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- Tuesday February 24
- 03:22 pmSteve Jobs Archive releases ‘Letters to a Young Creator’ featuring Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and more | 9 to 5 MacSteve Jobs Archive releases ‘Letters to a Young Creator’ featuring Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and more
The Steve Jobs Archive has published a project online called Letters to a Young Creator. Timed with what would be the late Apple co-founder’s 71st birthday, the collection of notes includes submissions by Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and more. more…03:16 pmToday in Apple history: Happy birthday, Steve Jobs!
On February 24, 1955, Steven Paul Jobs was born. He went on to start Apple and change tech forever. A Steve Jobs birthday recollection. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)03:00 pmApple Studio Display 2: Everything we know so far
There's little doubt the Apple Studio Display 2 will be out soon. Here are all enhancements that rumors say we should expect. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)02:59 pmApple TV’s next big sci-fi premiere is coming this week, first reviews here
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the sci-fi series with Godzilla and Kong, returns to Apple TV this Friday for season 2. Reviews for the new season just dropped, here’s what they say. more…02:50 pmHomeKit Weekly: Hands on with Level Lock Pro and why it sets a new standard for HomeKit and Matter smart locks | 9 to 5 MacHomeKit Weekly: Hands on with Level Lock Pro and why it sets a new standard for HomeKit and Matter smart locks
Level has been building smart locks that feel like they were made for Apple users since the very beginning, and the new Level Lock Pro (affiliate link) might be its most exciting upgrade yet. I have been testing it ahead of my full hands-on review, and it is clear that this is the direction smart locks need to go. Home key support is still the gold standard for Apple users, and Matter over Thread brings the speed and reliability that make it work extremely well with your daily schedule. The only thing it’s missing is UWB support. more…02:49 pmWhat Apple product colors would you like to see offered in future? [Poll]
After mostly very muted iPhone Pro colors in the past, Apple struck out in a bold new direction with Cosmic Orange for the current model. That decision was credited with helping the company hit record iPhone sales last year. We’re expecting to see the upcoming low-cost MacBook offered in several bright colors, and there’s also talk of a deep red option for the iPhone 18 Pro, so this seems a good time to talk about colors … more…02:37 pmSonos plans to fix its biggest iOS hurdle with a new Live Activities feature
Sonos has a plan to bring a highly requested audio control feature to iOS, but don’t expect the company to rush it before it’s ready. more…02:20 pmToday is the 71st anniversary of Steve Jobs’ birth
Today marks the 71st anniversary of Steve Jobs’ birth. The legendary co-founder of Apple Inc. was born on February 24, 1955… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.02:20 pmCut the cable from your CarPlay life with this tiny wireless adapter
Plug in this Mini Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto Adapter and your phone wirelessly connects automatically, every time you start the car. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)02:12 pmApple brings Mac mini production to America from Asia
Apple announced a significant expansion of factory operations in Houston, bringing the future production of Mac mini to America… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.02:07 pmAmerica's spymasters terrified Tim Cook with Taiwan invasion timeline
Apple CEO Tim Cook lost sleep after the CIA briefed him four years ago that China would move on Taiwan by 2027. With that day approaching, not enough has been done about it.Tim Cook reportedly said he has slept "with one eye open" after his CIA briefing — image credit: AppleApple has been reshoring some manufacturing to the US, in initiatives that have been known for years. But now according to The New York Times, Apple and others also had a classified CIA briefing that warned how precarious chip manufacturing is in Taiwan, but have failed to heed it.Tim Cook from Apple, Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon were briefed in July 2023. Following the briefing, Apple's Tim Cook is reported to have said that he slept "with one eye open." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums01:50 pmThis secret iPhone gesture will come in handy everywhere [Pro Tip]
A hidden gesture on the iPhone and iPad lets you quickly select a bunch of items in a list — kind of like Command-A (⌘A) on a Mac. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)01:31 pmMac mini is a tiny step toward Trump's Made-in-USA dream
