Apple TV+ today releases a new documentary series covering the spooky phenomenon known as The Enfield Poltergeist, perfectly timed for the Halloween season. All four episodes are streaming now.

Apple has been facing a long-running patent infringement battle with medical technology company Masimo over the Apple Watch. Apple has already suffered major defeats in court, as the US International Trade Commission (ITC) seems to agree that the Apple Watch infringes Masimo’s patents. Now the ITC has issued an order that could ban Apple from importing Apple Watch in the US.

Apple announced a new Journal app in June at WWDC 2023 as part of iOS 17. At the time, the company said the app would become available later this year, and now we know that it will be released soon with iOS 17.2. However, one thing that wasn’t clear was whether Journal would work with devices other than the iPhone. Now we know that’s not the case.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple has been developing a new system that will allow its employees to install software updates on sealed iPhones without taking them out of the box. With the release of the first iOS 17.2 beta to developers on Thursday, 9to5Mac was able to confirm the existence of this system.

Seemingly coinciding with the release of watchOS 10.1, a number of Apple Watch users are complaining of abnormal battery drain issues. A number of 9to5Mac readers have reached out to share that their Apple Watches are facing this problem…

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Similar to other streaming platforms, Apple Music lets users choose whether or not they want to share what they’re listening to with their friends on the platform. This history also influences your recommendations. While you can already disable this option, Apple will soon let users disable Apple Music’s Listening History only when a specific Focus Mode is turned on.

iOS 17.2 beta 1 is here, and it’s packed with new features and changes. From the new Journal app to new features for Apple Music and updates to the Action button, head below for a full recap of everything new in iOS 17.2 so far.

When Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 Pro, it shared 10 customization options for the new Action button. One of those options, however, was described as coming later. With iOS 17.2, it has arrived.

Apple has enabled the testing of a new security feature with the first iOS 17.2 beta. For use with iMessage, Contact Key Verification gives users more certainty they’re messaging with the people they’re intending.

In addition to the new Journal app, iOS 17.2 also includes new features for Apple Music. One of these new features is now an automatic “Favorites” playlist based on songs you’ve marked as favorites in your library. The update also adds support for collaborative playlists.

The first tvOS 17.2 beta for Apple TV just dropped, and it includes a new way to navigate within the TV app.

Popular fitness tracking app and Apple Editors’ Choice award-winner SmartGym is out with another update today. The latest release comes with more useful features like heart rate zones, advanced logging, and more flexibility for assigning routines to specific days.

An all-time low has returned to Apple’s new HomePod 2 at $280. It’s joined by a collection of discounts on Anker’s latest Prime USB-C GaN chargers and power banks, all of which start from $45. Then there’s the original Apple Watch Ultra at just $629 if you act fast. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

So there may not be an Apple Watch Ultra 3 in 2024? No problem. People only want one thing from the Apple Watch Ultra anyway, and a new version number ain’t it.

Update: In an earnings call, CEO Mike Sievert told investors and analysts that the idea has now been completely abandoned – statement below.

A reported move regarding some older T-Mobile unlimited plans got the carrier into hot water, and the company’s CEO said that it never intended to proceed with this – rather, it was just carrying out a small-scale test. But even the test has now been abandoned …

There has been speculation of late of Apple considering the launch of a “low cost” MacBook of some kind, and a leaker today suggests that it could take the form of a 12-inch MacBook – as well a 13-inch one specifically geared to the education market.

There have been similar suggestions from other sources, though all have been vague, and all of the sources have rather variable records …

A vulnerability in A-series and M-series chips could force iPhones, Macs, and iPads to divulge passwords and other sensitive information to an attacker. Security researchers have dubbed the flaw – which affects Safari on the Mac, and any browser on iOS devices – iLeakage.

In a proof of concept attack, researchers were able to obtain access to the contents of a Gmail inbox, YouTube history, and passwords auto-filled by Safari …

A new market intelligence report suggests that Chinese iPhone sales fell 10% year-on-year, between Q3 2022 and the same quarter this year. This was significantly worse than the overall 3% decline in the Chinese smartphone market.

Several explanations are offered, but a key one is the surprise reemergence of Huawei as a competitor – with US sanctions-busting or industrial espionage suspected …