tvOS 26.2 Lets You Create Apple TV Profiles Without an Account, Adds Dedicated Kids Mode
With tvOS 26.2, Apple is changing the way that profiles work on the Apple TV. It's now possible to create a profile without an Apple Account, which is particularly useful for guest profiles and profiles for children. In the ‌Apple TV‌ Settings app's profiles section, the "Add New Profile" option no longer requests that users sign in with an Apple device or manually with an Apple Account. Alongside the Apple Account sign in, there is a "Create Profile" option that only requires a name, a profile rating, and a yes or no question about whether the new user is a child. Selecting yes limits content to a PG rating by default, but there is a customize option for more granular control. Users can select ratings for TV shows and movies that are appropriate for the child based on their age. All of the standard TV show and movie ratings are available to select. Creating a child account and choosing a rating changes the ‌Apple TV‌ content that is available to the child. The ‌Apple TV‌ app will only show content that is appropriate for the limits that have been established for the account. In tvOS 26.1, the latest public version of tvOS, profiles require an Apple Account. The TV app has a dedicated children's section and parents can set up parental controls to limit access, but it is not the full kids-only ‌Apple TV‌ view that's in tvOS 26.2. The ‌Apple TV‌ app in tvOS 26.2 does not show any adult content when a child's profile is signed in, including in the Store and Library sections of the app. Only kids shows and movies are available to watch or purchase. Years ago prior to the launch of tvOS 14, there were rumors of a dedicated kids mode for the ‌Apple TV‌, but that didn't materialize. The changes in tvOS 26.2 are the closest Apple has come to an ‌Apple TV‌ experience just for children. When a kids profile is active, it only applies to the ‌Apple TV‌ app. All other apps are visible and accessible to the user, and any app can be downloaded from the App Store. Parental controls still need to be used to limit access to content outside of the ‌Apple TV‌ app. Setting up an adult profile allows for unrestricted access to the content on the ‌Apple TV‌, so adults in the home that don't have an Apple Account can also now have their own profiles with their own content recommendations. Any account that is created without an Apple Account can be deleted or can be upgraded to add an Apple Account at a later time. Profiles on tvOS 26.2 say that they may also show up on certain third-party devices, so accounts for children may also be accessible on devices with the ‌Apple TV‌ app, like smart TVs. tvOS 26.2 is available for developers and public beta testers at the current time, and it is expected to launch sometime around the middle of December.Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)Related Forum: Apple TV and Home TheaterThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Apple Releases First macOS Tahoe 26.2 Public Beta
Apple today provided public beta testers with the first release of an upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.2 update for testing purposes. The public beta comes a day after Apple provided the beta to developers. After signing up for beta testing on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the updates using the Software Update section in the System Settings app. The Reminders app includes an option to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due, the News app has some design updates, and Apple is adding new features to the Podcasts app. The beta is limited to developers and public beta testers right now, but it won't be a long testing period. We'll likely see Apple release macOS Tahoe 26.2 right around mid-December given past launch timelines.Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe 26Related Forum: macOS TahoeThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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The MacRumors Show: AirPods Pro 3 and What's Coming Next
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the AirPods Pro 3 and the future of the AirPods lineup as a whole. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple introduced the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ in September, featuring a more refined design, improved active noise cancelation (ANC), enhanced sound quality, foam ear tips in five sizes, and heart rate monitoring for workouts. After using the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ for two months, we talk through our experience with the noticeably different fit, improved ANC, and more. We also discuss the reports from some users who are experiencing an ongoing static issue with the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌. Apple does seem to be replacing affected units for customers who are bothered by the noise, which appears to be audible when ANC is active but no sound is playing. Other users have been hearing a high-pitched whine when on airplanes, which could be related to pressure. Not all ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ units are experiencing the issue, but it sounds like Apple is investigating. Looking to the future, another version of the ‌AirPods Pro 3‌ are expected to launch next year featuring infrared cameras for gesture controls and improved Vision Pro integration. This model is likely to be a more premium offering available alongside the current model at a higher price point. Apple is believed to be working on a next-generation H3 chip for future AirPods models. The AirPods 5 are in development, with two models just like the current version. The AirPods Max 2 are also in the works, touting a lighter design and likely a newer chip with features that are now noticeably absent from the device such as adaptive transparency and Siri commands. They are reportedly due to enter mass production in 2027 at the earliest. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel! You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or your preferred podcasts app. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your podcast player. If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about diving back into the Vision Pro with Apple's new M5 model. Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie. ‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread to engage with us directly. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.Tag: The MacRumors ShowThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Missed Apple's AirTag Pricing Error? Amazon Still Has the 4-Pack for $64.99
This morning, Apple's website had a crazy price on the AirTag 4-Pack, and it appears that it was too good to be true. If you want a reliable and guaranteed discount on the AirTag 4-Pack, Amazon has the accessory for $64.99, down from $99.00, which is an all-time low price if you exclude this morning's situation at Apple. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. With Apple reverting the AirTag price to its original $99.00 price tag, and multiple customers reporting that their orders now show a price of $99.00, it appears that the discount won't be honored for most people. Amazon's sale is a guaranteed $34 discount and same-day shipping is available for many cities in the United States. $34 OFFAirTag 4-Pack for $64.99 Amazon also has the AirTag 1-Pack for $24.00, down from $29.00. This is not the best price we've ever seen on this version of the accessory, so we recommend looking toward the 4-Pack option to maximize your savings. You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2025. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find as we head into the holidays? 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

