Apps

OpenAI has just released three new realtime voice models that it says will “unlock a new class of voice apps for developers.” Each new voice intelligence model has a unique speciality for different purposes.

WWDC 2026 is just around the corner, and Apple has highlighted four Swift Student Challenge app winners. This year, Apple points out AI tools Swift Student Challenge winners are using to help bring their ideas to life.

Meta’s latest attempt to comply with age verification requirements in Europe, Brazil and the US is to roll out AI-powered tech to analyse the faces of teenage users of Facebook and Instagram.

The company says AI analysis will be used to estimate the ages of faces but that it does not amount to face recognition. Update: It doesn’t appear to be working too well – a 12yo kid fooled it by using an eyebrow pencil to draw a fake mustache …

Prime members have access to unlimited photo backup, and Amazon just redesigned its Photos app for iPhone users.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Everyone probably has a massive photo library going back for years, maybe even over a decade. Over time, that consumes more and more storage – and this becomes a problem, especially if you’re paying for iCloud storage. On the other hand, decluttering isn’t easy.

This Day turns photo decluttering into a habit, by designing an interface that allows you to address it one day at a time.

Look, it’s Friday. OpenAI updated Codex. It has Tamagotchi-style pets. You can make your own. Lil Finder Guy is hovering over my Dock.

Anecdotally, I’ve been hearing for a very long time that Facebook and Instagram users are growing ever more dissatisfied with their social media feeds, and there now appears to be some hard data to support this.

Meta has admitted that its daily active users declined by 20 million this quarter, and the company is taking steps to try to improve the quality of both Facebook and Instagram feeds …

In January, we learned about an upcoming Philips Hue mode called SpatialAware. As of today, the “more natural and immersive” smart lighting feature has arrived. Philips Hue video doorbell owners also have two new features ready for action.

Pedometer++ has logged a lot of miles since first unlocking step tracking on the iPhone 5s in 2013. Nearly 13 years of updates later, version 8.0 arrives with a redesigned Apple Watch experience that includes an all-new Expedition Mode. Pedometer++ also touts a “highly-usable workout picker” for Apple Watch users frustrated by watchOS 26’s Workout app.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Mood tracking apps can be really important and useful, whether you want to be more mindful – or if you need to track it for your therapist. That said, lots of apps either charge a subscription, are lacking in depth, or don’t have everything you might need. InnerPulse aims to solve that, while keeping privacy at the center.

XChat, the standalone messaging app from X, is now available. X’s new iPhone and iPad app has officially arrived on the App Store.

As I’m spending more time outside this spring, I keep having the same thought: “I wonder what kind of bird I’m hearing sing?” Birdsong is the sound of the season for me, and a free iPhone app is adding more color to the mystery.

A judge has ruled that the Trump administration should not have coerced Apple and Google into taking down apps which track the activity of ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

A preliminary injunction has been awarded, with the creators of ICE Sightings and Eyes Up told that they are likely to succeed in their argument that the government suppressed protected speech under the First Amendment …

Developers are arguing that Apple’s App Store ratings are fundamentally broken in at least a couple of different ways – including the fact that your 4-star rating could do more harm than good.

They also highlight the conflict between users not wanting their app experience to be interrupted, while Apple effectively forces developers to nag you for a rating and review …

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

If you live in a earthquake-prone climate, you might be interested in a tool to help monitor them. QuakeInfo is a long-standing app on the App Store, and it’s recently been updated with a Liquid Glass design and new features.

Netflix has once again made a controversial change to its Apple TV app. In recent weeks, the company has stopped using the native tvOS 26 video player in favor of a custom player similar to the one it uses on other TV platforms.

In practice, this makes the most common interactions more cumbersome and blocks users from using platform-specific Apple TV features.

As part of iOS 26, Apple launched a revamped experience for airline boarding passes in Apple Wallet.

United and Southwest rolled out support for the new iOS 26 boarding pass experience last year.

Now, American Airlines has officially followed suit by supporting key new boarding pass features in Apple Wallet.

Federico Viticci at MacStories is out today with a major update to his Apple Frames shortcut that frames your screenshots with official Apple product bezels.

Federico describes Apple Frames 4 as a “complete rethinking of the shortcut that is noticeably faster, updated to support all the latest Apple devices, and designed to support even more personalization options.”

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Packing for trips can be stressful at times. PackGoat makes the process much easier, and utilizes Apple Intelligence to help make just the right list for your trip – even down to the weight.

Spotify Prompted Playlists were first launched in New Zealand late last year before rolling out to the US and Canada in January. The feature lets you use natural language to describe what you want to hear, and the streaming service will create an AI-powered music playlist to match.

The company has now expanded the AI tool to podcasts, stating that it will use a mix of three factors to generate personalized podcast playlists for you …