Apple TV went from industry skepticism to Cannes Lions recognition under Eddy Cue
Cannes Lions is honoring Apple Services chief Eddy Cue after Apple turned its once-questioned Apple TV push into a credible prestige entertainment business with growing influence in Hollywood.Apple SVP of Services Eddy Cue. Photo credit: Re/CodeCue will receive Cannes Lions' Entertainment Person of the Year honor during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which runs June 22 through June 26 in Cannes, France. Cue is also scheduled to appear in a keynote conversation with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose "F1" became one of Apple's highest-profile theatrical films.Cannes Lions is recognizing Apple's growing power across entertainment, advertising, and subscription services as much as it is honoring Cue himself. The festival focuses heavily on marketing, audience engagement, and platform influence instead of traditional Hollywood prestige.Cue fits naturally into that environment because Apple controls both the devices people use and the services delivered through them. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Google I/O 2026 had nothing to say and said it badly ahead of Apple's WWDC
Google I/O is always like a little amateur dramatics show, but this year the company could have boasted about making Apple rely on its Gemini. It just totally failed to do so.Sundar Pichai - image credit: GoogleToday the word "claptrap" is used to mean that someone is talking rubbish, but originally it was a theatrical term. It meant the bit in a show where the dancer or actor pauses in just such a way that the audience knows to applaud.This year's Google I/O seemed to have quite a bit of the modern meaning of claptrap. But, painfully, it also lacked the original one as, over and over again, presenters paused for applause that just did not come. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Activo Scoop review: Hi-Fi earbuds with a low-fi price
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Excellent sound quality Competitive price Useful accessories 3.5mm, 4.4mm and USB-C connectors Cons Wired-only, with few digital features Treble can sound a little over-bright Chunky design Our Verdict The Activo Scoop delivers impressive Hi-Fi sound at a budget price, with powerful bass, crisp detail and versatile wired connectivity. It lacks wireless features and noise cancellation, but the generous accessories and strong audio performance make it excellent value for wired listening fans. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed80.00 Best Prices Today: Activo Scoop Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who is Scoop for? Listeners who want strong Hi-Fi sound quality at an affordable price. Fans of wired headphones and lossless/high-resolution audio. People who use multiple devices and need 3.5mm, USB-C and 4.4mm connectivity. Rock, electronic and bass-heavy music fans who enjoy an energetic sound. Who is Scoop not for? Buyers who want wireless earbuds or Bluetooth convenience. Users looking for active noise cancellation or smart features. People who prefer small, lightweight earbuds with a minimalist design. Listeners who are sensitive to bright or forward treble tones. Astell & Kern is a well-known name in the high-end Hi-Fi market, but it recently launched a more affordable brand called Activo, aimed at buyers on a tighter budget. Its latest release is the Scoop, a set of wired in-ear headphones designed for Hi-Fi and lossless listening. Despite the lower price, the Scoop still delivers A&K’s strong audio pedigree, along with versatile connectivity and a generous set of accessories. A&K even describes the Scoop as an IEM (In-Ear Monitor), a term commonly used for high-quality earbuds designed for accurate audio reproduction. Our review covers the Scoop’s sound quality, comfort, design, accessories and multi-device connectivity, while assessing whether its audio performance outweighs the lack of wireless and noise-cancelling features. The Scoop’s earpieces are based on the shape of small pebbles that have been smoothed down over time to provide a comfortable fit. Iriver Company Design and connectivity The first thing you notice is the sturdy design of the Scoop, with chunky earpieces and a thick braided cable, which is also detachable. In fact, the cable itself is an impressive piece of engineering as – like many expensive Hi-Fi cables – it’s made of silver-plated copper wire, and uses ‘oxygen-free’ copper (OFC) that helps to reduce distortion that can affect the audio signal.  The cable has a standard 3.5mm connector attached when you open the box, but you can remove this and replace it with either the USB-C connector that is included for use with computers and mobile devices, or the 4.4mm connector that is provided for use with high-end Hi-Fi equipment (although a proper manual or quick-start guide would help for new users who aren’t familiar with this type of design).  The Scoop includes removable connectors for 3.5mm, 4.4mm and USB-C interfaces. Iriver Company How comfortable is Scoop to wear? The earpieces are a little on the chunky side, but A&K says that the design was inspired by the shape of a pebble that has been worn smooth over time in order to fit comfortably into your ear. And, as with many IEMs, that cable is designed to hook upwards and then wrap back behind your ear, rather than just hanging straight down from the ears.  