New iPod-like device turns a strapless Apple Watch into a click-wheel ‘phone’
Apple’s most successful product of all time, the iPhone, was at one point going to look a lot more like an iPod than the device we ended up getting. The iPod was such a hit for Apple that the company naturally explored making an iPhone that looked and felt similar to its then-biggest moneymaker. 17 years after the iPhone’s launch, that idea of an iPod-inspired phone has not been forgotten. In fact, there’s a company teasing that it has created one…kind of. Say hello to the tinyPod. more…

Read more »

Spotify’s Car Things to Be Rebranded as Car Bricks
So let’s be clear about Spotify’s position: it’s OK — for them at least — to create a new hardware platform with no support at all for third-party software, but not OK for another company to create a hardware platform that charges a commission for access, if that platform becomes popular.

Read more »

This unsung Apple TV+ comedy series is better than ‘Ted Lasso’
Consistency is key when it comes to crafting top-tier television. The best TV shows maintain a relatively steady quality throughout their… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

How to sell your old Apple Pencil or Magic Keyboard
The Cult of Mac buyback program is a great place to sell your Apple Pencil or Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro when it's time to upgrade. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Read more »

iPhone 14 Pro now available from Apple’s refurbished store
Today Apple has updated its online refurbished store to feature a newly added product. For the first time, the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max are now available from Apple as certified refurbished devices. This means you can get one of the more recent iPhone models at a discount and with a handful of guarantees from Apple. more…

Read more »

Apple Built a Tetris Clone For the iPod But Never Released It
Apple once designed a Tetris clone that has been found on a prototype version of the third-generation iPod, indicating the company was experimenting with releasing the game on the music player. From a report: It's called Stacker and, obviously, is controlled via the iPod's scroll wheel. The software was spotted by X user AppleDemoYT, who is known for finding rare prototype devices. The prototype iPod is a "DVT" device, meaning it was a mid-stage device that was still in "Design Validation Testing." It has a model number of A1023, which is not a known model number of any iPod version. The device runs a prototype version of iPodOS 2.0, which is where Stacker comes from. The pieces are moved from left to right using the scroll wheel and they fall when the middle button is pressed. The goal is to clear lines and score points. You know the deal. It's Tetris. It's not the only game found on the prototype iPod. There's something called Block0, which is likely an early version of Brick. The device also features a game called Klondike, which is likely an early version of Solitaire. The music player did eventually get some games, including the aforementioned Solitaire and Brick. AppleDemoYT asked former Apple VP Tony Fadell why Stacker was never released and he said it was because games didn't show up until a "later software release." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read more »

Apple TV to air final rounds of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Soccer for free
The U.S. Soccer Federation and Apple have announced that the final three rounds of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

Apple Explains Rare iOS 17.5 Bug That Resurfaced Deleted Photos
Apple has shed more light on the bizarre iOS 17.5 bug that caused long-deleted photos to mysteriously reappear on users' devices. In a statement to 9to5Mac, the iPhone maker clarified that the issue stemmed from a corrupted database on the device itself, not iCloud Photos. This means the photos were never fully erased from the device, but they also weren't synced to iCloud. Interestingly, these files could have hitched a ride to new devices through backups or direct transfers. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Read more »

Need a case for that expensive iPad Pro? Here are the best cases for protection, style, and more
Apple’s new M4 iPad Pro is the most expensive iPad ever made, so as beautiful as its ultra-thin and light design is, there’s a good chance you don’t want to risk using it case-free. Whether you’re looking for maximum or minimum protection, a Pencil-holding case, a third-party folio, or something else entirely, here are some of the best cases you can find for your M4 iPad Pro. more…

Read more »

A blast from Apple’s past is on sale for just $60
Macworld Way back in 2012, Apple began phasing out optical drives from its Macs, beginning with the MacBook Air in 2008 and ending with the Mac Pro in 2013 (though a legacy MacBook Pro remained available until October 2016). But if there are still times when you wish your Mac had an optical drive, you can get one for just $60 today. Amazon’s Woot is selling Apple’s USB SuperDrive External Optical Drive for $60, a savings of $19 on the MSRP. It has a built-in USB-A cable, so you’ll need a USB-A-to-USB-C adapter to use it with a MacBook. Otherwise, it’s everything you need to play and burn CDs and DVDs on your Mac. A 5.47-inch square that’s just 0.67 inches thick and weighs just 3/4 of a pound, the SuperDrive is perfect for vacations, campaign trips, and anywhere else you might want to kick back and watch a movie.  This deal is only available in the Woot app and ends Sunday. Amazon Prime members will get free shipping. Mac

Read more »

Wedbush hikes Apple price target to $275 as AI iPhone supercycle looms
Dan Ives, WedBush Securities analyst, joins ‘Squawk on the Street’ to discuss Apple, his outlook on the stocks’ target price, China… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

Read more »

How to skip the ChatGPT for Mac waitlist and get access now
OpenAI launched its native ChatGPT Mac app this month alongside GPT-4o. But while anyone can install the Mac app, your account will need to be invited to early access – unless you use this workaround. Here’s how it works. more…

Read more »

Snag the best Memorial Day deals on Apple gear and accessories
When Memorial Day weekend rolls around, you know great deals on Apple gear and accessories are out there. We'll help you find them. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Read more »

Apple clarifies iOS 17.5 bug that exposed deleted photos
iOS 17.5.1 fixed the bug, but users still had questions.

