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- Friday December 19
- 10:15 pmNew Powerbeats Fit ad starring Travis Scott features a new unreleased track and an old tweet | 9 to 5 MacNew Powerbeats Fit ad starring Travis Scott features a new unreleased track and an old tweet
Beats’ new campaign, “Dare to Dream,” recreates Travis Scott’s childhood bedroom and the moment he manifested his path to becoming a global superstar. Watch it below. more…10:04 pmESET Home Security Premium Review: Excellent protection, but there are bugs
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Excellent antiviral and malware protection, that caught everything Spam/phishing protection that caught 100% of the questionable websites during testing Simple, reliable VPN client Cons Installation and setup issue The Settings pane feels buried Assorted bugs, including the Scheduler function failing during testing Our Verdict ESET Home Security Premium offers genuinely excellent core protection features that caught nearly everything that was thrown at it, along with the most impressive spam and phishing filters we’ve seen to date on macOS, which is also accompanied by a reliable VPN client. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Retailer Price ESET (first year, 1 device) $49.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Price When ReviewedEssential: $49.99 a year for one device; Premium: $79.99 a year for one device Best Prices Today: Eset Home Security Retailer Price ESET (first year, 1 device) $49.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket 1 year, 1 Mac (Premium) $79.991 year, 1 Mac (Essential)$49.99 There’s intent, and there’s execution, and sometimes the two don’t always mesh perfectly, but still yield an impressive result. This is the case with ESET Home Security Premium, the latest offering from Slovakian security firm ESET. ESET, which is continuing its foray into the Mac marketplace, has subtly updated its offerings for 2025. The new version, which retails for $39.99/£27.99 and up for one device for one year at an introductory price point, requires macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later to install and run, and a free 30-day trial period is in place that doesn’t require a credit or debit card to be entered, albeit you’ll have to set up an ESET account. The software is centered on its antiviral/anti-malware core and also features a VPN client that’s designed to get you up and running quickly without battling with the settings VPN users sometimes find themselves tied up with. If there’s a poignant obstacle to ESET Home Security Premium, it came early, and while it was easy enough to download the software from the ESET website, installation turned into a struggle. (And it was confusing that the software name switched to ESET Cyber Security). The software installs a number of extensions, proxies, and modules into macOS, which have to be granted permission, making the setup a bit more manual than might be expected, as opposed to a typical software installation. Once permission was granted for everything involved, the software hit a strange bug in installing its SSL certificate, which required troubleshooting, a Terminal command workaround, and reinstallation to allow the certificate to pass through and for normal web traffic to resume. This took some finagling, and perhaps it’s a unique case or something more widespread; it’s something for the developers to take a look at should it surface again. Where its core elements are concerned, ESET Home Security Premium knocks it out of the park. The antiviral/anti-malware function offers a typical scan mode, a custom scan mode, and allows you to submit viral samples to ESET to help identify viruses and offer updates to protect against them. [Find out how ESET compares to the best Mac Antivirus apps in our group test]. Scanning the computerFoundry The scanning module is capable of multiple simultaneous scans (such as a typical scan and a custom scan on a specific folder or external volume), and the feature offers both .zip and .dmg file format scan support, but has to be configured within a deeper scan. As for the scan results themselves, these are impressive, and next to nothing out of an extensive sample library was in a position to get through outside of a few instances where you’d have to go through multiple warning screens and bypass macOS-level system protections to execute virus and malware samples. The software itself meshes well with the macOS’ Gatekeeper and Xprotect functions, pinning down just about everything before it has a chance to install itself and upend your system functionality. In addition to this, the scan essentially nukes the vast majority of the sample malware after it was decompressed, offering little to work with in the way of potential viral and malware infections, which proved impressive. Foundry ESET seems to have heard the clarion call where its Protections module was concerned, and amidst the multitude of extensions the software installs, the software offers Computer, Network Access, and Web and Email protections, which, for the first time I’ve ever seen, were able to bat 1,000 on spam and phishing emails from my Gmail’s Spam folder. Here, the software provided adequate warnings as to links from questionable spam and phishing websites, but still allowed you to travel to the site if you wanted to. The sites offering free power tools that I’d won? There was a warning about this. The sites telling me I had a $17,000 Cash App payment that I didn’t know about? There was a warning. Websites offering questionable medical and casino