News - page 46

Even with seasons five and six yet to stream, here comes Slow Horses season 7! Apple TV+ officially greenlit a seventh season of its hit spy drama “Slow Horses” Tuesday. So the adventures of dysfunctional British MI5 intelligence team continue. The announcement comes as the Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning series continues to garner critical acclaim and build a devoted fanbase.

“Slow Horses has won fans all over the world with its unique mix of self-deprecating British humor and high-octane action,” said Jay Hunt, creative director, Europe, Apple TV+. “I’m delighted viewers will have another season to enjoy Gary’s magnificent performance as Jackson Lamb alongside the Slow Horses’ slightly inept spycraft.”

Apple’s AI ambitions take a hit as a key executive leading its AI model efforts departs the company. Meta has successfully managed to poach Ruoming Pang, who managed Apple’s foundation models team.

Meta is forming a new superintelligence team and reportedly offering pay packages of up to $100 million to attract top AI talent.

A new leak provides more details about the upcoming iPhone 17 family’s design changes, including possibly UI changes based on the Dynamic Island. While the base model will feature slight design tweaks, the Pro models will adopt a new “horizontal large matrix design.”

The entire lineup will also supposedly use narrow-bezel LIPO flat screens, a technology that enables even thinner bezels than current solutions.

The sci-fi action comedy Murderbot exploded onto the ratings charts after it reached streaming in May, and continues to be popular even as the season finale approaches. Many weeks after a launch, the series from Apple TV+ still appears on the top 10 lists of a company that tracks ratings.

Plus, Owen Wilson‘s sport comedy Stick also pulls in plenty of viewers.

After a very modest refresh last year, rumors indicate the Apple Watch Ultra 3 — set to launch this September alongside the iPhone 17 series — will mark Apple’s most ambitious wearable update yet.

Here’s what we’re expecting in 2025’s major overhaul of Apple’s rugged smartwatch. Keep reading or check out our latest video. 

Despite their sleek designs, Apple products boast impressive durability. And now, for the first time, the company has provided a look into one of its 200 durability labs, where it rigorously torture tests its products.

Apple conducts several types of trials on its devices, including environmental, liquid, drop and vibration stress tests.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple reportedly plans to release its cheapest MacBook ever next year. This low-cost laptop might run on an iPhone chip and help Apple convince more people to switch from Windows machines.

Could playful colors — and possibly a plastic case — make this low-end Apple laptop a hit?

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple might lean on Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s ChatGPT to power the long-delayed smarter Siri.
• A new timeline lays out what to expect from the next three years of Apple Vision headsets and smart glasses.
• In the how-to segment, we discuss our picks for the best Apple Watch faces. We also talk about why you might want to change things up.
• In the new listener question segment, we explain what to do when you’re low on iCloud storage.
• And in an all-new Under Review, Leander describes the benefits of three inexpensive aftermarket CarPlay screens.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video, embedded below.

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max might pack the biggest battery ever in an iPhone. A leaker indicates the phone could sport a 5,000mAh cell.

If accurate, that would be noticeably bigger than the iPhone 16 Pro and rival the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Suppose you want your office to have a retro look, but you can’t give up your modern computers (of course). You need the Qwerkywriter — it has the look of a classic typewriter, but includes an integrated iPad stand. Or it can wirelessly connect to your Mac.

Add a vintage-looking keyboard to your setup, without giving up functionality.

FaceTime video calls in iOS 26 will automatically pause if Apple’s software detects nudity or other sensitive content. Apple will provide users with an option to manually resume the video and audio or end the call.

However, the Sensitive Content Warning remains off by default.

Apple just hit the pause button on the large folding iPad supposedly on the drawing board in Cupertino, according to a published report from Wednesday. Development work had allegedly been going on for years.

At the same time, the company is reportedly moving ahead with a folding iPhone.

Apple accused a former Vision Pro engineer of stealing confidential documents related to the headset. In a lawsuit filed on June 24, Apple alleges Di Liu, a senior design engineer at the company, stole a “massive volume” of trade secrets.

