Just days after hiring Ruoming Pang, who had led Apple’s foundation model efforts, Meta is reuniting him with two former colleagues from Cupertino.

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A years-old lawsuit accusing Apple of burning through users’ mobile data won’t be moving forward as a class action, but it might still be pursued individually. Here’s what happened.

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NBC-owned streaming service Peacock is increasing its prices, and the ad-supported plan will soon be $3 more expensive. According to Variety, Peacock's ad-supported plan will be priced at $10.99 per month starting on July 23.


The Premium Plus plan that features limited ads in live programming is also increasing in price from $13.99 to $16.99. Yearly pricing for the Premium plan will be $110, and the Premium Plus yearly price will be $170.

This is the third price increase that Peacock has introduced in the last three years, and Variety claims that NBCUniversal executives believe that the service is underpriced compared to competing streaming services.

At $11 per month, Peacock's ad-supported tier will be more expensive than ad-supported options from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. Peacock is testing a lower-priced "Select" plan that features NBC and Bravo current seasons and a limited number of library titles. The plan will be priced at $7.99 per month.

While price increases will hit new subscribers on July 23, existing subscribers can expect to have to pay the higher fees starting after August 22 depending on their next billing date.
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Apple Arcade is celebrating SpongeBob SquarePants this month, and several ‌Apple Arcade‌ titles will be updated with special SpongeBob-themed events.


Snake.io+ and Crossy Road Castle will temporarily gain SpongeBob characters. In Snake.io+, players can play underwater levels to unlock skins inspired by SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, and Plankton. The event launches today, and will last until August 25.

In Crossy Road Castle, players can race through 40 Bikini Bottom-themed levels, playing as SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, or Sandy. Players are tasked with collecting Krabby Patties and avoiding jellyfish. The Krabby Patty Kollectathon event starts on July 21, and the Jellyfish Jam that runs August 4 through August 17 will follow.

Dedicated ‌Apple Arcade‌ SpongeBob Game SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit is also getting a new endless mode that features increasingly difficult levels with no checkpoints and no extra lives.

‌Apple Arcade‌ features more than 200 games, many of which receive regular updates. The service is priced at $6.99 per month, and it has no ads or in-app purchases.
This article, "Apple Arcade Games Get Special SpongeBob SquarePants Events" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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At WWDC25 this year, Apple announced a pair of new features to vastly improve the phone calling experience for iPhone users. Hold Assist does exactly what it says on the tin, and manages calls for you while you’re placed on hold – getting rid of the need to listen to dreaded hold music.

The other feature, Call Screening, has much larger implications, and dealing with spam phone calls may become an issue of the past.

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Today is World Emoji Day, and Emojipedia's dedicated Emojitracker has a real-time list of the emoji that are most popular in the United States and other countries. Here are the top 10 most popular emoji in the U.S.:


The red heart is the number one emoji across all countries, followed by the checkmark, fire, sparkles, loudly crying face, and skull.

Emojipedia's Emojitracker tool shows the most popular 1,000 emoji globally and across select countries like the United States, UK, India, Brazil, Philippines, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan.

The tool used to aggregate data from Twitter, but it now tracks the emoji that are copied from Emojipedia and the GetEmoji websites in real time.

Earlier today, Apple announced the launch of a new Emoji-themed game that's available to Apple News+ subscribers, plus the Unicode Consortium confirmed the new Unicode 17 emoji that will come to iOS 26 in the future.

With ‌iOS 26‌, Apple will introduce a new emoji-inspired Genmoji feature that will let users combine two or more emoji characters together to generate a new image that can be used in Messages conversations.
This article, "World Emoji Day 2025: Here Are the Top 10 Emoji in the U.S." first appeared on MacRumors.com

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After two years under Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Meta is officially handing off Threads to a new leader. Here’s what the change could mean for the app’s future.

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OpenAI today launched ChatGPT agent, a new agentic model that is able to think proactively and complete computer-based tasks on the user's behalf.


The ChatGPT agent is in the same family as o3. It combines several existing ChatGPT features, and it can do things like research and generate reports, execute code using Terminal, generate slides and spreadsheets, and connect to external data sources and applications.

OpenAI gives several examples of how ChatGPT agent can be used:

• Look at my calendar and brief me on upcoming client meetings based on recent news.


