Here's what to look for, and how to avoid getting taken by them.Amazon phishing emails overwhelming customersA new phishing campaign is hitting an AppleInsider staffer's inbox with forged Amazon billing notices for a supposed Prime Video renewal. The polished invoice and urgent support pitch are designed to push victims into calling a scam hotline.The messages impersonate Amazon's billing system and arrive with a PDF that looks like an official receipt. The document lists a fake order ID, a fabricated invoice number, and a renewal charge that customers never authorized. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
here’s what great ux looks like. If you build apps, check this out i’ve been doing iOS dev for 15+ years. about 3 years ago i started building my own portfolio and now have 12 apps live. ASO is still my main channel, but lately I’ve been investing in SEO since it’s way more predictable. ASO is basically “change keywords and pray.” SEO is “get traffic and rank.” […]
SwiftUI – Is it common for Preview to not work while the build does? Does it happen frequently in production-level projects? Do you usually workaround it or fix? submitted by /u/merokotos [link] [comments]
Leak reveals Apple Health app might soon connect to ChatGPT AI chatbots have become a go-to source for many users’ health and fitness questions, and a new leak reveals that ChatGPT might soon be able to integrate your Apple Health data to guide its answers.
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Michael and Susan Dell to donate $6.25 billion to fund ‘Trump Accounts’ for millions of American children Michael Dell and his wife Susan have committed $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for millions of American children. The huge…
The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Cyber Monday Apple deals have been extended, grab prices from $10.99 If you missed out on Cyber Monday sales, several deals have been extended — including AirPods 4 ANC for $99, MacBooks as low as $499, Paramount Plus for $2.99 for 2 months, and more.Save up to $500 with Cyber Monday deals that have been extended - Image credit: AppleEach of the deals below is valid for a limited time only. You can pick up a new Mac at up to $500 off, an Apple Watch for as low as $129, and more. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
iPhone 17 Demand Is Breaking Apple's Sales Records Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC.
Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple.
Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to grow 1.5 percent, primarily because of the success of the iPhone.
In China, Apple's largest market, massive demand for iPhone 17 has significantly accelerated Apple's performance. It ranked first in October and November per IDC's China Monthly Sales data with more than 20% share, miles ahead of the competition, leading IDC to revise Apple's Q4 forecast in China from 9% to 17% YoY. This turns a previously projected 1% decline in China for 2025 into a positive 3% growth, that's a phenomenal turnaround. The success story is replicated across all regions, including the US and Western Europe that had previously slowed down. This calendar year will not only be a record period for Apple in terms of shipments but also in value, which is forecast to exceed $261 billion, with 7.2% YoY growth in 2025.
Back in October, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is expecting to set a new all-time revenue record in the December quarter, and a best-ever revenue record for the iPhone. Apple believes overall revenue will grow 10 to 12 percent year-over-year.
Apple has seen strong interest in the standard iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro models, even though the iPhone Air hasn't performed as expected.
Next year, Apple plans to change its iPhone release timelines. The high-end iPhone Fold and the iPhone 18 Pro models will come out in September 2026 as usual, but the lower-priced iPhone 18 will be held until spring 2027.
IDC predicts that the decision will drop iOS shipments by 4.2 percent in 2026, while a global memory shortage will lead to supply constraints and price increases across the smartphone market. Total global smartphone shipments could decline 0.9 percent in 2026 due to the supply issues and Apple's lineup changes.Tag: IDCThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
10 must-have accessories to supercharge your iPhone 17 Pro Max If you have Apple's best iPhone, you should consider the best iPhone 17 Pro Max accessories to make the most of the powerful handset.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
Apple Health Integration Seemingly Coming to ChatGPT OpenAI appears to be working on Apple Health integration for ChatGPT, although it is unclear when the functionality might be made available to the public.
The latest version of the ChatGPT app for the iPhone contains a new image of the Apple Health icon hidden within the app's code. The image's file name suggests that it will be possible to connect the Apple Health app to ChatGPT, so that you can receive more personalized and useful answers based on your health and fitness data.
The image shows that ChatGPT would be able to tap into several Apple Health categories related to your activity, sleep, diet, breathing, and hearing.
While the ChatGPT app for the iPhone was updated on Monday, it is unclear when this functionality will go live, if ever. Should the plans move forward, Apple Health would be available in ChatGPT's settings, under Apps & Connectors.
ChatGPT can already connect to many other apps, including Box, Dropbox, GitHub, Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Notion, Slack, and others.Tags: Apple Health, ChatGPT, OpenAIThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple lowers Mac security bounty rewards in seeming shift to iPhone attacks Macworld
There’s been a long-held belief that Macs are more secure than Windows PCs. Whether that’s true or not is up for debate, but it is a key marketing point used by Apple. But Apple’s latest move with macOS security is a bit of a concern.
According to Csaba Fitzl, a macOS security researcher at Iru (spotted by 9to5Mac), Apple has reduced the security bounties it offers for macOS. In a LinkedIn post (membership required), Fitzl states that, “Full TCC (privacy) bypasses are down from 30,5k to 5k…Individual TCC categories are also down from 5-10k to 1k,” and that “macOS sandbox escapes are also down to 5k from 10k.”
The reductions send the wrong message to security researchers, according to Fitzl. “There aren’t many people looking for vulnerabilities on the macOS platform anyway, and this move might reduce this even further.” In the meantime, as security researcher Andrew Poole points out in a response to Fitzl’s post, Apple raised the bounties for iOS.
It’s unclear why Apple would make these cuts (Macworld reached out to Apple for comment). Several recent reports have stated that macOS malware is on the rise, and other reports show that the Mac market share has increased. It seems more vital than ever to maintain macOS’s security. If anything, Apple’s security notes for macOS updates seem to get longer each time.
Apple continues to be a very successful company financially–the company posted record revenue in its most recent financial quarter, not to mention a double-digit increase in Mac sales. Money and Mac demand aren’t the issue, so the reasons seem to indicate a shift towards macOS development. Whatever the reason, security researchers now have less incentive to work on the Mac, and that could be costly for Apple in the long run.
App Tracking Transparency under the gun by German antitrust investigators Germany's antitrust regulator is reviewing Apple's revised tracking rules after asking the company to address concerns about unequal treatment of third-party apps.Germany examines updated tracking guidelinesThe review is led by the Bundeskartellamt, Germany's federal antitrust authority. Officials said Apple's earlier App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompts gave the company's own apps a more favorable presentation than those shown to developers' apps.Apple agreed to revise those screens after the regulator raised concerns. The company plans to standardize the wording, content, and visual layout for every app category. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Your personal data is being sold every day, but Incogni can help you take it back How much of your information did you hand over today? Chances are, far more than you realize. That is because there is a multi-billion-dollar data brokerage industry that runs entirely on your data, whether you consent to it or not.
That’s where Incogni comes in. It tracks down and removes your personal data from anywhere, from ChatGPT to the dark web. And it keeps removing it.
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Apple brings Tap to Pay on iPhone to Singapore Apple today announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available in Singapore, enabling thousands of merchants to use iPhone to…
The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.
iOS 26.2 will add three new ways to customize your iPhone iOS 26.2 is launching to all users very soon, and it will introduce several new ways to customize the way your iPhone looks and works. Here’s what’s coming.
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NAG (Nagpur) on 2025-12-04 THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 4, 21:00 UTC - Dec 5, 01:00 UTCDec 2, 16:40 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in NAG (Nagpur) datacenter between 2025-12-04 21:00 and 2025-12-05 01:00 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.
PAT (Patna) on 2025-12-04 THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 4, 21:00 UTC - Dec 5, 01:00 UTCDec 2, 16:46 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in PAT (Patna) datacenter between 2025-12-04 21:00 and 2025-12-05 01:00 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.
'I'm Not Remarkable' shows Apple's accessibility features helping students conquer college Apple celebrates students of all abilities in an energetic music video that highlights how its accessibility features support learning, creativity, and campus lifeImage Credit: AppleA music video uploaded to Apple's YouTube channel shows how Mac, iPhone, and iPad help students of all abilities. It promotes features like Apple's Magnifier on Mac, Accessibility Reader, Braille Access, VoiceOver, Sound & Name Recognition, Live Captions, and more. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Hangover Cyber Monday deals: AirPods 4 w/ ANC $99, MacBooks $250 off, Nomad Titanium Band 25% off, more While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are largely behind us now, Walmart has $99 (45% off). On top of that, we are tracking some hangover Cyber Monday pricing on M5 MacBook Pro configurations and M4 MacBook Air, as well as Mac mini at $479. Just be sure to dive into the ongoing Nomad Black Friday event and its latest flash sale on the Titanium Apple Watch Ultra 3/Series Band at 25% off. All of that and more awaits below.
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Security researcher fumes at low macOS bug bounty awards A security researcher has complained about reduced payments from discovered macOS flaws by Apple's bug bounty program, despite Apple raising the maximum for more high-profile rewards.Apple's lock icon, its symbol for privacy — image credit: AppleIn October, Apple said that the payouts in its Security Bounty program will increase considerably in November. While the bounties for some high-profile exploit chains have grown to as high as $2 million, complaints are being raised about other awards for some macOS categories.In a post to LinkedIn, IRU macOS security researcher Csaba Fitzl claims that the Apple Security Bounty "devalued" macOS. The devaluing is apparently demonstrated by the lowering of awards for disclosing some specific bypasses. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
The home office Apple device I can’t live without is the one you’d least expect Macworld
When I started working from home full-time, one thing became immediately clear: I needed more space—screen space that is. I’ve always worked better on bigger displays, and once my home became my office, having the best display possible shifted from preference to necessity. That’s what pushed me toward the Apple Studio Display, and it’s no exaggeration to say it completely reshaped the way I work.
The 27-inch, 5K Retina panel is exactly the kind of canvas macOS deserves. Text is crisp, UI elements are perfectly scaled, and there’s enough room to keep multiple windows open. For writing, researching, editing, and multitasking, the difference is dramatic. I simply get more done when I can see more at once.
A display that doubles as a desktop hub
But the Studio Display isn’t just a monitor, it’s the core of my entire setup. Its 600-nit brightness, P3 color gamut, and Apple’s signature color accuracy make everything look clean and consistent.
The Apple Studio Display is also an all-in-one hub for all of my accessories.Foundry
Then there’s the bonus that it doubles as a USB-C hub, which makes cable management almost nonexistent. One Thunderbolt cable connects my MacBook Pro to the Studio Display, and everything from peripherals, charging, audio, camera, and microphone runs through that single link.
The three additional USB-C ports on the back are a huge convenience I didn’t expect to rely on as much as I do.
Built-in perks that actually matter
Typically, when you think of an external monitor, the display is pretty much the only thing that comes to mind. But the Studio Display has so much more to offer.
The 12MP ultra-wide camera with Center Stage keeps me perfectly framed during video calls without needing an external webcam. The three-mic array is more than good enough for meetings, and the six-speaker system is shockingly rich, easily the best audio I’ve heard from a display. The audio sounds more immersive than what you get from a HomePod mini.
All these extras matter when your display is also your work tool. It’s one less thing to buy and one less thing cluttering the desk.
My Apple Studio display keeps my desk free of clutter and my eyes free from strain.Foundry
Basically an iMac, powered by a MacBook
To complete the setup, I use a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, giving me a clean, iMac-like experience, but with the power and flexibility of my MacBook Pro behind it. The seamless integration between all these devices makes the Studio Display feel like a natural extension of macOS, not just a screen attached to a laptop.
Rumors say a new Studio Display could arrive next year, and I’m always curious to see what Apple improves. But even knowing that, I have zero desire to upgrade my current Studio Display. This was one of the best purchases I’ve made for my home office.
For my workflow, my comfort, and my productivity, the Studio Display isn’t just part of my WFH setup. It is the setup.
Apple debuts ‘I’m Not Remarkable’ ad focused on accessibility features for students Apple today released a new ad, “I’m Not Remarkable,” that puts the spotlight on the company’s accessibility features across iPhone, iPad, Mac…
The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.
The Apple Watch SE 3 is still on sale for its all-time best price of $199 Macworld
The Apple Watch SE 3 is already Apple’s best smartwatch value, so when it dropped by 20 percent over the Black Friday-Cyber Monday extravaganza, it became an instant buy. And we can’t believe it’s still around: Over at Amazon, you can snag an Apple Watch SE 3 for $199, an absolutely fantastic savings of $50.
Whether you’re diving into the Apple Watch ecosystem for the first time or upgrading from an older model, the Apple Watch SE3 is a standout entry-level model. When we reviewed this watch in October, we gave it a 4.5-star rating and our Editors’ Choice award, and recommended it over the Series 11. We loved how lightweight it is, has a comfortable design, an always-on display, and impressive battery life. Plus, it’s filled to the brim with health sensors and life-saving features.
For instance, it doesn’t just track your movements and workouts; it also detects falls and car crashes and can connect you to emergency services or your contacts. Plus, it can alert you to high and low heart rate, irregular rhythms, and sleep apnea.
At $199, the Apple Watch SE3 is an absolute steal, so grab one sooner rather than later because this deal will definitely not stick around forever.
Buy now at Amazon
I built 10 apps in the last 6 months and they make ~$4k MRR. Still thinking about creating your first iOS app? Read this I keep my whole app-building process very simple. For me it’s always the same three steps: find and validate an idea, build the app, and then do some basic marketing so people actually discover it. For ideas I don’t sit and wait for some “million dollar idea”. I just look what’s already working in the […]
Today in Apple history: QuickTime brings video to the masses On December 2, 1991, Apple shipped its first public version of QuickTime, bringing video to Mac users running System 7.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
'YouTube Recap' Launching Today on iPhone and Web Another popular platform is launching an end-of-year highlight reel. First came Spotify Wrapped, then Apple Music Replay, and now there is the YouTube Recap.
