Apple News
Apple’s MacBook Neo is the perfect AI computer
Apple’s MacBook Neo is exceptionally well-equipped for the very thing tech companies obsess over these days: AI. With its powerful Neural Engine and optimized on-device processing, it delivers fast, efficient Apple Intelligence features that outperform many higher-priced competitors in real-world AI workloads.
It’s not that other Macs are less capable. There is, however, something magical about the idea that a $600 entry-level Mac is as capable as a $4000 MacBook Pro, or $6000 Mac Studio, when it comes to the most intensive computing that any of us do today.
That, of course, is because most AI computing happens in the cloud, not on your computer. That means that the limiting factor isn’t memory, storage, or how fast your processor is. No, the limiting factor is how well you’re able to get your AI tool of choice to understand what you want. Oh, and I guess the speed of your internet connection.
That means that a MacBook Neo, with an A18 Pro, 8GB of memory, and a 256 GB or 512 GB SSD, will be just fine to run the Mac ChatGPT app or run Gemini in Safari. And that changes what your laptop actually needs to be.
With the MacBook Neo, a high school student, freelancer, or small business owner can now own hardware that gives them full access to the best AI tools in the world.
MacDailyNews Note: More info about Apple’s rather amazing MacBook Neo can be found here.
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Broadcasters urge EU to tighten rules for Apple, other Big Tech firms in smart TV standoff
Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung’s smart TVs and virtual assistants should fall under the EU’s toughest tech rules because of their growing market power, the world’s largest broadcasters told EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera on Monday, Reuters reports.
The call by the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT) — whose members include Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky, and TF1 Groupe — underscores the intensifying battle between broadcasters and Big Tech for market share in a lucrative industry.
Reuters:
Android TV, which increased its market share from 16% to 23% from 2019 to 2024, Amazon Fire OS whose market share rose from 5% to 12% in the same period and Samsung’s Tizen OS with its 24% market share should be designated as gatekeepers under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the broadcasters said, citing data from a 2025 market study.
“A limited number of operators are therefore gaining growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses by controlling access to audiences and content distribution,” ACT said in a letter to Ribera seen by Reuters, the first public broadside from broadcasters against Big Tech.
The broadcasters also voiced concerns about virtual assistants, the most well known of which are Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri, while OpenAI entered the field last year with a beta feature called Tasks for its AI chatbot ChatGPT.
The European Commission has yet to label any virtual assistants as gatekeepers under the DMA.
“The lack of designation of virtual assistants creates a regulatory void, allowing powerful AI assistants to become de facto gatekeepers for media content through mobile phones, smart speakers and in-car radio infotainment services, without being subject to DMA obligations,” the broadcasters said.
They urged Ribera to subject smart TVs and virtual assistants to the DMA on the basis of qualitative criteria even if they do not meet the quantitative benchmarks which are more than 45 million monthly active users and 75 billion euros ($87 billion) in market capitalisation.
MacDailyNews Take: Can’t compete? Litigate and or over regulate.
The European Union is an over-regulated, slow-motion train wreck. The single biggest reason why the EU doesn’t innovate because of onerous, stifling EU red tape.
The European Union arose because the Europeans couldn’t compete on their own with the rest of the world, so they each lined up to surrender their national sovereignty, unique cultures, and dignity for an undemocratic, opaque, wasteful, bloated, bureaucratic quasi-governmental blob – and, even with the EU’s thumbs all over the scale, they still can’t compete. — MacDailyNews, March 4, 2024
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Apple set to pocket $1 billion+ from rival AI apps in 2026 despite Siri issues
While tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta pour hundreds of billions into building massive AI infrastructure and frontier models, Apple appears to be quietly winning in a different way: by collecting hefty fees from the very rivals trying to dominate the space.
According to recent analysis from AppMagic and reporting by The Wall Street Journal, generative AI apps paid Apple nearly $900 million in App Store fees in 2025 alone. Projections now indicate that figure will surpass $1 billion in 2026, driven primarily by in-app subscription commissions.
Apple charges developers a standard 30% cut on subscription fees in the first year (dropping to 15% in subsequent years) when users sign up for premium AI services through apps on iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. The apps themselves — such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok — are typically free to download, but the revenue flows from users upgrading to paid tiers for advanced features, faster responses, or higher usage limits.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains the dominant contributor, accounting for approximately 75% of the generative AI commission revenue on the App Store last year. xAI’s Grok trailed far behind at about 5%, with other tools like Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini making up the rest. Monthly subscription fees for these services often range from $20 upward, meaning Apple’s cut adds up quickly across millions of users.
