As of October 2, Apple and Microsoft are considered “organizers of information dissemination,” on Russia‘s state surveillance registry, according to Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor.

Bloomberg reports the two companies have joined several other other tech firms and apps, including Cloudflare, Blizzard Entertainment, Google, Meta, Telegram, and Snapchat in being required to store their users’ communications just in case the Russian security agencies want to take a look at them.

Bloomberg says companies are required by Russian law to store local users’ electronic communications and turn that data over to the Kremlin’s security agencies upon request, as well as information about users, for at least three years.

Any companies that fail to fall in line can face steep fines and can even have all access to their services blocked in Mother Russia.

It’s all part of a crackdown by the Russian government on foreign messaging and communication services. Russkie thugs have already wither limited or blocked access to several messaging platforms, including Apple’s FaceTime, Telegram, Signal, and WhatsApp. Social network Snapchat and multiplayer gaming platform Roblox were also banned.

If Apple’s relationship with the Russian government were listed on Facebook, it would be under “it’s complicated.” Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Apple has suspended product sales and exports to the country, while also limiting services like Apple Pay.

In August, Russia launched a long-threatened investigation as to why Apple refuses to preload state-backed apps onto devices sold in the country, even though Apple hasn’t sold iPhones in Russia since March 2022.

In July 2024, following pressure from the Russian government, Apple removed several iPhone VPN apps from the country’s App Store.

In December 2025, Russia blocked Apple’s FaceTime video calling app, as part of a continuing effort to block private communication methods, which the Russian government claimed was being used to facilitate criminal activity. Social network Snapchat and multiplayer gaming platform Roblox were also banned. The restriction came following the launch of the Russian government’s own messaging app, MAX.

Apple and Microsoft have yet to publicly commented on their inclusion in the registry or said whether they intend to comply with the Kremlin’s requirements.

Apple recently acquired Ascend.io, a California-based company that develops technology to help businesses automate the collection and analysis of data, and more recently introduced AI agents to help engineers manage this data.

The acquisition was revealed in a notice posted on the European Commission’s website today. Apple closed the deal on June 30, 2026. However, this purchase is not specified as an acquisition.

As it was with Huxe and audio editing firm Samplab, Apple is instead listed as having the right to “make employment offers to and hire certain employees” of the firm. Plus, Apple also gets a “non-exclusive license to Ascend’s intellectual property rights,” as well as at least some of its patents. So other firms will likely be allowed to license the same data tools.

Ascend’s client list is an impressive one, including:

• News Corp
• Marist
• HarperCollins
• Mattel

The Ascend.io website mentions “winding down operations as we prepare for our next great adventure.”

Ascend is winding down operations as we prepare for our next great adventure.

For the past ten years we pursued a singular mission: Make Data Engineering Delightful. We introduced the industry’s first declarative data pipeline technology. We launched a unified platform that brought all of ingest, transform, and orchestration together. We invented DataAware automation. And most recently we pioneered Agentic Data Engineering — where agents work alongside teams across the entire data engineering lifecycle. Each chapter was different, but the goal the same: make life better for data engineers.

To the customers who ran production on us. To the engineers who challenged us on what agents should and shouldn’t do. To the thousands in the community that showed up to hackathons, bootcamps, and office hours. You made this a thrilling adventure.

Thank you for building with us.

Apple may have bought Ascend.io from Silicon Valley firm Ascension Labs in order to improve its own internal data management.

Apple allocated around 80% of its initial iPhone Duo production output to its retail stores, which still meant locations only had as few as 50 of them on hand, says Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

Gurman’s comments came on the latest episode of his Power On podcast, Gurman, says people very close to the device’s logistics told him that most customers who bought a Duo in store on day one scored one by waiting in line.

While flagship stores reportedly had up to around 250 units, the Fifth Avenue had and unusually heavy number of units because Apple executives hung out there on launch day. Meanwhile, pre-orders slipped to late January within minutes on October 16.

Apple described demand for its first foldable iPhone as “nothing short of extraordinary” and said it was working to satisfy demand “as quickly as possible.” Apple reportedly increased its orders of the iPhone Duo, so while pre-order customers shouldn’t hold their breath, they may see their expected delivery date improve over time. A report last week said Foxconn and component manufacturers had been instructed to increase production by roughly 44%, and increase from 9.7 million to 14 million devices. The increased numbers are for a full 12-month period, not just the rest of 2026.

