A lot of Mac owners use Google Chrome as their web browser, and personally, I don’t get it. For Apple fans, it seems like a total disconnect not to use Safari vs. Chrome.

For starters, Apple markets its products as privacy-forward and seamlessly integrated with each other. And the web browser is an essential component of your computer, whether we’re talking Mac, iPhone or iPad. You have a lot to gain by using Safari on all your devices.

But look at the numbers: Apple’s web browser Safari only captures 18% of the market, a distant second to Google’s Chrome. Here’s my attempt to sway it the other way — the top five reasons I use Safari instead of Chrome.

So many of us sit at a computer all day peering at a screen, it’s no wonder eye strain is a common problem. But only some of us — like today’s featured MacBook Pro and Studio Display user — really attack the problem beyond taking more breaks. They offer tips to reduce eye strain below.

August 4, 2008: In an internal memo, Apple CEO Steve Jobs owns up to mistakes in launching MobileMe, spinning the company’s bungled cloud service rollout as a learning opportunity.

“It was a mistake to launch MobileMe at the same time as iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store,” Jobs writes in an email to Apple employees. “We all had more than enough to do, and MobileMe could have been delayed without consequence.”

In a groundbreaking development, a brain-computer interface (BCI) company successfully demonstrated the first-ever use of Apple’s Vision Pro AR/VR headset — and later an iPad — controlled directly by thought, according to Synchron. The innovation opens up exciting possibilities, perhaps even beyond helping individuals with severe mobility limitations engage with cutting-edge technology. Innovations like thought control of Vision Pro and iPad could lead to big things for both hands-free and voice-free use of devices.

August 4 update: In a new video, Synchron released proof of the first-ever public demonstration of an individual using an iPad controlled entirely by thought, leveraging Apple’s built-in accessibility features and new Brain-Computer Interface Human Interface Device (BCI HID) protocol, the company said. Watch the video below.

May 13 update: Synchron said it would be the first brain-computer interface (BCI) company to achieve native integration with a new BCI Human Interface Device (BCI HID) profile Apple just rolled out among various accessibility upgrades.

August 3, 2009: Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board of directors amidst increasing competition between the two companies.

The root of the problem? The growing feud over Android’s encroachment on iOS as the two smartphone platforms battle for dominance.

Apple’s new internal team, “Answers, Knowledge and Information,” is apparently developing a ChatGPT-like search tool. It will reportedly use an “answer engine’ that will crawl the web to answer simple search queries.

The tool is still in the early stages of development, so it won’t go live anytime soon.

Stick continues to stick near the tops of the streaming TV popularity charts as the sports comedy wraps up its first season. The Apple TV+ series starring Owen Wilson kept its audience since the premiere in June.

It maintains AppleTV’s long streak of at least one series or film among the top 10 most popular.

August 2, 1993: Apple launches the Newton MessagePad, the first product in its line of handheld personal digital assistants. While it will become the most unfairly maligned product in Apple history, the Newton is a revolutionary device.

It predates Apple’s push toward app-based mobile devices 14 years later. And, while often dismissed as a failure, the Newton ranks near the top of the list of Apple’s most influential creations.

The folding iPhone rumored to arrive in 2026 might mark a major turning point for foldable devices. But to pull that off, Apple’s first folding phone needs to do more than just look good — it needs to nail the fundamentals.

From durability and design to software and camera performance, here’s everything I want to see in the foldable iPhone.

Newly leaked photos reportedly show off the iPhone 17 Air’s small battery. Apple will seemingly enclose the super-slim phone’s battery in a metal shell for added protection and structural rigidity.

The battery supposedly will feature a relatively modest capacity of 2,900mAh.

In an unusual all-hands meeting Friday, Apple CEO Tim Cook assured employees that Apple won’t drop the ball when it comes to artificial intelligence. Calling AI “as big or bigger” than the internet, Cook said the company will rise to the occasion.

“Apple must do this,” he said. “Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab. We will make the investment to do it.”

In addition to hyping the company’s AI efforts, Cook expressed excitement about all the “amazing” new Apple products in the pipeline. And Apple software chief Craig Federighi told his colleagues not to worry about the long-delayed smarter Siri — a key component of Apple’s AI-infused future.

There are lots of things you can do with an old Mac. No one will fault you for upgrading to Apple’s latest and greatest, but your old Mac can still find a job to do, too.

It used to be that when your old iMac kicked the can, you hollowed it out and made an aquarium or a desk lamp. These days, Macs have a much longer shelf life. The right model can give you years upon years of loyal service. (Not to mention, modern Macs are too thin to house a fish.)

Here are the six best things you can do with an old Mac. Watch our latest video or keep reading below.

Who doesn’t love new gear in their computer setup — either brand new or just new to them? Today’s Mac mini and Studio Display setup comes complete with two shiny new items recently added to the market — the NuPhy Air75 v3 low-profile wireless mechanical keyboard and the updated BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 monitor light. And he’s got some over-ear headphones I find enviable, too.

