Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids are ‘incredibly clear’
Apple’s new clinical-grade hearing test and hearing-aid capability for AirPods Pro 2 arrive next week through a free software update… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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With iOS 18, loving your iPhone is a real chore
Macworld It’s fair to say that iOS 18 is more highly customizable than any prior release. The big personalized lock screen update of iOS 16 definitely let us add some personality to our iPhones, but that’s nothing compared to the freedom to fiddle afforded in iOS 18. Unfortunately, that means you’re going to have to do a little work. Apple’s latest major update lets you customize the lock screen shortcuts, expanded customization of the Action button (which is now available on all new models), finally gives you full control over the Home screen layout and color, and includes an all-new Control Center with multiple pages, third-party controls, resizable controls, and more. And let’s not forget the redesigned Photos app, which moved around and reorganized everything. The freedom to customize these things to your liking is unprecedented, but so is the need to customize these things. The defaults aren’t particularly great, and in some cases have infuriated users who update and can’t stand the way Apple has changed things. You can really love iOS 18, but you’ll have to spend a decent chunk of time setting things up the way you like them first. What a chore! Make the Action button more useful Last year, the Action button was only for the iPhone 15 Pros, but this year it’s on all four iPhone 16 models. What’s more, Apple has added a few more options to it, and it’s easy to set up, so let’s start there. Open Settings > Action Button and swipe through the options to pick something you think might be a little more useful than the mute function. Apple Apple Apple Apple provides lots of options, but the most powerful one is the ability to launch a Shortcut, which lets you perform powerful actions with a single long press of the Action button. You can play around with it or find some good examples at MacStories.net. My favorite function is to set the Action button to open the Control Center, which is only possible if you’re running iOS 18.1 (in beta, at the time of this writing). Here’s how: Make a new Shortcut and add the “Show Control Center” action to it. That’s it! (Here’s a link to mine if you find that useful—open it on your iPhone.) Then go to the Action Button settings menu and set it to activate that shortcut. Swap out your Lock screen buttons The next easiest thing to do in getting iOS 18 customized to the way you like it is to swap out your Lock Screen buttons. It has been Flashlight and Camera for so long, you may have never considered what else you want them to be. With iOS 18 you can pick between lots of other functions, and third-party apps can even make functions available here. Long-press on your lock screen (if you’re on your Home screen, swipe down your notifications shade from the top edge). Tap Customize, then tap Lock Screen, and you can tap the icons to remove them and then replace them with other functions. You can Shazam a song, open an app, start a stopwatch, open ChatGPT, and so much more. Foundry Foundry Foundry If you have an iPhone 16 with the Camera Control button, your camera will be one press away no matter what you’re doing on your iPhone, so you can certainly can replace the Camera lock screen button. Rearrange your Home screens Maybe you have your Home screen (or screens) set up just the way you like. Perhaps you’re holding on to a dozen folders from years past, refusing to give the App Library a chance. That’s fine, but you may still enjoy a little glow-up to your Home screen. Tap and hold any empty spot on your Home screen until the icons all jiggle and get a (-) symbol in the corner. You can drag around your icons wherever you want now, even leaving empty spaces for widgets or just to see your wallpaper better. From this view, tap Edit in the upper left and then Customize. Here you can change icon size, set them to always be Dark or Light, or give them a custom tinted look. If you want to go further, add widgets (drag same-size widgets on top of each other to make a smart stack) or add or remove entire Home screen pages. Build a Control Center you’ll love This will probably take more time than any other customization step, but it can also have the most impact (especially if you set your Action button to open Control Center, as described above). Open Control Center (swipe down from the upper-right corner) and tap the + button in the upper-left corner. This will put you into Edit mode. You can tap and drag controls to rearrange them, or tap and drag the corner to resize them. Some controls really look and act differently at different sizes, so experiment with it. Foundry Foundry Foundry Tap (+) Add a Control at the bottom of the screen to add new controls—some of the apps you have installed can provide controls too, and some will be updated to add new controls over time. Bear in mind that the Control Center has multiple pages, and you swipe up and down to flip between them. You can put multiple copies of the same control on different pages, or even the same page. Fix the Photos app The new Photos app in iOS 18 has been met with mixed reviews (to put it charitably), but most of its problems come from all the scrolling and swiping you have to do to get to what you want. Just scroll all the way down to the bottom and tap Customize and Reorder. You can turn off the categories you don’t want and drag the ones you do want into a different order. With a little pruning, the Photos app gets a lot easier to use. Foundry Foundry Foundry

