AirTag’s best feature is now on Apple Watch, here’s how to set it up
Apple’s new AirTag comes with several improvements over the original model, one of which is that it expands AirTag’s best feature—Precision Finding—to the Apple Watch. Here’s how to set it up. more…

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Apple TV inks deal for ‘Cosmere,’ Brandon Sanderson’s literary fantasy universe
Apple TV is betting big on the next major fantasy franchise, securing the screen rights to Brandon Sanderson's expansive "Cosmere" universe… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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New AI personal finance app knows where your money goes (and costs just $30 for life)
Spendify uses AI to track expenses, build budgets and more. Grab a lifetime subscription to this personal finance app while it's on sale. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Seven of the World's Ten Best-Selling Smartphones in 2025 Were iPhones
Apple sold seven of the ten best-selling smartphones globally in 2025, a lopsided dominance that underscores how thoroughly the company controls the premium end of the mobile market. The iPhone 16 was the single best-selling phone worldwide, and Apple's presence extended all the way down to the tenth spot where the iPhone 16e -- its newest budget-friendly option -- found consistent demand in Japan and the U.S., according to Counterpoint. Samsung accounted for the remaining three positions, led by the Galaxy A16 5G as the best-selling Android device of the year. The Galaxy S25 Ultra also made the cut, marking the second straight year a Samsung flagship cracked the top ten. Together these ten phones from just two companies represented 19% of all smartphones sold during the year, continuing a four-year streak of Apple-Samsung exclusivity at the top. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ahead of earnings after the bell today, Apple stock is suffering its worse stretch since 1993
Apple's stock is under pressure as investors grapple with the impact of sharply rising memory chip prices on the company's profitability… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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'Father of the iPod' says Apple screwed up AI and should have kept going with the car
In an extensive new interview, ex-Apple iPod designer Tony Fadell calls out Apple Intelligence, says Apple got the car project wrong, but could now do an AI pin.When Tony Fadell left Apple he founded the Nest thermostat companyIt's almost two decades since Tony Fadell left Apple and started the Nest smart thermostat company. But recently his name has been mentioned as a possible successor to Tim Cook — although possibly only by himself.He has now given an hour interview to the Newcomer Podcast about everything he would do as Apple CEO — and not do. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple patches bug causing iPhone network issues in recent update
Macworld Apple has moved rapidly to address an iOS bug, which earlier this week was reported to be causing serious network issues in Australia. Telecoms firm Telstra issued a support document on Wednesday explaining that a bug was “preventing some older Apple devices from connecting to our network,” including calls to emergency services, and identifying the new iOS 16.7.13 update as the likely cause. In response Apple paused iOS 16.7.13, along with iOS 18.7.4, 15.8.6, and 12.5.8, and began an investigation. That investigation didn’t take long, and as Telstra explains on the updated support page, Apple has now pushed out a carrier settings update to resolve the issue. This applies only to users of that network running iOS 16.7.13, indicating that the problem was relatively limited in its effects. Users running iOS 12, 15, and 18 can download the update without issue. Telstra customers who already installed iOS 16.7.13 don’t need to update iOS to get the fix. Instead, they should make sure their iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi, then open the Settings app and go to General > About. A prompt should appear asking the customer to accept a carrier settings update; tapping OK will begin the installation. To confirm the process worked, customers should return to the General > About page and check the entry labelled Service Provider. If the update has installed correctly, this should now read “Telstra 54.1.” While this appears to resolve the situation, it’s worth noting that iOS 16.7.13 remains unable to install. It’s likely Apple will push a new update soon with the carrier settings fix included.

