Epic Games fights Apple’s request to pause App Store commission proceedings
Epic has submitted its opposition to Apple’s latest request to pause lower-court App Store commission proceedings while the Supreme Court reviews part of the case. Here are the details.

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How to connect two or more external displays to an M1, M2, M3, M4 or M5 MacBook or Neo
Macworld While the higher-end MacBooks with M1/M2/M3/M4/M5 Pro and Max chips support multiple external displays, Apple’s lower-end range of MacBooks that use a standard M1 and M2 processor cannot natively connect more than one external monitor, and to do so the M3 has to have its lid closed. The MacBook Neo is also limited to just one external monitor. This is a massive limitation for these entry-level Macs: M1 MacBook, M2 MacBook and MacBook Neo. Apple’s M3 MacBook Air models do support two external monitors but only if the MacBook has its lid closed in what is known as Clamshell Mode. The M3 MacBook Pro supports a similar feature if at least the macOS Sonoma 14.6 update is installed. We explain how to run dual external displays on an M3 MacBook in a separate article. Who will these Mac external monitor tips help? • If your Mac has a plain (non-Pro or non-Max) M1 or M2 chip, or is the MacBook Neo, it is limited to using just one external monitor unless you follow our tips and workaround here. • If your Mac has a plain (non-Pro or non-Max) M3 chip, it can only use two external monitors if its own lid is closed (so not showing its own screen) unless you follow our tips and workaround here. • If your Mac has an M4, M5, M4 Pro, M4 Max chip, it is limited to using two external monitors – add up to five using the workarounds. • If your Mac has an M5 Pro chip, it is limited to using three external monitors – add up to five using the workarounds. • If your Mac has an M5 Max chip, it is limited to using four external monitors – add up to five using the workarounds. The solutions below, however, allow for more than two external displays on plain M1, M2 Macs and MacBook Neo plus M3 Macs with their lids open if you want it. The base M4/M5 MacBook Air and M4/M5 MacBook Pro models do natively support two displays with the lid open but if you want three or more displays for these MacBooks, then keep reading. In each case, there’s a software download and a docking station, hub or adapter required.  Later, we list our tested and recommended software and hardware solutions for adding more than one display to the plain M1, M2 and M3 Macs, plus MacBook Neo. You can jump straight to our list of the best DisplayLink docks if you know all about it. If not, read on a while. The simplest solution is to get a USB graphics-enabled docking station or hub, sometimes called a DisplayLink Dock—and we’ve reviewed the best ones later in this article. USB graphics is a software-based technology (DisplayLink or InstantView) that compresses the video signals from the computer to the monitor, enabling you to connect multiple external displays to your M1/M2/M3 or Neo MacBook. We cover the basics of how to connect your Mac to an external monitor. Desktop Macs can be helped, too. While the M1, M2 and Neo MacBooks natively support just one monitor, the desktop M1 Mac Mini and M2 Mac Mini do natively support up to two external monitors—one via the HDMI port and a second via USB-C. The M4 Mac mini supports up to three displays—two displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI. Workaround: Install DisplayLink software drivers You can use a combination of display technologies to get around the M1/M2/M3/Neo MacBooks’ single-monitor limitation. DisplayLink is the most common software solution that you pair with a compatible dock, and SiliconMotion’s InstantView is another. Note that the docks need to state DisplayLink or InstantView compatibility—you can’t just install DisplayLink drivers and hope they work with regular docks and hubs. Here, we’ll refer to them all as DisplayLink docks for brevity. DisplayLink enable adapters or docks to output video over USB ports that would otherwise support only data connections, bypassing limitations on the number of screens a Mac can support natively (for example, the single-display limitation on base M1, M2, M3, and Neo Macs). Many multi-display docks use a combination of native USB-C Alternate Mode (native “Alt Mode” video output) and DisplayLink technology. This combination serves as a workaround to the M1/M2/M3/Neo platform supporting only a single external display via USB-C. Note that DisplayLink requires a third-party driver to be installed on the Mac. In general, setup is straightforward. Some of the docks we review below offer the DisplayLink software when you first connect the dock to your Mac. The DisplayLink macOS app or DisplayLink Manager app are ways of enabling DisplayLink technology on macOS. The app is available as a standalone installer rather than through the mac App Store. There are download versions for macOS 26 Tahoe and earlier. The initial InstantView setup is easier than DisplayLink with the hubs from Hyper and Satechi—but it suffers the same challenge that Apple’s software updates could disable it, which will entail installing a newer version and allowing the necessary security & privacy settings for screen recording, just as with DisplayLink. You can download the latest version of InstantView software here. The latest version supports macOS 26 Tahoe, 15 Sequoia, 14 Sonoma, 13 Ventura and 12 Monterey. Neither software solution is complicated and both worked well in our tests as you can read below. There are some disadvantages to using DisplayLink and InstantView, which we explain in detail in the FAQ section below the dock chart, but none that should bother most users. This docking station supports three external displays via DisplayLink, while still allowing the MacBook to show its independent screen. 