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Best Apple Deals of the Week: Early Black Friday Sales Begin With Record Low Prices on MacBooks, Apple Watches, and More
This week we saw an onslaught of early Black Friday sales kick off online, with discounts on everything from the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and SE 3, to our exclusive sale on the brand new M5 MacBook Pro. You'll also find great sitewide sales at Best Buy, Samsung, and Target as we head into the weekend. 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. M5 MacBook Pro What's the deal? Take up to $234 off M5 MacBook Pro Where can I get it? Expercom Where can I find the original deal? Right here UP TO $234 OFFM5 MacBook Pro Exclusive Discounts MacRumors readers can save on Apple's brand new 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro at Expercom right now. Discounts reach up to $234 off original prices, and across the board these are the lowest prices we've tracked to date on the M5 MacBook Pro. (Note: Safari users may need to open these links in a new tab/window or manually copy and paste them in order to see the discounted pricing.) 10-Core M5, 16GB RAM, 512GB - $1,487.07, down from $1,599.00 10-Core M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB - $1,673.07, down from $1,799.00 10-Core M5, 24GB RAM, 512GB - $1,812.57, down from $1,949.00 10-Core M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB - $1,859.07, down from $1,999.00 Apple Watch What's the deal? Take up to $119 off Apple Watch Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $99 OFFApple Watch Ultra 3 for $699.99 $49 OFFApple Watch SE 3 (40mm GPS) for $199.99 $119 OFFApple Watch Series 10 (42mm GPS) for $279.99 $89 OFFApple Watch SE 2 (40mm GPS) for $159.99 One of the most wide-ranging early Black Friday sales this year is on Apple Watch models, with the Ultra 3, SE 2 and 3, and Series 10 all getting big discounts. Best Buy, Samsung, and Target SITEWIDE SALEBest Buy Early Black Friday SITEWIDE SALESamsung Early Black Friday Sale SITEWIDE SALETarget Early Black Friday Sale This week we began tracking early Black Friday sales at multiple retailers, with Best Buy, Samsung, and Target all kicking off big events ahead of the shopping holiday later in the month. You can find more details on all of the sales below. Best Buy Reveals Black Friday Plans With Sitewide Sales Available Now Samsung's Early Black Friday Sale Features Big Savings on Monitors, TVs, Appliances, and More Target Kicks Off Early Black Friday Sale With Sitewide Savings on Apple Accessories and More M5 iPad Pro What's the deal? Take up to $101 off M5 iPad Pro Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $55 OFF11-inch M5 iPad Pro (256GB Wi-Fi) for $945.00 $53 OFF13-inch M5 iPad Pro (256GB Wi-Fi) for $1,247.00 $101 OFF13-inch M5 iPad Pro (2TB Wi-Fi Nano-Texture) for $2,298.00 Amazon has the first notable discounts on Apple's brand new M5 iPad Pro, with the entry-level 11-inch model available for $945.00, down from $999.00. M4 MacBook Air What's the deal? Take $249 off M4 MacBook Air Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $249 OFF13-inch M4 MacBook Air (256GB) for $749.99 $249 OFF15-inch M4 MacBook Air (256GB) for $949.99 You can get the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air (256GB) for $749.99, down from $999.00, a new all-time low price on the computer that beats the previous low by about $50. You'll also find many of the 512GB models of the 13-inch and 15-inch M4 MacBook Air on sale this week. You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2025. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find as we head into the holidays? 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

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Get Your Holiday Shopping Started With Our Exclusive 15% Off Sale at Nomad
We've partnered with Nomad this week to get you an extra 15 percent off in stock gear with the code MR2025 at checkout, allowing our readers a chance to save on iPhone 17 cases, Apple Watch Ultra bands, MagSafe-compatible products, and more. Additionally, Nomad is currently running an overstock sale with discounts across various accessories like AirPods cases, iPhone 16 cases, Apple Watch bands, and Lightning cables. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Nomad. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. To see the discount on your order, all you have to do is add an accessory to your cart, proceed to checkout, then enter the promo code MR2025 on the payment step and you'll get an extra 15 percent off your cart. Our code excludes items that are already on sale, recently launched products, and 3rd party gear. This sale will end on Sunday, November 9. Note: Use code MR2025 to see the discount. 15% OFFNomad Exclusive Sale Our exclusive discount knocks the price of Nomad's Modern Case for iPhone 17 and Rugged Case down to $41.00, from $49.00. You can also get the Modern Leather Case for iPhone 17 for $63.00 with our code, down from $75.00. If you're shopping for Apple Watch Bands, Nomad's Rocky Point Band for Apple Watch Ultra is on sale for $67.00, down from $79.00. The Titanium Band for Apple Watch Ultra is down to $169.00, from $199.00, while the athletic Sport Band is down to $58.00, from $69.00. In addition to these discounts on newer products, Nomad's overstock sale has big markdowns on older gear like iPhone 16 cases, Apple Watch Bands, wireless chargers, and more. Our exclusive code does not stack with these discounts, but there are still many steep discounts in this sale that are worth taking a look at before it ends. You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2025. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find as we head into the holidays? 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