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iPhone 16 gives Apple seven of the 10 best-selling phones in 2025
New data shows the iPhone 16 was the best-selling phone of 2025, with Apple's iPhone accounting for seven of the top 10 devices of the year and Samsung making up the rest.Apple's iPhone 16 has proven popular among buyersThat data, provided by market-watchers Counterpoint Research, has Apple's 2024 entry-level iPhone 16 proving the biggest winner among buyers. Apple's 2025 lineup was also represented, starting with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in fourth spot.Between those two devices, the premium iPhone 16 Pro Max was second, with the iPhone 16 Pro third. The first non-Apple device, Samsung's budget Galaxy A16 5G, found a home in fifth. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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1-800-Flowers offers $20 off bouquets when using Apple Pay
If you’re planning to send flowers to anyone for Valentine’s Day, you can get $20 off your order at 1-800-Flowers when using Apple Pay … more…

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You may not have the Creator Studio iWork apps installed on your Mac yet
If you clicked "update" for Creator Studio iWork apps on your Mac, and walked away, you're not quite done yet. Here's what you need to finish the process, and get the new versions.There's another step you may need to complete to get iWork updatedThere's a technical reason for what Apple did here, which we will not delve that deeply into. Basically, the old Mac versions of the iWork apps were bundle-identified as macOS-specific. The new versions are universal working across macOS, iPadOS, and iOS.Because of that change in bundle identifier, there's no straight-through path to upgrading your older iWork apps to the new ones in one click. Your "update" needs to go through a new install process from the Mac App Store. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple dominated best-selling smartphone rankings, with base iPhone 17 a standout
A new market intelligence report shows that Apple dominated the best-selling smartphone rankings for 2025, and the base model iPhone 17 stands out for its position in the top 10. iPhones filled seven of the top ten positions, with Samsung not making an entry until #5 … more…

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How to download YouTube videos on a Mac: Easy, free & premium options
Macworld If the idea of a long car journey or bedtime without a connection to the internet leaves you trembling with fear, there’s a solution. You can make a copy of those YouTube videos your kids (or you) love to watch to play back offline. There are two ways to get a copy of the video you want on your Mac, as well as plenty of third party apps that will also do this. The easiest option it to use Apple’s built in screen capture tools to record what is playing on your Mac. You’ll have to play the whole video, and make sure you are capturing the sound, but it’s free. We’ll run though this process below. Before we start, we have to point out that you should be aware of copyright issues. Firstly, you shouldn’t download someone else’s video and then, for example, upload it to your own YouTube channel or use it to promote your business. You should also note that downloading YouTube videos goes against YouTube’s terms of service. The company specifies that “You shall not download any Content unless you see a ‘download’ or similar link displayed by YouTube.” On safe option is to pay for YouTube Premium, which will let you download videos onto your Mac (and iPhone or iPad) as well as allow you to watch ad-free. Once downloaded you will be able to play videos offline. There are also free and paid for apps that will also do this for you, and we will include some of these options below too. Just be cautious: if you see a warning that you need to install Flash to watch a video it really could be a scam, or at worse malware! We’ll run thought your options below and explain what you need to do to download YouTube videos on your Mac. We also discuss How to download YouTube videos to iPhone & iPad separately. PROMOTIONDownload YouTube Videos for Free – EaseUS Video Downloader EaseUS Video Downloader is a free 4K video downloader software on Mac, Windows, and Android. Simply copy and paste the video URL, and download YouTube videos, playlists, YouTube Live Video, and channels in any format like mp4, mp3, and WMV at Ultra HD definition resolution. Also, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram videos and livestreams are supported for download. Now 25% OFF Exclusive Code: MACWORLD25 DOWNLOAD FOR MACDownload for Windows How to download YouTube videos on a Mac for free It is really easy to record a YouTube video for free with software that comes with your Mac. You don’t need to download an app at all. Since macOS Mojave arrived in 2018, macOS has had an in-built screen recording feature. You can capture what is playing on your screen along with the audio. Just note that if your Mac doesn’t have an inbuilt microphone – if you have a Mac mini for example – you will need a separate microphone to capture audio. Note that your microphone will also pick up noise that isn’t in the video, such as you typing on a keyboard, so you might want to leave the room while you record the video. Foundry Here’s what to do if you want to record a YouTube video for free on your Mac: Open YouTube on your Mac. Find the video you want. Click on the option for Full Screen in the bottom right corner. Press Command + Shift + 5. Click on Record then choose Record Entire Screen. (If you didn’t choose Full Screen above choose Record Selected Portion drag the crosshairs to select the space where the video is on your screen). Click