YouTube Recap highlights your viewing habits, top channels, personal interests, and more, based on your watch history. If you listened to a lot of music on YouTube in 2025, you can also see your top artists and songs of the year.
You can share your personal highlights on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
YouTube Recap will be available starting today for users in the U.S. and Canada, and it will roll out in other countries this week. It can be accessed via YouTube's homepage on the web, or by tapping on the "You" tab in the iOS or Android app.Tag: YouTubeThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Another iPhone 17 model is coming early next year, three new features rumored Apple is rumored to have one more iPhone 17 model launching soon in early 2026: the iPhone 17e, which will offer an iPhone 17-like experience at a lower price. Here are three new rumored features that will give it an edge over its predecessor, the iPhone 16e.
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How to check Apple Music Replay 2025 and share your year As 2025 winds down, the annual Apple Music Replay gives you an easy way to look back at your top artists, songs, and monthly listening trends. Here's how to see it and share it.Apple Music Replay 2025If you're an Apple Music subscriber, chances are you listen to a lot of music over the year. That's why Apple Music has a feature, known as Replay, which allows you to see your top artists and songs.Replay doesn't just keep track of your yearly listening habits, either. It updates monthly, allowing you to see your top picks for each month. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Get These Black Friday/Cyber Monday Apple Deals Before They're Gone for Good We're in the middle of Cyber Week, which means that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are officially over. Although many deals have now expired, you can still find a few solid leftover discounts on products like AirPods 4, M5 MacBook Pro, Apple Watch Series 11, and more.
AirPods 4
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 4 with Active Noise Cancellation are still at their all-time low price of $99.00 on Amazon right now, while the non-ANC model can be purchased for $79.99 from Walmart.
$49 OFFAirPods 4 for $79.99
$49 OFFAirPods 4 (ANC) for $99.00M5 MacBook Pro
MacBook deals are dwindling fast on Amazon, but you can still get the new M5 MacBook Pro for $1,349.00, down from $1,599.00. This is the 10-Core model with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD in Space Black, and it's a new all-time low price on the M5 MacBook Pro.
$250 OFF14-inch M5 MacBook Pro (16GB RAM/512GB) for $1,349.00
$250 OFF14-inch M5 MacBook Pro (16GB RAM/1TB) for $1,549.00Apple Watch
You can get the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 11 for $329.00, down from $399.00, and the 46mm GPS model for $359.00, down from $429.00. Only one color of the 42mm GPS is left at this price, while three colors are available for the 46mm GPS model.
$70 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) for $329.00
$60 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (46mm GPS) for $359.00
For the Apple Watch SE 3, you'll find $50 off both the 40mm and 44mm GPS models. These have some of the most consistent stock and color options available post-Black Friday/Cyber Monday, with two colors available for each.
$50 OFFApple Watch SE 3 (40mm GPS) for $199.00
$50 OFFApple Watch SE 3 (44mm GPS) for $229.00M5 iPad Pro
Amazon has notable discounts on Apple's brand new M5 iPad Pro, with the entry-level 11-inch model available for $899.00, down from $999.00.
$100 OFF11-inch 256GB Wi-Fi M5 iPad Pro for $899.00
$99 OFF13-inch 512GB Wi-Fi M5 iPad Pro for $1,399.99AirTag
Although the AirTag 4-Pack is no longer at an all-time low price, you can get the AirTag 1-Pack for $17.97 today on Amazon, down from $29.00.
$11 OFFAirTag for $17.97Apple Pencil Pro
Amazon is still discounting the Apple Pencil Pro for $94.99, down from $129.00.
$34 OFFApple Pencil Pro for $94.99
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 this holiday season? 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 forums
Apple Shares New 'I'm Not Remarkable' Ad Apple today shared a new "I'm Not Remarkable" ad that highlights the accessibility features available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.
Apple says its products are designed for every student, with the ad showcasing the use of accessibility features like Magnifier and VoiceOver in college.
"Apple products are designed for every student," says Apple. "Accessibility features like Magnifier on Mac, Accessibility Reader, Braille Access, VoiceOver, Sound & Name Recognition, and Live Captions can improve access, enhance learning, and create new opportunities for people with disabilities to study, socialize, and succeed in college."Tags: Accessibility, Apple AdsThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple faces class action threats after top EU court ruling Apple's App Store faces the prospect of additional class-action-style damages claims in the European Union after the bloc's highest court…
The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.
I think App Store Connect resubmissions should be reviewed faster, waiting 24h for every response is kind of annoying. Of course it’s different if you flood the review team with shit but when it’s your first few submissions/resubmissions a quick response would be nice. submitted by /u/civman96 [link] [comments]
Nomad Stand One & Max 25W Wireless Charging Station review: Solid, fast and classy Macworld
At a glanceExpert's Rating
Pros
Fast 25W for iPhone
Solid classy looking stand
3-in-1 charging option (Stand One Max)
Cons
Premium price
iPhone stand is not adjustable
Requires wall charger
Our Verdict
The Nomad Stand One is a statement piece on any desk, oozing Apple vibes in its solid metal and glass Construction and at 25W reaching the latest and fastest iPhone charging rate.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed$119
Best Prices Today: Nomad Stand One
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$119
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From innovative cables and classic Watch bands to premium iPhone cases and design-conscious charging devices, Nomad offers a range of classy tech accessories that should match every Apple user’s aspiration.
The company has updated its Stand One wireless iPhone charger to the latest Qi2 25W (Qi 2.2) tech standard to keep its range up to date. It follows similar 25W launches from the likes of Belkin, Anker, Baseus and ESR.
Note that Qi2 25W is supported only by the iPhone 16 or later. Older iPhones (12-15) will still power up via the chargers but at 15W, which is still significantly faster than the cheaper 7.5W merely MagSafe-compatible chargers.
Nomad offers two models: the basic Stand One, a 2-in-1 iPhone and AirPods charging stand; and the Stand One Max, a horizontal 3-in-1 charging pad for iPhone, AirPods and Watch. These are the fourth generation of this classic design.
Simon Jary
Nomad Stand One: 2-in-1 wireless charger
The Nomad Stand One is a sleek yet reassuringly heavy 2-in-1 charging stand for iPhone and AirPods. It is crafted from metal and glass and looks good enough to grace the Genius Bar desk at an Apple Store. The chassis is solid metal with a premium glass panel and anti-slip rubber base.
The magnetic wireless charging is possible with any iPhone from the model 12 onwards, with the strange exception of the iPhone 16e.
The AirPods 5W Qi charging dish sits hidden behind the iPhone stand, supporting any wireless charging-enabled AirPods case.
Measuring 5 x 3.3 x 2.7 inches (12.7 x 8.3 x 6.9cm) it’s compact but not particularly portable as it weighs a 1.3lbs (575g). There are much lighter 2-in-1 stands but one of the selling of the Stand One is exactly this paperweight-like status as a sturdy desk stand.
Simon Jary
In our tests, the 25W Stand One lived up to expectations with a 50% charge time of 36 minutes. That’s a little over the very best we’ve seen (28 minutes) and the average 33 minutes, but certainly faster than the 45-50 minutes it takes a 15W charger – including the previous third-generation Stand One – to do the same.
We test to 50% as after that level charging tends to slow as safeguards start to limit the amount of juice flowing into the phone to protect its battery from overheating.
Overheating is something of a risk for the most capable devices as 25W generates a fair temperature at full pelt.
To reduce this temperature some 25W wireless chargers include active cooling but the Stand One boasts no fan. The company claims that the stand’s metal structure effectively acts as a heatsink, so eliminating the need for a fan. This keeps it completely silent.
The stand is solid and unmoving in terms of adjustability. Nomad calls the Stand One’s 21º viewing angle “perfect” but if you like to wiggle your phone into a position that suits you better, you must look elsewhere at other charging stands. The iPhone can sit in either portrait or landscape orientation and works with Apple’s StandBy mode for clock or photo viewing.
Simon Jary
Nomad Stand One Max: 3-in-1 wireless charger
The Nomad Stand One Max takes the Stand One design and turns it into a horizontal pad style that measures 3.2 x 6.3 x 5 inches (8.2 x 16.1 x 12.8cm). Again, it’s reliably sturdy, weighing nearly 2lbs (just under 1kg).
It features the same upright 21-degree 25W wireless iPhone charging stand, but with the AirPods pad placed next to it rather than behind, and a rigid Apple Watch at the other end for fast charging. Any version of the Apple Watch is supported.
None of the charging pads are adjustable. As with the 2-in-1 Stand One, Nomad reckons its viewing angle is ideal, and having the Apple Watch charger moving around would not be a great idea as the magnetic connection is not as firm as with the iPhone.
Nomad
Two models in two colors
Both Stand One and Stand One Max are available in either a silver & white color or black (which Nomad calls “Carbide”).
Each comes with a decent length 6.6ft (2m) color-matched braided nylon cable, but don’t not ship with the required 40W or higher USB-C wall charger.
Price
The Nomad Stand One costs $119 / £99 and the Stand One Max $159 / £139. For Apple-like chic you pay Apple prices.
As with Apple and its iPhone, there’s no USB-C wall charger included in the box for, ahem, environmental reasons (although there is a matching cable), so if you don’t have a spare charger you’ll need to invest in one of 40W or greater power. Check our recommendations for the best USB-C chargers.
You can certainly buy cheaper but here you are paying for something with a little more class than most.
Check out more options in our best MagSafe charger and best Apple Watch charger roundups.
Simon Jary
Should you buy the 25W Nomad Stand One or Stand One Max?
The Nomad Stand One is a statement piece on any desk, oozing Apple vibes in its solid metal and glass construction and at 25W reaching the latest and fastest iPhone charging rate.
How to change timezone in Simulator? I would like to test my app in different timezones and with daylight savings to see that it works correctly. How can I do this? It would also be nice to have this option in SwiftUI Previews. Using Xcode 26. submitted by /u/Ramriez [link] [comments]
Apple shares fun music video highlighting great accessibility features for college Apple’s latest accessibility-focused short film is actually a really enjoyable music video for the song “I’m Not Remarkable” by Kittyy & The Class.
It’s also an excellent way to showcase Apple’s extensive range of accessibility features integrated into iPhone, iPad, Mac, and other devices. These features can significantly enhance the college experience for all students.
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YouTube ‘Recap’ is like Spotify Wrapped for videos, starts rolling out today YouTube is listening to feedback and officially launching “Recap,” its own take on Spotify’s popular Wrapped, which will walk you through a recap of your past year using the platform.
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Apple security bounties slashed as Mac malware grows A well-known security researcher reports that Apple has slashed its bounties for finding vulnerabilities in macOS. Many have been halved, with one of them reduced from over $30k to just $5k, despite a growing problem with Mac malware.
Csaba Fitzl, principal macOS security researcher at Iru, says it suggests Apple doesn’t really care about the Mac, and increases the likelihood that vulnerabilities will be sold on the black market instead of reported to the company …
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How to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas for free The classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is free for all to stream later this month, whether you’re an Apple TV+ subscriber or not.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
Apple Music Shares 2025 Year-End Charts Apple today released its 2025 Apple Music year-end charts, highlighting new global listening trends, expanded analytics, and several unexpected chart-topping performances across streaming, radio, lyrics, and Shazam activity.
Apple said the annual charts reflect a broader set of data collected throughout 2025 from global Apple Music streams, Shazam searches, time-synced lyric engagement, radio, Apple Music Sing usage, and more.
Top Songs of 2025: Global
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, "APT."
Kendrick Lamar & SZA, "luther"
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, "Die With A Smile"
Kendrick Lamar, "Not Like Us"
Billie Eilish, "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"
Top 100: Shazam
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, "APT."
Lola Young, "Messy"
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, "Die With A Smile"
Alex Warren, "Ordinary"
MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea, "Shake It To The Max (FLY) [Remix]"
Top 100: Global Radio
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, "APT."
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, "Die With A Smile"
Lola Young, "Messy"
Alex Warren, "Ordinary"
Billie Eilish, "BIRDS OF A FEATHER"
Top 100: Lyrics
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, "APT."
Kendrick Lamar & SZA, "luther"
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, "Die With A Smile"
HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters Cast, "Golden"
Kendrick Lamar, "Not Like Us"
Top 100: Sing
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, "Die With A Smile"
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, "APT."
Billie Eilish, "WILDFLOWER"
HUNTR/X, EJAE, AUDREY NUNA, REI AMI & KPop Demon Hunters Cast, "Golden"
Mrs. GREEN APPLE, "Lilac"
All 2025 Apple Music year-end charts, including the Top Songs of 2025: Global, the Top 100: Shazam, the Most-Read Lyrics, Top 100: Sing, Top 100: Fitness, and the year-end Shazam Global Radio Spins chart, are now available to browse and play in the Apple Music app.Tag: Apple MusicThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple Music’s top 5 most played songs of the year revealed, plus more Apple Music Replay launched its annual recap today, and alongside that personalized summary of the year’s activity, Apple has also revealed the most played songs of the year globally, and a lot more.
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A new iCloud alternative just dropped an 8TB lifetime subscription FileLu gives you permanent storage instead of monthly fees. The lifetime plan gives you up to 8TB, accessible via desktop, mobile and browser.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
Apple Music Replay 2025 personal listening recap is ready to explore and share It’s officially time for Apple Music subscribers to recap their year in music. The 2025 Apple Music Replay is now available in Apple Music, providing a personalized look back at your year in music listening habits.
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SJC (San Jose) on 2025-12-04 THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 4, 10:00 - 14:00 UTCDec 2, 13:54 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in SJC (San Jose) datacenter on 2025-12-04 between 10:00 and 14:00 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.
