Follow Benjamin on Threads 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.
Follow @bzamayo on Twitter and follow @bzamayo on Threads.
After my last WiFi-enabled smart scale broke and refused to connect to the Internet anymore, I sought something simpler and cheaper to replace it. The old scale had all sorts of fancy service integrations that I never used. I just wanted something that would track my weight and report the measurements to the Health app on my iPhone.
The Eufy C20 smart scale is what I landed on and I’m very happy with it — and it’s pretty cheap too. Here’s how it works …
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Warner Bros. Discovery is formally up for sale, with the company inviting bids on the company as a whole or various slices of its assets. Paramount Skydance has already offered $24 per share for the whole company, but has so far had its proposals rebuffed by the media giant.
CEO David Zaslav has financial bonuses attached to executing a sale, so he’s very much motivated in getting a deal done. Bluster or otherwise, Bloomberg reports he told senior executives that Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Comcast had shown interest in acquiring Warner Bros. expansive library of TV shows and films.
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As announced last week, there is a new bundle offer which combines Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+) and Peacock streaming services, offering substantial savings to US customers. You can get Apple TV with Peacock Premium for $14.99, or upgrade to the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus tier for $19.99 per month. This represents savings of about 35% compared to buying each service separately.
You can sign up straight from the Apple TV app, or through Peacock’s app or website. If you are an existing Apple One bundle subscriber, there’s also a special discount offer on Peacock Premium Plus available …
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Update: The Apple system status now says Apple TV, Apple Music and App Store issues are now resolved.
Apple online services are currently experience a big outage that has lasted a couple hours already. Some customers are noticing they are unable to stream on Apple TV, listen to their library on Apple Music, or download new apps from the App Store.
Apple’s official system status page says these services have been experiencing issues since around midnight Eastern Time. We currently don’t know when the problem will be fixed.
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As first reported by Sports Business Journal, all of the Major League Soccer playoff matches will be watchable with an Apple TV subscription (formerly Apple TV+), meaning fans don’t need the add-on MLS Season Pass subscription to tune in.
The playoff schedule begins on Wednesday. In light of the news that F1 will stream on Apple TV in the United States as part of the base subscription, there has been some speculation that the separate MLS Season Pass product could be going away …
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Apple TV and NBCUniversal today announced a new partnership, where customers in the US will be able to subscribe to a combined Apple TV and Peacock bundle at a discounted price. The $14.99/mo bundle includes Apple TV and Peacock Premium, or you can get Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus (their ad-free tier) for $19.99/mo.
This represents a roughly 30% saving compared to subscribing to the services individually. For the first time, Apple has also arranged a special deal for Apple One subscribers …
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Amid the new M5 chip goodness, Apple quietly refreshed its Magic Keyboard accessory for iPad Air with a new look.
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Apple today refreshed the iPad Pro with an M5 chip, offering the next generation of Apple Silicon performance in its thinnest tablet form factor. The cellular models are also now powered by the Apple C1X modem.
Apple says the new iPad Pro with M5 delivers up to 3.5x the AI performance than is predecessor, thanks to the new Neural Accelerators in each GPU core. The new iPad Pro lineup is available to order starting today, with first deliveries shipping on October 22.
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Following the announcement of the rebrand of the Apple TV+ service to just ‘Apple TV’, Apple’s Services SVP Eddy Cue will make a rare podcast appearance, as the next guest on Matt Beloni’s Hollywood industry podcast The Town.
In the interview, Cue is asked about Apple TV’s popularity as a streaming service. Belloni cites the rumored ~45 million subscriber number that some prominent analysts have bandied about. Cue declines to share specifics, but confirms it is “significantly more than that”.
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In 2017, Apple launched a brand new app called Clips, a creative video app that originally could only make square aspect ratio movies. It had fun effects, automatic subtitle captions, and more. However, in a world of social video apps like TikTok, Clips never really gained traction.
