Apple agrees to third-party App Store alternatives in Brazil
Apple is going to allow iPhone users in Brazil to pay for apps and services outside of the App Store itself, all to settle an investigation into supposed anti-competitive practices in the country.The App Store is still under threat in Brazil. Apple has had to deal with regulatory pressure to open up the iPhone to third-party app storefronts in a number of countries. Following an agreement with a regulator, it's doing the same in Brazil.On Tuesday, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) in Brazil approved a cessation commitment term proposed by Apple, to put a stop to an investigation into anti-competitive practices. The deal, reported by Tecnoblog will last for three years, with Apple implementing changes under the agreement within 105 days. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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The Lowfree Flow84 is the mechanical keyboard Apple would make today [U: New model]
The Lowfree Flow84 is the latest episode in my on-again, off-again love affair with mechanical keyboards. I describe it as the mechanical keyboard Apple would make for a mix of good and bad reasons, but we’ll get to that! Update: There is a new version with touch sliders for volume and brightness – see the Pricing & conclusions section at the end. It’s one of a relatively new breed of low-profile mechanical keyboards, something that would have seemed a contradiction in terms just a few years earlier … more…

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Apple 2025 Review of the Year
Benjamin and Chance reflect on another year in Apple news. We cover all the big headlines from across the months, including the fallout of the Siri delays, the early iOS 26 redesign leaks, and the launch of all the new 2025 hardware like the iPhone 17 series. And in Happy Hour Plus, the pair check in on who won their annual prediction picks. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join. Sponsored by Copilot Money: The personal finance app to make your money yours. For a limited time, get 26% off your first year at try.copilot.money/9to5mac. Sponsored by Gusto: The online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at gusto.com/happyhour. Sponsored by Shopify: In 2026, stop waiting and start selling with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial at shopify.com/happyhour. more…

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Apple Wallet’s iOS 26 boarding passes now offered by Southwest Airlines, joining United and Delta
Apple's iOS 26 update has brought significant enhancements to boarding passes in the Wallet app, introducing features like shareable… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Apple Vision Pro (M5) review three-months later: A flawed wonder
The M5 refresh makes the new Apple Vision Pro faster and improves some features, but it doesn't change the fact that the headset still doesn't have a long-term place in most people's homes.Apple Vision Pro three-month review: This might be the most reflective headset ever soldThe M5 Apple Vision Pro was released in October 2025 and is the first refresh of Apple's spatial computer. The new chip is the only real upgrade, although Apple does ship it with the new Dual Knit band.In truth, the new band might be the biggest upgrade Apple has made here. And, thankfully, you don't need to buy a new headset to get one — Apple will sell you one separately for $100. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Remembering Apple pioneers: In memoriam 2025
Our Apple in memoriam 2025 feature honors figures associated with the company -- Bill Atkinson, Michael Scott, Steve Hayden and Jane Goodall. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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What would you think of these iPhone Fold aspect ratios? [Poll]
We’ve so far been assuming that the iPhone Fold would have a familiar aspect ratio on the exterior display, opening out into an interior screen which is taller than it is wide. However, a recent report suggested that the interior screen will be wider than it is tall, and some physical mockups give us an indication of how this might look … more…

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Malware bypassed macOS Gatekeeper by abusing Apple's notarization proccess
A new variant of the MacSync Stealer uses a code-signed Swift application to get around Apple's macOS Gatekeeper protections.The malware gets around Gatekeeper by being a notarized appGatekeeper on macOS does a pretty good job at fending off malware and other harmful software that could steal a user's data. While attackers come up with various techniques to trick the user into bypassing Gatekeeper, a new delivery method simplifies the attack process considerably.Researchers at Jamf Threat Labs posted about a new variant of MacSync Stealer on Tuesday that uses a different method to attack macOS. A method that manages to take advantage of the notarization system Apple employs. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Free two-hour delivery from Apple Stores now available for a limited time
