Apple UI design head Alan Dye is leaving the company and transitioning to Meta, reports Bloomberg. Dye took over Apple's user interface design team in 2015 when former Apple designer Jony Ive transitioned to Chief Design Officer, and he's held that position since then.


Dye has been at Apple since 2006, joining the marketing and communication team as a creative director. He transitioned to Jony Ive's user interface team in 2012 to work on iOS 7, and he worked on subsequent iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS design updates. Most recently, he helped develop the Vision Pro interface, and he oversaw the rollout of the iOS 26 and macOS 26 Liquid Glass design revamp.

Apple plans to replace Dye with Stephen Lemay, a longtime Apple designer who joined the company over 25 years ago. In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook praised Lemay.

Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999. He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple's culture of collaboration and creativity.

Design is fundamental to who we are at Apple, and today, we have an extraordinary design team working on the most innovative product lineup in our history.

Dye is joining Meta as chief design officer on December 31, and he will help Meta in its efforts to further break into consumer hardware. Dye will head up Meta's new design studio, overseeing hardware design and software design with a focus on improving Meta devices like headsets and glasses with AI features.
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Apple is expanding AirPods and Apple Watch health features to additional countries starting today.


Hypertension notifications from the Apple Watch are now available in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Hearing Test and Hearing Aid functionality has expanded to Bahrain, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, while Sleep Apnea notifications are available in Colombia.

Apple also expanded Hearing Aid functionality with automatic Conversation Boost to a long list of European countries, including the UK, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Ireland, and Denmark.

Apple introduced Hypertension notifications in watchOS 26, and the feature uses heart data collected by the Apple Watch to alert users if signs of chronic high blood pressure are detected. Hypertension notifications work after collecting 30 days of heart rate data, and the feature can be set up in the Apple Health app on the iPhone.

Hypertension alerts are available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and later and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.

Sleep apnea detection is a feature that Apple first started rolling out with watchOS 11. It uses the accelerometer to monitor subtle wrist movements that are associated with interruptions in normal breathing patterns, alerting users if breathing disturbances are detected. Sleep apnea detection also requires 30 days of data, with information available in the Breathing Disturbances section of the Health app.

Hearing Test and Hearing Aid functionality first rolled out last year, allowing the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 to be used in lieu of hearing aids for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss. The hearing test uses tones at different frequencies to detect hearing loss, and if issues are detected, users can turn on hearing assistance. The feature also includes Loud Sound Reduction to protect hearing health.

Conversation Boost has long been an AirPods Pro feature, but the auto-on option paired with Hearing Aid functionality automatically enhances sound volume when someone speaks. Hearing Aid functionality with Conversation Boost works on the AirPods Pro 2 and later, with a list of supported countries available on Apple's website.
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Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming watchOS 26.2, tvOS 26.2, and visionOS 26.2 updates for testing purposes. The software comes two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The RCs are the final versions of the watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS 26.2 updates that will be provided to the public next week as long as no other bugs are found.


The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device.

watchOS 26.2 features updated Sleep Score ranges that better match how people might be feeling after a night's rest.

In tvOS 26.2, Apple added support for creating a profile without an Apple Account, plus there is a dedicated Apple TV app kids mode for profiles created for kids.
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Apple today provided the release candidate of an upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.2 update to developers and public beta testers, with the update coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third beta. The RC represents the final version of macOS Tahoe 26.2 that will be provided to the public as long as no bugs are found in the software.


Testers can download the macOS Tahoe 26.2 update by opening up the System Settings app, selecting the General category, and then choosing Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled.

macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a new feature for video calls. Edge Light adds a border of soft light around the edges of the Mac's display to illuminate your face in darkened rooms. Edge Light is meant to mimic the look of a physical ring light.

Edge Light uses the Neural Engine for positioning, so it is optimally placed around your face in the video frame. Light color can be adjusted from warm to cool, and intensity varies based on ambient lighting. Edge Light is available in video conferencing apps like FaceTime and Webex alongside other options like backgrounds, Portrait mode, and Voice Isolation. It works on Macs that support Apple silicon.

Along with Edge Light, the Reminders app is getting an option to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due, the News app has some design updates, and Apple is adding new features to the Podcasts app.
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Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing.


Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.

iOS 26.2 has a Liquid Glass slider on the Lock Screen to adjust the transparency of the clock, plus it brings AirPods Live Translation to the European Union. The Reminders app now supports alarms for when tasks are due, and there are updates to the Podcasts and Apple News apps. Menu animations have been revamped, and CarPlay supports disabling pinned messages in the Messages app.

