July 18, 1994: Apple launches the Quadra, LC and Performa 630 Macintoshes, three similar computers with slight differences tailored for the professional, educational and home markets. Aimed at multimedia use, the new 630 series Macs bring innovative hardware and software at a much more affordable price than previous Apple computers.
A free Mac app called WhatCable solves the biggest problem with USB-C cables: They all look alike, but they are not all the same.
Plug a USB-C cable into your Mac, and WhatCable can tell you how much power it can deliver, how fast it can transfer data and more. And a pro version for power users serves up even more data about the cables in your collection. The app’s earning accolades online (and hit No. 4 on ProductHunt), so I decided to put it to the test.
Apple Music just became a bit pricier. Apple raised the streaming service’s monthly rate across all subscription tiers on Friday, citing the increasing cost of licensing artists’ music.
The company also jacked up the price of most Apple One bundles, which package Apple Music with subscriptions to other Apple services.
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 added the Share Item Location feature to its Find My app to let AirTag users securely share the exact position of a tracking tag attached to lost luggage with an airline.
Here’s how to use the feature to show an airline employee that your bag is actually just outside Concourse C in the Atlanta airport, not in Denver, where they think it is. They can even see the exact position of the luggage.
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.
July 17, 2002: Apple ships a new super-sized iMac G4 with a 17-inch widescreen LCD display that becomes the envy of many computer users at the time.
“The best consumer desktop just got even better,” says Apple CEO Steve Jobs of the company’s new all-in-one computer in a press release. “Having this gorgeous 17-inch flat screen floating in mid-air right in front of you is simply breathtaking. There’s nothing like it in the PC world.”
He wasn’t wrong!
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.
Why struggle with manual billing when AI Invoice Maker lets you create professional invoices in seconds?
This polished app also lets you export polished PDFs and manage billing across your Apple devices. And right now, you can lock down a lifetime license to AI Invoice Maker for just $19.99 (regularly $39.99).
Want to know which iPad models will get revamps in the next year? The answer is easy: all of them. Every single one.
An iPad mini upgraded with an OLED is reportedly at the top of the list, and we can look forward it being followed by new versions of the basic iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro… each before the end of spring 2027.
Here’s what is coming down the line.
World Emoji Day happens on July 17 every year — but why? The holiday’s story takes a circuitous path through Apple history, tying together Mac OS X Jaguar, calendar software, Japanese cellphone carriers, Macworld Expo and Emojipedia creator Jeremy Burge.
Chargeasap calls its new Miko the world’s smallest 30W charger. It’s so tiny that you can clip it to your keyring along with the bundled USB-C cable, so you won’t ever find yourself without a charger or cable.
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.
★★★★★
The ReelCharge ReelPro 200W Power Bank holds 27,000 mAh and can pump out up to 200W. But perhaps its standout feature is an integrated USB-C cable that acts as a carrying handle.
The accessory also includes a status screen so you always know how much power is flowing, plus it includes USB-C and USB-A ports.
I put the external battery through weeks of testing, including taking it on a beach vacation. Here’s how it stood up.
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.
July 16, 2014: Apple agrees to pay $450 million to resolve the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against the company over e-book pricing in the iBooks Store. In the e-books lawsuit, Apple stands accused of conspiring with five major book publishers to fix prices on digital books.
After all five publishers settle their claims outside of court, Apple becomes the only one to go to trial. The e-books lawsuit settlement closes the book on a bad chapter in Apple’s history.
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.
Apple’s AirPods appear to have dodged a costly redesign after the European Commission carved out new exemptions to its upcoming replaceable battery rules for portable electronics.
The requirement could have also required changes to the design of the Apple Watch.
With this refurbished iPad mini 6 deal, you can pick up a tiny Apple tablet for less than 300 bucks. That’s less than half the price of the latest model, the seventh-generation iPad mini, which now starts at $599 after Apple’s recent price hikes.
This sixth-gen iPad mini is slightly older, and it’s used. But if you want a solid slate for less, this is a great buy. Grab a refurbished iPad mini 6 for just $294.99 before they sell out.
Update: Apple’s Back to School 2026 offer is now available in the United States and Canada. We updated this article with the latest details.
After a slight delay, Apple’s Back to School 2026 offer is now live across most major markets. It first launched in select Asian countries before expanding to the United States and Canada.
The Back to School promo comes weeks after Apple steeply hiked prices of its Mac and iPad lineup due to rising DRAM and NAND costs.
The colorful Lego iMac G3 for nostalgic Apple fans just cleared another important milestone on its long journey from fan concept to store shelves.
A Lego version of Apple’s iconic iMac G3 desktop has been working its way through the approval process for almost a year, and the Lego company confirmed on Tuesday that the possibility remains very much alive.
Your iPhone will soon speak up before a booby-trapped text message can do damage. The iOS 26.6 malicious message warning is a new pop-up that tells you when Apple thinks an iMessage is trying to harm your device or steal your data. And it gives you a quick way to send that message straight to Apple for investigation.
The alert hasn’t gone live for anyone yet. It was spotted buried in iOS 26.6 beta 5 code, which means it’s still in the testing phase. But its presence indicates iPhone users will soon get a much more visible security layer that makes it harder to ignore message-based attacks.
Major League Soccer returns to Apple TV on Thursday with the resumption of regular-season play after a break for FIFA World Cup insanity. That’s great news for soccer fans new and old.
If you got hooked on the sport after watching World Cup matches during Major League Soccer’s monthlong break, tune into Apple TV for your fix. You should see some familiar faces on the field.
You love your pink or yellow MacBook Neo, and now you can get a mouse or hub specifically designed to match its color from Satechi.
A new collection includes a slim wireless mouse plus a pair of USB-C hubs, all available in Neo colors for the first time.
July 15, 2015: Apple introduces the sixth-generation iPod touch, attempting to prove that there’s still a place for the humble music player in the crazy, crazy world of iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple calls the device “the best iPod touch yet” in a press release, and touts “a new lineup of colors for all iPod models, including space gray, silver, gold, pink and blue.”