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Why the ‘iPhone SE Plus’ makes more sense than you think
Macworld Just when we thought we’d got a handle on next spring’s iPhone SE 4 launch, a hugely surprising leak comes along and throws everything into doubt. The 4th-gen SE has been the subject of numerous rumors ever since the iPhone 16 came out last month, from the return of the notch and the first Apple 5G modem to a lack of new buttons and lenses. But one thing that most sources have agreed on is the basic idea that it will once again appear in a single size, based on the chassis of a standard iPhone model from the past two to three years: most likely the iPhone 14. That now appears to be out of the window. Images of 3D-printed dummy models have been posted by the Apple blog Macotakara, and these clearly show two sizes: one based on the iPhone 14, and another larger model based on the iPhone 14 Plus. This is a new concept and, if accurate, would come as a major shock. The iPhone SE has historically been Apple’s cheapest smartphone, but it has also been one of the smaller entries in the range: with the mini no longer an option, this is the handset customers go for if they find modern smartphone design too bulky for their tastes (or pockets). The 3rd-gen SE is smaller than the iPhone 14 in every dimension and weighs about 16 percent less, so the expected 2025 redesign was already going to involve a certain amount of upscaling. So creating an SE Plus would be a major rethink of what the SE is supposed to offer. Apple has never offered two variations of the iPhone SE. Apple has never offered two variations of the iPhone SE.IDG Apple has never offered two variations of the iPhone SE.IDG IDG But the move makes sense if you think about the importance of Apple Intelligence. Apple still sells the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 but neither supports its AI platform. Every sale of one of those handsets is another customer who won’t be contributing training data and helping the company to catch up with ChatGPT and will be missing out on the marquee iPhone feature of 2025. So the ideal would be to replace them as soon as possible with something of similar price and spec, only with the ability to run Apple Intelligence. The next SE fits the bill perfectly, but only if it comes in two sizes so there’s something to replace the 14/15 Plus as well. Next spring, then, Apple unveils the 4th-gen SE in two sizes, based on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. This, coupled with the in-house 5G modem and A18 processor, and support for Apple Intelligence, is enough to generate plenty of media coverage and customer interest, without pushing up the price too much. But it also maneuvers Apple into a position where it can safely remove the entire 14- and 15-series iPhone families from its store, and from then on sell only phones that support its AI system. Neat, right? Well, maybe. I only said it makes more sense than you’d think, not that the plan is foolproof. Clearing out all the unsold iPhone 14s and 15s still represents a major logistical headache, and the SE brand has been somewhat tainted since the unpopular 3rd-gen launch. It remains to be seen whether customers will be prepared to pay as much for an SE as they would for an 18-month-old “full fat” iPhone. For that matter, there are doubts over the leak itself. MacRumors, for one, describes the rumor as “highly dubious given previous reports and Apple’s typical strategy for its budget iPhone line.” Which is true, as I discuss above. And dummy models should never be taken as firm evidence of anything. Anyone can knock up a dummy model. Still, I wouldn’t dismiss the idea out of hand. It would be a radical move, but that’s what the SE line needs. For all the latest news and rumors, check our regularly updated iPhone SE 4 superguide.

