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- Tuesday February 10
- 11:27 pm1 in 4 smartphones active worldwide is an iPhone
Apple has a much larger global active installed base than any rival, with about one in four active smartphones being an iPhone. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)11:07 pmDiscord age verification not a requirement for every user, but still bad
Discord is relying on algorithmic data analysis and third-party vendors to handle age verification, but it has clarified that not everyone will be met with explicit age checks.Everyone is treated as a child on Discord until they try to access adult contentThe latest update from Discord's safety team seems to be a big step back from its earlier promise, though not much has actually changed. The controversial move will have everyone's account set to teen by default, and while some will need to do age verification via face or ID scan, not everyone will.This "clarification" was issued after mass pushback about the moderation changes taking place on the social platform. Discord says it has used this system in the UK and Australia since the end of 2025 and is now rolling it out globally to meet regulatory requirements for online services. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums10:40 pmiPhone full again? This $30 photo backup stick fixes it instantly.
The Photo Backup Stick Omega Universal packs 64GB of storage and tips for USB-C, Lightning and micro USB. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)10:30 pmJapan tech groups say Apple’s new payment rules are ‘not a viable option’ for developers | 9 to 5 MacJapan tech groups say Apple’s new payment rules are ‘not a viable option’ for developers
Following a recent change to multiple App Store rules in Japan, a coalition representing more than 600 local companies is calling for further regulatory action. Here are the details. more…10:05 pmiPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max starting prices expected to remain unchanged – analysts | Mac Daily NewsiPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max starting prices expected to remain unchanged – analysts
Many investors assume Apple will have to raise prices on the iPhone 18 line as a result [of increasing DRAM prices]. But increasingly… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.09:51 pmFind My outage & iCloud issues hit users once again
Apple has acknowledged that users may be encountering issues with iCloud services, Photos sync, or an outright outage with Find My on Tuesday afternoon.Another services outage has affected usersEverything you do on an iPhone touches some kind of service, which can experience an outage from time to time. If you noticed that a file just won't sync, or you can't see your friend's location, it's because of an ongoing issue.According to Apple's System Status page, various iCloud services began facing issues around 2:02 p.m. ET and Find My saw a full outage that began at 3:04 p.m. ET. Users attempting to utilize those features could encounter errors or endless loading. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums09:50 pmCrossOver 26 update adds compatibility for blockbuster 'Expedition 33' and 'HellDivers 2' | AppleInsiderCrossOver 26 update adds compatibility for blockbuster 'Expedition 33' and 'HellDivers 2'
The newly updated CrossOver 26 for macOS Tahoe updates WINE, bringing the award-winning "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33," "HellDivers 2," and many more to Mac gamers.CrossOver 26 now available for MacCrossOver is a Windows compatibility layer for macOS and Linux, designed to enable Mac users to run both productivity applications and games. According to the devs, this version includes Wine 11, which by itself brings over 6,000 changes for better game and application compatibility.It also includes D3DMetal 3.0, DXMT v0.72, Wine Mono 10.4.1, and vkd3d 1.18. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums09:48 pmDiscord backtracks on controversial age verification rollout…kind of
Yesterday Discord announced that users would soon be required to have their age verified or be restricted to teen-level access on the service. Today, there’s a follow-up post from Discord that backtracks some on the expected impact of its new policy. more…09:34 pm2025 sales surge means one in four smartphones on Earth is an iPhone
It was a good year for smartphone sales, but Apple in particular took home all of the accolades with its iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 series performing so well across 2025.iPhone 17 demand helped drive iPhone sales in 2025The charts keep moving in an upward direction with the Q1 2026 earnings showing a record $143.8 billion in revenue. That was primarily driven by iPhone demand, which was high in spite of pundits' arguments about Apple's place in the AI race.According to a report from Counterpoint Research, Apple's iPhone makes up one of every four smartphones on Earth. The smartphone market grew by 2% overall in 2025, and eight OEMs now have over 200 million users in their install base. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums09:28 pmVSCO’s Film 02 preset Pack available for Adobe Lightroom as a limited-time release
The updated pack emulates classic analog film stocks, including Kodak, Fuji, and Ilford, and now supports modern cameras. Here’s how to install it. more…09:22 pmApple experiencing outages with iCloud, Photos, Find My, more
Apple’s system status page has confirmed ongoing issues with a variety of web services, including iCloud, Photos, Find My, and more. more…09:11 pmNew MacBook Air coming soon: Here’s what we know
While the MacBook Pro is stealing headlines, Apple’s most popular laptop is also set to get an upgrade soon. Here’s everything we know about the next-generation MacBook Air. more…08:59 pmApple removing ‘iTunes Wish List’ feature, here’s how to migrate selections