We have a full list of all the features available in iOS 26.2 in our guide.

iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 will likely see a launch next week.
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Apple is offering a new Apple Pay promotion for the holidays, teaming up with Etsy to provide a $15 discount off of a purchase of $75 or more.


Etsy users can get the $15 discount when making a purchase using ‌Apple Pay‌ as the payment method in the Etsy app and entering the promo code APPLEPAY at checkout.

One discount is available per person, and it excludes shipping and handling, gift cards, and taxes. It is also not available for use on the Etsy website. The deal is available through December 10, 2025 at 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Fandango is also offering another "‌Apple Pay‌ Wednesday" promotion that discounts movie tickets by $5 when making a purchase with ‌Apple Pay‌ in the Fandango app or on the Fandango website. Customers will need to use the promo code APPLEPAYWED when checking out to get the deal.


The discount can be used for tickets at any theater that supports Fandango, and at any date and time, so purchases do not have to be for same-day tickets.
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OpenAI is deprioritizing work on advertising as it focuses on improving the quality of ChatGPT, reports The Information. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a "code red" on Monday, and told employees that the company needs to improve ChatGPT so it doesn't fall behind competitors like Google and Anthropic.


Altman said that OpenAI needs to work on personalization for each user, image generation, and model behavior like speed and reliability.

Google debuted Gemini 3 Pro in November, and it outperforms ChatGPT on several benchmarking tests. Google has been luring users with its Nano Banana AI image generator and Anthropic's Claude is popular with business customers.

OpenAI's plan to start showing customers ads leaked earlier this week, but Altman told employees that ads are now on the backburner. Work on advertising, shopping AI agents, and a more proactive and personalized version ChatGPT assistant called Pulse has been delayed. OpenAI has been testing several kinds of ads, including ads that would be shown during online shopping requests, but introducing ads could push users to other chatbots.

Following the employee memo, ChatGPT lead Nick Turley announced that OpenAI would focus on "making ChatGPT more capable, continue growing, and expand access around the world -- while making it feel even more intuitive and personal."

OpenAI is not profitable, and it has to rely on its user numbers for investments. If it loses a significant number of users to Google, it could run into financial trouble.

OpenAI will ship a new reasoning model next week, which Altman said is ahead of Gemini 3 in internal evaluations.
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Germany is evaluating Apple's proposed changes to address antitrust concerns over App Tracking Transparency (ATT), reports Reuters. Apple plans to tweak the text and formatting of the ATT consent prompt, while aiming to preserve the main privacy benefits of the feature.


Apple will add neutral consent prompts for its own services and for third-party apps, aligning the wording, content, and visual design of the messages. Apple also plans to simplify the consent process to make it easier for developers to get user permission for ad-related data processing.

Germany is asking for feedback from publishers, media groups, and regulators to determine if Apple's changes will address complaints about the limited amount of user data available to app publishers.

Earlier this year, Apple said that it might have to remove ATT from the EU. "Intense lobbying efforts in Germany, Italy and other countries in Europe may force us to withdraw this feature to the detriment of European consumers," Apple said.

Germany first launched a probe into App Tracking Transparency in 2022 after complaints from advertisers, and in February 2025, the German Federal Cartel Office preliminarily decided that Apple abused its market power, giving itself preferential treatment. According to German regulators, Apple's restrictions made it "far more difficult" for developers to access user data relevant for advertising.

Introduced in 2021, App Tracking Transparency lets iPhone and iPad users decide whether to allow apps to track their activity across other apps and websites for advertising purposes. Users can choose to allow apps to ask for permission, or turn off tracking entirely.

ATT prevents apps from accessing the advertising identifier of Apple devices without express consumer permission, so apps can't track what users do and use that data for ad targeting. ATT has been unpopular with advertisers and data brokers, but Apple has pledged to work to convince Germany and other EU countries to allow it to continue to offer ATT to consumers.
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Apple is not going to be able to escape a class-action antitrust lawsuit over anticompetitive App Store fees in the Netherlands, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) said today. The decision could see Apple facing millions of euros in damages, and it sets a precedent for similar lawsuits in other European countries (via Reuters).


Apple could ultimately have to pay up to an estimated 637 million euros to address the damage suffered by 14 million iPhone and iPad users in the Netherlands.