Apple’s new OLED touchscreen “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display” (say that three times fast with a mouthful of peanut butter), which the Cupertino firm unveiled on Wednesday, could ship between 1.2 million and 1.5 million units next year, claims market intelligence firm TrendForce. The company expects those impressive shipment numbers, despite the high price of the new touchscreen MacBook Pro notebooks.

The new addition to the MacBook Pro lineup starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch version. A maxed out model goes for $14,549. (Also known as “more than I paid for my first new car.”) Pre-orders are open, and the new OLED laptop will hit doorsteps and store shelves on Friday, November 6.

The new MacBook Pro model uses the tandem OLED touchscreen technology that first debuted on the M4 iPad Pro a bit more than two years ago, and is the first MacBook to do so. The proven technology provides exceptional color reproduction, as well as improved brightness and contrast.

Apple says the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display offers a visual experience unlike any other, with up to 2000 nits peak HDR and SDR brightness, an industry-leading 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio for exceptional detail, a 120Hz variable refresh rate, and a wider color gamut covering both P3 and Adobe RGB for brilliant colors.

While TrendForce says the new laptops’ high price could put a damper on near-term replacement demand, it still expects to see between 1.2 million and 1.5 million units fly out of Apple’s warehouses during 2027.

TrendForce also expects Apple’s entry into the OLED notebook market to push Windows laptop makers that currently dominate the OLED notebook market – like ASUS, HP, and Lenovo – to increase their OLED laptop offerings.

The firm says the new MacBook Pro’s launch, together with the MacBook Neo, to further increase Apple’s ability to expand its product portfolio, by offering MacBooks at several price points.

Despite the overall laptop market’s shrinking shipments over the last two years, TrendForce expects Apple’s entrance into the OLED notebook market to help laptop shipments to increase by close to 40% year-over-year in 2026, with a more than 40% boost in shipments expected for 2027. Laptop makers are expected to increase their OLED offerings, due to consumer acceptance of the tech.

Samsung Display will be the main beneficiary of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, as it is currently the exclusive provider of the OLED display panels used for the new premium notebook lineup. The MacBook Pro is the first product to enter mass production on Samsung Display’s G8.6 fine metal mask (FMM) OLED line, which is currently dedicate only to Apple’s needs.

The tandem OLED architecture and pixel density of 254 pixels per inch (PPI) of the panels used in Apple’s new laptop lineup does place extremely demanding requirements on panel producers, although Samsung competitors like BOE, LG Display, and TCL CSOT are expected to work to enter Apple’s supply chain, although they are expected to concentrate on providing OLED panels for the OLED MacBook Air models that are expected to debut sometime in 2028.

The Popcorn Time app was a once-popular, if questionable, way to view movies, films, and other content, but if you’re one of the many users that installed a certain version of it on your Mac, lo those many years ago, your Mac could be open to attack.

As reported by MacRumors, Security firm Eye Research has detailed how Time4Popcorn, which was an unofficial version of the app, left behind a small update checker app that checks for an update every time you fire your Mac up. This happens even if you haven’t opened the app in years! The problem is that the checker blithely trusted whatever it downloaded, giving it full permission to change anything on your Mac.

It didn’t matter that the Time4Popcorn fork’s developers long ago stopped working on the app, abandoning the website addresses the helper app contacted. Since they were expiring, anyone that took over one of the addresses could use it to install whatever they wanted onto your computer. Happily, Eye Research says their investigation didn;t find any evidence of bad actors doing so.

(It should be noted that in early 2025 a new project started using the Popcorn Time name and is building a legal alternative, which appears to try and make it easier to view what you enjoy from the various streaming services you subscribe to. Eye Research’s findings do not apply to that software.)

When Eye Research took control of an abandoned address used by the update checker, it found that an estimated 250,000 to 350,000 Macs were affected. The researchers then took it upon themselves to use the checker itself to disable it on more than a million Macs and Windows PCs. It then handed over the addresses to the Shadowserver Foundation, which is a nonprofit cybersecurity group.

The researchers advise anyone that is still using the Time4Popcorn to immediately uninstall it, as some updated addresses remain outside the researchers’ control.

