Opera today opened access to its agentic Neon browser, allowing anyone to subscribe to the app for AI power users. Opera Neon has been available in a closed "Founders" phase since it launched on October 2, but the waitlist has now been removed.


Costing $19.90 per month, Neon aims to go beyond traditional browsing by using AI to execute tasks directly within the browser. Neon can open and close tabs, compare information across multiple sources, and complete transactions on a user's behalf.

The service grants immediate access to top-tier models such as Gemini 3 Pro, GPT-5.1, Veo 3.1, and Nano Banana Pro. Complementing these models are the Neon Chat, Do, and Make agents, which are designed to autonomously handle complex tasks ranging from booking full travel itineraries to building websites, generating videos, and editing documents.

A new addition, the ODRA deep research agent, is designed for sustained, in-depth investigation. Its rapid "1-minute research" mode can gather and synthesize information on complex subjects while providing clear sourcing, offering a faster path to structured insight.

The browser competes with similar AI offerings from the likes of Perplexity (Comet Browser) and The Browser Company (Dia Browser). Opera Neon can be downloaded from the Opera website.
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Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities.


According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio Display is limited to 60Hz and supports SDR, but not HDR.

Macworld's Filipe Espósito suggests new HDR support points to Apple's use of improved panel technology that can achieve higher brightness. Indeed, analyst Ross Young believes Apple's next Studio Display could use a mini-LED panel similar to the MacBook Pro, which features superior brightness, contrast, and color accuracy compared to the existing LCD panel.

Elsewhere, the code references a "J527" identifier for the monitor, and suggests the model is powered by the A19 chip – two details that have also been previously discovered in code reviewed by MacRumors. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also referenced "J527" as the internal codename for one of the displays that Apple is developing.

Apple launched the 27-inch Studio Display in March 2022 alongside the Mac Studio. It features a 5K resolution, 600 nits of brightness, built-in webcam and speakers, one Thunderbolt 3 port, and three USB-C ports. Pricing in the U.S. starts at $1,599. The new version Apple is developing could arrive as early as this spring alongside new Macs with M5 chips.
This article, "Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple's App Store has been unlawfully hosting dozens of apps tied to U.S.-sanctioned companies, according to a new watchdog report (via The Washington Post).


The Tech Transparency Project, a non-profit advocacy group, flagged 52 apps in the App Store that had links to entities found on the Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), a designation that prohibits U.S. companies from doing business with them.

Linked organisations included Russian financial institutions such as Gazprombank and National Standard Bank propping up Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and China's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which has been sanctioned for involvement in repression of Uyghur minorities. Another app was run by a company owned by an accused Lithuanian drug trafficker.

The linked entities reportedly used name variants, shell developers, or partial references to obscure their sanctions status.

Google's Play Store was also found to be hosting 18 apps for similarly sanctioned organizations. Google took down all but one of the apps after being contacted by The Post. Apple removed 35 out of 52 during or after the investigation. Apple disputed that all the flagged apps violate sanctions, but said it was enhancing its review process.

Apple previously committed to improving sanctions detection after a 2019 Treasury settlement involving a naming-variation failure.

According to The Post, the Treasury could have fined Apple more than $70 million at the time, but said it accepted a settlement of less than $1 million because Apple had self-reported, had not had a violation in the preceding five years, and promised to revamp its sanction search tools "to fully capture spelling and capitalization variations and to account for country-specific business suffixes."

Legal experts say that prior agreement increases Apple's exposure now, since the latest similar lapses suggest its promised improvements were insufficient. The findings also call into question Apple's long-standing claim that its App Store provides a "safe and trusted" environment for users.
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Spotify has announced music videos are rolling out now to Premium users in the U.S. and Canada, though the feature remains in beta.


The catalog currently includes music videos from artists like Ariana Grande, Olivia Dean, BABYMONSTER, Addison Rae, Tyler Childers, Natanael Cano, and Carín León.

Spotify says the initial video catalog is "limited" for now while the feature is in beta, but asks users to "stay tuned" as availability is set to grow "over the coming months."

