Today in Apple history: Steve Jobs gets hitched
On March 18, 1991, Steve Jobs married 27-year-old Laurene Powell. They had three children together and remained married until his death. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Read more »

AirPods Max 2 are here, but rumors say a bigger overhaul might be coming
Apple unveiled AirPods Max 2 earlier this week, with lots of new features to entice upgrades from prior AirPods Max models. If you’re on the fence about AirPods Max 2, you should know that another new model might be coming next year. more…

Read more »

Judge rules Apple can remove apps from App Store ‘with or without cause,’ dismissing Musi lawsuit
A federal judge has ruled in Apple's favor in a lawsuit brought by the developers of Musi, a popular free music streaming app that pulled… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

Apple Can Delist Apps 'With Or Without Cause,' Judge Says In Loss For Musi App
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Musi, a free music streaming app that had tens of millions of iPhone downloads and garnered plenty of controversy over its method of acquiring music, has lost an attempt to get back on Apple's App Store. A federal judge dismissed Musi's lawsuit against Apple with prejudice and sanctioned Musi's lawyers for "mak[ing] up facts to fill the perceived gaps in Musi's case." Musi built a streaming service without striking its own deals with copyright holders. It did so by playing music from YouTube, writing in its 2024 lawsuit against Apple that "the Musi app plays or displays content based on the user's own interactions with YouTube and enhances the user experience via Musi's proprietary technology." Musi's app displayed its own ads but let users remove them for a one-time fee of $5.99. Musi claimed it complied with YouTube's terms, but Apple removed it from the App Store in September 2024. Musi does not offer an Android app. Musi alleged that Apple delisted its app based on "unsubstantiated" intellectual property claims from YouTube and that Apple violated its own Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) by delisting the app. Musi was handed a resounding defeat yesterday in two rulings from US District Judge Eumi Lee in the Northern District of California. Lee found that Apple can remove apps "with or without cause," as stipulated in the developer agreement. Lee wrote (PDF): "The plain language of the DPLA governs because it is clear and explicit: Apple may 'cease marketing, offering, and allowing download by end-users of the [Musi app] at any time, with or without cause, by providing notice of termination.' Based on this language, Apple had the right to cease offering the Musi app without cause if Apple provided notice to Musi. The complaint alleges, and Musi does not dispute, that Apple gave Musi the required notice. Therefore, Apple's decision to remove the Musi app from the App Store did not breach the DPLA." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read more »

Bad vibes: Apple blocks updates for some AI coding apps in the App Store
Apple is clamping down on apps with AI vibe coding capabilities listed in the App Store, preventing the rapid creation of apps that don't pass through the App Store Review process.Vibe coding is OK in Xcode, but not in some apps in the App StoreVibe coding has become a phenomenon that enables non-coders the ability to create apps, by harnessing AI. However, while making apps is now much easier for the uninitiated, Apple is working to prevent some forms of vibe coding from taking place.In an investigation by The Information published on Wednesday, Apple has blocked coding apps including Replit and Vibecode from receiving updates in the App Store. The move is seemingly temporary, as Apple wants modifications to be made to the apps. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

Apple One is better than ever, here are my favorite recent additions
Apple One bundles together popular Apple services at a discount, and it continues becoming a better value all the time thanks to new improvements for each service. Here are some of my favorite recent Apple One additions. more…

Read more »

Apple CEO Cook heads to China amid growing pressure on App Store policies
Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared at a company event in China on Wednesday, following the recent reduction in App Store fees for developers… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

Apple pushing back on ‘vibe coding’ iPhone apps, developers say
AI is making app development easier than ever. However, a new report claims Apple’s App Store isn’t fully embracing these new tools. Companies behind two “vibe coding” apps that let you create tools by entering text prompts into an AI system say Apple is pushing back on the category. more…

Read more »

AirPods Pro 3 drop back to all-time low price
Apple's high-end, noise-canceling earbuds already provide incredible value, and this AirPods Pro 3 deal makes them way more affordable. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Read more »

Download these super-cute Little Finder Guy 5K wallpapers
Apple created an adorable Little Finder Guy to promote the MacBook Neo on TikTok, and PCalc developer James Thompson turned them into some equally delightful 5K wallpapers. Three of them are in the classic blue and white color scheme, while two others are rather more colorful … more…