The lawsuit dates back to 2022, when two Dutch consumer foundations (Right to Consumer Justice and ‌App Store‌ Claims) accused Apple of abusing its dominant market position and charging developers excessive fees. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dutch ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ users, and it claimed that Apple's 30 percent commission inflated prices for apps and in-app purchases.

Apple argued that the Dutch court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the EU ‌App Store‌ is run from Ireland, and therefore the claims should be litigated in Ireland. Apple said that if the Dutch court was able to hear the case, it could lead to fragmentation with multiple similar cases across the EU, plus it argued that customers in the Netherlands could have downloaded apps while in other EU member states.

The District Court of Amsterdam ended up asking the CJEU if it had the jurisdiction to hear the case, and the CJEU said yes. The court decided that the ‌App Store‌ in question was designed for the Dutch market, and it offers Dutch apps for sale to people with an Apple ID associated with the Netherlands, giving Dutch courts jurisdiction.

Apple told Reuters that it disagrees with the court's ruling, and that it will continue to vigorously defend itself. The District Court of Amsterdam expects to hear the case toward the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The civil ‌App Store‌ fee case that Apple is now facing in the Netherlands is separate from the dating app case that was levied against Apple by ACM, the Dutch competition authority. That case involved regulatory action that led to new alternative purchase options for Dutch dating apps. Apple has also been fighting that antitrust case, and racked up fines of 50 million euros.
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Apple today released new firmware for the iPhone Air's MagSafe battery accessory. The firmware has a version number of 8B25, up from the prior 8A351 version. In the Settings app, the new firmware is listed as 99.0 while the prior firmware is 91.0.


This is the second firmware update that Apple has provided to ‌iPhone Air‌ users since the battery was released in September. Apple does not provide details on what's included in firmware updates for accessories, but the new firmware likely provides efficiency and performance updates.

Accessory firmware updates are done quietly without the user knowing about them, so Apple does not offer installation instructions. ‌MagSafe‌ Battery firmware should update when the battery is connected to the ‌iPhone Air‌, but you can also force an update by connecting the battery pack to a Mac.

You can check the version number of the ‌MagSafe‌ Battery's firmware by attaching it to an ‌iPhone Air‌, then going to Settings > General > About > ‌iPhone Air‌ ‌MagSafe‌ Battery.

The ‌MagSafe‌ Battery is exclusive to the ‌iPhone Air‌, and it provides ‌iPhone Air‌ users with up to an additional 65 percent charge. The Battery Pack is thin and light because it actually incorporates the exact same battery that Apple used in the ‌iPhone Air‌.
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Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the ‌iOS 26‌ software upgrade option more prominent.


Since ‌iOS 26‌ launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18 updates front and center.

Starting today, that's changing. iOS 18 users who have not upgraded to ‌iOS 26‌ will now see iOS 26.1 as the recommended iOS update in the Settings app. iOS 18 updates are still an option, but are now displayed at the bottom of the app.

Apple isn't forcing users to upgrade to ‌iOS 26‌, but it is pushing the update more heavily than it was before in an effort to increase installation numbers. Some users may be hesitant to upgrade to ‌iOS 26‌ because of the Liquid Glass design overhaul that makes major changes to the ‌iPhone‌ interface.

Allowing users to stay on the prior-generation version of iOS is an option that Apple has provided since iOS 15, but it doesn't last forever. Right now, Apple is providing iOS 18 security updates to those who choose to stay on that operating system, but that may stop in the coming months.

After pushing people to upgrade to ‌iOS 26‌ by making the option more prominent, Apple will likely remove the option to stay on iOS 18, providing ‌iOS 26‌ as the only upgrade available on devices that support the newer software. Eventually, customers who want to stay up to date on security fixes will need to transition to ‌iOS 26‌, though Apple will continue to provide iOS 18 updates for devices that do not support ‌iOS 26‌.

Apple hasn't released ‌iOS 26‌ adoption numbers, so it is unclear how many people have decided to upgrade. Apple typically updates its iOS numbers several months after a new version of iOS launches, so we could get details in January or February.

Upgrading to ‌iOS 26‌ from iOS 18 is irreversible, and Apple does not provide a way to downgrade back to the prior version of iOS.

(Thanks, Nicolás!)
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Apple's iPhone 17 lineup is selling well enough that Apple is on track to ship more than 247.4 million total iPhones in 2025, according to a new report from IDC.


Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to ‌iPhone 17‌ demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple.

Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to grow 1.5 percent, primarily because of the success of the iPhone.

In China, Apple's largest market, massive demand for iPhone 17 has significantly accelerated Apple's performance. It ranked first in October and November per IDC's China Monthly Sales data with more than 20% share, miles ahead of the competition, leading IDC to revise Apple's Q4 forecast in China from 9% to 17% YoY. This turns a previously projected 1% decline in China for 2025 into a positive 3% growth, that's a phenomenal turnaround. The success story is replicated across all regions, including the US and Western Europe that had previously slowed down. This calendar year will not only be a record period for Apple in terms of shipments but also in value, which is forecast to exceed $261 billion, with 7.2% YoY growth in 2025.

Back in October, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is expecting to set a new all-time revenue record in the December quarter, and a best-ever revenue record for the ‌iPhone‌. Apple believes overall revenue will grow 10 to 12 percent year-over-year.


Apple has seen strong interest in the standard ‌iPhone 17‌ and the iPhone 17 Pro models, even though the iPhone Air hasn't performed as expected.

Next year, Apple plans to change its ‌iPhone‌ release timelines. The high-end ‌iPhone‌ Fold and the iPhone 18 Pro models will come out in September 2026 as usual, but the lower-priced ‌iPhone 18‌ will be held until spring 2027.

IDC predicts that the decision will drop iOS shipments by 4.2 percent in 2026, while a global memory shortage will lead to supply constraints and price increases across the smartphone market. Total global smartphone shipments could decline 0.9 percent in 2026 due to the supply issues and Apple's lineup changes.
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Samsung today introduced the Galaxy Z TriFold, its first smartphone that has three total screens and two folds instead of one. The Galaxy Z TriFold features a 10-inch display when opened, and a 6.5-inch cover screen when closed, with "minimized creasing."


The device has an inward-folding design that's meant to protect the main display, and Samsung says that the "easy opening and closing" folding mechanism has been engineered with an alarm that alerts the user if it's folded incorrectly. Samsung is using a titanium Armor FlexHinge with two differently sized hinges that work together with a dual-rail structure. Samsung claims that the new design offers a smoother, more stable fold despite the varying weight across each display, plus greater durability thanks to the inclusion of a "thin piece of metal" that protects the folding mechanism.


A third of the display is 3.9mm thick when the smartphone is unfolded, though it is thicker in the area with the triple-lens camera. The main center screen is a bit thicker at 4.2mm, and the screen with the side button is 4mm. There is a reinforced overcoat over a shock absorbing display layer for better resistance, and the aluminum frame keeps the screens from making contact with one another.


There's a 5,600 mAh three-cell battery system with one battery behind each display panel. Samsung says it is the largest battery that it has used in a smartphone to date. There are three cameras at the rear of the device, including a 200-megapixel wide angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. There are two 10-megapixel selfie cameras on the cover screen and the main screen.


Galaxy Z TriFold users can use three different portrait-sized apps side-by-side, resize apps in a multi-window view, watch shows in full screen, or hold the device vertically for reading. Samsung added standalone Samsung DeX, so the Galaxy Z TriFold supports up to four workspaces with five apps running simultaneously. Samsung apps have been optimized for the larger screen, as has Google's Gemini Live.

The Galaxy Z TriFold is launching in Korea on December 12, and it will expand to other markets like China, Taiwan, Singapore, and the UAE later. It will launch in the United States in the first quarter of 2026, and pricing is unknown.

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We're getting closer to the launch of the final major iOS update of the year, with Apple set to release iOS 26.2 in December. We've had three betas so far and are expecting a fourth beta or a release candidate this week, so a launch could follow as soon as next week.

Past Launch Dates

Apple's past iOS x.2 updates from the last few years have all happened right around the middle of the month, which gives us some insight into when iOS 26.2 will launch.

• iOS 18.2 - RC on Thursday, December 5, launch on Wednesday, December 11. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Wednesday, November 20.


• iOS 17.2 - RC on Tuesday, December 5, launch on Monday, December 11. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Tuesday, November 28.


• iOS 16.2 - RC on Wednesday, December 7, launch on Tuesday, December 13. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Thursday, December 1.


• iOS 15.2 - RC on Tuesday, December 7, launch on Monday, December 13. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Thursday, December 2.


• iOS 14.2 - RC on Friday, October 30, launch on Thursday, November 5. Four betas total before RC, with beta 4 on Tuesday, October 20.