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Apple's AirPods Pro 2's impressive hearing test launch date confirmed
The first reviews of the AirPods Pro 2 hearing features are out, and they also confirm that the launch is to be before the end of October.Apple's AirPods Pro 2 are about to gain a clinical-grade hearing test featureReviewers are all saying no more than "next week," but this is in line with the expected October 28, 2024 release of iOS 18.1. Overall, reviewers are also all saying that the hearing test in particular is impressive."At times, the experience has been emotionally intense," said Chris Welch in The Verge. "But this is a big milestone — and it seems inevitable that Samsung, Google, and other tech heavyweights will follow Apple's lead fairly quickly." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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What’s great about movies, shows and games in Vision Pro
My Vision Pro has largely replaced my television for evening entertainment — shows, games or perusing through my photos. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts are still very much in catch-up mode
Apple's new iPad mini supports Apple Intelligence, but Apple's artificial intelligence play won’t actually begin rolling out until about… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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New price drops hit Apple's M3 MacBook Air, on sale from $899
A price war has developed between Amazon and Best Buy, with Apple's M3 MacBook Air now marked down to just $899.Save $200 on Apple's M3 MacBook Air.We covered a $200 price drop on the upgraded 13-inch MacBook Air with 16GB RAM/512GB storage earlier today, but the same $200 discount is now in effect on the standard M3 Air as well. Both Best Buy and Amazon have the 13-inch Air with an 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage marked down to $899 this Monday.Buy M3 Air from $899 Continue Reading on AppleInsider

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iPhone SE 4 mockup shows 6.1-inch screen with TrueDepth notch
Images of a 3D-printed mockup of the iPhone SE 4 offer a glimpse of what Apple's latest budget-focused smartphone update could look like.iPhone SE 3Apple is rumored to be introducing a new model of iPhone SE sometimein 2025, with it introducing a number of changes to the form factor. Photographs released late on Sunday provide a hint at what to expect from the update.Procured from sources in Alibaba, the 3D-printed mockup received by Macotakara offers the familiar appearance of the iPhone 14. In rumors, it is said that Apple will be borrowing design elements from that iPhone generation, a technique it commonly uses for the iPhone SE. Rumor Score: 🤯 Likely Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple confirms iOS 18.1 is launching next week
Apple has officially confirmed that iOS 18.1 will launch to the public next week, alongside a major new firmware update for AirPods Pro 2 users. iOS 18.1 includes the first set of Apple Intelligence features, such as Writing Tools, notification summaries, and Clean Up in the Photos app. There are a number of non-Apple Intelligence features included in the update, too. more…

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New AirPods Pro hearing health features launching next week, here’s a first look
In September, Apple announced major new hearing health features for AirPods Pro 2 focused on providing an end-to-end experience for prevention, awareness, and assistance. The new hearing test, hearing aid, and upgraded hearing protection features are all set to launch next week with iOS 18.1. Here’s a closer look at what to expect. more…

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Internet Archive hackers sending email replies to support tickets [U]
Update on October 21: The hackers still have access to support tickets and the email addresses of the users who submitted them, and are currently sending replies. An Internet Archive data breach has been confirmed by the organisation, which has also been suffering Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. The home of the Wayback Machine was previously attacked back in May … more…

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Tim Cook’s side hustle as Nike board director just got tougher
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been the main independent board director for sneaker company Nike for the past 19 years, but the brand is currently facing its biggest challenge during that time … more…

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Why and How Lenovo Is Outpacing the Competition in AI
Lenovo's strategic supplier partnerships and innovative use of AI are positioning the company ahead of its competitors, as highlighted by key takeaways from Lenovo Tech World 2024 that demonstrate its approach to AI innovation. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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Kwikset introduces Halo Select – A Matter-enabled smart door lock
Today, has announced the upcoming launch of Halo Select, a new smart door lock designed with built-in Wi-Fi and Matter support. This lock allows for easy smart home integration without the need for a hub or getting locked in. You can control the lock via the Kwikset app, enabling remote access, locking/unlocking, and granting entry to guests through unique codes or in-app, with real-time notifications to track activity. Once you integrate it with your smart home platform, you can also control it from there. more…

