Apple News
iPhone 18 Pro models said to get ‘transparent’ MagSafe design; 2nm A20 Pro, C2 modem
Apple’s forthcoming “iPhone 18 Pro” models are expected to retain a design akin to the iPhone 17 Pro models, as reported by Digital Chat Station, a reputable leaker with over three million followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. Notably, the leaker suggests that the Ceramic Shield panel on the rear of the iPhone 18 Pro models will incorporate a “slightly transparent design,” though no further details were provided.
Joe Rossignol for MacRumors:
In a post today, the leaker said the devices will have the same rear camera system design as the iPhone 17 Pro models, with a “plateau” housing three lenses in a triangular arrangement. He also expects the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes used since the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The post also said the iPhone 18 Pro models will be equipped with a stainless steel vapor chamber cooling system. On the iPhone 17 Pro models, Apple says the vapor chamber is laser-welded into the aluminum unibody, but it is not entirely clear if it uses any other types of metal. Teardowns will provide a closer look at the vapor chamber in the coming days.
In related news, Taiwan’s Commercial Times this week reported that iPhone 18 Pro models will be equipped with an A20 Pro chip, fabricated with TSMC’s latest 2nm process. The devices will also feature Apple’s C2 modem, rather than a Qualcomm modem, the report said. Both of these changes have been widely rumored already.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s never too early for next-gen iPhone rumors, even with this year’s iPhones’ release still a couple of days away!
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Apple TV+ debuts trailer for animated fantasy adventure series ‘The Sisters Grimm’
Apple TV+ on Wednesday debuted the trailer for “The Sisters Grimm,” the all-new animated fantasy adventure series set to premiere globally on Friday, October 3. Based on Michael Buckley’s New York Times bestselling book series, “The Sisters Grimm” is a journey of adventure and heart about mystery-solving sisters descended from the Brothers Grimm who, while very different, make a pretty great team.
Two orphaned sisters navigate a town full of people torn straight from fantasy and fairy tales, confronting heroes and villains alike, while investigating the mystery of their missing parents. “The Sisters Grimm” blends discovery, fantasy and adventure to deliver important lessons for all ages.
The series is led by a stellar voice cast, including Ariel Winter (“Modern Family”) as Sabrina, Leah Newman as Daphne, Laraine Newman (“Saturday Night Live”) as Relda, Abubakar Salim (“Raised by Wolves”) as Charming, Billy Harris (“Ted Lasso”) as Puck and Harry Trevaldwyn (“How to Train Your Dragon”) as Mirror.
“The Sisters Grimm” was developed by Emmy Award nominee Amy Higgins (“Star vs. the Forces of Evil”), who serves as showrunner, and Emmy Award nominee Erica Rothschild (“Sofia the First”). Emmy Award-winning studio Titmouse (“Duck & Goose,” “Harriet the Spy,” “Frog and Toad”) produces the animation. The six-episode series is executive produced by Higgins, Buckley (“Robotomy”), Emmy Award winner Elliot Blake (“Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider”), Emmy Award winner Philip Alberstat (“The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie”), Steven Amato (“27 Mins”) and Theresa Park (“Roar,” “Expats”), alongside Titmouse’s Chris Prynoski (“The Legend of Vox Machina”), Shannon Prynoski (“Scavengers Reign”), Ben Kalina (“Big Mouth”) and Antonio Canobbio (“Digman!”). Sage Cotugno serves as supervising director.
The exciting slate of recent offerings for kids and families on Apple TV+ features the latest family musical specials “Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical” and “Lulu Is a Rhinoceros,” based on the beloved children’s book of the same name by father-daughter duo Jason and Allison Flom. Additional programming includes the music-driven animated comedy series “BE@RBRICK” from DreamWorks Animation; “Goldie,” inspired by Emily Brundige’s award-winning 2019 short film of the same name; Peanuts series “Camp Snoopy”; the second season of beloved animated series “Frog and Toad,” based on the Caldecott and Newbery Honor-winning books; “Me,” an elevated cinematic coming-of-age story from Barry L. Levy; and “Wonder Pets: In the City,” from Jennifer Oxley.
Award-winning all-ages offerings now streaming globally on Apple TV+ also include the BAFTA Award and Emmy Award-winning live-action animated hybrid special “The Velveteen Rabbit,” BAFTA Award and Humanitas Prize-winning “El Deafo,” BAFTA Award-winning “Lovely Little Farm,” “Duck & Goose,” “Get Rolling With Otis,” Spin Master Entertainment’s “Sago Mini Friends,” GLAAD Media Award-nominated “Pinecone & Pony,” The Jim Henson Company’s Emmy Award-winning “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock,” “Harriet the Spy” and “Slumberkins,” Sesame Workshop’s “Helpsters,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt, HITRECORD and Bento Box Entertainment’s “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory,” Jack McBrayer and Angela C. Santomero’s Emmy Award-nominated “Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show,” Peanuts and WildBrain’s Emmy Award-nominated “Snoopy in Space” and “The Snoopy Show,” and Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series “Stillwater.” Live-action offerings include Bonnie Hunt’s DGA and WGA Award-nominated “Amber Brown,” DGA Award-winning “Best Foot Forward,” “Surfside Girls,” WGA Award-winning “Life By Ella,” Sesame Workshop and Sinking Ship’s Emmy Award-winning “Ghostwriter,” Emmy Award and Environmental Media Association Award winning “Jane,” and Scholastic’s “Puppy Place.”