access? The warning was there, and this proved genuinely impressive. ESET’s VPN client may be somewhat bare-bones compared to a dedicated client, but it excels in terms of reliability and ease of use. The proxy settings are useful; there’s an overall internet kill switch if needed, as well as easy geolocation options to choose the country and region you’re logging in from. This may not appease the hardcore VPN user who needs more extensive options, but it’s impressive for everyday use. VPN functionFoundry ESET’s settings feel a bit tucked away, but what’s there is actually remarkably impressive and gives you a huge amount of control over the modules, their performance, how strict the blocking and filters are, firewall settings, what kind of exception/whitelist can be built, and how external volumes are recognized and handled on your Mac. The settings are well-categorized, and there’s a remarkable amount of control to be had here should you decide to take a few minutes and play with things. This is coupled with a readily accessible Help and Support module, which adds quick access to ESET’s help page, technical support, and Knowledgebase, and acts as a useful jumping-off point to get to the section of the ESET website that you need. Outside of the installation foibles and the issue of sorting out the SSL certificate, ESET Home Security Premium installed easily and performed well, albeit there are a few things that could use some attention. The .dmg and .zip scanning and removal feel a little strange, as the scan located these, but seemed to vary in how it handled them, which can arguably be adjusted in the settings. The settings themselves are a powerful chunk of the program, but feel buried, and a quick introduction/tutorial could readily point them out and encourage the user to adjust them as needed. A Scheduler function buried within the settings supposedly allows for scans and other functions to be programmed in and executed, but failed to activate after two tests, which raises an eyebrow and could stand some debugging. If there’s a motif with ESET Home Security Premium, it’s that this is a powerful set of tools, but without quite the polish that it requires to be a must-buy utility. The settings felt buried under layers with little drawing attention to them and what they were capable of, the installer offered a semi-battle royale to get the SSL certificate up and running, the application’s Scheduler feature felt tucked away and didn’t execute during testing, and despite an incredibly powerful element of protection where viruses, malware, spam, and phishing efforts were concerned, the application needs some debugging while ESET itself needs to decide which tools to present to the user instead of opting for minimal simplicity in its home screen interface. In the end, ESET Home Security Premium is impressive and worth trying out, and some of its features are as impressive as I’ve ever seen, but it needs some debugging and polishing to get it over the final hurdle. Still, with a free 30-day trial in place and no credit or debit card needing to be entered, this may be worth trying out to see how it fits into your everyday Mac lifestyle. Should you buy ESET Home Security Premium Some bugs and rough edges aside, ESET Home Security Premium offers an impressive value via its raw protection features. Elements such as antivirus and malware detection, email filtering, and commendable integration with macOS’ own security frameworks offer excellent performance, and the simple but powerful VPN client offers what’s needed for day-to-day users. This, combined with a 30-day trial, allows for a good evaluation period without having to surrender payment information.09:49 pmThe Tim Cook era at Apple looks to be winding down
As we step into 2026, a historic leadership transition is unfolding at three of America's most pivotal corporate giants. We're talking… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.09:37 pmThis smartpen automatically digitizes anything you write
Enjoy the timeless feel of writing by hand with the perks of modern technology with the SyncPen 4 smartpen set. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)08:45 pmApple stops signing iOS 26.1, here’s what that means
If you’re running iOS 26.2 and had been thinking about downgrading, you missed your chance. Here are the details. more…08:13 pmYou’ll soon lose access to ChatGPT’s Voice feature on macOS
If you rely heavily on ChatGPT’s Voice feature on the Mac app, be warned: the feature is going away early next year. Here are the details. more…08:01 pmiPhone 18 Pro rumors: Under-display Face ID, variable aperture cameras, more
The iPhone 18 Pro is nowhere near release, but plenty of claims have already been made about Apple's next flagship. Here's what the rumor mill thinks is coming.The iPhone 18 Pro is expected to deliver a multitude of improvements.With its 2025 iPhone lineup, Apple's high-end models underwent significant changes, both visually and functionally. Titanium was replaced with aluminum as the case material, and the familiar rear camera bump expanded into a rectangular camera plateau.Its planned successor, the iPhone 18 Pro, more than likely won't deliver significant design alterations. In many ways, we expect an iterative upgrade, but that doesn't mean it won't include major performance enhancements. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums08:00 pmApple TV drops ‘Pluribus’ season finale early: Stream the epic conclusion on Christmas Eve! | Mac Daily NewsApple TV drops ‘Pluribus’ season finale early: Stream the epic conclusion on Christmas Eve!