1. First, download the latest Mac DisplayLink driver. As stated above, some docks, do this for you but it’s always best to use the latest version. DisplayLink Manager Graphics Connectivity App v. 16.1 is compatible with macOS Sonoma 14, Sequoia 15 and Tahoe 26. For macOS Ventura 13, you need version 14.2; and for Monterey 12, it’s version 1.11; for Big Sur 11, look for version 1.9, and v1.5 for Catalina 10.15. It can be managed via the DisplayLink icon in the Apple Menu bar. Here’s the one fiddly part: you need to enable “Screen Recording” to allow the DisplayLink Manager app to capture pixels and send them to your USB peripheral. This can be found in System Preferences under Privacy in Security & Privacy; navigate to Screen Recording in the list on the left, then tick the Screen Recording permission for DisplayLink Manager after unlocking the padlock using your admin password. You may need to quit and restart DisplayLink Manager afterward. Don’t worry, DisplayLink isn’t recording your screen—this just lets it do its magic enabling multiple screens. Installation is straightforward; take a look at the instructions here. Older versions did not support laptops’ closed-display/Clamshell Mode, but 1.8.1 and later do support Clamshell Mode if the MacBook is running macOS 11 or later. There’s an option in DisplayLink manager to “launch at startup”, or you can drag the DisplayLink Manager to your Login Items in Users & Groups. 2. Then connect the MacBook to a DIsplayLink docking station—the dock must support DisplayLink, as all the reviewed products listed below do. 3. For the first screen you can connect via the dock’s DisplayPort, HDMI or USB-C/Thunderbolt port, and this will be handled natively by the M1/M2 MacBook. If you need to, you can use a USB-C to HDMI or DisplayPort adapter. If connecting to a MacBook Neo, use the rear 10Gbps USB 3 port. The HDMI or DisplayPort output uses Alternate Mode (Alt Mode), and as it is basically a pipeline directly to the system’s native GPU, it will behave just like if you hooked up a USB-C to HDMI dongle to your laptop. This requires no user driver installation. The second and third displays will rely on the DisplayLink software. DisplayLink uses an installed driver and the system CPU and GPU to convert graphics data on the system into data packets. That data is then sent over the cable as data packets and converted back to video information and output to the monitors via the DisplayLink chip in the docking station. Which dock is best? A docking station connects to your MacBook via Thunderbolt or USB-C. It then offers multiple ports that your laptop now has access to. These can include new display ports, such as HDMI, as well as Ethernet for wired Internet access, USB-C/Thunderbolt/USB-A ports at varying speeds, audio plugs, and card readers. A simpler hub or adapter has fewer ports but may have all the video or USB ports required. The main thing to remember here is that the dock, hub or adapter needs to support either DisplayLink or InstantView for the extra multi-screen magic to work. Non-DisplayLink docking stations are great if your MacBook can handle the number of screens you desire but you need more ports and functionality. Docking station and hub manufacturers are now actively marketing their products as solutions to the M1/M2/M3/Neo external display limitation—docks have to support DisplayLink to work with the software. All the docks and hubs reviewed below require either the DisplayLink download or another similar software solution, such as InstantView, but no further hardware adapter except for the dock or hub itself. And of course, these hubs offer the usual multi-port benefits as well as the external monitor solution. The best multiscreen hubs and adapters for Neo, M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5 MacBooks Below we have gathered the best dedicated hubs and docks for multiscreen M1/M2/M3/M4/M5/Neo. Note that most of these listed (and tested) below use USB-C rather than Thunderbolt, so don’t benefit from the MacBook’s potential pro-level 40-80Gbps data bandwidth but are usually cheaper. If you require bandwidth higher than 10Gbps, go for a DisplayLink-supporting Thunderbolt dock. The MacBook Neo has USB-C rather than Thunderbolt so is limited to 10Gbps anyway but can use the Thunderbolt docks, too if you like as USB-C and Thunderbolt are compatible.. We have tested DisplayLink docks that can support up to five external displays and some that max out at two, which we expect will be plenty enough screen space for most people. You can use a five-screen DisplayLink dock even if you need only two monitors, and use the spare ports for other purposes. Plugable 5 Display USB-C Dock (UD-7400PD) – five 4K displays at 60Hz Pros Supports up to five external displays at 4K 60Hz 3x 8K at 60Hz displays 11 ports 2x HDMI video ports 140W PD laptop charging 2.5Gb Ethernet Cons No SD card reader North America only Price When Reviewed: $279.95 Best Prices Today: $296.99 at Amazon$296.99 at B&H$296.99 at Lenovo