If you're a Premium subscriber and want to check out music videos, open Spotify on you TV, desktop, iOS, or Android device, and a "Switch to Video" icon will appear above the song title in supported music tracks. Tapping starts the song from the beginning with accompanying video within the Now Playing view, which can also be rotated to landscape orientation on iPhone and Android.

To find additional music videos – including live and cover videos – scroll down to explore Related Music Videos, or go to an artist's profile and look under the Music tab. You can also watch by genre and era via playlists like 90s Video Hits, Hip-Hop Throwbacks, and Latin Party Hits.

Spotify first announced beta support for music videos back in March 2024, but the feature was limited to 11 markets including the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya.

In October, Spotify released a redesigned app for Apple TV that supports music videos, which had by then expanded to 97 countries around the world. Spotify says music videos will be available to all Premium users in the U.S. and Canada by the end of the month.

Previously, video content on Spotify has been limited to video podcasts and short repeating music video clips when a song plays. Apple Music has included its own music video catalog for almost seven years now. The feature was introduced with the release of iOS 11.3 in March 2018.


This article, "Spotify Rolls Out Music Videos to Premium Users in US and Canada" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.


Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once you start driving again.

Saving your parking spot in Maps isn't a new ability in itself. You could already do that manually by tapping your location on the map and then choosing Saved Parking. The difference here is that the whole process is automated for you.

Akasaka explains what you need to do to get the feature to work:

Get in a car with Google Maps and connect to your car with USB, Bluetooth or CarPlay, and once you're done driving, there's a little pin waiting for you when you open Google Maps next – a personal parking Maps valet, just for you. When you drive again, the pin goes away, just like that.

Automatic parking location saving started rolling out on iPhone about a month ago, but since then another feature has gone live that will now use any custom car icons you've set up as a parking icon, instead of the default "P" icon. Google added custom car icons to Maps in 2020, and eight new car shapes and colors were added earlier this year.

As things stand, the new auto-save parking place feature only works on iOS. While a similar parking reminder can be found on Android, the icon will only go away if the user manually removes it.

(Via 9to5Google.)
This article, "Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple has announced the availability of Tap to Pay on iPhone in Hong Kong, allowing independent sellers, small merchants, and large retailers in the region to use ‌iPhones‌ as a payment terminal.


Tap to Pay allows iPhones to accept payments via Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets‌‌‌. All transactions are encrypted, and Apple has no information about what is purchased or the person who made the purchase.

No additional hardware or credit card machine is required‌ to use Tap to Pay on iPhone. The feature uses NFC technology to securely authenticate the contactless payments, plus the feature also supports PIN entry, which includes accessibility options.

From today, Adyen, Global Payments, KPay, and SoéPay are the first payment platforms in Hong Kong to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone. Apple says the rollout cuts across key sectors, including taxi, retail, food and beverage, and professional services.

Tap to Pay on ‌iPhone‌ launched in February 2022 in the United States, and since then, Apple has expanded it to more than 50 countries and regions around the world.
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Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.


According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth system's infrared sensors pass through the panel without distortion.

The approach is similar to existing industry techniques that use micro-perforated or nano-patterned glass to selectively improve IR transmission in a localized region above the sensor array.

The report also suggests Apple's work has already prompted related suppliers to accelerate preparation for potential production.

There have been several rumors suggesting the iPhone 18 Pro models will include under-display Face ID, but some disagreement over whether we'll see the technology in 2026. A May report by The Information claimed that iPhone 18 Pro models will have no Dynamic Island with just a pinhole cutout located at the upper left of the display, but other rumors suggest there's still going to be a Dynamic Island.

Analyst Ross Young said that the iPhone 18 Pro models could have under-display Face ID, but that doesn't mean there won't be no Dynamic Island at all. Instead, the pill-shaped hole will be smaller. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has also spoken of a slimmed down Dynamic Island for the iPhone 18 Pro models.