The revenue surge follows a sharp upward trajectory: App Store fees from generative AI apps rose from around $35 million in January 2025 to a peak of $101 million in August 2025, before moderating slightly due to fluctuating download trends.
This passive income stream stands in stark contrast to the aggressive spending by Apple’s competitors. The so-called “hyperscalers” are collectively investing upwards of $700 billion this year in AI data centers, chips, and model training — expenses that have raised investor concerns about profitability in the short term.
Meanwhile, Apple benefits from its massive installed base of over 2.5 billion active devices, which serve as the primary gateway for many consumers to access these third-party AI tools. Even as Apple Intelligence continues to roll out and mature, the ecosystem still funnels significant traffic and subscriptions to external providers.
Critics have long pointed to Apple’s perceived lag in generative AI development, particularly with Siri remaining less capable than modern chatbots in certain tasks. However, the App Store model turns that perceived weakness into a financial strength: Apple doesn’t need to build the best AI model to profit from the category, it simply needs to control the platform where users discover and pay for them.
As discussions around AI monetization heat up, this dynamic underscores Apple’s enduring advantage as a “landlord” in the mobile ecosystem. While rivals burn cash to build the technology, Apple collects rent on the distribution.For now, the strategy appears to be paying off handsomely, providing a buffer for investors amid broader competitive pressures in hardware and services. Apple’s stock has held steady in recent trading, reflecting confidence in the resilience of its high-margin App Store business, even in the fast-evolving world of artificial intelligence.
MacDailyNews Take: Regarding LLM Siri:
A little birdie sings us very positive songs regarding Apple’s all-new next-gen Siri. – MacDailyNews, September 26, 2025
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Apple fends off renewed Apple Watch import ban attempt
In a significant development for Apple and its popular Apple Watch wearable lineup, a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) administrative law judge has issued a preliminary ruling that the company’s redesigned Apple Watch models do not infringe on patents held by medical technology firm Masimo Corporation. The decision rejects Masimo’s latest attempt to impose a renewed import ban on the smartwatches, providing Apple with a key legal reprieve in a years-long battle over blood-oxygen monitoring technology.
The ruling, made public on Thursday, March 19, 2026, by Administrative Law Judge Monica Bhattacharyya, found no direct infringement by Apple’s “Redesign 2 Watch” on Masimo’s patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 10,912,502 and 10,945,648), which relate to light-based pulse oximetry. The judge also determined that Apple does not induce infringement when the redesigned watch is paired with an iPhone for use in the United States.
This preliminary determination stems from an enforcement proceeding initiated after Apple modified its Apple Watch following a 2023 ITC import ban on certain models, including the Series 9 and Ultra 2. That earlier ban, which took effect after presidential review, forced Apple to disable or remove the blood-oxygen feature in U.S.-sold devices to resume imports. Apple later reintroduced an updated version of the technology in August 2025, with approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, prompting Masimo to challenge the workaround as still violative.
The ITC judge’s finding marks a win for Apple in this specific enforcement action, allowing the tech giant to continue importing and selling its current Apple Watch models without immediate disruption. However, the decision is preliminary—the full ITC commission must review and decide whether to affirm it. A final ruling could come in the coming months.
Adding complexity to the saga, on the same day as the ITC preliminary ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a separate precedential opinion affirming the ITC’s original 2023 infringement findings against Apple’s unmodified watches. The appeals court found no error in the commission’s determinations on domestic industry, patent validity, or infringement, upholding the basis for the prior ban. Despite this affirmation of the historical ruling, Apple’s redesigned implementation appears to have successfully circumvented the issues, as noted by legal analysts and reports from sources like Reuters and Bloomberg Law.
The dispute dates back several years, originating from allegations that Apple incorporated Masimo’s patented pulse oximetry technology (used for non-invasive blood-oxygen level measurements) without permission. Masimo, known for its medical monitoring devices, has argued that Apple’s feature infringes its intellectual property, while Apple has maintained that its designs are independent and that the case represents an attempt to hinder competition.
Apple representatives have described Masimo’s efforts as meritless, and the company has continued to innovate in health features on the Apple Watch, which remains a cornerstone of its wearable ecosystem. Masimo has not immediately commented on the latest developments, but the company could seek further appeals or adjustments in the ongoing litigation.
For consumers and investors, the preliminary ruling provides reassurance that Apple Watch availability in the U.S. market is unlikely to face near-term interruptions.
The full ITC review will be closely watched, as it could set precedents for how redesigned products are evaluated in section 337 trade investigations.
MacDailyNews Take: In the meantime, Apple continues to dominate the smartwatch category, with the Apple Watch serving millions of users for fitness tracking, health monitoring, and everyday connectivity.
