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Benjamin Mayo

bzamayo

Follow Benjamin on Twitter to keep up with his latest projects. Benjamin blogs about Apple news and rumors and posts insightful product and app reviews. Read his work on 9to5Mac and his personal blog.

Benjamin Mayo also creates apps for iOS as a professional indie developer and contractor; more details here. Email to discuss making your iOS project.

on Twitter and follow @bzamayo on Threads.

Connect with Benjamin Mayo

How to revert iPhone Mail app changes from iOS 18.2 update

iPhone Mail app icon

The default iPhone email app, Apple Mail, has received a major design and functional change as of iOS 18.2 update. The changes aim to make triaging through your email easier, with automatic inbox category filters and icons to indicate known senders.

But some people just want it back to how it always was, and are looking how to undo and revert the UI changes. Here’s how to do just that …

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Apple to stop selling iPhone SE and iPhone 14 in Europe as USB-C deadline hits

USB-C iPhone 15

As reported by iGeneration, Apple will stop selling the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14 series at the end of the year, as the USB-C universal charging connector deadline comes into effect.

Right now, the oldest phones still sold directly through Apple are the third-generation iPhone SE, the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Plus. As these phones feature a Lightning port, they are in violation of the European Union policy, which goes into effect starting January 2025.

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Netflix CEO to appear in cameo role in upcoming Apple TV+ comedy

Apple TV The Studio

The upcoming Seth Rogen comedy The Studio will feature a surprise appearance from Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. Despite the series being ordered by Apple TV+, Rogen explained to Vanity Fair that Sarandos agreed to feature in one of its rival streamer’s work as a favor. Rogen described the ask as a long shot, but as they say, you never got nothing unless you ask.

The Studio is a ten-part satirical comedy about the machinations of a movie studio that is trying to stay relevant; in the show, Rogen plays the newly appointed studio head Matt Remick.

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iPhone 16 has a USB-C port, here’s what you can do with it

iPhone 16 USB-C

All iPhone 16 models feature a USB-C connector, replacing the old Apple Lightning connector. Via this USB-C port, you can connect to a vast number of accessories and peripherals. iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max support faster USB-3 speeds over the USB-C port, enabling up to 10 Gbps data transfer speeds.

USB-C makes it easy to connect displays, external storage, cameras, and charge using the same cable as all your other devices. Here’s what you can do with your new iPhone and its shiny new port …

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Watch the trailer for Severance season 2, ahead of January premiere on Apple TV+

Apple TV+ Severance Season 2

Apple today shared the official trailer for the highly-anticipated second season of its hit drama series ‘Severance’, ahead of its premiere on January 17 on Apple TV+.

Based on the short snippets of scenes we are privy to, it appears the second season will pick up right after the climatic events of the season one finale. If you can’t remember what happened in season one, given that it aired over 1000 days ago, now is the time to catch up …

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Fly Me to the Moon movie now streaming on Apple TV+

Fly Me to the Moon Apple TV

After making its debut in cinemas around the world in July, the original film Fly Me to the Moon is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in this comedic drama, which is set against the backdrop of the 1960s space race. As the outlook of the Apollo 11 mission falters, marketing exec Kelly Jones (Johansson) prepares to stage a fake moon landing, just in case.

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iPhone charging slowly? How to fast charge iPhone 16

Modern phones, like the iPhone 16, have a large internal battery capacity. Recharging that battery can take about four hours, if using the slowest available charging methods. In best conditions, though, you can fast charge your iPhone from empty to 50% in 30 minutes, with a full 100% charge in about 2 hours.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro support fast charging speeds over both the wired USB-C port, using fast charging power bricks, and via a new generation of wireless MagSafe chargers. Here’s what you need to fast charge iPhone 16 …

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Your Apple Music Replay yearly recap for 2024 is now available

The Apple Music year-in-review montage for 2024 is now available. View yours now at replay.music.apple.com for Apple Music subscribers. New for this year, in the Apple Music app on iOS 18.1 or later, users can also tap through to watch their Replay without leaving the Music app.

While Apple Music Replay continuously tracks the music you are listening to all year round with monthly playlists, at the end of the year it also debuts a yearly recap.

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Review: Eve Outdoor Cam is a great HomeKit camera with floodlight [save 28% right now]

Eve Outdoor Cam HomeKit

Update: Right now, you can save 28% on the Eve Outdoor Cam at Amazon.

Eve Outdoor Cam is a sleek outdoor video camera for HomeKit, with integrated LED floodlight ideally designed to light up your driveway at night. I’ve been a fan of the Eve Indoor camera for a while, and my experience with the Outdoor Cam is similarly positive. HomeKit cameras are better than ever, thanks to significant user interface upgrades to the Apple Home app in iOS 16.

And HomeKit Secure Video support means clips are saved to your iCloud account in an end-to-end encrypted manner. To make things even more compelling, this set up requires no additional monthly subscription to use, assuming you pay for some iCloud storage. So how does Eve Outdoor Cam and the state of HomeKit Secure Video fare? Very well, for the most part …

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Review: SwitchBot Wallet Finder is an incredibly useful accessory to track your wallet with iPhone Find My

I have an AirTag on my keychain to keep track of my keys, but obviously an AirTag is too big and bulky to fit inside a wallet. That’s what the SwitchBot Wallet Finder is for. (Wallet Finder is currently 30% off for Black Friday, so it’s an even better deal than normal right now.)