For more details, read the Eye Research report. It is definitely recommended reading.

While Apple may have finally added a touch display to the MacBook Pro, the company still sees it as an indirect input device, says Apple CEO John Ternus. His comments came during an interview with Wired.

The Mac is first and foremost an indirect input device, built around the trackpad and keyboard. But I think there’s times when it’s comfortable and handy to have touch.

We needed to get to a point where adding touch didn’t make the product lesser in any way. It didn’t make it heavier. It didn’t make it thicker. That came together with the OLED screen, the best display we’ve ever put into a Mac. All of these things, and, oh yeah, it has touch as well.

Apple had long maintained that its iPad and Mac lineups would remain separate, as they served two different functions. Apple’s former CEO, the late Steve Jobs once said, “Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. It doesn’t work, it’s ergonomically terrible.”

However, the time has apparently come for Apple to take a different view of Mac touchscreens.

Hardware chief Johny Srouji and marketing chief Greg Joswiak were also interviewed by Wired. Srouji told the publication that display technology, Apple silicon chips, and software have evolved enough to meet Apple’s “bar” for touch integration.

Meanwhile, Joswiak said pro users were waiting for touch, and that a generation of “young creators” expect touch capabilities. Apple’s version of a touchscreen laptop has a redesigned thermal architecture to keep the display from feeling hot, an anti-reflective display coating that’s Apple says won’t need more cleaning than a standard display, and a reinforced hinge that keeps the screen stable when touch pressure is applied.

Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Friday, November 6.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Pro starts at $2,899 (U.S.), and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Pro starts at $3,399 (U.S.). A bit less for education customers.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Max starts at $4,499 (U.S.), and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Max starts at $4,799 (U.S.). Also a bit less for education customers.

Apple’s new HomePod mini 2 became available for pre-order two weeks ago, and it will begin hitting front steps and store shelves tomorrow, Friday, October 30. But what does the updated smart speaker bring to the table? (Or desk, depending on where you want to put it.)

It should be noted right out of the gate that while Siri AI will be one of the HomePod mini 2’s big features, it won’t be available out of the box. No one knows how long you’ll have to wait for it, as Apple only says it will come in a future software update.

So, what are the specs and features of the new HomePod mini 2?

Well, when Siri AI does arrive, when the ‌HomePod mini‌ is paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad, it will be able to recognize up to six users by voice and connect to their device for personalized information like Messages.

Apple says the new HomePod mini’s new Sound Glow feature transforms the top of the smart speaker “into a visual canvas that glows and pulses in sync with the music, reacting in real time to bass and treble.” A song’s album artwork from Now Playing generates a unique color-matched light experience for every song. Users can pick a soundscape like rain to trigger bespoke animations for a soothing atmosphere. This feature is also compatible with the OG HomePod mini, and I use it on mine. It’s actually quite nice.

Four HomePod minis can be paired together to create a four-speaker surround sound setup with the new Apple TV 4K, also announced today. Together, the four speakers and the new Apple TV 4K intelligently recognize each speaker’s position in the room, so audio timing and levels are automatically calibrated to the space.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ also works as a speaker for the Mac. I have three 1st-generation HomePod minis around my home, and one of these is in my home office, where I have my Mac mini. It makes quite a nice speaker for the Mac, while also still performing its other duties.

The new ‌HomePod mini‌ can continue to serve as a home hub and control smart home devices, just like the previous model. Its Sound Recognition feature can listen for smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, sending an alert if one is detected.

The new HomePod mini also works seamlessly with smart home accessories, including the new Apple Home Collection video doorbells and cameras, using Face Recognition to announce who is at the door.

Pricing and Availability

• HomePod mini 2 is available for $149 (U.S.), in pink, green, blue, white, and midnight.
• Siri AI will be available in English on HomePod mini 2 via a future software update in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK.
• HomePod mini 2 is compatible with HomePod software 27.2.

October marks the 5th anniversary of the release of Apple’s microfiber Polishing Cloth accessory. The cloth, developed by Apple to allow device users to properly clean the screens of their prized devices, and released in October 2021, originally sold for $19, although a redesigned, softer version now sells for $9.

Apple promotes the cloth as the perfect way to clean your Apple devices, including your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch :

Made with soft, nonabrasive material, the Polishing Cloth cleans any Apple display, including nano-texture, safely and effectively.