Also featured are “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth,” the Emmy Award-winning television event based on the New York Times bestselling book and TIME Best Book of the Year by Oliver Jeffers, and specials from Peanuts and WildBrain including Emmy Award-nominated “Snoopy Presents: It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown,” “Snoopy Presents: Lucy’s School,” Humanitas Prize and Emmy Award-nominated “Snoopy Presents: To Mom (and Dad), With Love,” “Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie,” “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin,” Emmy Award-winning “Snoopy Presents: Who Are You, Charlie Brown?” and “Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne.”
Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have earned 620 wins and 2,816 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy “Ted Lasso” and historic Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA.”
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Apple’s Liquid Glass is mildly disappointing to outright broken – experts
Apple’s new Liquid Glass is meant to dynamically transform to help bring greater focus to content, delivering a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more. For the very first time, the new design extends across platforms — iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26 — to establish even more harmony while maintaining the distinct qualities that make each unique.
Mark Wilson for Fast Company:
Still, Apple knows that people rely on their iPhones for everything, and they can’t wholesale change the way people use the most important device in their lives. That’s why Liquid Glass is less a deconstruction of iOS than a luxe reskin—replacing chunks of iOS piece by piece rather than revolutionizing it, for now.
It’s a toe-dipping sensibility that I appreciate. Moving fast and breaking things is crucial for fundraising and devastating for real life. Apple may serve its customers better by being careful, adjusting its designs little by little, more like a car company than a tech startup.
Unfortunately, Apple still didn’t nail Liquid Glass out of the gate. And it doesn’t help that, rumor has it, the company put a tight deadline on itself, only developing Liquid Glass for six months before its announcement.
While Liquid Glass is full of interesting ideas and some truly gorgeous animation work from Apple’s still-unparalleled technicians, experts I spoke to pointed out that it was inconsistently implemented, and they believe it will make life worse for a lot of its users. They say its cognitive load (think of it as the invisible tax on your brain) is higher across the board than its previous UX. Specifically, its low contrast design—which often blurs the distinction between the phone’s background and its messages in the foreground—will prove difficult for older adults, especially, to read.
If one core idea has promise inside Liquid Glass, it’s that Apple is introducing stretchable, reshapable buttons and new animations, which can break out of the more static menu bars we’ve known for so long.
Basically, it’s what you could call the “liquid” half of “Liquid Glass…”
Liquid UIs don’t work consistently yet, but in theory, they make a lot of sense. Perhaps more problematic for Apple is the “glass” part. At launch, critics pointed out two issues. The first was that it failed to add new functionality to the phone. The second was more ironic: Glass’s fatal flaw is the clarity with which it depicts information.
Legibility is still of concern to every UX specialist I talked to for this piece. They flagged that Liquid Glass presents a significant challenge to cognitive load and creates accessibility issues where there were none in the OS before. In some spots, like the beautiful magnifier tool that helps you highlight words, the glass distortion effects are simply joyful. In many others, they muddle information and make it harder to understand what you’re looking at.
MacDailyNews Take: Liquid Glass is a six-month rush job because it’s meant to be a shiny object to distract from the current lack of Apple Intelligence innovations as that catch-up work continues, BUT, Liquid Glass shows much promise!
Yes, Liquid Glass sometimes presents legibility issues, but those can be solved and, likely, are being solved as you read this.
When, not if, Apple launches a Siri — or whatever name with which they, hopefully, rebrand it; “Siri” is just too tarnished at this point — that is not an abject neglected embarrassment (reportedly by WWDC next June, at the very latest), Liquid Glass will be much further along and a lot of the current readability issues will have been tackled.
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iPhone Air battery life is better than expected – Wired
Apple all-new iPhone Air is the thinnest iPhone ever made and still offers pro performance. iPhone Air features a breakthrough titanium design that is elegant and light yet strong, with an innovative internal architecture that enables the latest iPhone experiences. The back of iPhone Air is now protected with Ceramic Shield, and the front cover uses Ceramic Shield 2, delivering 3x better scratch resistance, making iPhone Air more durable than any previous iPhone.
iPhone Air also features a stunning 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion up to 120Hz. With the most Apple-designed chips in an iPhone — the powerhouse A19 Pro, N1, and C1X — iPhone Air is the most power-efficient iPhone ever made. PA powerful 48MP Fusion Main camera enables the equivalent of four lenses with incredible image quality, and the innovative 18MP Center Stage front camera takes selfies to the next level.
Paired with the redesigned internal architecture and software optimizations, iPhone Air has fantastic all-day battery life.
I was prepared to hate the iPhone Air. Why make a thin phone with lackluster battery life? A single-camera system for $999? After spending some time with it, I’m pleasantly surprised. I still don’t think most people should buy it—it’s for early adopters who want to experience Apple’s thinnest iPhone to date—but it’s a promising blueprint of what’s to come.
The iPhone Air is just 5.6 millimeters thick and 165 grams; contrast that with the iPhone 17 Pro, which has a smaller screen yet weighs 206 grams and is 8.75 mm thick. It’s a palpable difference. Initially, you might feel like the lighter weight makes the Air seem “cheap,” but that notion quickly disappears. This phone feels strong, durable, and rigid.
I watched Apple perform a bend test on the iPhone Air, and it was able to withstand more than 130 pounds of force with no damage. I gave it a good bend test myself, but it didn’t flex… The 6.5-inch OLED screen once again feels improbable in this thin and light design. It’s just unusual to hold such a large screen and not find it heavy…
Apple is not using a silicon-carbon battery in the iPhone Air, despite rumors leading up to the September event. Instead, there’s a high-density traditional lithium-ion battery, along with a raft of optimizations in iOS 26, the A19 Pro chipset, a new power-efficient C1X modem, and a fresh internal design. All this to say: The battery life of the iPhone Air is better than I expected.
