A number of case makers are rising to the challenge and fixing Apple’s most baffling design decision for its latest iPhone.
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Zac Hall is a Senior Editor, covering Apple, apps, and AI. His work is regularly featured by Techmeme.
He joined 9to5Mac in 2013. He later served as Lead Editor from 2016 through 2020, before creating the Space Explored website.
In 2015, Zac began co-hosting 9to5Mac Happy Hour, establishing the format of the site’s premier podcast, which he hosted for eight years.
In 2018, he created 9to5Mac Daily, providing audio recaps of Apple and technology news each weekday. He also hosted multiple seasons of the 9to5Mac Watch Time podcast, a health and fitness-focused interview series.
Zac is based in the lovely Gulf Coast town of Ocean Springs, MS, where he lives with his brilliant kids and Nova, his loyal Cavachon rescue.
Contact: zac@9to5mac.com
A number of case makers are rising to the challenge and fixing Apple’s most baffling design decision for its latest iPhone.
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Starting with iOS 18.2, Apple has enhanced its AirTag item trackers with a special feature that makes locating lost luggage easier than ever. The “Share Item Location” capability requires adoption by airlines to work, and this week the busiest airline in America has announced its support.
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Heads up, fellow podcasters. Apple has announced some scheduled downtime for Podcasts Connect next week.
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Want a new iPhone with Apple Intelligence? Before today, that would set you back about $800. After Apple’s latest iPhone announcement, however, the cost to access Apple Intelligence on iPhone is 25% less. There are just two very minor caveats.
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Another new iPhone can only mean one thing: new Apple wallpapers! Fortunately, you don’t need to go out and buy the new iPhone 16e if you just want to try Apple’s latest wallpaper.
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Apple officially announced the iPhone 16e today, replacing the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 with a $599 model that supports Apple Intelligence. Following the announcement, Apple has also posted the iOS 18.3.1 restore image for the new iPhone 16e.
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Hmm…something seems to have gone wrong. That’s according to ChatGPT, which is currently experiencing an outage of some scale right now.
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Apple discontinued the Home button on the iPod touch when it stopped making iPods in 2022. Later that year, Apple dropped the Home button from the iPad line with the 10th generation model. It took a few years longer for the Home button to leave the iPhone line, but the day has finally come…
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After years of development, Apple has unveiled what it calls C1, its first-ever in-house cellular modem. Apple’s latest silicon replaces Qualcomm modem chips previously required for 5G connectivity in the iPhone.
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The Ai Pin is officially dead. Parts of Humane have been sold to HP, and the Ai Pin will cease to function in a week. Cause of death? An outdated and undercooked bet against the iPhone made by former Apple engineers that Humane tried to disguise as artificial intelligence hardware.
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iPhone 17 season is heating up with two especially interesting design variants: iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro. Yes, there will be a plain iPhone 17, but it doesn’t sound like Apple will be very bold with its design this year.
So what about the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro designs that some are calling radical? There seems to be two camps: those who believe the designs are real, and those who think Apple will never release something like what we’re seeing in leaks and rumors.
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At a glance, the most notable change to Siri in iOS 18 is its new design. The floating orb has been replaced with a rainbow glow around the edge of the device. This signals that Siri is now powered by Apple Intelligence, but the biggest AI features for Siri haven’t rolled out yet. That’s about to change in the next few iOS 18 updates.
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Welcome to Neural. AI moves fast. We help you keep up. OpenAI says GPT-4.5 is coming to ChatGPT in a matter of weeks. But first, xAI will unveil Grok 3 tonight. Now the countdown is on for OpenAI to do the funniest thing ever…
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Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw reports that Spotify is still working on a pricier version of its streaming music subscription, and Apple may not be too far behind it.
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Apple Vision Pro only just turned a year old, and it may be about to get its biggest update yet — no new hardware required.
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In the category of disappointing but not surprising, Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg that the upgraded version of Siri may not be fully ready for iOS 18.4 when it arrives soon.
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Sophia Tung and Zac Hall discuss the evolution of tech news sources, the challenges of launching new tech verticals, and the need for an AI news platform. They explore the impact of professional audio equipment on podcasting, audience engagement, and diverse tech interests. The conversation touches on podcasting’s future, T-Mobile and Starlink’s collaboration, and innovative changes in connectivity. They discuss satellite internet, van life, Elon Musk’s bid for OpenAI, upcoming OpenAI models, AI user experience, personal stories, cultural reflections, self-driving cars, and pop culture predictions.
Netflix has taken a break from raising prices to confirm that it didn’t mean to support that Apple TV feature everyone has wanted for years.
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Apple is expected to replace the iPhone SE 3 next week with a new affordably-priced model that has several upgrades. Those upgrades, including Apple Intelligence support, are expected to make the next iPhone much more popular than previous entry-level iPhones.
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Earlier this week, Apple made a lot of longtime App Store customers happy. After years of asking for a way to merge Apple accounts, Apple released a tool enabling the ability to move purchases from one Apple account to another Apple account. The only catch? There are a lot of requirements that each account must meet.
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Update: TikTok is back on the App Store.
Breaking news from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg: Trump’s attorney general Pam Bondi has reportedly penned a letter to Apple that grants the company permission to restore TikTok in the App Store.
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Apple left the Mac in a bad place when it came to external displays between 2016 and 2022. After discontinuing the Thunderbolt Display, Apple relied on LG to sell a plasticky monitor with PC-maker build quality if you wanted a standalone 27-inch monitor with 5K Retina resolution. Apple eventually started selling an ultra premium (in Mac display terms) monitor with the 32-inch 6K Pro Display XDR, but it has always been priced the same as a small truck of Mac mini computers.
However, just three years after releasing the Apple Studio Display, it sounds like Apple may be planning a decent revision in the near future.
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Apple has been the target of an antitrust complaint in Germany for three years over its App Tracking Transparency feature. ATT allows iPhone users to request that apps not track their activity between other apps.
Now the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) in Germany has issued its “preliminary legal assessment” which alleges that ATT only applies to third-party apps and not Apple, violating antitrust policy. In turn, Apple has responded.
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Apple has officially partnered with Alibaba to bring Apple Intelligence AI features to the iPhone in China. Alibaba Group chairman Joe Tsai confirmed the deal on Thursday, sending the Chinese firm’s stock price to a three-year high.
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