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Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price that it charges for a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting that many customers are attempting to take advantage of the deal. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was planning to release an AirTag 2 in mid-2025, but that did not happen. The current AirTag was released in April 2021. For those unfamiliar with the AirTag, it is a Bluetooth accessory that you can attach to items like a backpack and keys, and you can then track the location of those items in the Find My app across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and iCloud.com. Similar item trackers are sold by brands like Tile, Samsung, Chipolo, and Pebblebee.Tag: AirTagThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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iPhone 18 Lineup Said to Feature 24MP Front-Facing Cameras
All flagship models in Apple's next-generation iPhone 18 lineup will be equipped with a 24-megapixel front facing camera, up from 18 megapixels on iPhone 17 models, according to the latest JP Morgan forecast seen by MacRumors. A 24-megapixel front-facing camera was rumored for all iPhone 17 models by multiple sources, but ultimately the rumor never came to pass. That said, the 18-megapixel front-facing camera found on all iPhone 17 models is still a significant update, so a jump to 24 megapixels would certainly be noteworthy, assuming the report is correct. It would mean that the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Air 2, and Apple's first foldable iPhone would be able to deliver sharper, more detailed selfies and improved portrait accuracy. Apple calls its selfie camera on iPhone 17 devices the "Center Stage" front camera, and it has the first square camera sensor on an iPhone. The square sensor provides a wider field of view that can capture more detail, so you can now take a portrait or landscape selfie while holding your phone vertically. The JP Morgan report also indicates that Apple's foldable iPhone will feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-screen camera integrated into the device's inner display. Meanwhile, the budget second-generation iPhone 17e and third-generation iPhone 18e will both reportedly continue to use a 12-megapixel front-facing camera. Starting in 2026, Apple will reportedly split its iPhone lineup between fall and spring launches. The second-generation iPhone Air, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and a foldable iPhone will launch in the second half of 2026, while the standard iPhone 18 and the iPhone 18e won't launch until spring 2027.Related Roundup: iPhone 18Tag: J.P. MorganRelated Forum: iPhoneThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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iPhone Fold to Feature Industry-First 24MP Under-Display Camera
Apple's first foldable iPhone will feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-screen camera built into the inner display, according to the latest JP Morgan forecast seen by MacRumors. We've previously heard rumors that Apple will use an under-display camera for the book-style foldable's inner display, but this is the first reference to the camera's proposed megapixel count. Under-display camera technology has been used on some Android phones, but they tend to have lower resolution sensors (4 or 8 megapixels, for example) because the image quality suffers due to being behind display layers. The jump to a 24-megapixel camera (with six plastic lens elements, per the report) would therefore be a significant technological advance, potentially resulting in clearer, sharper images with more detail. The detail suggests Apple has achieved a breakthrough in greatly improving light transmittance and image quality compared to previous designs. However, the JP Morgan forecast also suggests Apple has made some compromises to keep the foldable device compact, such as a lack of LiDAR and optical image stabilization. Apple's foldable iPhone is expected to include a dual-lens rear camera, with a front-facing camera for both folded and unfolded states, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman recently corroborated reports that the device will have four cameras consisting of one front camera, one inner camera, and two rear cameras. Prolific Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station claims that the rear dual lenses will be 48 megapixels each. Other sources have claimed that the inner display features an under-screen camera, while the outer display – in the device's folded state – will have a punch-hole camera. Apple is reportedly relying on Touch ID integrated into the side button instead of Face ID for biometric authentication. Gurman has said he expects the device to be launched next year in the fall season. However, Japan's Mizuho Securities banking firm has suggested a postponement to 2027 could still happen because of Apple taking longer to decide on key design elements such as the hinge.Tags: Foldable iPhone, J.P. MorganThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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iPhone 18 Pro Said to Feature Smaller Display Hole for Front Camera
Apple is testing new camera miniaturization technology to reduce the size of the front-facing camera on next year's iPhone 18 Pro models, claims a Chinese leaker. According to Digital Chat Station, a Weibo account with more than three million followers, Apple is testing a single HIIA (hole-in-active-area) hole punch for the front-facing camera, which is currently located within the Dynamic Island. HIAA is a display manufacturing technique developed by Samsung and other display makers that integrates front-facing cameras into OLED panels without taking up too much of the active screen. The technique involves precisely drilling a small hole within the active pixel area using laser micro-drilling, resulting in a single ultra-compact aperture opening. This isn't the first time Digital Chat Station has claimed Apple is testing HIAA technology for the iPhone 18 Pro models. Back in May, they said Apple was using it in conjunction with under-display Face ID technology. These comments came on the back of a report by The Information that also said under-screen Face ID was on the cards, and that Apple intends to position the pinhole for the front-facing camera in the top-left corner of the screen. Today's report, however, is more ambiguous. The leaker says that as a result of using HIAA technology, the device's "screen shape will change" owing to the smaller camera hole design, but it's not entirely clear if this means the front camera will move position, or that it will remain part of a smaller Dynamic Island. There is also no mention of under-display Face ID. More recent reports appear to corroborate claims that the iPhone 18 Pro models will have a smaller Dynamic Island, so this could be a better interpretation of Digital Chat Station's latest information. In addition to Apple's use of HIAA, the leaker reiterated other previously shared details, including Apple's use of a rear lens with variable aperture, the same camera plateau design as the iPhone 17 Pro, and a "transparent design" for the Ceramic Shield area for MagSafe charging. Lastly, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is said to feature a "steel-shell battery" – likely a reference to a stainless steel vapor chamber cooling system that has previously been rumored. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, the next iPhone Air, and a foldable iPhone are all expected to come out in September 2026, while the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e could follow in spring 2027, as part of a new split-cycle launch strategy for Apple.Related Roundup: iPhone 18Tag: Digital Chat StationRelated Forum: iPhoneThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Apple Store With All-New Design Opening on Long Island This Month