USA Connection: USB-C (10Gbps) Software: DisplayLink Max screens: 5 Let’s begin with the DisplayLink dock that supports the most external displays: the Plugable UD-7400PD allows even M1 MacBook and Neo users to run up to five 4K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate. This is made possible by use of the latest Synaptics’ DisplayLink DL-7400 chipset. No other dock can match it. Although five displays is probably overkill for most users, financial and data analysts can’t have enough screens and will love it. You don’t have to add five displays, of course, but this dock is the one that will let you do so. It even offers something to the mighty M5 Max MacBook that can natively support four external displays; with the Plugable UD-7400PD it can move to five. There are two HDMI ports (one HDMI 2.1 for 8K and one 2.0) plus three downstream USB-C ports to connect either those displays or other devices. There are two fast 10Gbps USB-A ports, speedy 2.5Gb Ethernet and an audio jack, but no SD card reader. At the front of the dock, one of the USB-C ports can output power to a connected device at 30W, which is perfect if you want to fast-charge an iPhone or even an iPad. If you need faster bandwidth, the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station with DisplayLink (reviewed below) boasts 40Gbps data transfer and supports four displays for the M3 MacBook Air (while shut in Clamshell Mode), but with it the M1 and M2 MacBooks are limited to three (one at 6K and two at 4K).  IT managers will appreciate Plugable’s DockTag technology that works with the UD-7400PD, a web-based solution designed for hot-desking and real-time IT asset management in mixed-platform offices. Read our full Plugable 5 Display USB-C Dock (UD-7400PD) review

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Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI could derail the AI giant’s hardware ambitions to challenge the iPhone
Apple’s aggressive lawsuit accusing OpenAI of systematically stealing its intellectual property poses a significant threat to the AI… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Tap to Pay on iPhone finally replaces clunky card reader at Apple Stores
Apple is arming more retail staff with iPhone 16 to expand Tap to Pay on iPhone, phasing out the bulky Bluetooth card sleds it used for years. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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AAPL stock rallies 15% as investors favor AI caution and welcome price increases
Apple stock slid significantly downwards in the wake of the WWDC keynote, with some attributing that to disappointment in the company’s AI announcements. While we disagreed with that analysis, investors do now seem to be welcoming the company’s caution when it comes to AI spending, with the stock rallying 15% since that June low …

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Best Mac 2026: Every Apple Mac and MacBook compared
Macworld Which Mac is best for you? Whether you want everyday portability, professional creative power, desktop performance, or budget-friendly computing, Apple’s lineup has a Mac that fits. For $699 you can own a MacBook Neo, which is Apple’s most affordable laptop, for a little more, the MacBook Air (M5) excels at everyday work and battery life, while the MacBook Pro lineup delivers serious power for pros. On the other hand, desktops like the Mac Studio and iMac stand out for creators and home setups, while the Mac mini offers great value if you don’t need portability. Choosing the best Mac in 2026 isn’t just about buying the newest model, it’s about matching Apple’s vast lineup to what you actually need from a computer. From ultraportable MacBooks to powerful desktop Macs, each option excels at different tasks. So whether you are a creative, a professional, a student, or an everyday user, we will help you identify the Mac that suits your needs. In our Mac buying guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac Studio, with expert buying advice to help you choose the machine (and configuration) that’s right for you. With seven different types of Mac on offer: MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro, and variations in the size, specs, and features within each of those categories, things can get pretty complicated. That’s where this guide comes in, helping you make the right decision so you can find the Mac that matches your needs, whether its the best value for money, the most powerful, the most portable, or a combination of all those things. Best Mac 2026: Mac & MacBook Buyers Guide Our top choice of Mac in 2026 is the MacBook Air because it offers a great combination of value for money in a compact package that will appeal to the typical Mac user. However, that may not be the best Mac for you if you need the most powerful Mac, in which case we would recommend the MacBook Pro which brings you all the power you could need in a portable form. If it’s something cheaper you are after then Apple’s new MacBook Neo is sure to appeal, starting at $699/£699. If you don’t need a laptop Mac there are some excellent options in Apple’s desktop range, with the Mac Studio providing the best value for money and saving thousands compared to a similarly specced Mac laptop. If a low budget option is what you are looking for then look no further than the Mac mini, which is the cheapest Mac desktop at $799/£799. Below we’ll take you through each Mac currently