This means that the Scoop isn’t the most elegant set of earbuds you’ll ever wear, but hooking the cable over your ears like that does help to keep the earbuds in place, especially if you’re out jogging or exercising. I was also pleased to find that the Scoop includes three sets of silicon eartips (S/M/L) along with three sets of memory foam eartips as well, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting a firm and comfortable fit for the earpieces. There’s also a sturdy carrying case included to provide extra protection when you’re travelling. That set of accessories is very good value at this price, but the real strength of the Scoop lies with the internal design of the earpieces. How does the Scoop sound? One reason why the earpieces on the Scoop are larger than many of their rivals is that they boast a ‘hybrid’ design that uses no less than five separate drivers in each earpiece. There are three conventional ‘dynamic’ drivers – which are the most common type of driver found in affordable earbuds such as this – along with two ‘balanced armature’ drivers, which are more typically found in expensive Hi-Fi headphones. That combination is designed to provide strong sound quality right across the frequency range, with the dynamic drivers handling the mid-range and bass, while the more precise balanced armature drivers handle the higher frequencies. That hybrid approach paid dividends when I used the Scoop’s USB-C connector to plug into Apple Music on my iPad Air. The electronic bass effects on You Should See Me In A Crown by Billie Eilish land with real weight, pulsing with an ominous energy as Billie whispers – “watch me make ‘em bow”. The bass doesn’t get out of control though, and the Scoop captures the breathy whisper in Billie’s voice, as well as the manic ticking of percussion that sounds like someone having a panic attack in the background.  The Scoop also works a treat on the head-banging guitar work of Brian May on the aptly titled Hammer To Fall – Headbanger Mix by Queen. There’s that same weighty sound again, this time on the opening drums and crashing cymbals, before May launches into the track’s crunchy riff. The Queen harmonies ring out clear and loud as they yell – “what the hell we fighting for?” – but the Scoop really comes into its own with May’s shrieking, wailing guitar on the final extended solo, underpinned by riffing power chords and the driving bass and drums. Some people might find the treble a little in-your-face but I’ve always loved the screechy sound of Brian May’s home-made guitar and the Scoop can handle dance music and heavy rock with equal authority. Should you buy the Activo Scoop? If you want wireless features such as noise cancellation or AI-powered tools like live translation, the Activo Scoop won’t be the right fit. However, for listeners focused purely on sound quality, these affordable wired earbuds deliver impressive hi-fi audio, powerful bass and crisp detail, along with excellent connectivity options and a generous bundle of accessories that make them outstanding value.

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Apple’s three goals for iOS 27 sound like a big win for users
We’re less than three weeks away from WWDC and iOS 27’s unveiling, and reporting indicates Apple has three main goals for the update that could be exactly what the iPhone needs. more…

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Apple Watch Ultra 4 might add better hypertension alerts
Apple is also said to be working on a major design and sensor upgrades. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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John Travolta unsure he will direct again after Cannes debut of Apple TV film ‘Propeller One-Way Night Coach’
John Travolta says he’s unsure he’ll direct again after making his feature directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival with the deeply… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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App Store fraud prevention a big numbers game powered by AI & human review
Artificial intelligence has helped Apple's human-based App Store Review process prevent over $2.2 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2025. It also rejected more harmful apps than ever before.The App Store is seeing more submissions all the time. Malicious app submissions are also increasing in number.Policing the App Store for malware is a task for the App Store Review team, which is getting tougher over time thanks to AI-assisted app development. However, artificial intelligence is also helping Apple combat harmful versions of apps.In a review of the 2025 submissions, Apple claims it had prevented over $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions. This brings the total over the last six years to more than $11.2 billion. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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How Apple blocked $2.2 billion in App Store fraud in 2025
For the safety of users and developers, Apple's App Store blocked over $2.2 billion in fraudulent transactions in 2025. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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What is a DAC? How to get better Lossless Audio on iPhone and Mac
