Earlier this month, Google unveiled its new Pixel 11 lineup. The phones themselves were rather similar compared to the previous Pixel 10 lineup, though they offer a few delightful quality of life improvements. One of those is a new set of camera processing options – allowing you to have far more control over what your photo will look like.

On the cusp of the iPhone 18 Pro release, I’m hoping Apple offers something similar to this.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

On the Apple TV, gaming is a little bit of an afterthought for developers. Compared to iPhone, iPad, and even Mac – there aren’t a ton of options. Luckily, CloudGear exists as an all-in-one solution for bringing every major cloud gaming platform into one interface. It’s also available for iPhone and iPad.

After over a decade of not adopting touch displays on its Mac notebook lineup, Apple will finally be rolling out its first touchscreen MacBook as soon as October. This’ll come alongside the next MacBook Pro redesign, potentially dubbed MacBook Ultra.

When should we expect the iPhone 18 Pro event, and when will Apple officially announce the date? Apple hasn’t sent invitations yet, but its announcement history gives us a remarkably consistent window.

Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage, and protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.

A new report from Fleet shows that many companies believe they’re nowhere close to using AI on their Mac fleets. They surveyed more than 500 IT decision-makers (Director-level and above, all responsible for device management at companies with 2,000+ employees), and the results show where IT teams think they are with AI.

Alongside the final AirPods Max 2 at $120 off and the return of all-time low pricing on AirTag 2. 

Those discounts join a big-time $500 price drop on M5 Pro MacBook Pro, the lowest prices around on MacBook Neo and M5 MacBook Air courtesy of the official Apple Certified Refurbished Store, Apple Watch Series 11 at $100 off, and ongoing deals on both iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air. Scope it out below. 

Users who rely on ChatGPT for quick visual searches can now add photos to a conversation more quickly with a new gesture. Here’s how.

Apple TV subscribers can now watch the entire new season of Stillwater, the platform’s award-winning mindfulness-focused animated series. Watch the trailer below.

Apple has until Monday to respond to a complaint Epic Games filed with Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, where it accuses the company of adopting restrictive interpretations of its obligations under a recent App Store antitrust deal in the country. Here are the details.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 are launching next month, and rumors indicate they’ll pack a big upgrade—a new, more powerful chip—that will arrive at just the right time.

Earlier today, Walmart officially announced it will finally start rolling out Apple Pay after holding out for more than a decade.

When will Apple Pay come to your Walmart location? I got my hands on the full launch plan with all that information…

The Financial Times reports that new tax disclosures showed Apple paid Ireland $17 billion in corporate income taxes in 2025, accounting for 40% of its worldwide total. Here are the details.

We’re back with our check-in for what’s new on Apple’s official Certified Refurbished Store this week. This week’s highlights include the MacBook Neo, new MacBook Air configurations, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and more.

Apple is cutting jobs across multiple teams, according to a new Bloomberg report. All told, the company has cut more than 200 jobs across teams working on Vision Pro, Siri, and software engineering.

Athom has announced that it has officially achieved Homey Pro mini, and the Homey Self Hosted Server. This update brings important upgrades for both native device integration and cross-platform device bridging.

iPadOS and macOS used to be very different software platforms. But especially since iPadOS 26, the two have become a lot more alike. And that’s even more true this year, with iPadOS 27 adding three features that make the iPad more Mac-like than ever.

SpaceXAI and Cursor are in the process of becoming a single company, but first, the two firms are releasing an all-new iPhone and Mac app called Grok Bot.

Apple’s new flagship iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be unveiled soon, following the same release pattern the company has kept for years. Here’s when to expect the iPhone 18 Pro announcement and release date, plus details on the lineup.

Back in June, we flagged three instances of U.S.-sanctioned Russian banks sneaking client apps onto the App Store. Two months later, another example has climbed to the top of the iPhone App Store.

It’s been a busy week for rumors surrounding Apple’s upcoming AirPods with cameras. Here’s a roundup of everything we’ve learned about camera-equipped AirPods Pro this week.

Apple TV has the long-awaited Ted Lasso season 4 airing now and it’s proven a huge hit, but there are three more big new releases coming very soon.