From December 22 through to noon on December 24, 2025, Apple is offering free two-hour delivery from its retail stores for qualifying devices, and in certain areas.Apple is offering free delivery for the holidays, on certain items and in certain locations — image credit: AppleAs it has in previous years, Apple is dropping its usual $9 fee for two-hour delivery. It's specifically for the remaining time until noon on Christmas Eve, and keeps the same conditions as this fast delivery usually have.That means that the items bought must be in stock. The Apple Store must be in a city, although Apple only says that stores in "most metros" are taking part. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Pirate group says it has scraped almost the whole of Spotify
Pirate site Anna’s Archive, which describes itself as “the largest truly open library in human history,” says that it has scraped 99.6% of all the music people listen to from Spotify. It says the total data downloaded is a little under 300TB in size and that it will be making this available for torrenting … more…

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Why my favorite iPhone apps of 2025 belong on your Home Screen too
Macworld 2025 has been a pretty momentous year in terms of the apps I used on my iPhone. Whether it was a new discovery that changed the way I work, or an old favorite that kept delivering, iOS apps helped improve my life in multiple ways. Hopefully, you experienced something similar. Here, I highlight those apps and explain why I’ve chosen them as my top picks over the last 12 months. Perhaps they could help you in similar ways throughout 2026. AI: ChatGPT Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the world in unbelievable ways, with ChatGPT undoubtedly leading the charge. While Apple Intelligence struggled and floundered, OpenAI’s model went from strength to strength, and its ChatGPT iOS app showed how an AI app should work on iOS. I’ve found that ChatGPT is most valuable when it’s used in a targeted way or when you’re looking for a specific solution. Asking it vague, general questions is fine, but not where its real strength lies. No, ChatGPT was incredibly valuable to me in 2025 when I used it to find information that traditional methods just couldn’t locate. Using ChatGPT to resolve an Excel formula.Foundry For example, ChatGPT came in clutch time and time again with Microsoft Excel, of all things. I use Excel most days, and I often want to achieve a specific outcome using a formula, without knowing how to structure the actual formula that I need. But if I try to find the answer using Google, I get nowhere; the search engine is absolutely useless at understanding what I want. Ask ChatGPT, though, and it instantly has the correct answer drawn up in seconds. Better yet, I can ask it to adjust the formula, and it’ll tweak its solution, ready to go. It’s a glaring example of the deficiencies of modern search engines compared to AI. ChatGPT has helped me in countless other ways, big and small, where I’ve been left frustrated after searching forums or trying Google. If these methods get you nowhere, give ChatGPT a try. Just be sure to double-check the solution somewhere else, as OpenAI’s chatbot is still capable of the odd hallucination. Reading: Matter The most frequent way I use my iPhone is to read online content. Sometimes that means ceaselessly scrolling Reddit, while other times it means saving articles for later. Pocket used to be my read-it-later app of choice, but when Mozilla shut it down, I went searching for alternatives. The app I settled on was Matter. Like Pocket, Matter makes it incredibly easy to save articles from around the web thanks to its share sheet integration, web browser extension, and more. It’s even set up to import your saves from other like-minded apps in just a few taps, which made switching from Pocket utterly effortless. Matter for iPhoneFoundry It’s stuffed with handy extras, like a tool that will transcribe your podcasts so you can read along (with a built-in AirPods gesture for highlighting paragraphs), or a discovery feed of fresh articles you might like. It looks great and is plenty customizable, and it can speak your articles aloud in a convincingly natural AI voice if you don’t fancy reading. It’s ramped up my learning this year and has filled a Pocket-shaped hole in my digital life. Meditation: Down Dog Self-improvement and self-understanding are trending ideas these days, but you don’t have to go looking for some modish fad to improve your life–try out the ancient