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Apple announces Martin Scorsese thriller ‘What Happens at Night’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence
Apple TV has officially announced the start of principal photography on a major new original film, “What Happens at Night,” directed by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and starring Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
The project, an Apple Original Film, reunites Scorsese with DiCaprio after their acclaimed collaboration on “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which garnered 10 Oscar nominations. Scorsese has become a frequent collaborator with Apple, including recent appearances in projects like the Keanu Reeves comedy “Outcome” and various documentaries.
Adapted from Peter Cameron’s novel of the same name, “What Happens at Night” is a dream-like psychological thriller. The story follows an unnamed American couple (portrayed by DiCaprio and Lawrence) who travel to a strange, snowy European city to adopt a baby. The wife is battling cancer and becomes desperately weak during the journey, raising concerns that her illness could prevent the orphanage from releasing the child. Upon arrival, they check into the cavernous and eerily deserted Borgarfjaroasysla Grand Imperial Hotel, where the bar is always open and the lobby is populated by an enigmatic cast of characters — including an ancient, flamboyant chanteuse, a debauched businessman, and an enigmatic faith healer. As the couple struggles to claim their baby in this baffling, frozen world where nothing is as it seems, deeper uncertainties surface about their marriage, their identities, and life itself.
The supporting cast features an impressive lineup including Patricia Clarkson, Jared Harris, Mads Mikkelsen, and Welker White.
Apple TV confirmed the film’s existence and production status on March 19, 2026, via its official @AppleTV account on X, sharing the first-look image of DiCaprio and Lawrence in character:
A new Martin Scorsese film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.#WhatHappensAtNight is now in production. pic.twitter.com/1hGlPomsCd
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) March 19, 2026
The photo depicts the couple walking in the snow in front of a frost-covered vehicle, capturing the story’s wintry, mysterious atmosphere.
Principal photography is underway, with reports indicating filming will continue through May 2026. While no official release date has been set, the production schedule suggests a possible premiere as early as fall 2026, potentially positioning it as a contender for the 2027 awards season.
MacDailyNews Take: Another major talent-packed film for Apple!
Those who can wrap their heads around Apple’s massive cash mountain and the company’s unparalleled ability to generate cash can clearly see who the winner will be. The most talented producers, writers, directors, editors, actors, etc. are attracted to exactly what Apple has and makes in vast abundance: Cash. The king.
Like bears to honey, it’s happening already. — MacDailyNews, January 3, 2018
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Tim Cook to exit as Apple CEO this year? Here’s what prediction market is saying
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday sidestepped questions about his retirement and reaffirmed that he will continue to lead the company. This comes amid rumors that Cook is planning on stepping down in 2026. Here’s what prediction market is saying.
Prediction markets are betting on which CEO will exit before 2027, including Cook.
Polymarket, a Polygon based prediction platform that allows users to wager on an outcome using the USDC stablecoin is currently betting on a contract “Which CEOs will be out before 2027?”
Over $440,000 have been bet on the contract so far… Bettors have placed a 32% probability on the Apple chief exiting before 2027, down by 45%.
Other CEOs that the contract is betting on include Amazon.com Inc.’s Andy Jassy, Alphabet Inc.’s Sundar Pichai, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, among others.
MacDailyNews Take: We wouldn’t bet Cook exiting his Apple CEO position before 2027.
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TechFest: Computer History Museum continues Apple’s 50th anniversary celebration
Following last week’s excellent Apple@50 panel, the Computer History Museum has announced “TechFest: Happy Birthday, Apple,” to be held on March 28th.
Last week, the Computer History Museum held a very interesting panel moderated by David Pogue, and featuring several veteran Apple executives, including former Apple CEO John Sculley, Senior Employee Chris Espinosa, former Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering Jon Rubinstein, and former Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Avie Tenevian.
The panel is well worth a watch below, also featuring a few surprise appearances from figures who played key roles in Apple’s history over the years:
Now, the CHM is inviting Apple fans to “TechFest: Happy Birthday, Apple” on March 28, which will feature Daniel Kottke, Apple employee number 12, who helped Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak assemble the first Apple I in 1976.
MacDailyNews Note: More into about “TechFest: Happy Birthday, Apple” here.
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Amazon is developing a new smartphone with shopping at its core
In 2014, Amazon launched its Fire Phone, a smartphone personally overseen by founder Jeff Bezos that aimed to challenge Apple and Samsung in the crowded market. The device proved to be one of the company’s most notable failures, discontinued after just over a year with massive losses.
Now, more than a decade later, Amazon is reportedly ramping up efforts on a new smartphone initiative, signaling a potential return to the hardware category it largely abandoned following the Fire Phone debacle. Details remain limited, but the move suggests the e-commerce giant sees fresh opportunities in differentiated mobile devices.