It's not the iPhone, but Apple has further detailed its latest effort in Houston, Texas to move Mac mini production to the US. On the morning of the State of the Union address, this will make some lawmakers very happy.Apple's AI factory in Houston will soon make the Mac mini - Image Credit: AppleThe Trump administration has long preached about increasing U.S. manufacturing, with President Donald Trump repeatedly demanding iPhone production on U.S. soil. In photos released on Tuesday morning, Apple shows it is making progress, if not necessarily with iPhones.Following the Wall Street Journal's special access to Apple's facilities, the images and video show factory operations at Houston. The facility, which is currently used to assemble AI servers used for Apple's data centers, is being fitted out to make the Mac mini. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums01:29 pmEverything we know about the new M5 MacBook Air before its 2026 launch
Macworld The MacBook Air M5 is expected to be a significant update in Apple’s consumer laptop lineup, primarily focusing on a transition to the next-generation M5 silicon. While the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro have already moved to the M5 chip as of late 2025, the MacBook Air currently remains on the M4 platform. It’s long been expected that the new MacBook Air M5 will arrive early in 2026, and with Apple inviting some members of the media to “Special Experiences” at various locations on March 4, 2026, it may be that the new MacBook Air will appear before, or during, that “event”. This article keeps track of what’s being reported and rumored about the upcoming MacBook Air and offers a perspective based on Apple’s current lineup. M5 MacBook Air: Processor and performance expectations CPU Speed: An incremental boost of approximately 15% to 25% in CPU speed compared to the M4. Graphics: Substantial improvements, with Apple claiming the M5’s GPU architecture can deliver up to 45% higher graphics performance than the M4. Memory Bandwidth: A nearly 30% improvement in unified memory bandwidth, reaching 153GB/s compared to the M4’s 120GB/s . AI Capabilities: The M5 chip is being heralded as a “next big leap” for Apple Silicon’s AI performance, specifically designed to power on-device Apple Intelligence features. The M5 MacBook Air is expected to see gains in CPU, GPU and AI performance compared to the M4 MacBook Air. We can get a good picture of what to expect because the M5 chip arrived with the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro in late 2025 and our own review and benchmarking of the M5 MacBook Pro showed consistent gains in both single-core and multi-core processing. In our M5 MacBook Pro review we found that the M5’s single-core and multi-core results were 14 and 22 percent faster than the M4, respectively. The M5’s 10-core GPU architecture includes a new Neural Accelerator in each core, which Apple claims provides over four times the peak GPU compute performance of the M4. In our real-world gaming tests using 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme the M5 maintained approximately 100 fps, a 50% improvement over the M4’s 70 fps. At the time of launch, Apple described the M5 as offering a “big leap” in AI performance, with the chip reportedly delivering up to 3.5 times the AI performance of the previous generation. In practical creative workflows, these improvements translate to tangible time savings. For instance, exporting a complex audio project in GarageBand was roughly 10 seconds faster on the M5 compared to the M4 in our tests. The M5 also offers a new 10-core GPU architecture with a Neural Accelerator in each core, which Apple says means it can provide “over 4x the peak GPU compute performance compared to M4”. M5 MacBook Air: Specs, Storage, RAM Foundry M5 with a 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 256GB SSD, Thunderbolt 4 M5 with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 256GB SSD, Thunderbolt 4 M5 with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 24GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, Thunderbolt 4 The specs of the entry-level MacBook Air are likely to include a GPU with fewer cores, and the mid-range MacBook Air is likely to match the spec of the entry-level MacBook Pro, but with half the storage. That is one specification that we’d like to see change: the 256GB SSD is on the small side, however the M5 MacBook Air is likely to offer the same base storage. There are rumors that the new storage might be faster. The memory options may expand, with higher RAM configurations. All models will start with the 16GB RAM configuration, as has been the case since Apple introduced it mid-way through the M3 cycle (October 