Best Buy has now updated its AirPods Max 2 at $120 off, and the best prices ever on AirTag 2. But today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break also features a huge $500 price drop on this 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro via Amazon, Anker’s new SmartTrack Find My wallet card down at the $25 all-time low, and a wild 50% off Unlimited 1-year talk/data plans at just $15 a month from Mint Mobile. Scope it all out down below. 

August 21, 2026: Apple Watch Series 12 is rumored to include a ceramic option for the first time since the Series 5 was discontinued. With that in mind, I’m resharing my hands-on post of my favorite Apple Watch from September 2019. Seven years later, it’s still the best version I’ve ever owned. I hope you enjoy!

Apple Watch Series 5 introduces the return of the ceramic Edition after being notably absent from the Series 4 lineup. That means this is the first time ceramic has been an option with the redesign that debuted last year, and the new look is stunning. Check out our initial hands-on with the Apple Watch Edition before our full Series 5 review later next week.

iPhone 18 Pro will be unveiled next month, and many iPhone users might be asking: what’s going to be truly different this year? Here are some key ways Apple plans to differentiate iPhone 18 Pro from prior models, per the latest rumors.

Tim Cook is in his final weeks as Apple CEO, with John Ternus set to take over the top job on September 1. And per Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan, Ternus could usher in a bolder, riskier era at Apple.

Walmart has announced that it will finally begin rolling out Apple Pay support next week. The retailer has resisted offering Apple Pay support for more than a decade, despite pressure from shoppers.

There’s an old photography saying that the best camera is the one you have on you at the time. The iPhone is of course the camera that most of us have on us most of the time, and that’s obviously a massive benefit for things like shots of kids, social events, and so on. But a current video project highlighted another advantage.

I really enjoy walking through London in the early evening, and I’ll quite often shoot photos and short video clips on my iPhone. Initially, I did so purely for the pleasure of it, but I later realized the potential for short clips to serve as B-roll in video projects …

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Apple TV’s three-part docuseries about the University of Connecticut women’s basketball program is now available to stream. Watch the trailer below.

AppleInsider reports that Apple “has just laid off an entire team dedicated to VR development,” with at least 60 employees reportedly affected. Here are the details.

Four Counterpoint Research reports published this week reveal drops in smartphone sales and shipments in India, Latin America, Europe, and China. Here are the reports.

Following the initial rollout of Liquid Glass on iOS earlier this year, WhatsApp is now working to bring the design to more interface elements. Here are the details.

Apple has shared more details about the AI labeling requirements it announced for Apple Music back in March. Here are the details.

Apple has released new AirPods beta firmware today for developers and public beta testers. It’s available for AirPods Pro 3 and select other models. Here are the details.

Choosing between AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3 was already mostly a question of fit, features, and price. Apple is also developing camera-equipped AirPods with Visual Intelligence, but they are not expected to arrive until 2027 at the soonest. That could make waiting an awfully long proposition.

Benjamin and Chance talk about the crazy leak by Apple depicting the new AirPods with cameras in a video demo, the changes in iOS 27 beta 6, their latest experiences with Siri AI, whether iPhone 18 Pro will fit iPhone 17 Pro cases, and perhaps some final resolution in the Apple vs EU App Store commission battle.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin talks about some of the leaks for the upcoming HomePod with a screen. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Well, this seems interesting. ChatGPT’s latest update adds a new Mac integration: the ability to work with conversations from Apple’s Messages app. The feature works with iMessage, SMS, and RCS.

watchOS 27 is coming soon as the next major Apple Watch software update. I’ve been using watchOS 27 in beta this summer, and there are three new features I’ve been especially loving.

Apple has a new MacBook Ultra rumored to launch this fall as part of its expanding ‘Ultra’ lineup. Here are six new features expected with the MacBook Ultra.

Owen Wilson’s comedy Stick has a lot in common with Ted Lasso, and Apple just announced it’s returning soon for season 2—with Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn joining the cast.

Alongside the AirPods Max 2 at $120 off in all five colors, and the AirTag 2 all-time lows roll on, but today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break does have some new deals to scope out as well. If you’re quick, the official Apple refurb store has now re-stocked the most affordable 13-inch M5 MacBook Pro down at $1,099 in Midnight, Starlight, and Sky Blue, and we are also tracking a series of M5 Pro MacBook Pro machines at $400 off in brand new condition. The $100 price drops on Apple Watch Series 11 have now returned alongside prices starting from just over $250, and we also have some deals on Twelve South accessories – a new Amazon low on its Find My charger and its Curve Nano MagSafe stand. Everything awaits below 

Apple’s new ‘HomePad’ smart home hub is reportedly launching this fall, and the latest leak about it having customizable ‘faces’ offers another reason to put one in every room of your house.

