Amazon crushes it with $179 AirPods Pro 2, $299 Apple Watch Series 9 deals
Amazon has issued fresh price cuts on Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C and Apple Watch styles, delivering the cheapest prices of the year.Amazon's Apple sale offers discounts of up to $300 off.Less than two weeks remain until Mother's Day and Amazon's latest AirPods sale can help you pick up a wonderful gift for Mom at a discount. While supplies last, AirPods Pro 2 with the latest USB-C charging case are on sale for $179, saving you $70 off retail.Buy for $179 Continue Reading on AppleInsider

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iPhone users try telling their bosses the alarm didn't go off
An unknown number of iPhone users have been reporting that their alarms may go off on time, but without making a sound, so it's not their fault they're late at all.Your iPhone may think you need a lie-inMaybe Apple's latest earnings are going to be so bad that the company is experimenting with making people sleep in and miss the call. Or possibly iPhone users are letting their alarms vibrate instead of make sounds.While there are long-standing threads on the Apple support forums about the issue, the one solid fact appears to be that the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern has a really tight schedule. According to her tweet asking if the rumors are true, she gets up at 6:50 A.M. daily. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Fast-charge iPhone on the go with Pitaka’s new Qi2 car mount
Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 gives you 15W of fast charging on the go for iPhones and Android phones alike. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Fast-charge iPhone on the go with Pitaka’s new Qi2 car mount
Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 gives you 15W of fast charging on the go for iPhones and Android phones alike. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Fast-charge iPhone on the go with Pitaka’s new Qi2 car mount
Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 gives you 15W of fast charging on the go for iPhones and Android phones alike. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Fast-charge iPhone on the go with Pitaka’s new Qi2 car mount
Pitaka MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2 gives you 15W of fast charging on the go for iPhones and Android phones alike. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Apple launches Beats Solo Buds and Beats Solo 4 headphones
Apple subsidiary Beats on Tuesday announced the expansion of its bestselling product family with the all-new Beats Solo Buds true wireless… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Today in Apple history: First iPad 3G tablets land in customers’ hands
On April 30, 2010, the first Wi-Fi + 3G models arrived in the hands of U.S. customers. The tablet became Apple's fastest-selling new product. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Apple Confirms iPhone Alarm Failure Reports
Apple has confirmed reports [video link] of a software glitch causing some iPhone alarms to fail to play a sound. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Apple working on fix for bug causing iPhone alarms to not play sounds
Over the last several weeks, a number of reports on social media have surfaced from iPhone users claiming their alarms don’t properly play a sound. Apple has since confirmed that it’s aware of this problem, and says it is working on a fix. more…

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AI hardware is like trying to invent the iPod after the iPhone
For some reason which utterly eludes me, 2024 seems to be the year of AI hardware. We’ve had the Humane AI Pin, the Rabbit R1, and even former Apple design chief Jony Ive reportedly seeking a billion-dollar bet for his own attempt. Reviews of Humane were brutal, with those who tried it as unimpressed by its performance as they were bemused as to its purpose – and the Rabbit R1 isn’t faring too much better, with Marques Brownlee describing it as “barely reviewable” … more…

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It makes no sense to give the iPad Pro an M4 chip before the Mac
Macworld When you’re a kid, being an inventor sounds like an impossibly glamorous job–and a simple one, too. All you have to do is invent something brilliant (like, say, the iPad), then sit back and wait for the checks to roll in. But when you grow up you learn about capitalism and investors and stock prices and realize that everything is a lot more complicated. One-off brilliance is not enough—you need an ongoing revenue stream, and that means releasing new things on a regular basis, each preferably better than the last. Finding ways to make the iPad better every 18 months (but not so good that you can’t surpass it again next time) is tricky enough, but Apple made another rod for its own back when it split the device into multiple lines: the standard iPad, the iPad mini, the iPad Air, the iPad Pro. Now you have to make sure the iPad is better than last year’s model, the iPad Air is better than the iPad, and the Pro is better than the Air… but not so much better that the weaker product doesn’t get any sales at all. The whole thing is an unenviable juggling act, equal parts innovation, compromise, and planned obsolescence. Thanks to its inconsistent naming conventions, confusing technical differences, and intimidating range of sizes and storage capacities, Apple’s iPad range has long been a nightmare for the casual buyer. But at least, up to now, the headache has been confined to the tablet range. That may soon change if we can believe a surprising new report that says the iPad Pro is about to jump from the M2 to the M4 processor. Bump the Pro to an M4 and Mac customers are going to be just as confused as the poor iPad buyers. The MacBook Pro only just got an M3 processor in March—so why would Apple upstage it so soon? The MacBook Pro only just got an M3 processor in March—so why would Apple upstage it so soon?Foundry The MacBook Pro only just got an M3 processor in March—so why would Apple upstage it so soon?Foundry Foundry Macworld readers are a knowledgeable bunch, so this may be a difficult thought experiment. But try for a moment to put yourself in the shoes of Joe and Jane Q Applebuyer lining up at the Apple Store to buy a laptop for work. They browse the selections and settle on an M3 MacBook Pro before sauntering over to the iPad table. Suddenly they need to grasp why the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro has a mere M3 processor when the flagship iPad has a newer and presumably faster M4. And if they stop at the Mac mini table, they’ll see an M2 chip and just ask more questions. Now a weary retail employee will have to explain what’s going on, talk about sustained speeds and graphics, the nature of Apple silicon and its upgrade cycle, the kind of work that’s done on each, unified memory, and other specs to explain the distinction between the two lines. Logically, an iPad doesn’t need to be as powerful as a Mac because (for now) Apple has more control over the software it’s permitted to run. iPad apps are designed with predictable hardware in mind. The top-end iPad Pro at any given time will be able to happily run everything on the store at top settings because the devs would be insane to calibrate them in any other way. Macs are a different matter because macOS software can come from anywhere—even ported from the world of Windows-based gaming rigs. Macs themselves are more variable and customizable than iPads, which means developers have less of a clear target audience, in turn creating more variation in system requirements and making very high specs more of an advantage. And despite what Apple will have you think, the type of work people do on their Macs is inherently different than on an iPad. Simply put: The iPad doesn’t need as much power as a Mac. Giving the iPad Pro an M4, then, would be a bizarre decision for two reasons. It wouldn’t really benefit the iPad Pro, because it doesn’t need an M4. And it would hurt the Mac range, whose M2 and M3 machines would instantly appear underpowered, and create confusion for Mac buyers. The only beneficiary of the decision would be Apple’s tablet marketing department, who need an eye-catching way to upsell iPad buyers from the Air to the Pro model. Don’t buy that stinky old M2-powered Air! Buy this M4-powered Pro instead. “It does AI.”™️ Mark Gurman, the author of that surprising report, points out the M4’s advanced neural engine as a main reason for Apple to add the M4 to “lay out its AI chip strategy without distraction.” If that’s the case, perhaps Apple will brand the iPad Pro’s new chip as a unique edition of the M3 (Bionic? Plus?) as it did with the A12X in 2018 and A12Z in 2020. Then Apple can focus on the neural engine and better AI capabilities, eliminate any potential confusion with the Mac, and still give the iPad Pro its own identity. Don’t ask how they’re going to market the next iPad Pro, by the way. That’s a problem for someone else. iPad