practice of meditation instead. It can leave you feeling calmer and with a better knowledge of yourself and your foibles, and there’s no better app I’ve found to help you do that than Down Dog’s Meditation. Down Dog for iPhoneFoundry While many alternatives offer you a pre-made meditation curriculum that you must follow to the letter, Down Dog takes the opposite approach by making almost everything customizable. You can change the meditation topic, the background music, the session’s theme, whether it’s guided or not–if it is, you can change the voice of the person leading the practice. Better yet, all the voices are recorded by real people without a trace of AI. Its wide range of adjustments means I can fine-tune each meditation session to my liking. However, I’m feeling on any given day, I know I’ll get something valuable out of the app because it adapts to me, not the other way around. Calendar: Fantastical Apple’s Calendar was my planning app of choice for years, although it was largely an unthinking choice. It was just there, ready to go. When I did start thinking about it, I realized I could do so much better. Enter Fantastical. Long a favorite of Apple fans, this app adds a wealth of features that Apple’s default app lacks, from a variety of views and customization options to natural language input and quick weather indicators for each day. You can set your day-to-day availability and let people make appointments with you, too. Fantasical for iPhoneFoundry I’m someone who regularly switches between the Apple ecosystem and my Windows PC, so Apple’s Calendar was never the ideal app for me because it doesn’t exist on Microsoft’s operating system. Fantastical, though, has a Windows app, letting me finally make the switch on all my devices. It’s never been easier for me to organize my day and stay on top of my schedule. Podcasts: Overcast I listen to a lot of podcasts, so it’s important that the app I use is up to scratch. The choice I’ve settled on is Overcast, and it ticks all the boxes for the kind of platform I’m after. Overcast for iPhoneFoundry Spend a little time with it, and it becomes obvious that this is an app made by someone who cares about podcasts. There’s a huge array of clever little touches and adjustable features that can make the app your own: you can change how far the back and forward buttons skip, for example, or enable the Smart Speed feature to cut down on silent moments without impacting sound quality. It’s all wrapped up in a clean, intuitive interface that’s easy on the eye (in both light and dark modes) and features many changeable options and elements. That makes it enjoyable to use and simple for anyone to pick up. Travel: Hopper There’s nothing quite like booking a vacation abroad to give you something to look forward to, but actually making it happen can be an exercise in frustration. That’s why I started using Hopper, and it’s helped make the process a whole lot smoother. Hopper can do a lot of things: offer up deals on hotels, for example, or give you a place to find a rental car. That’s all well and good, but it truly comes into its own when it comes to booking a flight. This is the app’s feature that I used the most. Hopper for iPhoneFoundry Search for a flight and Hopper presents a color-coded calendar showing the best (that is, cheapest) days on which to book a flight. This is often the difference between getting a bargain and spending a few hundred more dollars than you need to. Hopper combines this with price predictions, so if now’s not the right time to pull the trigger, it’ll let you know. If you’re not quite ready to book, you can also pay a little to freeze the price and protect against it rising–I never needed that feature, but it’s nice to know it’s there. Now, I never check flight prices without going through Hopper first. It’s a handy weapon in your arsenal if you love traveling and hate overpaying. Sports organization: Spond I’m a soccer fanatic: I love watching it, but most of all I love playing it. But trying to get everyone organized before practice or a game sucks when you’re trying to do it over Messages or email. Instead, I ditched those methods and switched to the Spond app this year, and it’s made a world of difference. This app is all about helping people manage sports groups and ensuring everyone shows up week after week. Club members can say whether they’ll be playing each match and pay their subs through their phone, while organizers can set the location and remind people to respond if they haven’t already. There’s handy contextual information, too, like directions to the pitch and a weather forecast for kick-off time. Spond for iPhoneFoundry Now, I don’t worry about haphazard communication and chaotic game days. Instead, I just handle everything in one place on my iPhone. I can’t say it’s made me play any better, but I’m working on that.

