iOS 18 featured a major redesign to the Calculator app, including fancy features like Math Notes. Those changes included adding a back button to the keypad, replacing the traditional C/AC button. This was so frustrating for some, the real hard-core Calculator users I guess, that The Atlantic published an entire column when iOS 18 shipped, decrying the button’s removal.

Apple has seemingly taken those complaints onboard. With iOS 26, the Calculator once again has a dedicated C/AC button.

more…

Sling TV has announced what seems like a tempting new way to watch live TV without a contract. A new “Day Pass” option lets users unlock instant access to live sports, TV, and entertainment for $4.99. There’s also a “Weekend Pass” available for $9.99 and a “Week Pass” for $14.99.

more…

Thunderbolt 5 is starting to arrive on some Macs, but most of us are still living in the Thunderbolt 4 era. For those users, Plugable is introducing a new docking station designed specifically for Macs. The pairs Mac-friendly styling with pro-grade connectivity at a more competitive price than most premium Thunderbolt docks.

more…

Apple Arcade is kicking off September with several new games and big updates, including an NFL tie-in just in time for football season.

more…

Apple’s big product launch season is almost here, with the stars of the show being the iPhone 17 lineup, Apple Watch Ultra 3, the M5 iPad Pro, and more. But there’s another product coming that could be a sleeper hit for Apple: a new 12.9-inch MacBook.

more…

Amazon this week is taking $50 off Wi-Fi models of Apple's 11th generation iPad. Prices start at $299.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00, a second-best price on this model.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Additionally, Amazon has the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad for $399.00 ($50 off) and the 512GB Wi-Fi iPad for $599.00 ($50 off). Free delivery estimates are placed around August 17 for these iPad models, but Prime members should be able to get same-day delivery in many locations.





The 11th generation iPad is mainly a spec bump for the tablet line, now featuring the A16 chip and more storage, with the same design as the 10th generation iPad. The new ‌iPad‌ starts with 128GB of storage, and is also available in 256GB and a new 512GB configuration. The previous model was only available in 64GB and 256GB configurations.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

---

This article, "Amazon Takes $50 Off 11th Gen iPad, Available From $299" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Apple today announced that it has teamed up with Bulgarian fashion designer Kiko Kostadinov to create a limited-edition Beats Pill speaker.


The speaker features a "Kiko gray" finish, and it has a colorful, braided lanyard:

For this collaboration, we looked to the ornate geometry found in ancient iconography, reinterpreting those motifs for the speaker's custom grill. These shapes, rooted in the visual language of Thracian craftsmanship, speak to a history where pattern and meaning were closely intertwined. The speaker is finished in our signature "Kiko gray," a cool, neutral tone that adds a subtle, utilitarian edge. The braided lanyard acts as a subtle talisman—echoing the protective charms and ceremonial threads found in Bulgarian folk tradition, where color and craft carry meaning across generations.

The speaker will be available to purchase on the Kiko Kostadinov website starting this Friday, August 15 at 5 a.m. Eastern Time, and it will also be sold at Kiko Kostadinov stores in Los Angeles and Tokyo. The limited-edition model has the same features and specs as the regular Beats Pill from 2024, and it should have the same $149.99 price.

Apple acquired Beats for $3 billion in 2014.
This article, "Apple Releasing Limited-Edition Beats Pill Speaker Later This Week" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Beats is rolling out a fresh limited-edition version of its recently relaunched Bluetooth speaker, teaming up with Bulgarian-born fashion designer Kiko Kostadinov.

more…

Apple now offers some older Apple TV+ original films for digital purchase and rental in the ‌Apple TV‌ app's store section.


Older ‌Apple TV‌+ titles including Sofia Coppola's 2020 movie "On the Rocks," Sian Heder's Academy Award-winning 2021 film "CODA," and Aaron Schneider's 2020 World War II drama "Greyhound" are now available to buy or rent in 4K HDR options within the store section of the ‌Apple TV‌ app. This differs from Apple's usual distribution model for ‌Apple TV‌+ originals, which generally limits availability to active subscribers and excludes purchase or rental through the ‌Apple TV‌ Store.

Users in online forums have recently reported seeing the purchase options directly within the ‌Apple TV‌ app on Apple devices. CheapCharts, which tracks iTunes Store pricing and availability, lists the films under their respective iTunes IDs — 1805979868 for On the Rocks, 1806204768 for CODA, and 1805971117 for Greyhound.

The updated listings in the TV app suggest the company is testing or rolling out a new hybrid distribution model for its in-house productions. This could allow non-subscribers to access specific older titles without committing to the $9.99 per month ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription.
This article, "Older Apple TV+ Movies Available to Purchase Directly" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

One of the downsides of tech giants creating Silicon Valley was the affordable housing crisis it spurred. That has made it next to impossible for those on typical salaries to rent or buy in the area.

