Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s commissioner for competition, said Thursday that Apple’s decision to not offer its artificial intelligence upgrades for iPhone and Mac in the European Union is an admission that the company knows the features are anticompetitive.
In contrast, Apple says interoperability requirements in EU law would make the AI features a risk to user privacy.
Vision Pro launched in Apple Stores in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore on Friday. It’s the first time the AR headset has been officially available outside the United States since it debuted in February.
In addition, the product went up for preorder in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. on Friday. Delivery will come in July.
Apple could use electrically induced adhesive debonding to make battery removal easier on future iPhones. The company reportedly might use this technology in at least one iPhone 16 model this year.
The move could help Apple make iPhones more repair-friendly — and help Apple comply with upcoming EU laws.
Here’s your eagerly awaited dead drop, Slow Horses fans: The fourth season of the BAFTA Award-winning espionage series returns to Apple TV+ on September 4, according to the “first look” the streamer gave Thursday. That’s the image above. And once again, some makeup artist deserves major awards for making Gary Oldman look like sagging spymaster Jackson Lamb, poster boy for decades of booze, smokes, greasy food, stress and betrayal.
Dozens of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) participated in a two-week creative arts program funded by Apple’s Racial Equality and Justice Initiative, the iPhone giant said Thursday.
Apple’s Propel Center and Apple Music’s Nashville office worked with two universities on the program. It aims to help students pursue creative and executive careers in the arts, particularly music.
A fresh approach to owning a MacBook is here. With Upgraded’s subscription service, you can enjoy the latest MacBook every two years without the hefty upfront cost.
Starting at just $36.06 per month for a MacBook Air and $52.17 for a MacBook Pro with AppleCare+ included, this service keeps you updated with the newest models seamlessly. Interest rates start at 0% and vary based on your credit score. You can check out all available models at getupgraded.com.
Blake Crouch, who wrote the bestselling novel Dark Matter that was adapted into a hit Apple TV+ series, said this week he’s open to the idea of making season 2.
The sci-fi thriller’s season one finale premiered Wednesday.
Apple will improve support for third-party iPhone displays and batteries later this year. The company revealed this in a new whitepaper published on June 26.
Titled “Longevity, by Design,” Apple detailed approach to longevity in the whitepaper.
OpenAI made the native ChatGPT Mac app available for all users Wednesday. It gives Mac users easy access to the artificial intelligence capabilities of the cutting-edge chatbot, as well as features not available with the web interface.
The free macOS app is “designed to integrate seamlessly into anything you’re doing on your computer,” according to OpenAI.
Consumer and business computer spending data for 2024’s first quarter shows iPad maintaining dominance in tablet sales, while Mac shipments show significant growth in the PC sector, according to a new report.
And in even better news, the analysts expect to see computer market growth through 2025.
There’s a lot to love about M1 MacBooks, but easy connectivity with multiple external displays isn’t on the list. So people often wonder which dock or adapter might suit their need to use one or more external displays with the laptop. Today’s M1 MacBook Air user asked for advice and got it. You can check out the three main recommendations for a good dock for MacBook Air below.
The Apple Diagnostics for Self Service Repair software tool launched on Europe on Wednesday. It lets those who want to fix their own iPhone or Mac identify which parts may need repair.
In addition, Apple announced that MacBook Air models with the M3 processor that launched in March 2024 are now part of the Self Service Repair program.
Vineyards in rural Spain might not be far enough away from murderous New York City loan sharks for safety, judging by the Land of Women trailer. The six-episode dramatic-comedy series starring Eva Longoria debuts Wednesday on Apple TV+. And it looks pretty fun.
Update: Apple TV+ released the first two episodes, or “chapters,” of Land of Woman today. Early reviews call it “winning,” a “feel-good drama” and a “palatable comfort-food family portrait.”
Supposed CAD renders of the Apple Watch Series 10 leaked online Wednesday, revealing a device with a bigger display than its predecessors. The renders show Apple’s upcoming smartwatch with a 2-inch display.