Apple has announced that its store at Roosevelt Field in Garden City, New York will be reopening on Friday, November 21, following extensive renovations. Roosevelt Field is the largest shopping mall on Long Island. Apple first opened its store there in 2002, just months after the iPod launched. The renovated store will feature a modern design with more wood paneling, instead of stainless steel. Apple has yet to share photos of the renovated store, so the exact design remains to be seen. Apple opened a temporary store at Roosevelt Field while it renovated the original store, which has been closed for around a year. Apple is also renovating its store at The Forum in Carlsbad, California, and it has opened a temporary store there in the meantime, as seen below. Apple's temporary store in Carlsbad Apple South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, Apple The Galleria in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Apple Baybrook in Friendswood, Texas, all remain under renovation too. Apple's relocated store at University Park Village Apple's relocated store at University Park Village in Fort Worth, Texas opened last month, as did the renovated Apple Chatswood Chase near Sydney, Australia.Tag: Apple StoreThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are available in multiple shapes, sizes, lumen levels, and styles. IKEA is offering both white and color spectrum options, with dimming supported. 11 bulbs are available in total in E27/26, E14/E12, and GU10 sizes. Color-changing bulbs are available in each size, and lumen levels range from 470 to 1,521. Decorative clear-glass bulbs will also be available. Several sensors will be available, for motion, air quality, humidity, and water leakage. MYGGSPRAY - Indoor/outdoor motion sensor for lights. MYGGBETT - Door/window sensor that detects when a door or window is open or closed. TIMMERFLOTTE - Temperature and humidity sensor designed for indoor use. ALPSTUGA - Air quality sensor that measures CO₂, particles (PM2.5), temperature, and humidity indoors. KLIPPBOK - Leak detector that can be placed under sinks or appliances. There are also four smart plugs and remote controls. The BILRESA is a remote control with either a dual button or a scroll wheel, and it can be used for adjusting smart home products. It can dim lights, turn lights on and off, activate scenes, and more. The GRILLPLATS smart plug adds Matter connectivity to ordinary lamps or other small appliances. Specific pricing for the new product lineup hasn't been announced, but the devices are expected to launch in January of next year. IKEA is using Matter-over-Thread for its product lineup. Thread is a wireless mesh protocol that runs on the 2.4GHz band and allows devices to talk directly to one another, improving range and responsiveness. Matter-enabled products require a smart home hub to work, and on Apple's platform, the Apple TV, HomePod, and HomePod mini serve as home hubs and Thread border routers.Tag: IkeaThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Apple Calls Out EU for Contradictory App Store Rules Under DSA and DMA
Apple recently sent a letter to the European Commission (EC), criticizing recent inquiries into whether the App Store complies with the Digital Services Act (DSA) amid the separate Digital Markets Act requirements that Apple has been required to put in place. The Commission asked Apple for information on how it locates fraudulent content, what it does to reduce the risk of financial scams in apps, and how it verifies the identity of businesses. It separately requested details on the policies Apple has in place to protect minors. Both requests were part of an inquiry into whether companies are complying with Digital Services Act requirements. Apple's response, penned by Apple VP of Legal Kyle Andeer, answers all of the EC's questions and includes the relevant information to satisfy the request, but also points out the hypocrisy of questioning ‌App Store‌ consumer protections while requiring Apple to support sideloading functionality that isn't subject to those protections. Andeer says that it is "difficult to square" the DSA investigations with the EC's "aggressive interpretation and application of the Digital Markets Act," and that the probe into Apple's ‌App Store‌ safeguards "defies all logic" in light of the DMA requirements. He also argues that the European Commission needs to enforce the DSA and DMA as a whole, rather than as separate policies.It does not make sense for the Commission to press Apple to protect users, including minors, from fraud within the App Store while at the same time requiring Apple to create functionalities like link-outs and web views that increase the risk of fraud without necessary safeguards. The Commission cannot both prohibit Apple from taking the steps it has found essential in mitigating the risk of scams and fraud on the App Store while simultaneously scrutinizing Apple for not providing even more measures to mitigate these risks on the App Store. It does not make sense for one EU law to encourage Apple to mitigate as much as possible the risk of exposing consumers to fraud or minors to potentially harmful apps through the App Store, only for another EU law to prevent Apple from using those same measures to mitigate the same type of risks just because they exist outside of the App Store. This paradoxical situation creates a regulatory structure that endorses leaving iOS and iPadOS users at risk if they choose not to use the App Store, when developers choose to use link-outs, or when users opt to use third-party products to interoperate with iOS or iPadOS. [...] If the Commission does not consistently prioritise protecting consumers from online harms like fraud, or minors from online harms like pornography or other unsafe apps, in all enforcement contexts, including the DMA, nor use the tools it has at its disposal to resolve these fundamental frictions, the objectives of the DSA will be underachieved, no matter how sufficient Apple's measures are to comply with this specific regulation.For context, the Digital Services Act requires very large online platforms like Apple to offer protection against disinformation or election manipulation, cyber violence against women, and harms to minors online. It also has provisions to counter fraud and mitigate dissemination of illegal content, among other requirements. The separate Digital Markets Act requires Apple to support alternative app marketplaces and adhere to interoperability rules that Apple has continually argued weaken privacy and security. Andeer says that the Digital Markets Act "exposes users to fraud and scams" on third-party platforms, and the EC has been warned that the DMA enforcement is "reckless and even dangerous." Apple's App Review team removed 37,000 apps for fraudulent activity in 2024, rejected 115,000 apps for unsafe experiences, and rejected 320,000 app submissions that copied other apps, were found to be spam, or misled users in some way. Further, 139,000 developer enrollments were rejected, and 146,000 developer accounts were terminated due to fraud concerns.Tags: App Store, European Commission, European UnionThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple includes comparisons of how each app looked in iOS 18, and how it looks in ‌iOS 26‌. Apple's examples feature apps that have eliminated bottom navigation bars in favor of smaller navigation options, apps with Liquid Glass sliders and buttons, and apps using popovers. Featured apps include Crumbl, Tide Guide, GrowPal, Lumy, Sky Guide, Linearity Curve Graphic Design, LTK, American Airlines, Lowe's, Photoroom, OmniFocus 4, CNN, Essayist, and Lucid Motors. The design comparisons are best viewed on Apple's site, and are worth checking out if you're curious about how third-party apps are incorporating Liquid Glass.Tag: Apple Developer ProgramThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Ecovacs Deebot X11 Omnicyclone Review: HomeKit Robot Vacuum With Bagless Design and Fast Charging
Ecovacs recently came out with its newest robot vacuum, the Deebot X11 Omnicyclone. Like the last couple of models, this new vacuum has Matter integration and it's able to connect to HomeKit so it can be sent off to clean the floor with Siri voice commands. Design The X11 is the same size as the prior-generation X9, coming in at 3.86 inches tall. I've tested several robot vacuums now, and that's on the thinner side. It can get under almost all of my furniture, including my stove, to vacuum in areas that are often untouched. Height is the most important metric when it comes to robot vacuums, but if you have a lot of tightly spaced furniture, you also need to consider width. The X11 is about 13.8 inches across, and it could be too large for smaller apartments. Underneath the vacuum, there's a roller bar, a mop, a brush that gets into nooks and crannies along baseboards, a canister for dust and debris, and internal areas for clean and dirty water for mop washing and cleaning. You can access the dust canister by removing the top plate of the robot and undoing the latch. Exterior vacuum design didn't change much between the X9 and the X11, but the X11's base station is entirely different. It's significantly larger than before because it includes a reusable canister for dust instead of a bag. The canister is why the X11 has its "Omnicyclone" name. It reminds me of a Dyson-style vacuum canister, and it's built right into the middle of the base station. You can pop it out and empty it into the trash, then stick it right back in. Large chunks of debris can get stuck, so as with a Dyson, the canister can need cleaning at times. There is no need to buy bags with the X11, which does make it stand out from other robot vacuums on the market. Along with the vacuum canister, the base station houses a 2.7-liter dirty water tank and a 3.2-liter clean water tank. The water tanks are larger than the tanks in the X9, which means less maintenance. I fill the clean water tank less, and I try to remember to empty the dirty water tank regularly because it can get smelly if it sits. Inside the base station, there's a spot to add cleaning fluid. The X11 supports two kinds of cleaning fluid, one for standard cleaning and one for deep cleaning. Two cleaning fluid options are more expensive and more of