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Anurag Chawake - page 4

Security updates for macOS Sonoma and Sequoia patch 138 vulnerabilities

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A picture of macOS running on a Mac used in a story about macOS Sonoma and Sequoia security updates.
Apple keeps backporting fixes to older macOS versions even as macOS 27 Golden Gate nears its public debut.
Image: Apple

If your Mac is still running macOS Sonoma or macOS Sequoia, the latest security updates aren’t optional. Apple released macOS Sonoma 14.8.8 and macOS Sequoia 15.7.8 on Monday, and together they patch nearly 140 security vulnerabilities.

Your Mac won’t gain any new features. But these maintenance updates are still important for anyone who has yet to update to macOS Tahoe. Apple fixed several WebKit flaws that could expose your data when browsing the web.

John Ternus says Apple TV stays a priority once he becomes CEO

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Future Apple CEO John Ternus praises Apple TV
Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus is a fan of Apple TV.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple TV isn’t going anywhere once John Ternus takes over as CEO. This week, he praised the streaming service’s momentum and promised to keep building on it.

Ternus takes the reins from current Apple CEO Tim Cook on September 1. His comments suggest Apple’s entertainment push will remain a priority, even though the streaming service reportedly loses money each year.

Apple faces lawsuit after fake Sparrow Wallet app drains $1.8 million in Bitcoin

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A picture of the Sparrow Wallet app logo used in a story about fake Sparrow Wallet app for the iPhone.
A fake Sparrow Wallet app allegedly slipped past Apple’s App Store review process.
Image: Sparrow Wallet

Three iPhone owners sued Apple last week over a fake Sparrow Wallet app they say they downloaded from the App Store. The plaintiffs say using the bogus app led to the theft of their Bitcoin, resulting in losses of roughly $1.8 million.

The lawsuit, Ramirez et al v. Apple, Inc., accuses Cupertino of failing to catch the scam app despite years of marketing the App Store as a safe place to download software.

iOS 27’s Call Context feature makes customer service calls less of a pain

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A picture of iOS 27 Call Context feature used in a story about how it works.
iOS 27 Call Context displays flight and reservation details right on the call screen.
Photo: Apple

iOS 27’s Call Context feature is shaping up to be one of the most useful additions in Apple’s fall software update. The Phone app will automatically show confirmation codes, reservation details and other relevant info whenever you call a business.

The feature works by pulling information straight from your Mail app, saving you the hassle of digging through your inbox in the middle of a customer service call. And Apple processes all of this locally, without sending anything to the cloud or a third party.

usbliter8 lawsuit forces ‘unpatchable’ iPhone hack offline

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An AI generated image showing the iPhone usbliter8 exploit taken down by a court order.
The usbliter8 lawsuit has already forced Paradigm Shift to pull the blog post detailing its once public iPhone exploit.
AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac

Remember usbliter8, the unpatchable iPhone exploit we told you about last month? Now, a lawsuit has gotten the whole thing offline, thanks to a court order.

Digital forensics firm Magnet Forensics says a former engineer stole its confidential iPhone-hacking research and gave it away to a rival company. That rival company — Paradigm Shift — then published the research as an original discovery. 

Micron fights to kill Apple’s Chinese memory chip plan

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An AI generated picture illustrating Apple's fight with Micron for sourcing memory chips from China.
Apple’s Chinese memory chip plan has triggered a lobbying war with Micron.
AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac

Apple’s plan to source memory chips from China could be running into serious trouble. Micron, the only major memory chip maker in the United States, is lobbying the White House to shut it down.

The clash pits Apple’s push for cheaper memory against fears of hollowing out America’s chip industry. And now, it’s up to the Trump administration to pick a side.

Apple wants a 20% price cut on iPhone 18 Pro Max OLED panels

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A picture of the iPhone 17 Pro Max used in a story about the display price of the rumored iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Apple wants to pay less for the iPhone 18 Pro Max's OLED panels.
Photo: Apple

Apple seems to be squeezing its display suppliers hard this year. The company is reportedly asking for approximately a 20% price cut on iPhone 18 Pro Max OLED panels, even though the screens are getting harder to make.

Apple’s per-panel costs usually go down with each new iPhone generation, but that’s a steeper drop than usual.

Art director’s post reveals Lil’ Finder Guy’s origin story — and then disappears

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A picture of Apple's Lil' Finder Guy used in a story about his origins.
Apple art director Sofia Coelho offered a brief peek at the early history of Apple mascot Lil’ Finder Guy.
Photo: Basic Apple Guy

Lil’ Finder Guy stands “barely an apple tall,” but the Apple mascot started as something even smaller: a sketch.

Offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at Cupertino’s creative process, an Apple art director revealed early sketches and a prototype behind Lil’ Finder Guy in a LinkedIn post on Thursday. Although the post quickly disappeared, the images showed just how much craft went into a character built to sell a budget Mac.

Apple Store app might soon get an AI shopping assistant

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A logo of Apple's App Store used in a story about the company working on a new AI powered shopping assistant.
Apple App Store app could soon feature an AI shopping assistant to help guide your next purchase.
Photo: Apple

Shopping for a new iPhone or Mac will apparently soon come with built-in AI help. Apple is working on a new shopping assistant for the Apple Store app that will use artificial intelligence to answer questions and guide purchases.

The question now is, are shoppers ready for that?

iOS 27’s new paste shortcut kills the copy-and-paste menu for good

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iOS 27 keyboard's paste option
The iOS 27 paste shortcut appears right above the keyboard the moment you copy something.
Image: Apple

Copy something, and the iOS 27 paste shortcut now pops up right above your keyboard, ready in a single tap.

The new shortcut shows a live preview of your clipboard, meaning you’ll always know exactly what you’re about to paste, whether it’s text, a link, or a photo.

Apple fixes Hide My Email vulnerability that exposed real addresses for a year

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An AI-generated image of an iPhone using the Hide My Email feature used in a story about Apple fixing a security exploit.
Apple finally fixes the Hide My Email flaw that allowed others to see the real email address behind an alias.
AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac

Apple finally fixed the Hide My Email vulnerability that allowed outsiders to unmask a user’s real address behind an alias. The patch went live on July 3, closing a loophole that Apple knew about for more than a year.

The fix landed only after the bug became public — and a class-action lawsuit followed close behind. But the bigger question is: Why did it take outside pressure to get Apple to fix it?

Claude Code iOS Simulator lets you watch AI build apps in real time

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An AI-generated image showing Claude running on a laptop with an iPhone connected in a story about Claude Code Desktop Simulator.
The Claude Code iOS Simulator lets you watch the AI work on your app in real time.
AI image: Google Gemini/Cult of Mac

Anthropic’s AI-powered coding assistant Claude Code just got a lot more visual for iPhone developers. The new Claude Code iOS Simulator streams your app’s screen live while talking to it, as Claude does the heavy lifting for you.

Available as a public beta for Claude Code Desktop on macOS, it requires Apple’s free coding suite Xcode to work. But you can tap through the simulator anytime while Claude keeps working.

Apple Upgrade leasing program could lock iPhone over late payments

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A photo of the iPhone used in a story about Apple said to be working on a new upgrade leasing program.
The Apple Upgrade leasing program could let you pay for an iPhone like a subscription, but there’s a catch.
Photo: Apple

Apple apparently wants you to stop buying iPhones outright, with the rumored Apple Upgrade leasing program the clearest sign of that shift. But code hidden in the iOS 27 beta hints at what happens if you fall behind on an Apple Upgrade payment — and it isn’t pretty.

According to information that leaked Tuesday, Apple Upgrade will enable consumers to pay monthly for an iPhone, Mac, iPad or Apple Watch. To go with that, Apple appears to be working on a system that could restrict a financed iPhone if payments lapse.

iPhone price hike looms as TSMC increases chip costs

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Image of an iPhone with $100 bills on the screen, used to illustrate a story about TSMC's price hikes on processors
An iPhone price increase could hit customers in 2027. Here's why.
Image: Cult of Mac

Your next iPhone could cost more, and it won’t be because of rising RAM costs or a fancier camera. TSMC reportedly plans to increase its processor prices by up to 10% starting in 2027, and Apple would have no option but to pay.

This could drive up the amount consumers shell out for a range of Apple devices, not just iPhones. Pricier chips for MacBooks, iPads and more would drive up production costs.

iPhone 20 Pro Max display could stretch to a massive size

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An AI-generated image of what the bezel-less 20th anniversary would look like.
The iPhone 20 Pro Max display could grow to nearly 7 inches if this new leak holds up.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

A new leak claims Apple is testing a nearly 7-inch panel that could become the iPhone 20 Pro Max display. If it makes it to production, this would become the largest screen Apple ever put on a phone.

The huge panel would arrive as part of Apple’s 20th-anniversary iPhone lineup next year. Apple hasn’t increased its flagship screen size since 2024, but this could be a real sign that the company is once again planning to do so.

New ClickLock malware locks your Mac until you hand over your password

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How ClickLock malware tricks you into pasting a command
ClickLock malware locks your Mac’s screen until you type in your password.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

The nasty new ClickLock malware won’t take no for an answer. It locks up your entire Mac screen and keeps it that way until you type in the password.

The malware already hit victims across 33 countries, and it’s not stopping. Once it gets your password, it targets your Keychain, saved logins and crypto wallets, then plants a backdoor that sticks around for good.