MacDailyNews Take: The iPhone Air is nothing if not intriguing. It’ll lure people into Apple Retail Stores to take a look and, if it doesn’t sell itself, it’ll likely help to sell beaucoup iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models!
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Apple’s future OLED MacBook Pro to sport multi-touch display
For the first time, MacBook models will incorporate multi-touch displays, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Increasingly, Apple is merging the boundaries between the Mac and the iPad. This evolution seems to stem from Apple’s extended analysis of iPad usage patterns, suggesting that touch controls can significantly boost productivity and enhance the user experience in specific contexts.
MacBook models will feature a touch panel for the first time, further blurring the line with the iPad. This shift appears to reflect Apple’s long-term observation of iPad user behavior, indicating that in certain scenarios, touch controls can enhance both productivity and the overall user experience.
1. The OLED MacBook Pro, expected to enter mass production by late 2026, will incorporate a touch panel using on-cell touch technology.
2. The more affordable MacBook model powered by an iPhone processor, slated for mass production in 4Q25, will not support a touch panel. Specifications for its second-generation version, anticipated in 2027, remain under discussion and could include touch support.
MacDailyNews Take: Do you really want to smear your fingers all over your MacBook Pro’s display?
Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. After an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. – Steve Jobs
Here’s an idea: Apple could sell iPad Pros as they do now, and for those wanting a “Mac,” Apple could sell them the macOS-powered display-less keyboard/trackpad/cpu/RAM/SSD/battery base unit. Attach your iPad for the display and off you go, you Mac-headed truck driver! Plus, you get to use the iPad’s battery, too, extending battery life to provide a truly all-day battery for portable Mac users. Detach the display and you get your [iPadOS]-powered iPad back, same as always.
Too outside the box? We’d love to be able to take our iPad Pro, mate it with this theoretical Mac base unit, and turn it into a portable Mac. Right now, we carry iPad Pros and MacBooks in our backpacks. Guess what’s redundant? Right, the displays. We don’t need to carry two screens on the road. The iPad Pro’s screen would do just fine, thanks.
Buy the Mac base on its own (for those who already have 12.9-inch iPad Pros) or buy it as part of a package (get a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro at a nice discount when you buy it with the Mac base). Imagine if Apple had unveiled this headless MacBook that you use with your iPad at their iPad event last fall. How many more 12-inch iPad Pro sales would such a product have generated? Enough to return iPad to unit sales growth, we bet. And, how many more Macs would have been sold, too?
— MacDailyNews, January 7, 2017
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Early signs point to stronger demand for Apple’s new iPhone lineup – Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday that initial indicators suggest stronger demand for Apple’s iPhone 17 compared to the iPhone 16 launch last year, driven by extended lead times and enhanced supply availability.
“iPhone 17 lead times are tracking in-line to higher Y/Y, but early iPhone supply is better Y/Y, meaning early iPhone 17 demand is likely up Y/Y (vs. flat FY26 shipment ests),” Morgan Stanley wrote.
Sam Boughedda for Yahoo Finance:
According to the analysts, “our iPhone 17 lead time analysis suggests that early demand for the iPhone 17 models is stronger than at the onset of the iPhone 16 cycle last year, a positive early indication that iPhone replacement cycles could be stabilizing and upgrade rates could be improving Y/Y.”
As of Sept. 16, four days after pre-orders began, “the average iPhone 17 (incl Air) lead time in the US is ~15 days, up 7 days vs. last Friday when pre-orders started, and up 0.3 days (or 2%) vs. the same point in the iPhone 16 cycle last year,” Morgan Stanley said.
International markets are said to be showing an even stronger trend, with average lead times extending 3 days week-on-week and 3 days year-on-year in China, Japan, the U.K., France, and Germany.
The firm also highlighted better production this cycle. “Early iPhone 17 supply is more sufficient than last year, a testament to better Y/Y production yields and higher productivity in India, where Apple is building/shipping all new model iPhones at launch for the first time in history,” the analysts noted.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, regardless of whether the conclusion is positive or negative, there’s not enough hard data:
You cannot measure demand based on shipping times without knowing how much supply Apple has in hand… and where and how those supplies are allocated in each geographic area. – MacDailyNews, September 17, 2024
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WSJ battery test: iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max
The iPhone 17 lineup has arrived, bringing with it the highly anticipated iPhone 17 Air — a superthin marvel that’s turning heads with its sleek design and innovative features. As Apple continues to push the boundaries of smartphone technology, the iPhone 17 series offers a range of models catering to different preferences, from the powerful iPhone 17 Pro to the budget-friendly standard iPhone 17. A new Wall Street Journal article dives into a detailed comparison of the ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air against the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, exploring their design, performance, battery life, and other unique selling points to help you decide which model reigns supreme in Apple’s latest flagship family.
Nicole Nguyen for The Wall Street Journal:
Over the past week, I re-created my daily routine from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on a mix of 5G and Wi-Fi. Here’s what was left in the tank at bedtime:
• iPhone Air: 19%
• iPhone 17: 27%
• iPhone 17 Pro: 30%
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 54%
Although the iPhone Air’s battery depleted the quickest, it wasn’t the letdown I had feared. Meanwhile, the 17 Pro Max could have kept on going for another day…
The Pros are premium. You get better battery life and that extra zoom. The photos are noticeably nicer, and there are true “pro” features, such as faster media transfers.
I never understood the Max until I tested this one. You never have to worry about the battery draining. The 6.9-inch screen—Apple’s biggest—is so nice to look at. I just keep coming up with reasons to pick it up, even though it still doesn’t fit in my hand.
