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- Sunday December 07
- 09:18 pmMeta Says Fuck That Metaverse Shit
Joz might want to use the word now, just to make jokes.09:16 pmHidden Setting Controls What Happens When You Tap a Call in the Phone App
In iOS 26’s Phone app, Unified view lets you tap a call to show contact info instead of initiating a callback. A hidden setting lets you switch that tap-a-call behavior back to a callback—but it appears only when in Unified view and isn’t available to those using Classic view.08:35 pmEvercore increases its Apple price target to $325 as it raises AI expectations
Investment firm Evercore has upgraded its price target for Apple to $325 yet again, with expectations that Siri's overhaul will be a major driver in the spring of 2026.An improved Siri could pay off for Apple, eventually - Image Credit: AppleEvercore has already made multiple target price increases since the start of September, with the latest occurring at a very late stage of the year. The investment firm has now upped its target from $300 to $325.The price upgrade story started on September 9, with a rise from $250 to $260 based on the strength of the iPhone 17 range. A second update in the same month hit $290, as the firm shifted its focus more on the main models rather than the iPhone Air. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums07:39 pmLast call: Save up to 84% on OWC docks, portable storage, Apple accessories
OWC's Cyber Week sale offers prices as low as $2.99 on Apple accessories, Thunderbolt docks for your Mac, portable SSDs, and more. But don't delay, as the sale ends Dec. 8.Save on OWC docks, portable storage, memory cards & more - Image credit: OWCFrom docks as low as $24.99 to Apple accessories from $2.99, OWC's Cyber Week sale offers discounts of up to 84% off. The popular Thunderbolt 5 dock is currently $50 off, while the 14-port Thunderbolt 3 option is marked down to $149.99. Please note: Many of the deals below reflect in-cart bonus savings.Save up to 84% at OWC Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums04:15 pmToday in Apple history: Apple’s massive glass staircase wows Manhattan
On December 7, 2007, Apple opened a magisterial store on West 14th Street in New York City featuring a stunning, three-story glass staircase. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)03:50 pmDiscount code: Transfer and sync all kinds of files among your Apple devices
AnyTrans is a one-stop content manager for iOS devices. The app makes it easy to transfer any kind of data -- music, photos, texts, etc. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)03:49 pmiPadOS 26.2 will fix my biggest gripe with Apple’s current iPad software
With iPadOS 26.2, Apple is bringing two major upgrades to the iPad: Split View has returned, and Slide Over has a new gesture. Now, you can just drag and drop apps from your dock, and they’ll snap into place – there’ll no longer be a need to manually resize your windows in the manner you need them. This was already how things worked in iPadOS 18 and prior, and now it’s finally back. more…01:34 pmJustin Bieber threatens Apple with 'rear naked choke hold' over Messages UI
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has threatened to put Apple employees into a "rear naked choke hold" over a relatively minor iPhone UI issue.Justin Bieber hates the dictation button's placement in MessagesApple's design choices are frequently questioned by users, especially after introducing big changes like Liquid Glass. However, in the case of one well-known Canadian singer, the littlest UI problems can bring out the biggest reactions.Posting to X on Sunday, Justin Bieber gave his input on what he perceives is a Messages UI flaw. "If I hit this dictation button after sending a text and it beeps and stops my music one more time," he starts his post. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums08:00 amA lifetime license for Microsoft Office costs less than 2 years of Microsoft 365
Macworld TL;DR: A lifetime license for Microsoft Office now only costs $150. Microsoft 365 costs you more every year, and that’s not even considering the periodic price hikes. It already jumped to $99.99/year. If you want a way to get the same apps without paying for them forever, check out this lifetime license for Microsoft Office. It comes with recent versions of the same apps, but you only have to pay for it once. It also just went on sale for $149.97 (reg. $249.99). How it works Office 2024 Home & Business includes: Word Excel PowerPoint Outlook You install everything directly on your Mac or PC, so you can work offline and avoid problems tied to cloud-only tools. Performance is faster than previous versions, particularly in Excel, and Outlook includes updated security protections that help block unsafe add-ins and suspicious content. Microsoft also refreshed the entire design with a cleaner interface, better touch support, and more accessible templates. You can collaborate in real time on shared documents, leave comments, and use version history to check previous edits. AI tools throughout the suite help with writing, formatting, and data organization, so you can move faster without needing extra plugins or separate subscriptions. If you want the stability of Microsoft Office without paying for Microsoft 365 every month, this lifetime license gives you the essential apps for a much better price. Get Microsoft Office 2024 Home and Business for Mac or PC for just $149.97 today. Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for Mac or PC Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.06:58 amApple's new M5 MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM falls to $1,749