Apple’s big September event is just weeks away, but there’s one key product that all reporting indicates will be missing: the base iPhone 18. Here’s when to expect its launch.

Since iOS 5 in 2011, the iPhone and iPad have included Notification Center, a central place to find alerts from various apps in chronological order.

Starting with iOS 27, Apple is making a major change to how users open Notification Center on iPhone and iPad.

iOS 27 is currently in beta, and the behavior has changed slightly between the first two releases. However, sixth developer betas so far show this change will ship this fall — even if I’d change it.

Users can now create fully licensed tracks, voiceover, and sound effects on Adobe’s Firefly AI assistant. Here are the details.

Roblox claimed to have made changes to its hugely popular children’s app to protect them from predators, but a regulatory authority says these protections are inadequate.

It found four major failings, including adults being able to send connection requests to children without parental approval …

During the height of Trump’s trade war with China, where tariff increases were announced on an almost weekly basis, companies like Logitech responded by significantly increasing the prices of their products in the US.

Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court ruled that these tariffs were illegal and must be returned to manufacturers. However, there’s been no sign of companies passing on the refunds to customers, and a class action lawsuit is now seeking to correct this …

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Apple’s long-running antitrust battle with the European Union over the sale of iPhone apps appears to finally be over.

The EU has said that it welcomes the new app commission rates the company is offering within the bloc. The revised terms will see developers pay a commission or fee ranging from 5% to 26%, depending on their turnover and chosen sale channels …

Apple has filed its response to OpenAI’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit in which it accuses two former employees, as well as OpenAI and io Products, of stealing its trade secrets. Here are the details.

Astropad has released Workbench 1.3, its largest update to the remote desktop app since the launch earlier this year. The release adds several tools for accessing unattended Macs, along with changes to performance and reliability.

Update, 8:54 p.m. ET: OpenAI says the issue is now fully resolved. The original story follows below.

OpenAI has confirmed that users are encountering errors when trying to log in to their accounts or create new ones. Here are the details.

Bloomberg reports that despite Apple’s accidental inclusion of a demo video showcasing Visual Intelligence on AirPods, the product “remains on track for 2027.” Here are the details.

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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A new Counterpoint Research report predicts that consumer wearables will generate more than $1 trillion in cumulative revenue through 2032, with smartwatches and wireless earbuds leading the pack. Here is the breakdown.

9to5Mac is brought to you by Memoket: The Memoket Gem is an 11g AI wearable that slots beside your Apple Watch in a co-wear band. Press once to capture a conversation, and Gem connects it to what you discussed weeks ago — surfacing the earlier thread with a source link. From $179, shipping August 2026.

As we enter the final weeks of beta testing, Apple will likely release macOS 27 Golden Gate to the public next month. One of the biggest changes with this year’s update is the addition of an all-new Siri app for Mac users.

Legendary graphic designer Susan Kare spoke recently at the Startup School 2026 event, and the video for her talk is now up on Y Combinator’s YouTube channel. Watch it below.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will launch next month, and in addition to packing a variety of new features, there are three design changes reportedly coming. Here’s what rumors say to expect.

We are checking in today with a special edition of 9to5Toys Lunch Break – AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2 at $120 off are some of the best prices ever, but Best Buy has launched a special 1-day-only Apple sale event as part of its giant 60th Anniversary sale. 

Joining AirTag 2 back at all-time lows, you’re looking at $400 off brand-new M5 Pro MacBook Pro models today alongside iPhone Air at $170 off (or you can land open-box units at up to $406 off), and even some solid offers across a broad range of official Apple accessories.

Apple Watch Series 12 will be unveiled next month, and a reputable leaker just said it will come with a ceramic design option.

AirPods are one of my favorite Apple products, so much so that I often wear them even when I’m not listening to anything. And soon with iOS 27, Apple will launch new AirPods upgrades that should make that a more common experience.

Meta continues to get serious about its AI technology. The latest sign? A dedicated Mac app for Meta AI.