Made from a “soft, nonabrasive material,” the Polishing Cloth can be used to clean any Apple display, including nano-texture glass, safely and effectively.

While you’d think most Apple users would have a microfiber cloth handy already (I have 2 cloths within view as I write this), the official Apple Polishing Cloth proved immediately popular when it was released. Delivery dates soon slipped to late December/early January. The cloth was available exclusively from the online store, and it was not available in Apple’s retail locations or from third-party companies.

The glowing rear Apple logo has made a triumphant return, as the company today unveiled a new high-end MacBook Pro that boasts a tandem PROOLED XDR display that supports touch gestures, as well as a glowing rear Apple logo. The new MacBook Pro is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. Pricing starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch model.

Apple says the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display offers a visual experience unlike any other, with up to 2000 nits peak HDR and SDR brightness, an industry-leading 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio for exceptional detail, a 120Hz variable refresh rate, and a wider color gamut covering both P3 and Adobe RGB for brilliant colors.

The display uses tandem OLED technology and uses advanced algorithms in the display engine. A state-of-the-art factory calibration process delivers Extreme Dynamic Range (XDR), which Apple says delivers stunning visual fidelity, exceptional brightness, striking contrast, and vivid true-to-life colors. The PROLED XDR display is designed to offer “a new level of visual acuity and precision for content creators, photographers, colorists, and designers who need a reference-caliber display on the go.”

The new MacBook Pro features touchscreen capabilities that are crafted specifically for the Mac, allowing users to scroll through a webpage with a natural swipe; pinch to zoom in on a photo; drag and drop slides from one presentation to another; and double-tap a window to fill the screen, or flick to tile it into place. The touch sensor is built directly into the display panel — not layered on top of it — reducing latency.

“The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is a monumental step forward for the Mac,” Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer is quoted as saying in the press release. “PROLED XDR is the world’s best laptop display. It pairs state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology with advanced algorithms in our display engine to deliver the kind of visual fidelity pros have been dreaming of. And with the magic of Touch coming to MacBook Pro, combined with the game-changing performance of M5 Pro and M5 Max, we’ve created a whole new way for pros to interact with their content, taking their workflows to a completely new level. The new MacBook Pro is the result of the deep integration between Apple silicon, hardware, and software, and there’s simply nothing else like it.”

The new MacBook Pro boasts up to 24 hours of battery life, while being slimmer and lighter than the existing version, weighing at just three to four pounds, depending on the model.

The screen notch is gone, as Apple has instead added a small Dynamic Island that takes up less space. The Dynamic Island serves as the home for Spotlight, Live Activities, and Siri AI.

The new ‌OLED MacBook Pro‌ is powered by the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the ‌MacBook Pro‌ models that debuted back in March. The new touchscreen laptop offers support for up to 128GB of unified memory.

A new six-speaker sound system features an all-new woofer design that provides 50% deeper bass and all-new tweeters that Apple says shape sound dispersion for remarkable clarity. Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos provides immersive sound for entertainment content, and studio-quality mics deliver clean, clear audio for calls, recordings, and voice commands. Dedicated audio tuning for closed-lid use delivers exceptional sound quality when MacBook Pro is connected to an external display.

Thunderbolt 5 connectivity and a 12MP Center Stage camera also make an appearance.

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display starting today, October 28, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Friday, November 6.
• The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Pro starts at $2,899 (U.S.) and $2,749 (U.S.) with education savings; and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Pro starts at $3,399 (U.S.) and $3,199 (U.S.) with education savings.
• The 14-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Max starts at $4,499 (U.S.) and $4,199 (U.S.) with education savings; and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display featuring M5 Max starts at $4,799 (U.S.) and $4,499 (U.S.) with education savings.
• Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/macbook-pro.

As first noticed by MacRumors, Apple has raised the starting price for its MacBook Neo from $599 to $649 on its US online education store. That means the discount for college students and other eligible education users is a mere $50, down from $100. The change was made within the past week. Equivalent price hikes have been made for local currencies in other countries.