Apple Watch saves hiker after a blindfolded mountain fall The Fall Detection feature of the Apple Watch helped save a hiker after he had a treacherous, blindfolded fall down a Colorado mountainside.Apple Watch Ultra 3The Apple Watch has frequently been cited as helping to save people's lives in emergency situations. In one new claim, it helped a man who hurt himself on top of a mountain.Hiker Phong Le was headed to Father Dyer Peak along a ridge of Mount Helen, in Breckenridge, Colorado, on Halloween. While traversing the ridge, he propped himself on a boulder to study his map, but the large rock gave way. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Apple Music Replay 2025: Full Year-End Experience Now Available The full Replay 2025 experience is now available in the Apple Music app, allowing you to reflect on the songs you listened to the most over the past year.
You can view your total minutes spent listening to Apple Music songs, the total number of artists you listened to, your favorite genres, and more for 2025.
More details to follow.Tags: Apple Music, Apple Music ReplayThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
How to debug .ipa or .xcframework binaries with Xcode — full guide I’ve put together a complete guide on debugging compiled binaries directly with Xcode + LLDB. Covers: Attaching to processes or PID Setting breakpoints in symbolicated binaries Mapping source files via LLDB target.source-map If you’ve ever had to work without access to the full source code, this walks you step‑by‑step. Link: https://soumyamahunt.medium.com/debugging-binaries-in-xcode-c40625a2ed5b Curious — what’s your […]
Privacy-focused Apple won’t comply with Indian order to preload state-run app Apple has no intention of complying with the Indian government's directive to pre-install a state-developed so-called "cyber safety" app…
The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.
IND (Indianapolis) on 2025-12-04 THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 4, 07:00 - 11:00 UTCDec 2, 13:34 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in IND (Indianapolis) datacenter on 2025-12-04 between 07:00 and 11:00 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.
Apple refuses to pre-install government app on iPhones in India Macworld
Surprising no one, Apple has indicated that it will not comply with a new order from the Indian government requiring it to pre-install a state-run cybersecurity app on all iPhones sold in the country.
According to three anonymous sources cited by Reuters, Apple “does not plan” to preload iPhones with the Sanchar Saathi app, which is supposed to combat fraud, track stolen devices, and deliver government messaging. Two of the sources added that Apple will convey to the ministry its concerns about the privacy and security implications of this plan.
One of the sources added that Apple does not intend “to go to court or take a public stand.” Instead, it will simply (and, presumably, privately) tell the government that it cannot follow the order because of security factors.
Reuters had earlier this week broken news of the confidential order, which is understood to have been passed on November 28. India’s telecoms ministry privately contacted smartphone makers–including Oppo, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi, as well as Apple–to instruct them to preload the app on all devices sold in the future, and to push it out to handsets already in use via software updates. It’s unclear whether the other companies intend to obey the order.
The order further stipulated that the app’s functions could not be disabled or restricted by the user.
Even at the time it seemed unlikely that Apple would comply with the order, as Reuters noted in its original article. A source with direct knowledge of the matter said that Apple’s internal policies “prohibit installation of any government or third-party app before sale of a smartphone,” and it has refused such requests on multiple occasions in the past.
Apple has shown that it is prepared to resist official measures that it believes will compromise the security or privacy of iPhone users, even when doing so is unpopular, such as the iPhone 5c that belonged to one of the San Bernardino shooters back in 2015/2016. But in this case, the company would have considerable support. The ministry has been criticised heavily for what has been characterised as covert surveillance and governmental overreach, with one member of the main opposition party proclaiming that “Big Brother cannot watch us.”
It doesn’t help that the precise terms of the order remain confidential and unclear. Defending the measures, telecom minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia insisted the app was “voluntary and democratic” and that users can “easily delete it from their phone at any time.” The app can indeed currently be deleted (it’s available for free on the App Store), but it would seem illogical for an order that insists the app cannot be disabled to not also stipulate that it cannot be deleted.
Apple may agree to some sort of compromise, such as advertising or highlighting the app to Indian iPhone owners, but it would be a surprise if it agreed to preload the app. And given the company’s successful cultivation of friends in high places, it’s likely to receive assistance if political pressure is applied.
Russia SMS Carrier Maintenance – MegaFon THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 3, 12:00 - 16:00 PSTDec 2, 05:03 PSTScheduled - The MegaFon network in Russia is conducting a planned maintenance from 03 December 2025 at 12:00 PST until 03 December 2025 at 16:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to MegaFon Russia handsets.
Tap to Pay on iPhone hits 50 countries as it launches in Singapore Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone is intended to offer the ultimate in convenience and affordability for small businesses looking to accept contactless payment from both mobile wallets and physical cards.
The feature is today continuing its global rollout, with Singapore the latest country to get the technology …
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Alliance Calls for Cyber U to Stem Tide of Nation-State Attacks The Internet Security Alliance says a virtual cyber academy is needed to counter nation-state attacks and ease the workforce shortage that leaves government and industry systems exposed. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.
Apple pushes back on India's iPhone security app install order Apple is planning to tell the Indian government it won't comply with an order to preinstall a state-backed app on iPhones, as doing so would introduce big security and privacy issues.India wants a security app preinstalled on new iPhones - Image Credit: AppleOn Monday, the Indian government issued a directive to smartphone producers, demanding they preinstall a state-owned cybersecurity app on their devices. As expected, Apple intends to resist the order.Sources of Reuters say that Apple's response will not comply with the plan. Instead, Apple will tell the government that it doesn't follow mandates to preinstall specific apps anywhere in the world. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Apple owes its greatest strength in AI to Giannandrea We've seen it already — many stories covering John Giannandrea's early 2026 retirement from Apple suggest his departure is the result of many failures. The reality of his tenure at Apple is much more complex.Apple's on-device AI strategy is thanks to John GiannandreaWhen John Giannandrea joined Apple in April 2018, it was seen as a triumphant win for the company's work in machine learning, Siri, and autonomous vehicles. He was placed over multiple large divisions, and succeeded in creating a roadmap of technology in the space that helped lead Apple to become what it is today.You're probably not going to find many headlines or articles discussing what Giannandrea actually accomplished at Apple, and the market is reacting accordingly — meaning not at all. It's likely you'll see things like "Failures in Siri and AI lead to Giannandrea getting the boot," which doesn't appear to be true. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
As Apple reboots its AI work, OpenAI ramps up the pressure by declaring ‘code red’ As Apple loses its AI head and reboots its work with a restructure, OpenAI is ramping up the pressure by declaring “code red.”
Concerned about being overtaken by Google’s Gemini, CEO Sam Altman has said that all of the company’s efforts will be devoted to improving the quality of ChatGPT …
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Apple’s new AI leader has one job: Save the entire industry Macworld
You remember that dress? You know the one. Wanna feel old? That was 10 years ago. Anyway, if you’re nostalgic for those heady days of 2015 when people looked at something and were 100 percent sure they were right and the people who saw it differently were wrong, just ask someone their opinion on AI.
The Macalope has noticed lately that AI is a real divider. Many people now simply view it as normal and use it all the time. Certainly, lots of developers do but also, honestly, just everyday users. A lot of other people, however, see it as an utterly useless abomination, a harbinger of the downfall of society.
Today we’re going to figure out who’s right.
Okay, not really. Because the Macalope would like to posit that, much like the dress, they’re both right. BOOOOOOOOO!
Hey! You can’t boo the Macalope in his own column! Can you? How did that even get in here? And why can’t the Macalope delete it?
Look, AI has some great applications and can be a useful tool. It’s also sadly a business largely run by some of the worst people possible. Much like most major league sports, the game is not so much the problem as the business that’s running it.
Tech exec Anil Dash recently noticed how AI seems to drive people to fits.
It’s simply true that the Big AI platforms like ChatGPT are:
Extremely bad for society, in many ways.
Very genuinely popular with lots of people.
Anil Dash via BlueSky
Let’s try to unpack this a little.
If you’d like to receive regular news and updates to your inbox, sign up for our newsletters, including The Macalope and Apple Breakfast, David Price’s weekly, bite-sized roundup of all the latest Apple news and rumors.Foundry
AI detractors need to recognize that, despite the concerns, AI tools are providing value for many people. (Here, the Macalope is really just talking about LLMs.)
“Vibe coding” may be an oversimplified marketing term, but AI coding tools make development easier.
AI actually has an accessibility aspect to it that a lot of detractors don’t really want to talk about because social benefits don’t factor into their notion of AI as the knowledge equivalent of Juicero.
Like it or not, AI results are faster and more convenient for average users who don’t have the time or capacity to digest large volumes of information.
Meanwhile, AI fans need to understand that there are some very good reasons for people to be distrustful and resentful of AI.
AI is already being used (often just as an excuse) to lay off actual human beings, often leading to dubious results at best.
AI companies routinely think nothing of scraping up whatever they want without concern for copyright or the labor of others in order to train their models.
While sometimes exaggerated, there are real environmental issues to shoving rainforests into stoves in order to power server farms to churn out wrong answers to the simplest of questions.
If we are, as many suspect, in an AI bubble, you can bet your bottom dollar that when it pops the wealthy investors in AI will head right to the Trump administration and demand your bottom dollar as part of a bailout of their over-investment of a technology that, while useful, never should have been jammed into literally everything.
You can obviously kind of see which side of this argument the Macalope leans toward.
Dash is not wrong that AI tools are being used by many people every day, but there are signs that it is not nearly popular enough to support the level of investment being poured into it, as The Economist notes (subscription required).
The Economist’s basic point is that no matter how much they might find AI tools convenient and useful, consumers are unlikely to shell out nearly enough for them in order for AI companies to make a return on the Dyson sphere-sized investment being made in them.
Businesses must do the rest.
The Economist, November 26, 2025
And many signs indicate AI use in businesses is currently falling rather than rising.
Evidence is mounting that the current generation of models is not able to transform the productivity of most firms.
This brings us to Apple, the company still trying to figure out this whole AI thing. On Monday, surprising literally no one, Apple announced that its VP in charge of AI development, John Giannandrea, is retiring. Giannandrea will be replaced by Amar Subramanya, who was head of engineering for Google’s Gemini Assistant prior to leaving the company for Microsoft. It remains to be seen whether or not Subramanya can turn around the giant iceberg that is Apple’s AI effort to date.
The Macalope knows what he wrote.
Apple’s business practices are not always the best, particularly of late. And that’s too bad. Because the company has often been better than its peers on the environment, social issues, and privacy. And what’s needed most right now is a company that’s able and willing to do AI the right way. Until that happens, don’t expect opinions about AI to change.
Google Gemini AI Now Built Into Opera One and Opera GX Browsers Opera has announced an expansion of its partnership with Google to integrate the latest Gemini AI models across much of its browser lineup.
The expansion means the Gemini-powered side panel previously exclusive to Opera Neon is now freely available in the company's free-to-download Opera One and Opera GX browsers.
By interacting with the side panel's AI chatbot, users can get contextually relevant answers based on the current webpage and group of webpages, as well as videos. Opera says responses can include easy research, content summaries, and comparisons between different tabs.
In addition, Opera AI supports voice input and output, along with file analysis for multiple file types, including images and video.
The company says the engine has been rebuilt for speed, with 20% faster responses thanks to the use of a new architecture that adopts an agentic-approach from Opera Neon.
Opera also emphasizes that its privacy features ensure the user has full control over what context is shared with Opera AI and what is kept outside its awareness.
"AI is reshaping how people interact with the web, and the browser is the natural entry point for those experiences,” said Opera's EVP Commercial, Per Wetterdal. "Through our partnership with Google, we are able to offer users the experiences they really want through native search and AI features, for free, directly in their Opera One and Opera GX browsers while our most advanced users of the agentic Opera Neon browser are already getting access to Gemini 3 Pro."Many users have been critical of AI's creep into browsers, but Opera argues that browsing is the next AI frontier. "Unlike a standalone chat interface, the browser has access to real-time context such as a user's open tabs, page content, and browsing flows," says the company's press release. "This enables more relevant and efficient assistance, supporting task completion directly within the browsing experience."
You can decide for yourself by visiting Opera's website, which includes download links for Opera Browser, Opera Air, Opera GX, and Opera Mini.Tag: Opera BrowserThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
I’ve been profiling a lot lately, now I’m hooked Using instruments I've been: finding orphaned Tasks understanding how my dependencies affect memory allocation (Sentry seems to be my biggest contributor) finding leaks (here's a good WWDC vid for that) Also, now just in general, I know how many Tasks each one of my in app features should spawn. That helps me determine if I've […]
This cute $50 case makes your M4 Mac mini look like a Mac Pro Buying a Mac Pro makes absolutely no sense at the moment given that the Mac Studio is more powerful while also being substantially cheaper.
But if you secretly lust after one anyway, then a cute $50 case can make an M4 Mac Mini look just like a miniature Mac Pro – with a couple of practical benefits thrown in …
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34 years ago, Apple created a multimedia file format for the Mac, and it’s still all around us Macworld
The late 1980s and early to mid-1990s were Apple’s weirdest and wildest era. Wedged between the triumph of the original Macintosh and the return of Steve Jobs were a sort of Wilderness Years where the company flailed all over the place, ultimately flaming out and requiring the now-famous rescue by its co-founder.
To be sure, 1990s Apple was a company with a load of problems, from out-of-control research labs building unsellable products to fruitless quests for software stacks that would reinvent documents and replace Mac OS itself. But that era of calamity and excess was also the source of some real gems, including the product that debuted 34 years ago, on Dec. 2, 1991: QuickTime.
Prehistory of multimedia
If you’re under the age of 40, you probably don’t remember the pre-multimedia era. Computers used to be really, really bad at audio and video. I once spent half an hour downloading a file to a floppy disk so I could play the first ten seconds of “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin through the telephone handset attached to the modem in my Apple II. It was far cry from MP3s.