Options and make sure your microphone is selected. Click Record. Now start playing the video – make sure you have the volume on. Wait for the video to finish and then stop the video. To stop the screen recording click on the stop button in the menu at the top of the screen or in the box as seen in the image below. Foundry This is the cheapest way to record from YouTube on a Mac – it’s free! However it is necessary to wait while the whole video plays through and keep noise to a minimum – and if your Mac doesn’t have a microphone you won’t be able to record the video, plus a short video can take up a lot of space on your Mac. So if you would prefer to avoid those complications we have alternative options for you. How to download YouTube videos on a Mac with YouTube Premium Using YouTube Premium means everything is above board. Foundry There is another more official way to download YouTube videos: YouTube Premium. You can try out this method with a free trial. There is a one month trial, but it actually turned out to be two months free when we signed up. At the end of the trial period it will cost $13.99/£12.99, but you can cancel this on the manage memberships page before it renews. It’s really simple to download a video from YouTube if you have YouTube Premium. Find the video you want in YouTube. Below it you will see a Download icon. Click on this and it will change to read Downloading. Once Downloaded it will appear in your Downloads. Downloads remain available as long as your device has an active internet connection at least once every 30 days, if you don’t connect to the internet again then you will not be able to play the video after 29 days. You can change the quality of the download. By default it will download at Standard 480p, but you can switch it to High 720p or Full HD 1080p. Obviously the better quality files will take up more room on your Mac. Best apps to download YouTube video There are also some solutions on offer that will download the YouTube video for you, rather than you have to record the screen of your Mac while playing the video. This might be a preferred option if you don’t have the time to sit and wait for an hour of Peppa Pig to play. It should also result in much smaller file sizes. Downie Foundry $20, 14-day trial or $9.99 a month as part of SetappDownload Downie Downie from developer Charlie Monroe costs $20 and can be used to download and save video from thousands of websites. When you start up the app you can make various tweaks, to, for example, always download best quality, force MP4 format, and perform post-processing. Downie is available as a browser extension for Firefox, Safari and Chrome, but you can just drag and drop a link from a browser onto Downie in the Dock or it’s download window, and download the video. You can even choose the relevant subtitles. The download of a 30 minute view took seconds and the resulting video looked excellent quality and only took 77MB space on our Mac. It includes a free 14-day trial. EaseUS Video Downloader Foundry $19.99 a month (currently $12.99), free trial Download EaseUS EaseUS’s video downloaded is simple to use. Once the app is installed you can view content on a number of popular video hosting sites, including YouTube, and we were able to download videos (although we did find a few we couldn’t download). There were four download options that indicated what the file size would be. It is also possible to just download audio as an MP3. The software indicated how long the download would take and counted down the seconds remaining. We could hear the video playing in the background, but couldn’t see it. Once downloaded the video was saved to our Documents folder where we could play it. The free trial lets you download two items. Parallels ToolBox $19.99/£15.99 a year, 7-day trial Download Parallels Toolbox On the basis that going with a well-known company means you are more likely not to end up with at best bad software, at worse malware on your Mac, we’ll look at Parallels ToolBox (read our review). Parallels (our top choice of software to run Windows on a Mac) have come up with a number of tools that can be used to simplify a number of tasks on your Mac. ToolBox is the result of their experience manning a help desk for their customers running Parallels on a Mac. So many customers phoned up asking how to do various things that Parallels thought some easy to use tools might be a good solution. And so Parallels Toolbox was born. Once you have download and installed Parallels Toolbox you’ll see a toolbox icon in the menu at the top of your screen. Click on that. You’ll see a number of tools including Airplane Mode, Free Memory, Do Not Disturb, Make Gif, and Download Video. Click on Download Video. Toolbox will instruct you that you need to enable a Safari extension in order to download video. Click Enable. Now a Download Video box will open on your screen. Just copy and paste the URL from the YouTube video and paste it into the box, or drag and drop it in. An arrow will indicate that the video is downloading and a box will pop up with the details, e.g. Downloading “Peppa Pig.mp4” and you can watch as the download happens. Ours took about 10 minutes to download 88MB – but note that speed will be determined by your connection. Once the download has finished you will find the video file in your Downloads folder (which might not be immediately obvious). The file will be saved as an MPEG-4 movie. It will open and play in QuickTime on your Mac. If you are looking for an easy way to get the video from your Mac onto an iPad or iPhone one solution would be to copy the video onto iCloud so you can access it from the Files app. You can then download it from there and play it whenever you want. We have more details about saving a YouTube video to an iPhone or iPad.