The MacBook Neo first launched in March, and carried a base price of $499 in Apple’s education store. However, the price rose to $599 in June, and now sits at $649. Apple blames the rising price of the MacBook Neo – and that of several other Apple devices – on the rising cost of components, led by the ongoing memory chip shortage, which has led to skyrocketing prices for the RAM Apple uses in its devices, the MacBook Neo included. The ever-increasing price of RAM is fueled by giants like Nvidia and OpenAI buying up huge amounts of memory chips for their AI servers.

The MacBook Neo’s base price for the general public started at $599, but was hiked to $699 in June as well. Currently it remains at that price on Apple’s website. That model is available on Amazon with overnight delivery for Prime customers, for $689. It’s not much of a discount, but you could use that 10 bucks to buy a small coffee at Starbucks.

Apple is expected to release a second-generation MacBook Neo in the first half of 2027 that will be powered by an A19 Pro chip, 12GB of RAM, and will offer new color options. The current MacBook Neo is powered by an A18 Pro chip and has 8GB of RAM. The Neo is currently available in Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo.

(The Amazon link in this article is n affiliate link, meaning I get a small cut of the action, if you click them and buy something, but at no extra cost to you.)

Apple released iOS 27.2 to the public earlier this week, and among the several new features the update brings is the ability to take a selfie for age verification, reports 9to5Mac. Here’s how it works.

An increasing number of countries and regions around the world are now requiring users to verify their ages before accessing some websites, apps, or even certain settings.

Apple notes that users located in Australia, Brazil, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and also the United States (Texas) may be required to confirm their age.

As you might imagine, this has raised privacy concerns, as most confirmation methods require photos, driver’s licenses, and other sensitive information, like credit card numbers, which can be abused or stolen.

Apple has developed a privacy-first method of confirming a user’s age in iOS 27.2, taking a selfie. That’s in addition to the previously available methods, which include scanning your driver’s license or ID card, or entering credit card info.

In a new support document, Apple tells users that they can now confirm that they are an adult by taking a selfie. An age-estimation model will then evaluate the images of your face.

While the selfie option isn’t available in all countries, you may see the option to use a selfie when asked to confirm you’re an adult.

Apple tells users how the process works. (Don’t worry, if you’ve set up Face ID on your iPhone, the prcess will be familiar.):

1. Choose the option to take a selfie, then tap Get Started.
2. Hold your device in front of you and center your face in the frame.
3. Capture all four angles of your face by moving your head slowly right, left, up, and down. Follow the onscreen guidance to complete confirmation. It might take a moment to estimate your age.

Apple tells users to:

• Make sure you’re in a well-lit area with even lighting. Indoors works best.
• Move closer to the camera so that your face is clearly visible.
• Remove anything that might cover your face, such as masks, hats, or sunglasses.
• Make sure only your face is in the frame.

If you need assistance, you can tap “Accessibility Options” to get spoken instructions, reduced directions, or other adjustments.

Apple tells users that their privacy is protected by its privacy-first age-estimation models, which run only on-device and on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. The selfie “isn’t accessible to anyone, not even Apple.” Once your age has been confirmed, the selfie is automatically deleted and “isn’t retained in any form.”

Interested in learning more about this age verification feature? The full support document can be found here.

Apple is expected to unveil new touchscreen MacBook Pro models later today, and as first reported by MacRumors, system assets have been discovered in macOS 27 that indicate the new laptops could display information in something similar to the iPhone’s pill-shaped Dynamic Island.

Many observers expect the new MacBook Pros to feature a Dynamic Island-like cutout for the FaceTime camera, doing away with the notch that has been part of the machine’s screen design since 2021.

Code excavator pdfu found the assets seen below and shared them on X, the assets are connected to AirPods connection, Focus activation, AirPods noise cancellation, low battery, and automatic audio switching.

macOS 27 paves the way for a touchscreen Mac and a Dynamic Island with the new MenuBarAgent. Some system compact and minimal views already ship.

Siri AI is set to take over the new system aperture with a droplet-like design. Should be a fun day tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/ajJiiSlVfS

— pdfu (@itspdfu) October 28, 2026

The assets are linked to a new menu bar component called MenuBarAgent, which pdfu says “paves the way for a touchscreen Mac and a Dynamic Island.” He adds, “Some system compact and minimal views already ship.”

He also claims Siri AI will eventually occupy what he calls the new “system aperture” in a droplet-like design.

