Benjamin Mayo

Following usual tradition when Apple is launching new hardware, the Apple Online Store is down ahead of the ‘Glowtime’ Apple event which kicks off at 10 AM Pacific Time today.

The company is expected to announce a new iPhone lineup; iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple Watch Series 10 will also be announced featuring a design change and new larger screen sizes, along with a new generation of AirPods, and potentially some other surprises.

Supply-chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this morning posted his latest estimates for iPhone 16 shipments, ahead of Apple’s event later today where the new iPhone 16 lineup will be finally unveiled.

Kuo expects iPhone 16 shipments for 2024 to be about 89 million units, down slightly from the 91 million units of the iPhone 15 shipped in the same period last year. As Apple tries to order what it will sell, this indicates that the company is not anticipating a huge jump in customer demand for the new phones.

On the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, Apple finally got rid of the Lightning port and replaced it with USB-C. This opens up a whole new world of convenience of connecting accessories and peripherals. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max go one step further, as the USB-C port on the pro models supports USB-3 speeds, 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 …

As part of its September ‘Glowtime’ event taking place on Monday, Apple will update all of its Apple Watch models, including the low-end Apple Watch SE, the mainstream Apple Watch Series 10 and the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 3.

While much attention will be on the Series 10’s redesigned thinner chassis and larger display, Bloomberg reports the other major new feature for the watches will be sleep apnea detection.

The first episode of Slow Horses season four is now available to watch on Apple TV+. The spy series, headed by Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, began in April 2022 and has been rolling out new season at a rapid clip.

It has risen in popularity ever since its premiere, and the British show is now outperforming worldwide on the service. Season four is based on the fourth book in the Mick Herron franchise, called Spook Street.

With the Major League Soccer ending in October, Apple has dropped the price of the season pass one last time to reflect the remaining time. For the rest of 2024, MLS Season Pass is now $9.99, its lowest price ever.

And for Apple TV+ members, you can now subscribe to MLS Season Pass completely for free. The only catch is to remember to cancel before the next season starts and the subscription returns to its normal pricing.

Best known for their network attached solutions (like my beloved DS920+), Synology have recently launched a new product in their lineup, called the Synology BeeStation.

The BeeStation aims to simplify the idea of a home NAS, offering a local network backup option as an alternative to cloud solutions like iCloud and Dropbox. Here’s how it works. 

The Apple original film by Ridley Scott has been re-released, with Napoleon: The Director’s Cut adding an additional 48 minutes of footage compared to the theatrical version. Watch with an Apple TV+ subscription.

Napoleon debuted in cinemas last November, taking in $221 million at the box office, and started streaming on Apple TV+ in March. The new director’s cut marks the first time Apple has released an alternate version of one of its original films.

Starting with iOS 18, the Apple Sports app will provide Live Activities for games, surfacing real-time and updating sports scores directly on your iPhone lock screen, and Apple Watch Smart Stack.

This functionality will replace the similar “Follow Game” feature currently available in the TV app. Users will be able to choose which teams in Sports they want to receive Live Activities for, and scores will be sent to the user’s lock screen automatically when matches start.

For fans of Ted Lasso, this latest development is the most concrete news yet that season four of Apple’s hit comedy series is going ahead.

Deadline reports that cast negotiations are underway, with contract options already executed for stars Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein and Jeremy Swift. The Apple TV+ series is eyeing a production kickoff in early 2025.

Apple’s deal with the MLS provides exclusive streaming of all Major League Soccer regular season matches through the Apple TV app, with an MLS Season Pass subscription.

MLS Season Pass also includes access to other soccer content, including the Leagues Cup. This Sunday, you can watch the 2024 Leagues Cup final with MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

Apple is said to be planning a September 10 date for its fall Apple event, where it will unveil the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models, alongside new AirPods and Apple Watches. That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The iPhone 16 series will mostly look the same as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro phones. The hero feature of the iPhone 16 models will be a new capacitive button on the side of the phone, which will be used to capture photos and videos when pressed. Assuming Apple follows through with the plan, the iPhone 16 would be announced on September 10, and go on sale around the world on September 20.

Apple Podcasts is expanding to the web, starting today. You can access the new web app version at podcasts.apple.com, in desktop web browsers including Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

For the first time, Apple Podcasts users can access their Up Next queue, library of saved shows, and browse for new podcasts inside their PC web browser. Previously, only macOS offered a desktop Podcasts app experience.

Setting up a VPN on your Apple TV 4K allows you to avoid geographic region restrictions and access services not normally available to you. With tvOS 17, VPN apps can now be installed on the Apple TV directly.

VPN apps available now for Apple TV include NordVPN, PureVPN, IPVanish, ExpressVPN, and more. Here’s all the best VPN apps for Apple TV available now …

The Epic Games Store is now available for iPhone users in the European Union, after Apple was forced to allow third-party app marketplaces as part of compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

Most notably, this means Fortnite is now once again available to download on the iPhone … if you are in the European Union. You can get the Epic Games Store by visiting this page on your device. Beyond its own store, Epic is also releasing Fortnite on AltStore PAL.

Apple today premieres its latest big-budget original, a new comedy-drama series called Bad Monkey. The show is adapted from a novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen. You can watch the first two episodes right now on Apple TV+.

The Bad Monkey TV show is created by Bill Lawrence, who is on an Apple TV+ winning streak with both Ted Lasso and Shrinking to his name, and stars Vince Vaughn in the leading role.

Apple and Rivian today announced that native Apple Music support is rolling out to all Rivian electric vehicles. Get the latest software update for your Rivian car, to start streaming Apple Music through the Rivian dashboard interface.

You’ll need a Rivian Connect+ subscription, in order to use the Rivian’s integrated connectivity to stream Apple Music anywhere. Alternatively, you can connect your car to the internet using your phone’s mobile hotspot.

A primary contributor to the high price of Apple Vision Pro is the displays it uses; two cutting-edge 4K micro-OLED displays, one for each eye. Research analysts at Omdia report the current 1.4-inch OLED displays cost Apple about $300 each.

That means, of the $3500 starting price for the Apple Vision Pro, about 20% (~$600) of that money just goes to paying for the cost of the displays. (That’s not counting the outward facing EyeSight display, either). The good news for the future Vision Pro roadmap is that cost of these micro-OLED panels is coming down, albeit slowly.

Matt Damon and Casey Affleck star in the newest Apple original film The Instigators, streaming now on Apple TV+.

The duo are reluctant partners in a heist to steal back the ill-gotten gains of a corrupt politician. Things get worse when the robbery disastrously goes wrong and they found themselves on the run from both the police and the city’s crime bosses.