Bad Monkey is an excellent Apple TV comedy from creator Bill Lawrence, of Ted Lasso and Shrinking fame—and it returns soon for a new season. Here are the details.

The AirPods deals are still flying with AirPods Pro 3 down at one of the best prices ever and AirPods Max 2 at $120 off, but today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is headlined by a M5 Pro MacBook Pro configs in brand new condition, the best price ever on iPhone Air at $170 off (or you can land open-box units at up to $406 off), and even up to $200 off Beats Studio Pro headphones. Those deals also join the ongoing all-time low on AirTag 2 as well as this 512GB iPad mini at $450 under the new list price. Scope it all out below. 

Apple’s September event is almost here, with the date likely being announced next week. Here are 10+ new Apple products launching soon, most of which are expected to be unveiled in September.

ClarityCheck, a facial-identification tool for which it’s hard to think of many legitimate uses, reportedly left millions of face photos publicly exposed on the internet in a major privacy breach.

It’s likely that the vast majority of victims had no idea their photos had been uploaded to the site, and had never granted consent …

Things is making repeating to-dos significantly more flexible in version 3.23, addressing two common situations: finishing a task ahead of schedule and changing its date when plans shift.

Amazon Prime Air is the company’s drone delivery service, and today a huge expansion of its availability was announced. Nearly 500 US cities will be reached by the end of 2026. Here’s where Amazon drone delivery is coming next.

Suspicious bulk orders of used books have led many booksellers to believe they are being purchased on behalf of AI companies so that they can be scanned and used as training material without author consent or payment.

An AirTag hidden inside a rare book sold as part of a bulk order appears to confirm the theory after it ended up at an Amazon AI training facility …

The latest macOS 26.7 beta appears to have revealed quite a lot about a number of upcoming Apple home products. It includes references to a new HomePod mini, a security camera, a next-generation Siri remote for a new Apple TV 4K – and the long-anticipated HomePad product.

A deeper dive into the code also appears to provide significant clues about what we can expect from the HomePad …

One of the hidden expenses in upgrading to a new iPhone can often be the need to replace your case when the dimensions differ.

That so far seemed a likely bet for anyone upgrading from one of last year’s Pro models to the iPhone 18 Pro, but two accessory makers think not – with one of them going all-in on the bet …

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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At WWDC 2021, Apple announced support for storing your driver’s license in Apple Wallet on iPhone. At the time, Apple touted this as the last step before you can be “fully free of your physical wallet.”

Here are the states where support for the Apple Wallet driver’s license feature is coming next …

Update, 7:49 p.m. ET: All issues are now marked as resolved. The original story follows below.

Apple’s System Status page confirms that consumers and developers are currently experiencing issues accessing some of its services. Here are the details.

Comcast launched Xfinity Shield today, a new home protection platform that includes a feature to turn routers into motion sensors. Here are the details.

Mozilla today announced new features to Firefox’s AI-powered Smart Window, which remains in beta. Here are the details.

iOS 27 is packed with new features for Apple Wallet, Messages, Notes, and other system apps—including Calendar. Here’s everything new for Apple’s Calendar app in iOS 27.

WIRED reports that Meta ran ads for a now-pulled App Store app that let users create AI-generated pornographic deepfakes of real people, with one of the ads featuring a woman resembling a prominent US politician. Here are the details.

Apple Watch users can mark their calendars for the next activity challenge. The 2026 National Parks Challenge is set for this Sunday, August 23.

Following yesterday’s wave of point updates with security fixes, Apple has now detailed the security content of Safari 26.6.1. Here are the details.

Siri AI was unveiled in June for most Apple platforms—but Apple TV and HomePod missed out. A new leak, however, points to tvOS 27 including Siri AI after all.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced today that Apple will donate to support the relief efforts on the ground following Indonesia’s devastating earthquake. Here are the details.

Last month, Anthropic announced plans to expand Claude Cowork from the Mac to iPhone and iPad. The rollout started with Anthropic’s most expensive paid plan.

Update, August 18, 1:06 p.m. ET: Apple has now published watchOS 27 Public Beta 4 (Build: 24R5353a). The original story follows below

After releasing developer betas 6 earlier today, Apple is now rolling out iOS 27 public beta 4, alongside corresponding updates for some of its other platforms. Here are the details.

