After macOS Tahoe launched, some intrepid developers noticed that Electron apps could cause the Mac’s rendering system to be overloaded due to an incompatibility with the way Electron apps were overriding the default window corner mask. Users would experience issues like stuttery scrolling when interacting with any app (including non-Electron ones), as long as an Electron app window was currently visible on the desktop.

Major Electron-based apps have subsequently released software updates to work around this bug, but this meant waiting for an update from the developer of each Electron app installed on your Mac. With the latest 26.2 betas, Apple has now fixed the incompatibility at a system-wide level.

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Analyst Jeff Pu is out with a new investor note today with details on Apple’s timeline for new product launches over the next year.

In the investor note, seen by 9to5Mac, Pu says that Apple will kick off 2026 with the launch of three new low-cost products: the iPhone 17e, a low-cost MacBook, and an updated base model iPad. These devices will launch sometime in mid-Q1 2026, Pu reports.

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AirPods have always worked with Android phones, but with limited functionality and a less seamless listening experience. A new app called LibrePods is changing that.


The free app unlocks features on Android that are typically reserved for Apple devices, including ear detection that pauses music when you remove an earbud, Head Gestures for answering calls, and Conversational Awareness that lowers volume while you're talking. It also enables switching between noise control modes, checking accurate battery levels, and customizing accessibility settings.

To make it all work, developer Kavish Devar reverse-engineered Apple's proprietary protocols to make AirPods identify a connected Android device as an iPhone or iPad, which tricks them into sharing device status information normally locked to Apple's ecosystem.

There are some caveats, though. LibrePods currently requires a rooted Android phone with the Xposed framework installed, thanks to what Devar calls "a bug in the Android Bluetooth stack." OnePlus and Oppo devices running ColorOS or OxygenOS 16 can use the app without rooting, however some features like Transparency mode customization still need root access.

The app supports all AirPods models, including AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 3 (excluding heart rate monitoring), though not all features are unlocked on earlier AirPods. Interested Android owners can view more details about the project on its GitHub page or directly download the APK file.

(Via Android Authority.)
This article, "This Free App Unlocks AirPods Features on Android Devices" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind.


Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe.

Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing angles, in both vertical and horizontal orientations.

Inspired by modern sculpture, the Hikawa's design process involved direct input from individuals with disabilities affecting muscle strength, dexterity, and hand control.

The limited edition Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand is available in two colors: a bold, high-visibility Chartreuse and recycled Crater, exclusive to Apple.

The Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand costs $69.95 and can be ordered from Apple's online store in the U.S. It's the second limited-edition iPhone accessory Apple has released this month, following the high-end designer iPhone Pocket, a cross-body pouch starting at $149.95.
This article, "Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is planning to release new entry-level models across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac categories early next year, with an all-new affordable MacBook the most notable addition to the lineup.


According to a new research report by Jeff Pu of GF Securities seen by MacRumors, Apple will launch the iPhone 17e – its second iteration of the "e" line – in the spring, likely along with a 12th-generation iPad, and a new MacBook featuring an A-series chip originally made for ‌iPhones‌.

The new, previously rumored MacBook is said to use the A18 Pro from 2024's iPhone 16 Pro models. It is expected to feature a 13-inch display and come in silver, blue, pink, and yellow color options like the ‌iPad‌.

To meet the MacBook's lower price point – likely to be somewhere between $699 and $899 – Apple may make compromises such as using an older design or display components, 8GB of memory, or even just a single USB-C port.

For the iPhone 17e, Pu believes Apple will use an A19 chip, an 18-megapixel Center Stage camera, and Apple's C1 modem, with most other specifications remaining unchanged from the iPhone 16e. Other rumors suggest the iPhone 17e could transition to the Dynamic Island instead of the current notch at the top of the display.

For the 12th-generation iPad, there are no design changes expected, but Apple will upgrade it with an A18 chip, enabling the low-cost iPad to support Apple Intelligence for the first time.

Pu's equity research report broadly corroborates several other reports indicating that Apple will pursue a split-launch cycle for its iPhones going forward. The second half of next year will see the iPhone 18 Pro models launch alongside Apple's first foldable iPhone. Meanwhile, the regular iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and second-generation iPhone Air will arrive in the first half of 2027.

The iPhone Air 2 was reportedly supposed to arrive in tandem with the iPhone 18 Pro models, but poor sales on its maiden outing has caused Apple to delay the second version while it looks at a redesign, possibly featuring dual rear cameras.