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iPhone 16 may come in new color-infused green
A leaker claims to have seen what Apple's rumored green color-infused coating for the iPhone 16 and maybe the iPhone 16 Pro looks like.The "Alpine Green" back of the iPhone 13 ProOne previous leaker claimed that the iPhone 16 Pro would come solely in Space Black, White, Gray, and Rose. But that same leaker also said that Apple was going to use the color-infusing technique it did on the iPhone 15, for the new Pro models.Now a separate leaker, "Fixed Focus Digital," has claimed on Chinese social media site Weibo that there is to be a color-infused green in the range too. This leaker has previously said that there would be green, plus white and purple. Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Beats affordable Solo Buds and Solo 4 headphones go official
Beats has announced two affordable earphones and headphones, the Beats Solo Buds and Solo 4, offering long battery life. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Apple Targets Google Staff To Build AI Team
Apple has poached dozens of AI experts from Google and has created a secretive European laboratory in Zurich, as the tech giant builds a team to battle rivals in developing new AI models and products. From a report: According to a Financial Times analysis of hundreds of LinkedIn profiles as well as public job postings and research papers, the $2.7tn company has undertaken a hiring spree over recent years to expand its global AI and machine learning team. The iPhone maker has particularly targeted workers from Google, attracting at least 36 specialists from its rival since it poached John Giannandrea to be its top AI executive in 2018. While the majority of Apple's AI team work from offices in California and Seattle, the tech group has also expanded a significant outpost in Zurich. Professor Luc Van Gool from Swiss university ETH Zurich said Apple's acquisitions of two local AI start-ups -- virtual reality group FaceShift and image recognition company Fashwell -- led Apple to build a research laboratory, known as its "Vision Lab," in the city. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Beats Solo 4 headphones review: Great audio quality and features
The new Beats Solo 4 announced on Tuesday is probably the best choice for people wanting near-premium headphones in the Apple ecosystem without dealing with nosebleed prices.Blue Beats Solo 4 headphones on a wooden desk with a black case and reflections in a room.The Beats Solo3 has been a long-standing pair of entry-level headphones in the company's lineup. It's held up well over time.Seven years after its debut, you'd expect there would have been another version available before now. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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New Beats Solo Buds offers budget-friendly audio in a tiny case
Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre has added to its wireless earbuds lineup with the Beats Solo Buds, offering a budget option to consumers.Beats Solo Buds worn by Naomi OsakaLaunched on Tuesday, the Beats Solo Buds follow after the Beats Fit Pro, Beats Studio Buds , and Powerbeats Pro in being totally wireless earphones.Effectively replacing the Beats Studio Buds as the budget option, the Beats Solo Buds offer a lot functionality for its price tag. That includes a custom acoustic architecture with nozzles and laser-cut vents made with ergonomics in mind, relieving pressure inside the ear canal. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Beats Solo 4 hands-on: the most iconic Beats headphones just got better
Apple has officially taken the wraps off its new Beats Solo 4 headphones today, the first update in eight years to one of the best-selling Beats products I’ve been using the Beats Solo 4 for the past week (listening to hours and hours of Taylor Swift). Head below for a roundup of what’s new and my first impressions. more…

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Apple debuts new Beats Solo Buds with 18-hour battery life for $79
Alongside the launch of Beats Solo 4 today, Apple has also announced new Beats Solo Buds earbuds. The new Beats Solo Buds pack a truly wireless design with an incredibly impressive 18 hours of battery life and $79.99 price. These represent the most affordable truly wireless earbuds that Apple or Beats has released to date. more…

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Rumor: iOS 18 to add new ‘Web Eraser’ and page summarization features to Safari
Apple is reportedly planning big updates to Safari as part of iOS 18 and macOS 15 later this year. According to a report on Tuesday, the changes will include a new AI-powered tool called “Intelligent Search” with page summarization, a “Web Eraser” feature, and more. more…

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