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The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $64 Off
Apple’s outdoor smartwatch gets another discount for the Black color option. Today, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS+Cellular 49mm model is down to just $734.89 from its original price of $800 on Amazon. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is made to go with you virtually everywhere, from the mountains to the depths of the ocean. […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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iPhone 16 Pro owners report random hardware restarts
Several iPhone 16 Pro users are claiming that their iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro devices are randomly freezing and restarting. Apple Support communities as well as online forums are abuzz with the issue of iPhone 16 Pro Max and Pro models suffering from random restarts and freezing. Apparently, the iPhone slows down […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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iPhone 17 Slim to have 6.6-inch screen
The upcoming iPhone 17 Slim is said to have a 6.6-inch screen and undergo a new design change. According to analyst Jeff Pu, the iPhone 17 Slim will be thinner and arrive with the other iPhone 17 models in 2025. The Haitong International analyst added that the 6.6-inch display will have a complement of the […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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Independent media app exits Russia App Store
Apple has removed an independent media app in the App Store in Russia following a report from the local government claiming it contains ‘undesirable content’. The Current Time app has exited the App Store- it’s an independent media website and service by the Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. The Russian media agency, Roskomnadzor, insisted […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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Tim Cook defends Apple coming late to AI with four words
While the iPhone 16 launch was all about Apple Intelligence, many have accused the company of being very late to the AI party. Indeed, a new piece yesterday suggested that this view is shared by many inside the company. But Apple CEO Tim Cook argues in a new interview that he doesn’t see it that way, and says that the company has taken its time with AI for the same reason it has with every innovation … more…