Apple is expected to unveil the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch ‌touchscreen MacBook Pro‌ models later today, in connection with its “Pro and Tell” media experience that will kick off in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. Pacific Time/1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Apple’s upcoming touchscreen MacBook Pro will boast hinge improvements that are targeted for use in the next iPhone Duo model, claims a known leaker. His comments come just before the new laptop’s expected announcement today.

Leaker “Fixed Focus Digital” posted on Weibo that one of the new ‌MacBook Pro‌’s key upgrades is the design of its hinge. The improved design is apparently intended to be used for the second- and third-generation ‌iPhone Duo‌.

The leaker said:

“It seems the focus of the new MacBook is on hinge improvements, which should align with the direction of the second and third generation Duo models. Keep an eye out for it.”

The leaker’s hinge claim jibes with Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman’s saying that Apple has redesigned the mechanism to keep the display steady during touch input, in addiiton to cooling changes to improve airflow through the hinge area.

The leaker also repeated claims that the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ will use a dual-layer OLED display at a substantial higher price. Gurman also reported that Apple was mulling a $2,899 starting price for the 14-inch model with an M5 Pro chip, up $400 from the $2,499 asking price for the existing equivalent.

Apple is expected to unveil the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models later today, in connection with its “Pro and Tell” media experience that will kick off in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. Pacific Time/1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Apple plans to release a second-generation MacBook Neo in the first half of 2027, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman previously said that the MacBook Neo 2 will be powered by an A19 Pro chip, 12GB of RAM, and will offer new color options.

The current MacBook Neo – which was Released in March 2026 – is powered by an A18 Pro chip and has 8GB of RAM. The Neo is available in Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo. The laptop’s base model was initially priced at $599, but Apple raised the price to $699 in June, due to the rising cost of components, such as memory chip and SSD storage.

While Gurman did not indicate when the next MacBook Neo will be released, the first half of next year seems likely, as the current MacBook Neo was released in March of this year. That makes a March 2027 release date logical, as that would make it a year since the OG Neo debuted.

We also don’t know the base price of the 2nd-generation MacBook Neo, but unless components again rise sharply, it will likely be priced at the same $699 base price as the current model.

Last week, we reported that Apple was able to gain a larger share of the overall worldwide PC shipments during the calendar third quarter of 2026, likely thanks to the low(er) priced MacBook Neo, even as the PC market faces a downturn in global shipments.

Apple today announced upcoming updates to Apple Creator Studio, its collection of creative apps that allow creators to access studio-grade tools on their Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

The update brings built-in MotionVFX collection of visual effects, plug-ins, transitions, templates, and motion graphics tools to Final Cut Pro for Mac. Motion VFX was formerly a third-party tool.  Apple’s curated Content Hub now also includes video assets and is available in Final Cut Pro.

Music creators using Logic Pro for Mac gain a new intelligent assistant in beta, an enhanced Stem Splitter that now separates drums, and a redesigned Browser that incorporates all sounds, with music understanding and even a Splice library.

Pixelmator Pro adds Generate Fill, which allows creators to transform selected areas of an image using natural language.

Keynote, Pages, and Numbers add new AI features in beta, including assistants that understand document context and new Model Context Protocol (MCP) support for workflow automation. Stock video is now available in the Content Hub, as well as new premium themes and templates.

Apple Creator Studio updates will be available on the App Store this November as a free update for existing subscribers. New subscribers can get the suite for $12.99 per month or $129 per year. Meanwhile, one-time-purchase versions of Final Cut Pro ($299.99), Logic Pro ($199.99), Pixelmator Pro ($49.99), Motion ($49.99), Compressor ($49.99), and MainStage ($29.99) are still available on the Mac App Store and will also receive the new features in November.

Note that the Logic Pro assistant is available only on the Mac, and requires an Apple Intelligence-capable Mac running macOS 27. The Keynote, Pages, and Numbers assistants require an Apple Intelligence-capable device running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27. MCP support is Mac-only as well, requiring macOS 27. All of the assistants are in beta and are currently available in U.S. English only.

The update arrives on the App Store in November as a free update for existing subscribers, while new subscribers can get them for $12.99 per month or $129 per year. One-time-purchase versions of Final Cut Pro ($299.99), Logic Pro ($199.99), Pixelmator Pro ($49.99), Motion ($49.99), Compressor ($49.99), and MainStage ($29.99) remain available on the Mac App Store and will receive the new features in November.