a hassle, so I'm not a fan of the dual cleaning. Ecovacs recommends that you use Ecovacs cleaning fluid, and it sells the two variants. Setup and Maintenance Setting up the X11 is straightforward enough that anyone can do it. There's a single-page startup guide that has easy instructions on putting the base station components together, then it's just a matter of filling the water tank, downloading the app, turning on the robot, and following the app steps for pairing. The X11 is simple enough that someone not technologically inclined could operate it, but the number of app settings and complicated features like voice activation could be confusing. None of those features are required, and it can clean on default settings, but if you have older parents who struggle with electronics and buy this (or any robot vacuum) for them, you're going to get calls for troubleshooting. There is maintenance to take care of, like occasionally replacing the rollers and brush with parts purchased from Ecovacs. The site sells a bundle that includes a new roller brush, three filters and two side brushes for $60, and a new roller mop is $35. Vacuuming The X11 has the strongest suction of any robot vacuum that I've tried. It is excellent at picking up pet hair, dust, and debris on my hardwood and tile floors. I started tossing a handful or two of dirt on the floor to see how much robot vacuums can clean up, and the X11 got almost all of it in the first pass. Robot vacuums are meant to clean regularly rather than deeply, which is why it's not an ideal test, but it does give me a clear metric to compare by. According to Ecovacs, the X11 has 19,000 Pa suction and it uses the same Blast system (multi-stage suction and airflow) from prior Ecovacs robots. It's more suction than the X9, which I already thought worked well, and more suction than the Roborock vacuum I use regularly. If you have hard floors and pets or kids, it's good at getting up even trace amounts of pet hair, and it doesn't miss crumbs in the kitchen. There's a side brush for sweeping along baseboards and in corners, and it's able to get most dirt and fur up. You'll want to manually vacuum in corners every so often, but it's not a situation where the X11 is vacuuming the main area of a room and pushing dust to the sides. It is able to use the added side brush and the improved suction to do a passable job keeping hard to reach areas clean. Ecovacs' robots have a ZeroTangle brush, and it works. I have long hair, my partner has long hair, and we have two cats. I haven't seen the brush get tangled up with hair, and I've never had to fuss with it. The X11 is able to get over higher thresholds than prior Ecovacs robots, so if you have a tall threshold that other robots can't handle, the X11 might be able to navigate it. It can go over thresholds as high as 2.4cm (0.95 inches). It can get into a bathroom that has a higher than average threshold, but another room with a baby gate has a threshold too high for it to overcome. I definitely notice a difference between the X11 and the older X9 when it comes to threshold navigation. Despite stronger suction, the X11 isn't louder than prior models, measuring in at around 62 dBA in tests. I wouldn't want to sleep while the X11 is running, but I can work while it's on if I put in my AirPods Pro to block out the noise. Emptying the vacuum into the canister at the base station is the loudest action that it performs (close to 80 dBA), so keep that in mind when positioning the base station. The X11 is one of the quieter robot vacuums that I've tried in terms of straight vacuuming and operation sound, and it has a mode that makes it even quieter. Turning down the suction level will also help. Mopping Like Ecovacs' prior-generation high-end robots, the X11 has a roller mop rather than two rotating mopping pads. I am a fan of this design because it continually removes dirty water, so it's washing the floor with clean water. It sprays water onto the mop, cleans the floor, and squeezes the dirty water into a collection tank before starting the process over again. With this version, the roller extends out further, so it can get into corners. It's also supposed to have stain-detecting AI to go over a dirty area again, and I've seen this work as long as certain AI cleaning modes are enabled. With wet stains, the X11 can get a mess in one go. A squirt of ketchup on the floor, for example, gets wiped up with a single cleaning. With dried-on stains, it can take a few passes. I tested dried ketchup, and needed to have the robot go over it three times to get every speck up. Anecdotally, the X11 seems to be better at getting up things like dried up cat food in fewer passes than prior Ecovacs robots. Every so often, the X11 returns to the base station to wash the mop with hot water, and when a cleaning is finished, it's dried with hot air. I wouldn't expect any robot vacuum to get a floor entirely spotless in one cleaning, but weekly cleanings paired with daily cleanings in specific areas like the kitchen keep the floors clean. Time Cleaning 2,000 square feet takes the X11 approximately five hours on the standard setting with one pass, though that can vary depending on the number of passes that it's instructed to make when mopping, how often it empties the vacuum and washes the mop, and how far it is from the base station. That time is fairly standard for the robot vacuums that I've tested, though some will take longer because of long periods for charging. I find it useful to set up scheduled cleanings with the Ecovacs app or the Home app. I schedule the X11 to clean one area of the house per day, which keeps the floor clean but doesn't subject me to listening to a vacuum run for hours on end. It can be set to clean after meal times or more frequently just in high traffic areas, which is helpful. Navigation and AI When you set up the X11 for the first time, it maps each room in your house prior to cleaning. You can see the map as it goes, and it's clear that the lidar sensor at the front works well. It made a perfect map of my house, though unlike some other robot vacuums, it doesn't detect furniture and add those items to the map automatically, nor is it great at labeling rooms. It can detect some thresholds, but it's best to go in and edit the map to make changes. My house has an open-concept main area, and it wasn't able to distinguish between the kitchen, dining room, and living room, and it also merged one bedroom with those areas. In my office, it wasn't able to tell the bathroom from the main office area, I suppose because it didn't detect the door. The X11 is good at obstacle avoidance, using a camera-based sensor system for object detection. It hasn't run directly into anything, and it is better at not getting trapped by furniture. It knows where walls are, where furniture legs are, and it can detect and avoid items on the floor like cables, socks, pets, and more. It doesn't see smaller items like LEGO bricks, and it can suck those up. Some vacuums will label the in-app map with items that have been detected so you can go in and tell them whether to avoid that item in the future. The X11's object detection is more behind-the-scenes, so I don't get a readout of what it's avoiding. It's good at navigating the house, though I did see it get inexplicably lost one time. It might have been that the hallway was too dark, but it couldn't find its way back to the dock in another room. The AI in the X11 is more transparent than in prior models, and I can better keep track of what the robot is doing, why it's doing it, where it's cleaned, where it hasn't cleaned, and where access was blocked by a closed door or another obstacle. Rugs I've been frustrated with the way the Ecovacs robots handle small rugs, and there's no change with the X11 Omnicyclone. It regularly gets trapped on the rugs in bathrooms and thin, soft-backed rugs on my wood floors that don't have grip. It also cannot handle tassels. By "trapped," I mean that the roller vacuum sucks up the rug and can't release it, so I'm forced to go pull it out and set the vacuum to continue cleaning. To be fair, Ecovacs does recommend picking up smaller rugs and tucking tassels away underneath the rug to avoid these issues, but that's a hassle. It's annoying to have to fix the vacuum when it sucks up a rug, and it's annoying to have to take the time to move everything out of the way every time it's running. Having to regularly move rugs makes it more difficult to automate and schedule cleanings. With bigger, thicker rugs anchored by furniture, the X11 works with no issue. I have one rug that sheds like crazy even two years after I bought it. Sometimes the X11 will leave behind a big ball of rug fuzz, but all of my vacuums do that. My Dyson can't even clean that rug without getting clogged. There is another rug in my laundry room that is an absolute dirt and lint magnet, and the X11 can get every speck of dust off of it. I'm satisfied with how well it cleans rugs, but it needs to be better about not getting stuck. Battery The X11 has a fast-charging feature where the robot can go back to the base station and quick charge for about 10 