Those in Europe and Asia eager to get an Apple Vision Pro supposedly won’t have to wait much longer. Consumers in more than half a dozen countries will reportedly be able to buy the AR/VR headset in about a week.
The product launched in the U.S. this winter, but an announcement of broader availability isn’t expected until June 10 at WWDC24.
Apple will add an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI to iPhone and Mac, according to an unconfirmed report. But users of these devices won’t be forced to use it.
And that goes for more than the chatbot. Apparently, Apple will give users the option to pass on all the upcoming artificial intelligence features. The company plans to showcase its big AI push at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week.
Apple Watch shipments dropped almost 20% year over year in the first quarter of 2024. Market analysts blame some of the decline on Apple being temporarily forced to halt sales of its most recent wearables in a patent dispute over blood oxygen monitoring in units sold in the United States.
AirPods sales also declined in Q1 2024 but for a different reason.
★★★★★
Apple Pencil Pro is the latest and greatest iPad stylus coming out of Cupertino. It adds a new “squeeze” gesture, an internal gyroscope, haptic feedback and Find My support.
I’m not a digital artist, so for this iPad Pencil review, I tested the stylus by writing notes, entering text with Scribble and doing moderate editing of photographs. Plenty of artists have reviewed the new accessory, so my goal was to answer the question, “Does a typical iPad user need Apple Pencil Pro?” Or would a cheaper alternative suffice?
The Netflix streaming service will soon stop working on second- and third-generation Apple TV models. It’s not a shocking development as both are over a decade old.
If you’ve been looking for a reason to buy a newer tvOS device, it may have just arrived. (By coincidence, Verizon currently offers the Apple TV 4K for just $89.99.)
Apple TV+ subscribers are just as happy with their streaming service as Netflix subscribers are, according to new data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. That’s after Apple’s offering improved considerably in this year’s rankings.
But neither scored as well on the survey of U.S. consumers as Amazon Prime did.
A Virginia carpenter put Apple AirTag trackers on some of his tools so he could find them if they were stolen. It worked beyond his wildest expectations — he led police to what eventually turned out to be multiple collections of 15,000 stolen construction tools.
This is far from the first time an AirTag has helped locate a stolen item. But it’s never been quite this enourmously successful before.
The streaming music service Spotify just increased its prices for new U.S. subscribers. The costs of most subscription options are now above those of its arch rival, Apple Music.
The new prices go into effect for current subscribers in July.
Don’t get your heart set on new Macs launching at WWDC24 next week. A generally reliable tipster predicts that that’ll be none unveiled at Apple’s developer conference.
And not just Macs. Supposedly the agenda includes no new hardware at all.
A trick you might have missed with the release of iPadOS 17 is support for external USB-C webcams. As good as the tablet’s front-facing camera is, it’s now possible to use a webcam with an iPad.
Here’s why you might be interested, and how to connect a webcam to your iPad with a USB-C port.
Mac users in the market for a new desktop keyboard have new options from Logitech. There are small and large models and an ergonomic one, too. Plus a mouse.
The additions to the lineup include MX Keys S for Mac, MX Keys S Combo for Mac, MX Anywhere 3S for Mac, MX Keys Mini for Mac (in Space Gray), and Ergo Series Wave Keys for Mac.
Streaming TV fans now have the option to bundle Apple TV+ with Netflix and Peacock. And Xfinity StreamSaver is only $15 per month, a savings of 35% off getting the services separately.
It is a significant new option for cordcutters who want to save money.
★★★★☆
With its cool cantilever design, Apple Magic Keyboard was a standout iPad Pro accessory even before its recent upgrade. Now that Apple fixed some of the original’s problems by adding a glass trackpad, a row of function keys and an aluminum palm rest, it’s even better. Especially with an improved USB-C port.
But does the functionality (and sheer coolness) justify the epic price of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro? Read on to find out.
A MacBook with an OLED display in place of the LCD could be on the market in 2026, according to an industry analyst.
This should noticeably improve on the already excellent displays used in macOS notebooks.
Apple is developing a MacBook with a folding touchscreen that might come with either a 20.25-inch or an 18.8-inch panel, according to a trusted analyst. And new info from the analyst indicates the slightly smaller is more likely.
In addition to the size, it’ll have another immediately noticeable advantage over current foldable displays: eliminating the visible crease is reportedly one of Apple’s goals.
An OLED screen intended for iPad mini is active development, according to an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia. Apple’s smallest tablet will get the improved display in a couple of years.
The news comes on the heels of the launch of the M4 iPad Pro, the first in this line of tablets with an OLED screen.
Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive are bringing an interactive story to Apple Vision Pro. What If…? – An Immersive Story will be an exclusive for Apple’s headset. It’s an hour-long experience intended to put Marvel fans inside the Multiverse like never before.
A trailer for the app is now available, and Marvel revealed that it’s launching in late May. Even better, the AR/VR application will be free to download and play.
The list of fresh emoji up for consideration includes a tired-looking face, a fingerprint, a leafless tree, a harp and several more.
If approved, they’ll be added to iPhone, Mac and iPad as well as many social media applications.
iOS 17.5.1 went out Monday to patch a nasty bug that could make images completely deleted from an iPhone reappear later. Multiple times. It’s was a problem with a lot of potential for embarrassment.
Tablet users got iPadOS 17.5.1 to fix the same bug. And Tuesday brought tvOS 17.5.1 to fix the problem on Apple TV.
While not nearly as cool as the iPad Pro’s redesigned Magic Keyboard, the new Flex Keyboard for the Microsoft Surface Pro does a trick that Apple should steal: It works as both a wired and a wireless keyboard.
An Apple version would make the iPad even more flexible than it is now, and therefore more useful.
Mac Studio and Mac Pro models updated with an M3 Ultra processor that we expected to arrive soon reportedly have been canceled. Apparently, professional Mac users shouldn’t look out for new hardware with faster processors at WWDC24 in June. And the wait might actually stretch until next year’s WWDC25.
It seems Apple already moved on from its M3 series processors, so there are no new chips ready to go into these high-end desktops. However, if you’re interested in the M3 MacBook Pro, you can explore how it compares to other Macs in this in-depth Mac Studio vs. Mac Pro comparison.
The just-released OtterBox cactus leather iPhone cases give buyers the option to wrap their handset in a plant-based material rather than traditional leather. In my testing, the cactus-based material looks and feels somewhat similar to cow leather but not identical.
There’s a lot to like about OtterBox Symmetry Series Cactus Leather iPhone cases that are now available starting Monday.
★★★★★
You already know the latest iPad Pro looks pretty and runs fast. Rather than an M4 iPad Pro review that simply goes over those points again, I talked to experts on why the tablet’s new tandem OLED display looks so beautiful. And I also explain why an iPad needs a high-end processor.
Plus, this M4 iPad Pro review serves up the results of my real-world battery life tests, plus my thoughts on The iPadOS Question.
A teardown of the new M4 iPad Pro shows that achieving its super-slim redesign required trimming the battery capacity. But there’s good news about replacing that battery.
Disassembling an iPad isn’t for the faint of heart, but iFixit did the honors. Now we can all what’s inside the shiny new iPad Pro.
Apple reportedly found ways to “significantly” slim down the iPhone. The result will reportedly be part of the iPhone 17 series when it reaches customers next year.
The news comes hot on the heels of the M4 iPad Pro, the “thinnest Apple product ever,” according to the iPhone-maker.