Despite the bigger screen, the Apple Watch Series 10 will seemingly be smaller than the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
US carriers have enabled support for RCS messaging for iPhone users on their networks. This comes following the release of iOS 18 beta 2, which shipped with an RCS toggle in the Messages app.
Multiple reports from iPhone users running iOS 18 beta confirm that RCS messaging is now live for them.
Looks like Cate Blanchett might get a vile taste of her own medicine at the hands of Kevin Kline in upcoming psychological thriller Disclaimer, according to a “first look” at the limited series Apple TV+ put out Tuesday. That could be dawning horror on the Oscar winner’s face in the new image, above.
Notably, Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Gravity, Roma) created and directed the show. Based on a bestselling novel, Disclaimer premieres on Apple TV+ October 11.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will be able to run Apple Intelligence features, but no other current phone can handle the upcoming AI-powered features. Apple’s reasons for the limitation seem somewhat vague, at least so far. They don’t fully explain why a 2-year-old iPhone chip isn’t up to the job but a 4-year-old Mac chip is.
As it stands, some people harbor suspicions that it’s an attempt to force iPhone users to upgrade to the latest models this fall. And some iPhone 15 owners are angry that their relatively new devices won’t be able to take advantage of Apple Intelligence.
Cult of Mac asked Apple to explain the decision but we didn’t hear back. So, I’ll do what Apple hasn’t: Go through a range of hardware features and explore what role they might play in keeping Apple AI off so many iPhones.
In a move bound to raise eyebrows, Apple and Meta Platforms reportedly discussed integrating Meta’s generative AI model into Apple Intelligence. Besides Meta, AI startups Perplexity and Anthropic also reportedly talked with Apple about integrating their offerings into Apple Intelligence.
Update: The initial report of a possible partnership to bring Meta’s Llama large language model to Apple Intelligence made it sound like talks were ongoing. However, a new story published Monday said Apple rejected Meta’s LLM “months ago.”
Apple reportedly told the companies that assemble the iPhone to replace up to 50% of their employees with automation.
It’s an ongoing effort, and one that supposedly began after riots at a Foxconn plant several years ago over stringent Covid restrictions.
iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 let users reformat external drives as well as keep a copy of a file on iCloud permanently stored locally.
Both features were found by developers tinkering with the first betas of these operating systems, and should make the Files app on iPhone and iPad more useful.
Not being huge PC gamers, we aren’t particularly familiar with NZXT, a company based in Los Angeles that makes high-performance gaming PCs and the gear that goes with them. So when we saw today’s M1 Mac mini setup looking like a giant ad for NZXT, we thought we’d give it a look. The user loves his NZXT Relay lineup of gear, including powerful speakers and a wired headset with a surprisingly functional stand.
The European Commission said Monday that it made a preliminary decision that Apple breached the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Apple’s rules “prevent [iPhone] app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content,” according to the EC.
The commission also said it started an investigation into whether Apple’s new Core Technology Fee complies with the DMA. If Apple doesn’t change its policies, the EC could levy extremely heavy fines.
iOS 18 will bring lots of useful features, big and small. But when the new iPhone operating system launches later this fall, you won’t get to enjoy all its new additions on day one. Many headlining features won’t arrive until later in the year or early 2025. But which iOS 18 features will be delayed?
Here’s a roundup of iOS 18 features that won’t arrive on launch day. Note: Many of these delayed features also will come to iPads and Macs in iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. For the purposes of this article, we will talk in terms of iOS 18 only.
Apple reportedly wants to launch a cheaper AR/VR Vision headset, codenamed N107, as soon as late 2025. While the company set this plan even before the Vision Pro‘s launch, it might fail to meet the deadline.
The company’s engineers are struggling to reduce costs without affecting the headset’s key features.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple seems dead-set on producing a much more affordable version of the Vision Pro. The current $3,499 price tag is definitely a dealbreaker. But will a cheaper version of the Vision Pro headset take off? We discuss the pros and cons — and a possible solution!
Also on The CultCast:
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