Apple

iOS 18 is tipped to launch as the first ever 'AI-centric' UI for iPhones - however, the new features in question may not come direct from Apple. The Cupertino giant is reportedly in talks with more established companies such as Google and OpenAI to integrate one or more of their models into its OS instead. The potential advantages of such a move are thought to outweigh the possible downsides for the tech behemoth.

A Canadian UPS employee has been arrested for allegedly stealing 866 Apple products worth C$1.3 million from a logistics center and selling them online.

The Apple Watch has evaded Android compatibility for nearly a decade now. Apple claims this was due to technical limitations, but an internal company email from 2019 suggests it was to protect Apple's iPhone sales and the ecosystem.

The US Department of Justice has taken legal action on behalf of consumers, developers and competing companies accusing Apple of engaging in monopolistic practices with a particular focus on its iPhone business. However, the suit is wide ranging and cuts across many of Apple’s other business practices which the DOJ argues contravenes the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Security researchers have uncovered a major security vulnerability affecting Apple’s M1 and M2 family of chips. Using a crafted attack, researchers were able to use what is known as a “side-channel” to access and decode security keys used in widely used encryption services.

Apple has released two new updates, iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1. These can now be installed on all compatible iPhones and iPads. iOS 16.7.7 and iPadOS 16.7.7 for older iPhones and iPads as well as visionOS 1.1.1 are also available for download.

Rumors suggest that the iPhone 16 series and upcoming iPad Pro models could feature thinner bezels, thanks to border reduction technology. Recent leaks originating from Weibo hint at bezel thickness as low as 7.12mm for the new iPad Pros, alongside the transition to OLED displays

Apple is set to launch its iPhone 16 series later this year, featuring Border Reduction Structure (BRS) technology aimed at reducing bezel size around the display. As reported by Sisajournal, this is expected to be integrated into all four models of the series. BRS technology addresses challenges in reducing the bottom bezel, with advancements in heat dissipation abilities making it more feasible than before.

Although it arrived last week, War Thunder 2.35 "Alpha Strike" remains a fresh update and is worth mentioning even now, since it's a quite solid package. Its highlights include the Alpha Jet (German and French versions), five premium tier VII ground vehicles, and a branch of Hungarian aircraft that joins the Italian tech tree.

Recent reports suggest Apple may introduce an anti-reflective display with enhanced scratch resistance for upcoming iPhones, possibly in the iPhone 17. Building on the Ceramic Shield technology from the current iPhones, collaborations between Apple and Corning might hint at similarities with Samsung's S24 Ultra's anti-reflective panel.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra's camera setup is one of its biggest selling points, but it's also up against some stiff competition. A recent comparison between the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 15 Pro cameras has revealed some video shortcomings in the Xiaomi.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has unveiled the company’s latest AI products and services for the enterprise during GTC 2024 (GPU Technology Conference) in San Jose, CA. The company announced the Blackwell GPU platform as part of their new lineup powering AI in areas such as robotics, drug discovery, and warehouse automation. Advances in autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots were demonstrated.

The entry-level MacBook Pro 14 is currently on sale for 17% off the $1,799 list price. The laptop packs a base M3 SoC with a 10-core GPU, 16 GB of memory, and 512 GB of storage. Additionally, the notebook equips a 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with Mini-LED backlighting, 605 nits of average brightness, and 99% DCI-P3 coverage.

Apple will likely reveal the Watch X this fall with a new blood pressure monitoring tool. The report comes from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg and is supported by earlier rumors. This would be one of several upgrades compared to older Apple Watches, with other new features expected, like sleep apnea detection.

The MacBook Air with Apple M3 does not have a fan at all, and the passive heatsink is also relatively small. If you run the notebook under load or use it with two external monitors closed, you will lose a lot of performance due to throttling. An external heatsink can provide a remedy, as a test shows.

Apple could be preparing AR glasses for release in 2027 according to a product roadmap from Samsung Securities. The roadmap also suggests that Cupertino is debuting foldable devices over the next three years including foldable iPhones and a 20-inch foldable iPad.

Apple's popular vehicle-control feature is already tipped to evolve into "the ultimate iPhone experience in the car" in its next generation. However, it is also now believed to convert into the ultimate full in-car OS thereafter. Can the Cupertino giant salvage all of its automotive R&D investment with this alleged new move?

Hugo Barra, the former Head of Oculus at Meta has labeled the Apple Vision Pro an “over-engineered devkit” in a lengthy blog post that closely examines its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, as an AR/VR enthusiast, Barra says the arrival of Apple in the spatial computing segment is a good thing as it will spur competition and advance the pace of innovation.

CheckMag Amber Lake and Coffee Lake-powered MacBooks find themselves swimming in dangerous waters whereas 2nd generation and 3rd generation iPhone SE phones have zero cause for concern. Every time Apple unleashes a new version of iOS and macOS on the market, it removes a few products from the list of devices it makes software updates for. Let's make an educated guess for 2024; which models will make it and which will not?

Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, will begin selling the MacBook Air directly for the first time. Walmart stores will offer the M1 MacBook Air at a competitive price that undercuts Apple Refurbished M1 MacBook Airs by $60.

CheckMag Hot take: Smartphones are not cameras. It's not their fault. It's just a fact. With cameras as portable and powerful as the Fujifilm X100VI and X-T30 II, skip the flagship phone upgrade and grab a real camera instead — your memories will thank you.

The Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are now available as a limited Vision Pro Edition with a titanium frame and back. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, on the other hand, is available in a Cybertruck Limited Edition, also made of titanium, which is offered by Caviar.

The MacBook Pro 14 with the 11-Core M3 Pro processor usually starts at $1,999 at Apple's official online store, but a well-known online retailer is now selling the coveted multimedia laptop for $250 off the steep list price.