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EU takes credit for iOS 26.3 features, says it encourages innovation
The European Union has taken credit for new interoperability features in iOS 26.3. The bloc says that this will create a market for new innovative products and services. The latest beta release has a strong focus on making iOS more open, including much better support for third-party smartwatches … more…

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Car makers are taking us for a ride over CarPlay
Macworld CarPlay is still giving some automotive CEO a bad case of road rage. Take, for example, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, who was interviewed over on Stratechery (subscription required). As with most discussions with CEOs in literally any industry in the Year of Our Lord 2025, most of it revolves around AI. Eventually, however, they get around to the question the Macalope wanted answered, which is what, exactly, is your problem? Specifically with CarPlay, which Rivian, like several other auto manufacturers, does not allow to sully its beautiful automobiles. It is a good question, we get asked that a lot. Oh, really? You don’t say. Probably because CarPlay is so freaking popular. Not to hear Rivian talk about, though. In Rivian’s eyes, everyone’s crying out for that hot Rivian UI. We’re very convicted on this point. Interesting word choice because there’s “convinced” which means sure about it, there’s “conflicted” which means not sure about it, and then there’s “convicted” which means guilty. Paging Dr. Freud. Dr. Freud, meet your party in women’s lingerie. Because that’s where the slips are, you see. Yeah, you got it. Our view is a lot of the applications will start to go away and you’ll have your AI assistant. [Screech of tires, sound of a guardrail being broken, sound of car exploding over Take The Wheel AI Jesus Gulch] …when you say, “Rivian, tell me what’s on my schedule for later today”, you don’t care that it has to go agent to agent to Google Calendar to pull that out, you just want the information… And while you already trust Apple with that information, you definitely want to expand that circle of sharing to include… [checks notes]… your car manufacturer. [Picks up sheet of paper again] Seriously? Is that what it says? So as we’ve thought about this, inserting any sort of abstraction layer or aggregation layer that’s not our own just is extremely risky… As opposed to just using the aggregation layer that the driver is used to in literally every other moment of their lives. The fundamental problem with the argument from these auto manufacturers is they imagine you are in your car all day, every day. You have a house, but why go in it? It’s full of screaming children! Your children! And they make the car so nice! Why would you want to be anyplace but this wonderful car?! …our goal is to make it such that… …if they were to go back to CarPlay, they’d miss having the integrated holistic experience that we can create. Sure, sure, they use an iPhone all day long, they’ve used one for 18 years, but that 15 minutes in the car when they went to the Piggly Wiggly was so magical, they want that experience so much they’ll sit in the garage with the motor running. Good thing it’s electric! If you’d like to receive regular news and updates to your inbox, sign up for our newsletters, including The Macalope and Apple Breakfast, David Price’s weekly, bite-sized roundup of all the latest Apple news and rumors.Foundry This would seem delusional except for the fact that these auto manufacturers don’t really believe this themselves. These are just fantastical arguments they offer in order to sell their idea, which is really just about getting more user data in order to make more money. Once again, a car manufacturer is here to tell us they’re just doing what Apple does! [Apple] would never have a screen in a screen on their own devices. [Note to self: Photoshop that awkward monkey look meme with a picture of iPhone Mirroring and insert it here, it’ll be hilarious.] It’s like you have two different UIs playing out and I just think it’s poor UI, it’s a poor user experience. Yes, but no. First of all, this happens all the time. Anyone who owns a television knows the pleasure of navigating the TV operating system UI and any number of different UIs from streaming services. Second of all, instead of providing a window to a user experience the driver is used to all day long, you’re forcing them to use one they are less familiar with for the relatively smaller portion of the day they’re in the car. So we brought Google Maps in, which was a big one… Recall that the big reason Apple Maps even exists is because Google wanted more user data than Apple was comfortable giving them. Scaringe claims that once they get a Rivian, customers forget all about CarPlay because Rivian’s experience is so good. Either that or they just get CarPlay head units. We will never agree on this issue, but the main reason we will never agree on it is that the Macalope wants a particular user experience, and Rivian and other car manufacturers who eschew CarPlay want user data so they can sell it. [Programming note: The Macalope will be off next week for the holidays.]