available from Apple, to give you an overview of what’s on offer and what you’ve got to choose from, you’ll also find live prices so you can get the best price today for each of the Macs included below. We also have additional advice for choosing the best Mac laptop in our comparison of the MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro. Not every Mac is right for every user, so we’ve grouped Apple’s current Macs by who they’re best for – from everyday users to professionals. Price increases June 2026 In June 2026, Apple increased prices significantly across several product lines including Macs, iPads, the Apple TV 4K, and HomePod models, citing an unprecedented rise in component costs. The company stated it had “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly” and that it had shielded customers from these increases for as long as possible before finally raising prices. For Macs, prices have increased from $100/£100 to $500/£500 depending on the model. MacBook Neo is $100 more MacBook Air is $200 more MacBook Pro is $300 to $500 more Mac mini is $200 more Mac Studio is $500 more Prices have been updated throughout this article. 13-inch MacBook Air (M5, 2026) – Best Mac for most people Price When Reviewed: From $1,299 (was $1,099) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $1243 View Deal $1249 View Deal $1269 View Deal $1299 View Deal $1299 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide View more prices Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket What is it? The 13-inch MacBook Air is Apple’s most affordable laptop, designed with portability in mind. What’s new? Apple introduced the M5 MacBook Air in March 2026, featuring the new M5 chip for faster CPU and GPU performance. The base configuration now starts with 512GB of storage (double the previous model), along with faster SSD speeds, more memory bandwidth, and support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Who’s it for? It’s perfect for students and everyday users who want a lightweight laptop that’s easy to carry, and powerful enough for working, studying, browsing, and doing light creative work. If you want a larger screen there is a 15-inch MacBook Air, which we discuss below. How much does the 13-inch MacBook Air cost? The entry-level 13-inch M5 MacBook Air costs from $1,299/£1,299, that’s up $200/£200 from the launch price of $1,099/£1,099. You can create build-to-order models with more memory (up to 32GB) or storage (up to 4TB). What are the specifications? The standard specs for the M5 MacBook Air offer an improvement on the previous generation. The MacBook Air now ships with 512GB SSD as standard. The actual screen measurements, measured diagonally are 13.6in Apple M5, 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB memory, 512GB SSD, two Thunderbolt 4 ports: $1,299/£1,299. Apple M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB memory, 512GB SSD, two Thunderbolt 4 ports: $1,399/£1,399. Additional options: Up to 32GB memory, 4TB storage. What are display specifications? The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina on the M5 MacBook Air display has a native resolution of 2,560×1,664 and 500 nits brightness. The MacBook Air M5 can support two external displays. How do I connect stuff? The M5 MacBook Air models supports Thunderbolt 4, which means that they can support a dual monitor set up. If you want to connect USB-A devices, you need either a USB-C to USB adapter, like Apple’s $19 / £19 one, or a USB-C hub that has USB-A ports. In the U.K. and Europe Apple has stopped including a Power Adapter in the box, so you will need to buy one separately. See our round-up of the best USB-C hubs and adapters. The 2026 MacBook Air offers Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) for connecting to a network. It also provides built-in Bluetooth (6) for wirelessly connecting a mouse or other peripherals. If you want to connect to an ethernet network, you need an adapter. How fast is it? In our tests the M5 saw consistent gains over the M4 in the previous generation, as you can see in our Mac processor benchmarks. In some benchmarks the M3 even beats the M1 Ultra. If you are upgrading from an old Mac – especially if it is one with an Intel chip – you will see a huge difference. Any other considerations? The MacBook Air should be more than fast enough for general-purpose use. The only issue is that, because it doesn’t have an internal fan, it may slow down during long processing sessions to keep cool. So if you are likely to be video editing or compiling code the MacBook Pro with its fan is a better choice. Also note that (as with almost all Macs) it’s impossible to upgrade the storage or memory after purchase, so you should buy the model with the largest amount of storage and memory you can afford. Why we recommend the 13-inch MacBook Air: The MacBook Air is a great choice for someone who does general-purpose work and moves around a lot, such as a student or a self-employed person. We compare the MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro separately. Read our full Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (M5, 2026) review

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'CrashStealer' malware poses as an Apple tool to steal passwords & Mac data