Pu believes that Apple will be largely immune to recent DDR memory price rises through 2026, thanks to its strong procurement power.
This article, "Report: Low-Cost iPhone, iPad, MacBook Coming Early 2026" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has two great, affordable iPads that most people consider: the base iPad, and the iPad Air. Over time, these iPads have always been relatively similar, making it a rather interesting debate. With current deals, theres only $150 between these two iPads, which really begs the question: should you pay more for the iPad Air, or save some money with the base iPad?

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The sequel to one of Apple’s most-watched comedies is now available to Apple TV subscribers.

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Holiday shopping season is here, and if you’re thinking about a great gift for someone special (or let’s be honest, yourself), Roborock’s Qrevo CurvX should be at the top of your list. Robot vacuums have always had this problem: you either get something powerful that looks like a sci-fi reject, or something sleek that can’t really clean. Qrevo CurvX doesn’t make you choose. It solves real frustrations while actually looking nice in your home. With Black Friday around the corner, it’s getting an incredible $650 discount, down to $849.99 from $1,499.99.

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macOS Tahoe 26 brought clipboard history to Spotlight, which is great. However, there’s much more that Apple can do, particularly with the help of Apple Intelligence and third-party models. Here’s how.

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Following the introduction of iPhone Pocket, Apple announced today the Hikawa Phone Grip & Stand, celebrating the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple. Here are the details.

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Apple is continuing to promote its latest Apple TV series Pluribus in creative ways. Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn is participating in an in-character "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit, and she'll be answering questions as Carol Sturka starting at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time or 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow.


Carol Sturka is the main character in Pluribus. She's the author of the Winds of Wycaro series, and is promoting her latest book, Bloodsong of Wycaro, when an extraterrestrial virus escapes the confines of a lab and infects almost everyone but her.

Apple is leaning into Bloodsong of Wycaro to spur interest in Pluribus, and has shared an excerpt from the fictional novel in the Apple Books app that fans of the show can read. Bloodsong of Wycaro follows the adventures of main character Lucasia as she sails on the Mercator, mourning her lost love Raban.

You can post questions for Carol to answer in the AMA thread available on /r/TVPlus, and she'll be online at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Friday, November 21 to answer them.

The first three episodes of Pluribus are available, with the fourth set to launch on Friday. The sci-fi thriller was dreamed up by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, and it stars Seehorn, who was previously in Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul.

Pluribus can be watched on ‌Apple TV‌, Apple's streaming service. ‌Apple TV‌ pricing starts at $12.99 per month, but there is a free 7-day trial available.
This article, "Apple TV Pluribus Star Rhea Seehorn to Answer Questions as Carol Sturka in Reddit AMA" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple TV today revealed that Pluribus has become its most successful new drama series debut ever, topping the viewership set by Severance season two earlier in the year. Via Deadline, Apple says Vince Gilligan’s mysterious new show has captivated audiences and set a new viewership record for biggest global drama series launch for the streamer.

Pluribus was most popular in US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Mexico, India and France. New episodes of the show are rolling out each Friday, with episode four dropping in a couple of hours.

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OpenAI today announced the worldwide rollout of group chats in ChatGPT, allowing multiple people to collaborate with ChatGPT in a shared conversation. OpenAI started testing group chats with a small number of people last week, but the feedback was positive so it is now expanding the feature to everyone.


With group chats, ChatGPT users can create a shared conversation space and invite friends, family, or coworkers. Group chats are separate from private conversations, and OpenAI says that the group creator's personal ChatGPT memory is never shared with anyone in the chat.

According to OpenAI, group chats can be useful for planning a weekend trip with friends, designing a backyard garden, collaborating on design ideas, finding a restaurant that suits everyone's tastes, or settling debates. Group chats can also be used for research for school or work projects, incorporating shared articles, notes, and questions.

Creating a group chat can be done by tapping on the people icon in the top right corner of any new or existing chat. People can be invited by sharing a link, and anyone with the link can invite more people, with up to 20 supported. Group chats are aggregated in a clearly-labeled section of the sidebar, separate from personal chats.

OpenAI says ChatGPT was taught new social behaviors for group chats. It follows the flow of conversation and decides when to respond and when to stay quiet based on the context of the conversation. Mentioning ChatGPT in a message will prompt it to respond, and ChatGPT can react to messages with emojis.