In the historical drama series Chief of War — streaming Friday on Apple TV+ — Jason Momoa plays warrior Ka‘iana. He’s desperate to united warring Hawaiian islands against encroaching Western colonization, according to the recent full-length trailer Apple TV+ dropped. At just over 3 minutes in length and loaded with battle scenes as well as scenes of native life, the trailer’s unusually in-depth. But now you can finally watch the first two episodes of the series.

The nine-episode drama follows all the action from an indigenous perspective. It comes from native Hawaiians Thomas Pa’a Sibbett and Momoa, who serve as executive producers. Momoa also wrote it and stars in it.

Update: Momoa’s Chief of War started streaming on Apple TV+ Friday, August 1. It’s off to fast start on Rottentomatoes.com with an 86% Fresh rating (though that’s based on just a handful of reviews so far). USA Today calls the show “triumphant” and The Guardian notes that Momoa’s character wrestles sharks and leads tons of battle scenes, but adds that a lot of backstory makes the show “dense stuff.”

August 1, 1989: Apple gives the Macintosh SE a storage bump, courtesy of the new SuperDrive in the new Mac SE FDHD. The high-density floppy disks the SuperDrive uses offer an astonishing 1.4MB of storage.

In terms of portable storage, it’s a big step up for most Mac owners. The HD floppy disks compare very favorably to the 400KB single side double density (SSDD) disks and 800KB double side double density (DDSD) disks in use at the time.

Verizon will stop bundling a free Apple Arcade subscription with its older 5G plans later this year. The carrier started offering this perk in 2021 in a bid to acquire more customers.

A standalone Apple Arcade membership costs $6.99 per month.

Apple will expand its retail footprint in India and open new stores in the country this year. It will also open its fifth retail store in the United Arab Emirates before the end of 2025.

The company recently launched its online store in Saudi Arabia, marking a major expansion of its presence in the Middle East.

Apple has an AI problem, and it’s hoping to solve it in the traditional manner: by pouring money on it.

In a conference call with investors Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the company’s costs for developing artificial intelligence technology continue to grow. He also mentioned that the company is not just open to acquiring companies with AI expertise — it’s already actively doing so.

Nevertheless, the AI-enhanced version of Siri won’t arrive before 2026.

Tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on iPhones and Macs produced in Asia and then imported into the United States will cost Apple $1.1 billion in the current quarter, according to an estimate from Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday.

If the prediction proves accurate, the total cost to Apple from these new import taxes will come close to $2 billion … and that number’s growing.

Apple’s just-revealed spring quarter financial results feature revenue and profits that jumped double digits. The Mac-maker even set another record — it never before took in so much during any previous April-through-June quarter.

“Today Apple is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

And in a call with financial analysts after the announcement, Cook was able to brag that total iPhone shipments passed the 3 billion mark last quarter, and shared plenty of positive news about demand in China.

Apple now makes it easy to install prerelease AirPods firmware on your wireless earbuds. The company once reserved this option for only a select few developers. But now, anyone willing to put potentially buggy software on their AirPods can try upcoming features early.

The temptation is understandable. The upcoming iOS 26 brings a range of enhancements to Apple earbuds, but you need unreleased AirPods firmware to take advantage of them. Install the beta AirPods software, and you can try out improved audio recording, auto-pause when sleeping, and many other new features.

Feeling brave? Let’s go.

P.S. Not looking for the prerelease version? We also have a guide on how to install the regular non-beta AirPods software.

Apple committed to a major White House initiative aimed at revolutionizing how Americans access and manage their healthcare data. The federal government partnered with more than 60 technology and healthcare companies in an ambitious effort to create a “smarter, more secure and more personalized healthcare experience,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said Wednesday during a White House “Make Health Tech Great Again” event.

The Health Technology Ecosystem plan looks like one of the most significant federal pushes to modernize U.S. healthcare infrastructure in decades. Alongside Apple, major participants include Amazon, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, signaling broad industry support. Apple will develop apps for the plan’s “Kill the Clipboard” initiative.

And as expected, the prospect of government and major corporations handling healthcare data raises privacy concerns for patients.

Apple Pencil Pro may have all the bells and whistles, but a lot of average users don’t really need those. For a solid premium iPad stylus that does all the basic tasks like signing documents, note-taking and sketching, Apple Pencil (USB-C) gets the job done just fine. And right now you can get the stylus on sale with a Apple Pencil (USB-C) deal at Amazon, making it even more affordable.  It’s just $69.

July 31, 2012: The Daily, the world’s first iPad-only newspaper, lays off almost a third of its staff, signaling the demise of a bold publishing experiment.

The deep cuts — The Daily fires 50 of its 170 employees — affect mainly sports and editorial page staffers, although some production and design employees get the ax, too. The ominous move comes as News Corp places the iPad app “on watch” due to disappointing readership numbers.

Dropbox will shut down its password manager, Dropbox Passwords, in late October. However, it will begin winding down support well before then.

Dropbox says it is doing this to focus on its core product: cloud storage service. To reduce inconvenience to its users, the company will discontinue the service in a phased manner.