Macworld Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President in charge of running Apple Music, recently gave an interview to Billboard magazine in which he discussed a wide range of topics, including the often thorny issue of lossless audio.  Following that interview, several media outlets reported Schusser as having said that “most people can’t tell the difference” when listening to lossless or high-res audio. In fact, what he really said was – “lossless actually doesn’t work over Bluetooth. When you have a wireless connection, lossless doesn’t actually work”. So Schusser was really pointing out the limitations of using Bluetooth for wireless headphones, rather than saying that lossless audio doesn’t matter at all (or, as suggested by some outlets, that it only matters to pretentious audiophiles who like to pretend that they can hear the difference).  It’s true that Bluetooth does require audio files to be heavily compressed for wireless transmission, and that compression can affect the audio quality even when using really expensive Bluetooth headphones such as Apple’s own AirPods Max. But, of course, that completely overlooks the option of using traditional wired headphones instead. Wired headphones do have the ability to play ‘lossless’ or ‘high-res’ audio that retains all the clarity and detail of the original recording – and, of course, many of the best Bluetooth headphones now provide a wired option as well.  However, most computers and mobile devices aren’t designed for handling lossless or high-res audio, so a DAC – a digital-to-analogue-converter – can help your Mac, iPhone or iPad to deliver the best possible sound quality to your wired headphones. Should you buy a DAC?  Consider a DAC if: you use wired headphones you listen to lossless/high-res audio you want better sound quality from a phone or laptop You probably don’t need a DAC if: you mainly use Bluetooth headphones you stream compressed audio only convenience matters more than audio quality Best starting point: Portable DAC under $100/£100

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Apple gives update on the App Store and its key protections
Ahead of Apple’s annual developer conference next month, Apple has shared an update on how the App Store serves users and developers alike with numerous protections. more…

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Siri doesn’t need a ‘bright’ makeover. It needs to be less dim
Macworld The invitations for Apple’s next keynote have gone out, and, as always, we can start poring over the artwork and tagline looking for clues. What has Apple got in store for us? Something worthwhile, we hope, but the signs are a little worrying. Earlier this week, Apple sent developers their invites for WWDC 2026, which begins on June 8. These feature the logo for Swift, Apple’s app programming language, in luminous colors on a black background, together with the customarily punning phrase “Coming bright up.” As my colleague Jason Cross notes, these elements (along with the brightly glowing text in the original announcement email) are likely a hint at Siri’s widely anticipated interface overhaul, which is expected to include a glowing Dynamic Island during active use. And while that sounds pleasant enough, it’s worrying to think that even now, Apple may believe the problem with Siri is that it isn’t sufficiently eye-catching. At the risk of repeating myself, Siri in its current form is an extremely poor voice assistant. It intrudes when it’s not wanted, turns a deaf ear when it is, mishears, disobeys, pronounces itself unable to perform simple commands, and generally lags behind the competition on both accuracy and range of features. It isn’t fit for purpose, and the most frustrating part is that it isn’t getting any better. Subjectively, in fact, it feels like Siri in 2026 is worse than at any time in its history. Apple has been working on a new, improved version of Siri for years (we were told about a major overhaul at WWDC 2024, and work on the project will have long pre-dated that announcement), but this hugely important launch keeps getting delayed. Go towards the light It’s hard to understand why a company with such a wealth of resources could have fallen so far behind. Apple even got a head start in the race to build a functional chatbot/AI assistant, having acquired Siri five years before OpenAI even existed. The most plausible theory is that Apple has struggled to build an accurate LLM while maintaining its pro-privacy policies: AI, after all, needs user data to learn, and running a successful AI business calls for a, shall we say, flexible approach to data ethics. Whichever path Apple chooses to get past this hindrance—the current approach seems to be buy-in models built by companies with less scrupulous privacy policies—which is an interesting way around the ethical side of things–it needs to act soon. The user experience with Siri is horrible, and the delay in its revamped version is getting ridiculous, not to mention costly. Siri got a new interface with the launch of Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, but has yet to get a performance upgrade.Apple But this is a targeted mission: a surgical strike, not a declaration of war. I don’t think the company needs to compete directly with rivals who’ve gone all-in on AI. It doesn’t, in my opinion, need to offer deep agentic AI or system-wise AI assistance. What it needs to do is fix Siri. For Apple, AI should be a means to an end, not a fancy demo to placate buzzword-crazed shareholders. Is this what we can expect at WWDC next month? I don’t know. The optimist would point out that products that are repeatedly delayed are sometimes worth the wait. They would add that Apple’s invitation clues generally refer to only one aspect of the imminent event, and are sometimes so vague they don’t really refer to anything. Even if WWDC 2026 were slated to feature a 45-minute apology for Siri’s inaccuracies followed by a comprehensive demo of its new flawless performance, it’s unlikely the company would have taglined the event, “We’re so Siri.” I’m trying very hard to be that optimist. Adequate or better Siri performance is the one thing I want from WWDC 2026, and it’s possible we’ll get it. But everything we’ve seen suggests that Apple is going to spend the entire keynote talking about new AI features presented in a new interface, and none at all explaining how it’s going to use AI to make existing functions work even half decently. If you’d like to keep up with the very latest news and rumors as we lead up to the event, bookmark our WWDC topic zone. Fingers crossed, and see you on June 8.