MacDailyNews Take: For us, the Pro Max was been the unanimous choice since it debuted on September 20, 2019 with the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
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Apple renews ‘The Morning Show’ drama series for season five
Apple TV+ has announced that the acclaimed, award-winning global hit drama, “The Morning Show,” has been renewed for a fifth season ahead of the season four premiere. Set to debut its highly anticipated, star-studded fourth season tomorrow, Wednesday, September 17, 2025, the Emmy, SAG and Critics Choice Award-winning series stars and is executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, alongside showrunner and executive producer Charlotte Stoudt, and director and executive producer Mimi Leder.
“‘The Morning Show’ has been a standout from the very start, debuting as one of the flagship series on Apple TV+,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+, in a statement. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see it not only entertain but also resonate with audiences worldwide. Thanks to the outstanding cast and creative team — led by Jennifer, Reese, Charlotte and Mimi — ‘The Morning Show’ continues to deliver addictively entertaining and provocative stories that we’ve all come to love. We’re excited for viewers to experience the next chapter of this Emmy Award-winning drama.”
“It’s an honor to witness the collective talent, passion and commitment of Jen, Reese, Mimi, Charlotte, our partners at Hello Sunshine and Echo Films, and everyone involved in ‘The Morning Show,’ and we’re excited to embark on a new season that will give this cast and creative team even more room to shine,” said executive producer Michael Ellenberg, CEO of Media Res, in a statement. “We are so grateful to Apple TV+ and the fans around the world who tune in every week, and are so excited for viewers to see this upcoming season and beyond.”
Premiering globally tomorrow on Apple TV+, season four of “The Morning Show” opens 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? Along with Aniston and Witherspoon, the upcoming fourth season stars two-time Emmy Award winner Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Greta Lee, Nicole Beharie and Emmy Award winner Jon Hamm. Season four welcomes new cast members Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Boyd Holbrook, and Academy Award winners Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons.
“The Morning Show” is showrun and executive produced by Stoudt, and directed and executive produced by Leder. The series is produced by the studio Media Res, and executive produced by Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer through Media Res, along with Stoudt and Leder. Witherspoon executive produces alongside Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine, while Aniston and Kristin Hahn executive produce through Echo Films. Zander Lehmann and Micah Schraft also executive produce.
The first three seasons of “The Morning Show” are now streaming globally on Apple TV+. Following its global debut, the third season of “The Morning Show” received 16 Emmy Award nominations and Crudup landed his second Emmy Award win for his widely celebrated performance 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.
In season two, “The Morning Show” received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Witherspoon), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Crudup) and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Marcia Gay Harden). In the series’ first season, Crudup earned an Emmy Award win in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category, in addition to a Critics Choice Award. Aniston’s celebrated performance as Alex Levy earned a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. Leder earned two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for helming the season one finale and the season three finale, which she also executive produced.
Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all of a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have earned 622 wins and 2,816 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy “Ted Lasso” and historic Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA.”
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, 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 $9.99 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, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
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Apple Sports adds widgets and expands to eight new countries
Today, Apple Sports — the free app for iPhone — is making it even easier for fans to stay on top of the action with the launch of widgets for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Live Activities already deliver real-time updates directly to the iPhone Lock Screen and Apple Watch, and starting today, users can also schedule Live Activities in advance for any upcoming event in the app. These updates arrive just in time for football season, giving sports fans more ways than ever to follow their favorite teams.
Widgets give fans the ability to customize their iPhone Home Screen with their favorite teams and leagues. Widgets can also be accessed on iPad and Mac, giving fans scores and schedules for their favorite leagues and teams on even more platforms. To add a widget, users can choose either the “My Teams” view for scores and upcoming schedules for their favorited teams, or the “League” view to keep up with scores and schedules for every team in a league. Widgets can be customized per device, and there is no limit on how many can be added, keeping sports fans in the know with the information they care about most, no matter what device they are on.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple Sports is also expanding and now available for free in eight additional countries: Austria, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. League coverage continues to grow as well, with the addition of new European soccer competitions, including the 2. Bundesliga, Ligue 2, Segunda División, Serie B, and Primeira Liga.
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Apple TV+ price increase is a small example of a big opportunity for Apple – Gene Munster
Apple’s recent 30% price hike for Apple TV+ highlights a broader strategy to boost revenue per device through expanded subscriptions, as well as higher prices for services and hardware. Veteran Apple analyst Gene Munster predicts that investors will increasingly view this metric as a key indicator of the company’s financial health.
Gene Munster via GeneMunster.com:
Horace Dediu from Asymco estimates the average revenue per device per day is $0.47. I estimate the Apple TV+ price bump (Apple One price did not change) in the U.S., U.K. and Canada will increase average revenue per device per day from $0.47 to $0.4704. That is about four tenths of a cent increase per day. This would also add about $430m in high margin revenue, which would increase overall revenue by about 0.1% next year (The Street is looking for $435B) and earnings by 0.2%.
I estimate there are 60m total paid Apple TV+ subscribers. Here is my breakdown of what each group pays per month:
• 50% of the subs come from Apple One. I estimate 30m, or half of the 60m paid TV subs (Deepwater estimate), get the service through Apple One. As a point of reference, Netflix has about 305m paid subscribers. If you assume a third of the value in the Apple One bundle comes from Apple TV+, and there are on average 4.5 users per subscription (you can have up to six), that implies on average each sub is paying $2.22 per month.
• 35% of the subs are full paying. I estimate about 20m subs are full paying and now pay $12.99 a month.