Group chats are available to all logged-in users on free, Go, Plus, and Pro ChatGPT plans. OpenAI says that it will continue to refine the feature as more people start using it.
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Smart cleaning pioneer Narwal is officially launching its Black Friday discounts, and 9to5Mac readers get priority access to additional saving, allowing you to save up to 49% across the company’s entire lineup. It even extends to non-robocleaners like wet/dry vacuums.

It’s unusual for a discount to apply to every single product a company offers, from its most affordable models right the way up to its latest and most sophisticated ones – but that’s exactly what you get here.

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watchOS 26 brought a variety of big and small updates to the Apple Watch, but one I’ve been increasingly loving is the new wrist flick gesture. Here’s how it works and what I’ve been using it for.

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Google today announced the launch of Nano Banana Pro, an image generation model that is a followup to the Nano Banana model that came out earlier this year. Nano Banana Pro is built on Gemini 3 Pro, Google's latest and most advanced AI model.


Google says that Nano Banana Pro is the best model for generating images with correctly rendered and legible text, from a short tagline to a long paragraph. Nano Banana Pro's text expertise allows for the creation of mockups and posters with different fonts, textures, and word style, plus it works in multiple languages.

Content is more helpful than before, with Nano Banana Pro able to create text-heavy infographics and diagrams for learning purposes. It can connect to Google Search to gather information for a graphic, and blend more elements than before. It supports uploading up to 14 images and can maintain the consistency and resemblance of up to five people.

There are image editing tools in Nano Banana Pro that can be used to select, refine, and transform parts of images with localized editing. Camera angles, focus, color, and lighting can be adjusted, and there are 2K and 4K resolution output options.

With the launch of Nano Banana Pro, Google is giving Gemini the ability to tell if an image was generated with Google AI. AI-created images feature SynthIDs and a visible watermark on images generated by free and AI Pro tier users.

Nano Banana Pro is available in the Gemini app when using the Create images feature with the Thinking model. Free users will receive limited quotas, and then will revert to the original Nano Banana model. Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers can generate more images before hitting the limit. Nano Banana Pro is also available for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in AI mode in Search.

Google is making Nano Banana Pro available for companies that use Google Ads, and developers can use it through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio.
This article, "Google Launches Nano Banana Pro AI Image Generator With Improved Text Capabilities" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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A new post on Apple’s Machine Learning Research blog shows how much the M5 Apple silicon improved over the M4 when it comes to running a local LLM. Here are the details.

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Earlier today, Google made a surprise announcement that the Quick Share file transfer feature on Pixel 10 smartphones was able to work with AirDrop, enabling first-party file sharing between Android devices and Apple devices.


Typically, Apple and Google work together on cross-platform features, but it turns out that Apple had no involvement this time. Google created the Quick Share to AirDrop interoperability on its own, and apparently sprung it on Apple with a public announcement. From a statement Google provided to Android Authority:

We accomplished this through our own implementation. Our implementation was thoroughly vetted by our own privacy and security teams, and we also engaged a third party security firm to pentest the solution.

It's possible that Google gave Apple a heads up about its plan to devise an Android and iPhone file transfer solution, but Apple's total lack of participation in the announcement suggests that Apple wasn't interested in working with Google to develop it.

Google says that it is using its own implementation, and Apple's take on that is unclear. Apple has not historically supported third-party workarounds for interoperability between ‌iPhone‌ and Android devices, and it continually worked to put a stop to an iMessage for Android feature that Beeper attempted in 2023.

The Beeper situation does seem to have some parallels with Google's AirDrop move. Beeper reverse engineered Apple's iMessage protocols and encryption, using Apple's iMessage servers to allow Android users to send blue bubble messages to ‌iPhone‌ users. Apple was able to successfully shut down Beeper's messaging solution.

Google is a much bigger company than Beeper, and now that it has publicly announced and launched the Quick Share to AirDrop functionality, it would be harder for Apple to oppose it. Apple is also facing more intense regulatory pressure than it was even two years ago, so it might not want to kill the cross-platform file sharing feature.

File sharing was implemented with an interoperability layer between Quick Share and AirDrop that uses the Rust programming language, according to Google.

Google claims that it had a third-party pentest the security of the file sharing protocol, and that it worked to vet the solution with its own privacy and security teams. Google accompanied the announcement with a full blog post on the underlying security. Apple hasn't commented yet.

