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WhatsApp tests in-app browser that would let iPhone users skip Safari

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A WhatsApp logo used in an article about WhatsApp working on an in-app browser.
WhatsApp’s in-app browser is still under development for iPhone.
Photo: Pixabay

WhatsApp is reportedly working on an in-app browser for iPhone. It would open any chat link without leaving the app to go to a separate web browser.

Today, WhatsApp can only open certain business links in the app. Everything else you send opens in the device’s default browser, but this change would end that.

After 32,000 folds, iPhone Duo’s hinge serves up a big surprise

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Hingey automatic folding machine to test iPhone Duo hinge
A custom-built test machine called Hingey puts the iPhone Duo's hinge to the test.
Photo: Joanna Stern

A tech reviewer took a novel approach to testing the iPhone Duo’s hinge, using a custom-made device to automatically fold the phone more than 32,000 times.

The goal was to find out if the Duo’s hinge got loosey-goosey after repeated folds. The result proved pretty shocking.

First iPhone Duo reviews call Apple’s foldable impressive but not perfect

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First reviews call iPhone Duo impressive but not perfect
We now have real-world results of people using the iPhone Fold.
Photo: Apple

Early reviews of the iPhone Duo are in, and the results are generally positive. But certainly not always. Apple’s first foldable iPhone wins praise for its clever design and big inner display, but reviewers disagree about whether it is worth its $1,999 starting price.

Read on for a variety of comments from people who’ve had hands-on time with the iPhone Duo.

Today in Apple history: Macintosh PowerBook 100 makes laptops mainstream

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Photo of a Macintosh PowerBook 100 laptop on a cream-colored background
The entry-level PowerBook 100 fueled a laptop revolution.
Photo: Danamania/Wikipedia CC/Modified by Cult of Mac

October 21: Today in Apple history: Apple launches PowerBook 100 series, one of the most important laptops in Apple history October 21, 1991: Apple launches the Macintosh PowerBook 100 series. The lightweight Mac laptops will quickly become one of the most important tech gadgets of all time.

These devices will almost single-handedly turn notebook computers into mainstream technology. Apple’s subsequent success in this category — whether it’s current MacBooks or even the rise of mobile devices like the iPhone — owes a huge debt to the PowerBook 100 series.

HomePod Sound Glow headed to older Apple speakers

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A picture of a HomePod used in a story about HomePod getting Sound Glow feature.
HomePod Sound Glow with colors pulled from album artwork.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

HomePod Sound Glow won’t be exclusive to the new HomePod mini 2. Apple’s upcoming HomePod Software 27.2 is bringing the pulse light show to the older speakers.

That’s a nice perk for owners of the second-generation HomePod and the original HomePod mini. Apple announced the feature as a hardware addition to the HomePod mini 2 on October 13.

Apple expands DIY repairs to iPhone 18 Pro and its latest Macs

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You can now purchase iPhone 18 Pro repair parts from Apple.
iPhone 18 Pro repair parts hit Apple's self-service repair store.
Photo: Apple/Rajesh Pandey/Cult of Mac

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max repair parts can now be purchased directly from Apple. Additionally, the company offers repair parts for the M5 Max/Ultra-equipped Mac Studio and the new Mac mini under its Self Service Repair Program.

With the use of Apple’s official repair manuals, you can buy the replacement parts to carry out Do-It-Yourself (DIY) repairs.

Grab a new M5 MacBook Air and save $150!

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Two people laying on a bed with a MacBook Air, looking at a promotional image for Shrinking on Apple TV
Get Apple's latest lightweight laptop at major savings.
Photo: Apple

The M5 MacBook Air is the best mobile computer for most people, and a deal drops the 13-inch model by $150. The sale is on the base model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD … if you pick one of the right colors. 

Thanks to this 12%-off deal, you can snag the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air for just $1,149 in midnight, blue or starlight. Or you can get the 15-incher for $1,399 if you choose the starlight option. That’s $100 off.

How to set up Aerials, the best Mac screen savers you’ll ever see

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Photo of a Mac with an Aerial screen saver showing rugged mountains
Beautiful!
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Screen savers fell out of fashion a long time ago, but Apple’s Aerials screen savers look so beautiful, they just might make you reconsider. In fact, with all the stunning visuals, these might just be the best Mac screen savers around.

The Aerials screen savers started on the Apple TV, showing gorgeous helicopter photography of the world’s greatest natural landscapes, underwater sights and cityscapes — even shots from space. Now, if you have a desktop display set up somewhere prominently in your house, you can get the same beautiful vistas on your computer with the Aerials screen savers for Mac.