By the late ’80s and early ’90s, digital audio had been thoroughly integrated into Macs. (PCs needed add-on cards to do much more than issue beeps.) The next frontier was video, and even better, synchronized video and audio. There were a whole lot of challenges: the Macs of the day were not really powerful to decode and display more than a few frames per second, which was more of a slideshow than a proper video. Also, the software written to decode and encode such video (called codecs) was complex and expensive, and there were lots of different formats, making file exchange unreliable.
Apple’s first promo video for QuickTime.
Apple’s solution wasn’t to invent entirely new software to cover every contingency, but to build a framework for multimedia creation and playback that could use different codecs as needed. At its heart was a file that was a container for other streams of audio and video in various formats: the QuickTime Movie, or MOV.
The early days were a bit of a mess, but I can tell you that I can still remember where I was when I first played a QuickTime movie (in a basement on the UC Berkeley campus, in front of a very fast Mac). The first time I plugged live video into a capture card, and it appeared, digitized, on my Mac’s screen was similarly revelatory.
Keep in mind, this was unbelievably rudimentary even by the standards of the time. When Apple introduced QuickTime 2.0, it supported video at 320 by 240 pixels at 30 frames per second. That is to say, full-motion video at half the quality of the standard-definition video found on television at the time. There was a lot of work still to be done.
The CD-ROM era
QuickTime couldn’t have come along at a better time. Its arrival coincided with the roll-out of CD-ROM drives in Macs and PCs, which let developers fill discs with enormous video and audio files that would’ve flooded the average hard drive of the era. QuickTime (which was available for Mac and Windows alike) became a major mover in the CD-ROM world, providing accompanying video and audio for talking encyclopedias, movie databases, and games.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual CD-ROM was a showcase for QuickTime VR.Simon & Schuster Interactive
Over the years, Apple added interactive layers to QuickTime, since so much of the CD-ROM content field demanded it. And in a great burst of creativity, Apple introduced QuickTime VR, a development kit that let you build 360-degree environments from stitched-together photos. The most beloved QuickTime VR CD-ROM was probably the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual CD-ROM, which provided multiple 360-degree panoramas of various parts of the Enterprise. Today, you can set your iPhone’s camera app to Panorama mode to capture similar vistas–back then, it took dozens of photos and a Power Mac powerful enough to slowly merge them all together.
Since the first days of desktop publishing, the Mac has always been a leader in the media world. QuickTime allowed Apple to push into the video side of things, most notably with the purchase of Final Cut Pro in 1998. The company even held its own QuickTime Live conference event, catering to the video industry.
The rise of the internet
The rise of the internet changed the game for QuickTime, of course. CD-ROMs offered relatively limited storage, but pretty decent bandwidth. You could store infinite amounts of video on the internet and add new videos all the time, but it had to come through a very, very slow data pipe in those early days.
Apple built its own streaming software (the QuickTime Streaming Server) to provide different video qualities for different bandwidths, but a lot of the light and heat in the early days of internet multimedia streaming went elsewhere, to companies like RealNetworks, the makers of RealAudio. Apple did turn QuickTime into its own sort of multimedia browser, letting you click to various sites that offered videos in QuickTime format, including a very popular movie trailers library that survived for many years.
QuickTime played an important role in the Mac’s support of internet video.512 Pixels
Still, QuickTime remained a staple video tool for Mac users. Macs came with QuickTime Player, but you could pay to upgrade (!) to access QuickTime Pro, which let you slice and dice movie files, adding and removing audio and video tracks. For an app that purported to be a simple player utility, QuickTime Pro was actually incredibly useful on its own. Sadly, it was discontinued when Apple stopped supporting 32-bit apps with macOS Catalina. The current QuickTime Player X app that ships on every Mac uses a different set of frameworks and doesn’t support many of the codecs that had been supported by “classic” QuickTime. In many ways, the release of macOS Catalina marked the end of the road for QuickTime.
Except… QuickTime’s legacy lives on. At a recent event I attended at Apple Park, Apple’s experts in immersive video for the Vision Pro pointed out that the standard format for immersive videos is, at its heart, a QuickTime container.
And perhaps the most ubiquitous video container format on the internet, the MP4 file? That standard file format is actually a container format that can encompass different kinds of audio, video, and other information, all in one place. If that sounds familiar, that’s because MPEG-4 is based on the QuickTime format.
Thirty-four years later, QuickTime may seem like a quaint product of a long-lost era of Apple. But the truth is, it’s become an integral part of the computing world, so pervasive that it’s almost invisible. I’d like to forget most of what happened at Apple in the early 1990s, but QuickTime definitely deserves our appreciation.
Apple to refuse Indian government order to pre-install state security app on iPhones The Indian government issued a mandate that intends to force smartphone companies like Apple and Samsung to preinstall a state-run security app called ‘Sanchar Saathi’ on phones sold in the region. The companies have 90 days to comply.
But Reuters reports Apple intends to refuse the order and will not install the app on iPhones. The company will tell the Indian government that it does not comply with such orders in any market in which it participates, due to the associated security and privacy risks.
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Apple @ Work Podcast: What’s driving 1Password’s $400M ARR momentum? Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.
In this episode of Apple @ Work, 1Password CEO David Faugno joins the show to discuss the company’s growth to $400M ARR, agentic browsers, and more.
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Taiwan SMS Carrier Maintenance – FarEasTone THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 4, 10:00 - 12:30 PSTDec 2, 02:41 PSTScheduled - The FarEasTone network in Taiwan is conducting a planned maintenance from 04 December 2025 at 10:00 PST until 04 December 2025 at 12:30 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to FarEasTone Taiwan handsets.
Samsung’s first tri-fold phone unfolds into a 10-inch tablet The Galaxy Z TriFold marks Samsung’s leap past standard foldables, offering a tri-fold form factor that opens into a tablet-sized display.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
Strange files appearing Keep getting these weird files coming up on my phone anyone know what they are ? Thanks in advance submitted by /u/MoneyPresence1311 [link] [comments]
Rumor: Apple may use Intel to help produce lower-end M7 chips in the United States beginning in 2027 After years of strife, Intel could see its chip foundries once again making Apple chips as soon as 2027. Per AppleInsider and industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the lower-end M7 Apple Silicon chip could be produced in the United States come 2027. Until now, all M-series chips used in Macs and iPads have been built by […]
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Apple adds original iPhone SE model to obsolete products list You may love the original iPhone SE, but it can’t be listed as a current piece of hardware, and thereby supported, forever. Apple on Monday added the first-generation iPhone SE to its obsolete products list. With this change, the handset is no longer eligible for repairs, battery replacements, or any other service at Apple Stores […]
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Apple Launches Tap to Pay on iPhone in Singapore Apple has announced that Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available in Singapore, providing a way for independent sellers, small businesses, and larger merchants in the country to use an iPhone as a contactless payment terminal.
Tap to Pay first arrived in February 2022 in the US, and allows iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets. All transactions are encrypted, and Apple has no information about what is purchased or the person who made the purchase.
No additional hardware or credit card machine is required to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. The feature uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.
Tap to Pay will initially support Adyen, Fiuu, HitPay, Revolut, Stripe, and Zoho in Singapore. Apple says Grab will offer Tap to Pay on iPhone beginning early next year.
Tap to Pay on iPhone requires iPhone XS or newer models, and works for customers as any normal Apple Pay transaction would. Sellers just need to open up the app, register the sale, and present their iPhone to the buyer, who can then use an appropriate contactless payment method.
Tap to Pay on iPhone is now available in 50 countries and regions around the world. Apple's website maintains a list of countries where it is available.Tags: Singapore, Tap to Pay on iPhoneThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple to Resist India's Order to Preload Government App on iPhones Apple will resist a new Indian government directive that would require all iPhones sold in the country to ship with a preinstalled state-run security app, reports Reuters.
This week, India's Department of Telecommunications ordered all smartphone makers to preload Sanchar Saathi, a non-removable government app designed to help users block stolen devices, report fraudulent calls, and verify second-hand phones.
The app includes detailed tracking functionality controlled by the government, potentially opening a pathway for broad data access and potential surveillance, so there are privacy and security implications for iPhone users.
According to The Business Standard, citing industry sources familiar with the matter, Apple has informed officials it does not plan to comply with the requirement. The company will reportedly tell the government it does not follow such mandates anywhere in the world as they raise a host of privacy and security issues for the company's iOS ecosystem.
Apple's resistance to the directive will put added pressure on New Delhi, with political opposition parties already accusing the government of overreach.
In response to the criticism, India's telecom minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday said the app was "completely optional," adding that users can choose to activate it and can "easily delete it from their phone at any time." Scindia rejected allegations of surveillance, stating the app contains no provisions for snooping or call monitoring.
There are more than 700 million smartphone users in India, so any final decision will have major implications for how much control the government can exert over device software and how far tech companies like Apple can go in enforcing their own privacy standards.Tag: IndiaThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Issue enrolling in Apple Developer Program payment failed on Apple’s side? Anyone experienced this? Hey everyone, I tried enrolling in the Apple Developer Program a few days ago I went through the normal process, submitted the payment (US$99), and got the “will be processed in 2 business days” email. But nothing happened after that. I contacted Apple Developer Support today and they told me there was an error processing […]
Russia SMS Carrier Maintenance – Gazprombank Mobile THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 3, 12:00 - 13:00 PSTDec 2, 00:54 PSTScheduled - The Gazprombank Mobile network in Russia is conducting an emergency maintenance from 03 December 2025 at 12:00 PST until 03 December 2025 at 13:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to Gazprombank Mobile Russia handsets.
10 simple steps to speed up your iPhone Macworld
Have you ever wondered if your iPhone is getting slower, or if it’s just your imagination? Have you ever wished there was some way to speed it up? If the answer to either question is yes, then you’re not alone.
iPhones absolutely do get slower with age. The issue is often caused by a lot of junk files and not enough free space, as well as outdated software and unnecessary processes running in the background. So before splashing out on an expensive new device, it’s worth doing your best to solve those issues.
Can you make your iPhone run faster? Yes. Whatever has made your phone slow down, there’s a solution. And in this article we show how to get it back up to speed.
Step 1: Update iOS
At time of writing Apple’s current operating system for the iPhone is iOS 26. From time to time there will be small ‘point’ updates (iOS 26.0.1, iOS 26.1 and so on) while the next major new version (iOS 27) will be here in September 2026.
If you haven’t got the latest version of iOS, whatever that is when you read this, you may want to update. You can check by opening the Settings app on your iPhone and going to General > Software Update. This screen will let you know if there’s an update waiting for you to install, and guide you through the process of installing it. For more details, check out our complete guide to updating iOS.
Updating to the latest version of iOS will often fix issues with your iPhone, because it will give you access to the latest patches and fixes for known problems. It’s almost always a good idea to install the latest point update for this reason. If you’re on iOS 26.1 and iOS 26.1.1 becomes available, grab it. It might make your iPhone a little faster, and it’s extremely unlikely to make it any slower.
Larger updates (iOS 27, iOS 28, and so on) are a more complicated case. They don’t just add patches; they also add visual tweaks and new features, all of which are designed for the latest hardware and can be overwhelming for older models. They may also take up more space on your device, which is a whole other problem we discuss later in this article.
Apple is supposed to address this by only allowing iPhones which are capable of handling an update to install it: you’ll find the list of supported devices for each version of iOS in this article. The ultra-cautious approach would be to only install a yearly update if your iPhone is comfortably inside the compatible zone. iOS 26, for instance, is supported by the iPhone 11 and later, but that doesn’t mean the iPhone 11 will deliver optimal performance. The safe bet would be to stay on the previous version (iOS 18; there was a change to the numbering system!) unless you’ve got an iPhone 12 or later.
iOS 26 looks amazing, but it may be too demanding for older iPhones.Foundry
Step 2: Restart your iPhone
A common first piece of advice is to close down unused apps–and if it comforts you to do so, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-press the Home button, if you’re using an older device that still has one) and swipe upwards on non-essential apps to close them. But this strategy has long been debunked, by Daring Fireball, Apple itself, and many others.
Instead, let’s restart the iPhone completely. Press volume up, then volume down, then press and hold the power button on the righthand side. (If there are two buttons on the right of your iPhone, press the upper one. The lower one will be Camera Control.) You’ll then see the Power Off slider; swipe across this to restart your iPhone.
(Again, if you’ve got an older model with a Home button, the method is a little different. You simply have to press and hold the power button on the top or righthand edge until the Power Off slider appears.)
Once your iPhone has finished shutting down, which will take 10 seconds or so, start it up again by pressing and holding the power/sleep button for about 5 seconds. You’ll see the Apple icon, then the iPhone will restart.
You shouldn’t have to do this very often, but when you do it’ll clear out the memory and can often fix unruly apps. The occasional power cycle helps keep iOS ticking over.
Step 3: Kill automatic background processes
The next step is to turn on Low Data Mode. This means apps won’t use data in the background, there won’t be any automatic app downloads, and emails won’t be automatically retrieved. As well as saving you data, this can also speed up your iPhone and improve battery life.
To turn on Low Data Mode, open the Settings app and select Cellular > Cellular Data Options and tap the toggle labeled Low Data Mode. (You may also have to tap Data Mode before you get to the toggle, depending on your data plan. And readers in the U.K. will instead follow the Settings path Mobile Service > Mobile Data Options > [Data Mode] > Low Data Mode.)
You can also turn off these data-hogging processes in Wi-Fi. Open Settings and select Wi-Fi. Tap the i next to the network you wish to limit, and choose Low Data Mode.
Step 4: Turn down the graphics
Dialling down the fancy visual effects can help to improve performance.