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Apple @ Work Podcast: Inside the 2026 Mac Admin Survey and what it means for Apple IT
Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple. In this episode of Apple @ Work, Alexander Tatarchuk joins the show to talk about MacPaw’s Mac Admins Survey 2026. more…

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Aukey MagFusion 2X 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Station review: Twice as nice
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Two 25W wireless charging modules Raised charging pad is adjustable Cons Requires USB-C wall charger Our Verdict The Aukey MagFusion 2X is superior to standard 2-in-1 wireless chargers by being able to wirelessly 25W fast-charge two iPhones simultaneously, as well as swapping one for a wireless-charging AirPods case as you require. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$66.99 Best Prices Today: Aukey Qi2.2 MagFusion 2X 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Station Retailer Price Aukey $66.99 View Deal Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket One of the hits of the 2025 IFA technology tradeshow in Berlin was Aukey’s range of 25W MagFusion chargers for iPhone and Apple’s other devices. The first 25W MagFusion product to hit the shelves is the MagFusion 2X Wireless Charging Station 2-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger (or LC-MC213 if you want to be formal). This stands apart from most 2-in-1 wireless chargers, not just because of the 25W charging speed, but also because it can charge two iPhones at that speed. Aukey MagFusion 2X: Double the power Most 2-in-1 wireless chargers can power up an iPhone and a pair of AirPods or maybe an Apple Watch. Those standard 2-in-1 chargers usually employ a 5W or 7.5W area for the AirPods or Apple Watch, which don’t require a great deal of power to charge. The Aukey MagFusion 2X, on the other hand, boasts two Qi 2.2-supporting 25W charging pads: one on a 6-inch (15.2cm) arm and the other flat on the stand’s base. Simon Jary Of course, you can certainly use it to charge an iPhone and an AirPods case, just as with other 2-in-1 chargers, but the ability to fast-charge two iPhones is the real selling point. Even if you don’t have two iPhones, surely someone in your house or office needs to charge their phone at the same time as you. Either way, the Aukey MagFusion 2X is unique in its ability to simultaneously wirelessly service two iPhones at such a speed. Simon Jary Aukey MagFusion 2X: Performance A Qi2.2-certified 25W charger should wirelessly power up an iPhone from 0 to 50 percent in just over 30 minutes, where a 15W charger will take more like 45 minutes to do the same. To get the iPhone to 100 percent takes more than twice that time, as iPhones (and any other device) will charge more slowly as they get nearer to full capacity, which is why we compare chargers at their speed to 50% percent rather than 100 percent. That said, a 25W charger should beat a 15W charger by about 25 minutes from 0-100%. Note that only the iPhone 16 and 17 series support 25W wireless charging, with the iPhone Air limited to 20W due to the size of its battery. Older iPhones will charge at Qi2’s standard 15W. Check out which wireless charging speed your iPhone supports. In our tests, the Aukey MagFusion 2X took 31 minutes to get an iPhone 16 Pro from 0 to 50 percent. Older 15W Qi2 versions of the Aukey MagFusion range an active cooling system (called Omnia-Frez Cooling Technology) to ensure efficient and safe charging. The 15W MagFusion 2X doesn’t feature such a fan or cooling fins despite the higher power. That might result in lower charging times in some situations, but we didn’t experience any slowdowns in our real-world tests. The Aukey MagFusion 2X doesn’t ship with a wall charger, and the company recommends you use one with an output power of 67W or higher. If you can’t use your MacBook’s charger or need a spare, check out our reviews of the best USB-C chargers for options. Simon Jary Aukey MagFusion 2X: Design The Aukey MagFusion 2X looks suitably futuristic in gunmetal gray. Its raised charging pad is adjustable, with a 30-degree vertical rotation. Of course, the iPhone can be placed in either a portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) orientation. At 6 x 5.3 x 2.4 inches (15.2 x 13.5 x 6cm), it’s a small desk footprint, and it’s pretty light too at 11.2oz (318g). The arm feels robust and stable, and the magnetic connection to both charging pads is strong. The charging port attaches to your wall charger via the supplied 6ft USB-C cable, neatly positioned at the back of the base. Simon Jary Aukey MagFusion 2X: Price The Aukey MagFusion 2X is available only in the U.S. and E.U. at the time of writing, with a price of $67 or €70. While this is a more than reasonable price tag, just keep in mind that you need to provide your own USB-C wall charger (67W or higher for maximum charging speeds) if you don’t own a spare already. Check out alternative options in our reviews of the best magnetic wireless chargers. Should you buy the Aukey MagFusion 2X? The Aukey MagFusion 2X is superior to standard 2-in-1 wireless chargers by being able to wirelessly 25W fast-charge two iPhones simultaneously, as well as swapping one for a wireless-charging AirPods case as you require.