The new claim of a micro-transparent glass window supports the view that there will be a smaller Dynamic Island that shifts TrueDepth sensing components below the screen while retaining a smaller cutout for the front camera. While Smart Pikachu does not specifically mention the Pro models, supply-chain sources often use "series" loosely when discussing early panel and materials testing, and all previous rumors have related to Apple's high-end models.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 18 Pro models in September, alongside an all-new foldable iPhone, as part of a new split cycle launch. The regular iPhone 18 and the more affordable iPhone 18e are not expected to debut until early 2027.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.


Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the download by going to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update on your iPhone.

Set a Reminder Alarm

iOS 26.2 brings a new alarm capability to the Reminders app. When you create a reminder, you can toggle on an "Urgent" option so that, at the due time, your iPhone sounds an alarm rather than simply showing a notification.

Adjust Liquid Glass Clock

Apple's latest update adds a new slider under the "Liquid Glass" Lock Screen settings that gives much finer control over the clock's appearance. You can choose to make the time display nearly fully transparent, or more frosted and opaque, rather than being limited to the previous fixed presets.

AirDrop Files to People Not in Contacts

iOS 26.2 introduces a one-time AirDrop code system, letting you share files with someone even if they're not in your contacts. Once generated, the code remains valid for 30 days. Apple also includes a "Manage Known AirDrop Contacts" pane so that you can see and manage the people you've shared codes with.

View Apple Music Lyrics Offline

Apple Music is gaining offline lyrics support, so you can now view song lyrics in the app even when your iPhone isn't connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data.

Get a Better Sleep Score

If you wear your Apple Watch in bed, it's worth knowing that Apple has reworked its Sleep Score scoring tiers, with the aim of better matching typical sleep-quality experiences. Now, "Very Low" runs 0–40 (previously 0–29), "Low" 41–60, "OK" 61–80, "High" 81–95, and "Very High" 96–100 (previously labelled "Excellent").

Automatically Create Podcast Chapters

The Podcasts app can now automatically generate chapters for individual episodes. This means that rather than fixed chapter markers, the app will create them for you – and episode transcriptions now let you tap on mentions of other podcasts or links.

Manage Websites Where Passwords Aren't Saved

In the Passwords app's main settings menu, there's a new section allowing you to review and manage websites where you have deliberately avoided saving credentials. It gives you finer control over which domains are excluded from password storage.

Get AirPods Live Translation in EU

Apple's latest update expands the reach of AirPods Live Translation to countries in the European Union. The feature was previously unavailable in the EU due to Apple's ongoing regulatory compliance work.

Flash iPhone Screen for Alerts

In the Accessibility settings, under "Flash for Alerts," you can now choose to have your iPhone screen flash when a notification arrives, rather than just the rear camera's LED flash. You can configure it to use the screen flash alone, the LED flash, or both simultaneously, giving you more flexibility for alert styles.

Quicker Access to Apple News Sections

The Apple News app gets a refreshed interface. The top-of-feed buttons now let you jump quickly into categories (e.g. sports, business, food, puzzles) instead of scrolling or tapping through menus.

Manage Safety Alerts

iOS 26.2 introduces an "Enhanced Safety Alerts" section in Notifications settings that centralizes earthquake alerts, imminent-threat alerts, and also includes a new location-based "improved alert delivery" option, helping ensure the reliability of alerts.

Sort Games by Size

In the Games app library, there's now an option to sort games by size (in addition to name or recent). It should prove useful if you want to clear storage or identify large games quickly. Beyond sorting, the update also brings support for controller-based navigation and real-time challenge-score updates while playing.

Disable Pinned Messages in CarPlay

For CarPlay users, iOS 26.2 lets you disable the new "pinned messages" view in the Messages app – restoring the older, classic messages interface if you prefer that simpler look while driving.

Replace Siri Side Button Functionality (in Japan)

For iPhone users registered in Japan, iOS 26.2 lays the foundation for replacing the default voice assistant triggered by the Side button from Siri to a third-party voice assistant (for example, Gemini or Alexa), giving users a choice at the system level for the first time.

Multitask More on iPad

For iPad users, iPadOS 26.2 restores some multitasking flexibility, and allows you to drag and drop apps from the App Library, Dock, or Spotlight into Split View or Slide Over. The change should make window and multitask management on iPad more fluid.
This article, "15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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