The legacy iTunes Wish List feature for saving movies and TV shows to buy or rent later is “going away soon,” according to Apple. For customers with items still saved to an iTunes Wish List, Apple is providing one last chance to migrate to the modern equivalent. more…08:28 pmGF Securities: Apple supply chain survey suggests ‘solid outlook’
Apple remains in focus on Tuesday after GF Securities reported that a recent survey of Apple's supply chain points to a “solid outlook.” The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.08:11 pmiPhone now accounts for nearly one in four active smartphones worldwide: report
A new Counterpoint Research report breaks down the global active smartphone installed base in 2025, with the iPhone leading the way. Here are the details. more…07:53 pmApple Watch Activity badges: Get the Heart Month challenge on Valentine’s Day
Macworld Achievement badges are a funny thing. You know they’re just a simple little bit of visual flair, they don’t even do anything, and yet for some reason you just have to collect them. Gamification can be a great motivator, and the achievement badges for the activity tracking on the Apple Watch have inspired many users to get more exercise. If you want to maximize your badge count, you’re going to want to chase down as many activity achievements as you can. Most are available year-round, but there are also some time-limited special events to grab, too. Here’s a list of all the activity achievements for the Apple Watch and how to unlock them. Updated February 10, 2026: In recognition of Hearth Month, Apple has a badge you can earn on Valentine’s Day, February 14. Apple Watch Series 11 Price When Reviewed: From $399 Best Prices Today: $299 at Amazon | $299 at Best Buy US | $299.99 at Target Standard achievements Most of the achievements can be earned year-round. If you open the Activity app on your iPhone, then head over to the Achievements tab, you’ll see some of them listed even before you earn them (in which case they will be represented by a grey outline). However, there are some achievements that are not shown until you earn them. Past and future monthly challenges, for example, won’t show up, nor do all the various individual exercise workouts. Here is a list of all the standard badges you can get. First [exercise] Workout The first time you perform a new exercise for at least 5 minutes, you’ll get a achievement badge. Every workout type that does not fall under the “Other” category is eligible for this badge: from walking to yoga to HIIT to hiking and more. Activities with both indoor and outdoor variants, like Cycling and Walking, are bundled together; you can do either activity to get the badge, and can only get it once. [exercise] Workout Record Every time you beat your previous best record for calories burned in any of the exercises listed above, you get this badge. There is one caveat: You must complete five workouts of that type first. If you want to game the system, make sure your first four workouts of each type are short and easy, so it won’t take much effort to beat them. You get a badge the first time you do each major exercise type, and when you break a record. 7-Workout Week Simply complete any workout of at least 15 minutes every day of the week. Note that the week is Monday-Sunday, and you have to do a workout on each of those days (you can’t simply do any seven days in a row). If you start a walking workout whenever you walk outside, you can achieve this easily. New Move Record Any day that your Move ring goes further than ever before (meaning you burned more calories in a day), you’ll earn this award. There’s one catch: you have to use your Apple Watch for 10 days before you can complete this. New Exercise Record This is just like the Move Record achievement, only for the green ring. This one is based on minutes of exercise, not calories burned, so it’s really easy to get. Just like the Move Record achievement, you have to use your Apple Watch for 10 days first. Move Goal 200%, 300%, 400% You earn this when you exceed your calorie target (the red Move ring) by 2x, 3x, or 4x, respectively. In other words, it’s given for making the red activity ring go around two, three, or four times in a day. It’s easy to get if you just set your Move goal very low. Double, triple, and quadruple your Move ring goal. Reduce your goal if you’re having trouble. New Move Goal Every time you change your daily Move goal, and then exceed that new goal, you get this achievement. You can change your Move goal by opening the Activity app on your Apple Watch and force-pressing the screen. Longest Move Streak When you hit your Move goal (close the red ring) several days in a row, that’s a “streak.” You get this award when your streak finally ends, if it’s longer than your previous best streak. Perfect Week This is given out for four categories: Move, Exercise, Stand, and All Activity. For the first three, simply close the rings (red, green, or blue) every day of the week. To get the Perfect Week (All Activity) badge, close all three rings every day for an entire week. You can earn this multiple times, though it only shows one badge. Remember, one week in the Activity app is from Monday-Sunday! Close those rings every day from Monday to Sunday to earn a handful of badges. Perfect Month Unlike Perfect Week, there are not multiple different Perfect Month badges for the different color rings. The lone Perfect Month achievement is for closing the red Move ring every day of the month. There’s a separate Perfect Month badge for every month and every year, though. So you can earn this in February and again in March, and again in February in the next year. Monthly Challenge Each month has its own unique fitness challenge. If you have notifications set for the Activity app on our Apple Watch, you’ll see the goal presented at the beginning of the month, but you’ll also see the current month’s challenge in the Achievements tab of the Activity app on your iPhone. It will be