Here’s where to find these beautiful Mac screen savers, plus some setup tips that will really help them shine.

Apple expands US supply chain for iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro

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iPhone in America: Apple partnered with Perryman Company, a Pennsylvania-based titanium producer, to supply titanium.
Apple partnered with Pennsylvania's Perryman Company to supply titanium.
Photo: Apple

Apple is growing its American manufacturing efforts with new and expanded partnerships to produce components for the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro in the United States.

The company committed up to $100 million over three years to a Pennsylvania titanium producer, while expanding work with a Delaware company that makes technology for the latest iPhone Pro camera system.

It’s Apple’s latest move to once again remind critics that dozens of iPhone components are sourced from the United States.

Here’s when Apple will launch iOS 27.2

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iOS 27.2
The iOS 27.2 release date is just a week away!
Image: Apple/ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Apple seeded the iOS 27.2 Release Candidate to beta testers on Monday, signaling that eager iPhone users should circle October 26 on their calendars. The update improves Group FaceTime calls, adds more languages to Siri AI and more.

The macOS Golden Gate 27.2 Release Candidate was also released, as have equivalents for iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and more.

Today in Apple history: iMac goes big with 27-inch display and unibody design

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Product shot of the 27-inch unibody iMac at launch
Unibody aluminum iMac design FTW!
Image: Apple

October 20: Today in Apple history: iMac goes big with 27-inch display October 20, 2009: Apple goes big with its iMac redesign, introducing the first 27-inch all-in-one Mac. The sleek, sophisticated aluminum unibody design looks so good that the iMac will remain virtually unchanged for years.

As with the first Macintosh with a built-in CD-ROM drive, the iMac’s 27-inch display represents a sea change for tech. The big, beautiful screen signals that larger displays no longer need to remain the domain of pampered professionals.

Your AI chatbot desperately needs a fact-checker like this one

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Woman working on her tablet in a crowded cafe, using the Caveat AI fact-checker.
Ever wonder if your favorite chatbot is making stuff up? Of course you do.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Caveat isn’t another chatbot competing for your attention: It’s a browser extension designed to examine responses from the AI platforms you already use. Think of it as a fact-checker for AI chatbots, which are notorious for their ability to authoritatively fluff the facts.

Caveat reviews answers from popular AI models ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. And a lifetime subscription costs less than $60 right now.

Apple makes ‘Pro and Tell’ event official for October 28

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Apple Pro and Tell event invite for October 28, 2026, with a silverish Apple logo on a black background and the words
Another "special Apple Experience" will happen next week. This time, we expect a touchscreen MacBook Pro to steal the show.
Image: Apple

Apple sent invitations on Monday for a special event set for October 28, making official a product showcase that has been rumored for weeks.

While the company’s invitation didn’t reveal what’s on the agenda, it’s not difficult to guess. We can look forward to a redesigned MacBook Pro with a touchscreen, new Macs powered by the latest Apple M6 processor, and an upgraded iPad mini.

Price cut: Get 50-plus AI models for life for just $29.97, with no monthly fees

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A man working at a cafe with his laptop and mobile device, using multi-AI platform AskAnyModel
Type in one prompt, get multiple answers from leading AI models using AskAnyModel.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

AskAnyModel is a new multi-AI platform that gives you lifetime access to more than 50 models like GPT, Claude and Mistral. It makes it easy to compare results from various AI models with just one prompt, so you can choose the best output for any given task.

And right now, you can secure lifetime access to AskAnyModel for just $29.97 with code SAVE10 (regularly $499), with no recurring fees. For one low price, you get unlimited use of supported AI models, plus 500 monthly credits to access 20 advanced AI models.

Today in Apple history: The forgotten first Mac with an internal CD-ROM

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Mac IIvx advertisement with the headline,
Why did the Mac IIvx fail to take the world by storm?
Photo: Apple

October 19: Today in Apple history: Mac IIvx, the forgotten first Mac with an internal CD-ROM, launches October 19, 1992: Apple launches the Mac IIvx, the first Macintosh computer to ship with a metal case and, more importantly, an internal CD-ROM drive.

The last of the Macintosh II series, the Mac IIvx experiences one of the more notorious price adjustments in Apple history. Within five months of shipping, Apple slashes the computer’s launch price of $2,949 to $1,899. That’s one way to reward early adopters!