Read more »

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16: Newer isn’t always better
The iPhone 17e is newer and faster, but iPhone 16 holds key advantages. When it comes to iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16, which makes more sense? (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Read more »

Key Apple Home hardware exec defects to rival Oura in blow to oft-delayed HomeKit push
Brian Lynch, who has led Apple’s home devices hardware engineering efforts since 2022, is leaving the company to join Oura Health Oy as… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

MacBook Neo is just fine with 4K video editing and 59 Chrome tabs
Sam Henri Gold last week wrote a rather sweet blog post about the difference between advice from tech reviewers and real-world usage of our devices. He rejected arguments by reviewers saying that the MacBook Neo is not the right machine for those wanting to do things like video editing, and a new test backs his view … more…

Read more »

Tim Cook dashes over to China for the latest Apple anniversary concert
Apple CEO Tim Cook's world tour continues with a stop in Western China to meet fans and photograph them with his iPhone 17 Pro Max.Tim Cook in China — image credit: Star News on YouTubeContinuing the series of worldwide events marking Apple's 50the anniversary, the Apple Chengdu Taikoo Li store in China has hosted a concert by Chris Lee. Lee, also known as Li Yuchun, performed on a specially constructed multi-level stage outside the store, featuring elevating platforms, and a dozen dancers. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

AI-Powered Cyberattacks Raise Alarm Among IT Leaders
Nearly eight out of 10 global IT decision-makers say artificial intelligence poses a significant security threat as AI-driven attacks accelerate in speed and scale. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

Read more »

Apple’s 50th anniversary celebrations in China marred by government pressure
We noted yesterday that Apple’s 50th anniversary celebrations, which began in New York, were moving on to China. CEO Tim Cook was spotted at a celebratory event in Chengdu. Unfortunately for the company, the party atmosphere has been rather dampened by a dispute with the Chinese government … more…

Read more »

Ikea smart home failings point to a major problem with Matter
Ikea smart home products have long been the preferred choice of those who want to begin or expand a smart home at an affordable price. The company’s use of physical remotes also simplified the process for those new to the technology. But when the company expanded its lineup with some budget Matter-over-Thread devices, things rather quickly headed south – with Apple Home users among those affected … more…

Read more »

South Korea hosts K-Pop stars Cortis for Apple anniversary event
Apple's worldwide celebration of its 50th anniversary continued with a Today at Apple special in South Korea, hosted by boy band Cortis.K-Pop band Cortis — image credit: AppleFollowing both the Alicia Keys concert in New York and Li Yuchun in China, Apple's celebrations changed gear to offer a rather different musical performance in South Korea. Instead of solely a concert, South Korean boy band Cortis presented a special Today at Apple talk at Apple Myeongdong in Seoul.In translation, Apple's South Korea site said that the Cortis group were to talk about making their smash-hit chart success. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Read more »