Fans of "Pluribus" get a holiday treat: no agonizing seven-day wait for the season one finale. Apple TV typically rolls out fresh episodes… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.07:39 pmYou can now watch Stanford’s 2025 SwiftUI development lectures for free
All 16 videos and supporting material from the Spring 2025 version of Stanford’s CS193p (Developing Applications for iOS using SwiftUI) course are now online, for free. more…07:23 pm9to5Mac Daily: December 19, 2025 – iPhone Fold, Apple Music news
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Sponsored by Backblaze: Give yourself the gift of peace of mind. Till the end of the month, 9to5Mac listeners get 30% off with code 9to5Xmas. more…07:11 pmThis Mac superpower lets you copy text from any PDF [Pro Tip]
Trying to copy text from a PDF can be a nightmare. But the Mac has Live Text, a secret trick up its sleeve to make it dead simple. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)07:10 pmHomeKit Weekly: Aqara Hub M200 brings Matter support and new automation options to HomeKit | 9 to 5 MacHomeKit Weekly: Aqara Hub M200 brings Matter support and new automation options to HomeKit
The smart home world is continually moving toward Matter, and Aqara is one of the companies driving this transition forward at a steady pace with its new products this year. Their latest hub, the Aqara Hub M200, replaces their older hubs and features a cleaner design, along with support for Matter. For HomeKit users, this means another step toward a future where more Aqara accessories can integrate seamlessly with the Home app, while still leveraging the benefits of Zigbee behind the scenes. more…06:52 pmA Request Regarding ‘Magic Link’ Sign-Ins and Apple’s Passwords App
I despise this design pattern, because it’s inherently slower than signing in using an email/password combination that was saved to my passwords app (which is Apple Passwords) and autofilled by my web browser. It’s not just a little slower but *a lot* slower.06:36 pmGift guide: Last-minute HomeKit recommendations
Crafting a smart home ecosystem can be tricky. There are a lot of product categories, and it can be hard to know which ones to prioritize. Here are some of my go-to smart home recommendations for outfitting a smart home — and they all make great gifts this holiday season. more…06:35 pmMissing Safari’s full Toolbar? Here’s how to bring it back to your iPhone.
Hate the compact Safari browser controls in iOS 26? You can easily switch the iPhone Safari toolbar back to the full-featured design. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)06:34 pmHoliday Deal Alert: $100 off Apple Watch Series 11; hits all-time low of $299
As of December 19th, select colors of the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) are back down to their record-low price of $299, or $100 off… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.06:00 pmiMessage is full of features you’re probably not using (but should) [Video]
It feels like every year, Apple quietly adds dozens of small features and improvements to the Messages app, but most of them fly under the radar. These aren’t flashy or eye-grabbing features, but they are the type of features that really help the quality of life and experience of the Messages app. If you are like most people, then you have probably been using the Messages app the same way for years, meaning you are barely scratching the surface of what the app can do. Here are some of the best Messages features that you need to know. more…05:59 pmLast call for Christmas: These $199 AirPods Pro 3 are the perfect gift
Macworld If you’re still doing some last-minute gift shopping and have no idea what to get, you really can’t go wrong with a pair of Apple AirPods Pro 3, especially since you can get them for $199, a $50 discount, and still get them in time to wrap and put under the tree. The AirPods Pro 3 are easily one of our favorite earbuds of the year. When we reviewed them, we gave them a 4.5-star rating and our Editors’ Choice award, and loved the sound quality and long battery life. And the new foam-infused tips solved one of the main issues we had with the AirPods Pro 2. These earbuds deliver better noise cancellation and a much-improved Transparency mode that will make having conversations while wearing them so much better. The Live Translation feature is also pretty awesome when you’re traveling. One really cool thing with these earbuds, however, is the fact that they come with heart rate monitoring, so they can keep track of your health while you’re exercising./ So there you go: The AirPods Pro 3 are under $200 — a pleasant surprise just in time for last-minute holiday shopping, so grab a pair before Santa shows up. The AirPods Pro 3 are down to $199 againBuy now at Amazon05:41 pm∞ The Dalrymple Report: Holiday returns, Apple account lockout, and iOS
It's holiday time and Dave and I both purchased Apple gifts for loved ones. We talk about our desicsion process and Apple's holiday return policy in case you need to return something. We also talk more about changes to iOS in JApan and if theose types of changes could happen in other parts of the world. Dave tells the story of someone who was completely locked out of his Apple account for no apparent reason and can't get anything back. Follow this podcast Brought to you by: Notion Agent: Go to https://notion.com/tdr to try your new AI teammate, Notion Agent, today. Copilot Money: For a limited-time: Get 26% off your first year when you sign up at copilot.money (new users only, web only). Get two months free with code DALRYMPLE. Start the new year with clarity. Your money, beautifully organized, now across every device. Show Notes: Apple’s holiday return/refund policy Rob Reiner Dick Van Dyke turned 100 Apple announces changes to iOS in Japan Shows and movies we're watching The Victim, BritBox F1, Apple TV Pluribus Becomes Apple TV’s Most Watched Show Ever05:40 pmmacOS 26.2 adds one of the smartest video calling features I’ve seen in years
While it was somewhat overshadowed by the release of iOS 26.2, Apple also released macOS 26.2 last week. This update introduces one of the most clever video calling features I’ve seen in years: Edge Light. Here’s how it works. more…