Apple has stuck to a December launch schedule for x.2 updates since 2021. Before that, updates were less scheduled with more variation in launch timeline. RCs have consistently come during the first week of December, with a launch during the second week.

Possible Scenarios

Compared to the past two years, Apple is a bit behind on the launch of the fourth beta. With iOS 17.2 and iOS 18.2, the last beta came in November, so the RC was able to launch earlier in the month.

This year, we haven't had a fourth beta yet. We should be getting it sometime this week between Tuesday and Thursday. Apple has historically waited a week between beta 4 and the RC, and then another week before releasing the update. If Apple sticks to a similar timeline this year, we'll see the following:

• Beta 4 between December 2-4, RC between December 8-11, iOS 26.2 launch on December 15 or December 16.

December 15 or 16 would mark the latest that we've had an x.2 release since Apple adopted a more consistent update schedule. It's possible Apple might want to speed things up. If that's the case, we could see this launch timeline:

• Beta 4 between December 2-4, RC between December 4 and 8, launch around December 11.

Apple could condense the amount of time between the fourth beta and the RC, or the amount of time between the RC and launch. There's also a possibility that we don't get a fourth beta at all. With no fourth beta, the timeline looks like this:

• RC between December 2-4, launch between December 8-11.

Apple has consistently done four betas before an RC, and there are some major regulatory updates in Japan, so the first scenario with the later iOS 26.2 launch date seems the most likely at this point.

Either way, iOS 26.2 is coming in just a couple of weeks.

iOS 26.2 Features

iOS 26.2 isn't a major update for most people outside of Japan, but there are a handful of useful new features.

• Reminder Alarms - You can elect to have an alarm go off when a reminder is due, with standard stop and snooze options.


• Lock Screen - There's a slider that lets you adjust the Liquid Glass transparency of the clock.


• AirDrop - iOS 26.2 lets you generate a one-time AirDrop code for file sharing with someone who isn't in your contacts list. It supports file exchanges for a 30-day period.


• Sleep Score - Sleep Score ranges have been adjusted to better reflect how people might be feeling after a night's sleep.


• Live Translation - AirPods Live Translation is expanding to the EU.


• Japan - iPhone users in Japan will be able to download apps from alternative app stores and replace Siri with a different personal assistant.

There are even more features in iOS 26.2, with a full list available in our features guide.

iOS 26.3

Apple often follows launches with new betas, so while iOS 26.2 will be the last major software update of the year, we're still likely to get a glimpse of what's in iOS 26.3 before 2026 rolls around.

The first beta of iOS 18.3 came out on December 16, the first beta of iOS 17.3 came on December 12, and the first beta of iOS 16.3 came out on December 14. The first beta of iOS 26.3 should come the day after iOS 26.2. Unfortunately, the x.3 updates are often more focused on internal improvements than outward-facing features, so we are finished with exciting updates until 2026.
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OpenAI appears to be gearing up to introduce ads in ChatGPT, presumably for users who don't pay to access the chatbot.


Engineer Tibor Blaho recently found references to upcoming ad functionality in the ChatGPT Android app. Code strings mention search ads, a search ad carousel, and an ad API. Though ad mentions were found in the Android app, it's likely a change that's coming to ChatGPT on all platforms, including iOS, Mac, and the desktop.


Given the "search" wording, it's possible ads will be limited to web searches and shopping research requests.

Access to ChatGPT starts at $20 per month for the Plus plan, with a ChatGPT Pro plan available for $200 per month with higher access limits. There are also business and education plans, along with the current free plan. In other countries, OpenAI offers a cheaper "Go" plan that could also expand to the United States when ads roll out.

There have been rumors that OpenAI plans to gradually raise the price of ChatGPT access, and a plan restructuring with an ad-supported tier seems like the ideal time to make pricing changes.

As noted by Search Engine Land, OpenAI executives have been changing their messaging around ads over the course of the last 12 months. In late 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ads were a "last resort," but in early 2025, leaked internal forecasts included $1 billion in "free user monetization" revenue in 2026. Earlier this year, Altman said that he loved Instagram ads and felt they were valuable. He said he thought OpenAI could find "some cool product ad" that's a "net win to the user."
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Panels, a wallpaper app launched by well-known YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), is shutting down at the end of 2025.