M5 Pro/Max MacBooks finally break Apple’s multi-monitor shackles
Macworld Apple still doesn’t support Multi-Stream Transport (MST) on macOS, but with the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, that limitation matters far less. For the first time, high-end MacBooks can drive three or even four external displays from a single Thunderbolt connection, up from a long-standing limit of two, bringing them closer to the multi-monitor setups long associated with Windows machines. This matters most for power users who rely on multiple screens, such as developers and creatives, especially those using Thunderbolt docks to simplify their desk setups. In practice, it means fewer cables, less reliance on DisplayLink and other workarounds, and the ability to run larger multi-screen workspaces from a single connection. This article explains what’s changed, how these new display capabilities work in practice, and what it means for anyone using, or considering, a Thunderbolt dock or multi-screen setup with a Mac. How many displays are supported over one cable M5 Pro: Drives three displays over one Thunderbolt cable M5 Max: Drives four displays over one Thunderbolt cable M4 Pro and M4 Max and earlier: Drive up to two external displays over a single Thunderbolt port M1 and M2 chips and A18 Pro: Just one display supported What you need Thunderbolt 5 dock Available ports Three to four monitors (fourth will require daisy-chaining) Macs with an M5 Pro now support up to three external displays, and M5 Max Macs can run four displays over a single Thunderbolt cable. The previous-generation M4 Pro and M4 Max (and earlier chips) supported only up to two external displays over a single Thunderbolt port. (The plain M1 and M2 chips, plus the MacBook Neo’s A18 Pro, can handle just one unless you add DisplayLink software.) This advance in Apple’s new MacBooks also means that certified Thunderbolt 5 Mac docking stations that were previously advertised as supporting just two external displays should now be able to support that same number of monitors as the M5 Pro (three) and M5 Max (four) allow via their single cable connection to the MacBook. The M5 Max MacBook Pro can extend to four external displays via a single Thunderbolt cable, doubling the dock potential of the M4 Max…Simon Jary Docking station display support Thunderbolt 5 docks are where these new display capabilities become most useful. Most now support up to three external displays when paired with an M5 Pro MacBook, while some can handle four with the M5 Max by daisy-chaining an additional monitor. Exactly what you can run, however, still depends on the dock’s available ports and whether your monitors support features like USB-C daisy-chaining. CalDigit has confirmed that its popular TS5 and TS5 Plus docks, as well as the Element 5 Hub, now support up to three displays on M5 Pro MacBooks, and up to four displays on M5 Max. As the docks don’t feature enough ports for the fourth display, the extra monitor for the M5 Max would have to be daisy-chained from one of the others. The monitors involved would need to support USB-C daisy-chaining (like the new Studio Display). On the TS5 Plus, you can add one monitor to the DisplayPort and then two monitors to the downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports. With the M5 Max, you would need to daisy-chain a fourth monitor to one of the ones connected to a Thunderbolt port—or you can daisy-chain multiple monitors via one port on the TS5 Plus. On the CalDigit TS5 and Element 5 Hub, you would connect three monitors to the Thunderbolt ports, and then daisy-chain the fourth for the M5 Max. Again, you could daisy-chain multiple monitors via one Thunderbolt port. The CalDigit TS5 sees its external screen potential doubled for the M5 Max.CalDigit Satechi tested its forthcoming Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock—currently undergoing testing in the Macworld Labs—and confirmed to Macworld that it now supports three external displays on the M5 Pro/Max—it has only the three downstream Thunderbolt ports