• 15% of the subs get a discount. I estimate 10m subs come from outside Apple One and outside of the full-paying group. I believe on average they pay $6 a month.
Putting it together, the average user pays about $6.50 a month.
I estimate 60% of the 20m full-paying subs fall into the U.S., U.K., and Canada, which means about 12m subs will see the 30% increase. That translates to an incremental $432m in annual revenue, which increases overall revenue for the company in CY26 by 0.1%. That 0.1% increase maps to about the same increase in average revenue per device per day, inching it up from $0.47 to $0.4704.
I believe the company will spend just under $6B a year on content this year, and those 60m subs (attributing 30% of Apple One revenue to Apple TV+) generate $4.7B annually after the price increase.
I believe Apple’s intent is to gradually close the gap between Apple TV+ expenses and revenue, turning what has been a negative-margin venture into a profitable one over time. My guess is profitability is still a few years away.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple TV+ is being run exceedingly well. The goal is clear: Focus on quality original content while slowly growing quantity. Apple TV+ is doing both very well.
Those who dismiss Apple TV+ as “woke crap,” don’t really watch much Apple TV+. Sure, some of that is unfortunately in there, as it is in every streaming service, but Apple TV+ offers, if anything, less “woke crap” than many other streaming services.
Apple TV+ is working. It’s just working slowly. it’s quality over quantity strategy is sound and its library of high-value original content is becoming more substantial every day.
Breakouts hits that permeate the zeitgeist like “Ted Lasso” and “Severance” are doing most of the heavy lifting for getting the word out. Apple could certainly do a better job of promoting the service.
Apple TV+ could lose $1 billion annually until the first Tuesday after Infinity and Apple would be perfectly fine; it wouldn’t even notice.
Last year, Apple Inc. generated average revenue of $1.07 billion per day. – MacDailyNews, March 20, 2025
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Apple delays iOS 26’s new digital U.S. passport feature
Apple on Monday release iOS 26.0, but the new feature that lets you add a digital version of your U.S. passport to Apple’s Wallet app has been slightly delayed.
Joe Rossignol for MacRumors:
Apple updated its iOS 26 features page today to indicate that the “Digital ID” feature for U.S. passports will be coming in a later software update:
Digital ID will be available in a software update with U.S. passports only.
Apple did not mention a specific version, but hopefully the feature arrives in iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2.
Until now, the feature had been listed on the iOS 26 page in the present tense.
After creating a Digital ID in the Wallet app, you will be able to present it in person at TSA checkpoints in select U.S. airports for identity verification purposes during domestic travel. However, Apple says it is not a replacement for a physical passport, and it cannot be used for international travel and border crossing purposes.
MacDailyNews Take: Even when it’s released, we’ll need to go through several TSA checkpoints and have it proven to work every time before we travel without our physical passports.
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Adaptive Power is on by default in new iPhones; here’s how to turn it off
Apple’s new Adaptive Power battery mode joins Low Power Mode, and is enabled by default on iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone Air.
Apple’s description: “Adaptive Power helps extend your iPhone’s battery life when you use it more. It works automatically in the background, so you don’t have to manage it. Adaptive Power uses on-device intelligence to predict when you’ll need extra battery life based on your recent usage patterns and then adjusts as needed to help your battery last longer that day. Adaptive Power doesn’t manage performance while you use features that require maximum performance, such as when using camera or playing games with Game Mode on.”
Ryan Christoffel for 9to5Mac:
Apple says it takes around seven days of background processing before Adaptive Power can fully learn your usage habits. Thus, you won’t see it take effect before a full week passes.
Interestingly, while Adaptive Power is entirely optional, Apple enables it by default on its latest flagship iPhones.
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air all have Adaptive Power on by default to maximize battery performance. And I expect that will be the case for all new iPhone models moving forward.
MacDailyNews Note: Users who wish to disable Adaptive Power on their iPhones can disable it via Settings > Battery > Power Mode and toggle off Adaptive Power.
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New iPhone lineup sees strong demand; Apple stock rises
Apple stock is making gains in Tuesday trading, bolstered by early indicators of strong demand for its new iPhone lineup.
Adam Clark and Mackenzie Tatananni for Barron’s:
The latest move puts Apple shares in line for a golden cross—a technical term for when an asset or index’s 50-day moving average moves above its 200-day moving average.
On average, Apple stock gains 9.1% in the six months following a golden cross and 18.5% for the 12 months following the moment of crossover, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
“While it is still very early days, lead-times for delivery are indicating that demand for all the new variants launched on Sep 9th is tracking modestly ahead of [the] iPhone 16 series,” wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee in a research note on Sunday. Chatterjee tracked lead-times across key markets, including the U.S., China, Germany, and the U.K.
He added that the higher demand was particularly notable for the base iPhone 17 version as well as the thinner Air model. He has an Overweight rating on Apple stock.
BofA Securities analysts conducted their own analysis and found the ship times for iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models were extended compared to last year.
Additionally, “the ship dates for the iPhone 17 are the highest since the iPhone 11, which indicates healthy demand,” the BofA team wrote. “Among regions, ship dates in China and Japan are, on average, one week higher than other regions.”
MacDailyNews Take: Again, regardless of whether the conclusion is positive or negative:
You cannot measure demand based on shipping times without knowing how much supply Apple has in hand… and where and how those supplies are allocated in each geographic area. – MacDailyNews, September 17, 2024
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Tim Cook: Apple’s manufacturing expansion across America will create a ‘domino effect’
In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Apple CEO Tim Cook described Apple’s commitment to bolster manufacturing in America and suggested the factories will have a “domino effect,” bringing more businesses to communities across the country.
