Benjamin Mayo

After several days of teasers, Apple TV+ today confirmed that the streaming service will be free for all this weekend. Between January 4 and January 5, customers can stream all Apple Originals with no subscription required.

This free weekend promotion will help garner awareness for the service as we embark on the new year, with major launches like Severance season two starting later this month.

The Meta Quest line of AR and VR headsets appear to be popular Christmas gifts this year, as the Meta Horizon companion soars to the top of the iPhone App Store in the US region, and around the world. The uplift in demand is likely driven by the release of the Meta Quest 3S, a cheap-but-capable $299 model.

The Amazon Alexa app also rose in the Top Free app charts, as Echo speakers continue to be popular gift ideas. AirPods and Apple Watch were also likely to be one of the most unwrapped gifts this Christmas, but the App Store does not give us any insights into the popularity of Apple’s own products …

Update: AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation currently reduced to $169 on Amazon.

So, Apple just updated its base model AirPods for the first time in years. There’s now two new models, one with Active Noise Cancellation, and one without – starting at $129.

ANC was the hero exclusive feature of AirPods Pro … until today. So how do the new AirPods (not Pro) stack up? Here’s all the differences.

With Christmas now just days away, it’s about time to ‘wrap up’ the holiday shopping season. Everyone is in the midst of hurrying to get their last minute gifts sorted. If you haven’t found something for someone special quite yet, here’s some iPhone-centric accessories and Apple gift ideas.

My recommendations are the Mujjo iPhone 16 leather case, SwitchBot Wallet Finder card, Belkin portable phone charger, a Continuity Camera mount, and the Apple TV 4K. More details about these picks after the break …

Thanks to a usually-reliable tip off from iPhoneSoft, we may already know device compatibility for Apple’s next major operating system updates coming next year.

The report says that every iPhone model that currently supports iOS 18 will also support iOS 19, although like every year, some features may be limited to newer phones. Nevertheless, that means another year of support for iPhones as old as the iPhone XS and XR, first released in 2018.

The Apple TV+ streaming hit Severance is now available on physical media: you can now buy Severance season one on Blu-Ray.

The physical release has arrived a month ahead of the season two premiere, so if you have friends who haven’t watched the show yet, this might be a great little last-minute gift idea to get them all caught up before season two kicks off on January 17.

Apple has officially renewed its hit sci-fi drama Silo for season three and season four, which will conclude the adaptation of the story based on the popular book series by Hugh Howey.

The show is currently in the midst of airing its second season on Apple TV+, so the official renewal news will be warmly received by its fans. Unofficially, filming for the third season commenced earlier this month.

The Netgear Nighthawk RS600 is one of the first wave of WiFi 7 home routers on the market. While the RS600 is technically marketed as the mid-tier option in Netgear’s lineup, it is more than capable at delivering fast wireless internet across your home. 

For Apple users, the relevance of WiFi 7 has come to the fore with the launch of the iPhone 16, which are the first Apple devices to tout WiFi 7 support. In this review, we’ll test out the Netgear RS600 speeds on WiFi 7 using the iPhone 16 Plus …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Following a launch last month of Apple TV+ on Amazon Prime Video in the United States, the channel is now rolling out to additional regions.

Apple TV+ is now available to subscribe and watch within Prime Video in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. The pricing is the same as if the user subscribed through Apple directly.

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.

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.

The AirPods 4 earbuds are designed to work best with iPhone and other Apple devices, including automatic pairing and set-up. But under-the-hood, they are Bluetooth-compatible headphones and can pair to your Android phone, tablet or other device. Here’s how.

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.

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.

Shazam, the song recognition service that Apple acquired in 2018, today announced a major milestone: its users have now identified more than 100 billion songs.

The most identified song is Dance Monkey, by Tones and I, which has been recognized by Shazam more than 45 million times.

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).

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.