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Every new Apple product coming in 2024 and 2025
Macworld Over the past few years, Apple has overhauled its entire product range, including transitioning the Mac from Intel to its own processors, introducing the tough Apple Watch Ultra, adding a new Plus model to the iPhone lineup, and introducing a brand-new product category – the Vision Pro.  In this article, we take a look at what we expect Apple to launch before the end of 2024, in 2025, and beyond. We have investigated every rumor and trend we could find to bring you our predictions. Read on to find out what could be in store. October 2024 update: Apple has introduced a new version of the iPad mini, but we think that there is more to come before 2024 comes to an end. What new Apple products are coming in 2024? So far in 2024 Apple has released the following new products: Apple launched the Vision Pro headset in the U.S. on February 2. The M3 MacBook Air launched on March 4. The M2 iPad Air, the M4 iPad Pro, and the Apple Pencil Pro all launched on May 7. iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus launched on September 9. iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max launched on September 9. Apple Watch Series 10 launched on September 9. AirPods 4 launched on September 9 and new colors for the AirPods Max were introduced. iPad mini A17 Pro launched on October 15. We still haven’t seen an M3 or M3 Pro Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro (despite the M3 becoming available and the M4 arriving with the iPad Pro). What else can we expect to see in 2024? And what is coming in 2025? In the sections below we’ve split products into categories including Mac, iPad, iPhone and some new product categories. Read on to find out what to expect at Apple next event, throughout the rest of the year, and in 2025. Apple Apple Apple New Macs With the update for the Mac Pro at WWDC back in June 2023 Apple finished transitioning all its Macs from Intel processors to its own silicon. Apple launched the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips at the end of October 2023. The M3 MacBook Air launched since, but the rest of the Mac range has been silent this year, despite the M4 arriving in the iPad! We can expect the following updates soon: M4 Mac mini & Mac mini Pro The M3 chip has been out for more than a year and a Mac mini update mini is long overdue. The rumors indicate that the new Mac mini update is going to jump straight to the M4 chip, and we may see it before the end of 2024. However, there are also rumors that the Mac mini is getting a new, smaller design, in which case the wait could be a little longer. Read: New Mac mini rumors. When? October 2024 M4 MacBook Pro The year has sped by and it’s now almost a year since the M3-series MacBook Pro models arrived. You guessed it, Apple is said to be about to update the range again. Rumor has it that the M4 MacBook Pro, and the M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook PRo, will arrive in October. Read: M4 MacBook Pro rumors. When? October 2024 M4 iMac Alongside the M4 MacBook Pro we could also see an update to the iMac. Read: iMac M4 release date. When? October 2024 Despite the anticipated arrival of the M4 chips in October it looks like we could be waiting even longer for the other Macs to be updated. M4 MacBook Air Apple’s popular laptop isn’t expected to be updated in October. For that one we could be waiting until spring 2025. Read: MacBook Air M4 release date When? Spring 2025 Mac Studio The Mac Studio is another Mac likely to bypass the M3 and jump straight to the M4 Max and M4 Ultra, the real surprise/disappointment is that Apple is making its creative customers wait so long for the update. If Apple doesn’t update the Mac Studio until June 2025 it will have been two years. Read: M4 Mac Studio rumors. When? June 2025 Mac Pro If the Mac Studio is getting an update with the M4 Max and M4 Ultra you can rest assured that the Mac Pro will too, the question is just how long will we have to wait? Read: M4 Mac Pro rumors. When? June 2025 iMac Pro There may be a new iMac with M4 chip coming, but it’s still got a 24-inch screen. What people want is a return of a more professional iMac with a bigger screen. Apple is said to be working on a Pro version of the iMac, a return of the 27-inch iMac Pro perhaps, or even larger. It sounds like an M4 Pro iMac might happen, but we could be waiting a little longer for that one. Read: Larger iMac Pro rumors When? June 2025 New iPads The iPad Pro The iPad ProDominik Tomaszewski/IDG The iPad ProDominik Tomaszewski/IDG Dominik Tomaszewski/IDG No iPads were updated in 2023 – the first time a year passed without an iPad update. Almost the whole range got a refresh in 2024, with the new iPad Air and iPad Pro in May and the iPad mini in October. What of the standard iPad? 11th-gen iPad The 10th gen iPad joined the lineup in October 2022 so a new model can be expected soon. The 11th-gen iPad as likely to support Apple Intelligence, so it will need the A17 Pro chip used by the 2024 iPad mini. Read about the 11th-gen iPad. When? October 2024 New iPhones A new set of iPhones arrived at Apple’s 2024 iPhone event on September 9, but what of the iPhone SE? iPhone SE Don’t expect to see this in September, but there have been a few rumors about the iPhone SE. A supposed leak revealed a bigger screen, notch and Face ID, for example. This isn’t the first we’ve heard of a bigger version of the iPhone SE. The question is, will it still feature the Home button? Read about the iPhone SE Plus. Read: iPhone SE rumors. When? Spring 2025 iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro The iPhone 17 won’t arrive until September 2025, but there are already rumors about it. Read: iPhone 17 rumors When? September 2025 New AirPods The AirPods Max and AirPods Pro have had the odd update since they launched a few years ago, but the next generation is yet to materialize. Will they get a full update in 2025? The wait for new AirPods Pro could stretch beyond 2025. They could offer new health-related features when they arrive. As for the AirPods Max, now that Apple’s refreshed the colors it’s unlikely to do anything else for a while. Read: New AirPods rumors. When? September 2025 New Apple Watch The Apple Watch Series 10 arrived in September 2024, with a larger screen, but there was no generational update for the Apple Watch Ultra or the Apple Watch SE. Expect bigger things for Apple Watch Ultra in 2025. New product categories If Apple was never to innovate away from the products it makes right now it could be left behind as technology progresses. It’s no surprise therefore that the company is working on various new areas. We don’t expect these to land in 2023, but rumors suggest that some of them still could arrive sooner rather than later. HomePod with screen We do hope there is some truth in the rumors that Apple is working on a HomePod with a screen. We’ve always said that a screen would make the HomePod infinitely more usable, but perhaps we are the only ones who hate having to talk to our speaker and control the HomePod via an iPhone (which can be a drain on the battery). A screen would extend the uses of the HomePod beyond audio into visual – so you could watch podcasts and news reports and YouTube videos, but most usefully communicate via FaceTime. So far all Apple has done is brought back the full-size HomePod that it removed from sale. Read: HomePod with screen rumours. When? 2025 An HomePod that combines the screen of an iPad could be on the cards. An HomePod that combines the screen of an iPad could be on the cards.Foundry An HomePod that combines the screen of an iPad could be on the cards.Foundry Foundry Vision Pro successor The Vision Pro is pricy and a little cumbersome, but Apple is said to be at work on two updated models: a less-expensive version, and another high-end model. Perhaps “Vision Pro 2” and “Vision Air?” There could be four new AR/VR products coming in 2025, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. These could include a cheaper Vision Pro model (at $2,000). When? 2025 or later What Apple released in 2023 Apple hit the ground running in 2023 with new Macs and a new HomePod in January. Then at WWDC in June the company launched no less than three new Macs and a brand new device – the Vision Pro – alongside revealing its plans for macOS 14 Sonoma, iOS 17 and watchOS 10. Finally (maybe) Apple launched the new iPhone 15 series and the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 at an event in September and then made macOS Sonoma and iOS 17 available for customers to download later that month. Then at an Apple event on October 30 the company unveiled new MacBook Pro and iMac models. M2 Mac mini Mac mini with M2 Pro 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro chip New full size HomePod (bit of a surprise this one!) A larger 15-inch MacBook Air A new Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra A new Mac Studio, also with M2 Ultra and M2 Max. iPhone 15, Plus, Pro and Pro Max 2023 Apple Watch Series 9 And Ultra 2 M3 iMac M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBook Pro (14-inch and 16-inch) And of course, the brand-new Vision Pro headset was unveiled (although it won’t arrive until 2024) What Apple released in 2022 12.9-inch and 11-inch M2 iPad Pro 10.9-inch iPad, 10th generation iPhone 14 and 14 Plus iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max Apple Watch Ultra Apple Watch Series 8 Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) AirPods Pro (2nd generation) iPhone SE (3rd generation) iPad Air (5th generation) Mac Studio (1st generation) Studio Display M2 MacBook Air M2 13in MacBook Pro What Apple released in 2021 HomePod mini in new colors MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max AirPods (3rd generation) Apple Watch Series 7 iPhone 13-series iPad mini (6th generation) iPad (9th generation) iMac M1 iPad Pro M1(3rd and 5th generation) Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) AirTag What Apple released in 2020 AirPods Max MacBook Air M1 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 Mac mini M1 iPhone 12-series HomePod mini iPad Air (4th generation) Apple Watch SE iPad (8th generation) Apple Watch Series 6 27-inch iMac (Intel) 13-inch MacBook Pro (Intel) iPhone SE MacBook Air (Intel) iPad Pro (2nd and 4th generation) For information about what Apple launched in the decade before that read: Best Apple products of the decade (2010-2019)