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New ‘Steve Jobs in Exile’ book reads like a lost season of your favorite series
This week marked the release of ‘Steve Jobs in Exile: The Untold Story of NeXT and the Remaking of an American Visionary,’ by author Geoffrey Cain, a deliciously thorough book that dives deep into the years that most people overlook when retelling the Apple co-founder’s famous redemption story. more…

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AI companies and data brokers even resort to fake forms to keep selling our data
Act surprised! A new privacy study has found that data brokers and AI companies deliberately deceive consumers who attempt to opt out of the sale of their personal data. An audit of the opt-out processes of dozens of major data companies found that they employ a variety of underhand practices – including fake forms … more…

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What to expect from iOS 27 at WWDC26
Given a steady drumbeat of reliable rumors, here are all the new features for iPhone to expect in iOS 27 in June. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Apple’s iOS 26.5 brings new ‘App Installation’ setting to Brazil, paving the way for third-party app stores
Apple is taking another step toward opening up the iOS ecosystem in Brazil. With the release of iOS 26.5, Brazilian users are now seeing… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Apple Immersive video on Real Madrid coming this week to Vision Pro
Apple’s latest immersive video for Vision Pro users is coming this week. It’s called Real Madrid: The Weight of Greatness and takes viewers inside the famous football club. more…

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Surfshark One+ Antivirus Review: Strong Mac protection held back by weak browser security
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Strong real-world malware protection Excellent built-in VPN features Minimal everyday Mac slowdown Cons Weak phishing browser protection Very slow full scans Unreliable beta security tools Our Verdict Surfshark One+ is a good value for users who want antivirus, VPN, and privacy tools in one affordable package. It performs especially well on Macs with minimal slowdown, and the VPN includes advanced features usually found in premium standalone services. Its biggest weakness is inConsistent phishing and scam-site protection in browser extensions, which is the main reason it falls short of an Editor’s Choice recommendation, especially when competitors offer more reliable web security tools. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When ReviewedSurfshark One, 24 months at $2.49 a month with 3 free months (Total for 27 months: $67.23); 12 months at $3.39 a month with 3 free months (Total for 15 months: $50.85); or $17.95/month. Best Prices Today: Surfshark One Retailer Price Surfshark $50.85 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket 15 months, 1 Mac$50.8527 months, 1 Mac$67.231 month, 1 Mac$17.95 Who should buy Surfshark One? Home users, students, and remote workers Mac users wanting lightweight protection Anyone who values VPN features as much as antivirus protection Small offices looking for affordable all-in-one security Who should skip Surfshark One? Users who want top-tier phishing and scam protection Power users needing advanced controls or customization IT admins wanting enterprise-grade tools Anyone bothered by slower scans or occasional interface lag Surfshark One+ Antivirus is an all-in-one cybersecurity suite that combines antivirus protection, VPN services, identity monitoring, private search, scam alerts, and privacy tools in a single subscription aimed at home users and small offices. Building on Surfshark’s strong VPN reputation, it delivers solid malware protection and smooth macOS integration alongside features such as Alternative ID, breach monitoring, and secure browsing tools at a competitive price. The standard Surfshark One package includes the VPN, Antivirus, Alert breach monitoring, Alternative ID, and Surfshark Search, while the higher-tier Surfshark One+ plan reviewed here adds identity theft coverage and data removal services. In this review, we test Surfshark One+ Antivirus as a Mac security suite, focusing on malware detection, VPN performance, phishing protection, and overall system impact during everyday use. We also examine how well it integrates with macOS security features, whether its privacy and identity tools add meaningful value, and how its long scan times and unreliable browser extensions compare with competing security suites. Malware protection: Excellent VPN quality: Very good Mac performance impact: Low Phishing protection: Weak Scan speed: Slow full-system scans Best for: Mac users wanting VPN + antivirus in one app How easy to use is Surfshark One? Surfshark One+ Antivirus is generally easy to use, particularly for home users who want an all-in-one security suite without complicated setup or enterprise-focused management tools. Installation is straightforward, with clear prompts guiding users through permissions for full disk access, network extensions, and VPN configuration. The interface is clean and well organized, and the Settings panel does a good job managing Surfshark’s wide range of features, including scheduled scans, VPN settings, notifications, content filtering, and account tools. The software also integrates smoothly with macOS security features such as Gatekeeper and XProtect, while features like custom scans, VPN server selection, and