2024). There will continue to be the option to add 32GB memory. It’s not known if the 4TB SSD option that is now available on the M5 MacBook Pro will be available, we don’t expect it to be though. With the M4 MacBook Air, Apple upgraded the built-in camera to a 12MP Center Stage camera and the ports from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 4. We don’t expect any change here, however, in the U.K. and Europe Apple has left the power adapter out of the box, so it is likely that this will be the case for the MacBook Air when it launches. M5 MacBook Air: Design Apple introduced Sky Blue as a color option with the M4 MacBook Air.Eugen Wegmann The current design for the MacBook Air was introduced in 2022. Since it’s only a few years old, we don’t expect it to change with the M5 release. The M5 MacBook Air is expected to retain the same thin chassis that it is famous for. With the M4 MacBook Air, Apple introduced a Sky Blue color to replace Space Gray, but it is unlikely that we will see any new colors for this generation. M5 MacBook Air: Display Comparing the MacBook Pro with Nano-text and MacBook Air with glossy display.Foundry No changes are expected for the M5 MacBook Air display. As before it will have a standard Liquid Retina display. ProMotion technology, as found on the MacBook Pro, is not expected to arrive on the M5 MacBook Air. It’s also likely Apple will continue to offer the standard Liquid Retina display to keep the pro lines separate, as with the iPhone and iPad. The rumor mill has reported on plans for the company to implement OLED displays in its MacBooks, however this is unlikely to happen until 2027, with the MacBook Pro getting OLED first, perhaps before the end of 2026 in the rumored touchscreen MacBook Pro. M5 MacBook Air: Thermal performance The increased power of the M5 chip has been found to have an impact on thermals – which is likely to impact on the MacBook Air due to the lack of fan for internal cooling. As noted in The M5 MacBook Pro runs hotter than the M4 it replaces: “During more intensive tasks, such as during Cinebench’s 3D rendering test, the M5 has to throttle its performance to manage its temperature. The fan–both laptops have only one fan– runs much faster on the M5, too.” If the peak performance of the M5 is limited by the single-fan cooling system, it will be limited even more in the MacBook Air. M5 MacBook Air: Release date By March 4, 2026 Apple has confirmed a spring product event (or Experience) on March 4, 2026 and it’s expected that the MacBook Air M5 will launch in that timeframe. The MacBook Air typically follows a different release cycle than the MacBook Pro, usually arriving in the first half of the year following the Pro’s update. Current expectations point toward a launch in spring 2026. This timeline aligns with Apple’s established cadence, where the MacBook Pro is often update in November, followed by the MacBook Air in March. A gap of a few months between the launch of the M5 MacBook Pro and M5 MacBook Air is likely, so we anticipate that we will see the M5 MacBook Air in the first half of 2026. On October 16, Gurman reported that the M5 MacBook Air is scheduled for a spring 2026 release. On February 8, Gurman reported that the M5 MacBook Air is “coming shortly.” And, on February 22, Gurman again suggested the MacBook will be one of “at least five new products” arriving by March 4. M5 MacBook Air: Price Most supply-chain and analyst reports expect prices to stay similar to the current M4 Air lineup. Apple could keep the M4 around as a lower-cost alternative, but rumors suggest that the company may be preparing to launch a low-cost MacBook alongside the MacBook Air, which could mean that the entry-level price of $999 is raised. Apple could start the M5 Airs at $1,099 as was the case a few years ago. The threat of tariffs by the U.S. government is also a looming issue, which could affect prices. However, we don’t expect the pricing to change, as the MacBook Pro pricing hasn’t changed. Here are the prices for the current standard configurations of the M4 MacBook Air. MacBook Air modelU.S.U.K.CanadaAustralia13in, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD$999£999$1,399$1,69913in, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD$1,199£1,199$1,699$1,99913in, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD$1,399£1,399$1,999$2,29915in, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD$1,199£1,199$1,699$2,09915in, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD$1,399£1,399$1,999$2,39915in, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD$1,599£1,599$2,299$2,69901:25 pmiPhone 18 Pro ‘leak’ claims everything is going well
