Latest

9to5Mac Daily: May 8, 2024 – More new iPad tidbits, Apple + Rivian partnership? 

9to5mac daily podcast

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

Sponsored by iMazing 3: The world’s most trusted tool to manage Apple devices and transfer data from a Mac or PC. Redesigned for the future. 

Expand Expanding Close

Replacing your expired Apple Card? Apple wants your old piece of titanium back

Apple Card replacement envelope

It’s been nearly five years since the Apple Card first debuted as an iPhone-exclusive credit card option from Apple. Early adopters of the Apple Card were recently notified that their titanium physical card would soon be replaced due to its expiration date drawing near.

Users have now started to receive their replacement Apple Cards, and with them, a surprising addition to the packaging: a prepaid envelope to send your old titanium card back to Apple.

Expand Expanding Close

New iPads hint at eSIM-only iPhone expanding to more countries soon

eSIM-only iPhone 15 remains exclusive to the US as the rest of the world still gets a SIM tray

Apple on Tuesday announced the new iPad Air and iPad Pro, and an interesting detail about both of them is that their respective Cellular versions are eSIM only, which means that they no longer have a SIM card tray. While eSIM-only iPhones are only available in the US, Apple is making eSIM-only iPads available worldwide – and this might be a hint of what will happen to the iPhone soon.

Expand Expanding Close

Buying an M4 iPad Pro? You should know about these two unadvertised tiers of RAM, CPU, and more

Yesterday Apple unveiled the next generation of the iPad Pro, a major update including an M4 chip, OLED-powered Ultra Retina XDR display, ultra-thin industrial design, and more.

In the last couple generations of iPad Pro, there was a key difference between the 11-inch and 13-inch models that many shoppers didn’t know about. The larger model came with significantly better display technology than its smaller sibling. That’s changed with the M4 iPad Pro, with Apple giving both models with the same top-tier Ultra Retina XDR.

However, while it was not announced in the keynote, Apple is nonetheless shipping two very different tiers of M4 iPad Pro. This time around, the differences aren’t tied to the display. Rather, there are significant, unadvertised changes that will come depending on the storage option you choose.

Expand Expanding Close

Nearly half of iPhone buyers choose upgraded storage tier, study finds

Major ramp-up in Apple's plans to shift production from China | iPhone 15 models on display

CIRP is out with a new report today focused on the sales patterns of iPhone buyers when it comes to storage tiers. They highlight how storage tiers have become a major way for Apple to increase its profit line for each new iPhone sold, as the iPhone’s margins get increasingly better when storage is upgraded.

According to CIRP’s findings, almost half of iPhone buyers opt to upgrade the storage on their device. And this trend skews even higher, reaching over 50%, when considering the iPhone 15 lineup in isolation.

Expand Expanding Close
Apple Watch Series 9 vs 8

Deals: Apple Watch Series 9 models $100 off today, plus AirTags, AirPods, and more

While pre-orders are now live at major online retailers for Apple’s new M4 iPad Pro, iPad Air, and Apple Pencil Pro, the deals are still rolling elsewhere this afternoon. Firstly, we are tracking straight up $100 price drops on Midnight, Silver, and Starlight Apple Watch Series 9 models. Those offers also join AirTag bundles at under $20 per tracker as well as a solid discount for folks who still pledge allegiance to Apple’s AirPods 2nd Gen. Everything is waiting below in today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break

Expand Expanding Close

Apple Vision Pro to receive exclusive Marvel immersive app: ‘What If…? An Immersive Story’

vision pro marvel what if

Today the Walt Disney Company announced it would be launching its “first-ever interactive Disney+ Original story coming exclusively to Apple Vision Pro.”

What If…? An Immersive Story is described as a new app for Vision Pro that will enable an interactive mix of immersion, video, storytelling, and more. The app will connect to the Disney+ series, Marvel’s What If…?

Expand Expanding Close

New iPad Pro demand likely to be low for two reasons – TrendForce

New iPad Pro demand | Seen here with Magic Keyboard

You might expect the introduction of the first OLED screens and uber-thin form factor to result in strong iPad Pro demand, but a new forecast from market intelligence company TrendForce suggests it may actually be lower than last year.

The company predicts that total shipments of the latest iPad Pro models “will only reach between 4.5 to 5 million units in 2024” – which would be down on 2023. It gives two reasons for this pessimistic picture …

Expand Expanding Close

More ads coming to Prime Video, including interactive shopping ads during pauses

Prime Video logo on TV

2024 is shaping up to be the year of ads for Amazon Prime Video.

In January the streaming service, which has long been ad-free, debuted an ad-based tier and instantly moved nearly all its users into that tier. Since then, the only way for Prime subscribers to avoid ads has been to pay an extra $3 per month.

Pretty soon, that $3 option may be more compelling as Prime Video is planning to increase the number of ways users will see ads and make shopping a key component of those ads.

Expand Expanding Close
FTX customers will get money back | Bitcoin against computer screen

FTX customers to get their money back in full (with asterisk) [U]

Update: A court filing has confirmed that the company now has more than enough money to repay customers. In recognition of the lost gains, creditors owed $50k or less will receive around 118% of their deposit value at the time of the Chapter 11 filing.

In a surprise development, bankruptcy lawyers say that FTX customers – once considered to have lost almost everything – are now expected to get their money back in full from the remains of the cryptocurrency company …

Expand Expanding Close

Another smart home company fails, underlines importance of HomeKit or Matter compatibility

HomeKit or Matter compatibility key as Brilliant switches (shown) under threat

Smart home company Brilliant has announced that it has run out of money, after failing to raise more capital in an attempted funding round.

While its smart home controllers and light switches continue to work for now, there’s no guarantee that will remain the case for long given the lack of either HomeKit or Matter compatibility …

Expand Expanding Close

TikTok is suing the US government, arguing that banning it is unconstitutional

TikTok is suing the US | Modified logo with prohibition sign

Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, is suing the US government, arguing that the threatened ban is unconstitutional. The company had previously said it would do so, though it had been unclear whether it would follow through.

The company is fighting a law which forces it to either sell the app to an American company, or be banned from operating in the US …

Expand Expanding Close

Matter IoT standard now supports EV chargers, kitchen and laundry appliances, and more

Tesla model 3 EV charging

Today Matter, the Internet of Things (IoT) standard developed by major players like Apple, Google, and Amazon, has been updated to version 1.3.

This release introduces support for a host of new device types, such as EV chargers and kitchen and laundry appliances, while also adding enhancements like energy tracking, upgraded TV features, and more.

Expand Expanding Close