Alternative ID setup remain approachable for less technical users. There are some usability frustrations, however. Certain settings require too much menu navigation, some setup dialogs lack clear explanations, and the antivirus module can occasionally become sluggish during scans. The browser extensions and several beta features also feel less polished than the core antivirus and VPN tools, giving parts of the suite a slightly unfinished feel. Malware protection An surfshark antivirus scan of a full SSD in progress.Foundry The Antivirus module is the strongest part of Surfshark One+ and performed extremely well during testing, catching and quarantining almost every malware sample almost instantly once Real-time Protection was enabled. Integrated closely with macOS Gatekeeper and XProtect under macOS Tahoe 26.5, it detected nearly 100% of the 130+ malware strains tested. There were a few exceptions, including the XCodeSpy developer sample, which initially launched before Surfshark later attempted to block it using its Ransomware Shield feature. Performance was generally solid, and custom scans of external flash drives were easy to perform, although the antivirus engine occasionally triggered the macOS spinning rainbow wheel during heavier scanning tasks. Full system scans of an internal drive could take several hours and are best left running overnight, while Quick Scans completed rapidly and proved more practical for routine checks. Sorting out quarantined files after an antivirus scan in Surfshark.Foundry See how Surfshark One compares to the Best Antivirus for Mac apps we’ve tested. VPN and privacy tools Surfshark’s VPN client offered some pleasant surprises in that it’s not only functional and easy to work with, but it also offers a nice range of features, including standard geolocations, the ability to bookmark preferred servers, Static IP, MultiHop, and Dedicated IP settings. The client performed well, streams well, and held a solid connection, and the only odd moment surfaced when it switched over to a server in Denmark when I had previously been using a server in Canada. While it may not be as feature-rich as a dedicated VPN client, it works well and is good for road work. Read our review of Surfshark’s VPN offering and our Best Mac VPN guide. Surfshark Read our review Price When Reviewed: From $1.88 a month for 2 years + 3 free months. Usually $15.45 a month. Best Prices Today: $1.88 at Surfshark (Monthly) Identity monitoring Like just about every security package out there, Surfshark is more than happy to let you know when you’ve inevitably been hacked and offer services to support this. A quick check revealed the 18 data leaks my primary email account has been involved in over the years. You can also click the menu to see exactly which data elements were leaked (i.e., your user name, password, address, etc). The service offers credit card monitoring as well as ID monitoring, which can see if your social security number or other ID numbers have popped up across the internet. Alert settings can be configured with monthly or quarterly leak reports, as well as to remove all your data from the Alert module. Web and phishing protection Setting up web content filtering in Surfshark One+.Foundry This took a bit of digging around in the settings menu to set up the network extension, and the dialog windows don’t explain it perfectly, but it’s easy to set up filters for topics such as drugs, sex, gambling, hate speech, etc. Once the filter has been created (I created a gambling filter), the software does a good job of filtering out the more obvious websites, but there were gray areas, and websites such as Kalshi, Polymarket, and some casino/gaming websites were permitted. The definition of gambling may be up for debate on Surfshark’s end, making the filter less effective than you might want it to be. The Search feature centers around Surfshark’s privacy-focused search engine, which proved handy and offered a good, clean interface. The only major downside to the search engine is that it doesn’t arrive at an overall number of hits for your search term, which has always appeared at the bottom of most search engine user interfaces. This leads to clicking on the right arrow after your initial search is complete to find additional returns, and feels like an easy-but-prevalent bug that needs to be sorted out with an update. Following up on the ever-present business trend of identity theft, Surfshark’s higher-end subscription options offer Alternative ID, which allows you to create an alternate ID with an alt email for contact, or an alternative persona for social media, etc. You can have Surfshark randomly generate the information, or you can edit the false/alt ID yourself. An alternate phone number can also be created and maintained for an additional $2.44 per month, although this option is currently only available to customers in the United States. Browser Extensions Surfshark has released browser extensions for Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, which tie in to your browsers and purportedly help avoid email and phishing scams. This is, unfortunately, where things crashed and burned in our testing. The Microsoft Edge browser extension works sporadically, but still lets you visit questionable websites without offering a warning. The situation became worse with the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browser extensions, which allowed full access to all websites from my Gmail’s spam folder, save for the gambling websites that were being