Apple was one of a number of tech companies which pledged to help out back in 2019, and so far has delivered more than most …

more…

United Airlines today announced that select Apple TV+ shows are now available to watch for free through its in-flight entertainment system.


The shows are available to watch on United's more than 130,000 seatback screens, and in the United app. At launch, the airline is offering the first seasons of Severance, Shrinking, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses, and Silo, with The Morning Show and Bad Sisters to be added this September. Additional content will be added each month.

United eventually plans to have 300,000 seatback screens across its fleet, as it takes delivery of hundreds of new airplanes and retrofits existing aircraft.

This latest partnership between United and Apple provides the airline's passengers with an additional entertainment perk, while giving hit Apple TV+ shows more exposure. With only the first seasons of hit shows currently available, the passengers may be inclined to subscribe to Apple TV+ to keep watching the shows.

United also supports Apple's Live Activities and Share Item Location features.

In the U.S., Apple's streaming service is priced at $9.99 per month, or $99 per year. It is also bundled in all Apple One plans.
This article, "United Airlines Now Lets You Watch Hit Apple TV+ Shows For Free" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Epic Games has announced that Fortnite will return to iOS in Australia after Apple and Google were found to have broken competition law by banning ‌Epic Games‌ from their app stores.


Federal judge Jonathan Beach found that both companies had broken the law by misusing their market power in the way they run their app stores. Apple was ruled to have engaged in conduct that prevents direct downloading or sideloading of apps and blocks developers from using alternative payment methods. Google was also found to have breached the law for the similar Google Play billing system.

The victory is another win for Epic in its global legal campaign against Apple's App Store policies. Epic began legal proceedings against Apple in Australia in 2020 after it blocked Fortnite updates when Epic attempted to let players make in-app purchases via its own third-party payment service, bypassing Apple's 30% commission. Fortnite is still available in Australia on Android, but only through sideloading or through the Samsung store.

"This is a win for developers and consumers in Australia," Epic said in a post on X (Twitter), though the company conceded that there were 2,000+ pages of findings that it would "need to dig into to fully understand the details."

Apple said it "strongly disagreed" with the ruling while welcoming the Australian court's rejection of some of Epic's other claims.

The ruling follows similar victories for Epic in the United States, where Fortnite returned to the ‌App Store‌ in May, and the European Union, where the game is available through the ‌Epic Games‌‌ Store alternative app marketplace. The U.S. version of Fortnite includes an option for players to purchase in-app currency using the ‌‌Epic Games‌‌ website as an alternative to in-app purchase. It is not available on the ‌‌App Store‌‌ in other countries.

Apple is currently appealing the U.S. court ruling that forced it to change its ‌domestic ‌App Store‌‌ rules to allow developers to link customers to purchase options available outside of the ‌‌App Store‌‌.
This article, "Fortnite Coming Back to iPhone in Australia After Epic's Legal Victory" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is one of the most valuable free services available on the web, ensuring that important sources of information are protected from the vicissitudes of fate and tech companies.

Until recently, the archive was able to capture the entirety of Reddit, but that is no longer the case following new restrictions implemented by the for-profit community discussion platform …

more…

You can now watch Apple TV+ shows on in-flight entertainment systems across United Airlines’ fleet of planes, thanks to a new partnership announced today.

United travellers can get free access to Apple Originals like Severance, Slow Horses, and Ted Lasso, with more titles being added on a monthly basis.

more…

A leaker last month indicated that the iPhone 17 Air would get a “binned” version of the A19 Pro chip, with only five graphics cores instead of six.

They’ve today reiterated this, affirming another of the compromises buyers will have to make if they want Apple’s slimmest ever iPhone …

more…

As part of the overall redesign, Liquid Glass has been implemented throughout iOS 26, changing how app icons, toolbars, tab bars and system controls look and behave.

But Apple is also open to just having a bit of a fun with the new material, like the completely-over-the-top refraction effect when you pull down the Lock Screen. With beta 6, Apple hid another fun Liquid Glass easter egg inside the Preview app on iPad. See the video after the break …

more…

Elon Musk has threatened legal action against Apple, claiming that the company is violating antitrust rules by favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT in App Store rankings over his Grok AI assistant.


"Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action," Musk said in a post on X (Twitter), which he also owns.

Musk failed to provide evidence to support his claim. Meanwhile, fellow X users noted that DeepSeek reached #1 overall on the App Store in January, long after Apple's partnership with OpenAI was announced that allows Siri to offload complex queries to ChatGPT.

The tech billionaire also criticized Apple for not featuring X or Grok in the App Store's "Must Have" section. ChatGPT currently holds the top spot for free apps, while Grok ranks sixth. Google's Gemini chatbot sits at 57th.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hit back with his own post on X, calling Musk's claims "remarkable" given allegations about Musk manipulating his own social media platform to benefit his companies.