Macworld We’re in the dying days of February, and Apple’s flagship phone launches are still more than six months away. But according to a new report, the company is making solid progress towards the iPhone 18 Pro’s launch, with the device having just entered test production. The leaker Fixed Focus Digital, who has a mixed record but a few solid predictions under their belt, claims in a Weibo post this week (spotted by MacRumors) that the 18-series handsets are “already in mass production testing,” adding that the “iPhone 18 Pro production line has also started operation.” (Both quotes via Google Translate.) The leaker does not specify a source for these claims, referring only and vaguely to “current information.” One would assume they have access to sources in Apple’s supply chain, which is so large and complex that a few leaks are almost inevitable. But it also wouldn’t be impossible to guess and have a fair chance of being right. Because, while this might seem early (after all, we haven’t even got the iPhone 17e yet), this is pretty standard timing. Apple’s road to a shipped hardware product has numerous stops along the way, going through Engineering Validation Test (EVT), Design Validation Test (DVT), and Production Validation Test (PVT) before actual mass production begins. February is roughly when we would expect DVT to transition into PVT. A more interesting question is how the standard iPhone 18 fits into all of this. Fixed Focus’s initial reference to the “iPhone 18 series,” rather than the iPhone 18 Pro specifically, as it does in the second part, appears to imply that the iPhone 18 is included in the mass production testing. Indeed, every Apple news site I’ve seen covering this story has taken that to be the leaker’s meaning, which would leave us in a situation where Apple is already production-testing the iPhone 18 even though it isn’t expected to come out until spring 2027. That’s not impossible–the iPhone 18 could be in an earlier validation stage, such as EVT–but the vagueness of the prediction, combined with potential for confusion introduced by having to translate the post from Chinese, makes me wonder if that might not be what is meant. Could it be that Fixed Focus is instead including the iPhone Fold in the “18 series” of iPhones, given that it’ll launch alongside them and is effectively part of that generation? Is it even possible that the leaker thinks the device will be called the iPhone 18 Fold? Regardless, we’ll get plenty more opportunities to observe the new phones’ progress as we head towards the big launch. For all the latest news and rumors, bookmark our regularly updated iPhone 18 superguide. And of course, if you can’t wait until September, check our roundup of the best iPhone deals to make sure you’re paying the lowest possible price on the current range. Just wait until we’ve seen the iPhone 17e before making that purchase.01:19 pmReddit and Discord are both in trouble over controversial age verification service
Both Reddit and Discord have got themselves into trouble over the use of a controversial third-party age verification service. Reddit has been fined £14.5 ($19.5M) million for the unlawful use of children’s personal information, while Discord has experienced a user backlash … more…01:11 pmWhatsApp prepares to add this useful iMessage feature
WhatsApp's latest beta hints at the messaging app gaining a long-overdue iMessage feature: the ability to schedule messages. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)01:00 pmData Centers in Space: Pi in the Sky or AI Hallucination?
As AI energy demands grow, technologists are eyeing orbital data centers powered by solar energy — but analysts say major technical and economic hurdles remain. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.12:47 pmRemembering Steve Jobs on his 71st birthday
Fifteen years after his death, Steve Jobs is still continually quoted, sometimes criticized, but always seen as creating the ethos of Apple. On what would have been his 71st birthday, this is how he shaped Apple — and the world.Steve JobsApple co-founder Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, and brought up by his adoptive parents, Paul and Clara Jobs. While he would later dismiss the idea that the circumstances of his adoption had any influence on him, he was born straight into a dispute over a deal, and startling signs of his later strengths and weaknesses were there from his early years. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums12:47 pmTim Cook ‘slept with one eye open’ after classified CIA briefing on Taiwan
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly told officials that he slept “with one eye open” after he attended a classified CIA briefing on Taiwan, home to the company’s chipmaker TSMC. US intelligence agencies have been worried for years that China may plan to invade the island, and the briefing warned that this could happen as early as next year … more…