Apps

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 …

Apple has updated its developer website this week to spotlight third-party apps using Liquid Glass to “create natural, responsive experiences across Apple platforms.”

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.

Juggling loads of alarms in the Clock app can be annoying. VariAlarm aims to fix this, by dynamically adjusting your alarms based on your schedule, rather than having fixed times.

The United Airlines app has been updated with streamlined access to AirTag baggage tracking. The app now makes it easier for you to share the location of an AirTag with United’s customer service staff.

Additionally, with a partial government shutdown leaving TSA checkpoints understaffed, the app will now provide you with estimates of the wait time for security at your departure airport – alongside a number of other useful enhancements …

Last week, Apple released iOS 26.4, which enabled support for voice-based AI apps to CarPlay for the first time.

Just a few days later, OpenAI has updated the ChatGPT app for iPhone to take advantage of this change. Now, ChatGPT is fully accessible via a dedicated CarPlay app.

I have been an audiobook fan for decades. I have had an Audible subscription since 2008 (before they were owned by Amazon), and I have listened to hundreds, if not thousands, of books during that time. A few years ago, I wrote about my process of taking cheap CD audiobooks from Amazon and combining them into M4B files to host on my Plex server. Once I discovered it was possible to put these files into Plex on my Mac Mini, it became my go-to audiobook setup for me. Paired with the Prologue app, it creates the ultimate listening experience that you own and control.

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’re someone looking to add more meditation to your life, Yogi Breath could be the right fit. Yogi Breath is a guided breathwork app that moves at your pace – with a number of helpful features to keep you motivated.

Hot on the heels of rolling out a major update last month, Carrot Weather is back with more. A new update today adds two new features to the versatile weather app: multi-model forecasts and analysis from the Storm Prediction Center.

A court ruling with potentially massive implications has found that social media apps are intentionally designed to be addictive, and are harmful to teenage mental health.

A now 20-year-old woman sued Meta and YouTube owner Google for damaging her mental health as a child, with a jury awarding her $6 million in damages – and this is likely to be only the start …

Apple today announced the “biggest update since its launch” for the Analytics platform inside App Store Connect. Apple touts that there are more than 100 new metrics, new cohort capabilities, new reports for subscriptions and benchmarks, and more.

Popular flight tracking app Flighty has launched a major new update today, adding a new ‘Airport Intelligence’ feature that’s even available on the web. Here are the details.

The Apple Health app on iPhone is a powerful way to track all facets of your health. Whether it’s recording data from your Apple Watch, importing records straight from your doctor, or integration with third-party apps, there’s something for everyone.

Here’s how to get the most out of the Apple Health 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.

Tasks, a very popular productivity app for the Apple ecosystem – just got a massive new update with support for loads of App Intents, an all new interface, as well as automations to help you manage your tasks. We covered Tasks when it initially launched back in 2020, and this week’s new update is a major one.

Mac users who prefer Gemini for their AI interactions might not have to wait much longer for a dedicated app. Bloomberg reports today that Google has quietly started beta testing an early version of a dedicated Gemini app for macOS with select 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.

iPhone cameras have come a long way over the years, but if you find yourself yearning for more of a classy, filmic look versus the computational photography of today, Kiosk 27 might be a fun fit for you.

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.

Weather mini is a nicely designed weather app for the entire Apple ecosystem that adds a couple key features that Apple Weather misses. You can plan out trips, chat with the on-device Apple Intelligence model for forecasts, and it even includes a fully featured Apple Watch app.