blocked by the test filter I had in place. Extra Tools & Beta features Extra tools include webcam protection, Ransomware shield, and Email scam checker, all of which are currently in beta. The Webcam and Ransomware shield modules work well, with the Ransomware shield feature jumping in to help the antivirus elements out in a pinch. Unfortunately, the Email scam checker is currently at a very hit-or-miss stage of its development as of this writing, and failed to block questionable websites. How we test Test scenarios included VPN streaming, malware detection on local and external drives, overall performance, ease of setup and installation, with tests being performed in-house. Antivirus testing took place among more than 130 malware samples from the Objective-C library, with the antivirus elements and Ransomware shield catching almost 100% of suspect files. We usually combine our hands-on testing with results from independent cybersecurity labs such as AV-Test and AV-Comparatives. However, at the time of writing, we could not find recent dedicated macOS test data for Surfshark One+ Antivirus from either lab, although Surfshark has received strong AV-Test scores in Windows-based protection testing. Performance & system impact Surfshark performed well during everyday use and ran quietly in the background without significantly slowing down the Mac. Background resource usage remained relatively light, and VPN, monitoring, and security services stayed stable during normal productivity tasks, streaming, and web browsing. The software adds some load during startup, but not enough to noticeably impact overall system responsiveness. External drives were handled competently, with easy custom scans for USB flash drives and removable storage, though connecting a new volume could briefly trigger slowdowns while Surfshark indexed and analyzed the drive. The main performance drawback involved occasional interface lag during scanning activity. At times, the antivirus module displayed the macOS spinning rainbow wheel while processing files, requiring a short wait before the interface became responsive again. Value for money Surfshark One+ offers good overall value by combining antivirus protection, a capable VPN, identity monitoring, and privacy tools at a lower introductory price than many competing security suites.Compared with rivals such as Norton 360 and Bitdefender Total Security, Surfshark is generally more affordable upfront, especially on longer-term plans. However, those competitors currently provide stronger phishing protection, more polished browser security tools, and broader security feature sets. Surfshark splits its subscriptions into two main tiers. Surfshark One includes the VPN, Antivirus, Alert breach monitoring, Alternative ID, and Surfshark Search. Introductory pricing typically starts around $2.49 per month on a 24-month plan, increases to roughly $3.39 per month on a 12-month plan, and rises significantly with monthly billing. Surfshark One+ adds identity protection services and Incogni data removal tools. Introductory pricing generally starts around $4.19–$4.29 per month on a 24-month plan, with higher costs on annual and monthly subscriptions. As with many subscription-based security suites, renewal pricing increases substantially after the initial term. Depending on the plan length and subscription tier, renewal rates can rise anywhere from roughly 30% to more than 100%, making the long-term cost worth considering before signing up. Surfshark offers a 7-day trial, though a credit or debit card is required during registration, alongside a 30-day money-back guarantee. The software supports macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later and runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Full pricing details are available at Surfshark’s website here. Should You Buy Surfshark One+ Antivirus? Surfshark One+ Antivirus combines strong malware protection, excellent VPN integration, identity monitoring, and privacy tools into an affordable all-in-one security suite for home users and small offices. In testing, its antivirus engine caught nearly all malware samples while integrating smoothly with macOS security features like Gatekeeper and XProtect, all without causing significant day-to-day slowdown. The VPN and customization options are also standout strengths. However, unreliable browser extensions remain the biggest weakness and the main reason Surfshark One+ misses out on an Editor’s Choice recommendation, as phishing and scam site protection proved inconsistent compared to competitors with more dependable browser security tools.

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Today in Apple history: AppleLink Personal Edition is the precursor to AOL
On May 20, 1988, Apple launched AppleLink Personal Edition, an online service that let customers connect using a Mac-style user interface. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Power up Apple gear with new pocket-size Ugreen chargers
A sleek new lineup of compact Ugreen Nexode and MagFlow Air chargers power Phone, iPad, MacBook Air and AirPods on the go. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

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Gartner Predicts AI Search Will Fatten PR Budgets
Gartner predicts AI-powered search tools will push brands to spend more on PR and earned media as companies compete for visibility inside chatbot-generated answers. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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