Apple today unveiled its new 24-inch M6-powered iMac and a new M6 MacBook Pro.

24-inch M6 iMac

The new 24-inch M6-powered iMac boasts an N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, up to 2x faster SSD speeds, and more. The new iMac has the same outward design as the previous model, and the color options also remain the same: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange, and silver.

The new iMac experience offers a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, a front-facing camera, speakers, and mics, as well as up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports and color-matched accessories. 2.5Gb Ethernet that delivers up to 2.5x faster wired connectivity than the previous generation.

“iMac is the world’s best all-in-one, and today it raises the bar yet again,” said Shelly Goldberg, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With the blazing performance and AI capabilities of M6 supercharging every workflow and the next generation of Apple Intelligence with Siri AI — combined with its stunning 24-inch Retina display, its gorgeous design in seven vibrant colors, and macOS 27 — the new iMac has everything users need to run their businesses, manage their lives, and bring their ideas to life.”

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can pre-order the new iMac with M6 starting tomorrow, October 28, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 35 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Friday, November 6.
• iMac with M6 featuring a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU starts at $1,499 (U.S.) and $1,449 (U.S.) with education savings. iMac with a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU starts at $1,699 (U.S.) and $1,599 (U.S.) with education savings. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and information on Magic accessories are available at apple.com/mac.

M6 14-in MacBook Pro

Apple also unveiled a new M6-powered 14-in MacBook Pro.

The M6 chip in the ‌MacBook Pro‌ features a 12-core CPU, which Apple calls the world’s fastest CPU core. It boasts 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores, paired with a 12-core GPU. The M5 chip that powered the previous generation of the laptop had a 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores, paired with a 10-core GPU. Apple says the 12-core GPU delivers up to 30% faster graphics and up to 25% faster AI workloads when compared to M5.

The Neural Engine doubles from 16-cores to a dual 16-core Neural Engine system with 32 total cores. Memory bandwidth also increases from 153GB/s to 170GB/s, but only on models with 24GB and 32GB of memory.

The new 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ also offers support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity via Apple’s N1 wireless chip. It can also now drive dual external 4K displays at up to 165Hz, up from 144Hz.

“The 14-inch MacBook Pro is the pro laptop of choice for a wide range of users — from college students, to business professionals across every industry, to multidisciplinary creators doing it all on one device,” said Shelly Goldberg, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With the powerful M6 chip, we’re taking performance to the next level, with a boost in CPU speed and graphics and even more powerful capabilities for on-device AI. With its amazing battery life, remarkable Liquid Retina XDR display, and even faster connectivity, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 delivers a fantastic combination of performance, capability, and value.”

Pricing and Availability

• Customers can pre-order the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starting tomorrow, October 28, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 35 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Friday, November 6.
• The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 starts at $1,999 (U.S.) and $1,899 (U.S.) with education savings. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/macbook-pro.

Mac users that upgrade their machine to macOS 27 will no longer see the upgrade remove their existing Rosetta installation according to Apple’s enterprise release notes for macOS 27.2. Users that had previously installed Rosetta, the translation tool that lets Intel-based apps run on Apple silicon Macs, discovered that when upgrading to macOS 27 Golden Gate, the update removed their Rosetta installation.

Apple announced in June 2025 that macOS 27 would be the final version of the Mac operating system to offer full Rosetta support. Apple said that starting with macOS 28, only a limited version of Rosetta 2 will remain available for older games that rely on Intel-based frameworks. macOS 28 will be released in 2027.

If you’d like to know which apps will no longer work in macOS 28, just click the Apple icon in the upper-left hand corner of your Mac’s Desktop, then click “More Info.”. An “About” window will open. Click “General,” then scroll down to and click “System Report.” Scroll down until you see “Software,” then click “Applications.”

A list of your Mac’s installed apps will appear. Click the column entitled “Kind,” which shows the processor architecture the app was designed for. This will sort your apps by the platform they were designed for. You need to worry about the apps marked as “Intel.” The apps marked as “Universal” or “Apple Silicon” will keep running in macOS 28.