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How to change your Apple Watch ringtone and alert sounds
Macworld It’s almost crazy to think it, but for the last decade Apple has not allowed you to change the default ringtone, notification sounds, or alerts on your Apple Watch. Finally, watchOS 11 gives us this very basic capability, but you’d be forgiven for not knowing about it because it’s not in the watchOS 11 release notes. Here’s how you change the default ringtone and other sounds on your Apple Watch with watchOS 11. Change ringtones and sounds using your Apple Watch On your Apple Watch, open Settings then scroll down and tap Sound & Haptics. (Press the Digital Crown to see your full list of applications.) In the Sound & Haptics settings, you have to scroll a screen or two down to find the settings for various sounds. You can change these six alert sounds: Ringtone Text Tone New Mail Calendar Alerts Reminder Alerts Default Alerts Foundry Foundry Foundry Change ringtone and sounds using your iPhone Like most Apple Watch settings, it’s easier to change these settings using a linked iPhone. Open the Watch app, then select Sound & Haptics. You’ll find the same six sound settings there. Foundry Foundry Foundry

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Apple supporting national parks initiative in China, likely for two reasons
Apple is supporting a national parks initiative in China, geared to providing training and education within the field of nature conservation. The work in five of China’s national parks is being done through the China Green Carbon Sink Foundation, and the company likely has both public and private objectives … more…

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Cook says Apple wasn't first with AI, but will be the best
Ahead of it rolling out to users, Tim Cook says that Apple Intelligence is already changing lives — including his own.Tim Cook — image credit: AppleApple has been reported to be as much as two years behind the rest of the artificial intelligence industry, and CEO Tim Cook does not care. On the one hand, Apple has actually been doing AI under the name Machine Learning for at least a decade, but on the other, Apple doesn't look to be first."We weren't the first to do intelligence," Cook told the Wall Street Journal in a new interview. "But we've done it in a way that we think is the best for the customer." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Why is Apple ignoring its most important iPad?
Macworld Given the choice, Tim Cook would obviously prefer customers to spring for the most expensive versions of Apple’s products. The Ultra version of the Apple Watch, the Max version of the AirPods, the non-mini HomePod, and the Pro versions of everything else. The problem is that customers generally feel the opposite—and nowhere is this truer than in the tablet market. Surely some creative professionals use an iPad Pro for their work. The iPad Air has its fans too, and even the iPad mini is likely to shift some units after its (disappointingly minor) update last week. However, the vast majority of iPad users go for the standard model. Because of the low price, and because the way they use their tablet doesn’t require a super-fast processor or a high-end screen. For most people, the decision is a no-brainer. Given the disproportionate popularity of the vanilla iPad, it feels odd that Apple has this year unveiled updated versions of every model except that one. In the spring we got a new Pro and Air; in the fall a new mini; but there’s no sign of the 11th-gen iPad and it’s starting to look like we won’t get one before the end of 2024. But that’s the iPad people want! It would be like Marvel announcing that it isn’t going to make any more Spider-Man movies so it can focus properly on Howard the Duck. I suppose from a strategic point of view, based on the upsell mentality I outlined in the first paragraph, it makes a certain amount of sense. By dropping the price of the 10th-gen iPad Apple keeps the loyalty of customers who prioritize value above all else, but by refusing to bump its specs the company can nudge everyone else towards the iPad Air. But it still feels dangerous for Apple to ignore its most popular and important iPad because, like a pub owner getting rid of the dartboard, this risks alienating the core of the user base. Owners of the standard iPad may not update their machines very often, because having the latest specs isn’t necessary for checking your emails on the sofa. But when they do decide that it’s time to look for a new model, how are they going to feel about the state of the range right now? Offered the choice of spending far more than they planned to, or getting an iPad that was last updated in 2022 and is likely to be replaced in the near future, some will decide not to bother, and others will start to ask their grandchildren if Samsung makes iPads. Neither is a good outcome for one of Apple Park’s most beleaguered departments. And that’s before we get to Apple Intelligence. It’s debatable how useful this will prove to be particularly in the short-term learning phase (a stage of product development that users of Apple Maps in 2012 will remember with little fondness). But it’s getting a lot of media attention, which means customer interest. And again, we have to ask which is more likely: A customer finds out the standard iPad doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, and happily spends an extra $250 on an iPad Air? Or a customer finds out the standard iPad doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, and walks sighing out of the store? It could lead to upsell, but it could also lead to no-sale… not to mention causing Apple to miss out on precious training data from a huge chunk of iPad users. A risky business, then. Although it may be a risk Apple feels it’s worth taking, because the iPad range at the moment simply isn’t earning its keep. (iPad revenue went up for a quarter after the company finally released some new models earlier this year, but the signs are that it’s about to go down again.) Customers may want to buy a cheap iPad once every five years, but there’s no mileage, or at least very little revenue, in catering to that market. Apple may feel that it’s worth losing those customers if it means more sales of the higher-margin versions of the iPad. Because sometimes you need to get rid of the dartboard to bring in a higher-spending clientele. Foundry Foundry Foundry Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too. Trending: Top stories The worst things come to Apple fans who wait. We’re about to find out if Apple’s big bet is going to pay off. Sorry fellow kids, says the Macalope, Apple isn’t cool anymore. Why the new iPad mini is a problem for Apple’s other products. I switched to a cellular Apple Watch just to confirm I don’t need one. How Apple can bring the Magic back to its Mac accessories. Apple has finally announced a new iPad mini… but not much is new. Podcast of the week Apple released a new iPad mini this week! We talk about Apple’s new tablet and how Apple’s new approach to product releases may influence your decision to buy one or not. You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site. Reviews corner Apple Watch Series 10 vs Apple Watch Series 9: What is the difference? Best Mac cleaner software: Boost performance and disk space. Best VPN for Mac: Reviews and buying advice. The rumor mill Button-less case leak spills key details of next iPhone SE. Apple’s Visions of the future: Four new products in the works. iPhone 18 to get enhanced 2nm chip, 12GB of RAM. Software updates, bugs, and problems There’s a new XProtect security update–here’s how to make sure your Mac has it. And with that, we’re done for this week’s Apple Breakfast. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters. You can also follow us on Facebook, Threads, or Twitter for discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.

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Code references point towards progress being made in ChatGPT/Siri/Apple Intelligence integration
It’s the backend/beta code that sometimes reveals the really interesting things on the horizon. Several references have been discovered in Siri’s ChatGPT integration that Apple seeks to implement ChatGPT support within Siri. ‌Siri‌ code mentions options for ChatGPT-generated text and ChatGPT-generated images, two features that Apple plans to implement soon. This integration was announced as […] Source

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Apple is seemingly all in on AI, and skipping an iPad 11 refresh this year is a sign of it
Apple refreshed the base iPad is over two years old, why is Apple leaving it outdated? more…

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Pick up Apple's M3 13-inch MacBook Air with 16GB RAM, 512GB storage for $1,349
A popular configuration thanks to the bump up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, this M3 MacBook Air is on sale for $1,349 thanks to an October instant rebate.Save on Apple's upgraded MacBook Air - Image credit: AppleThe $1,349 price is available at Amazon on the 13-inch M3/16GB/512GB SSD spec in your choice of Midnight, Starlight or Space Gray. Units are in stock and can be delivered as soon as tomorrow to select locations with a Prime membership.Get the deal Continue Reading on AppleInsider

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Can We Turn Off AI Tools From Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta? Sometimes…
"Who asked for any of this in the first place?" wonders a New York Times consumer-tech writer. (Alternate URL here.) "Judging from the feedback I get from readers, lots of people outside the tech industry remain uninterested in AI — and are increasingly frustrated with how difficult it has become to ignore." The companies rely on user activity to train and improve their AI systems, so they are testing this tech inside products we use every day. Typing a question such as "Is Jay-Z left-handed?" in Google will produce an AI-generated summary of the answer on top of the search results. And whenever you use the search tool inside Instagram, you may now be interacting with Meta's chatbot, Meta AI. In addition, when Apple's suite of AI tools, Apple Intelligence, arrives on iPhones and other Apple products through software updates this month, the tech will appear inside the buttons we use to edit text and photos. The proliferation of AI in consumer technology has significant implications for our data privacy, because companies are interested in stitching together and analyzing our digital activities, including details inside our photos, messages and web searches, to improve AI systems. For users, the tools can simply be an annoyance when they don't work well. "There's a genuine distrust in this stuff, but other than that, it's a design problem," said Thorin Klosowski, a privacy and security analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights nonprofit, and a former editor at Wirecutter, the reviews site owned by The New York Times. "It's just ugly and in the way." It helps to know how to opt out. After I contacted Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Google, they offered steps to turn off their AI tools or data collection, where possible. I'll walk you through the steps. The article suggests logged-in Google users can toggle settings at myactivity.google.com. (Some browsers also have extensions that force Google's search results to stop inserting an AI summary at the top.) And you can also tell Edge to remove Copilot from its sidebar at edge://settings. But "There is no way for users to turn off Meta AI, Meta said. Only in regions with stronger data protection laws, including the EU and Britain, can people deny Meta access to their personal information to build and train Meta's AI." On Instagram, for instance, people living in those places can click on "settings," then "about" and "privacy policy," which will lead to opt-out instructions. Everyone else, including users in the United States, can visit the Help Center on Facebook to ask Meta only to delete data used by third parties to develop its AI. By comparison, when Apple releases new AI services this month, users will have to opt in, according to the article. "If you change your mind and no longer want to use Apple Intelligence, you can go back into the settings and toggle the Apple Intelligence switch off, which makes the tools go away." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Today in Apple history: iMac goes big with 27-inch display
On October 20, 2009, Apple goes big with a iMac redesign, introducing the world to its first 27-inch display in a unibody iMac. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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What rumors reveal about the upcoming M4 iMac and Mac mini
Apple should launch M4 iMac and Mac mini soon. But you don’t have to wait to see what these desktops have to offer. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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