• Plan and buy ingredients to make Japanese breakfast for four.


• Analyze three competitors and create a slide deck.

The ChatGPT agent uses its own virtual computer, and it will navigate websites, filter results, prompt users to log into websites when needed, and deliver summaries of its findings. It is designed to seek permission before taking any "actions of consequence," and OpenAI says that users can interrupt tasks to add extra instructions, and stop tasks at any point.

ChatGPT agent is rolling out starting today for Pro, Plus, and Team users. Just select "agent mode" from the dropdown menu in the composer during a conversation. ChatGPT users are able to transition between conversations and action requests within the same chat.

Pro users will get access by the end of today, while Plus and Team users will get access over the next few days. OpenAI plans to add the functionality for Enterprise and Education users in the coming weeks. Pro users have access to 400 messages per month, and other paid users will get 40 messages monthly with additional usage available through flexible credit-based options.
This article, "OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Agent That Can Complete Tasks For You" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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In a quick live stream today, OpenAI announced ChatGPT agent, which improves on its promising, but limited Operator feature announced a few months ago. Here’s how it works

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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.

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Apple Notes has become one of Apple’s most consistently updated apps, and iOS 26 includes a few solid new additions. Here’s everything new for Apple Notes in iOS 26.

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Video hosting and sharing platform Vimeo today announced the launch of an updated Apple TV app, bringing Vimeo back to the Apple TV App Store for the first time in two years.


The updated Vimeo app has been rebuilt, and it is available on ‌Apple TV‌ units that are running tvOS 18 or higher. The Vimeo app supports discovering, searching for, and watching videos that have been uploaded to Vimeo.

It includes a Library, and Watch Later list, and a section for On Demand purchases, as well as Staff Picks. Enhanced playback with chapters, speed controls, and multi-language options, and 4K support is available.

While the Vimeo app was missing from the ‌Apple TV‌ ‌App Store‌, Vimeo users had to AirPlay from the Vimeo app on an iPhone or an iPad to watch videos on a bigger display. Vimeo says that its community has been asking for the return of the ‌Apple TV‌ app for watching premium, ad-free content.

Vimeo is free to use, but it offers paid Starter, Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise plans starting at $20 per month for video creators.
This article, "Vimeo Brings Apple TV App Back" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Another wave of streaming service price hikes may be on the horizon: Peacock just announced a $3 increase for each of its plans, which makes its ad-supported option more expensive than almost all of its competitors.

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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: all the latest rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup and iOS 26.

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Benjamin and Chance react to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman report on what Apple is planning to ship over the course of the next twelve months, as well as the details of a near-term refresh for the Vision Pro including a more comfortable strap. Apple launches a new Emoji puzzle in News+, AirPods marketshare is revealed in a new study, and Apple sweeps the Emmy nominations.  

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin and Chance talk more about the recent controversies surrounding Liquid Glass. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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In an interview this week with CNBC's Alex Sherman, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that Apple, NBC, and ESPN have each bid on the media rights to MLB's "Sunday Night Baseball" package, for the 2026 through 2028 seasons.


Manfred said he plans to choose a winning bidder for "Sunday Night Baseball" within the month, and the rights could be split up between two bidders.

ESPN held the rights to "Sunday Night Baseball" through the 2028 season, but the network and MLB mutually opted out of the $550-million contract earlier this year, so ESPN's rights now expire after the 2025 season. Apple is now looking to pick up those final three seasons, along with NBC, and even ESPN is looking to renegotiate a deal.

Apple TV+ already streams MLB's Friday Night Baseball games, and the service could offer Sunday Night Baseball too if Apple wins the rights.

Following the 2028 season, all regional and national MLB media rights will be expired, and the league is hoping to table a bigger all-in-one package of rights. Apple would likely be very interested in such a package, as it would allow the company to offer an MLB equivalent of MLS Season Pass through the Apple TV app. However, MLB is much bigger than MLS, so it remains to be seen if MLB would be willing to go all-in with Apple.

Apple continues to push into sports content, with the company reportedly likely to secure the rights to Formula 1 racing. In the past, the company unsuccessfully bid on NFL's "Sunday Ticket" package, and on the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
This article, "Apple Continues Sports Push With Bid on MLB's Sunday Night Baseball" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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In celebration of World Emoji Day, the Unicode Consortium this week confirmed the new emoji characters that will be added to Unicode 17 in the fall.