minutes. For a large home, this means that there's no multi-hour pause in cleaning. With prior Ecovacs robots, there would be a long break for charging in the middle of a cleaning. With the X11, it cleaned for six hours straight with only brief stops to quick charge. Ecovacs recommends the fast charge system for homes that are over 2,000 square feet, and there is an option to turn it off for smaller homes. Faster charging works well, and it sets the X11 apart from other vacuums. If you have a large home, it's a reason to consider this model over other options. Ecovacs App Even if you're planning to use the X11 with the Home app and through ‌Siri‌ voice commands, you need the Ecovacs app. It's the only place to manage the many, many settings that are available for the vacuum, and it houses the map the robot uses for navigation. There are settings to adjust the vacuum suction, mopping water level, noise, and set up different types of cleaning such as after-meal cleaning, daily cleaning, and deep cleaning. You can set up custom scenarios for future one-touch cleanings, customize charging and station settings, adjust settings for carpet, view cleaning logs, and more. There's more than I can go over in a review, but if you get an Ecovacs robot, expect to spend a half-hour or so going through the options selecting your preferred parameters. The X11 has an AI cleaning mode that incorporates cleaning history and preferences that you set. You can customize it with natural language commands, and it's meant to learn over time. It's new to this model, and it wasn't a feature that was available in prior Ecovacs robots I've reviewed. The AI mode is listed in the app as "Agent Hosting," and you can tap on it instead of "Start" when beginning a cleaning. The AI will analyze your prior cleaning, take into account your app settings and preferences you've provided, and then adjust its settings on its own to clean the house. I've had mixed results with it, but I'm still working on customization. The first time I used it, it determined that the living room hadn't been cleaned for seven days, so it proceeded to clean it for like three hours (two passes) even though it wasn't dirty (the X11 hadn't vacuumed the floor in a week because I had). There is an AI feature that's supposed to notice messes and do another pass, but it clearly wasn't using that when evaluating how to clean. The AI cleaned for 5.5 hours, and because it was doing double passes everywhere, it didn't get the task finished. I had to turn it off at around 11 p.m., and I wasn't able to resume the cleaning the next day because it can't pick up a task if the pause is more than a few hours. In other tests, the AI performed better and selected reasonable cleaning parameters for various rooms, successfully executing a cleaning. I like that I can see what the AI is thinking and follow along as it completes each task, but there is a major issue I've run into. For some reason, the X11 has the wrong time. I started a clean at 2:30 p.m., and it thought it was 2:30 a.m. Another time, it was around 11:00 a.m., and it thought it was 11:00 p.m. The time is an issue because it will adjust suction to avoid being too loud if it's late at night. The AI cleaning option is useful overall if you don't want to mess with settings for every clean, but it also takes time and effort to train it with your preferences. Luckily, plain old "Start" launches a standard clean where you can select the options that you want. There's also a "Yiko" voice assistant that you can use to direct the X11 to clean. It's been present in the last several Ecovacs robots, but I don't use it often. Yiko isn't super responsive when I attempt to activate it, doesn't understand some simple commands, and doesn't do enough where I can use it instead of the app. Home App The X11 has Matter integration, so it connects to the Home app. You only get a few controls in the Home app, but it's enough to operate it on a basic level. You can have the robot vacuum or vacuum and mop, selecting the entire house or just a single room. You can also choose from a standard clean or a deep clean for two mopping passes instead of one. The app will let you know if there's an error, such as when the water tank needs to be filled up. You can also play a sound so you can locate the robot if it gets itself stuck somewhere in the house. Matter integration is useful for the ‌Siri‌ voice commands and for automations. You can use the Ecovacs app for setting schedules, or do it through the Home app if you want to use geofencing (such as having the robot clean when you leave home) or pair it with other ‌HomeKit‌ accessories. Siri I don't often use the Home app with robot vacuums, but I like being able to use ‌Siri‌. There are HomePods in the main areas of my house, so I can say something like "Hey ‌Siri‌, clean the kitchen" if I happen to be in the kitchen and notice crumbs on the floor. When I first used a robot vacuum with ‌HomeKit‌, I was skeptical that it would be useful, but it's been a convenience. I wouldn't necessarily buy a robot vacuum just for the Matter integration, but if there are two robots with similar features and only one has Matter, I'm going to choose the Matter version. I am hoping that Matter integration with products like the Omnicyclone X11 gets even better when Apple introduces the new version of ‌Siri‌ that it's been working on, and when the rumored home hub comes out. Bottom Line The X11 has the strongest AI functionality of a robot vacuum that I've tested, and aside from its poor performance with thin rugs, it's the best vacuum that I've tried so far. I appreciate that the X11's AI can learn my cleaning preferences and adjust, but sometimes a simple scheduled cleaning with pre-set parameters is better than AI. There's a lot of redundancy in the Ecovacs app with the option to use AI, standard settings, or the Yiko voice assistant, and it can be confusing. I'd like to see streamlining in the future. Matter integration isn't necessarily a reason to buy one robot vacuum over another, but it is useful if you have a lot of Apple devices and tend to use ‌Siri‌ voice commands for smart home devices. The X11 isn't leagues ahead of the X8 and X9 when it comes to cleaning performance, but there are a few features that could be a reason to consider it instead of another robot vacuum. If there's a threshold in your house that other vacuums can't climb, there's a good chance the X11 can navigate it. It's the only robot vacuum I've tested that has a vacuum chamber you can empty, eliminating the need for vacuum bags. For larger homes, the change to charging makes a difference in how quickly cleaning gets done, and it prevents frustrating multi-hour pauses. Fast charging could be worth the cost if you have a home larger than 2,000 square feet. If you don't need those features, Ecovacs' X8 and X9 robots clean well too, and are available at a lower price. How to Buy The X11 Omnicyclone can be purchased from the Ecovacs website or from Amazon for $1,499.99, but there is a promo code for $200 off at the current time, which is listed on the website. There are regular sales on Ecovacs vacuums, so don't buy one at full price.This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. In addition to the changed values, Apple has stopped accepting 12-inch MacBook trade-ins. iPhone iPhone Model New Values Old Values iPhone 16 Pro MaxUp to $670Up to $700 iPhone 16 ProUp to $550Up to $580 iPhone 16 PlusUp to $450Up to $470 iPhone 16Up to $420Up to $450 iPhone 15 Pro MaxUp to $470Up to $630 iPhone 15 ProUp to $400Up to $500 iPhone 15 PlusUp to $330Up to $440 iPhone 15Up to $310Up to $400 iPhone 14 Pro MaxUp to $370Up to $455 iPhone 14 ProUp to $300Up to $380 iPhone 14 PlusUp to $240Up to $300 iPhone 14Up to $220Up to $290 iPhone SE (3rd generation)Up to $80Up to $100 iPhone 13 Pro MaxUp to $300Up to $370 iPhone 13 ProUp to $230Up to $300 iPhone 13Up to $180Up to $250 iPhone 13 miniUp to $150Up to $200 iPhone 12 Pro MaxUp to $220Up to $280 iPhone 12 ProUp to $160Up to $220 iPhone 12Up to $130Up to $170 iPhone 12 miniUp to $90Up to $120 iPhone SE (2nd generation)Up to $50Up to $50 iPhone 11 Pro MaxUp to $150Up to $180 iPhone 11 ProUp to $130Up to $150 iPhone 11Up to $100Up to $130 iPhone XS MaxUp to $100Up to $120 iPhone XSUp to $70Up to $90 iPhone XRUp to $80Up to $100 iPhone XUp to $60Up to $60 iPhone 8 PlusUp to $50Up to $60 iPhone 8Up to $40Up to $45 iPad iPad Model New Values Old Values iPad ProUp to $695Up to $695 iPad AirUp to $415Up to $400 iPadUp to $175Up to $190 iPad miniUp to $255Up to $275 Mac Mac Model New Values Old Values MacBook ProUp to $760Up to $770 MacBook AirUp to $540Up to $550 MacBookNo longer acceptedUp to $60 iMacUp to $375Up to $295 iMac ProUp to $240Up to $385 Mac miniUp to $380Up to $260 Mac StudioUp to $1,030Up to $1,140 Mac ProUp to $2,520Up to $550 Apple Watch Apple Watch Model New Values Old Values Apple Watch Series 10Up to $160Up to $175 Apple Watch Ultra 2Up to $335Up to $335 Apple Watch Series 9Up to $125Up to $130 Apple Watch UltraUp to $245Up to $255 Apple Watch Series 8Up to $95Up to $100 Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)Up to $60Up to $60 Apple Watch Series 7Up to $65Up to $70 Apple Watch Series 6Up to $50Up to $55 Apple Watch SE (1st generation)Up to $30Up to $35 Apple Watch Series 5Up to $25Up to $30 Apple also adjusted its trade-in values for select Android smartphones.Tag: Apple Trade-InThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Apple Releases First iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Public Betas