The latest effort, known internally as “Transformer,” is being developed within its devices and services unit, according to four people familiar with the matter. The phone is seen as a potential mobile personalization device that can sync with home voice assistant Alexa and serve as a conduit to Amazon customers throughout the day, the people said.
The initiative is the newest chapter in a years-long effort to bring to market Bezos’ long-held vision, opens new tab of a ubiquitous voice-driven computing assistant akin to the voice-controlled computer in science fiction series “Star Trek.”
Bezos had envisioned a smartphone that had shopping at its core and could take on Apple by offering shipping convenience and discounts through the Prime membership. Along the way, Amazon could gain a wealth of new data about users only available through mobile phones combined with purchase history and content preferences.
Amazon’s effort to develop a new smartphone has not been previously reported. Reuters could not determine some details, such as the anticipated price of the phone, the revenue Amazon hopes to generate, or the financial commitment Amazon has made to the project.
MacDailyNews Take: Unless they just give them away with free/very low priced plans, this seems like a nonstarter.
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George R. R. Martin: Apple TV series ‘Murderbot’ is a great sci-fi adaptation
George R. R. Martin excels at creating intricate characters and immersive fictional worlds, yet he’s equally outspoken when sharing his views online. An avid consumer of art in addition to producing it himself, he offers bold opinions across the board. In July 2025, he posted on his “Not a Blog” about the Apple TV+ sci-fi series “Murderbot,” and it’s clear the quirky show won him over.
There is a whole lot to love about “Murderbot,” based on “The Murderbot Diaries” series of books by Martha Wells. A stellar cast and witty scripts helped make the adaptation a success, and “Murderbot” was one of the best television shows of 2025. The main character’s acerbic wit and the show’s sci-fi elements seem right up Martin’s alley, given his own works, and honestly, it’s kind of great knowing the opinionated author is part of the “Murderbot” fandom.
Read More: https://www.slashfilm.com/2121378/george-rr-martin-apple-tv-sci-fi-series-murderbot-review/
“Murderbot” follows a security android that becomes fully sentient and takes the name Murderbot. Played by Alexander Skarsgård, Murderbot is an awkward oddity who still wants to protect the humans in his charge despite finding them incredibly annoying. Murderbot is one of the most relatable androids in all of media, as he would rather watch TV serials than work — look, there is a reason I made watching TV a part of my job!
While critics were appreciative of the fact that “Murderbot” finally allows Skarsgård to get as weird as he wants and highlighted that “Murderbot” tells a believable story in an unbelievable world, George R. R. Martin’s praise for the series was rather simple. He wrote:
“The Murderbot stories are always a lot of fun, and the TV show did them justice. I look forward to another series.”
MacDailyNews Take: Murderbot is fast and fun. Recommended!
Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook rejects political labels, embraces President Trump’s ‘Made in America’ manufacturing push
In a delicate high-stakes maneuver, Apple CEO Tim Cook is carefully avoiding political labels while strongly aligning his company with President Trump’s “America First” economic priorities.
Emphasizing Apple’s massive $600 billion commitment to U.S. operations and manufacturing over the next four years, Cook justified his close engagement with the White House as essential for advancing pro-growth, domestic-focused policies—even amid sharp criticism from the left regarding his attendance at a private screening of the “Melania” documentary about the First Lady.
“You were at the inauguration last year, just feet from the president. You gave him a nice gift at the White House. You were at the screening of ‘Melania,’ the documentary for the First Lady. There’s so many people [who] say you’re really close to the administration, and you’re being criticized for that,” Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan remarked during an interview centered on Apple’s 50th anniversary.
“Well, what I do is I interact on policy, not politics,” Cook replied. “I’m not a political person on either side. I’m not political. And so I’m kind of straight down the middle, and I focus on policy,” the CEO continued. “And so, I’m very pleased that the president and the administration is accessible to talk about policy.”
Kristen Altus for FOXBusiness:
Apple has openly been collaborating with President Donald Trump to reshore critical supply chains and move away from overseas reliance, aiming to secure a made-in-America future that hedges against global trade volatility. Cook further discussed the leading tech company’s $600 billion commitment to the domestic economy over the next four years.
“If you looked at your iPhone today, the front cover and the back cover, all of that glass will be coming out of Kentucky by the end of this year. The engine, the system on a chip, we’re gonna make over 100 million of those in Arizona this year,” Cook said.