Apple and the NFL on Monday announced that rapper Jay-Z will be the headliner for the 2027 Apple Music Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2027, airing on ESPN, ABC and Disney+, and on mobile devices with NFL+.

The announcement was made during the Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles Monday Night Football game on ESPN, which has the rights to air the Super Bowl in February.

Super Bowl LXI will be held on Sunday, February 14, 2027, meaning that the game and Jay-Z’s performance will be held on Valentine’s Day. (Honey, we’ll go out to dinner after the game! Or we could order pizza…) In the U.S., the NFL championship game will air on ABC and ESPN, with the Apple Music Halftime Show being held at halftime. It has not been announced who else will perform alongside Jay-Z, although his wife Beyoncé, will certainly be at the top the list of possible performers. Beyoncé headlined the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show and was a special guest for Super Bowl 50..

Apple Music has sponsored the Super Bowl Halftime Show since 2022, when Apple Music replaced Pepsi as the primary halftime show sponsor as part of the multi-year deal. Since then, the halfrime shows have included several performers, including Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, and others.

Jay-Z performed his JAY-Z30 Concert Series at SoFi on Oct. 23-24. The tour has celebrated the 30-year anniversary of his Reasonable Doubt album and the silver anniversary of his The Blueprint album. Special guests during the tour have included Blue Ivy Carter, DJ Khaled, Dr. Dre, John Legend, Too Short, and Snoop Dogg.

Super Bowl LXI will mark the second time the big game has been held at SoFi Stadium. Roc Nation has produced the Super Bowl Halftime Show since partnering with the NFL in 2019. Roc Nation LLC is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008.

Apple today released iOS 27.2 and iOS 27.2, the first major update for iOS 27 and iOS 27, respectively.

To install the update, go to “Settings” -> “General” -> “Software Update.”

Apple’s release notes for the update are as follows:

Siri AI (All iPhone 16 models and later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max)
– Siri AI can recall your past conversations, so you can ask Siri about something it told you before, like the restaurants it recommended last week
– Siri AI can draw from more sources to give you a great answer, including photos attached in Messages, Calendar event attendees, your voicemails, and better results from Safari history and Reading List
– Excluded Apps lets you choose which apps Siri, Search, and suggestions can access, all from one setting
– Granular text selection lets you select and copy just the part of a Siri response you need
– Siri AI is available in more languages, with support tor French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Siri AI is not available in the EU or mainland China

Other
– Suggestions in Messages help you take action based on the context of your conversations, like adding a Calendar invite for a dinner
– Shared Albums in Photos adds the ability to edit captions and comments, to avoid adding duplicate photos, and can display a reminder before albums expire so participants can save important photos and videos
– Support for SynthID watermarking to help identify whether an image was generated or modified with generative tools in Photos and Image Playground
– The Home tab in the Podcasts app offers two separate sections for New Episodes and Continue Playing, letting you find the latest updates from your shows and then pick up where you left off
– Friends tab in the Games app provides context on friend suggestions and shows recent games played on friends’ player pages
– Simple Profiles in the Apple TV app lets everyone in your household have their own profile, with recommendations that fit what they like to watch
– FaceTime supports adding a third party sign language interpreter or live captioner to a call

Apple has separate release notes for the ‌iPhone Duo‌:

This update provides enhancements to Siri AI with the ability to retain useful context from previous Siri interactions as well as draw from a wider range of personal context. iPhone Duo gets support for Apple Pencil, as well as Edge Light to illuminate your face during video calls. This update also introduces Suggestions in Messages that help you take quick actions in apps like Calendar and Reminders based on context from your conversation. This release includes additional features, bug fixes, and security updates for your iPhone Duo.

Apple also released iOS 26.7.2 with security updates.

Apple today released macOS 27.2, the first major update to the macOS 27 Golden Gate operating system that was released in mid-September.

Mac users can download and install the new ‌macOS Golden Gate‌ update by using the Software Update section in System Settings.

macOS Golden Gate‌ 27.2 expands Siri AI to new languages including French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Apple’s release notes for the update are below.

This update provides enhancements to Siri AI with the ability to retain useful context from previous Siri interactions as well as draw from a wider range of personal context. It also introduces Suggestions in Messages that help you take quick actions in apps like Calendar and Reminders based on context from your conversation. This release includes additional features, bug fixes, and security updates for your Mac.