When it comes to watch bands — those made for Apple Watch or otherwise — it doesn’t get more classic than leather. And if it’s supple Italian leather from Tuscany, all the better. And if it costs less than $50, well, that’s pretty much the best.

Right now you can get slender Italian bands for Apple Watch for just $49 in the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple has expanded iPhone’s Tap to Pay feature to businesses in Australia. This will allow them to accept payments from customers directly using their iPhones.

All kinds of businesses, irrespective of their size, can accept payments using Apple Pay and Tap to Pay.

With AirPlay, you can wirelessly stream video from your Apple devices to a large-screen TV. It’ll let you enjoy Ted Lasso or share a TikTok video with a group of friends on a big screen, not your iPhone’s relatively small one.

If this handy option is new to you, Apple made an explainer video. Watch it now.

Shipments in the global smartphone market declined by 14% YoY in Q1 2023 to 280.2 million units. Despite the slowdown, Samsung replaced Apple as the world’s largest smartphone maker during the period.

Apple, however, continued its dominance, with iPhones accounting for nearly half the revenue generated by the smartphone market in Q1 2023. The company also took the lion’s share of the market’s profit.

Ahead of Apple’s transition from Lightning ports to USB-C for its devices, the European Commission warned the company not to limit the functionality of charging cables that don’t carry Apple’s MFi certification.

EU Commissioner Thierry Breton reportedly sent a letter to Apple addressing rumors that iPhone charging and data-transfer speeds might be reduced when using non-MFI USB-C cables. Breton reminded Cupertino that such limitations could lead to iPhones being banned from the European market.

During the first three months of 2023, Apple’s total revenue dropped 3% year over year. iPhone was a bright spot, but revenue from virtually all of the company’s other product segments saw annual declines. CEO Tim Cook blamed the drop on a “challenging macroeconomic environment.”

While the financial news isn’t good, Wall Street had been expecting it to be even worse. AAPL is up in after-hours trading on the news.

The amount of money Apple will pay you to trade in a previous-generation iPhone just increased. And that’s the second time this spring. The same holds true for Mac and iPad.

So, if you have an older Apple device sitting around, it might be worth more than you suspect.

Apple Watch reportedly will get iOS-like widgets when watchOS 10 arrives later this year. Plus, Apple might change the way some Apple Watch buttons work.

The company plans to make these changes to give Apple Watch users faster access to important information. Widgets will mean users won’t need to open a dedicated app to quickly see an overview of vital information at a glance

Apple is making more iPhones in India than ever before. The Cupertino giant assembled 7% of the total iPhones it manufactured last fiscal year in the country.

The company is looking to make India the next iPhone manufacturing hub after China to diversify its supply chain.

Apple committed itself to a new target to use 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. And by that same year, the company will use only recycled rare earth elements in its magnets. In addition, it intends to make circuit boards with 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating.

These commitments build on the company’s goal to eventually make all its products with only recycled and renewable materials.