Emoji characters that are coming include trombone, treasure chest, distorted face, hairy creature (aka Bigfoot or Sasquatch), fight cloud, apple core, orca, and ballet dancers.

After Unicode 17 is released later this year, artists at Apple will begin creating new emoji characters in the Apple emoji style. It takes several months for Apple to introduce new emoji after a Unicode update, so we can expect to see these characters next spring.

Apple will add the emoji to an iOS 26 update next year, likely in iOS 26.4. Apple most recently added new emoji in iOS 18.4, an update that came out in late March.

iOS 18.4 introduced the Unicode 16 emoji, which included bags under eyes, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.


The Unicode Consortium releases Unicode updates on a yearly basis, adding new emoji characters each time. Anyone can submit an emoji proposal that the Consortium will consider.
This article, "iOS 26 Emoji Will Include Bigfoot, Apple Core, Distorted Face, Fight Cloud and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Today is World Emoji Day, and the organization that decides which new emoji your iPhone gets has announced this year’s latest crop. Here are the new emoji that will be added in an upcoming version of iOS 26.

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Apple has just released a new video advertising Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16, with one feature spotlighted: Clean Up. The humorous message of the video? Be careful what you remove from photos.

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It looks like Apple's foldable iPhone will have some "crease-free" competition.


Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Samsung's next-generation Galaxy Z Fold 8 will use the same laser-drilled metal display plate as the foldable iPhone, with the component to be supplied by South Korean company Fine M-Tec.

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 7 still has a visible crease in the middle of its inner screen. However, Kuo said that Apple's stricter crease-free requirement for the foldable iPhone has essentially raised the bar for foldable devices, so it sounds like next year's Galaxy Z Fold 8 will feature a "crease-free" screen as well.

Earlier this week, Kuo said the laser-drilled metal plate can disperse the stress generated by bending, allowing for a "crease-free" screen.

The foldable iPhone's inner screen will be supplied by Samsung, according to Kuo, but it is the Fine M-Tec plate that will enable the "crease-free" feat.

Kuo said Apple is aiming to start mass production of the foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026, so the device should finally launch next year. He expects the device to have a 7.8-inch inner display, a 5.5-inch outer display, two rear cameras, one front camera, and a Touch ID power button instead of Face ID.
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Apple today shared a new iPhone 16 ad that highlights the Clean Up feature that's available in the Photos app. In the spot, a man snaps a photo of a woman with her cat, and then removes the cat from the image using Clean Up.


Both the cat and the woman are upset with the change, so he undoes it, demonstrating the reversible nature of the feature.

Clean Up is an Apple Intelligence tool that is able to remove unwanted and distracting objects from a photo. It is accessible through the editing interface in the ‌Photos‌ app. You can swipe over whatever you want removed in an image, and the Clean Up tool will do its best to replace it by cloning the background and other elements of the photo.

‌Apple Intelligence‌ is available on the iPhone 15 Pro models, the ‌iPhone 16‌ models, and it will be available on the upcoming iPhone 17 models.
This article, "Latest Apple Ad Highlights 'Clean Up' Feature in Photos" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Recent weeks have brought a flurry of rumors related to color options for the iPhone 17, including Air and Pro models. Among the most surprising leaks: the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max may come in a new orange color, along with blue and more. Here’s the latest report, plus renders of what could be coming.

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According to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Apple is among the companies that have submitted a bid for the rights to the iconic Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, starting in 2026.

In an interview with CNBC, Manfred said that Apple, NBC, and ESPN have all submitted bids for the Sunday Night Baseball package.

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Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break deals are kicking off with a new low on the silver 24GB 13-inch M4 MacBook Air with 512GB SSD at $165+ off to join some notable back to school MacBook options. We are also highlighting the Space Black 11-inch M4 iPad Pro at $300 off the list price alongside some ongoing Prime Day pricing on Apple Watch Series 10 cell models at nearly $120 off and Apple’s regularly $99 140W USB-C Power Adapter down at $50. Plus, you’ll find the Sonos Ace headphones still down at the $299 Prime Day price ($150 off) alongside plenty of charging and other accessory offers down below. 

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