Why Jony Ive is missing from Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit

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An AI-generated image that shows a silhouette of former Apple design chief Jony Ive in a courtroom
It's no accident that that Jony Ive’s name never appears in Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit.
AI illustration: Midjourney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s trade-secret lawsuit against OpenAI names two former employees and Jony Ive’s startup but scrupulously avoids mentioning the former Apple design chief by name.

This isn’t a legal oversight. It comes down to a complicated mix of factors, including Ive’s closeness with Laurene Powell Jobs and the lousy optics of Apple targeting its most famous designer.

Apple’s Genius Bar Live Notes tool is an AI that’s always taking dictation

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A picture showing the Genius Bar in an Apple Store.
Apple’s Genius Bar Live Notes tool transcribes repair conversations with AI.
Photo: Wikipedia

Apple is testing Genius Bar Live Notes, an AI-powered tool that listens to customer conversations at the repair counter. It turns conversation into transcripts and is already running in a handful of stores.

The system is meant to save employees the hassle of scribbling notes mid-repair. But it makes some Genius Bar staff members nervous.

Apple briefly overtakes Nvidia as world’s most valuable company

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A picture of the Apple logo used in a story about Apple surpassing Nvidia as the world's most valuable company.
Apple momentarily reclaimed its crown as the world’s most valuable company from Nvidia.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple briefly became the world’s most valuable publicly traded company once again on Friday before Nvidia reclaimed the top spot.

While Nvidia ended the week with a market cap of $4.912 trillion, just a hair ahead of Apple’s $4.901 trillion valuation, Friday’s trading capped a blockbuster week of gains for AAPL, even as investors pummeled AI-related stocks.

Apple faces Hide My Email lawsuit over privacy flaw it allegedly failed to fix

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A picture of Apple's Hide My Email feature used in a story about the same.
The Hide My Email lawsuit claims Apple knew its address-hiding feature was broken and kept selling anyway.
Photo: Apple

Apple is facing a new Hide My Email lawsuit, and it does not look good. A proposed class-action suit claims the company sold customers privacy promises it couldn’t deliver on.

The suit says Apple knew about a certain flaw in its address-hiding feature for more than a year, but kept marketing Hide My Email as airtight privacy the whole time.

Roblox’s AI game creation tool is coming to iPhone and iPad

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Roblox AI game creation tool Build
Roblox adds AI creation to its promise that “You make the game.”
Image: Roblox

Got a game idea but no idea about how to code it? Roblox just made that far easier. The company is now rolling out Build, a new AI game creation tool for iPhone and iPad. Simply type a prompt in plain English, and Build turns it into a playable — no desktop editor required.

Roblox is betting that generative AI can dramatically lower the barrier to game development.

Apple Maps ads will ban plumbers, crypto ATMs and bail bonds

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Three iPhone screenshots of Apple Maps used in a story about restrictions on ads in the navigation app.
Apple Maps ads will shut out several business categories when they roll out this summer.
Image: Apple

Apple is going to be quite picky about the types of ads it shows in Apple Maps. New advertising rules say plumbers, electricians, locksmiths and roofers can’t buy ads on the navigation app — even though Google happily sells them in its mapping app.

That’s a deliberate distinction from Google’s model, in which home services ads make up one of the biggest categories. And that’s just the start of Apple’s restrictions on ads in Apple Maps and its other services.

As it turns out, Apple wants Maps to feel more like a curated storefront than a search engine.

Apple closes unlocked iPhone loophole for T-Mobile and Verizon buyers

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A picture of the iPhone 17 Pro max used in a story about Apple closing the unocked iPhone loophole.
The unlocked iPhone loophole for T-Mobile and Verizon financing just got shut down.
Photo: Apple

Apple closed the unlocked iPhone loophole for T-Mobile and Verizon buyers. If you’ve financed an iPhone through any of these carriers, it used to stay unlocked. Not anymore.

Every iPhone financed through T-Mobile or Verizon will now stay locked to that carrier until you fully pay it off. This is exactly how AT&T’s financing has always worked. It means no more SIM swapping, joining an MVNO or popping in a travel eSIM on the go.

AppleCare+ price increase lands for new Mac and iPad buyers

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A picture showing AppleCare used in a story about AppleCare+ price hike.
New Mac and iPad buyers are facing an AppleCare+ price increase starting this week.
Photo: Apple

Apple is pushing an AppleCare+ price increase, with Mac and iPad owners footing the bill. Sign up for coverage on a new Mac or iPad today, and you’ll pay 50 cents more per month than you would have last week.

The change just went into effect and only affects new AppleCare+ enrollments. If you’re already subscribed, you’ll keep your current rate for now. But Apple hasn’t clarified how long that will last. It’s a small bump, but lands just weeks after Apple hiked hardware prices.