Start by turning off Motion. Open Settings and go to Accessibility > Motion and tap the toggle next to Reduce Motion. This turns off the parallax effect on icons. Some people have complained that this effect makes them feel seasick, so you might even find the phone easier to use in this setting (although it will probably take some time to get used to). And of course, it will also use less power.
iOS feels different with Reduce Motion enabled, but it may be worth it. David Price / Foundry
Next you can reduce the see-through background effects which can also slow things down. In Settings, select Accessibility > Display & Text Size and then turn on Reduce Transparency.
Similarly, if you’re running iOS 26 or later, you may want to tone down Liquid Glass, whose visual effects can make the interface confusing as well as increasing the drain on your phone’s processor and memory. Open Settings and go to Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass and change the toggle from Clear to Tinted. Keep an eye on this page; more Liquid Glass toggles may appear here in the future.
Step 5: Clear cookies and data in Safari
Next you should try emptying Safari’s cookies and data to free up some memory.
Open the Settings app and select Apps, then use the alphabetic selector to find Safari. Scroll down to the section headed History and Website Data, then tap Clear History and Website Data. iOS will ask how much history you’d like to delete; the most effective option is All history.
Bear in mind that this action may make browsing the web slightly less convenient for a while. Safari will forget the URLs you’ve been visiting so won’t suggest them as you type, unless they’re bookmarked (although it will start remembering new ones from now on). And clearing data may mean some websites forget your preferences.
Step 6: Free up space on your iPhone
If you’re running out of space on your iPhone, this could account for the sluggishness. Your device will tend to run better if it has at least 10GB free, or around 10% of the available storage.
To find out just how much storage you’re wasting, open the Settings app and go to General > iPhone Storage. You’ll see how much space is left on your iPhone and what apps and files are using the most. There are various ways to free up space, such as deleting photos and music, or offloading data to iCloud. But we’ll start with deleting apps.
Delete unwanted apps
Identify apps worth deleting by going to the iPhone Storage page mentioned above; by default your apps will be listed in order of the space they take up, although you can tap the dropdown menu to filter them by name or date last used instead. Hunt out apps that are big, or you don’t use very often, or both. And remember that once you own an app you can download it again for free at a later date.
Once you’ve decided what needs to go, tap on the app in the list, then choose Offload App (if you want to hang on to any documents and data) or Delete App (if you just want to get rid of it). You can also delete apps from your Home Screen by pressing and holding the app icon and selecting Remove App, but it’s probably simpler to do it from Settings.
David Price / Foundry
iOS will also offer specific recommendations. In the screenshot above, for example, you can see the option to save 26.86GB by deleting photos and videos, or 83.4GB by offloading unused apps.
Delete messages
Messages can take up a considerable amount of space, especially if you send and receive a lot of images.
One option is to sync Messages to iCloud. Open Settings and tap on your Apple ID at the top, then select iCloud > Messages, and tap the slider next to Use on this iPhone so it turns green. With this setting turned on your Messages will be stored in iCloud rather than on your phone. You’ll need to pay for iCloud storage to reap the benefits of this option.
If you don’t want to pay to store your Messages in iCloud, you can delete them from your iPhone quite easily.
Start by opening Messages and scrolling down to find any message threads that you can manage without. Swipe to the left and tap the red trashcan icon, then hit Delete (or Delete and Block/Delete and Report Spam if either is relevant). Or, if you swipe all the way left until the trashcan icon expands, you can do this with fewer taps. Pro tip!
David Price / Foundry
Deleting threads with only text-based messages won’t free up much space, so it’s worth concentrating on those that include images, videos and voice notes.
If you have a friend who sends you a lot of pictures, but you don’t want to delete the whole conversation, there’s an easy way to quickly and selectively delete a few images. Open their message, tap their name at the top of the screen, then select Photos. You’ll see all the images exchanged between you in a convenient list. You can then either press and hold on individual images and hit Delete, or select Edit at the top right, followed by Select Photos. Tap the photos you don’t want, then hit the trashcan icon at the bottom right.
Finally, if you’re sent a lot of audio messages, make sure iOS knows to delete them after you’ve listened to them. Open the Settings app, navigate to Apps > Messages, scroll down to the section headed Audio Messages, and tap Expire. Check this is set to After 2 Minutes rather than Never. That’s two minutes after they’re opened, not after they’re sent, so don’t worry about rushing to listen before they vanish forever.
Delete music
These days many of us stream music using a service such as Spotify or Apple Music. (Apple Music costs $10.99/£10.99 a month, and gives you access to a library of more than 100 million songs wherever you have internet access.) But if you’ve got a lot of tracks stored on your phone, whether they’re temporarily borrowed from a streaming service or sourced from elsewhere, that could be contributing to a lack of free space, and therefore a lack of speed.
Open the Settings app and go to Apps > Music, swipe down to the section headed Downloads and tap Downloaded Music. You’ll see all your tunes arranged by artist, together with the number of albums and the storage allocation taken up by each. To delete an entire artist’s worth of music, swipe left across their name and hit Delete; or tap their name to go in and delete individual albums or tracks.
Delete photos
Again, the temptation is to throw money at the problem. The simplest way to free up space on your phone is to pay for a decent chunk of iCloud storage and turn on the iCloud Photos feature: open Settings and go to Apps > Photos and tap the toggle labelled iCloud Photos. This means all the photos from all your Apple devices will be stored together in the cloud, and you’ll be able to see thumbnails on all your devices. The full-res version won’t be stored on your iPhone, unless you choose to download it, which means you’ll save lots of space.
However, if you don’t want to pay, you could back up your photos on your Mac and then delete them from your iPhone. The easiest way to do this is to plug your iPhone into your Mac, open Photos, and then import your iPhone photos.
To delete photos on the phone, open the Photos app, hit Select and then tap on the images you want to delete. Then tap the trashcan icon and confirm. If you want to enjoy the extra space right away, you’ll need to go to the Recently Deleted folder (go to Collections, scroll down to the section headed Utilities, then tap Recently Deleted) to actually delete the images, as Apple will otherwise keep them on your phone for 30 days just in case you change your mind.
Here’s one last tip: if you take a lot of screenshots on your iPhone, find the screenshots album (you’ll find it under Collections > Media Types) and delete them there. Screenshots are unlikely to be wanted in the long term. It’s also worth targeting any Burst photos you’ve taken: you may have ended up with 14 pictures because you kept the shutter pressed too long. Delete these for easy space gains.
Step 7: Check for throttling
Back in 2017, Apple added a controversial iOS function to automatically throttle the performance of iPhones with ageing batteries in order to prolong their life and “prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down.” The company later made it possible to turn this off, and if your phone is slow (and particularly if it’s on the older side) it’s worth checking to see if this is an option. Just bear in mind that any speed increases may come at the cost of reliability.
If you’re running iOS 18 or earlier, open the Settings app and go to Battery > Battery Health & Charging and look for a reference to performance. If it says Peak Performance Capability, everything is running normally. If it says Below Peak Performance, throttling is being applied to slow down your phone: tap the Disable button to turn this off.
Those on iOS 26 or later will see different options because the function was changed and rebranded as Adaptive Power. Open Settings and go to Battery > Power Mode. Tap the toggle labelled Adaptive Power so it turns gray. This should ensure any system throttling is switched off.
Adaptive Power may slow down performance slightly.David Price / Foundry
Again, bear in mind that these functions are supposed to be there for your protection. A better solution would therefore be to ensure your battery is in optimal health so throttling isn’t necessary; that way you’ll get both performance and reliability. We have a separate article that shows you how to check your iPhone battery and find out if it needs to be replaced.
Step 8: Restore to factory settings
We’re getting into drastic solutions now. We’re going to perform a full restore, which deletes all the data on the iPhone and returns it, in effect, to the state it was in when you bought it. (Except that the hardware components will still have suffered a number of years of wear and tear, of course.)
Since we’re deleting all the data, you should back up the iPhone first. Then you can restore the iPhone to its factory settings by opening Settings and going to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. You’ll then have to enter your passcode and confirm.
After a few minutes, you’ll be presented with the welcome screen you saw when you first started up the iPhone. You can now restore from the backup you made and see if the speed problems have gone away. If they persist, it’s possible the issue was caused by something on you phone that you’ve now reintroduced, so as a last resort try erasing everything once more and this time set up from scratch, rather than using the backup.
Step 9: Ask Apple for help
If none of the above techniques work, you can ask Apple for help. Just bear in mind that there may not be an easy (or cheap) solution.
As we mentioned earlier, slowness can be a matter of perception. But if you’re sure something’s up, and you’ve tried all our tricks, you may wish to ask Apple to check for a faulty component or other hardware issue. (This may be covered by your Apple warranty if you’ve got one.) Read our article on booking an appointment with Apple for the details.
Step 10: Buy a new iPhone
If Apple can’t help, or the company’s help is too expensive to be worth it, we reach the final option: give up on your older iPhone and buy something new(er).
If you’ve reached that point, check out our iPhone buying guide to help figure out the right model for you. Then read about the best iPhone deals to make sure you’re paying the lowest price. Or, if you’re determined to buy direct from Apple, jump straight to the Apple store and pick a replacement.
10 simple steps to speed up your iPhone Macworld
Have you ever wondered if your iPhone is getting slower, or if it’s just your imagination? Have you ever wished there was some way to speed it up? If the answer to either question is yes, then you’re not alone.
iPhones absolutely do get slower with age. The issue is often caused by a lot of junk files and not enough free space, as well as outdated software and unnecessary processes running in the background. So before splashing out on an expensive new device, it’s worth doing your best to solve those issues.
Can you make your iPhone run faster? Yes. Whatever has made your phone slow down, there’s a solution. And in this article we show how to get it back up to speed.
Step 1: Update iOS
At time of writing Apple’s current operating system for the iPhone is iOS 26. From time to time there will be small ‘point’ updates (iOS 26.0.1, iOS 26.1 and so on) while the next major new version (iOS 27) will be here in September 2026.
If you haven’t got the latest version of iOS, whatever that is when you read this, you may want to update. You can check by opening the Settings app on your iPhone and going to General > Software Update. This screen will let you know if there’s an update waiting for you to install, and guide you through the process of installing it. For more details, check out our complete guide to updating iOS. You may find you can’t run the latest version of iOS, but at least install the latest version of iOS for your iPhone.
Updating to the latest version of iOS will often fix issues with your iPhone, because it will give you access to the latest patches and fixes for known problems. It’s almost always a good idea to install the latest point update for this reason. If you’re on iOS 26.1 and iOS 26.1.1 becomes available, grab it. It might make your iPhone a little faster, and it’s extremely unlikely to make it any slower.
Larger updates (iOS 27, iOS 28, and so on) are a more complicated case. They don’t just add patches; they also add visual tweaks and new features, all of which are designed for the latest hardware and can be overwhelming for older models. They may also take up more space on your device, which is a whole other problem we discuss later in this article. You can also experience slow downs for the first few days after a larger update because Spotlight reindexes your iPhone, so if that matches your experience right now, that’s probably the reason.
Apple is supposed to address this by only allowing iPhones which are capable of handling an update to install it: you’ll find the list of supported devices for each version of iOS in our iOS compatibility checker. The ultra-cautious approach would be to only install a yearly update if your iPhone is comfortably inside the compatible zone. iOS 26, for instance, is supported by the iPhone 11 and later, but that doesn’t mean the iPhone 11 will deliver optimal performance. The safe bet would be to stay on the previous version (iOS 18; there was a change to the numbering system!) unless you’ve got an iPhone 12 or later.
iOS 26 looks amazing, but it may be too demanding for older iPhones.Foundry
Step 2: Restart your iPhone
A common first piece of advice is to close down unused apps–and if it comforts you to do so, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-press the Home button, if you’re using an older device that still has one) and swipe upwards on non-essential apps to close them. But this strategy has long been debunked, by Daring Fireball, Apple itself, and many others.
Instead, let’s restart the iPhone completely. Press volume up, then volume down, then press and hold the power button on the righthand side. (If there are two buttons on the right of your iPhone, press the upper one. The lower one will be Camera Control.) You’ll then see the Power Off slider; swipe across this to restart your iPhone.
(Again, if you’ve got an older model with a Home button, the method is a little different. You simply have to press and hold the power button on the top or righthand edge until the Power Off slider appears.)
Once your iPhone has finished shutting down, which will take 10 seconds or so, start it up again by pressing and holding the power/sleep button for about 5 seconds. You’ll see the Apple icon, then the iPhone will restart.
You shouldn’t have to do this very often, but when you do it’ll clear out the memory and can often fix unruly apps. The occasional power cycle helps keep iOS ticking over.
Step 3: Kill automatic background processes
The next step is to turn on Low Data Mode. This means apps won’t use data in the background, there won’t be any automatic app downloads, and emails won’t be automatically retrieved. As well as saving you data, this can also speed up your iPhone and improve battery life.
To turn on Low Data Mode, open the Settings app and select Cellular > Cellular Data Options and tap the toggle labeled Low Data Mode. (You may also have to tap Data Mode before you get to the toggle, depending on your data plan. And readers in the U.K. will instead follow the Settings path Mobile Service > Mobile Data Options > [Data Mode] > Low Data Mode.)
You can also turn off these data-hogging processes in Wi-Fi. Open Settings and select Wi-Fi. Tap the i next to the network you wish to limit, and choose Low Data Mode.
Step 4: Turn down the graphics and visual effects
Dialling down the fancy visual effects can help to improve performance.
Start by turning off Motion. Open Settings and go to Accessibility > Motion and tap the toggle next to Reduce Motion. This turns off the parallax effect on icons. Some people have complained that this effect makes them feel seasick, so you might even find the phone easier to use in this setting (although it will probably take some time to get used to). And of course, it will also use less power.
iOS feels different with Reduce Motion enabled, but it may be worth it. David Price / Foundry
Next you can reduce the see-through background effects which can also slow things down. In Settings, select Accessibility > Display & Text Size and then turn on Reduce Transparency.