“We can’t be everywhere. I wish we could, but we are putting $600 billion to work in the next four years,” Cook said. “And so it is an extraordinary commitment. And there’s 79 factories across the U.S. that will benefit from this.”
Cook told Cramer Apple’s factory buildout might encourage other corporations to build their own factories in these communities, creating a “domino effect.” He also said there will be “some surprises” for communities who do not yet know Apple will be bringing business to their areas.
Cook emphasized in the interview his company’s recent decision to invest $2.5 billion to expand its partnership with Corning
and its glass factory in Kentucky. Apple previously has said Corning’s facility will provide glass for all iPhones and Apple Watches. Cook told Cramer the Corning investment is a “great start, and a very important one, because the glass is something you interface with all the time.”
In total, Apple has pledged a staggering $600 billion to boost manufacturing in the U.S. over the next four years. The iPhone maker also previously said it would work with a number of different companies to grow domestic semiconductor production, including Taiwan Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and Applied Materials.
Cook also told Cramer that Apple plays a role in helping train employees to work in these factories, mentioning the company’s new “Manufacturing Academy” in Detroit.
According to Cook, Apple shareholders are not protesting the company’s colossal domestic manufacturing spend. He said he thinks most feel it’s positive that Apple is “investing in America.”
MacDailyNews Note: Here’s the video:
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New Apple Watch lineup is most impressive yet, with advanced health tracking, satellite connectivity
Apple’s latest smartwatches have set a new benchmark in wearable technology, combining cutting-edge health tracking features with groundbreaking satellite connectivity. Unveiled as part of the company’s recent product lineup, these watches offer advanced capabilities like enhanced heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and the ability to connect via satellite for emergency communications in remote areas. With a sleek design and powerful performance, Apple continues to push the boundaries of what a smartwatch can do, making these devices the most impressive yet in their lineup.
Daniel Howley for Yahoo Finance:
Apple’s (AAPL) latest Apple Watches hit the market Sept. 19 with a number of meaningful upgrades. The $259 Apple Watch SE 3, $399 Apple Watch Series 11, and $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 each get more durable displays and 5G cellular connectivity.
But the marquee feature of this year’s lineup is hypertension notifications, only available on the Series 11 and Ultra 3… Additionally, all three watches get Apple’s new sleep score functionality, which uses a 100-point sleep system meant to help users better understand their sleep patterns. The three watches also get Apple’s new Workout Buddy feature, an AI assistant that provides personalized motivational chatter to get you pumped to exercise…
Apple said the Ultra 3 gets up to 42 hours of battery life, up from 36 hours for the Ultra 2. And because the company has a habit of underselling its watches’ batteries, it’ll likely last far longer…
That makes the Series 11 the middleman of the group. It’s largely unchanged physically, with its 46mm and 42mm sizes. It does get longer battery life, with Apple saying the Series 11 should last up to 24 hours. Again, you can expect it to go beyond that…
[I]f you’re an athlete who ends up off the grid often or just want the best battery life and don’t mind spending a chunk of change, the Ultra 3 is the way to go.
If you want most of the Ultra 3’s features but don’t want the price tag, go for the Series 11. And if you’re looking to get your first Apple Watch or simply want a good smartwatch and fitness tracker, then the SE 3 is your best bet.
MacDailyNews Take: This is going to be a very good year for Apple Watch sales!
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Smartphone maker Nothing raises $200 million at $1.3 billion valuation
London-based smartphone company Nothing has secured $200 million in funding from investors led by Tiger Global, valuing the company at $1.3 billion, as it aims to incorporate artificial intelligence into its products. The global smartphone market is dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung, currently valued at $3.513 trillion and $377.79 billion, respectively.
Reuters:
Swedish tech entrepreneur Carl Pei founded Nothing in 2020 after leaving mobile maker OnePlus and launched its first smartphone in 2022.
“For AI to reach its full potential, consumer hardware must reinvent itself alongside it,” Pei said in a statement.
“We are starting with smartphones, audio products and smart watches… in the future, our operating system will carry into smart glasses, humanoid robots, EVs, and whatever comes next.”
Existing shareholders GV, Highland Europe, EQT, Latitude, I2BF, and Tapestry participated in the funding round.
MacDailyNews Take: For perspective, Apple generates, on average, $200 million every 4.3 hours and $1.3 billion every 1.21 days.
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Apple’s iOS 26 delivers seven new iPhone ringtones
Apple’s iOS has long been synonymous with its distinctive ringtones, which have evolved alongside the platform’s design and user experience since the original iPhone debuted in 2007 with simple, synth-based tones like “Marimba” and “Opening.” Over the years, these auditory cues have become cultural touchstones, with Apple periodically refreshing them to align with hardware launches and software overhauls — such as the introduction of the ethereal “Reflection” default in iOS 11 for the iPhone X in 2017, and subtle tweaks in subsequent updates like iOS 17 in 2023. In iOS 26, Apple has quietly included seven new ringtones to alert you to calls, messages, and other audible notifications, continuing this tradition of subtle innovation amid the update’s broader “Liquid Glass” interface refresh.
The iconic “Reflection” ringtone – introduced in 2017 alongside the iPhone X – now has multiple alternate versions in iOS 26. While the original tone retains its familiar pellucid xylophone melody, the following new variants bring different energies to the classic:
• Buoyant
• Dreamer
• Pond
• Pop
• Reflected
• Surge
In an extra Easter egg, Apple also added a new ringtone called Little Bird, which is distinct from the new Reflection options.