CrashStealer, a newly documented Mac infostealer, used an Apple-notarized meeting app to reach victims before stealing passwords, browser data and cryptocurrency credentials behind a fake system prompt.CrashStealer fake password promptJamf Threat Labs first spotted a suspicious sample on VirusTotal in early May and began seeing matching detections on customer Macs in early July. Further analysis traced the malware to a signed and Apple-notarized first-stage application called Werkbit, giving researchers a clearer view of how the campaign reached victims.Werkbit carried a valid Developer ID associated with Emil Grigorov and passed Gatekeeper without an unidentified-developer warning. Apple has since revoked the signing credentials associated with the malicious application after Jamf shared its findings with the company's security team.Jamf found no zero-click stage in the samples it analyzed. A victim still had to download and launch Werkbit, allow the delivery chain to run and enter a valid Mac password before CrashStealer could reach its most valuable targets. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Should Apple get out of the ad business altogether? [Poll]
An open letter written by Tim Cook back in 2014 contrasted Apple with ad-funded services where customers are the product. That letter has been removed from the company’s website ahead of ads coming to Apple Maps for the first time. Apple commenter John Gruber has suggested that incoming CEO John Ternus should pull the plug on this and the rest of the company’s ad business …

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Time for change: 50 Apple Watch updates coming in watchOS 27
Owners of the Apple Watch can expect more than just Siri AI in watchOS 27. Here are 50 improvements for the wearable's operating system coming this fall.The Dynamic App Grid in watchOS 27Apple's main operating system updates, including iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate, are getting the bulk of the attention this cycle. That makes sense, as they're the ones most people will directly interact with every day.That's also true in a year where Apple focused mostly on sorting out its artificial intelligence features. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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The Futility of Banning Killer Robots
As autonomous weapons become increasingly practical, banning them may prove impossible. Building stronger AI defenses could offer a more realistic path to protecting civilians and maintaining military deterrence. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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EU plans to ban under-13s from social media, with ‘phased access’ afterwards
The European Union is proposing to ban under 13 year olds from using social media apps, with a plan for “phased and gradual access” for teenagers. While most social media apps claim to have a minimum age of 13, this is extremely poorly enforced. The EU proposal would give this the force of law, as well as applying restrictions for older teens …

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Best Portable Monitors for MacBooks 2026: Compact, travel-ready screens
Macworld Most monitors sit on a desk and don’t move any more than their stand or arm allows. We have a separate round up of the best monitors for Mac. But sometimes a more portable solution makes sense when the MacBook’s own screen simply isn’t large enough. There are two main types of portable display: travel monitors that can be slipped into a backpack; or moveable monitors that can be carried from one room to another or quickly hidden from sight when not in use. Here are our picks for the best portable displays to match with your Mac. Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display: Lightweight portable USB-C 15.6-inch HD screen Pros Full HD (1920×1080 at 60Hz) IPS display Lightweight   Integrated folding travel cover and stand 85W pass-through charging 2x downstream 10Gbps USB-C ports Cons Not much larger than a laptop screen Price When Reviewed: $239.95 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal Plugable $239.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide View more prices Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Size: 15.6-inch Resolution: 2K (1920×1080 pixels) aka HD sRGB Color Gamut: 45% Brightness: Up to 300 nits Connections: 3x USB-C Webcam: No Stand: Foldable Weight: 1.85lb (840g) Orientation: Landscape This 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display doubles most laptops’ screen space and is simple to setup and connect, and then disconnect and lightweight enough to carry away when you’re done. Weighing just 1.85lb (840g) with its cover/stand or 1.35lb (615g) without, it is barely noticeable alongside your laptop in your backpack or briefcase On the back of the display is a detachable PU vinyl cover that can protect the screen in transit or storage and doubles up as a foldable stand that is easy to setup.–Simon Jary Read our full Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display review

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Best Portable Monitors for MacBooks 2026: Compact, travel-ready screens