a grey outline before it’s completed, but you can tap on it to see what the challenge entails. The monthly challenge may task you with burning a specific number of calories, working out a number of times, or traveling a certain distance. There’s no telling what each new month will bring, you just have to look! There’s a different challenge every month, so check your Activity app. 100, 365, 500, 1,000 Move Goals When you hit your daily Move goal (close the red ring) 100 times, you get an achievement badge. You get another for hitting it 365 times, 500 times, and 1,000 times. These do not need to be in a row; it’s just the total number of times you’ve ever hit the goal. Close the Move ring often to unlock a series of badges. Set the Move goal low if you want to make it easier. Apple Watch Ultra 2 Read our review Price When Reviewed: $799 (base) Best Prices Today: $799 at Apple | $923.99 at Best Buy US | Not Available at Adorama Limited Achievements Apple offers multiple one-off challenges per year that are only available for a limited time. Often, they’re only around for one day or one weekend. Some are limited to the U.S. because they’re based on U.S. holidays. You’ll get a notification on your Apple Watch when one of them is coming up (make sure you have notifications enabled for the Activity app, using the Watch app on your iPhone). Heart Month challenge (February 14, 2026) Foundry Close your exercise ring on Valentine’s Day, February 14, to earn this award. Your heart will love you for it. New Year 2026 (January 2026) Foundry Start the year strong and stay active! Earn this award by closing all three Activity rings for seven days in a row in January. World Meditation Day (December 21, 2025) Foundry Time to celebrate World Meditation Day! On December 21, record five mindful minutes or more with the Mindfulness app or any app that adds mindful minutes to Health to earn this special badge. Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2025) Foundry Earn this award on November 11 by doing any workout for 11 minutes or more. Record your time with the Workout app or any app that adds workouts to Health. World Mental Health Day Challenge (October 10, 2025) Foundry Record 10 minutes of mindfulness or meditation with any app that adds mindful minutes to Health to get this award. National Parks Challenge (August 24, 2025) Foundry The anniversary of the founding of the U.S. National Parks is on August 25. Every year, Apple celebrates this is a global National Parks badge (on the 24th this year, since the 25th is a Monday). Just do a workout of 20 minutes or more on August 24 with any app that records workouts the the Health app to earn this badge. Global Running Day (June 4, 2025) Apple Apple’s description says: “Let’s run this one together. On June 4, record a running workout and go at least 5K (3.1 mi) to earn this special badge. Record it with any app that adds workouts to Health.” Global Close Your Rings Day (April 24, 2025) Apple To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of the first Apple Watch. Users who close all three Activity rings will earn a limited-edition award, plus 10 animated stickers and an animated badge for Messages. Earth Day (April 22, 2025) Apple On April 22, celebrate Earth Day and win this award with any workout of 30 minutes or more. Try to get outside for it!07:50 pmBernstein's $340 Apple target bets on Services instead of hardware growth
Based mostly on Services growth prospects, Bernstein analyst raised his Apple price target to $340 from $325, while maintaining an Outperform rating.Analysts raise their price target for AAPLToni Sacconaghi mentioned that there's now better insight into Apple's long-term earnings potential. Apple has seen growth in services and ongoing capital returns, as highlighted in a recent research summary.Bernstein's revised target reflects confidence in Apple's ability to generate steady cash flow even as hardware demand remains uneven in some regions. The firm pointed to expanding services revenue, higher margins, and a large installed base as key supports for the higher valuation.The analyst pointed out that Apple's share repurchase program is a key factor supporting per-share earnings growth. Additionally, Apple's ability to generate free cash flow over time plays a significant role in growth. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums07:43 pmiPhone 18 Pro: Three new design updates are coming this year
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will launch this fall, and alongside packing a handful of new features, there are three design changes reportedly coming. Here’s what the latest rumors say. more…07:37 pmApple rolling out 2026 ‘Heart Month Challenge’ for the Apple Watch
Apple is inviting Apple Watch users to celebrate Valentine’s Day this Saturday with an aptly heart-themed challenge. Here are the details. more…07:31 pmiPhone 18 Pro prices should stay static as Apple cuts production costs
Another analyst has jumped on the bandwagon believing Apple won't be increasing the cost of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, with pricing expected to be the same despite intense memory pressures.iPhone 17 Pro, which the iPhone 18 Pro should look like this fallThe tech industry's current memory problem of rising prices, caused in part by the increase in AI infrastructure, is creating a problem for manufacturers of consumer devices. However, Apple seems to be insulated from the industry's woes of memory costs for the moment, and it may not be a big problem for the 2026 iPhone releases.In a note to investors, analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities says Apple is working on managing the cost of production to avoid price rises. His supply chain sources say this includes negotiations with memory providers such as Samsung and SK Hynix to secure favorable terms, despite DRAM and NAND chip prices soaring. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums