Discover how to write AI prompts for ChatGPT and Midjourney
Writing effective AI prompts isn't that easy. Learn to use AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney with these affordable AI courses. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Three Apple Watches get FDA approval for sleep apnea detection, from today
Three Apple Watches have received approval for detecting sleep apnea, just in time for today’s launch of the feature in watchOS 11. The Federal Drug Administration approval was able to be granted swiftly on the basis that the way Apple is doing it is “substantially equivalent” to methods already approved by the FDA … more…

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Everything new in visionOS 2
visionOS 2 adds a whole bunch of fantastic new quality-of-life features to Apple’s premium mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Everything new in watchOS 11
watchOS 11 is a smaller update with a few great features people have wanted for years — you can pause your Activity streak without losing it. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Everything new in macOS Sequoia
macOS 15 Sequoia is a big update with some fantastic new features, like iPhone mirroring, window tiling and text message formatting. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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Everything new in iOS 18
iOS 18 is a surprisingly rich software update with major new customization features and big changes in Photos, Messages, Safari and more. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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AirPods 4 review roundup: noise cancellation is a game changer
Across the board, every review so far of the new AirPods 4 has concentrated on how remarkably good Active Noise Cancellation is.AirPods 4The first review of Apple's new AirPods 4 are out, and while there are some qualifications and some disagreements, every single reviewer has called out Apple for surprisingly great noise cancellation. They also all note that that while the extra $50 for the more expensive version is worth it, Apple has now made it harder to choose between models.To be clear, Apple has released two versions of the AirPods 4 at $129 and $179. Neither will have the health features that are coming to the updated AirPods Pro, but they do both have improved sound. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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macOS Sequoia vs Sonoma: What’s new in macOS 15?
Macworld The next version of the Mac operating system, macOS 15 Sequoia, arrives on Monday, September 16, bringing some enticing new features, building on those introduced in macOS 14 Sonoma. Unfortunately, there will be some who could run Sonoma who won’t be able to update to Sequoia. The compatibility list of Macs that are able to run Sequoia is a little smaller than that of macOS Sonoma, with a couple of 13-inch MacBook Air models from 2018 and 2019 that won’t be able to install the 2024 macOS. In addition, only Macs with an M1, M2, or M3-series chip will support the new AI features referred to as “Apple Intelligence”. You may be wondering if it is worth updating your Mac so you can run Sequoia, or if sticking with Sonoma will be sufficient. Alternatively, your Mac may not be able to run Sequoia, or it might update, but not be able to offer the Apple Intelligence features. If the latter is true then you may be wondering whether it’s worth updating your Mac so you can run Sequoia and the AI features, for help finding a new Mac read our guide to the Best Mac. Here’s a quick guide to what macOS Sonoma and macOS Sequoia offer and how they compare. You might like to read about the differences between iOS 17 and iOS 18. Features in macOS 14 Sonoma When macOS Sonoma arrived in September 2023, it did so with a number of cool upgrades to make life easier on the Mac. Here’s our pick of the highlight features, some of which you might not even have discovered yet! Desktop Widgets Interactive widgets can be placed on your Desktop in Sonoma, allowing you to control podcasts, view the weather, set up or fulfill reminders, control smart devices around your home, add a quick note, and plenty of other useful capabilities. The widget gallery (which opens when you click on the time and date section at the top of the screen) is home to all the available widgets, all you need to do is drag them onto the Desktop and you’re good to go. Foundry Foundry Foundry Thanks to Continuity, you can also interact with your iPhone widgets on your Mac desktop without even having to install those apps. If you’re worried about clutter, then Apple has thought of that too, as the widgets fade in the background when you use other apps. As they’re transparent in this mode, they’ll also fit in with any color scheme on your wallpaper. Screensavers Speaking of the Desktop, in Sonoma, Apple also improved the screensaver and wallpaper options, offering high-definition images of gorgeous locations from around the world. These images slowly travel across the landscape until settling into a still image when you open the Desktop. A simple addition, but a pretty one. Video conferencing upgrades If your video calls and meetings lack pizazz, then the new Presenter Overlay will spark things up. It is limited to M1-powered (or later) Macs though, so bear that in mind. If you have the required hardware though, you can choose from two modes – large and small – with the former having you in the center of the screen, with any slides you create displayed behind you, but still in view. If you want more focus on the information, then the small option makes you a floating head that can be moved around to ensure the data you’re presenting is readable by the other participants. If they like what you’re doing, then they can use a hand gesture to trigger confetti, give you a thumbs-up, or choose from a range of other celebratory animations. Safari upgrades Safari gained some additional features in macOS Sonoma (although strictly speaking, new Safari features can be enjoyed on the current and previous two versions of macOS because Apple makes the Safari update more widely available). The main Safari update was Profiles, which allows you to set up dedicated environments, say work and home, which have different extensions, search history, Tab Groups, cookies and favorites. The version of Safari that arrived with macOS Sonoma also allowed you to add any website to the Dock so that it works as a web app. This saves you from having to open Safari and go to the site. To add a webpage to the Dock just visit the webpage and then click on the Share icon and choose Add to Dock. Just click the icon in the Dock and you’ll be there in a flash. Foundry Foundry Foundry PDFs and the Notes app An AutoFill for PDFs feature makes filling in PDFs even easier as it suggests information from your Contacts, such as your address and phone number. You can also view PDFs in Notes, in fact, you can store multiple PDFs in a note and navigate through them page by page. One of the big changes in Notes is that you can import notes into Pages to edit them, if you want to flesh a note out into a full document. To edit a note in Pages open the note in the Notes app, click on the share icon and choose Open in Pages. Game Mode For Mac gamers, the Game Mode that arrived in Sonoma ensured that the Mac gives the game CPU and GPU usage priority to make sure performance is as good as it can be. There’s also massively reduced latency for Bluetooth controllers and AirPods audio. Other features Apple also brought improvements and additional features to Messages, password sharing, autocorrect, security and more. New features arriving in macOS 15 Sequoia With all of the above already built into macOS, the following features will be added to your Mac when you install macOS Sequoia. Use your iPhone on your Mac Apple Apple Apple One of the standout features of macOS Sequoia, for Macs with M1 or later chips (or T2-equipped intel Macs), is iPhone Mirroring. This is the ability to operate your iPhone directly from the Mac desktop. Using the capabilities of Continuity (a feature, first introduced with Yosemite in 2014, that links all your Apple devices), you’ll be able to open apps, check notifications, and transfer files between Mac and iPhone without having to pick up your iPhone at all. You will be able to interact with your iPhone even if you’re sitting at your Mac in the next room. Windows tiling Tired of having to manually resize windows when you’re working with multiple apps open? macOS Sequoia to the rescue with its new windows tiling feature. Now, when you drag a window to a side on the screen it will offer to automatically adjust its dimensions to snap into a quarter or half of the display. You can also achieve the same organizational feat using keyboard shortcuts. Look forward to having a neater Desktop. This might just be the feature we are most looking forward to! Apple Apple Apple Video conferencing improvements Where macOS Sonoma added Presenter Overlay, macOS Sequoia brings Presenter Preview. This shows the presenter what will be shared with others on a call before they can see it. There are also new background replacements that can hide the state of your room. Apple says that its advanced layering system should make the blending of the images pretty seamless, so you don’t get all the fuzzy edges and artifacts that can often be seen on Zoom calls. These features aren’t limited to FaceTime, you will be able to take advantage of them in other video conferencing apps. Apple Apple Apple Safari updates Apple’s browser continues to improve. Launching alongside macOS Sequoia will be a new Highlights feature that pulls up the most important and relevant information on a webpage when you arrive (although you need to have it set to U.S. English). Reader mode also gets a boost with a summary displayed at the top of the page, alongside a table of contents you can use to navigate through the page. Plus, a dedicated Video Viewer will let you take control of videos on web pages. As usual, the updates to Safari will be available for the previous two versions of macOS, so Sonoma users will still be able to enjoy them. Apple Apple Apple Passwords app As with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia introduces a new password manager app that lets you organize your logins, passkeys, codes, and Wi-Fi details, all from a single interface on your Mac. They all securely sync with your other devices, so you’ll always have the details you need wherever you are. Apple has long helped customers manage all their passwords and login information in iCloud Keychain, but 2024 is the year that all this information will become slightly more accessible in an app. Gaming Building on the foundations of the Game Mode introduced in macOS Sonoma, for those with Apple Silicon-powered Macs, Apple is promising the arrival of new AAA titles that can be played on the Mac. Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Control, Sniper Elite 4, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are among the headline games that will be available in the Mac App Store in the coming months. Messages As with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, in macOS Sequoia you’ll have more opportunities to format text in Messages – including adding various fun animations, additional Tapback updates–including the ability to react with any sticker or emoji, and the ability to schedule messages to go out at a later time or date. Maps macOS will gain the same Maps tweaks as iOS and iPadOS. For users in the U.S., this means new topographical maps of 63 national parks–a real boon for hikers. These include detailed trail networks and paths so you’ll be able to find the best route on your walking adventure. You can also plot your own if you’d rather strike out in a different direction. No news yet on when other countries will get topographical maps for their own parks. Notes In macOS Sequoia the Notes app will gain the ability to record audio notes and produce a transcription of what’s being said (Apple Silicon only). There’s also a new Math Notes feature that can solve equations and other calculations in real time, with automatic adjustments if you change any of the characters. Highlights finally come to Notes (glory be!), as does the ability to create a collapsible section that can keep your layout clean and manageable. Other features There are various other tweaks in macOS Sequoia, including improvements for how AirPods interact with your Mac, an update to the Calendar that can handle more complex expressions, a new Scene feature in Freeform that you can use to move through a document, as well as new smart collections in the Photos app. For a thorough breakdown of what Apple has dreamed up for Macs, take a look at our macOS Sequoia superguide. What are the Apple Intelligence features in macOS 15 Sequoia? Apple introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC, which will bring a more personalized AI experience to Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. This includes writing tools that can help improve your text, rewrite it in other styles, and summarise long text in seconds. There’s also the ability to create images using AI, including a way to create images based on your contacts, so you can send friends and family personalized images of them dressed as superheroes, enjoying a birthday party, or in other scenarios. There are also widespread improvements to Siri, as Apple is bringing AI improvement to its digital assistant. These improvements include the incorporation of ChatGPT, although this will be protected by the new Private iCloud Compute that will prevent your data from being misused. It should be noted that due to hardware limitations, only the following M-series Macs will be able to use Apple Intelligence: iMac from 2021 and later Mac Pro from 2023 Mac Studio from 2022 and later MacBook Air from late 2020 and later Mac mini from late 2020 and later MacBook Pro from late 2020 and later Which Macs are compatible with macOS Sequoia? Here’s the official list of Macs that will get the Sequoia update: iMac from 2019 and later Mac Pro from 2019 and later iMac Pro from 2017 Mac Studio from 2022 and later MacBook Air from 2020 and later Mac mini from 2018 and later MacBook Pro from 2018 and later What’s the difference between macOS 14 and macOS 15? Obviously, the AI-centric features of Apple Intelligence coming with Sequoia will be a significant enhancement for Macs, but since they are limited to only the newer Mac models, with Intel-powered Macs left out, they aren’t the sole reason to update. In fact, when the Apple Intelligent features launch they will only be in beta, so this is still a technology in its infancy. Luckily, some other impressive features are coming in macOS Sequoia. Where macOS Sonoma brought additions that helped personalize the Mac–including screensavers, desktop widgets, and Safari Profiles–macOS Sequoia has a more multi-device focus, with iPhone Mirroring and improved password integration through the Password app, there are also features like Windows tiling for a more tidy desktop and the gaming enhancements that should be a boon for gaming on the Mac. It’s simply a bit more and a bit better, although the best stuff is reserved for those with the newest Macs. Should I upgrade my Mac to run macOS 15 Sequoia? It’s not usually an issue upgrading the software on a Mac, as Apple makes the process easy and often painless. If you have an older Mac though, you may need to get a new model in order to run Sequoia, or you may be able to run Sequoia, but not take advantage of all macOS Sequoia’s standout features–such as Apple Intelligence,  iPhone Mirroring and audio transcription in Notes–since all require at least an M1 powered device. See: Which Macs can run Sequoia? If you have an M-series Mac, rather than an older Intel-powered model, then macOS Sequoia should prove an impressive upgrade that makes your Mac even more useful than it is already. If you want to upgrade your Mac to get all the new features in macOS Sequoia, be sure to check out our best Apple deals page to see if you can pick up a bargain, or take a look at our deals round-ups for each model: Mac mini deals iMac deals MacBook Pro deals MacBook Air deals

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A plastic Apple Watch SE is still coming next year
Macworld One of the few (very few) surprises at Apple’s Glowtime press event was a negative one: only one of the three Apple Watch lines got an update, with the SE and Ultra models left alone. Pre-event rumors had predicted the unveiling of a plastic version of the Apple Watch SE aimed at kids, but it didn’t turn up. The leakers aren’t quite ready to give up on the idea, however, and the pundit who started the rumor in July is now saying that the plastic SE is set to be released in 2025. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman mentions briefly that this product “remains in development.” He doesn’t specifically explain why it didn’t make the event last week, but notes that the manufacturing teams “have been running into some cost and quality challenges with the shift to plastic,” and says it may launch next year. The gist of the original rumor was that, by switching from aluminum to plastic in various bright colors, Apple hoped to both lower costs and appeal to younger customers. Gurman says the latter is more apposite than ever, as schools look to ban smartphones and kids and parents look to find acceptable alternatives. Unlocking the school market would be a big win for the Apple Watch. Other than the plastic material, Gurman says the next SE will also get a processor jump.

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AirPods 4 reviews: Impressive noise cancellation in an open-ear design
The first reviews of Apple’s all-new AirPods 4 have arrived. As a refresher, AirPods 4 are available in two versions: one lower-end model priced at $129 and a higher-end version priced at $179 with Active Noise Cancellation. Here’s what the reviews say… more…

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iPhone 16 Pro demand lower than expected – Ming-Chi Kuo
TF International Securities' analyst Ming-Chi Kuo compiled key data on iPhone 16 lineup’s first-weekend pre-orders for each model… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Apple Watch blood pressure feature delayed by Series 10 design – Gurman
A long-awaited Apple Watch blood pressure feature has been delayed by the design changes introduced in the Series 10, according to a new report. The report doesn’t give any specific explanation, but says that Apple ran into issues when testing the health feature with the S10 … more…

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iOS 18 vs iOS 17: What’s different with the latest iPhone update?
Macworld When iOS 18 launches on Monday, September 16, 2024 it will bring several new features to iPhones. The compatibility list for iOS 18 is the same as iOS 17, so if you are running iOS 17 you’ll be able to enjoy the new features of iOS 18… except for the new “Apple intelligence” features which will only be available on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and the new iPhone 16 series. In this article, we’ll run through the features that arrived in iOS 17 and those arriving with iOS 18. We’ll explain the differences between the two iPhone operating systems and what is changing to help you decide whether or not to get excited about updating. If you are currently using an iPhone that doesn’t run iOS 17 or iOS 18 (that’s the iPhone 8, iPhone X and anything older than those handsets) you might be thinking of updating to an iPhone that does. If you need help choosing a new iPhone read our guide to the best iPhones. You might like to read about the differences between macOS Sequoia and Sonoma. What were the new features iOS 17? When iOS 17 launched in September 2023, it brought with it some interesting new features for the iPhone. Here’s a look at some of the highlights, some of which you may not have discovered yet. FaceTime upgrades Communication was high on the list of Apple’s priorities with iOS 17. This meant that FaceTime received a few notable upgrades, with one of the most interesting being the ability to record an audio or video message to leave for someone when they’re not available to take the call. Apple also introduced hand gestures that can trigger amusing animations that signify your excitement or approval of someone’s point, which could breathe a bit of life into boring meetings (although you may just be seeing symbols appearing on screen and wondering how you triggered them). Apple Apple Apple Live Voicemail With Live Voicemail a recipient could send a call to voicemail but watch a live text transcription of the audio appear on their phone. That way they would be able to know whether they needed to contact the caller immediately or not. Read: How to use Live Voicemail. Stickers In iOS 17 Apple introduced the ability to pull our subjects from photos and create stickers that could be used in a similar way to emoji. Contact Posters Another interesting feature was the ability to create your own personal poster that would appear on the recipient’s iPhone if you send a message or called them. You customize your own Contacts Poster in the Contacts app. Choose from backgrounds, fonts and layouts and take control of the way you appear on other’s iPhones. Read: How to create and customize your Contact Poster in iOS 17. NameDrop and AirDrop AirDrop was simplified in iOS 17 so you only needed to bring two phones close together to share information. Additionally, Apple made it simple to share contact information with the NameDrop feature. Interactive home screen widgets Widgets became more useful in iOS 17, with Apple making them interactive on the home screen and lock screen. Simply tap on the widget to complete a todo or control your music without having to open the app. To add Widgets to your iPhone screen follow these steps: Enter ‘jiggle mode’ by pressing and holding the screen until the apps start wiggling. Tap +. Select a Widget. StandBy Rotate your iPhone when plugged in and it will display the time and other information of your choosing. This new iOS 17 feature turned your iPhone into an alarm clock while you slept. Read: How to use StandBy on iPhone. Journal app Foundry Foundry Foundry The new Journal app arrived after iOS 17 had launched in the iOS 17.2 update. In the app you can record your daily thoughts and activities. The aim is to help you achieve a great sense of mental well-being. It probably came as a bit of a blow for existing apps like Day One, but this subscription-free Apple offering certainly seemed like a nice bonus when iOS 17.2 dropped. Is anyone actually using it though? New Check-In feature to keep your friends safe Perhaps one of the most important additions in iOS 17 was Check-In. This simple feature allowed people to share their intended destinations with friends so that their iPhones could monitor their progress and notify friends and family when the person finally got home. Elegant and potentially life-saving. What are the new features iOS 18? So, with all these features coming to iPhones in 2023, what does Apple bring to the table with iOS 18? Here are the highlights of what Apple is introducing with iOS 18: Personalization iOS 17 brought interactive widgets to the iPhone home screen, but its successor takes things to another level. For the first time since the iPhone launched, you will be able to place icons wherever you like on the screen without them immediately snapping back to the grid. Hallelujah! Apple Apple Apple Not only that, but you will also be able to change the background colors of icons and widgets, either through a new night mode or editing them with colors you choose. This means that for the first time on an iPhone you can truly personalize the appearance the way it looks, changing not only the wallpaper, but also the app icons and widgets. Control Center updates Control Center has been something of a closed shop since it was introduced, but in iOS 18 Apple is loosening its grip and allowing you to add various new controls to the shortcuts as well as ones for third-party apps. These can also be grouped together to add contextual functionality. For example, you could have a group for home, one for music, productivity, whatever you want. This will extend to the lock screen too, where you can replace the standard call and flashlight shortcuts with your preferred options instead. Privacy enhancements Apple prides itself on its privacy credentials, which is why, in iOS 18, you’ll be able to lock apps so that they can only be opened by Touch ID, Face ID, or your passcode. Should you wish, there’s also the option to hide apps so that people don’t see them on your phone. These are then stored in a hidden apps folder which can only be opened by your biometrics or passcode. More security improvements include the ability to select which contacts apps can see, as well as which wireless accessories they can interact with. Apple Apple Apple Messages updates Apple will bless Messages with a few upgrades in iOS 18. Tapbacks will allow you to use any emoji or sticker when responding to messages. You can also use the new formatting tools to underline or italicize your text or try out the new Text Effects that include fun animations. Apple Apple Apple If you find yourself out in the wilderness, then the new Messages Via Satellite feature will allow you to stay in touch with friends back home. It’s not clear if there will be a cost associated with this – the Emergency SOS via satellite feature, which arrived with the introduction of the iPhone 14 in 2022, is only free for the first two years. More organized Mail Apple has added new on-device categorization for its Mail app. Admittedly this does look like Google’s Gmail app from a few years ago, with the inbox separated out into various categories such as Primary (the people you know and time-sensitive messages), Transactions, Updates, Promotions, as well as the grouping together of messages from individual businesses. Of course, if you prefer things the old-fashioned way, then you can always use the universal inbox that just stores things by the date you received them. Redesigned Photos In what Apple is calling the “biggest redesign ever” for its Photos app, iOS 18 will bring plenty of organizational structure to what can be a somewhat chaotic experience now we all have so many photos. You’ll have improved filters to make it easier to search for images, plus new Collections assembled by topics such as people, trips, and other variables. Apple Apple Apple The interface has also been updated, with a new carousel that can be home to favorites, photos that the app chooses to highlight to you (called Featured), much of which can change on a daily basis so that you can be pleasantly surprised by photos from a favorite holiday event or just of people whose faces it’s always pleasant to see. Other small improvements There will be a number of nips and tucks around the system for iOS 18, including new insights stats for the Journal app, topographical maps that can be used offline in the Maps app, the addition of Tap to Cash in Wallet where you can quickly pay someone via Apple Pay by bringing two iPhones together, not to mention a wide range of other small improvements that should make iOS 18 a very satisfying experience. Apple Apple Apple What are the AI features coming in iOS 18? Apple is also introducing some AI, aka Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18. These will initially be only in beta and they will only run on the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Mac, and, the new iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, and the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. The Apple Intelligence features will also run on M-series Macs and iPad with M-series chips, so even if your iPhone can’t offer them one of your other devices may be able to. The Apple Intelligence features are centered around reading, writing and image generation. Siri will also benefit from Apple Intelligence with the ability to identify context based on previous queries, and better able to understand normal speech (English only at first). What’s the main difference between iOS 17 and iOS 18? The most noticeable difference between iOS 17 and 18 will probably be the flexibility to personalize your iPhone, something that has been particularly limited in the past. Mail and Photos are getting updates that should reduce clutter and help you find the things you are looking for. While Messages will gain more flexibility for TapBacks and some new Messages animations to entertain your friends with. While the Apple Intelligence features will only be in beta and not available on all iPhones, you can expect AI to have a big impact on iPhones running iOS 18 as Apple continues to use machine learning to improve the customer experience. Read about earlier iOS versions. Should I upgrade to iOS 18? It’s very rare that we ever suggest you stay on the version of iOS you already have. Apple does an excellent job of making even its older devices work well with the new software. With so many interesting new features coming in iOS 18, it’s a bit of a no-brainer when it comes to upgrading. We do recommend waiting a week or so after the first version of iOS 18 is released though, just in case there are early adopter issues.

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Could Debate Prep Become an Artform With Nvidia Omniverse?
Using a simulation tool like Omniverse for debate preparation will be a game-changer if one side or the other exclusively uses it, but if both sides use it, things get interesting. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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iOS 18 dark icons: why do some app icons not change color?
With iOS 18, Apple lets you customize the app icons on your iPhone and iPad. You can choose between light mode, dark mode, or tinted style appearance for your icons. However, when you choose dark mode icons, you may notice that not all of your icons change. Here’s why that happens … more…

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Dating apps haven’t helped us find better partners, suggests research
You’d think that dating apps would help people find better partners, given that they allow daters to expand their dating pool beyond the people they meet organically, but new research suggests that isn’t the case. The research even suggests that online dating may have negative effects on society as a whole, by reducing social mobility … more…

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'Slow Horses' wins outstanding writing Emmy for Apple TV+
Apple TV+ thriller "Slow Horses" won its creator and executive producer Will Smith an Emmy in an otherwise weak year for the streamer.Gary Oldman in "Slow Horses" (Source: Apple)"Slow Horses" has been honored for its writing before, but this was its first nomination at the 76th Emmys. Showrunner Will Smith won for the drama's third season, based on Mick Herron's book "Real Tigers," which streamed on Apple TV+ in November and December 2023."The Morning Show" also took home an Emmy, this time a second win for star Billy Crudup in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Rumors are killing Apple’s mojo
Macworld 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. No surprises Another year, another iPhone event. And another reminder of how much has changed since the first one. Back in 2007, the tech world was a lot easier to surprise. That’s not to say that the existence of the iPhone was completely unsuspected: I worked for a PC-focused print magazine at the time and we’d heard the rumors just like everyone else. (“Like an iPod, only a phone,” was the gist.) It’s just that we were speculating at the level of whether it was going to happen, rather than the granular details of what exactly would be announced. Rewatching the Stevenote from Macworld San Francisco 2007, it’s remarkable to note the level of uncertainty in the audience. They’re not just there to clap along with announcements they were expecting, then get their hands on review samples. They’re actually excited to know what’s coming. Rather than kill that sense of anticipation, the vague pre-event rumors had merely seeded a curiosity to know more. Compare that with last week’s “It’s Glowtime!” event. Obviously a lot of the thrill has been drained by a) streaming yet another pre-recorded virtual event rather than putting bums on seats and b) replacing Jobs’ nerveless stagecraft with Tim Cook’s safe-hands competence. But the main difference is the lack of mystery. Apple’s three main announcements were the 16-series iPhones, the Apple Watch Series 10, and updates to the AirPods and AirPods Max. We knew not just that all of these things were coming, but pretty much everything about them. What was wrong with the pre-event rumors? (You can get a broad approximation of what was expected by reading my satirical preview and ignoring the stuff about Jeff Williams presenting from a zoo.) A few things, some minor and some major: the name of the new Apple Watch (Series 10 instead of X) and the lack of even perfunctory refreshes for the SE and Ultra models; the substance of the AirPods update (no cheap model); the iPad mini not being updated after all (which probably just means a delay until October). But the list of things we did know about is so much longer that it would make a tedious column indeed to rattle them off here. Suffice it to say that there were precisely zero real surprises at the Glowtime event. Make an impatient, selfish, charismatic genius the CEO, as Apple did when it brought back Jobs, and you can expect fireworks. Surprises, both good and bad. A show. Make an operations expert like Tim Cook the CEO and you get ruthless organization and professionalism, but you also get predictability. And by this point, we know exactly what to expect from Apple each fall. New phone, new watch, ’round we go again. There have been other factors in the loss of mystery, of course: The potential for leaks has ballooned as the company’s supply chain grows more intricate and its employees push to work remotely (which probably explains why Apple is so reluctant to allow this). We in the media should probably admit to a share of the blame too. But the fundamental issue isn’t that the information is getting out to punters before the event. It’s that the information isn’t surprising in the first place. Not like in the good old days. Foundry Foundry Foundry Trending: Top stories All the little things you may have missed in Apple’s Glowtime event. Thinking about buying an iPhone 16 Pro? Maybe think again, says the Macalope. Apple never wants you to take AirPods out of your ears. Forget the Pro, the iPhone 16 has everything you need. The best iPhone 16 feature is a throwback to what Apple does best. Trade and switch: Apple wants to recycle my iPhone 15 Pro Max for $0. The first A18 Pro benchmarks are out, and it is FAST. Here’s how much longer the iPhone 16’s ‘big battery boost’ will really last. Podcast of the week We look at the news about the iPhone 16, the Apple Watch Series 10, new AirPods, and a lot more! Find out what you need to know about these new products! You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site. Reviews corner iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Pro: How do the new models compare? iPhone 15 vs iPhone 16: Is new always better? Software updates, bugs, and problems iOS 18.1 beta 3 is out now, adding ‘Clean Up’ AI tool in Photos. Apple updates AirPods Pro 2 firmware to add iOS 18 features. 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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Apple iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max battery replacement to retail for $119, marking a 20 percent increase for the service
It’s going to cost a bit more to replace the battery on the iPhone 16 models. Per Apple’s iPhone repair and service page, Apple Store locations can replace the battery inside an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max for $119 in the U.S., an increase from $99 for the iPhone 15 Pro and […] Source

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Apple hikes iPhone 16 Pro’s battery replacement fee
Apple is charging more than ever for replacing the battery of iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max for units not covered by AppleCare+. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

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