Disguised inside a thin, credit-card form factor, the SwitchBot Wallet Finder connects to the Find My app on your iPhone, so you can follow its location, and it even houses a speaker so you can make it beep to help you find your wallet when it inevitably gets lost somewhere in your home. Read on for my review …

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Severance gets official companion podcast alongside season two release

The popular Apple sci-fi drama Severance is getting an official companion podcast, alongside the release of season two. The podcast will be hosted by the show’s director Ben Stiller, and star Adam Scott (Mark). It will include appearances from other cast members like Britt Lower (Helly), Zach Cherry, as well as the show’s creator Dan Erickson.

The podcast will debut on January 7th, with daily episodes covering each episode of Severance season one. The podcast will continue in weekly instalments alongside the premiere of every new episode of season two of the show. As a reminder, Severance season two commences January 17, with new episodes each Friday.

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Hands-on with AirPods 4: better in every way

AirPods 4

AirPods 4 are here, and they are awesome. As a pair of on-ear wireless earbuds, they are really hard to fault. I have used AirPods 2 for the past five years — skipping the third-generation model due to fit concerns — and AirPods 4 are what I have been waiting for.

The new AirPods are available in two models: $129, or $179 with Active Noise Cancellation. I have the ANC buds and I’m thrilled with them, but I predict even the base model is going to drive a lot of sales this holiday season.

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Apple finally announces streaming date for ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ movie

The Apple original film Fly Me to the Moon veritably bombed at the box office, when it hit cinemas in July of this year, grossing a mere $42 million worldwide. In fact, the poor takings for the film is seen to be one of the factors that led Apple to retreat from its previous theatrical strategy.

Either way, after spending an unusually long time in an exclusive video-on-demand (buy or rent) window, Apple has finally announced when Fly Me to the Moon will be available to stream on Apple TV+: the movie streams worldwide on December 6.

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Apple Card users can now get 3% cashback with ChargePoint and Booking․com

Apple Card has expanded its Daily Cash scheme to include two new partners. Apple Card customers can now get 3% Daily Cash back when they book prepaid car rentals or holidays stays with Booking.com, or charge their vehicle at qualifying ChargePoint stations.

Purchases of home electric ChargePoint chargers will also qualify for the boosted 3% cashback rate. Additionally, Booking.com will give 2% in travel credits for eligible hotel stays and rental cars (more details here).

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Hit sci-fi series Silo returns for season two today

One of the biggest hits on Apple TV+ returns for season two today: the sci-fi series Silo, based on the book series by Hugh Howey.

Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer who seeks to break out of the underground silo in which everyone is living. Following the explosive season one finale, season two picks up with an expansion of the world as Juliette explores the outside.

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UK consumer rights group sues Apple for maintaining an ‘unlawful’ iCloud monopoly

iCloud unhappy

UK consumer rights group Which? is leading a lawsuit against Apple, targeting Apple’s dominance over cloud services on iPhone and iPad. Essentially, it argues that Apple forces iOS device users to buy iCloud storage as it does not allow other cloud services to integrate deeply with the system for data backup. Apple said it “rejects any suggestion that … iCloud practices are anticompetitive”.

The class action is looking for damages of about £70 per individual, although this figure could change dramatically once the case goes to trial, or a settlement is reached. The case could also be thrown out entirely. Details of the suit can be found at cloudclaim.co.uk.

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OWC announces its first Thunderbolt 5 dock, compatible with latest M4 Macs

The new M4 Pro Mac mini and new M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro feature Thunderbolt 5 ports for the first time. Thunderbolt 5 offers bi-directional transfer speeds up to 80Gb/s, or 2x faster than Thunderbolt 4. It can also drive high-resolution displays using a 120Gb/s bandwidth mode.

However, the universe of Thunderbolt 5 accessories is still nascent. OWC announced its first Thunderbolt 5 dock today, priced at $189.

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Kuo: Apple to release its own smart home camera in 2026, with AI features

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported today that Apple will enter the smart home camera market in 2026, with the company seemingly set to compete against third-party HomeKit cameras like the Eve Indoor Cam for the first time.

The IP camera is targeted to hit annual shipments in the tens of millions, indicating Apple hopes this will become a major accessory in its product lineup. Kuo says the appeal of Apple’s camera will be rich integration with Siri and Apple Intelligence features.

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All your iPhone notes gone in Apple Notes app? Here’s the fix

Apple Notes gone

Some iPhone users are reporting a scary bug with the Notes app on iPhone. After agreeing to new iCloud terms and conditions as prompted by the system, the Notes app appears to disconnect from iCloud and instead presents users with a screen of zero notes, as if all the user’s notes have been deleted.

This happened to me on my phone running iOS 18.2. Based on the number of reports on social media from aggrieved users worried that all their notes are now gone forever, this is a relatively widespread bug that impacts iPhones running any iOS 18 version. Fortunately, there is a fix …

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EU commission assessing whether the iPad offers sufficient interoperability with third-party headphones and ‘smart pens’

Apple App Store EU

The EU commission announced today that it is now formally assessing whether iPadOS, the underlying software for Apple’s iPad tablets, is in compliance with the Digital Markets Act.

The DMA requires that iPadOS must allow the choice of a default web browser, allow alternative app stores, and support accessory ecosystems “like headphones and smart pens”, in the European region.

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