A South Korean media outlet reports that Qualcomm's flagship APs could feature LPDDR6 memory. LPDDR6 standards are close to being finalized and will be presented later this year.

Apple will soon push an update that will allow software developers to distribute their software to iOS devices directly from their websites. This is in addition to alternative app stores, but this practice will only be available to developers in the EU.

The Apple M3 chip has just landed in two new MacBook Air models, but Apple's development labs are already expecting the next generation of chips. According to Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman, the development of a MacBook Pro based on Apple M4 has already begun.

The Geekbench 6 multi-core performance of the Apple A18 Pro has leaked with a score that is not a whole lot different than the Apple A17 Pro. However, what should be a cause for concern is that the leaked A18 Pro performance could potentially put the chip far behind both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 and the Dimensity 9400.

ESR has announced that the latest all-in-one wireless charging stand for mobile Apple devices also supports the next-gen Qi2. The gadget integrates a removable Apple Watch charger rated to work up to "5 hours faster" than the previous generation. It has now been released in two colors with special offers via certain channels.

Apple has apparently taken the criticism of the MacBook Air with Apple M2 to heart and improved the new model because the SSD in the base configuration is now just as fast as the one in more expensive versions of the notebook, as benchmarks show. A teardown video explains why this is the case.

TSMC is back as one of the world's 10 most valuable companies after its stock surged on the back of strong sales driven by demand for AI chips.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will power most next-gen Android flagship phones and a new, likely bogus, leak now claims the chipset could finally deliver performance supremacy across the board over Apple's upcoming A18 Pro.

The first schematics of the Apple iPhone 16 Pro have surfaced online. While the iPhone 16 Pro resembles the iPhone 15 Pro in some regards, it appears that Apple has made some fundamental changes in several areas.

For those who find the plain white look of the second-generation Apple Pencil too boring, ColorWare now offers a model based on a classic HB pencil. It looks stylish, but ColorWare warns against accidentally sharpening the stylus.

The latest development in the war between Apple and Epic Games sees the tech giant close down Epic's developer account. Supposedly the reason for the account closure? A spicy social media post by Epic CEO, Tim Sweeney, on X (formerly Twitter), among others.

Giving credibility to previous rumors, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple is working on a 20.3-inch foldable MacBook. This new device will resemble a blend between the Mac and iPad, and it may change the typical physical keyboard to a purely touch-based interface. However, while this presents interesting prospects, ensuring the reliability of a software-based input system remains a critical consideration.

Only available for podcasts in four languages, namely English, French, Spanish, and German, transcripts do not come with translations. Users can enjoy this new feature on iPhone and iPad devices running at least iOS and iPadOS 17.4. New episodes will get transcripts first, while older ones will get them in time.

Apple has released iOS 17.4 for the iPhone Xs and all newer iPhones, introducing some massive changes for Europe in particular. For EU users, apps can now be downloaded from other stores and browsers can now finally use engines other than Apple WebKit. All users will receive a number of changes in the form of bug fixes and improvements.

Apple recently released an updated MacBook Air lineup featuring the new M3 SoC, resulting in notable performance improvements over the previous M2 model. Initial benchmarks show significant gains, with the M3-powered Air outperforming its predecessor by approximately 18% in multi-core and 21% in single-core tests.

The European Commission has imposed a fine on Apple totalling €1.8 billion for alleged 'abusive App store practices'. Not only does Apple plan to appeal, but it has aimed its sights at Spotify in a blistering response.

Of all companies currently in the smartphone chipset game (which include Apple, Google and Unisoc), MediaTek was found to have shipped the most units in the last quarter of 2023 (4Q2023) and to have had one of the best rates of year-on-year (YoY) growth, with rivals such as Qualcomm and Samsung flat or flagging by comparison. Then again, the Taiwanese OEM was not the one that made the most money in that time.

Apple has confirmed that the cheapest MacBook Pro 14 will soon be upgraded to support two external displays, a feature that has escaped it since its launch last year. The update will bring the 14-inch laptop into line with the latest MacBook Air 13 and MacBook Air 15 that Apple released yesterday.

Along with the MacBook Air with Apple M3, the Cupertino-based technology giant has also presented a brand new Hermès strap for the Apple Watch and introduced new colors to existing iPhone and Apple Watch accessories.

Apple slyly announced two new MacBook Air variants. The evergreen 13-inch version and the more recent 15-inch variant now come with Apple's newest M3 chip sans a price increase. Both laptops are up for pre-order now on Apple's website.

The future of the comparatively cheaper iPhone SE series has been the topic of discussion for some time with occasionally contradictory rumors and leaks. Now, concrete clues of an iPhone SE 4 have once again emerged, suggesting that a redesign in the style of current iPhone models will soon find its way into the next iPhone SE.

Update: Launch expected this week. The usual time for Apple's first launch event of the year is approaching, but according to new information obtained by Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman, there will be no spring launch event in 2024. However, that doesn't mean that Apple has nothing to announce: there are likely to be plenty of new iPads, a few accessories and two new MacBooks in the pipeline close to iOS 17.4.

Apple has just uncharacteristically given up on its foray into automobiles, as reported earlier. Its inaugural Car had once been touted as capable of shooting straight to the forefront of the most advanced class of vehicles possible. Now, however, more potential insight into the reasons why the Cupertino giant failed where other OEMs such as Xiaomi prevailed has emerged.

With AI-centric devices already here, and the first AI-centric smartphone concepts already being promoted at CES 2024 this past week, how long will Apple be able to maintain its iPhone status-quo?

The 15-inch MacBook Air M2 has hit one of its lowest price points yet as Best Buy is selling the intriguing configuration with 16GB RAM and a large 1TB SSD for just $1,499 instead of the regular MSRP of $1,899.