Zac Hall

Remember Apple’s promised iOS 17 feature for using AirPlay from an iPhone directly to a hotel TV? Yeah, that snuck in to the iOS 17.3 release cycle, fulfilling the feature list announced at WWDC 2023 last June.

The first iOS 17.3 release candidate is now available for iPhone users on the beta software update track. Stolen Device Protection is the headlining feature. It’s also the solution to an iPhone theft scheme revealed in a WSJ report last year. We also now have the official release notes for iOS 17.3 and macOS 14.3 Sonoma after reaching the RC stage.

If you were hoping for Ultra Wideband and Wi-Fi 6E or 7 chips in Apple Vision Pro, well, those are very specific expectations. Also, Apple Vision Pro appears to lack those chips, based on the official FCC filing from today.

Apple Vision Pro pre-orders in the US start on Friday, and reporters are getting their twelfth round of hands-on time with the hardware. That officially makes Vision Pro the most reviewed Apple hardware before journalists publish their actual reviews of Vision Pro.

What’s different this time, however, is Apple has allowed reporters to share photos of them actually using Vision Pro. Whether or not that helps or hurts the product is up to you.

Apple Vision Pro pre-orders are a week away, and Apple is sharing new information about the buying process. An iPhone or iPad with Face ID will be needed to determine the best fitting hardware at checkout. For those who wear glasses, Apple has also shared more details about the process for ordering ZEISS optical inserts.

iOS 17.3 beta 3 has arrived for developers. The pre-release software follows the botched iOS 17.3 beta 2 release that caused some iPhones to brick during installation. For iPhone users, the update includes Stolen Device Protection.

Apple has released Xcode version 15.2, adding support for creating Apple Vision Pro apps. Apple’s integrated development environment with Vision Pro app support was previously only available in beta.

Apple Vision Pro officially has pre-order and launch dates as of today, and now we know how the public will get to try Apple’s first spatial computer as well. Starting February 2 at 8 a.m., Apple retail stores will begin offering customers Vision Pro demos.

Clear a spot on your iPhone home screen for the all-new Clear 2.0. The beloved, gesture-based lists app that launched over a decade ago is back with the brand new price of free.

Impending, the studio behind the mass hit title Heads Up, has rebuilt Clear from the ground up. The new foundation gives Clear the runway for another decade of development.

Best of all: Impending is breathing new life into Clear without shifting to subscription pricing. Clear 2.0 is completely free to use with no functionality hidden behind in-app purchases. Instead, Clear is monetized by a daily revolving store where you can buy new themes, fonts, app icons, and more.

A major new Apple antitrust development will reportedly land soon. That’s according to the New York Times, reporting today that the United States Department of Justice has reached “late stages” of its monopoly investigation of Apple.

App Store Review is blocking another Basecamp camp, and David Heinemeier Hansson isn’t happy. It happened in 2020 with the iOS app for their Hey email service. This time, it’s the standalone Hey Calendar app that Apple says violates App Store rules.

Have kids with iPhones and iPads? As a parent, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with Apple’s Screen Time feature. These parental controls can be found in the Settings app under the Screen Time section on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Screen Time parent controls are very configurable and you can set individual rules for each child. However, I’ve recently bumped up against two Screen Time limitations that should be on Apple’s radar.

Here’s the thing about the iPad line: it’s always being worked on, and that work is never complete. You know, like roadwork. As a kid, I recall thinking Atlanta was only under construction for a few weeks. Oh, the naïveté.

I also once thought the iPad Air 2 was the last new iPad anyone would buy without being envious of the next model. It was slimmer than the iPad Air and it had Touch ID. That’s basically future proof!

Then the iPad Pro line was introduced… Fast-forward to now and the iPad line is still in a state of flux.

Fine, I’ll do a best of 2023 list, but only because there were some really great new apps released this year. My criteria? I looked at my iPhone and noticed some apps that I actually use that were introduced this year. Without further ado and in no specific order, I present you with the One True Best iPhone Apps of 2023 list.

Apple has won a temporary pause on the Apple Watch ban, thanks to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Apple has been unable to sell or import Apple Watches with blood oxygen sensors due to an ongoing patent infringement battle with Masimo.

Apple appears to be putting its money where its mouth is with artificial intelligence. According to a new report, the company has floated offers worth $50 million in licensing multiyear agreements with news publishers in order to train its AI models.

Despite a 10% drop in the number of new titles introduced this year, Apple TV+ boasts twice as many viewing hours compared to last year. That’s according to a new report from Deadline, which also says that total viewership is up 42% in 2023.

Update 12/19: AirPods 3 have received a firmware upgrade to build 6A317. The story from December 11 follows.

Following the launch of the iOS 17.3 developer beta, Apple has seeded new builds of developer beta firmware for the AirPods line as well.

The next Apple Watch Activity Challenge is set for January to celebrate the New Year. Apple Watch Activity Challenges increase awareness about fitness features and healthy habits while observing holidays and other notable occasions.

Apple is partnering with AAA and Verizon to help provide roadside assistance for iPhone customers experiencing car trouble without cellular coverage. Here’s what to know about the new Roadside Assistance via satellite feature on iPhone 14 and later.

Apple has released iOS 17.2.1 for iPhone. The software update includes bug fixes to iOS 17.2.

Apple also released macOS 14.2.1 beta. The macOS update comes just a few weeks after macOS 14.2 officially arrived with enhanced AutoFill and more features.