Read more »

Use Live Voicemail and Silence Unknown Callers together for call-free bliss
Live Voicemail and Silence Unknown Callers give iPhone owners a new way to stop unknown callers from intruding. Here's how to set it up. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Read more »

Relax, that iOS 17.5 Photos bug doesn’t mean Apple keeps your deleted photos
Macworld Apple released the iOS 17.5.1 update earlier this week, fixing a bug–a potentially embarrassing one–that would suddenly recover photos that were deleted long ago. The fix comes as a relief to many, but users who put more thought into are left wondering, was the bug within iOS on the iPhone, or was it an iCloud issue? And if it was iCloud, what the heck Apple–why are you holding on to photos deleted long after the 30-day waiting period? Is Apple secretly keeping our photos for nefarious reasons (dun dun duuun!)? According to reports, iCloud has nothing to do with the bug. 9to5Mac confirmed with Apple that the photos were only stored locally on the device and not synced to iCloud Photos. Instead, those “files could have persisted from one device to another when restoring from a backup, performing a device-to-device transfer, or when restoring from an iCloud Backup.” As for a Reddit post that claimed that the recovered photos appear on a iPad that was sold to another person, Apple told 9to5Mac that claim is false—it couldn’t happen if the seller had completed erased the iPad via Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. This permanently deletes all data on the device and reinstalls the operating system. That Reddit post has since been deleted so it appears as though it was either fabricated or the poster was misinformed. In case you don’t want to take Apple’s word for it, a third party security researcher has confirmed that iCloud Photos wasn’t involved in the bug. SynAcktiv took the iOS 17.5.1 update and through some reverse engineering found that the problem was indeed an on-device issue, not one with iCloud Photos. According to SynAcktiv’s report, “the photos that reappeared were still lying around on the filesystem and that they were just found by the migration routine added in iOS 17.5.” It’s not iCloud Photos, that’s good to know. The question remains, why are those photos still on the device long after they were deleted? Apple won’t get into specifics but blamed “database corruption” in the iOS 17.5.1 release notes. Generally, when you delete a file on a computer, the file isn’t actually erased. The OS marks the areas as available for file storage, so the file stays there until it is overwritten. This could have something to do with the bug. However, SynAcktiv refers to a Reddit post that cites an unnamed Apple source who claims the issue involves photos that were saved to the Files app. SynAcktiv could not confirm that claim but concluded it was “plausible.” In any case, the issue is fixed with the 17.5.1 update. iCloud, iOS, iPad, iPhone

Read more »

Apple 13-inch M4 iPad Pro now $50 off, HomePod mini deals, Apple Watch Ultra 2 with Ocean Band, Beats, much more
As we head into Memorial Day weekend, the Apple deals keep coming with a new all-time low on the most affordable 13-inch M4 iPad Pro at $50 off – it’s now joining other configurations in the lineup. From there, we are now tracking the first deal of the holiday on both HomePod mini (all five colors) and HomePod 2 alongside Apple Watch Ultra 2 with the official Ocean Band (or not) and a slew of price drops on the atest Beats headphone and earbud releases. You’ll find all of that and more waiting below in today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break deals. more…

Read more »

We could be less than two years away from the first large-screen folding MacBook
Macworld We’ve been hearing for years that Apple is working on a large-screen folding device that’s more likely to be an iPad than an iPhone. And now a new report sheds some new light on the project–which could arrive in 2026. According to a Medium post by Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is looking to ship a large-screen folding MacBook by 2026. That’s a slightly more aggressive timeline than has been previously rumored and could represent an acceleration of the project. Kuo claims Apple “aims to make the panel as crease-free as possible, requiring high design specifications for both the panel and the hinge,” which are pricey at around $900 for the two parts. Kuo claims that Apple is considering a folding MacBook with either a 20.25-inch or 18.8-inch display, which would correspond to the closed size of Apple’s current 14–15-inch and 13–14-inch laptops, respectively. On X, Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants (via MacRumors) said Apple is leaning toward the 18.8-inch model to keep costs down. According to Kuo, the laptop will use Apple’s M5 chip, which is expected to ship in the second half of 2026. In case you didn’t already guess, Kuo says the folding MacBook is “likely to be expensive” and the bill of materials “could approach that of the current Vision Pro.” Apple currently sells a 16-inch MacBook Pro that starts at $3,499 but it has a high-end M3 Max processor, 36GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Based on Kuo’s explanation, a folding MacBook would significantly lower specs for a similar price. However, Apple’s first folding device will likely be a bigger hit than Vision Pro, with Kuo estimating more than a million units in 2026. MacBook

Read more »

This microphone boom arm is ‘in a class of its own’ [Setups]
Need a better way move your mic around? Logitech G Compass microphone boom arm gets high marks from this user. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Read more »

Apple Arcade Guide: Everything available and what’s new?
Apple Arcade launched with close to 100 titles and the service is seeing new games added almost every week with over 200 games now in the library. Follow along with our guide on all the available Apple Arcade games plus the latest releases. more…

Read more »