“We’re going to make over 20 billion semiconductors in the U.S. And again, this is not only for the U.S. market-sold iPhones, it’s for worldwide iPhones,” he added. “We’ve invested more in the U.S. Absolutely. We’re a very proud American company and want to do as much here as we possibly can.”
MacDailyNews Notee: Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses the company on Good Morning America on March 17, 2026:
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iPhone 17e teardown shows how to add MagSafe to iPhone 16e
Just like every new Apple device, the iFixit team has performed a full teardown on the iPhone 17e. The standout discovery? You can upgrade your iPhone 16e to include MagSafe support simply by swapping in the iPhone 17e’s back panel.
The two models share nearly identical designs, making their rear panels interchangeable. While the upgraded 16e won’t gain the full MagSafe animations or the signature “thunk” sound (due to software differences), it should still enable more reliable magnetic attachment and potentially faster wireless charging.
ajesh Pandey for Cult of Mac:
Besides the faster chip, the other key upgrade on the iPhone 17e is MagSafe support. Thanks to the built-in circular magnets, the phone can seamlessly attach to magnetic accessories without a case.
With minimal design differences between the iPhone 17e and iPhone 16e, iFixit’s teardown found that Apple has largely stuck to the same internal design. That means the phone is still relatively repairable, featuring a dual-entry design. So, you can access the phone’s innards from the front or back, depending on the repair you need to carry out.
In its teardown, the iFixit team discovered that most of the components between the iPhone 17e and iPhone 16e are swappable.
“The weird part came when we started swapping parts. Nearly everything inside the 17e appears to be cross-compatible with the 16e. In our testing, you could transplant a 16e logic board into a 17e and let Repair Assistant sort out the new hardware,” says the iFixit teardown team.
This even includes the MagSafe back panel from the iPhone 17e, which can be installed on the iPhone 16e…
In iFixit’s testing, the iPhone 16e with the iPhone 17e’s MagSafe back panel pulled 10W of power wirelessly.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote upn the releases of iPhone 17e, “The addition of MagSafe (which the previous iPhone 16e should’ve offered) will be among the iPhone 17e’s biggest selling points.”
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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Apple News bias: Stories from conservative outlets rise to almost 2% in February from 0%
Less than 2% of the top stories featured on Apple News in February came from right-leaning outlets—a minimal uptick from 0% in January that a conservative watchdog group dismisses as mere “damage control” amid threats of federal action over alleged media bias.
As The New York Post exclusively reported, Apple faced significant backlash last month after a Media Research Center analysis revealed that not a single article from a conservative outlet appeared among the top stories on its widely used news app during January.
Thomas Barrabi for The New York Post:
In a Feb. 11 letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson formally warned that Apple could be violating federal consumer protection laws against “unfair or deceptive acts or practices.” Apple News finally featured an article by a right-leaning outlet on Feb 12 — its first in 100 days — when it promoted a Fox News story about the death of actor James Van Der Beek.
Out of 560 stories tracked during a new analysis by MRC in February, just eight of them, or 1.4%, were written by conservative outlets. Meanwhile, 400 articles, or 75%, were written by outlets classified as left-leaning. The remaining 152 articles were either from outlets rated as centrist or outlets that were not assigned a bias classification, like small local newspapers.
“2% is not progress. It’s damage control,” MRC president David Bozell said in a statement. “If public exposure and a federal inquiry only yield a modest adjustment, that suggests the bias we documented was deeply embedded.”
“Apple News should not require public pressure to reflect viewpoint diversity,” Bozell added. “This is not about token inclusion. It’s about whether one of the most powerful information gatekeepers in the country operates fairly.”
The watchdog’s researchers relied on ratings compiled by AllSides, a nonpartisan organization that uses a multipartisan panel of experts — with two members from the left, two from the center and two from the right — who are trained to spot media bias. It also conducts blind surveys of ordinary Americans, then averages both sets of results to come up with a rating.
MacDailyNews Take: Lauren Kern is the Editor-in-Chief of Apple News at Apple, the role that directly leads the curation team. Kern has held this position since joining Apple in 2017 as the first person in the role. Apple emphasizes human editors over pure algorithms for key curation decisions. Kern reports up through Apple’s services organization, ultimately to Eddy Cue (Senior Vice President of Services), who oversees Apple News.
Kern was previously Executive Editor at New York magazine and ,m prior to that, the Deputy Editor of The New York Times Magazine (from 2010 to 2014). Which ought to tell you all you need to know about why Apple News, out of the box, leans left.
On the day Lauren Kern was named first Editor-in-Chief of Apple News, we wrote, “Interesting choice that could open Apple News up for some additional criticism.”
Yup, our crystal ball is still flawless!