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Should you update to the new Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Freeform on Mac?
Yesterday’s launch of Apple Creator Studio (ACS) created a certain amount of confusion for Mac users not planning to subscribe. Some users of Apple’s productivity apps – Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Freeform – were left wondering whether or not they should accept an invitation to update … more…

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Enable faster scrolling in Safari and more with this hidden setting
Macworld You’ve got an iPhone with ProMotion, capable of updating the screen at 120 frames per second…so why doesn’t it feel that way when you browse the web? Well, Safari usually limits its rendering updates to 60fps. But you can change that, and other behaviors, using a set of developer options called Feature Flags. Here’s how it works. Feature Flags on macOS Open Safari and then open the Settings (Comand + comma, or in the Safari menu in the menu bar). In the Advanced tab, click Show features for web developers at the bottom. This will cause a new tab to appear: Feature Flags. Foundry In the Feature Flags tab, scroll down to find Prefer Page Rendering Updates near 60fps, or use the search function to find it. De-select that option. Then, completely quit Safari and re-launch it. Foundry The majority of Safari Feature Flags won’t be of much use, but you can’t cause too much harm by experimenting with them. Just make a note of the ones you change so you can put them back if something breaks, and change one at a time. Some flags let you do things like disable transition animations or lazy image loading, for example, which you may prefer in some circumstances. Feature Flags on iOS or iPadOS To change this setting on your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app, then select Apps at the bottom of the page. Scroll down to Safari and select it. Scroll all the way to the bottom and tap Advanced. Then on that page, scroll to the bottom to select Feature Flags. There is no search here, but the flags are in alphabetical order. Look for Prefer Page Rendering Updates near 60fps and turn that off. You’ll have to quit Safari here too (swipe up from the bottom of the screen to enter the app switcher and then swipe up again on the Safari screen), and re-launch it to apply the change. Foundry As with Safari on macOS, you probably shouldn’t mess around with too many of these Feature Flags, but you can’t cause too much damage if you do, as long as you know what you’ve changed so you can put it back. Allowing Safari to render above 60fps is generally considered to be a battery drain, but exactly how much depends on how often you use it and the kind of content you consume. So just keep an eye on your battery life, and if it’s significantly shorter, go back and re-enable this Feature Flag (and restart Safari).

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The road to the next insanely great Mac is paved with AI
Macworld The original Macintosh arrived 42 years ago. Draw a line from that event to this week, in which credible reports suggest that Apple is finally getting close to fulfilling many of the promises it made back in 2024 regarding adding intelligent agents to its devices. Sure, it took licensing Google Gemini to get it done, but we might be on the precipice of Apple Intelligence being what Apple said it might be almost two years ago. The more I think about it, the more I think that Apple Intelligence might actually be the latest attempt by Apple to fulfill the dream behind the original Mac. In an era where our devices are impossibly powerful and often frustratingly complicated, maybe what we need is A Computer for the Rest of Us again. The computer as an appliance As the non-technical guy in the pair of Steves who founded Apple, Steve Jobs was always focused on the end user. In the early days, computers were incredibly complicated. Initially, you had to buy the parts and solder them all together. Over time, they began to resemble consumer products, but they were still arcane systems driven by blinking command lines that required you to know exactly what to type to get the computer to do anything. Jobs’s vision, one he kept coming back to throughout his career, was that the computer should be more like an appliance. I have never had to read a manual to know how to use my refrigerator, oven, toaster, or washing machine. (If you have to read a manual to toast bread, they blew it.) Jobs knew that computers needed to be like that, too: Pleasant little self-contained boxes of functionality. Today’s iPhone (and iPad, and Mac) has lost the plot when it comes to the simplicity that Jobs always kept as an ideal. His first swing at the concept was the original Macintosh–and when he returned to Apple, he made this same swing again, with the iMac. Today, there are more of the Rest of Us than ever before. Not only are there more Mac users than ever–Apple’s installed base is at an all-time high–but there are vastly more users of Apple devices than ever, thanks to the iPhone. Looking at an iPhone home screen, you’d think that we’ve reached Peak Simplicity. There’s no pointer, no mouse, just a screen full of brightly colored icons you tap on to run software that is similarly driven by taps and swiped. And yet I can’t help thinking that today’s iPhone (and iPad, and Mac) has lost the plot when it comes to the simplicity that Jobs always kept as an ideal. In the race to exploit the absurd power of the devices in our hands and on our laps, Apple and its competitors have given these systems incredible powers–but at the cost of increased complexity. Apple’s computers have always focused on ease of use. Maybe AI is the next step towards that goal. Computer History Museum From power to complexity It’s funny. I became a Mac user in 1990, when every single struggle with the Mac was about it being too slow. In those days, using a computer was about finding the boundaries of functionality and then pushing them to their limits–and anxiously awaiting the next version of the device, which would let the envelope expand a teeny, tiny bit. Somewhere along the way, the equation changed. For years now, our devices have had all the power they really need. I can’t remember the last time I used an iPad and found it slow. The same goes for the Mac and the iPhone, really. Apple keeps adding processor-intensive features to take advantage of that excess power, and those features can be cool, but it’s filling the envelope, not pushing it. The problem Apple has today is managing complexity. Every year, the company tosses a half-dozen major new features into the mix, and a lot of them fly right by users who are focused on using their devices rather than learning new things. A few years ago, I sat down with my wife and showed her that she could set her iPhone’s lock screen to shuffle automatically between pictures of our kids–a great feature!–and it hit me how she would never in a million years discover that feature herself. The feature was great, but it was hidden away by complexity. We live in an era where just adding new features won’t cut it. A new feature that nobody uses is a failure, even if it’s a great feature in isolation. And that means that our devices need to become easier to use, better organized, and more discoverable. (This may be a hard task for an industry that’s spent the last two decades in a land rush to outdo the other guy in terms of shiny new features, while simultaneously de-emphasizing the tough job of building a good user experience and information architecture.) Our devices are so complex now that something as simple as changing the iPhone lock screen isn’t as simple as it should be.Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd AI for the rest of us? I’m neither an AI proponent nor opponent–I think it’s a potentially world-changing technology that is also being overhyped and has some serious issues that need to be addressed. That being said, it strikes me that one of the ways that Apple’s devices could become less complex is with the addition of AI-driven assistants that could help users do what they want to do with their devices. This is part of the dream of being a “computer for the rest of us.” Apple’s history is littered with attempts to bring the power of a general-purpose programmable computer to the masses, from BASIC to AppleScript to Automator to Shortcuts to Siri. If today’s devices are just so packed with features, so wildly complicated, that a regular user is never going to be able to take advantage of more than a fraction of features, perhaps the solution is to create a system where we talk to our devices and tell them what we want them to do for us. This does not absolve Apple of its duties regarding usability. The company really needs a culture shift, alongside its move to AI-driven assistants. Functionality can still increase, but usability needs to be the primary focus. Visual design, content structure, and simplicity of interface will help users navigate this era, with or without the help of Apple Intelligence. Or to put it another way: The last two decades have proven Apple’s prowess at building computers capable of doing pretty much anything we want them to. The next step is to make it easier for us to do what we want with them. Once again, we need a Computer For the Rest of Us.