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Backbone Pro review: A premium gamepad at a very premium price
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Comfortable to use Robust and accurate controls Works with and without a phone case Cons No rumble ALPS rather than Hall-effect joysticks High price Our Verdict The lack of vibration and Hall-effect joysticks may be off-putting, and that price tag is no joke. But I love the attractive design, comfortable and reliable controls, and easy-switching, device-agnostic versatility. This gets my recommendation. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$169.99 Best Prices Today: Backbone Pro Retailer Price Backbone $169.99 View Deal Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket As a gaming device, the iPhone has much to recommend it: it’s highly portable, you’re probably carrying one anyway, and you’ve got a million compatible games to choose from. The main problem is that many of the best iOS games (such as Fortnite, which finally returned to iOS this year) were designed with other platforms in mind, and don’t suit touchscreen controls. That’s when you need to buy yourself a gamepad. As iPhone gamepads go, the Backbone Pro sits right at the top end. It costs a whopping $169.99/£159.99, more than three times what you’d pay for an official Xbox controller (which iPhones are compatible with), so it needs to perform miracles to justify that price. Does it? Well, let’s find out. Design and workmanship The Backbone Pro looks like a gamepad or gaming handheld with the middle part missing. There’s a reason for that: the gap is designed to accommodate an iPhone, although this isn’t compulsory. More on this in the next section. There are lots of hardware controls. On the left side you get an ALPS thumb joystick, a D-pad, and two option buttons; on the right there are X/Y/A/B buttons (in the traditional Xbox configuration rather than the heretical Switch style), another thumb joystick, another option button, and a dedicated button for the Backbone app. Then there are four shoulder buttons–L1 and L2, and R1 and R2–and even two lower rear M1 and M2 buttons which sit under your ring fingers. There are also two ports on the bottom, a female USB-C for charging and a 3.5mm headphone jack, together with a final button for wireless pairing. The Backbone Pro feels great in the hand.David Price / Foundry Aside from being astonishingly numerous, these controls are robust, accurate in use, and mostly very comfortable. (The one exception is that I wouldn’t want to use the M1 and M2 buttons very much, because the ring fingers are naturally weaker than the rest, and with my hand size it wasn’t possible to use middle fingers while still being able to reach L1 and R1. But for occasional functions, they’re fine.) Serious gamers will quibble about some choices, such as the joysticks being ALPS rather than Hall effect, which is more precise and has a longer lifespan. The lack of rumble/vibration may also cause some raised eyebrows at this price point. But using the Backbone Pro is a delight, and thanks to the ergonomic design, weight in the hand, and pleasingly textured finish, it feels like the premium gaming accessory it is. What’s the Backbone Pro like to use? Setting up the Backbone Pro is relatively easy. Tuck the top edge of your phone into the slot on the left, push the gamepad’s two halves apart, then attach your iPhone to the male USB-C connector on the right. (This is the method illustrated in the marketing video, and I find it much easier than opening the halves before fitting the phone into the slot, which was my misguided first instinct.) Your iPhone is thus held securely in landscape orientation, and you can use the D pad, thumb controllers, and X/Y/A/B buttons to play games on a super-sharp display without having to waste screen space on sub-optimal touch controls. I tested the Backbone Pro with an iPhone 17, and this fit just fine with or without a standard silicone MagSafe case. That’s an important consideration, because having to uncase your iPhone and then recase it after adds an element of friction that will put you off using the product. It’s also compatible with the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, the iPhone Air, all five 16-series iPhones, and all four 15-series iPhones. Note that you can also use the device as a standalone controller by connecting wirelessly to an iPhone, iPad, Mac, smart TV, VR headset, or other device (even a PC!). This adds the complications of Bluetooth–you may notice some slight lag on very speed-intensive games, although I didn’t–and of course you will need to keep track separately of the Backbone’s battery as well as that of whatever device you’re playing on. The simplicity of plugging a single USB-C cable into the Backbone’s port and charging both the gamepad and its docked phone can be a pleasing convenience for the forgetful. The Backbone Pro works with an iPad just as happily as an iPhone.David Price / Foundry There is, however, one minor point in favor of playing wirelessly: the first few times you use the gamepad in docked mode, you may find it fiddly navigating to your desired game. iOS home screens don’t have a landscape orientation, so you end up awkwardly holding the docked phone at 90 degrees until you’ve found the app and launched it, before returning to a normal position in the game. The slot covers on either side also block access to the short edges of your phone’s screen, which makes it difficult to access the home indicator when you’re in a portrait-orientation app–which you shouldn’t be, but this may still catch you out if you dock your phone before thinking to close down the previous app. But these are just teething pains. You’ll quickly realise that the best approach is to open your game of choice, then put the phone in the gamepad. Testing out the app There’s another option which you may find easier still, and that’s to use the Backbone app. This can be accessed at any time by pressing the bright orange button assigned to that purpose. The makers