Who determines what’s “real” news and what’s “fake?” Cook seems to want “technology companies'” idea of what’s “real” to be “ingrained in the schools” and “ingrained in the public.” Technology companies, again, who donated 99% of their political dollars to one party in the last U.S. Presidential election.
If this is really what Cook desires then… Wow. Just wow. – MacDailyNews, February 11, 2017
So, if TIME Canada puts the next-gen iPhone on their cover a day before Apple’s unveiling or some website criticizes Apple’s software quality, where do those stories go in Apple’s News app? Do they even show up at all?
Or how about positive news articles involving politicians with whom Tim Cook & Co. do not agree/actively oppose? – MacDailyNews, June 15, 2015
As always, readers of “news” need to consider the sources and interpret what they are are being told accordingly. The more disparate sources you can find, the better. And we don’t mean different newspaper, network, website brands that are all owned by the same conglomerate. Determining the actual ownership of your “news” sources is an investment that requires a bit of time, but it is very enlightening. – MacDailyNews, June 17, 2015
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Apple warns iPhone users to update iOS to thwart hacking campaigns
Apple is urging iPhone users to update their devices following new cybersecurity research revealing that Russian intelligence-linked actors, Chinese cybercriminals, and other threat groups have deployed sophisticated exploit kits nicknamed DarkSword and Coruna to compromise phones running outdated versions of iOS.
The tools — detailed this month in coordinated reports from Google Threat Intelligence Group, iVerify, and Lookout — function as powerful exploit chains that grant attackers deep remote access, enabling them to extract extensive personal data from victims’ devices, including messages, call logs, location history, credentials, browser data, and even cryptocurrency wallet contents.
An Apple spokesperson emphasized that these exploits only affect devices on older iOS versions, with the vulnerabilities fully addressed in recent updates (such as iOS 26.3 and later patches). Keeping software current remains the most effective defense for maintaining device security.
On Wednesday, iVerify wrote in a news release: “DarkSword appears to be a surveillance and intelligence gathering tool, blanket pulling data including Wi-Fi passwords, text messages, call history, root location history, browser history, SIM card and cellular data as well as health, notes and calendar databases.”
An Apple spokesperson, Sarah O’Rourke, said that the two tools can only work against devices running older versions of Apple’s operating system, reinforcing the need for people to regularly apply updates.
“Keeping software up to date remains the single most important thing users can do to maintain the high security of their Apple devices,” she said.
Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 26, was released in September and protects users against both hacking campaigns, according to the company. Last week, Apple made the unusual move of releasing a special update for iPhone users with older devices that cannot handle fully upgrading to iOS 26, specifically to block hackers from using the hacking tools…
Hacking an iPhone is still a significant technical challenge, and the two campaigns rely on a complicated chain of hacks that work in tandem to take over a phone.
MacDailyNews Take: To update iOS on your iPhone, goto Settings > General > Software Update. Your current iOS version will display, along with any available updates. If an update is available, tap Download and Install (or Install Now if already downloaded).
Info about the security content of iOS 15.8.7 and iPadOS 15.8.7 via Apple Support is here.
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Apple’s China smartphone sales jump 23% as overall market fell 4% to start 2026
Apple reported a robust 23% year-on-year increase in iPhone sales in China during the first nine weeks of 2026, significantly outperforming the broader market amid a general downturn. While several Android manufacturers raised prices due to elevated memory chip costs, Apple bucked the trend.
Overall smartphone shipments in China declined 4% year-on-year during the January-to-early-March period, according to Counterpoint Research data released Thursday. Government subsidies introduced at the beginning of the year failed to meaningfully boost lackluster consumer demand.
Reuters:
The U.S. tech giant’s tight grip on its supply chain leaves it better placed than rivals to absorb the impact of soaring memory chip costs, and it is expected to hold the line on pricing while competitors raise theirs, the report said.
“Apple is unlikely to follow suit, instead absorbing part of the margin pressure and using the situation to potentially expand its market share,” Counterpoint said.
Amid the rising costs of memory chips, Chinese Android phone makers OPPO and vivo have announced price increases on some existing models to take effect this month, a move Counterpoint said is partly designed to gauge consumer reaction ahead of new product launches and inform pricing for next-generation handsets.
Counterpoint expects the Chinese market to stay under pressure from March through May, with some relief in early June when China’s mid-year “618” shopping festival typically unleashes a wave of promotional activity.
MacDailyNews Take: The iPhone wannabes are, indeed, also-rans.
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Apple iPhone dominates North America, Europe, China, and Asia-Pacific
Apple dominated the list of highest-shipping models globally in 2025, according to Counterpoint Research’s “Market Monitor Monthly Shipment Tracker, 2025.” Apple’s iPhone lead strongly in North America (NAM), Europe, and Asia-Pacific (APAC), while Samsung entry- to mid-tier models led in Latin America (LATAM) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA).