to play with. Plugable’s initial testing of its Thunderbolt 5 TBT-UDT3 docking station with the new M5 MacBooks showed positive results. It confirmed that up to three displays work well, but the company is still investigating performance with refresh rates higher than 60Hz. Until it has further clarity and additional test results, it recommends a maximum of three 4K 60Hz displays when using its Thunderbolt 5 dock. After testing its forthcoming Echo 21 Thunderbolt 5 SuperDock—also being tested by Macworld—with an M5 Pro MacBook Pro, Sonnet successfully used the dock to power three 4K 144Hz displays using two downstream Thunderbolt ports and the DisplayPort. It is currently waiting to test an M5 Max with a four-display configuration. Finally, Kensington told Macworld that its Thunderbolt 5 docks all support up to three external displays for M5 Pro and Max, while the Thunderbolt 4 docks will continue to be capped at two displays. Again, testing hasn’t been completed with the M5 Max, but a representative reported that “support for four external displays out of M5 Max is theoretically possible from the laptop’s perspective”. An M5 Pro MacBook Pro can now run three extended external displays from a one-cable connection to Satechi’s Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock, shown here.Satechi Can M5 Macs finally run multiple displays over one cable? In its support document on MacBook Pro displays can be connected to MacBook Pro, Apple states the “MacBook Pro with M5 Pro chip supports … three external displays … up to a native resolution of 6K (6144 x 3456) at 60Hz or 4K (3840 x 2160) at 144Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI” and the “MacBook Pro with M5 Max chip supports … four external displays … up to a native resolution of 6K (6144 x 3456) at 60Hz or 4K (3840 x 2160) at 144Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI.” The previous one- or two-monitor limitation—which continues for any Mac that doesn’t have at least an M5 Pro or M5 Max—is caused by the macOS for daisy-chaining or splitting multiple monitors via a single USB-C/DisplayPort/Thunderbolt cable. Apple limits this functionality at the operating system level (unlike Windows or Linux) by refusing to support Multi-Stream Transport (MST), but has built a proprietary solution into its latest chips: the M5 Max can now support up to 4x DisplayPort tunnels per port, and the M5 Pro three. Thunderbolt docks don’t rely on MST to function, making them the best option for multiple screens on a Mac via a single connection, but until the M5 Pro and M5 Max, docks were still limited to two extended displays—unless you used an accessory such as the iVanky FusionDock Max 2, which can natively support three displays out of the box. The compromise with that dock is that you must use two of the Mac’s Thunderbolt ports to connect to the Max 2. Otherwise, macOS treats multiple connected monitors as a single mirrored display, restricting it to mirroring rather than extending to three or more monitors. Instead, Mac users must connect multiple displays directly to their Mac’s individual ports or use docks that support third-party DisplayLink software, which compresses the video signals to allow more extended displays, but at a possible cost to image quality. See our reviews of the best DisplayLink docks. Satechi How can M5 Macs support more displays without MST? This new ability could be a by-product of Thunderbolt 5’s daisy-chaining prowess, according to Kensington. If the user has four Thunderbolt displays, they could connect the displays to each other and enable up to four external displays. Similarly, CalDigit believes the new M5 Pro/Max limits are by-products of Thunderbolt’s DisplayPort tunnelling, which wraps native DisplayPort video and audio signals into USB4 packets to transport them over a single USB-C cable. It acts as a sort of “repeater” that allows efficient, high-bandwidth transmission of video alongside data and power. How Apple’s latest top-end processors bend this to their will is, as yet, unknown for sure. Apple

