iOS 26 introduces two brand new apps for iPhone users, one of which is called ‘Apple Games.’ Here’s what the Games app does, including recent iOS 26.2 updates.

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I love the idea of a fully automated smart home setup where my lights turn on exactly when I need them, and the thermostat adjusts itself without me even thinking about it. In practice, however, there are times when you simply want to push a button for things to happen. For guests, babysitters, or when I don’t want to use my iPhone, physical controls remain the gold standard for interaction.

This week, let’s take a look at the Flic Hub LR and the new Flic Duo as a nice way to control your Apple Home scenes and devices.

Years ago, Apple introduced a brand new Home app architecture for improving accessory reliability and enabling new features. The deadline for users to upgrade was originally last fall, then got pushed to February, and now Apple is reminding users of the deadline once again.

Apple has 20+ products in the works for 2026 launches, including four new iPhone models—one of which is expected to arrive very soon.

We’re excited to introduce a new way for the 9to5Mac community to engage: 9to5Mac Forums. Here’s how it works and everything you need to know.

Your iPhone uses preinstalled Apple apps by default for system actions like opening links, making phone calls, and more. But iOS lets you set new default apps in a variety of categories, and the available options expanded in iOS 26. Here are the details.

The iPhone Air is the most exciting iPhone Apple has released since the iPhone X. It’s thin, lightweight, and amazingly designed, and for the first time in a long time, it’s different. Apple’s iPhone lineup has felt increasingly redundant. The iPhones have all looked and felt the same since the iPhone 11 lineup. So, excuse the pun, but the iPhone Air has been a genuine breath of fresh air. It prioritizes feel, design, and experience over chasing specs, and that is what makes it special. I put my main SIM card in the iPhone Air and, initially, I loved it. But after living with it day in and day out, two issues slowly but consistently stopped me from fully committing.

My Mac history is … fairly lengthy, starting with the original Macintosh when it launched way back in 1984. I’m not sure I could even reliably count the number of models I’ve owned since then.

For most of the time since, I’ve owned one Mac at a time. There was a previous period when I owned two Macs, and a return to that approach last year has really paid off …

Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is now ready to roll down below. We have a chance to score Apple’s most affordable iPhone 16 Pro models at up to $320 off alongside its 16GB/1TB M5 MacBook Pro at nearly $200 off. Moving over to the wearable side of things, you will find Apple Watch Series 11 at up to $100 off right now alongside some solid price drops on a series of official bands too – the latest black and blue Trail Loops, the black and natural Milanese Loops, and this ongoing all-time low on the Anchor Blue Apple Watch Sport Loop. Everything else awaits below. 

Three U.S. Senators have asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to temporarily remove X and Grok from the App Store due to “sickening content generation” in recent days.

iOS 26 brings visual intelligence to screenshots, enabling several new features. But there’s one I only recently discovered that solves the common problem of plain text URLs you can’t easily tap to open.

Mosyle, a popular Apple device management and security firm, has exclusively shared details with 9to5Mac on a previously unknown macOS malware campaign. While crypto miners on macOS aren’t anything new, the discovery appears to be the first Mac malware sample uncovered in the wild that contains code from generative AI models—officially confirming what was inevitable.

At the time of discovery, Mosyle’s security research team says the threat was undetected by all major antivirus engines. This comes nearly a year after Moonlock Lab warned about chatter on dark web forums indicating how large language models were being used to write malware targeting macOS.

Apple may have fixes coming for iPhone Air 2 that address two major concerns with the first model: cameras and battery life. Here are the details.

In December, without providing specific viewing figures of course, Apple said that Pluribus had become the most watched TV show in the history of the Apple TV streaming service.

The show has now also appeared in industry analytics firm Nielsen’s US streaming report. For the week commencing December 8, Pluribus came in at number 9 out of the top 10 streaming originals …

Apple generally adds new emojis to the iPhone with iOS updates in spring. As spotted by the folks at Emojipedia this week, the Unicode Consortium recently published the full list of draft emojis that could debut next year.

Among the list of new additions are a smiley face with squinting eyes, a pickle, an eraser, and more.

The Apple TV streaming service kicks off its 2026 slate with the return of international thriller series Tehran. The long-delayed third season starts airing today with the first episode, with new episodes dropping each Friday through February 27.

In season three, Hugh Laurie joins the cast in the role of a South African nuclear inspector. As one of Apple’s most popular foreign language series, Tehran is also renewed for a fourth season, despite fans having to wait more than 3 years for new episodes after the season two finale.

In today’s annual proxy filing, Apple revealed full details on executive compensation for 2025. This includes on how much Apple CEO Tim Cook was paid during the year, as well as other senior executives including Kevan Parekh, Kate Adams, Sabih Khan, Luca Maestri, and Deirdre O’Brien.

In total, Apple says Tim Cook’s compensation was $74,294,811 in 2025, a very small decrease year-over-year.

Apple today filed its annual proxy report for shareholders, announcing that its annual shareholders meeting will take place virtually on February 24, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. PT. Apple shareholders of record as of January 2, 2026 are permitted to attend the meeting as well as vote and submit questions.

During the meeting, shareholders will also vote on re-election for Apple’s board of directors.

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 9to5Mac Daily Plus: Get ad-free versions of every episode by visiting 9to5mac.com/join. 

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: first look at iPhone Fold’s likely crease-free display technology, future iPhone camera upgrades, and more. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

Apple TV has just set the release date for its next movie, Eternity, which hails from A24 and originally debuted in theaters late last year.

Benjamin and Chance cover this week in Apple news, including the long-awaited announcement that the Apple Card will be switching from Goldman Sachs to Chase, in about . Also, Fitness+ doesn’t quite live up to its own new year marketing hype, NBA live-streaming kicks off on Vision Pro, and Apple makes App Store changes to satisfy Japan regulators.

And in Happy Hour Plus, the pair make their annual prediction for 2026, with three relatively risky picks each, about what Apple might do this year. Join now and save 26% on annual plans with code HAPPY26.

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iOS 26 has been available for nearly four months, yet reporting from Statcounter indicates the iPhone update is lagging significantly behind predecessors in adoption, with most users opting to stay on iOS 18.

Meanwhile, data from TelemetryDeck paints a different, more optimistic picture.