Musk's remarks come amid growing pressure on Apple from regulators and competitors over its App Store practices. In April, a U.S. judge ruled that Apple violated a court order to open the App Store to more competition and referred the company for a criminal contempt probe, following a case brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games.

The same month, the EU fined Apple €500 million ($587 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act, citing restrictions that blocked developers from directing users to cheaper offers outside the App Store. Apple is currently appealing the fine.
This article, "Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Apple Over App Store Rankings" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Fortnite returned to the App Store in the US back in May after a federal court ruling, and is now set to return in Australia too after a similar judgment there.

While Epic Games celebrated the ruling, the fate of the app in other countries still remains far from certain – and its availability in the US may be temporary …

more…

Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Air will include an A19 Pro chip with a 5-core GPU, according to Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital. The Chinese account, which has over two million followers, claims that only the iPhone 17 Pro models will have the full 6-core GPU A19 Pro configuration.


It's the second time in as many months that Fixed Focus Digital has claimed to reveal accurate details about the ultra-thin device's chip specifications. The reduced GPU core count suggests Apple is using binned chips based on yields, or may be managing thermal constraints in the slimmer form factor, but most users are unlikely to notice the performance difference during typical usage.

The claim contradicts earlier reporting from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who over a year ago predicted the iPhone 17 Air would use a standard A19 chip, rather than the Pro variant.

The Weibo leaker also claims that the base iPhone 17 model will use an A19 chip. A few months ago, supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the device would have an A18 chip, but he has since rescinded the claim – he now also expects the regular iPhone 17 model to be equipped with the A19.

Fixed Focus Digital previously broke the news ahead of launch about the iPhone 16e name for Apple's upcoming iPhone SE successor.

Apple is expected to debut the iPhone 17 lineup next month, with an announcement rumored to be happening on Tuesday, September 9, so we don't have long to wait to find out all the specifics.
This article, "iPhone 17 Air to Feature A19 Pro Chip With Reduced GPU Performance" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

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

In this episode of Apple @ Work, Avery Pennarun, CEO of Tailscale, joins the show to talk about the challenges of Zero Trust in the enterprise today.

more…

Elon Musk is (once again) going after Apple, this time accusing the company of an “unequivocal antitrust violation” for allegedly favoring OpenAI in the App Store’s AI rankings. Here are the details.

more…

Apple Cinemas, the company that is being sued for alleged trademark infringement by Apple, today said that it is committed to defending its brand.

We are committed to defending our brand, our history, and our continued right to operate as Apple Cinemas--an identity that is and has always been clearly distinct and fully compliant with all applicable trademark laws.

Apple Cinemas is a long-established independent theater chain with no connection to Apple Inc. Our name reflects our geographic roots and has never been intended to suggest, or used to imply, any affiliation with their brand. Furthermore, claims of consumer confusion are unfounded. Apple Cinema's branding is clearly differentiated.

We have responded reasonably and transparently to all legal communications regarding this matter and remain focused on growing our business and brand in good faith, as we have for over a decade.

Apple filed a lawsuit against Apple Cinemas last Friday. Apple's attorneys accused Apple Cinemas of "knowingly and intentionally using the name Apple to sow confusion for its own benefit."

Apple Cinemas has operated since 2013, and the company claims that its name came from its first planned location at Apple Valley Mall in Rhode Island, but a movie theater never opened at that mall. Apple Cinemas operates 14 total locations, according to its website. One of those is in San Francisco, California, while the others are in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York.

Apple believes that Apple Cinemas is pursuing a nationwide expansion in the United States, including close to Apple's headquarters and retail stores.

In the lawsuit, Apple said that its "repeated efforts to resolve the matter amicably" were unsuccessful. Apple also cited comments from people who were under the impression that Apple Cinemas is owned by Apple. Apple has produced movies and TV shows distributed through its Apple TV+ service since 2019.

Apple Cinemas tried and failed to trademark both the Apple Cinemas name and the "Apple Cinemas Experience," with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denying the marks in 2024 because of potential confusion with Apple's prior trademark rights.

Apple is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to stop Apple Cinemas from using the name.
This article, "Apple Cinemas Won't Back Down in Trademark Battle with Apple" first appeared on MacRumors.com

Discuss this article in our forums

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: just hours before a new wave of tariffs on Chinese goods was set to kick in, President Trump signed an executive order extending the pause by another 90 days. And this time, it’s especially good news for Apple.

more…

Last week, President Trump called for the dismissal of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan over “highly CONFLICTED” ties to China, further escalating an already difficult situation for the executive.

Today, following a meeting, Trump appeared to soften his stance, even if partially.

more…