According to a notice on the Panels website, the "makeup of the development team" changed earlier this year, and MKBHD wasn't able to find other collaborators who were the "right fit" to continue work on the app. Brownlee said in an accompanying video that he wasn't able to turn Panels into the vision that he had.

The Panels app is being shut down on December 31, 2025. The Panels app code will be open-sourced under the Apache 2.0 license in January 2026 for anyone who wants to create new projects based on the code.

Panels users who have downloaded or purchased wallpapers can continue to use them, and wallpapers can be downloaded until the end of December. When the app is removed from the App Store, active subscriptions will be automatically canceled, and annual subscriptions will be proactively refunded. Purchases in the app have been discontinued as of today.


Panels was heavily criticized when it launched in September 2024 due to pricing and aggressive data collection. The app cost $11.99 per month or $49.99 per year to download full resolution wallpapers. There was an option to watch two ads to download a wallpaper, but only at a limited 1080p resolution. It also asked to track activity across websites and apps, requested location information, and displayed ads in the feed.

Brownlee updated the app to address user concerns and dropped the subscription price to $2 per month, but Panels failed to catch on after its initial problems.
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Apple AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down from his position and retiring in spring 2026, Apple announced today.


Giannandrea will serve as an advisor between now and 2026, with former Microsoft AI researcher Amar Subramanya set to take over as vice president of AI. Subramanya will report to Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi, and will lead Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation.

Subramanya was previously corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, and before that, he spent 16 years at Google. He was head of engineering for Google's Gemini Assistant, and Apple says that he has "deep expertise" in both AI and ML research that will be important to "Apple's ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features."

Some of the teams that Giannandrea oversaw will move to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue, such as AI Infrastructure and Search and Knowledge. Khan is Apple's new Chief Operating Officer who took over for Jeff Williams earlier this year. Cue has long overseen Apple services.

Apple CEO Tim Cook thanked Giannandrea for his role advancing Apple's AI work, and he said that he looks forward to working with Subramanya. He also said that Federighi has played an important role in Apple's AI efforts.

"We are thankful for the role John played in building and advancing our AI work, helping Apple continue to innovate and enrich the lives of our users," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "AI has long been central to Apple's strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig's leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple. In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar's joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year."

Apple said that it is "poised to accelerate its work in delivering intelligent, trusted, and profoundly personal experiences" with the new AI team.

Giannandrea's departure comes after Apple's major iOS 18 Siri failure. Apple introduced a smarter, "‌Apple Intelligence‌" version of ‌Siri‌ at WWDC 2024, and advertised the functionality when marketing the iPhone 16. In early 2025, Apple announced that it would not be able to release the promised version of ‌Siri‌ as planned, and updates were delayed until spring 2026.

An exodus of Apple's AI team followed as Apple scrambled to improve ‌Siri‌ and deliver on features like personal context, onscreen awareness, and improved app integration. Apple is now rumored to be partnering with Google for a more advanced version of ‌Siri‌ and other ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features that are set to come out next year.
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India is requiring smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung to preload devices sold in the country with a state-owned cyber security app that can't be deleted, reports Reuters.


The Department of Communications in India is giving smartphone companies 90 days to begin preinstalling the Sanchar Saathi government app on all new devices that are sold. It has also requested that manufacturers push software updates to devices that are already in the supply chain.

Users are supposed to be informed of the app at the first use or when the device is set up, and the app's feature set is not able to be turned off or restricted.

India is aiming to cut down on fraud and cyber crime, and the app is supposedly meant to provide additional security to smartphone users while also informing them about government initiatives. It is able to verify the authenticity of IMEIs to prevent stolen devices from being used with duplicate or spoofed identifiers.

A website for the app says that it lets users report suspected fraud, block and track lost or stolen devices from being used, verify the authenticity of a device, report international spam calls, and verify telephone numbers. The app includes detailed tracking functionality controlled by the government, so there are privacy and security implications for iPhone users.

The majority of smartphone users in India have Android devices, and it's a market that Apple is trying to expand in. Apple has not acquiesced to a government request for a fully preloaded ‌iPhone‌ app, so it will presumably find a way around India's mandate. Counterpoint Research told Reuters that Apple will likely negotiate for a middle ground, such as informing users of the app rather than preinstalling it.

Russia has a similar preinstall mandate for government-approved apps. During setup, iPhones in Russia have a prompt suggesting users install the apps, but opting out is possible.
This article, "India Orders Apple to Preinstall Government Security App on All iPhones" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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