MacDailyNews Note: The new ringtones can be found in Settings ➝ Sound & Haptics ➝ Ringtone. Tap the chevron next to Reflection to reveal the new versions.
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Why ‘Severance’ didn’t win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
Some watchers were utterly perplexed that the innovative, original, and mind-bending “Severance” was overlooked for the 2025 Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, ultimately losing to “The Pitt,” a formulaic hospital drama that treads well-worn paths in the medical genre, echoing countless predecessors like “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” to name just two of umpteen examples.
When two strong candidates compete for an award like an Emmy, they can “cancel each other out” through the phenomenon of vote splitting in a competitive field.
Here’s how it works:
• Divided Support Base: If two candidates (say, Drama A and Drama B) are both highly regarded, they may split the votes of that group. For instance, if half vote for “Severance” and half for “The White Lotus,” each gets only 30% of the total votes.
• Plurality Voting: Emmy Awards, like many award systems, often use a plurality voting system, where the candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority. If the remaining voters coalesce around a third candidate (Drama C), then “The Pitt” could win with 31% of the vote, despite “Severance” and “The White Lotus” being “stronger” in terms of raw talent or popularity.
• Voter Psychology and Strategy: Voters may have strong preferences for “Severance” or “The White Lotus,” but not coordinate their votes. If “Severance” and “The White Lotus” are seen as neck-and-neck frontrunners, some voters might stick with their favorite instead of strategically voting for a compromise candidate. Meanwhile, voters for “The Pitt,” unified behind a single choice, can capitalize on this division. This is especially true in categories with many nominees, diluting the vote further. The 2025 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series were: Andor, The Diplomat, The Last of Us, Paradise, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses, and The White Lotus.
• Example Scenario: There are two critically acclaimed drama series, “Severance” and “The White Lotus,” each with passionate supporters. Both are nominated for Outstanding Drama Series alongside “The Pitt” (and five other dramas: D, E, F, G, and H). If “Severance” gets 30% of the vote and “The White Lotus” gets 28%, but “The Pitt” secures a unified 31%, “The Pitt” wins, even if “Severance” and “The White Lotus” were considered “stronger” by more voters collectively.
MacDailyNews Take: This is why Ranked Choice Voting is used in the Academy Awards for Best Picture. For its Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Comedy Series, at least, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) should adopt Ranked Choice Voting, Approval Voting, the Condorcet method or some other more meaningful method of voting for the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Yet another hospital retread that everyone’s seen a thousand times is a better series than “Severance?” M’kay, Emmys. #Joke
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) September 15, 2025
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Apple’s latest tools to help protect kids and teens online now available
Apple’s new and expanded features to help parents protect kids and teens online are now available across Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple TV. These updates give parents more ways to ensure age-appropriate online experiences for kids from the moment they set up their device, and build on existing tools already available in Screen Time and on the App Store.
Earlier this year, Apple simplified the management of Child Accounts for parents. Today, parents are getting even more tools at their fingertips. These new capabilities, which were initially previewed in June, include:
• The ability for parents to share their child’s age range with apps in a privacy-preserving manner.
• Expanded default protections for teens ages 13 to 17.
• More granular age ratings on the App Store for adolescents (13+, 16+, and 18+), and more detailed labeling for app capabilities that may affect content appropriateness, like advertising, user-generated content, or in-app controls like parental controls.
• Updates to Communication Limits, which give parents the ability to remotely approve new contacts for their children when using Apple apps.
These latest tools expand protections Apple provides to help ensure enriching, age-appropriate experiences for all users, and to empower parents to keep their kids safe online. And, like all Apple features, these new tools are designed to be intuitive and easy to use — with privacy and security at their core.
To learn more about Apple’s tools for protecting kids and teens, visit apple.com/families.
MacDailyNews Take: New features are available with the release of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26 as free software updates for eligible devices. For more information about availability, visit apple.com. Some features may not be available in all regions, all languages, or on all models.
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New Apple Intelligence features are available today
Apple today released new Apple Intelligence features that elevate the user experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. Deeply integrated across operating systems, today’s new features help users seamlessly communicate across languages with Live Translation; use visual intelligence to learn more about the onscreen content across their apps; and express themselves with enhancements to Genmoji and Image Playground. Additionally, Shortcuts can now tap into Apple Intelligence models directly to accelerate workflows, and developers are starting to take advantage of the on-device foundational model at the core of Apple Intelligence to build intelligent, privacy-protected features into their apps.
Users with an Apple Intelligence-enabled device can start experiencing new features today with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26. Additionally, Apple Intelligence features will be coming soon to eight more languages: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional), and Vietnamese.
Break Down Language Barriers with Live Translation
For those moments when a language barrier gets in the way, Live Translation can help users communicate across select languages when messaging or speaking. The feature is seamlessly integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and Phone, and users can also access it with AirPods Pro 3 to translate in-person conversations, enabled by Apple Intelligence on iPhone.
With this powerful new feature, users can translate all types of conversations — whether over the phone or while using FaceTime, in person, or asynchronously in Messages — right when they need to. It protects user’s privacy with on-device processing, so personal conversations stay personal.
In Messages, Live Translation can automatically translate a user’s response as they type and deliver it in the recipient’s language. During FaceTime calls, users can follow along with live translated captions while still hearing their friend or family member’s voice. And during a phone call, the translation is spoken out loud in real time. Users can access Live Translation on AirPods with an all-new gesture by simultaneously pressing both AirPods stems; by saying “Siri, start Live Translation;” or even from the Action button on iPhone, which will allow them to hear in their preferred language. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) lowers the volume of the person speaking so it’s easier to focus on the translation.