Exclusive savings are in effect on two upgraded 14-inch MacBook Pro configurations with Apple's latest M5 chip and a bump up to 32GB of memory.Grab an exclusive discount on two M5 MacBook Pro 32GB configs - Image credit: AppleSave $250 on two 14-inch MacBook Pro configurations with an upgrade to 32GB of memory when you shop through the pricing links in this post or in our M5 MacBook Pro Price Guide using a laptop or desktop computer (the offers cannot be activated in B&H's mobile app at this time).Exclusive M5 14-inch MacBook Pro deals Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our ForumsSaturday December 0608:37 pmSamsung's Cyber Week deals deliver up to $5,000 in savings, but the sale ends soon
Samsung's Cyber Week deals of up to $5,000 off are coming to an end, with The Frame TVs, OLED sets, Bespoke appliances, monitors, and more all on sale.Last chance to save up to $5,000 on Samsung products during Cyber Week - Image credit: SamsungNow through Dec. 7, save up to $5,000 on a variety of Samsung products, ranging from 2025 TV releases to Bespoke appliances. You can shop the entirety of the sale at Samsung direct, but we've also rounded up highlights from the holiday savings event below.Save up to $5,000 on Samsung Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums08:30 pmIndie App Spotlight: ‘Vector’ is a Spotlight replacement for Mac that’s smart and snappy | 9 to 5 MacIndie App Spotlight: ‘Vector’ is a Spotlight replacement for Mac that’s smart and snappy
Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact. Spotlight on the Mac has been far from perfect, especially in recent years. If you want a great, drop-in replacement that offers speedy app launches, file searches, a clipboard manager, and much, much more – you should check out Vector. more…07:30 pmShakeup in Apple’s C-suite! [The CultCast]
This week on Cult of Mac's podcast: The departure of Apple UI design chief Alan Dye gives us hope for the future o iPhone and Mac software. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)07:19 pmApple chip chief Johny Srouji rumored to consider his own exit
Another change could happen to Apple's leadership soon, with rumors that chip chief Johny Srouji is considering leaving the iPhone maker.Apple's Johny Srouji during a hardware presentation - Image Credit: AppleApple's managerial tier has seen many changes in a short space of time. If a new report is to be believed, then another change could be right around the corner.According to sources of Bloomberg, SVP of hardware technologies Johny Srouji informed CEO Tim Cook that he is considering leaving Apple in the near future. Srouji has also reportedly told colleagues that he wants to join another company if he does leave, though it is unknown what company that would be. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums05:29 pmReport: Johny Srouji contemplating leaving Apple, considering career elsewhere
According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple’s hardware technologies SVP Johny Srouji is ‘seriously’ considering leaving the company. He’s most known for leading the charge on Apple Silicon. If he does end up leaving, he’ll reportedly take his talents to another company. more…05:05 pmYou can still grab AirPods 4 with ANC for just $99
Discover incredible Black Friday AirPods deals that save you nearly 50% on Apple earbuds, making them much more affordable than ever. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)04:54 pmRare pre-Liquid Glass 'iOS 19' prototype provides tiny hint at iOS 27 plans
A newly discovered iPhone prototype offers a rare glimpse of the unreleased iOS 19, which was a precursor to iOS 26 sans Liquid Glass, and it may provide a hint of what's coming in iOS 27.'iOS 19' never saw the light of day — until now.At WWDC 2025, we witnessed the introduction of Apple's controversial Liquid Glass design language. iOS 26 brought glass-like elements, replacing the long-standing flat aesthetic. Apple also jumped from iOS 18 to iOS 26, leaving iOS 19 nowhere to be found — until now.Courtesy of collector Kyolet, AppleInsider was provided with exclusive imagery of an EVT-stage iPhone prototype, running an early InternalUI build of iOS 19.0. Unlike the final version of iOS 26, this unreleased variant of iOS 19 doesn't feature a working implementation of Liquid Glass, even with the "Sensitive UI" setting enabled. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums04:41 pmThis simple fix finally stopped macOS Tahoe from freezing and crashing my MacBook