Apple today provided public beta testers with the first releases of upcoming iOS 26.2, iPadOS 26.2, tvOS 26.2, and watchOS 26.2 updates for testing purposes. The public betas come two days after Apple provided the betas to developers. After signing up for beta testing on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the updates using the Software Update section in the Settings app on each device. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen, allowing you to customize the translucency of the clock. Alongside watchOS 26.2, the update changes labeling for the Sleep Score feature, adjusting numbers to better reflect sleep quality. AirPods Live Translation is available in the European Union with iOS 26.2, and in the Reminders app, there's an option to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due. Apple also added new features to Podcasts, Passwords, Freeform, and more, with a full list of new additions available in our iOS 26.2 feature guide.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26Related Forum: iOS 26This article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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First macOS Tahoe 26.2 Beta Now Available to Developers
Apple today provided the first beta of an upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the update coming a few days after the launch of macOS Tahoe 26.1. Developers can download the macOS Tahoe 26.2 update by opening up the System Settings app, selecting the General category, and then choosing Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled, and a free developer account is required. Apple released the first iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 betas earlier this week, so we have an idea of a few features that are in macOS Tahoe 26.2. The Reminders app will gain an option to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due, the News app has some design updates, and Apple is adding new features to the Podcasts app. The new additions to iOS 26.2 can be found in our iOS 26.2 feature guide. The beta is available to developers right now, but a public beta is expected later this week. We'll likely see Apple release macOS Tahoe 26.2 right around mid-December given past launch timelines.Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe 26Related Forum: macOS TahoeThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Chipmaker TSMC Reportedly Informs Apple of Further Price Hikes
Chipmaker TSMC has begun informing major clients like Apple about further price hikes, according to a new report out of Asia. The leaker and aggregator known as "yeux1122" outlined the latest news on Korean social media site Naver. TSMC has apparently started notifying major clients of impending price increases for advanced fabrication processes below 5-nanometers. This would include Apple's A16, A17, A18, A19, M3, M4, and M5 chips, as well as any future iterations. The price hikes are expected to be in the range of 8–10% and commence next year. Last month, the China Times reported that Apple's "A20" chip designed for next year's iPhone models could be considerably more expensive. The A20 chip is likely to be the first widely available 2-nanometer chip, debuting in the iPhone 18 lineup next year and forming the foundation of subsequent M6-series chips. The previous three generations of A-series chips have all been based on TMSC's 3-nanometer node, with the upgrade to 2-nanometer promising further performance and efficiency improvements. TSMC apparently told customers, presumably including Apple, to expect pricing that is at least 50% higher than 3-nanometer processors. This was attributed to unusually high capital expenditure for the new node and to the lack of discounting strategies while yields are still in their early acceptable phase. The report further stated that suppliers expect flagship mobile chips built on the 2-nanometer process to carry unit prices around $280 once volume production begins. This would make it the most expensive component in the ‌iPhone‌ and dramatically affect Apple's profit margins, if the increase is not passed on to customers. A report from DigiTimes last year placed the cost of the A18 chip at around $45, with a total hardware bill of $416 for a model that retailed at $799, implying that the chip represents roughly 10% of bill of materials (BOM) cost and about 5–6% of retail price before logistics and development expenses. If the component cost rumors are true, Apple could limit 2-nanometer chips to only some 2026 ‌iPhone‌ models, such as the ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 18‌ Pro Max. In September last year, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warned that "due to cost concerns, not all new ‌iPhone 18‌ models may be equipped with a 2-nanometer processor."Tags: Naver, TSMCThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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Target Kicks Off Early Black Friday Sale With Sitewide Savings on Apple Accessories and More
Target's early Black Friday sale has officially begun today, with an online shopping event that will run through Saturday, November 8. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including sitewide savings on Beats headphones, TVs, Apple accessories, home appliances, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Target. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Target's Black Friday Schedule Target's Black Friday sale begins today with this week's three-day event and thousands of deals available sitewide. Target is also offering a "Deal of the Day" every day through December 24, with many exclusive deals available only to Target Circle members. Additionally, a new lineup of deals will drop every Sunday in November and last through the following Saturday. All of this leads up to the week of Black Friday, where shoppers can expect even more discounts and offers both in Target stores and online. Target's Early Black Friday Sale Like many retailers, Target's early Black Friday offerings are wide and varied. You'll find notable markdowns on video games, appliances, TVs, smart home products, speakers, headphones, and more this week. SITEWIDE SALETarget's Early Black Friday Sale Shoppers should note that some of the deals below do require Target Circle, which does have a free tier and is worth signing up for if you're interested in any of these offers. Once you're a member, the deals will be applied automatically at checkout. Apple Accessories Target's early Black Friday sale includes a few Apple accessories on sale, with the highlight being discounts on the new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air cases. Magic Keyboard Folio for iPad - $199.99 ($50 off) iPhone 17 Silicone Case - $39.99 ($10 off) Beats iPhone 17 Pro Case - $35.99 ($10 off) iPhone 17 Pro Clear Case - $39.99 ($10 off) iPhone 17 Pro Silicone Case - $39.99 ($10 off) iPhone 17 Pro TechWoven Case - $49.99 ($10 off) Beats iPhone 17 Pro Max Case - $35.99 ($10 off) iPhone 17 Pro Max Clear Case - $39.99 ($10 off) iPhone 17 Pro Max Silicone Case - $39.99 ($10 off) iPhone 17 Pro Max TechWoven Case - $49.99 ($10 off) Headphones Beats Solo Buds - $69.99, down from $79.99 Beats Solo 4 Wireless Headphones - $129.99, down from $199.99 Beats Fit Pro - $179.99, down from $199.99 Powerbeats Pro - $170.99, down from $249.99 Beats Studio Pro Wireless Headphones - $199.99, down from $349.99 Bose Ultra Open-Ear True Wireless Earbuds - $229.99, down from $299.99 Sony WHCH720N Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones - $99.99, down from $179.99 TVs 32-inch Vizio LED Smart TV - $99.99, down from $119.99 43-inch LG 4K Smart TV - $229.99, down from $279.99 55-inch TCL 4K HDR QLED Smart Google TV - $279.99, down from $449.99 TCL 4K HDR QLED Smart Google TV - $379.99, down from $549.99 65-inch LG 4K Smart TV - $399.99, down from $479.99 65-inch Samsung The Frame 4K Smart TV - $1,499.99, down from $1,699.99 Streaming Devices Fire TV Stick HD - $19.99, down from $34.99 Fire TV Stick 4K - $29.99, down from $49.99 Fire TV Stick 4K Max - $39.99, down from $59.99 More Deals Keurig K-Mini Go - $49.99, down from $99.99 Instant Pot 9-in-1 Pressure Cooker - $69.99, down from $129.99 Ninja Professional Plus Blender - $99.99, down from $149.99 You can find all the Apple Black Friday Deals currently available in our dedicated post. For everything else, we're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2025. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find as we head into the holidays? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season! Related Roundups: Apple Black Friday, Apple DealsRelated Forum: Community DiscussionThis article, "" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