Why you might want to wait for the rumored HomeView Max

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Apple HomeView could be followed by a HomeView Max.
Apple HomeView could be followed by a HomeView Max.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple is reportedly hard at work on a bigger, better version of the HomeView smart display. The follow-up version will apparently boast a larger screen that turns on its own, and could be dubbed something like HomeView Max, Ultra or 360, according to a new report.

That would help fix a clear limitation of the current version, whose screen stays put. 

Best iPhone Duo cases you can buy right now

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Pitaka iPhone Duo Case
Pitaka's iPhone Duo case offers the best of both worlds.
Photo: Pitaka

Picking up an iPhone Duo? Apple’s first foldable is also its most expensive iPhone, and probably its most delicate yet. The iPhone Duo has more to protect than any iPhone before it. It comes in two halves: an outer display and an inner display and a hinge that has to move freely without obstruction.

Unlike regular iPhones, the cases for the iPhone Duo are also special. To help you choose, we rounded up the best iPhone Duo cases from popular case makers, along with the standout options from each.

Apple’s AI-enabled smart home camera won’t record video

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A picture of the smart home camera used in a story about Apple reportedly making one that does not record video.
The reported Apple smart home camera would analyze rooms with AI rather than record video.
Photo: Pixabay

Apple reportedly still plans to release a smart home camera that doesn’t record video sometime in the next year. Instead, it will use AI to analyze what’s happening in your home.

The privacy-focused device is separate from the LG Electronics cameras in the new Apple Home Collection. Together, they show how Apple plans to tackle home security from two very different angles.

iPhone Duo’s unusual battery design hides a big capacity

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iPhone Duo
iPhone Duo uses two separate cells to pack a massive battery.
Photo: Apple

An EU regulatory document uploaded by Apple confirms that the iPhone Duo packs a 4,883mAh battery. That’s larger than the battery in the iPhone 18 Pro, but smaller than the one in its Pro Max sibling.

Unlike other iPhones, the iPhone Duo features two separate cells: one 2962mAh and another 1921mAh.

Get a Visual Studio Pro lifetime license on sale for $29.97 (regularly $499.99)

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Marketing image retail box of Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2026
The newest Visual Studio Pro is on sale for a limited time.
Image: Cult of Mac Deals

Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2026 is a full coding environment for building, testing, debugging and collaborating on software projects.

It doesn’t run on our beloved Macs, but we know that some Cult of Mac readers use Windows PCs (and also love a good deal). And this is definitely that: You can get a lifetime license to Microsoft Visual Studio Pro 2026 for just $29.97 (regularly $499.99).

Today in Apple history: iPad sales overtake Macs

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Photo of the original iPad with the box it came in, sitting on a wooden table
The iPad quickly became the world's fastest-selling device.
Photo: Neil Turner/Flickr CC/Modified by Cult of Mac

October 18: Today in Apple history: iPad sales overtake Macs October 18, 2010: Just six months after the original iPad debuts, Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveals that the tablet already outsells the mighty Macintosh computer.

During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Jobs says Apple sold 4.19 million iPads during the previous three months, compared with 3.89 million Macs.

Why HomeView doesn’t have its own App Store

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Photo of a hand adjusting the screen angle of an Apple HomeView home hub.
Unlike almost all of Apple's devices, HomeView doesn't have its own App Store. Apple's moving to a new model.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new HomeView smart home hub doesn’t come with an App Store, a decision that’s puzzling users accustomed to installing apps to customize their devices.

There seem to be several good reasons for Apple’s decision, related to the device’s memory, storage, ease of use, privacy and maybe even regulation. But perhaps the most important factor is all about elevating Siri AI as a next-generation user interface.

Apple may have just sold 6 million iPhone Duos

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6 million iPhone Duo shipments in 2026?
Apple may already have a third of the global foldable market.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

As Apple already immediately sold out of iPhone Duo units through January 2027, the company likely just sold at least 6 million of its foldable in a couple of hours. And the number might approach 10 million.

That means Apple may have just claimed between a quarter and a third of the global foldable market.

iPhone Duo already selling for big bucks on eBay [Updated]

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eBay listings for the new iPhone Duo.
Dozens of unreleased iPhone Duos have already sold on eBay.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Update: iPhone Duos are now selling for almost $10,000 on eBay. 

iPhone Duo units are already fetching $5,000 on eBay after selling out on Apple’s website Friday morning. Listings on the auction website show dozens of sales of the in-demand foldable for as high as $4,999, which represents about $1,800 in profit for the seller.

The iPhone Duo went on sale at 5 a.m. this morning. But within minutes, ship dates slipped to late January — three months after the new handset is supposed to become available.