In NAM, Apple captured four out of five positions with the iPhone 16 5G leading the market. Samsung’s Galaxy A16 5G was the only Android device to feature among the top five, driven by volumes in the prepaid segment.
Within APAC (including China), Apple secured all the top five positions. From a volume perspective, APAC is important as it captured half of the global smartphone shipments in 2025. Despite regional competition, Apple’s growth in China was driven by a strong upgrade cycle, with Apple being the fastest growing among the top five brands. The iPhone 16 Pro Max 5G led in China – the only geography where a Pro Max device was leading for Apple. This highlights the growing premiumization in the China market with a strong preference for higher-tier devices.
Apple’s volume growth in APAC (excluding China) was driven by countries like Japan and India. Notably, China, Japan, and India are the biggest markets for Apple outside the USA. Additionally, the iPhone 16e was also featured among the top five in APAC excluding China, driven by its popularity in Japan, which accounted for over one-third of its global volume in 2025.
Regional dynamics in LATAM and MEA were different from the other global markets as all the top five models in the regions were 4G. Overall more than 60% of devices shipped in both the regions in 2025 were 4G smartphones. Samsung was the number one brand in both the markets with its A-series models, the Galaxy A06 and A16, capturing the top two positions, reflecting the brand’s strong entry- to mid-tier portfolio. Xiaomi was also featured among the top five, with the Redmi 14C, driven by its strong value proposition. Motorola’s Moto G05 ranked among the top five shipped smartphone models in LATAM, while in MEA, TECNO’s Pop 9 and Camon 40 were also featured, driven by strong regional presence.
In Europe, the iPhone and Galaxy S series held the top five positions. This is largely a reflection of the Western Europe market driven by the premium segment, which had an over 60% share of total smartphone shipments in Europe in 2025.
MacDailyNews Take: Nothing says “I want an iPhone but my wallet said no” quite like rocking a low-end iPhone knockoff from a South Korean dishwasher maker.
Apple’s premium iPhone continues to dominate, proving once again that true innovation and status don’t come from copycat hardware running fragmented software.
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‘Grey’s Anatomy’ alum Jesse Williams joins season 5 of Apple TV’s ‘The Morning Show’
The fifth season of Apple TV+’s acclaimed, multi-award-winning series “The Morning Show” has added Jesse Williams to its cast. He will portray Vernon, UBN’s newest Head of News, a brash, provocative figure renowned for his skill in captivating and retaining viewers.
Williams joins the returning ensemble, which includes Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, two-time Emmy winner Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Nicole Beharie, and Emmy winner Jon Hamm, as well as recently announced cast member Jeff Daniels.
Anthony D’Alessandro for Deadline:
Season four of The Morning Show” took place in spring 2024, almost two years after the events of season three. With the UBA-NBN merger complete, the newsroom must grapple with newfound responsibility, hidden motives and the elusive nature of truth in a polarized America. In a world rife with deepfakes, conspiracy theories and corporate cover-ups — who can you trust? And how can you know what’s actually real?
The third season of The Morning Show received 16 Emmy Award nominations and Crudup landed his second Emmy Award win for his turn as Cory Ellison in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category. Crudup also won a Critics Choice Award for his portrayal of Ellison in the show’s third season. Season three was honored by the American Film Institute on its prestigious list of the 10 best television programs of 2023.
Williams is known for playing Dr. Jackson Avery in 277 episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy.” His Broadway debut as Darren Lemming in “Take Me Out” scored him a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actor – Play in 2022.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Book publisher Chicken Soup for the Soul sues Apple, other tech companies over AI training
Book publisher Chicken Soup for the Soul sued several Big Tech companies in California federal court late Tuesday for allegedly misusing its content to train their artificial intelligence systems.
The publisher said that Apple, Google, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity AI, and Elon Musk’s xAI used pirated copies of its books to teach their chatbots to respond to human prompts.
Reuters:
The publisher’s complaint is unique in targeting several tech juggernauts at once. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys at law firm Freedman Normand Friedland, who have brought a similar ongoing case against Big Tech companies on behalf of writer John Carreyrou and other authors.
“The action holds major AI companies accountable for exploiting hundreds of copyrighted works, sourced from illicit databases, without permission,” Freedman Normand Friedland partner Kyle Roche said in a statement. “The message is clear: companies cannot build billion-dollar technologies on stolen creative expression.”
Chicken Soup for the Soul publishes a series of inspirational books by the same name that have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide. Its lawsuit said that the companies downloaded bootleg copies of its books from “shadow libraries” to use in AI training.