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United States MMS Carrier Partner Maintenance
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 9, 01:00 - 04:00 PSTNov 27, 13:09 PSTScheduled - Our MMS carrier partner in the United States is conducting a planned maintenance from 09 December 2025 at 01:00 PST until 09 December 2025 at 04:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering MMS to and from Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T United States handsets via subset of United States short codes.

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MMS Delivery Delays to Google Voice Network in United States of America
Nov 27, 09:54 PSTInvestigating - We are experiencing . Our engineers are working with our carrier partner to resolve the issue. We will provide another update in 1 hour or as soon as more information becomes available.

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IAD (Ashburn) on 2025-12-03
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 3, 07:00 - 11:00 UTCNov 27, 17:42 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in IAD (Ashburn) datacenter on 2025-12-03 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.

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Cloudflare Snippets: Issues with updates
Nov 27, 16:25 UTCInvestigating - Cloudflare is aware of and investigating an issue where a subset of users may not be able to update the Snippets on their zone. We are working to analyze and mitigate this problem.

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Singapore SMS Carrier Maintenance – StarHub
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 2, 08:00 - 14:00 PSTNov 27, 07:24 PSTScheduled - The StarHub network in Singapore is conducting a planned maintenance from 02 December 2025 at 08:00 PST until 02 December 2025 at 14:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to and from StarHub Singapore handsets.

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Cloudflare Email Notification degraded impacting Access one time pin and two factor authentication
Nov 27, 15:19 UTCMonitoring - Cloudflare engineering is monitoring an issue causing email delivery failure for email notifications including Access One Time Pin, password reset and two factor authentication. Access and Dashboard authentication via other methods are not impacted at this time.

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MMS Delivery Report Delays to C-Spire in United States of America (311-230) via Subset of Longcodes
Nov 27, 07:16 PSTInvestigating - We are experiencing MMS Delivery Report Delays to C-Spire in the United States of America (311-230) via a Subset of Longcodes. Our engineers are working with our carrier partner to resolve the issue. We will provide another update in 1 or as soon as more information becomes available.

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SMS Delivery Failures to Multiple Networks in Italy via a Subset of Long Codes
Nov 27, 06:07 PSTInvestigating - We are experiencing SMS delivery failures SMS Delivery Failures to Multiple Networks in Italy via a Subset of Long codes. Our engineers are working with our carrier partner to resolve the issue. We expect to provide another update in 1 hour or as soon as more information becomes available.

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Austria, United Kingdom and Italy Account Security Carriers Partners Maintenance – Drei, Three and Wind Tre
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 3, 21:30 - 22:30 PSTNov 27, 04:45 PSTScheduled - Our carriers partners Drei Austria, Three United Kingdom and Wind Tre Italy are conducting a planned maintenance from 03 December 2025 at 21:30 PST until 03 December 2025 at 22:30 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent API request failures for Drei Austria, Three United Kingdom and Wind Tre Italy customers.Impacted Products: Verify Silent Network Auth, Lookup SIM Swap, Lookup Identity Match, Legacy Identity MatchAndAttributes

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GIG (Rio de Janeiro) on 2025-12-04
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 4, 05:00 - 10:00 UTCNov 27, 11:04 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in GIG (Rio de Janeiro) datacenter on 2025-12-04 between 05:00 and 10:00 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.

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MIA (Miami) on 2025-12-05
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 5, 07:00 - 12:00 UTCNov 27, 11:12 UTCScheduled - We will be performing scheduled maintenance in MIA (Miami) datacenter on 2025-12-05 between 07:00 and 12:00 UTC.Traffic might be re-routed from this location, hence there is a possibility of a slight increase in latency during this maintenance window for end-users in the affected region. For PNI / CNI customers connecting with us in this location, please make sure you are expecting this traffic to fail over elsewhere during this maintenance window as network interfaces in this datacentre may become temporarily unavailable.You can now subscribe to these notifications via Cloudflare dashboard and receive these updates directly via email, PagerDuty and webhooks (based on your plan): https://developers.cloudflare.com/notifications/notification-available/#cloudflare-status.

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Increased Errors for Durable Objects in Portugal and the United Kingdom
Nov 27, 11:12 UTCInvestigating - Cloudflare is aware of, and investigating an issue with Durable Objects which potentially impacts multiple customers in Portugal and in the United Kingdom. Durable Objects are experiencing an elevated level of overload errors in the aforementioned regions. We are currently investigating this issue.

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SMS Delivery Delays to Vodafone Network in United Kingdom
Nov 27, 02:38 PSTInvestigating - We are experiencing SMS delivery delays when sending messages to Vodafone Network in United Kingdom. Our engineers are working with our carrier partner to resolve the issue. We will provide another update in 1 hour or as soon as more information becomes available.

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Japan SMS Carrier Maintenance – SoftBank Mobile
THIS IS A SCHEDULED EVENT Dec 10, 07:00 PST  -  Dec 11, 13:00 PSTNov 27, 01:16 PSTScheduled - The SoftBank Mobile network in Japan is conducting a series of planned maintenances from 10 December 2025 at 07:00 PST until 11 December 2025 at 13:00 PST. During the maintenance window, there could be intermittent delays delivering SMS to SoftBank Mobile Japan handsets.Note, the maintenance will be carried out on each of the following dates and times:10 December 2025 at 07:00 PST until 10 December 2025 at 13:00 PST11 December 2025 at 07:00 PST until 11 December 2025 at 13:00 PST

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increased-buffering
Nov 27, 04:07 ESTUpdate - We are investigating reports of elevated bufferingNov 27, 04:06 ESTInvestigating - We are currently investigating this issue.

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