Liu joined Snap soon after leaving Apple in a similar role.

Clever Cleaner is a new, completely free iPhone storage cleanup app that helps you reclaim valuable space, organize photo libraries and speed up your phone’s performance.

Developed by Clever Files, maker of popular data-recovery tool Disk Drill, it stands out in a crowded market for one simple reason: It actually delivers on its promises of fast iPhone cleaner app that’s completely free to use — and free of advertising.

“We believe everyone should have access to a high-quality, reliable and safe cleaning tool for your iPhone,” Clever Files says. “Clever Cleaner is our way of giving back to the community, ensuring people don’t have to sacrifice privacy or pay monthly subscriptions just to keep their devices organized.”

In addition to a Liquid Glass design overhaul, iOS 26 will improve the CarPlay experience by bringing several iPhone features to cars’ infotainment displays.

If you’re a fan of Apple’s in-car software, check out how iOS 26 will upgrade your experience later this year.

The OWC Guardian stands out from the pack of SSDs with built-in hardware encryption unlocked with its own touchscreen. No special software is needed.

The USB-C drive works with a variety of computers, offers fast data transfers and is available in up to 4 TB of capacity.

Apple acquired the brilliant image-editing app Pixelmator in November 2024. And now, eight months later, it’s updating the app with Apple Intelligence support.

For now, AI integration remains exclusive to Pixelmator Pro on Mac.

Major iOS 26 features will not initially launch in the European Union. Apple will hold back on them due to regulatory concerns in the region.

iPhone and Mac users in Europe already miss out on iPhone Mirroring, one of the best features to debut with iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia last year.

Apple’s struggle to develop artificial intelligence might reach the point where the iPhone-maker will need to outsource one of its core technologies: Siri. A promised AI upgrade for the voice assistant may be powered by large language models created by Anthropic or OpenAI, not Apple itself, according to an unconfirmed report published Monday.

But this is only a possibility — no decision has been made.

Apple Music Replay All Time launched Monday, letting listeners see which tracks they’ve played over their history with the service.

It comes as part of a broader 10th-anniversary celebration for the music-streaming service. Other upgrades include an upcoming top-500 Apple Music tracks countdown, special programming on Apple Music Radio and a new Apple Music studio planned to open in Los Angeles this summer.

Apple Music celebrates its 10th anniversary by opening an ambitious new creative music facility in Los Angeles, in addition to offering special programming on Apple Music Radio, the iPhone giant said Monday. The new studio signals the streaming service’s commitment to supporting artists and expanding beyond traditional music streaming.

“Apple Music Radio has always been a home for storytelling and artistry, serving as a space for bold conversations and surprising moments,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s co-head. “With this new studio, we are furthering our commitment to creating a space for artists to create, connect and share their vision.”

The Vision Air is on the drawing board at Apple, according to a trusted analyst. This more consumer-friendly version of the Vision Pro AR headset reportedly will weigh less and cost less. But it won’t be out soon.

At the same time, Apple is also working on its first foray into smart glasses. These are also supposedly still years away, though.

Continue reading

Apple could launch a MacBook next year that’s even more affordable than the current $999 13-inch MacBook Air. The new budget laptop supposedly will use an A18 Pro chip and come in several colors.

The company hopes to boost MacBook shipments to return to the COVID-19 peak of around 25 million next year with this move.

Anker, a renowned accessory maker, has initiated a global “voluntary recall” of its six power banks. While the company says there’s no fire risk, it’s issuing the recall out of an “abundance of caution.”

If your Anker power bank is part of the recall, you’ll receive a replacement or a gift card after the company verifies your claim.

The most significant design change to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max might force a secondary modification. The large camera bar reportedly coming to the two premier models could push down the location of the Apple logo, according to a noted tipster.

If true, the new location might cause problems for case makers and irritate MagSafe users.

From a long-overdue cooling upgrade to a redesigned camera island, rumors indicate the iPhone 17 lineup will deliver meaningful changes. Here are five rumored iPhone 17 features that have me genuinely excited for Apple’s next devices.