Macworld Back in September, when macOS 26 Tahoe arrived for download on my MacBook, I installed it along with millions of other people. I didn’t give it a second thought—I have an M3 Max MacBook Pro with 36GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Running Tahoe shouldn’t be an issue. But it was. Almost immediately from the first day I installed it, I experienced intermittent freezes lasting a second or two that would interrupt whatever I was doing. I couldn’t tie it down to a single app, and it was difficult to predict. Some days it would happen numerous times each hour, but other days it wouldn’t happen much at all. I tried all the usual tricks—closing apps, restarting, shutting down—and of course I immediately updated to macOS 26.0.1, all to no avail. Since I don’t run betas on my main machine, I chalked it up to an initial release bug that would be smoothed out in 26.1. Alas, when I installed that update as soon as it arrived, the problem persisted. Back when I had an M1 MacBook Pro, I had issues with memory slowing down my machine, so I checked Activity Monitor throughout the day. Memory pressure was consistently in the green safe zone. There was one instance where my computer completely seized up due to an application memory allotment issue, but again, I couldn’t find a specific cause. I have plenty of storage, plenty of RAM, and haven’t had any issues with a specific app. Yet my machine continued to freeze randomly, some days dozens of times an hour. Shining a Spotlight on the problem So after macOS 26.1 didn’t clear up the issue, I decided to investigate further. Everything seemed okay in Activity Monitor, but I noticed an abnormality in the CPU tab. While the CPU LOAD chart didn’t appear to show any persistent issues, two processes—corespotlightd and kernel_task–were regularly using over 100 percent of the CPU. The corespotlightd process was using a ton of my available CPU percentage.Foundry I learned that each core counts as 100 percent, so technically, my MacBook could use 1,400 percent of the CPU. Still, it seemed high for a background task, so I kept an eye on it. Sure enough, corespotlightd was consistently using well over 100% of the CPU load and sometimes reaching near 200 percent. I assumed that was bad, so I went over to System Settings to check out the Spotlight tab. I don’t use Spotlight all that often, but when I did, it loaded quickly and didn’t show any obvious signs of slowing my system down. But this particular task’s name was obviously related to Spotlight, so I headed over to the Spotlight tab in the Settings app. Inside, there are a series of toggles for each of Apple’s apps, system content, and the Clipboard. But what stood out to me was the two at the top: “Show Related Content” and “Help Apple Improve Search.” In particular, the second one, which allows Apple to “store your Safari, Siri, Spotlight, Lookup, and #images search queries.” So I turned them off. And almost instantly, my CPU load dropped. I watched the corespotlightd process drop off my list of CPU percentage drainers, and the intermittent pauses stopped. I waited an hour or so, and it didn’t return, so I turned both toggles back on out of curiosity. It’s been about a week, and the issue hasn’t returned. I’m not sure if my issue was specific to my machine, but if it’s something you’re experiencing, try flipping those two toggles in the Spotlight settings. If that doesn’t work, try flipping the toggles for the individual apps, particularly Pages, since some readers have indicated they have issues with that particular app. It might just return your MacBook to normal.04:22 pmIndia's request for satellite-aided iPhone location data is a privacy nightmare
While India's government pulled its demand for a preinstalled iPhone app, it's now accused of previously considering a more privacy-eroding move for always-on satellite location tracking.A graphic Apple created for the launch of its online Apple Store in India in 2020 - Image credit: AppleAt the start of December, India's government backed down from an order for Apple and other smartphone manufacturers to preinstall a state-owned cybersecurity app. While it faced intense scrutiny and claims that it was a bad move for citizen privacy, it seems a far more intrusive plan has also been under consideration.According to sources of Reuters, India has thought about a telecom industry proposal to require smartphone producers to enable satellite location tracking. It is to be kept active, so as to better improve surveillance efforts. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums03:00 pmDesigners sound positively giddy about Apple’s new UI chief
His fellow designers are buzzing about Steve Lemay's appointment as head of user interface design at Apple and what it means for the future. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)