MacDailyNews Take: Trained on Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Now ChatGPT thinks the secret to happiness is fowl broth and bad life advice.
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Researchers uncover iPhone spyware capable of penetrating millions of devices
Researchers from iVerify, Lookout, and Google revealed on Wednesday that a sophisticated spyware exploit known as Darksword was embedded on dozens of Ukrainian websites in recent weeks.
This powerful tool can silently penetrate and extract sensitive information from potentially hundreds of millions of iPhone models running vulnerable versions of iOS (specifically iOS 18.4 through 18.6.2, released between March and August 2025). Infection occurs simply by visiting one of the compromised sites, enabling attackers to steal personal data, message histories, photos, passwords, and even cryptocurrency wallet details.
The finding marks the second major discovery of advanced iPhone-targeting spyware this month, following the earlier exposure of the Coruna exploit kit. Both campaigns, often linked to suspected Russian state-sponsored actors targeting Ukraine, highlight a growing and thriving underground market for high-end malware capable of breaching Apple’s mobile ecosystem to harvest valuable data and crypto assets. Apple has since patched many related vulnerabilities in newer iOS updates, but millions of devices on older versions remain at risk.
Google said its researchers observed multiple commercial vendors and suspected state-linked hackers using Darksword in distinct campaigns against targets in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia and Ukraine.
The campaigns in Malaysia and Turkey were associated with Turkish commercial surveillance vendor PARS Defense, Google said. PARS Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
According to iVerify and Lookout, researchers discovered the malware being delivered to iPhone users running iOS versions 18.4 to 18.6.2 who visited one of dozens of Ukrainian websites. Apple released those versions between March and August 2025.
It’s not clear how many iPhones are vulnerable to Darksword attacks, the researchers said. Apple has released multiple fixes for the underlying bugs attackers used to make Darksword. Nevertheless, many people don’t install iPhone updates, and an estimated 220 million to 270 million iPhones still run exposed iOS versions, according to iVerify and Lookout, which based the figures on public estimates. Google did not share its findings ahead of Wednesday’s report.
MacDailyNews Take: Keep your devices updated to the latest operating system versions.
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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iPhone 18 Pro models expected to get exclusive camera upgrade
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just six months from launch, and fresh rumors point to at least one significant camera upgrade reserved exclusively for the Pro models.
Key highlights from the latest reports include a variable aperture feature for the main (wide) rear camera on the iPhone 18 Pro lineup. This would mark a first for iPhones, allowing dynamic adjustment of light intake to the sensor—improving exposure control (especially in video), reducing overexposure in bright scenes, and offering better creative control over depth of field and background blur.
Ryan Christoffel fro 9to5Mac:
Even though Apple’s iPhone 18 line could consist of six new models, the Telephoto camera is expected to remain limited to Pro models. iPhone Fold, iPhone Air 2, and iPhone 18’s second rear cameras will all reportedly be Ultra Wide.
iPhone 17 Pro upgraded the Telephoto camera with a new 48MP sensor with 8x zoom, but now the iPhone 18 Pro’s larger aperture will push the camera further.
The current Telephoto camera performs great when the sun is out, but struggles in darker environments.
MacDailyNews Take: A Telephoto camera that performs well in low light would be an excellent improvement for the iPhone 18 Pro and flagship iPhone 18 Pro Max!
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AirPods Max 3 rumored for 2027 with lighter-weight design
This week, Apple finally unveiled the proper successor to its original over-ear headphones: AirPods Max 2. Powered by the H2 chip, the new model brings significantly improved active noise cancellation (up to 1.5x more effective), enhanced sound quality, and intelligent features like Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, and Live Translation—features that were previously absent from the lineup.
If you’re considering an upgrade from the 2020 originals (or debating whether to buy now), keep in mind that another iteration could arrive sooner than you think. Last spring, reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is developing a lighter-weight version of AirPods Max, slated to enter mass production in 2027. This suggests a more substantial redesign focused on reducing the headphones’ notable heft could follow relatively soon after the current refresh.
Ryan Christoffel for 9to5Mac:
It’s always possible Apple’s timeline has been pushed back. But since AirPods Max 2 don’t change anything about the design, it seems plausible that a new ‘AirPods Max 3’ model could still be planned for next year with a design refresh.
It would be unusual for Apple to have another AirPods Max model ready so soon. But the company is also expected to launch a high-end AirPods Pro model this year, even though AirPods Pro 3 just arrived last fall.
MacDailyNews Take: Life’s too short to wait 18 months or so for a rumor to materialize. That’d be 18 months of missing out on AirPods Max goodness!
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