Apple and Google have previously worked together on several cross-platform features, including RCS messaging, unknown tracker identification and alerts, and SIM transfers.
This article, "Will Apple Kill Google's Surprise Android to iPhone AirDrop Interoperability?" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: the possible end of the Mac Pro, iPhone Fold’s battery capacity, and more powerful iPhone cases. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

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In an interview on CNBC’s “Money Movers” earlier today, Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang discussed what the newly announced partnership with Apple may mean for F1, as well as Apple’s possible plans for the future. Here’s what he said.

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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.

Sponsored by CardPointers: The best way to maximize your credit card rewards. 9to5Mac Daily listeners can exclusively save 50% and get a $100 Savings Card.  

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Benjamin and Chance discuss the week in Apple news, including the suggestion that Tim Cook’s retirement announced could come early in 2026. Also, Apple responds to user feedback on the multitasking changes with the latest iPadOS 26.2 beta 3, Tesla is rumored to be adding CarPlay to its vehicles, and MLS becomes part of the base Apple TV subscription starting next season.

And in Happy Hour Plus, they discuss the future of the Mac Pro and why Apple should stop selling it. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join. 

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iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more.


In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date.

Keep reading for eight new features coming with iOS 26.2. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer, but some features require a newer iPhone.

Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen

A new slider in the Lock Screen customization menu lets you adjust the opacity of Liquid Glass for the clock, allowing you to decide how clear or frosted it appears.

This comes after iOS 26.1 added "Clear" and "Tinted" options for Liquid Glass overall.

Offline Lyrics in Apple Music

iOS 26.2 adds offline lyric support to Apple Music, allowing you to view a song's lyrics even when you are not connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

Sleep Score Revisions

iOS 26.2 and watchOS 26.2 have revised Sleep Score ranges:

• Very Low: 0-40 (previously 0-29)


• Low: 41-60 (previously 30-49)


• OK: 61-80 (previously 50-69)


• High: 81-95 (previously 70-89)


• Very High: 96-100 (previously 90-100)

Apple says sleep scores are calculated based on how long you slept, the consistency of when you fell asleep, and the frequency and duration of waking up during the night. The feature is available in the Health app on all iPhone models compatible with iOS 26, and in the Sleep app on all Apple Watch models compatible with watchOS 26.

Alarms for Reminders

iOS 26.2 lets you set alarms for reminders in Apple's Reminders app.

When adding a reminder, selecting a time and then toggling on the "Urgent" option will cause an alarm to go off at the designated time.

Apple Podcasts Enhancements

Apple's Podcasts app has three new features on iOS 26.2, including automatic chapters for episodes, timed links on the screen, and the ability to view other podcasts that a podcast mentions right from the audio player and the transcript.

Apple News Revamp

In the Apple News app, there is now a dedicated "Following" tab, and buttons for quick access to topics like sports, puzzles, politics, business, and food.

iPhone Screen Flash for Notifications

Starting with iOS 26.2, your iPhone's screen can flash when you receive a notification. Previously, this setting was limited to the LED camera flash on the back of the iPhone.

In the Settings app, under Accessibility → Audio & Visual → Flash for Alerts, there are now options for LED Flash, Screen, and Both. Or, you can keep the setting turned off.

AirPods Live Translation in EU

iOS 26.2 makes Live Translation on AirPods available in the EU.

Live Translation allows you to understand someone who is speaking a different language than you. For example, if you speak English, and someone is speaking to you in French, Siri can tell you what they are saying in English through your AirPods.

The feature works best when both participants in a conversation are using Live Translation on AirPods. If you are talking with someone who is not wearing AirPods, you can display a live transcription in the other person's language on your iPhone.

Live Translation is available on the AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2, and higher-end AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. The feature launched in the U.S. and select other countries with iOS 26, but it was not available in the EU until iOS 26.2, as Apple said it needed additional time to ensure compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act.

• iOS 26: Use Live Translation With AirPods

In addition to compatible AirPods, users need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer with Apple Intelligence turned on and Apple's Translate app installed.

As of iOS 26.1, Live Translation on AirPods supports the following languages:

• English (U.S.)


• English (U.K.)


• French (France)


• German (Germany)


• Portuguese (Brazil)


• Spanish (Spain)


• Chinese — Simplified (China)


• Chinese — Traditional (China)


• Japanese


• Korean


• Italian

iOS 26 also has a built-in Live Translation feature in the Messages, Phone, and FaceTime apps, with no AirPods required.
This article, "iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple TV premiered food-centric series this year that were both scripted (Carême) and unscripted (Knife Edge), and the streamer just announced a new food series coming: The Unlikely Cook with Awkwafina.

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