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AirTag 2 teardown shows Apple taking tampering seriously
Apple’s second-generation AirTag looks unchanged on the outside, but a teardown reveals meaningful internal changes to avoid tampering. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Macworld Podcast: AirTag 2, Apple Creator Studio, Ted Lasso, and more Apple news
Macworld This week is a big one for Apple, as the company has released a new AirTag, Apple Creator Studio, and more. Tune in to learn more!  This is episode 968 with Michael Simon, Jason Cross,  and Roman Loyola. Watch episode 968 on YouTube Listen to episode 968 on Apple Podcasts

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Want a MacBook without the M-series price tag?
Macworld TL;DR: Get a near-mint refurbished 2020 MacBook Pro for $439.99 until they’re sold out—fewer than 50 units are left in stock (MSRP $1,999). Every Apple user shares the bond of “you get what you pay for,” but this refurbished MacBook deal is a rare exception. For once, you don’t have to pay over $1,000 to get one of Apple’s coveted laptops, but 77% less than the MSRP. That is, if you don’t mind the chance for some light scuffs on the body … honestly, who cares?! This 13.3-inch MacBook Pro (2020) comes in grade “A” condition, meaning near-mint, with minimal to no cosmetic imperfections. Under the hood? A 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a massive 1TB SSD—plenty of power and space for most users who need a reliable machine for work, study, or content creation. It also includes the Touch Bar, Magic Keyboard, and four Thunderbolt 3 ports, making it a solid productivity pick. Is it the latest M-series chip? No—but that’s not the point. This deal is about premium Apple hardware at a rare price point. For under $500, you’re getting a MacBook Pro that’s still highly capable, especially for professionals and students who want Apple reliability without the Apple tax. Get your refurbished MacBook Pro now for $439.99 before they’re sold out (MSRP $1,999). Apple Macbook Pro (2020) 13″ i5 2GHz Touchbar 16GB RAM 1TB SSD Space Gray (Refurbished)See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

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Brandon Sanderson's Literary Fantasy Universe 'Cosmere' Picked Up by Apple TV
Apple TV+ has landed the screen rights to Cosmere, the sprawling literary universe created by Brandon Sanderson. "The first titles being eyed for adaptation are the Mistborn series, for features, and The Stormlight Archive series, for television," reports the Hollywood Reporter. From the report: The deal is rare one, coming after a competitive situation which saw Sanderson meet with most of the studio heads in town. It gives the author rarefied control over the screen translations, according to sources. Sanderson will be the architect of the universe; will write, produce and consult; and will have approvals. That's a level of involvement that not even J.K. Rowling or George R.R. Martin enjoys. Sanderson's literary success and fan following helped pave the way for such a deal. One of the most prolific and beloved fantasy authors working today, he has sold over 50 million copies of his books worldwide, collectively across his series. [...] While the Cosmere books are set in various worlds and eras, the underlying premise concerns a being named Adolnasium who is killed by a group of conspirators. The being's power is broken into 16 shards, which are then spread out throughout many worlds by the conspirators, spreading many kinds of magic across the universe. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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The Anker 6-in-1 USB-C Power Strip Is $50 Off
Amazon has the Anker-6-in-1 USB-C Power Strip marked $50 off. The power strip is a versatile charging station that meets your charging needs featuring two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports and two AC outlets that can charge 6 devices at the same time. The strip features a new generation of GaN technology guaranteeing fast charging […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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