Macworld Most monitors sit on a desk and don’t move any more than their stand or arm allows. We have a separate round up of the best monitors for Mac. But sometimes a more portable solution makes sense when the MacBook’s own screen simply isn’t large enough. There are two main types of portable display: travel monitors that can be slipped into a backpack; or moveable monitors that can be carried from one room to another or quickly hidden from sight when not in use. Here are our picks for the best portable displays to match with your Mac. Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display: Lightweight portable USB-C 15.6-inch HD screen Pros Full HD (1920×1080 at 60Hz) IPS display Lightweight   Integrated folding travel cover and stand 85W pass-through charging 2x downstream 10Gbps USB-C ports Cons Not much larger than a laptop screen Price When Reviewed: $239.95 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal Plugable $239.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide View more prices Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Size: 15.6-inch Resolution: 2K (1920×1080 pixels) aka HD sRGB Color Gamut: 45% Brightness: Up to 300 nits Connections: 3x USB-C Webcam: No Stand: Foldable Weight: 1.85lb (840g) Orientation: Landscape This 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display doubles most laptops’ screen space and is simple to setup and connect, and then disconnect and lightweight enough to carry away when you’re done. Weighing just 1.85lb (840g) with its cover/stand or 1.35lb (615g) without, it is barely noticeable alongside your laptop in your backpack or briefcase On the back of the display is a detachable PU vinyl cover that can protect the screen in transit or storage and doubles up as a foldable stand that is easy to setup.–Simon Jary Read our full Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display review

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Best Portable Monitors for MacBooks 2026: Compact, travel-ready screens
Macworld Most monitors sit on a desk and don’t move any more than their stand or arm allows. We have a separate round up of the best monitors for Mac. But sometimes a more portable solution makes sense when the MacBook’s own screen simply isn’t large enough. There are two main types of portable display: travel monitors that can be slipped into a backpack; or moveable monitors that can be carried from one room to another or quickly hidden from sight when not in use. Here are our picks for the best portable displays to match with your Mac. Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display: Lightweight portable USB-C 15.6-inch HD screen Pros Full HD (1920×1080 at 60Hz) IPS display Lightweight   Integrated folding travel cover and stand 85W pass-through charging 2x downstream 10Gbps USB-C ports Cons Not much larger than a laptop screen Price When Reviewed: $239.95 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal $239.95 View Deal Plugable $239.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide View more prices Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Size: 15.6-inch Resolution: 2K (1920×1080 pixels) aka HD sRGB Color Gamut: 45% Brightness: Up to 300 nits Connections: 3x USB-C Webcam: No Stand: Foldable Weight: 1.85lb (840g) Orientation: Landscape This 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display doubles most laptops’ screen space and is simple to setup and connect, and then disconnect and lightweight enough to carry away when you’re done. Weighing just 1.85lb (840g) with its cover/stand or 1.35lb (615g) without, it is barely noticeable alongside your laptop in your backpack or briefcase On the back of the display is a detachable PU vinyl cover that can protect the screen in transit or storage and doubles up as a foldable stand that is easy to setup.–Simon Jary Read our full Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display review

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SigLens acquired by Apple for debugging massive apps and services
Apple has bought SigScalr, the maker of SigLens, giving it a tool to monitor and debug the processes of large numbers of interrelated applications.SigLens lets developers set up continuous monitoring of apps to see how they are working over time - image credit: SigScalrInstead of needing multiple programs ranging from Xcode to Activity Monitor, an application monitoring app like SigLens is one tool that tracks and logs what happens inside several apps, or across many routines within the same one. With apps sometimes being written as very many related single-task ones, application monitors give a picture of the whole process.SigLens from SigScalr was one such application monitor, and its makers claimed it to be up to 100% more efficient than its rivals, DataDog and Splunk. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Free Mac app WhatCable tells you what each of your USB-C cables can really do
We’ve talked on a number of occasions about the problem with USB-C cables: namely, they all look alike but can have very different capabilities. Google addressed this issue in Chrome OS several years ago, and we suggested at the time that Apple should copy it. That hasn’t yet happened, but there’s now a free Mac app, WhatCable, to turn your Mac into a hardware cable tester …

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Anthropic expanding Claude Cowork to mobile and web, details here [U]
Update 7/13: Fable 5 access on all paid plans has been extended once more through Sunday, July 19. Anthropic announced today that it is expanding Claude Cowork capabilities from the desktop app to the web and mobile. Claude Cowork on mobile and the web will start as a beta feature with a gradual rollout on select paid plans. Additionally, Anthropic is extending Claude Fable 5 access to all paid plans for a few more days.