And by the end of the year, Live Translation for Phone, FaceTime, and AirPods will expand language support to include Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin, simplified), and Chinese (Mandarin, traditional).
Live Translation breaks down language barriers by allowing users to translate all types of conversations.
Search and Take Action with Updates to Visual Intelligence
Visual intelligence, which builds on Apple Intelligence, now helps users learn and do more with the content on their iPhone screen. It makes it faster than ever for users to search, take action, and answer questions about the content they’re viewing across their apps.
Users can search for the content on their iPhone screen to find similar images across Google, as well as apps that integrate this experience, such as eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, and more. If there’s an object a user is interested in learning about, like a pair of shoes, they can simply press the same buttons used to take a screenshot and highlight it to search for that specific item or similar objects online. And with ChatGPT, users can ask questions about anything they’re viewing onscreen.
https://macdailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/250915_Apple-Intelligence-visual-intelligence-updates.mp4
Updates to visual intelligence help users learn and do more with the content on their iPhone screen.
Visual intelligence enables users to summarize and translate text, as well as add an event from a flyer on their iPhone screen to their calendar, with a single tap.
Users can also take advantage of these capabilities by using visual intelligence with their iPhone camera through Camera Control, the Action button, and in Control Center.
Create Unique Images with Enhancements to Genmoji and Image Playground
Users can now mix together emoji and combine them with descriptions to create a brand-new Genmoji. And when making Genmoji or Image Playground images inspired by family and friends, users can change expressions or modify personal attributes like hairstyle to match their contact’s latest look.
Users can now mix together emoji and combine them with descriptions to create a brand-new Genmoji.
In Image Playground, users can tap into ChatGPT to explore new styles Iike Watercolor and Oil Painting, along with an Any Style option that offers even more creative control. Image Playground sends a user’s description or photo to ChatGPT, which creates a unique image.
A new Any Style option in Image Playground allows users to tap into ChatGPT for even more creative control.
Get Personalized Fitness Insights with Workout Buddy
Workout Buddy is a first-of-its-kind fitness experience powered by Apple Intelligence that analyzes a user’s workout data and fitness history to deliver personalized, spoken motivation throughout their session, based on data like heart rate, pace, distance, Activity rings, personal fitness milestones, and more. To offer meaningful inspiration in real time, Workout Buddy analyzes data privately and securely, with Apple Intelligence. A new text-to-speech model then translates insights into a dynamic generative voice built using voice data from Fitness+ trainers, so it has the right energy, style, and tone for a workout.
Workout Buddy will be available starting in English across some of the most popular workout types, and is available on Apple Watch with Bluetooth headphones, with an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone nearby.
AirPods and iPhone users also have access to Workout Buddy, so their workout data and fitness history can be used to generate personalized, motivational insights during their session.
Build Intelligent Shortcuts
Shortcuts help users accomplish more faster, by combining multiple steps from their favorite apps into powerful, personal automations. And now with Apple Intelligence, users can take advantage of intelligent actions in the Shortcuts app to create automations, like summarizing text with Writing Tools or creating images with Image Playground.
Users can tap into Apple Intelligence models, either on device or with Private Cloud Compute to generate responses that feed into the rest of their shortcut, maintaining the privacy of information used in the shortcut. For example, users can create powerful Shortcuts like comparing an audio transcription to typed notes, summarizing documents by their contents, extracting information from a PDF and adding key details to a spreadsheet, and more.
With Apple Intelligence, Shortcuts users can take advantage of intelligent actions to create all-new automations.
Experience Apple Intelligence Within Third-Party Apps
Apple opened up access for any developer to tap into the on-device large language model at the core of Apple Intelligence, and many apps have already introduced new experiences for their users. For example, Streaks now intelligently suggests and automatically categorizes tasks in a user’s to-do list; CARROT Weather provides free, unlimited conversation around weather insights, all in the app’s signature tone; and Detail: AI Video Editor helps creatives by generating teleprompter scripts from outlines or existing text.
These experiences are available offline and protect user privacy, using AI inference that is free of cost to developers. The framework is tightly integrated into Swift and leverages capabilities like guided generation to seamlessly incorporate the model’s output into a developer’s app.
Even More Capabilities Across Apps Users Rely On Every Day
Additional Apple Intelligence features are available today:
• The most relevant actions in an email, website, note, or other content can be identified and automatically categorized in Reminders.
• Apple Wallet can identify and summarize order tracking details from emails sent from merchants or delivery carriers. This works across all of a user’s orders, giving them the ability to see their full order details, progress notifications, and more, all in one place.
• Users can create a poll for anything in Messages, and with Apple Intelligence, Messages can detect when a poll might come in handy and suggest one. In addition, Backgrounds in the Messages app lets a user personalize their chats with stunning designs, and they can create unique backgrounds that fit their conversation with Image Playground.
An Extraordinary Step Forward for Privacy in AI
Designed to protect users’ privacy at every step, many Apple Intelligence models run entirely on device. For more complex requests, Private Cloud Compute extends the privacy and security of iPhone into the cloud to unlock even more intelligence so a user’s data is never stored or shared with Apple; it is used only to fulfill their request. Independent experts can inspect the code that runs on Apple silicon servers to continuously verify this privacy promise, and are already doing so. This is a breakthrough for privacy in AI.
MacDailyNews Note: These features are available now as a free software update with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and visionOS 26. Apple Intelligence is available in beta with support for these languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Chinese (simplified), Japanese, and Korean. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For feature and language availability and system requirements, see support.apple.com/en-us/121115.
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