Read more »

My MacBook Neo handled a week of stress better than I did
Macworld I noted in my MacBook Neo review that benchmarking the Neo as well as using it as a daily computer resulted in an experience that was quite satisfying. But that was only for a few days of very specific testing, and the Neo’s A18 Pro processor and 8GB of RAM, which can’t be upgraded at all, is certainly underpowered compared to the other M5 models. The chip and 8GB of RAM had not been a problem during my evaluation period. You can obviously see the difference in benchmarks, where the mobile chip and limited RAM affected performance, but by “problem,” I mean as a person using the Neo. They weren’t an issue. But the concern is real–after all, Apple only upgraded its base RAM configuration for its other Macs to 16GB nearly two years ago. So I decided to make it a problem–in other words, I used the MacBook Neo in ways to see if usability became problematic because of its low-end chip and 8GB of RAM. This meant I had to break my habits and purposefully push my Mac to its limit–and it left me a little frazzled at times. But what I found is that the Neo still feels capable under heavy loads and handled the “mess” better than I did. Here are some of the tasks I did to push the MacBook Neo as far as I could. I used the MacBook Neo to edit the Macworld Podcast in Adobe Premiere Pro.Foundry Editing 1080p video in Adobe Premiere Pro As a reviewer of Macs, when people ask me for a recommendation, I ask them what kind of stuff they do on their computer, and then I try to fit what they do with a specific Mac. But as Sam Henri Gold points out, that’s a script reviewers like me use out of convenience. A lot of people want to do what they’ve been told not to do on a $599 computer like the MacBook Neo. So I did one of those things you’re not supposed to do. I edited a few videos with Adobe Premiere Pro, a professional-level video editing tool. I edited episode 974 of the Macworld Podcast and a couple of video shorts with the MacBook Neo and its 8GB of RAM. The editing I did on the full podcast episode included basic trimming, adding lower thirds, a basic multi-camera setup, and some audio clean-up. The video shorts involved more editing, but nothing complex. I am by no means an experienced Premiere Pro user (in fact, I only recently started learning how to use it). But that’s exactly the use case a MacBook Neo user could have: they have a budget computer, and they’re just starting to learn higher-end software. They’re not going to go buy a more powerful computer just for this situation. And the whole experience went off without a hitch. I never had to wait for the Mac to catch up to what I was doing, nor did the MacBook Neo stall, hiccup, or churn. The only thing where I noticed a slowdown was in the export of the full podcast episode, where the 67-minute video at 1080p took 31 minutes to complete, about 10 minutes longer than it took on the M5 Max MacBook Pro. Foundry Above is a screenshot of Activity Monitor after I had finished the project and saved it, but did not quit the app. The only other apps that were open were Slack and Microsoft Edge (which I needed to access the online recording tool that we use for the podcast). I used up all of the available memory during these tasks, and macOS used the SSD as swap. When the Mac runs out of available RAM, it resorts to using the SSD. This is called swap memory, or just swap. A drawback of swap is that access speeds are slower than RAM, but Apple has a lot of confidence in its swap implementation. During this task, I ended up with 2.58GB in swap (which isn’t uncommon), but I never noticed a performance hit. Editing 4K video in Adobe Premiere Pro My next attempt to stress out the MacBook Neo was to edit 4K video in Adobe Premiere Pro. I shot the video using an iPhone 17 Pro Max at 4K and 60 frames per second. I had 20 minutes of footage where I did some basic edits, titles, transitions, and color adjustments. The only other app that was open during editing was Safari. I kept expecting the MacBook Neo to stutter and lag, but it never did. Another experience without any issues. I wasn’t doing anything complicated, but I was working with a large file and doing the kind of stuff someone learning Premiere would do. I could’ve used iMovie, but as I said, I’m learning the software, and I feel like the tasks I did were more easily done in Premiere Pro. Plus, using an Apple app is basically cheating. Foundry When I finished that project, the MacBook Neo used 1.75GB in swap. Not a lot, and it would have been more had the project been more complicated and longer. What I learned from this experience is that as I continue to use Adobe Premiere Pro and develop my skills as an editor, I should be fine with the MacBook Neo for a while. I may never need to create a cinematic video, but I can progress towards that goal on the Neo. I think there are a lot of users who are in a similar situation. Even a pro who already knows what they can do and knows what Macs they want can use a Neo if the situation calls for it. Safari browser tabs This is the task that stressed me more than the MacBook Neo. I have a habit of closing any browser tabs I am not using. I’d rather not risk a hidden tab running in the background, affecting performance, even if that’s not supposed to happen. But I went against my nature and spent an afternoon working in Safari without closing a browser tab. During a four-hour session, I used Macworld’s web-based content tools, visited websites to research articles, and after I was done with work, I did some personal browsing. By the end, I had 41 tabs open in Safari (and just a little freaked out by it). Foundry A lot of users instinctively open new tabs when they start a new search, and many don’t close unused tabs. In case you didn’t know, browsers are RAM-hungry apps, which is why I developed a habit of closing unused tabs. In my experience, the MacBook Neo used over 4GB of swap, which will vary depending on how many Safari tabs you have open. The MacBook Neo handled it all without any issues I could notice. But if you’re using any Mac with 8GB of RAM and it’s starting to feel a littlle sliggish, close a few or those tabs. Google Chrome browser tabs I did the same thing with Google Chrome: a four-hour session without closing any tabs. After a couple of hours, I had 41 tabs open (though not the same sites as in the Safari test). I set Chrome’s Memory Saver to Maximum and did my best to fight the urge to close any tabs until the session was done. As I said, browsers are RAM hungry, and Google Chrome has a reputation as a particularly resource-hungry app. At the end of four hours, the MacBook Neo had a swap that was over 5GB. Again, I didn’t notice any performance hiccups. Foundry But once again, the MacBook Neo didn’t flinch. I could switch between tabs easily, and even when I used an app and kep Chrome open in the background, there was no noticeable performance hit. I wasn’t done, however. I poshed my browser until I had 59 tabs open, stopping only when it became way too difficult to navigate. The swap grew to nearly 8GB–the swap and the installed RAM were the same size. But still, my Neo powered through. Foundry Your milage may very This is all anecdotal. Your video editing project could be much more complex, and the websites you visit could be more or less demanding on your resources. If you’re the type of person who knows 8GB of RAM isn’t enough, then the MacBook Neo isn’t for you, but making a blanket statement that it’s not good for anyone isn’t correct. My experience with the MacBook Neo remains the same as it was during the review. It’s a great Mac for everyday tasks, and will even handle the occasional pro app. I’m sure there’s a ceiling to what you can do with it, but with so much headroom, there’s a good chance you’ll never get anywhere near it. Apple MacBook Neo Read our review Price When Reviewed: $599 Best Prices Today: $595 at Amazon | $597 at Walmart | $599 at Apple

Read more »