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Apple is beating Netflix the same way it beat everyone else: Quality
Macworld You won’t read this in many corporate mission statements, but subscription services thrive on laziness. The very moment that a customer signs on the dotted line, inertia enters the equation: it becomes a pain to cancel, and easier just to go with the flow. And from that point on, the customer is incentivised to do nothing, and the provider is incentivised to do the absolute bare minimum. Which is how they like it. This is why gyms and banks and cable networks do everything allowable under a generous interpretation of the law to increase the friction and inconvenience of breaking things off. So sorry, they inform us solemnly, but you can’t cancel online/over the phone/at the branch where you signed up. You’ll have to visit our special Cancellation Center in Nova Scotia. On a Thursday afternoon. In the early days, streaming services liked to present themselves as an antidote to the exploitative behaviour of cable companies, but this, it quickly turned out, was yet another example of the inertia strategy. Netflix and Disney and the rest were playing the long game: acting nice at the start, removing ads, letting us binge-watch entire seasons of shows, turning a blind eye to password sharing, and spending big on prestige projects. But once they’d secured a large audience of subscribers, they no longer needed to play nice, and all the old habits came rushing back. The problem is that this generates resentment among customers, not loyalty; a fickleness beneath the surface that is constantly on the verge of escalation. Customers treated in this way may need only a tiny bit of extra motivation to cancel and switch to another service. Or to something even more drastic, such as piracy. In an article last week, the A.V. Club discussed this phenomenon on a series level: Netflix shows are experiencing drastic drop-offs in ratings from their first to their second seasons, which the site puts down to multi-year hiatuses and unmemorable programming. That’s true, but I think there’s more to it. Many Netflix shows are neutrally lit, algorithm-driven “content” with no heart, and a tendency to decline in quality after the first few episodes. Simply put, Netflix is more interested in marketing than making. But this is only a microcosm of a bigger problem, and a more serious disillusionment. Netflix, like most other streamers, cares disproportionately about getting new customers on board and nowhere near enough about delivering a quality product to the customers it already has. Matthew Rhys in “Widow’s Bay,” which received 19 Emmy nominations.Apple Then there’s Apple, a company that, over the years, has showcased both the best and the worst of customer retention strategy. Apple fans, also known derisively as fanboys, or, if you’re a Twitter bore, iSheep, are notoriously loyal to and protective of the multi-trillion-dollar corporation that makes their favorite tech products. But the centrality of those products makes it, by late-capitalist standards, a comparatively healthy relationship. Apple makes great products, and we love it for doing that. That’s sort of how consumerism is supposed to work. The moment when Apple’s relationship with its customers became rather less healthy was when someone came up with the idea of the walled garden. iPhone apps had to be installed from the officially sanctioned App Store. If you wanted to repair an Apple product, you had to get it done by a licensed repair company. Apple accessories had to use a proprietary connection standard. And so on, and so on. In each case, Apple softened the policy only when forced to by regulation, because locking in the customer gives it a massive advantage and the ability to charge more money. When Apple launched a streaming service, therefore, things could have gone either way. Apple TV (or TV+, as it was initially called) could have showcased the company’s gigantic warchest and commitment to quality, or its love of a captive audience. In the event we’ve seen both. Yes, Apple has given its streaming service an advantage over rivals trying to access the iPhone-owning public: if you buy an Apple product, you get a three-month subscription thrown in. Yes, it isn’t above using product placement in Apple TV shows to market other items in the Cupertino ecosystem. Some walled-garden tricks are going on. But above all, Apple TV tries to win over customers by simply making the best shows and movies it can. Last week, the Emmy nominations for 2026 were announced, and several Apple properties were recognized in a big way. Pluribus, Slow Horses, and Your Friends & Neighbors got nods for best drama series; Shrinking, Widow’s Bay, and Margo’s Got Money Troubles for best comedy. (Netflix, by contrast, has one in each.) Apple TV shows earned 21 actor nominations, three for directing, and three for writing. And while this was Apple’s best year yet, it wasn’t a complete surprise. In 2025, the stand-out performers were Severance and The Studio, plus, inevitably, the perennially beloved Slow Horses. If we base our verdict on the contents of Apple’s award cabinet, it would appear that the product is good. I’m hesitant, nevertheless, to make too simplistic a connection between awards nominations and content quality. Apple may have outshone its streaming rivals in the Emmys’ prestige categories this year–-and famously beat them to