Similarly, if you’re running iOS 26 or later, you may want to tone down Liquid Glass, whose visual effects can make the interface confusing as well as increasing the drain on your phone’s processor and memory. Open Settings and go to Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass and change the toggle from Clear to Tinted. Keep an eye on this page; more Liquid Glass toggles may appear here in the future.
Step 5: Clear cookies and data in Safari
Next you should try emptying Safari’s cookies and data to free up some memory.
Open the Settings app and select Apps, then use the alphabetic selector to find Safari. Scroll down to the section headed History and Website Data, then tap Clear History and Website Data. iOS will ask how much history you’d like to delete; the most effective option is All history.
Bear in mind that this action may make browsing the web slightly less convenient for a while. Safari will forget the URLs you’ve been visiting so won’t suggest them as you type, unless they’re bookmarked (although it will start remembering new ones from now on). And clearing data may mean some websites forget your preferences.
Step 6: Free up space on your iPhone
If you’re running out of space on your iPhone, this could account for the sluggishness. Your device will tend to run better if it has at least 10GB free, or around 10% of the available storage.
To find out just how much storage you’re wasting, open the Settings app and go to General > iPhone Storage. You’ll see how much space is left on your iPhone and what apps and files are using the most. There are various ways to free up space, such as deleting photos and music, or offloading data to iCloud. But we’ll start with deleting apps.
Delete unwanted apps
Identify apps worth deleting by going to the iPhone Storage page mentioned above; by default your apps will be listed in order of the space they take up, although you can tap the dropdown menu to filter them by name or date last used instead. Hunt out apps that are big, or you don’t use very often, or both. And remember that once you own an app you can download it again for free at a later date.
Once you’ve decided what needs to go, tap on the app in the list, then choose Offload App (if you want to hang on to any documents and data) or Delete App (if you just want to get rid of it). You can also delete apps from your Home Screen by pressing and holding the app icon and selecting Remove App, but it’s probably simpler to do it from Settings.
David Price / Foundry
iOS will also offer specific recommendations. In the screenshot above, for example, you can see the option to save 26.86GB by deleting photos and videos, or 83.4GB by offloading unused apps.
Delete messages
Messages can take up a considerable amount of space, especially if you send and receive a lot of images.
One option is to sync Messages to iCloud. Open Settings and tap on your Apple ID at the top, then select iCloud > Messages, and tap the slider next to Use on this iPhone so it turns green. With this setting turned on your Messages will be stored in iCloud rather than on your phone. You’ll need to pay for iCloud storage to reap the benefits of this option.
If you don’t want to pay to store your Messages in iCloud, you can delete them from your iPhone quite easily.
Start by opening Messages and scrolling down to find any message threads that you can manage without. Swipe to the left and tap the red trashcan icon, then hit Delete (or Delete and Block/Delete and Report Spam if either is relevant). Or, if you swipe all the way left until the trashcan icon expands, you can do this with fewer taps. Pro tip!
David Price / Foundry
Deleting threads with only text-based messages won’t free up much space, so it’s worth concentrating on those that include images, videos and voice notes.
If you have a friend who sends you a lot of pictures, but you don’t want to delete the whole conversation, there’s an easy way to quickly and selectively delete a few images. Open their message, tap their name at the top of the screen, then select Photos. You’ll see all the images exchanged between you in a convenient list. You can then either press and hold on individual images and hit Delete, or select Edit at the top right, followed by Select Photos. Tap the photos you don’t want, then hit the trashcan icon at the bottom right.
Finally, if you’re sent a lot of audio messages, make sure iOS knows to delete them after you’ve listened to them. Open the Settings app, navigate to Apps > Messages, scroll down to the section headed Audio Messages, and tap Expire. Check this is set to After 2 Minutes rather than Never. That’s two minutes after they’re opened, not after they’re sent, so don’t worry about rushing to listen before they vanish forever.
Delete music
These days many of us stream music using a service such as Spotify or Apple Music. (Apple Music costs $10.99/£10.99 a month, and gives you access to a library of more than 100 million songs wherever you have internet access.) But if you’ve got a lot of tracks stored on your phone, whether they’re temporarily borrowed from a streaming service or sourced from elsewhere, that could be contributing to a lack of free space, and therefore a lack of speed.
Open the Settings app and go to Apps > Music, swipe down to the section headed Downloads and tap Downloaded Music. You’ll see all your tunes arranged by artist, together with the number of albums and the storage allocation taken up by each. To delete an entire artist’s worth of music, swipe left across their name and hit Delete; or tap their name to go in and delete individual albums or tracks.
Delete photos
Again, the temptation is to throw money at the problem. The simplest way to free up space on your phone is to pay for a decent chunk of iCloud storage and turn on the iCloud Photos feature: open Settings and go to Apps > Photos and tap the toggle labelled iCloud Photos. This means all the photos from all your Apple devices will be stored together in the cloud, and you’ll be able to see thumbnails on all your devices. The full-res version won’t be stored on your iPhone, unless you choose to download it, which means you’ll save lots of space. The size of your photo library on your iPhone will be significantly smaller if you store the high res images in the cloud, but expect that it will still take up a lot of space on your device if you have a lot of photos. If you want to reduce the space given to your photos you will still need to delete some.
However, if you don’t want to pay to store your photos in iCloud, you could back up your photos on your Mac and then delete them from your iPhone. The easiest way to do this is to plug your iPhone into your Mac, open Photos, and then import your iPhone photos.
To delete photos on the phone, open the Photos app, hit Select and then tap on the images you want to delete. Then tap the trashcan icon and confirm. If you want to enjoy the extra space right away, you’ll need to go to the Recently Deleted folder (go to Collections, scroll down to the section headed Utilities, then tap Recently Deleted) to actually delete the images, as Apple will otherwise keep them on your phone for 30 days just in case you change your mind.
Here’s one last tip: if you take a lot of screenshots on your iPhone, find the screenshots album (you’ll find it under Collections > Media Types) and delete them there. Screenshots are unlikely to be wanted in the long term. It’s also worth targeting any Burst photos you’ve taken: you may have ended up with 14 pictures because you kept the shutter pressed too long. Delete these for easy space gains. Video also takes up a lot of space, so look at your album of videos and delete those you don’t want.
Step 7: Check for throttling
Back in 2017, Apple added a controversial iOS function to automatically throttle the performance of iPhones with ageing batteries in order to prolong their life and “prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down.” The company later made it possible to turn this off, and if your phone is slow (and particularly if it’s on the older side) it’s worth checking to see if this is an option. Just bear in mind that any speed increases may come at the cost of reliability.
If you’re running iOS 18 or earlier, open the Settings app and go to Battery > Battery Health & Charging and look for a reference to performance. If it says Peak Performance Capability, everything is running normally. If it says Below Peak Performance, throttling is being applied to slow down your phone: tap the Disable button to turn this off.
Those on iOS 26 or later will see different options because the function was changed and rebranded as Adaptive Power. Open Settings and go to Battery > Power Mode. Tap the toggle labelled Adaptive Power so it turns gray. This should ensure any system throttling is switched off.
Adaptive Power may slow down performance slightly.David Price / Foundry
Again, bear in mind that these functions are supposed to be there for your protection. A better solution would therefore be to ensure your battery is in optimal health so throttling isn’t necessary; that way you’ll get both performance and reliability. We have a separate article that shows you how to check your iPhone battery and find out if it needs to be replaced.
Step 8: Restore to factory settings
We’re getting into drastic solutions now. We’re going to perform a full restore, which deletes all the data on the iPhone and returns it, in effect, to the state it was in when you bought it. (Except that the hardware components will still have suffered a number of years of wear and tear, of course.)
Since we’re deleting all the data, you should back up the iPhone first. Then you can restore the iPhone to its factory settings by opening Settings and going to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. You’ll then have to enter your passcode and confirm.
After a few minutes, you’ll be presented with the welcome screen you saw when you first started up the iPhone. You can now restore from the backup you made and see if the speed problems have gone away. If they persist, it’s possible the issue was caused by something on you phone that you’ve now reintroduced, so as a last resort try erasing everything once more and this time set up from scratch, rather than using the backup.
Step 9: Ask Apple for help
If none of the above techniques work, you can ask Apple for help. Just bear in mind that there may not be an easy (or cheap) solution.
As we mentioned earlier, slowness can be a matter of perception. But if you’re sure something’s up, and you’ve tried all our tricks, you may wish to ask Apple to check for a faulty component or other hardware issue. (This may be covered by your Apple warranty if you’ve got one.) Read our article on booking an appointment with Apple for the details.
Step 10: Buy a new iPhone
If Apple can’t help, or the company’s help is too expensive to be worth it, we reach the final option: give up on your older iPhone and buy something new(er).
If you’ve reached that point, check out our iPhone buying guide to help figure out the best iPhone for you. Then read about the best iPhone deals to make sure you’re paying the lowest price.
Appstore Connect is the biggest pile of shit – how did we get here? Not much more needs to be said. They need to just nuke it and start again. Laughably bad engineering work for a supposedly decent engineering company. submitted by /u/killthenoise [link] [comments]
For stargazers, birders & curious humans—a smartphone-based telescope for 49% off Macworld
TL;DR: The Viztalab smartphone telescope turns your smartphone into a high-precision viewing tool for crystal-clear stargazing and birdwatching—no PhD required—for just $199.99 (MSRP $399).
Stargazing, birdwatching, and wildlife spotting just got a whole lot smarter. The Viztalab Smartphone-Based AI Telescope brings next-level clarity and intelligent guidance straight to your phone, all for $199.99 while this limited-time offer lasts.
Whether you’re scanning the skies or tracking rare birds, this gadget makes discovery feel easy and incredibly cool.
Powered by advanced ED lenses and AI technology, Viztalab delivers 24x true optical zoom with zero quality loss, ensuring every view is sharp, vibrant, and glare-free.
The real magic? The Vizta App. It identifies over 10,000 bird species, offers an interactive sky map, and guides you to constellations, planets, and celestial events with simple, tap-to-follow instructions.
Designed for both beginners and seasoned explorers, this telescope stacks multiple exposures to reveal jaw-dropping detail and stores your best shots safely in the cloud. Setup is refreshingly simple — attach your phone and launch the app.
From spontaneous backyard stargazing sessions to planned wildlife adventures, Viztalab turns curiosity into crystal-clear knowledge.
It’s smart, portable, and ready for wherever your sense of wonder takes you.
Get the Viztalab Smartphone-Based AI Telescope while it’s just $199.99 during this holiday sale.
Viztalab Smartphone-Based AI TelescopeSee Deal
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Is this worth uploading to the App Store? Hey everyone, I’ve been working on a small side project for the last couple of days…basically a stress-relief game inspired by all the shooters I grew up playing (Galaga, 1945, Raiden, etc.). It started as something I built just for fun on my iPad on the swift playgrounds app…but now it’s becoming something real and […]
iOS 26 navigation bar’s position is positioned lower than iOS 18 in landscape mode My app simply contains a navigation bar, and notice that iOS 26 renders it lower than expected. As you can see from the screenshot, it's positioned at 24 pt down. However, on iOS 18, the navigation bar is positioned at the top.
The iOS 26 version takes too much screen space and doesn't look good. How can I change it to match iOS 18 behavior?
Here's a minimum repro code:
import UIKit
class ViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
let w: CGFloat = 64
let h: CGFloat = 64
let v1 = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h))
let v2 = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h))
let v3 = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h))
let v4 = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h))
let v5 = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h))
let v6 = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h))
v1.backgroundColor = .red
v2.backgroundColor = .green
v3.backgroundColor = .yellow
v4.backgroundColor = .gray
v5.backgroundColor = .cyan
v6.backgroundColor = .purple
let views: [UIView] = [v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6]
let gap: CGFloat = 16
let width: CGFloat = 32
let height: CGFloat = 32
let totalWidth: CGFloat = width * CGFloat(views.count) + gap * CGFloat(views.count-1)
let container = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, totalWidth, height))
container.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: totalWidth).isActive = true
for (i, view) in views.enumerated() {
view.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
container.addSubview(view)
NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
view.widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: width),
view.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: height), // match container
view.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.centerYAnchor),
view.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: container.leadingAnchor, constant: CGFloat(i) * (width + gap))
])
}
let containerItem = UIBarButtonItem(customView: container)
if #available(iOS 26.0, *) {
containerItem.hidesSharedBackground = true
}
navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = containerItem
}
}
extension UIView {
func anchor(to size: CGSize) {
translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
let constraints = [
heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: size.height),
widthAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: size.width)
]
for constraint in constraints {
constraint.priority = UILayoutPriority(rawValue: 1000)
}
NSLayoutConstraint.activate(constraints)
}
}
On iOS 26 (see the gap):
On iOS 18 (no gap):
New to iOS dev, sent my first app for review. hello, world Hi everyone, this seems like a nice community. Lately I’ve been interested in learning how to make iOS apps, especially with the arrival of Liquid Glass which I find pretty cool. I made an App that I just submitted to review. Professionally I’ve been a backend developer for 10 years and recently started touching the […]
App Store rejection response Hello, My app got rejected but for reasons that I can explain. Am I better off submitting my app for review again and putting my response into the review notes, or just responding to the comment? Which way is typically faster? Thanks! submitted by /u/disinton [link] [comments]
UPDATE: **Summary**
Some Google Meet customers may experience an issue with ‘Continuous meeting chat’ feature
**Description**
Google Workspace released a feature to a subset of Workspace customers [Continue your conversations in Google Chat](https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9308979?visit_id=639002449653293387-821172296&p=chat_in_meet&rd=1).