would clearly like you to treat the Backbone app as your central gaming hub, and it serves moderately well in that role. The “Your games” library is a convenient way to jump straight to your favorite titles without having to navigate your phone. Sensibly, this list is compiled manually rather than simply auto-populating with all the compatible titles on your device, and while the in-app search function isn’t always intuitive (insisting I need to download games that are already on the device, for example, or serving ads encouraging me to sign up for the Apple Arcade service I already get through Apple One) you can simply press the orange button while in a game to add it to the library. The Backbone app is a useful starting point for your gaming sessions.David Price / Foundry The app also contains a rather endearing selection of “Instant games,” quick and cheap retro browser games that are good for a laugh. It’s a shame that, here again, the interface proves less than helpful; the app initially offered a selection I could add to my library, but once I’d done so, that option was no longer easy to find. (Eventually, I found the remaining games by going to the main search and selecting Edit filters > HTML5 Games.) But the most useful functions of the Backbone app are more utilitarian. Under Settings, you’ll find recording modes (together with Twitch integration), and the ability to create controller profiles with assigned buttons. And under Controller Center, you can pair with, manage, or forget known devices. This is important because the gamepad will, by default, try to connect with the most recently connected device. But to be honest, my experience of device switching was very impressive; almost Apple-esque in its ability to second-guess what I wanted it to do without needing to be prompted. Thanks to a clever feature called FlowState, you don’t need to keep re-pairing each time you want to switch devices, and that’s a big plus point. Should you buy the Backbone Pro? There are certainly issues with this product. If you’re a serious gamer, the lack of vibration and Hall-effect joysticks may be off-putting; if you’re not, there’s that $169.99/£159.99 price tag. So the head says no, but the heart says yes. I love the attractive design, comfortable and reliable controls, and easy-switching, device-agnostic versatility. Against my better judgment, and with several caveats, this extremely premium gamepad gets my recommendation.

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iOS 26.3 will give third-party earbuds a taste of Apple’s pairing magic
iOS 26.3 takes another step toward opening Apple’s ecosystem, making it easier for third-party earbuds and wearables to work seamlessly with the iPhone. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Complete your new Mac with Microsoft Office for just $50
Macworld TL;DR: You can get Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac for $49.97 (MSRP $219) and keep it for life. A lot of people unwrap a brand-new computer around the holidays, whether it’s a gift from someone else or a much-deserved upgrade you treated yourself to. But a new machine does not always come with the software you actually need. If your setup feels a little unfinished, a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 can fill in the gaps for $49.97 with no ongoing fees. This version gives you the core apps most users rely on every day: Word for writing and editing Excel for budgeting, tracking, and number crunching PowerPoint for presentations Everything installs directly on your Mac and runs as native desktop software. No subscription, no cloud dependency, and no surprise charges. Once you redeem the license and activate it with your Microsoft account, it stays tied to your Mac for life. If your holiday computer upgrade did not include Office, this is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to complete your setup. It works with current macOS versions like Sonoma, Sequoia, and Tahoe and is ready to use right after download. Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 for Mac is available now for $49.97 while this limited-time offer lasts. Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

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iPad Pro & Nintendo Switch 2 are perfect companions with a portable dock
The Nintendo Switch 2 requires a compatible dock to work, and the official one is quite big, but Kuxiu has a functioning dock that works great at a desk and on the go with your iPad Pro.iPad Pro can be a display for the Nintendo Switch 2When Apple introduced support for connecting devices like capture cards via USB-C in iPadOS 17, my first idea was to use the iPad Pro as a portable Nintendo Switch display. Due to restrictions with how the Nintendo Switch 2 works, third-party docks are harder to find, but I managed to get one from Kuxiu.This tiny dock can be purchased with or without a LAN port at $25 or $30 from Walmart, so it's quite a bit cheaper than even the standard dock sold by Nintendo. It supports 4K output and has two USB-A ports for accessory charging. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer review: easy multi-color printing with AMS
The Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer is about as easy as this hobby can get, with simple setup, one-button printing from an app, auto-leveling, and a four-spool AMS, it'll be hard to stop printing.Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer reviewI'm still a 3D printing novice that has only dabbled in the space since I tested the Flashforge AD5X. That was a good starter printer, but I've moved up a tier to the Bambu Lab P1S, and it's tough to look back.One of the first things I learned about 3D printing was that the filament needed to be stored somewhere dry. The lack of an Automatic Material System, or AMS, was a big sticking point for the AD5X, even though it did have four spools built in for multi-color, it wasn't enclosed. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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