the first streaming Oscar for Best Picture–-but Netflix still got more Emmy nominations overall this year, by a score of 111 to 87. You can put this down to a deeper catalogue (with entries in more categories) and a longer track record: Apple is still the upstart in this field, and it’s impressive that the company has made the progress and built up the momentum that it has. It’s not like other streamers are unable to make the kind of shows and movies that awards committees like. It’s more that they don’t know what to do with them when they come along. One of Netflix’s great successes of this year, Beef, got 16 nominations… but as the A.V. Club points out, it saw a 70 percent viewership decline from season 1 to season 2. Something has gone wrong there. What I like most of all about Apple TV, by contrast, is its commitment. Widow’s Bay is a deeply odd comedy as well as being very funny (and frequently scary). Pluribus and Severance feel almost arthouse, the sort of niche experimentation nobody could possibly imagine as a mainstream smash. But Apple is backing all three with deep funding and heavy promotion. It may follow the Netflix route at some point. For now, Apple is following its old tech hardware playbook: make good products, and everything else will follow naturally. Foundry Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too. Trending: Top stories Skip the iPhone Ultra. Something better is coming. Watch out! Here are 10 safety features every iPhone user needs to turn on. Alex Blake thinks Apple hiked Mac prices at exactly the wrong time. We round up 10 clever uses for your iPhone’s USB-C port. Mahmoud Itani closed his rings for 500 days by cracking the Apple Watch code. watchOS 27’s new Siri finally fixed Jason Cross’s dumb timer problem. Reviews corner espresso Lite 15: Great-value portable monitor. Mophie StealthCharge: Wireless charging without the heat. Orico MiniLink: Dual SSD hub for Mac mini. Ugreen Mac mini SSD Dock: More storage, more ports. The rumor mill More iPhone Air 2 details emerge–and it’s looking like the upgrade of the year. The folding iPhone Ultra could follow the iPhone X’s path: Late and expensive. The iPhone 18 Pro probably won’t be as thick as the latest rumors say. Cheaper Vision Pro takes another hit as Apple reportedly scraps key component. Video of the week @macworld.com Infamous Apple leaker info-dumps almost every iPhone Air 2 detail #iphoneair2 #apple ♬ original sound – Macworld – Macworld The iPhone Air 2 is looking like a really nice improvement. For more videos, follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Software updates, bugs, and problems macOS 27 in depth: How AI upgrades Freeform, Notes, Weather, and more. Apple to end support for encrypted Mac OS Extended drives–here’s what it means. Some Apple Intelligence for Home features require a 2TB iCloud+ subscription. And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters, including our new email from The Macalope–an irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, or X for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.

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Your favorite AI tools are getting expensive — this bundle puts them together for a flat $60
Macworld TL;DR: 1min.AI brings ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI models into one platform, with lifetime access available for $59.97 (MSRP $540) through July 19. Between ChatGPT, Claude, and the endless stream of new AI tools, keeping up can quickly turn into a pile of monthly charges. Instead of paying for each service separately, 1min.AI brings top AI models together in one place. Right now through July 19, you can lock in lifetime access to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and more for an all-time low of $59.97 (MSRP $540). Instead of dumping everything into one generic chat box, 1min.AI organizes its tools into specific use cases. Choose what you want to do, like write a blog post, generate an image, or summarize a PDF, then pick which AI model to use. From there, enter your prompt and get results tailored to that exact task. Your lifetime subscription also comes with the highest monthly credit allowance 1min.AI offers, meaning you can run hundreds of requests every month without hitting a paywall. For most people, that’s far more than they’ll ever need. And because the credit system refreshes monthly, you’ll always have the power to tackle your next big project. Until July 19, get your 1min.AI lifetime subscription on sale for $59.97 with no coupon needed (MSRP $540). 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan Lifetime SubscriptionSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

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Amazon revives $199 AirPods Pro 3 deal after Prime Day
Amazon's post-Prime Day Apple deals are still delivering, with AirPods Pro 3 dropping to their best price since the mega shopping event concluded.Grab AirPods Pro 3 for just $199 at Amazon.Amazon has dropped AirPods Pro 3 back down to $199.99 this week, marking the best post-Prime Day price on Apple's flagship earbuds. While it's not as low as the record discount we saw leading up to Prime Day, the $50 savings beats Black Friday 2025 pricing by $20 and is the strongest deal to return since Prime Day ended last month.Buy AirPods Pro 3 for $199.99 Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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