Top Stories

This week’s top stories: iOS 13.3, Apple Card updates, Mac Pro + Pro Display XDR, more

Chance Miller | Dec 15 2019 - 6:49 am PT

In this week’s top stories: The Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR are here, Apple releases iOS 13.3 with new features and fixes, Apple Card receives two updates, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.

The incredibly powerful Mac Pro is now available to order. The Mac Pro starts at $5,999 and goes up to over $50,000. For the base price, you get an 8-core Intel Xeon processor, 256 GB SSD, and 32GB of RAM, while the high-end configuration gets you a 4 TB SSD, 1.5 TB of RAM, and a 28-core CPU.

In conjunction with the Mac Pro, Apple’s new Pro Display XDR is also now available. While the Pro Display XDR starts at $4,999, it too can be configured with additional options such as a nano-texture coating, the Pro Stand, and more. Want to use a Pro Display XDR with your current Mac? Read more about compatibility here.

Elsewhere, iOS 13.3, iPadOS 13.3, tvOS 13.3, and macOS Catalina 10.15.2 were released to the public this week. These updates include new customization options, features, and more. macOS Catalina 10.15.2 also includes a new Remote feature for the Music and TV apps.

Apple Card users can now get 6% Daily Cash when shopping at Apple this holiday season. This includes the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, AirPods, and Apple Watch. Apple gives cash back on a daily basis, for all transactions that have cleared in the last 24 hours.

Last but not least, Apple also launched its new Apple Card 0% financing option this week. With this feature, customers can finance iPhone purchases over 24 months with 0% interest.Customers will be able to manage their Installments Plan through the Apple Card interface in the Wallet app, directly on the iPhone.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.

iOS | macOS | tvOS |

iPhone |

Apple Watch |

iPad & Mac |

Apple Card |

Apple TV |

9to5Mac Gift Guides |

Subscribe to 9to5Mac’s YouTube channel for more videos.

This week’s top videos |

9to5Mac Daily |

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by Nanoleaf: Nanoleaf is ushering in a new era of beautifully personalized lighting experiences. Visit nanoleaf.me/9to5Mac for more info on exclusive deals for Nanoleaf’s Design Kits, Twin Packs and Starter Kits.

9to5Mac Watch Time episode 11 |

Tom, Vincent, and Chris from the Apple Watchcast podcast join Watch Time to discuss the origin of their Apple Watch-focused podcast, the Apple Watch Series 5, maintaining health goals with the Activity app, running with technology from the Walkman to the Apple Watch, and much more!

9to5Mac Watch Time is a seasonal podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how the Apple Watch is affecting their lives.

9to5Mac Watch Time is now available on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and your favorite podcast player through RSS. Subscribe now to enjoy our teaser trailer and hear new episodes as soon as they drop — starting next week.

Happy Hour Podcast #255 |

Benjamin and Zac reflect on the Apple TV Siri remote, the first round of award nominations for TV+, what’s new in iOS 13.3 and other software updates, the launch of the 2019 Mac Pro, and much more.

9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Stacktrace Podcast #66 |

Mac Pro Day has finally arrived, but John and Rambo have somewhat mixed feelings about it. Also, a big segment on writing high-performance code, a deep dive into iOS splash screens, and much more.

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Apple @ Work |

Apple @ Work is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing hundreds of Macs and hundreds of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.