Some Google Workspace users are experiencing issues with Google Meet host controls for this feature. This may include inability to disable the feature or the ‘disable’ option not being visible under the host controls within Google Calendar meeting invites.
We are investigating and will provide an update by Friday, 2025-12-05 10:00 PST with current details.
We apologize to all who are affected by this issue.
**Symptoms**
The impacted users are unable to observe Chat moderation settings under the Host Controls for ‘Continuous meeting chat’ feature.
**Workaround**
None at this time. Incident began at 2025-12-01 08:00 (times are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)).Summary
Some Google Meet customers may experience an issue with ‘Continuous meeting chat’ feature
Description
Google Workspace released a feature to a subset of Workspace customers Continue your conversations in Google Chat.
Some Google Workspace users are experiencing issues with Google Meet host controls for this feature. This may include inability to disable the feature or the ‘disable’ option not being visible under the host controls within Google Calendar meeting invites.
We are investigating and will provide an update by Friday, 2025-12-05 10:00 PST with current details.
We apologize to all who are affected by this issue.
Symptoms
The impacted users are unable to observe Chat moderation settings under the Host Controls for ‘Continuous meeting chat’ feature.
Workaround
None at this time.
Affected products: Google Meet
United States SMS and MMS Carrier Maintenance – T-Mobile THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 2, 20:00 PST - Dec 3, 04:00 PSTDec 1, 18:41 PSTScheduled - The T-Mobile network in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 02 December 2025 at 20:00 PST until 03 December 2025 at 04:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS and MMS to and from T-Mobile United States handsets.
What is up with Apple reviewers lately? Feels like they do not reference the test review notes and only test 1-2 things at a time… I have probably gone through 10 reviews now where I have to keep messaging back and forth with reviewers because they can’t find something but I have it well documented in the review note at the very top to make sure they see it. It’s been getting quite irritating submitted by /u/RiMellow [link] […]
Samsung Launches Galaxy Z TriFold Smartphone With 10-Inch Display Samsung today introduced the Galaxy Z TriFold, its first smartphone that has three total screens and two folds instead of one. The Galaxy Z TriFold features a 10-inch display when opened, and a 6.5-inch cover screen when closed, with "minimized creasing."
The device has an inward-folding design that's meant to protect the main display, and Samsung says that the "easy opening and closing" folding mechanism has been engineered with an alarm that alerts the user if it's folded incorrectly. Samsung is using a titanium Armor FlexHinge with two differently sized hinges that work together with a dual-rail structure. Samsung claims that the new design offers a smoother, more stable fold despite the varying weight across each display, plus greater durability thanks to the inclusion of a "thin piece of metal" that protects the folding mechanism.
A third of the display is 3.9mm thick when the smartphone is unfolded, though it is thicker in the area with the triple-lens camera. The main center screen is a bit thicker at 4.2mm, and the screen with the side button is 4mm. There is a reinforced overcoat over a shock absorbing display layer for better resistance, and the aluminum frame keeps the screens from making contact with one another.
There's a 5,600 mAh three-cell battery system with one battery behind each display panel. Samsung says it is the largest battery that it has used in a smartphone to date. There are three cameras at the rear of the device, including a 200-megapixel wide angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. There are two 10-megapixel selfie cameras on the cover screen and the main screen.
Galaxy Z TriFold users can use three different portrait-sized apps side-by-side, resize apps in a multi-window view, watch shows in full screen, or hold the device vertically for reading. Samsung added standalone Samsung DeX, so the Galaxy Z TriFold supports up to four workspaces with five apps running simultaneously. Samsung apps have been optimized for the larger screen, as has Google's Gemini Live.
The Galaxy Z TriFold is launching in Korea on December 12, and it will expand to other markets like China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the UAE later. It will launch in the United States in the first quarter of 2026, and pricing is unknown.
Tag: SamsungThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down Macworld
Apple has formally announced that John Giannandrea, its Senior VP of Machine Learning and AI, is stepping down from his position. He will serve as an advisor to the company before retiring in the spring of 2026.
Giannandrea will not be directly replaced by a Senior VP role, but by a Vice President: Amar Subramanya. Subramanya was at Google for 16 years and made a name for himself as a prominent AI researcher. Just this summer, he joined Microsoft as Corporate VP of AI. Now, after just six months, he’s joining Apple.
Subramanya was a principal member of the team that created Gemini (released in 2023) and Imagen 3 at Google. In other words, after OpenAI caught the industry off guard with ChatGPT, he appears to have been instrumental in helping Google catch up. Now, he’s at Apple, where the same work is desperately needed.
Subramanya will report to Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Frederighi. He will be responsible for leading Apple’s efforts in Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation. Most of those who worked under Giannandrea’s group will now report to Eddy Cue, the Senior VP of Services.
Giannandrea was brought into Apple from Google back in 2018, when Apple’s biggest AI effort was the ill-fated Apple Car project. He and his team have been responsible for many of the advancements Apple has made in the field of AI and ML, but he is perhaps also to blame for Siri–Apple’s most visible and important AI product–falling far behind the state of the art.
Apple’s press release reads as though Giannandrea will step back from his role right away, staying on to advise during the transition, and will fully retire in the spring of 2026, which is when we expect Apple’s next-gen Siri to be released. That gives Apple several months to get this new AI organization in place and its leadership running well by the time it introduces the new Siri to over a billion users.
Apple replaces AI chief, taps ex-Googler to fix Apple Intelligence Apple's AI chief is out after a string of failures. Learn about the new leadership for the company's critical AI development efforts.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
When Will Apple Release iOS 26.2? We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week.
Past Launch Dates
Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the month, which gives us some insight into when iOS 26.2 will launch.
iOS 18.2 - RC on Thursday, December 5, launch on Wednesday, December 11. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Wednesday, November 20.
iOS 17.2 - RC on Tuesday, December 5, launch on Monday, December 11. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Tuesday, November 28.
iOS 16.2 - RC on Wednesday, December 7, launch on Tuesday, December 13. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Thursday, December 1.
iOS 15.2 - RC on Tuesday, December 7, launch on Monday, December 13. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Thursday, December 2.
iOS 14.2 - RC on Friday, October 30, launch on Thursday, November 5. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Tuesday, October 20.
Apple has stuck to a December launch schedule for x.2 updates since 2021. Before that, updates were less scheduled with more variation in launch timeline. RCs have consistently come during the first week of December, with a launch during the second week.
Possible Scenarios
Compared to the past two years, Apple is a bit behind on the launch of the fourth beta. With iOS 17.2 and iOS 18.2, the last beta came in November, so the RC was able to launch earlier in the month.
This year, we haven't had a fourth beta yet. We should be getting it sometime this week between Tuesday and Thursday. Apple has historically waited a week between beta 4 and the RC, and then another week before releasing the update. If Apple sticks to a similar timeline this year, we'll see the following:
Beta 4 between December 2-4, RC between December 8-11, iOS 26.2 launch on December 15 or December 16.
December 15 or 16 would mark the latest that we've had an x.2 release since Apple adopted a more consistent update schedule. It's possible Apple might want to speed things up. If that's the case, we could see this launch timeline:
Beta 4 between December 2-4, RC between December 4 and 8, launch around December 11.
Apple could condense the amount of time between the fourth beta and the RC, or the amount of time between the RC and launch. There's also a possibility that we don't get a fourth beta at all. With no fourth beta, the timeline looks like this:
RC between December 2-4, launch between December 8-11.
Apple has consistently done four betas before an RC, and there are some major regulatory updates in Japan, so the first scenario with the later iOS 26.2 launch date seems the most likely at this point.
Either way, iOS 26.2 is coming in just a couple of weeks.
iOS 26.2 Features
iOS 26.2 isn't a major update for most people outside of Japan, but there are a handful of useful new features.
Reminder Alarms - You can elect to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due, with standard stop and snooze options.
Lock Screen - There's a slider that lets you adjust the Liquid Glass transparency of the clock.
AirDrop - iOS 26.2 lets you generate a one-time AirDrop code for file sharing with someone who isn't in your contacts list. It supports file exchanges for a 30-day period.
Sleep Score - Sleep Score ranges have been adjusted to better reflect how people might be feeling after a night's sleep.
Live Translation - AirPods Live Translation is expanding to the EU.
Japan - iPhone users in Japan will be able to download apps from alternative app stores and replace Siri with a different personal assistant.
There are even more features in iOS 26.2, with a full list available in our features guide.
iOS 26.3
Apple often follows launches with new betas, so while iOS 26.2 will be the last major software update of the year, we're still likely to get a glimpse of what's in iOS 26.3 before 2026 rolls around.
The first beta of iOS 18.3 came out on December 16, the first beta of iOS 17.3 came on December 12, and the first beta of iOS 16.3 came out on December 14. The first beta of iOS 26.3 should come the day after iOS 26.2. Unfortunately, the x.3 updates are often more focused on internal improvements than outward-facing features, so we are finished with exciting updates until 2026.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
ChatGPT is Going to Start Showing You Ads OpenAI appears to be gearing up to introduce ads in ChatGPT, presumably for users who don't pay to access the chatbot.
Engineer Tibor Blaho recently found references to upcoming ad functionality in the ChatGPT Android app. Code strings mention search ads, a search ad carousel, and an ad API. Though ad mentions were found in the Android app, it's likely a change that's coming to ChatGPT on all platforms, including iOS, Mac, and the desktop.
ChatGPT Android app 1.2025.329 beta includes new references to an "ads feature" with "bazaar content", "search ad" and "search ads carousel" pic.twitter.com/BdHOJIQHmA— Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) November 29, 2025
Given the "search" wording, it's possible ads will be limited to web searches and shopping research requests.
Access to ChatGPT starts at $20 per month for the Plus plan, with a ChatGPT Pro plan available for $200 per month with higher access limits. There are also business and education plans, along with the current free plan. In other countries, OpenAI offers a cheaper "Go" plan that could also expand to the United States when ads roll out.
There have been rumors that OpenAI plans to gradually raise the price of ChatGPT access, and a plan restructuring with an ad-supported tier seems like the ideal time to make pricing changes.
As noted by Search Engine Land, OpenAI executives have been changing their messaging around ads over the course of the last 12 months. In late 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ads were a "last resort," but in early 2025, leaked internal forecasts included $1 billion in "free user monetization" revenue in 2026. Earlier this year, Altman said that he loved Instagram ads and felt they were valuable. He said he thought OpenAI could find "some cool product ad" that's a "net win to the user."Tags: ChatGPT, OpenAIThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Here are the main challenges that Apple’s new AI lead will face from day one Amar Subramanya will likely become one of the most closely watched hires Apple has made in years. Here’s what he needs to do first.
more…
Apple AI Chief Retiring After Siri Failure Apple's longtime AI chief John Giannandrea is retiring, with former Microsoft and Google AI leader Amar Subramanya stepping in to take over. MacRumors notes the retirement comes after the company's repeated delays in delivering its revamped Siri and internal turmoil that led to an AI team exodus. From the report: Giannandrea will serve as an advisor between now and 2026, with former Microsoft AI researcher Amar Subramanya set to take over as vice president of AI. Subramanya will report to Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi, and will lead Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation. Subramanya was previously corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, and before that, he spent 16 years at Google. He was head of engineering for Google's Gemini Assistant, and Apple says that he has "deep expertise" in both AI and ML research that will be important to "Apple's ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features."
Some of the teams that Giannandrea oversaw will move to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue, such as AI Infrastructure and Search and Knowledge. Khan is Apple's new Chief Operating Officer who took over for Jeff Williams earlier this year. Cue has long overseen Apple services. [...] Apple said that it is "poised to accelerate its work in delivering intelligent, trusted, and profoundly personal experiences" with the new AI team. "We are thankful for the role John played in building and advancing our AI work, helping Apple continue to innovate and enrich the lives of our users," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. "AI has long been central to Apple's strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig's leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple. In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar's joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Huge discounts hit iPad, iPad Air, and more for Cyber Monday (from $274) The Cyber Monday deals for Apple’s entire lineup of iPads have arrived. Whether you’re looking for the ultimate Netflix machine or something with an obscene amount of power, we’ve got you covered. We’re tracking low prices on the base iPad, iPad Air, adorable iPad mini, and powerful iPad Pro. These are the best Cyber Monday prices on iPads that you’ll find.
Keep up with all the best Apple Cyber Monday deals in our dedicated roundup right here!
more…
MKBHD Shutting Down Controversial 'Panels' Wallpaper App Panels, a wallpaper app launched by well-known YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), is shutting down at the end of 2025.
According to a notice on the Panels website, the "makeup of the development team" changed earlier this year, and MKBHD wasn't able to find other collaborators who were the "right fit" to continue work on the app. Brownlee said in an accompanying video that he wasn't able to turn Panels into the vision that he had.
The Panels app is being shut down on December 31, 2025. The Panels app code will be open-sourced under the Apache 2.0 license in January 2026 for anyone who wants to create new projects based on the code.
Panels users who have downloaded or purchased wallpapers can continue to use them, and wallpapers can be downloaded until the end of December. When the app is removed from the App Store, active subscriptions will be automatically canceled, and annual subscriptions will be proactively refunded. Purchases in the app have been discontinued as of today.
Panels was heavily criticized when it launched in September 2024 due to pricing and aggressive data collection. The app cost $11.99 per month or $49.99 per year to download full resolution wallpapers. There was an option to watch two ads to download a wallpaper, but only at a limited 1080p resolution. It also asked to track activity across websites and apps, requested location information, and displayed ads in the feed.