If there’s one change I could make to iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, it would be disabling the new swipe-down gesture to invoke Siri AI. There are enough ways to summon Siri that don’t break my muscle memory around opening Notification Center on my iPhone and iPad.

Meanwhile, on the Mac, it’s almost all good news with macOS 27 Golden Gate. Even in late August, new betas are still adding delightful changes. Still, there’s one change I’d like to see before macOS 27 is released next month.

After announcing changes to App Tracking Transparency in Europe, Apple has now unveiled a simplified App Store commission structure for developers in the region. Here are the details.

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On Monday, a seemingly accidental leak found in Apple’s latest macOS 27 Release Candidate showcased the rumored upcoming camera-enabled AirPods using Visual Intelligence. The leaked video, uncovered by Aaron Perris, shows a man looking at a book and asking Siri via AirPods to analyze it using Visual Intelligence and save it for later.

With recent controversy around Meta AI glasses and Flock cameras, Apple’s timing around this particular product couldn’t be more dubious.

Slow Horses returns for season 6 next month, and the new trailer reveals that two major characters are returning to the show—one of which was believed dead.

The giant AirPods Max 2 at $120 off. But today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break also features Amazon bringing back all-time low pricing on AirTag 2, up to $220 off Amazon’s best quality Premium Renewed iPhone 17 Pro units, return lows on iPhone Air, this 1TB M3 iPad Air at $400 off right now ($650 under the M4 price), 24GB/1TB M5 MacBook Air is $300 off courtesy of the official Apple Certified Refurbished storefront, some notable headphones deals,  and more. Check it out below. 

OpenAI is launching ChatGPT for Teens. It calls the new effort “an experience designed to help teens learn, think critically, deepen understanding, and use AI with confidence.” ChatGPT for Teens is enabled when OpenAI systems estimate a user is between 13 and 17 or if the user’s age is directly stated.

Rumors indicate Apple has long been working toward a big overhaul of its Home product lineup, and a new leak offers a list of products to expect.

Another streaming service is getting more expensive. Peacock has raised the prices of all three subscription tiers, with increases of up to $3 per month or $30 per year.

Peacock’s latest increase makes Premium Plus a $20 monthly subscription. However, Apple’s discounted bundles appear to remain unchanged for now.

A new Apple TV 4K is launching soon, expected to launch at the iPhone event in just a few weeks. And an Apple code leak uncovered by MacRumors indicates a new Siri Remote is coming.

It was reported yesterday that Apple has agreed to comply with “fairer” App Tracking Transparency rules in the EU, following an investigation by the German antitrust regulator.

Apple said it was complying voluntarily, and we understand it will be making a total of eight changes in order to do so …

Collectors have proven avid fans of Steve Jobs memorabilia over the years, and a new piece seems likely to attract significant interest. It’s an 8th-grade science fair project with two demonstration circuits – and a warning note from Steve to his teachers.

It’s remained at the Jobs family property in Los Altos ever since, but is now one of more than 200 items in an Apple 50th anniversary auction …

Apple has been fighting hard to ensure that it is still able to take a commission from app sales made through third-party stores. Its aggression in doing this landed it in hot water with the judge in the long-running Epic Games case.

The company has since submitted a proposal for a more toned down version with lower commissions, but it has admitted in new regulatory filings that it may not make any commission at all from these sales …

Whether or not you need to buy Apple’s largest iPhone Pro in order to get the best camera features has varied by generation. So far, reporting has mostly suggested that there will be no camera differentiation between the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, but a leaker today casts some doubt on this.

Specifically, they say that two new features expect to come to both Pro models “may” now be exclusive to the Pro Max …

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In this episode of Apple @ Work, Shirish Nimgaonkar from eBlissAI joins the show to talk about AI’s future in enterprise around endpoint management, agentic solutions, and more. Shirish supports the next generation as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School, and serves on the Board of TiE Boston and the Governing Council at AIF.

Included in today’s macOS Tahoe 26.7 Release Candidate is a short video that appears to show Visual Intelligence in action on Apple’s rumored camera-equipped AirPods. Watch it below.

Apple is pushing back against the Department of Justice’s bid to overturn a court decision allowing the company to seek documents from more than a dozen federal agencies. Here are the details.