Brownlee updated the app to address user concerns and dropped the subscription price to $2 per month, but Panels failed to catch on after its initial problems.This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
B&H's Cyber Monday sale slashes up to $500 off MacBook Pro, Air, Mac Studio, Mac mini Time is running out to grab B&H's Cyber Monday deals on Apple computers, with inventory still available at some of the lowest prices on record.Cyber Monday Mac deals end tonight.With some of the steepest discounts available on MacBook Pros, including new M5 models, B&H is a prime destination for Cyber Monday deals on Apple.Shop B&H Cyber Monday deals Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
United States SMS and MMS Carrier Maintenance – T-Mobile THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 3, 20:00 PST - Dec 4, 04:00 PSTDec 1, 15:12 PSTScheduled - The T-Mobile network in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 03 December 2025 at 20:00 PST until 04 December 2025 at 04:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS and MMS to and from T-Mobile United States handsets when sending via long codes and short codes.
France SMS Carrier Maintenance – Free Mobile THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 2, 22:00 - 23:00 PSTDec 1, 15:04 PSTScheduled - The Free Mobile network in France is conducting a planned maintenance from 02 December 2025 at 22:00 PST until 02 December 2025 at 23:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to Free Mobile France handsets when sending via long codes and short codes.
United States SMS and MMS Carrier Maintenance – T-Mobile THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 2, 20:00 PST - Dec 3, 04:00 PSTDec 1, 15:12 PSTScheduled - The T-Mobile network in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 02 December 2025 at 20:00 PST until 03 December 2025 at 04:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS and MMS to and from T-Mobile United States handsets when sending via subset of long codes and short codes.
Apple's head of AI John Giannandrea is retiring Apple has announced that senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, John Giannandrea, is retiring and being replaced by Amar Subramanya, formerly a Microsoft AI executive.Apple Intelligence has a new executive in chargeAfter months of internal reorganizing and speculation around Giannandrea's fate at Apple, the news has finally broken about Apple's plans for its AI group. First, John Giannandrea will step down from his position and serve in an advisory role until the spring of 2026.He will then retire fully from Apple, leaving Amar Subramanya in his place, though the role is changing slightly. Subramanya will be under Craig Federighi as vice president of AI. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Price drop: This app can identify more than 33,000 plant species iOS plant identifier app Plantum also serves up tips for plant care. Get a lifetime premium sub for just $14.97 (regularly $59.99).
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
How does Apple extend their views behind the traffic lights and into the title bar? I’ve been trying to recreate this look on my Mac app. I am using swift UI, and have a NSViewRepresentable view modifier to try to configure the title bar. In apples apps and other third party apps, the title bar is hidden and the content extends all the way to the top of the screen. […]
This last-minute Cyber Monday MacBook Pro deal will make you happy you waited to buy one Macworld
What Black Friday? The best deal we’ve ever seen for the fully-loadede M4 Max MacBook Pro is happening right now, as the decked-out configuration with 36GB of RAM and 1TB of storage drops to $2.699, a massive $500 discount and an incredible deal for a fantastic machine.
We gave the M4 Pro version of this MacBook Pro a 4.5-star rating, appreciating the excellent performance of the laptop, including its new 12MP CenterStage camera. The 14-inch Liquid Retina display is as stunning as ever, boasting sharp images and gorgeously vivid colors. Plus, with three Thunderbolt 5 ports, connectivity is a breeze, whether you’re hooking up a drive or a monitor. And with an M4 Max and 36GB of RAM, you won’t even need to think about getting a new machine for years to come.
We wouldn’t wait too long to get our hands on this deal because discounts are shifting fast these days, so hurry up and add the MacBook Pro M4 for $2,699 to your cart at Amazon.
That's a 20% discount for the MacBook Pro M4Buy now at Amazon
Signal Secure Backups Are Now Available on iOS A user-hostile “lose your phone, lose your account history” architecture may well be “secure” in a technical sense, but it’s the sort of brittleness that’s kept Signal from achieving more mainstream use.
15-inch M4 MacBook Airs on early Black Friday sale for $250 off MSRP, prices start at $949 Amazon has 15-inch M4 MacBook Airs on early Black Friday sale this week for $250 off Apple's MSRP, starting at $949. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party:
- 15" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/256GB): $949, $250 off
- 15" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/512GB): $1149, $250 off
- 15" M4 MacBook Air (24GB/512GB/): $1349, $250 off
Their prices are the lowest available for new 15" M4 Airs.
For the latest sales & prices, see our 15" MacBook Air Price Tracker, both updated daily.
Apple MacBook Air 13″ M1 Laptop (2020) for $599 + free shipping That's tied with our mention from several months ago as the second lowest price we've seen for this model. It's available in three color options. Buy Now at Walmart
Refurb Apple iMac M1 24″ Retina 4.5K All-in-One Desktop (2021) for $516 + free shipping This is the best price we've ever seen, and $663 less than you'd pay for a refurb from Apple direct. A one-year Allstate warranty is included. Buy Now at eBay
Select 13-inch M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $250 off Apple’s MSRP in early Black Friday savings Amazon has select 13" M4 MacBook Airs, in Midnight color, on sale for $200-$250 off Apple's MSRP as part of their early Black Friday savings. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party:
- 13" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/256GB/Midnight): $799, $200 off
- 13" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/512GB/Midnight): $949.99, $250 off
- 13" M4 MacBook Air (24GB/512GB/Midnight): $1149.99, $250 off
Their prices are the lowest available for new M4 Airs.
For the latest sales & prices, see our 13" MacBook Air Price Tracker, updated daily.
14-inch MacBook Pros with M4 Pro/M4 Max CPUs on sale for up to $350 off Apple’s MSRP B&H Photo is offering 14-inch MacBook Pros with M4 Pro or M4 Max CPUs for up to $350 off Apple's MSRP right now. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses:
- 14" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/512GB/Black): $1789, $210 off MSRP
- 14" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/512GB/Silver): $1799, $200 off MSRP
- 14" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/1TB/Black): $2169, $230 off MSRP
- 14" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/1TB/Silver): $2119, $280 off MSRP
- 14" M4 Max MacBook Pro (36GB/1TB/Black): $2849, $350 off MSRP
- 14" M4 Max MacBook Pro (36GB/1TB/Silver): $3148, $51 off MSRP
Their prices are the lowest available today for new 14" M4 Pro/Max MacBook Pros among the Apple retailers we track.
For the latest sales and prices, keep an eye on our 14-inch MacBook Pro Price Tracker, updated daily.
Amazon is offering $150 discounts on Apple’s 11-inch and 13-inch M3 iPad Airs Amazon is offering an early Holiday discounts on Apple's M3 iPad Airs. Take $150 off 11-inch M3 iPad Airs and 13-inch M3 iPad Airs right now. Shipping is free.
Be sure to order from Amazon itself rather than a third-party seller.
For the latest prices & sales, keep an eye on our iPad Air Price Tracker, updated daily.
iPad minis go back on sale for $100 off Apple’s MSRP Amazon is offering $100 discounts (up to 20% off) on Apple's newest WiFi iPad minis, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis among the Apple retailers we track:
- 8.3" 128GB WiFi iPad mini: $399, $100 off MSRP
- 8.3" 256GB WiFi iPad mini: $499, $100 off MSRP
- 8.3" 512GB WiFi iPad mini: $699, $100 off MSRP
For the latest prices and sales, see our iPad mini Price Tracker, updated daily.
Sunday Sale: Clearance AirPods Pro 2 for $149, $100 off original MSRP Amazon has clearance Apple AirPods Pro 2 in stock and on sale right now for $100 off original MSRP including free shipping. Their price is the lowest available for AirPods Pro:
- AirPods Pro 2: $149.99, $100 off
Keep an eye on our AirPods Price Tracker for the latest prices and deals, updated daily.
Select Apple Watch Ultra 3 models on sale this weekend for $699, $100 off MSRP Amazon is offering a $100 discount on two Apple Watch Ultra 3 models this weekend. Their discounts are the first significant sales for these new Watches. Shipping is free:
- Apple Watch Ultra 3 (Black Titanium Case/Black Ocean Band): $699.99
- Apple Watch Ultra 3 (Natural Titanium Case/Blue Ocean Band): $699.99
For the latest prices & deals, keep an eye on our Apple Watch Price Tracker, updated daily.
Refurbished 24-inch iMac Apple M4 Chip with 10-Core CPU and 10-Core GPU, Gigabit Ethernet- Purple – G1EU1LL/A – $1,949.00 Refurbished 24-inch iMac Apple M4 Chip with 10-Core CPU and 10-Core GPU, Gigabit Ethernet- Purple
– G1EU1LL/A
$1,949.00
Originally released October 2024
24-inch 4.5K Retina display²
16GB unified memory
2TB SSD¹
12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Four Thunderbolt 4 ports
Gigabit Ethernet
Product page on the Apple Store…
Amazon has Apple’s M4 Mac minis on sale again starting at only $499 Amazon has M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis on sale starting at only $499 right now. Shipping is free. Their prices are the lowest currently available for these popular new minis:
- Mac mini M4 (16GB/256GB): $499.99, $100 off MSRP
- Mac mini M4 (16GB/512GB): $689.99, $110 off MSRP
- Mac mini M4 (24GB/512GB): $889.99, $110 off MSRP
- Mac mini M4 Pro (24GB/512GB): $1269.99, $140 off MSRP
For the latest prices and sales, keep an eye on our Mac mini Price Tracker, updated daily.
27-inch 5K Apple Studio Display on sale for 9% off MSRP Amazon has the 27" 5K Apple Studio Display on sale right now for $140 (9%) off MSRP. Shipping is free:
- Studio Display (Standard glass): $1459 $140 off MSRP
Their price is the lowest available for new Studio Displays among the retailers we track. For the latest prices and sales, see our Studio Display Price Tracker, updated daily.
Updated MacBook Price Trackers Our Apple award-winning MacBook Price Trackers are continually updated with the latest information on prices, bundles, and availability for 16" and 14" MacBook Pros along with 13" and 15" MacBook Airs from Apple's authorized online retailers. We include prices for open-box MacBooks that might be available as well. Current sales range up to $200+ off MSRP for new MacBook Airs and up to $400+ off MacBook Pros:
- 16" MacBook Pros
- 14" MacBook Pros
- 15" MacBook Airs
- 13" MacBook Airs
B&H is offering a $300-$350 discount on new 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pros B&H Photo has 16-inch MacBook Pros with M4 Pro CPUs in stock right now and on sale for up to $350 off Apple's MSRP. B&H offers free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses:
- 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/512GB): $2199, $300 off MSRP
- 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (48GB/512GB): $2549, $350 off MSRP
These are among the lowest prices currently available for 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pros at Apple retailers.
For the latest sales and prices, keep an eye on our 16-inch MacBook Pro Price Tracker, updated daily.
Refurb Apple iPad Pro 5 12.9″ 128GB WiFi Tablet for $426 + free shipping The next best we could see on this elsewhere today is $600. A 1-year Allstate warranty applies. Buy Now at eBay
Refurb Apple MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14″ Laptop for $692 + free shipping That's $400 under our previous best ever mention. It's $2,000 brand new and well over $700 in refurbished condition elsewhere today. Buy Now at eBay
AirPods Max on sale for $499, $50 off Apple’s MSRP Walmart has Apple AirPods Max headphones in stock and on sale for $50 off MSRP on their online store. Sale price for online orders only, in-store price may vary. Order online and choose free shipping or free local store pickup (if available):
- AirPods Max: $499, $50 off
Their price matches Amazon's.
Keep an eye on our AirPods Price Tracker for the latest prices and deals, updated daily.
13-inch M4 MacBook Airs on sale starting at only $799, $200 off Apple’s MSRP Amazon has 13" M4 MacBook Airs on sale for $200 off Apple's MSRP this week, starting at only $799. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party, and note that some sale prices are restricted to certain colors (see their site for details):
- 13" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/256GB): $799, $200 off
- 13" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/512GB): $999, $200 off
- 13" M4 MacBook Air (24GB/512GB): $1199, $200 off
Their prices are the lowest available for new M4 Airs.
For the latest sales & prices, see our 13" MacBook Air Price Tracker, updated daily.
15-inch M4 MacBook Airs back on sale for $200 off MSRP, prices start at $999 Amazon has 15-inch M4 MacBook Airs on sale this week for $200 off Apple's MSRP, starting at $999. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party, and note that some sale prices are restricted to certain colors (see their site for details):
- 15" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/256GB): $999, $200 off
- 15" M4 MacBook Air (16GB/512GB): $1199, $200 off
- 15" M4 MacBook Air (24GB/512GB/): $1399, $200 off
Their prices are the lowest available for new 15" M4 Airs.
For the latest sales & prices, see our 15" MacBook Air Price Tracker, both updated daily.
Apple’s 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pros are on sale right now for up to $364 off MSRP Amazon has 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pros (Silver and Black colors) on sale for up to $364 off Apple's MSRP right now. Shipping is free. Be sure to select Amazon as the seller, rather than a third-party seller:
- 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/512GB/Black): $2189.13, $310 off MSRP
- 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (24GB/512GB/Silver): $2234.51, $265 off MSRP
- 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (48GB/512GB/Black): $2535.07, $364 off MSRP
- 16" M4 Pro MacBook Pro (48GB/512GB/Silver): $2535.07, $364 off MSRP
For the latest sales and prices, keep an eye on our 16-inch MacBook Pro Price Tracker, updated daily.
Refurbished 24-inch iMac Apple M4 Chip with 10-Core CPU and 10-Core GPU, Gigabit Ethernet- Blue – G1K55LL/A – $1,949.00 Refurbished 24-inch iMac Apple M4 Chip with 10-Core CPU and 10-Core GPU, Gigabit Ethernet- Blue
– G1K55LL/A
$1,949.00
Originally released October 2024
24-inch 4.5K Retina display²
32GB unified memory
1TB SSD¹
12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Four Thunderbolt 4 ports
Gigabit Ethernet
Product page on the Apple Store…