After being dormant in the App Store for a while now, the company is finally pulling the plug. As confirmed by a new support document, Clips is no longer getting any app updates and has been pulled from the App Store.
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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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In the aftermath of the iPhone 17 launch, there was a bit of a ‘scratchgate’ controversy as customers noticed iPhone 17 and iPhone Air demo units in stores were already showing noticeable signs of wear on their backs. Apple investigated and commented that these marks were caused by material transfer from older MagSafe chargers being used to display the phones on the Apple Store tables.
At the time, the company said it was working to address the issue in stores. We may now be seeing the solution; Consomac spotted new MagSafe chargers in use at the Apple Store that include an outer silicone ring.
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The long-gestating streaming rights deal between Apple and Formula 1 is apparently reaching the finish line. In his newsletter, Puck’s John Ourand reports that the two sides have nearly finalized negotiations, with an eye to announce the partnership at the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix on 17-19 October, held in Austin.
Apparently, the protracted discussions relate to a dispute over the existence of the independent F1.TV streaming service in the United States. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple — who would be paying upwards of $150 million a year for the rights — wants streaming exclusivity and therefore F1.TV to be shuttered in the region.
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The box office hit F1: The Movie is now available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD, with a special 4K Blu-ray edition also available. (It’s already been available for digital download since August.)
The disc release comes as the film’s theatrical run comes to a close, topping $189 million domestic and over $438 million worldwide. It should be available on Apple TV+ soon, but the company has still not announced a streaming date …
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New movie The Lost Bus is streaming today for free on Apple TV+, starring Matthew McConaughey. The film is based on the book ‘Paradise’, which tells the true story of how school bus driver Kevin McKay saved 22 school children from the deadliest California wildfire in a century.
McConaughey plays McKay, with much of the film following the bus journey in its escape through the raging fires. America Ferrera also stars as Mary Ludwig, the school teacher.
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Starting with the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple made a big deal about it being a carbon neutral product. This was due to a combination of an ~80% reduction in emissions, with Apple offering high-quality carbon offsets to make up what’s left. The company also followed suit with the new Mac mini.
However, Apple no longer advertises any Apple Watch or Mac mini as carbon neutral. Why? Well, this change in marketing does not reflect a change in policy. Apple remains committed to its ‘Apple 2030’ carbon neutral target as ever, but a ruling in the EU means Apple now has to avoid using the ‘carbon neutral’ term in relation to its products …
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Apple launched the new AirPods Pro 3, promising a bunch of improvements including a flashy Live Translation feature. But it turns out you don’t actually need to upgrade just to try out the new translation stuff.
Live Translation is also available through a software update for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation. However, there is a slight gotcha …
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Tonight’s Friday Night Baseball game will feature some new camera angles, courtesy of iPhone 17 Pro. For the first time for a professional live sports broadcast, iPhones will be used to help capture the action.
At the Fenway Park game between Tigers and the Red Sox, the production will use four iPhones, getting different angles from across the stadium. When iPhone footage is being used, a ‘Shot on iPhone’ overlay will appear in the corner of the stream.
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Apple adds another movie to its Apple TV+ catalog today, with the streaming premiere of new film ‘All of You’. The movie stars Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots as Simon and Laura, friends since college who have drifted apart but always felt like there was something more.
Laura takes a test to find out the identity of her life’s soulmate, but what impact will that have on their enduring relationship? The funny and heartfelt movie currently has a solid 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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The hit spy drama Slow Horses premieres its fifth season today on Apple TV+. The first episode of the new season, entitled ‘Bad Dates’, is available to watch now with the rest of the episodes rolling out weekly each Wednesday.
If you haven’t seen the show before, Gary Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, in charge of a department of spies that have been kicked out of the main MI5 operations. This season, a new character joins the cast whose face Ted Lasso fans are familiar with …
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Apple has quietly cancelled the release of The Savant, which was set to hit Apple TV+ this Friday, September 26. However, as of today, the Jessica Chastain series no longer has a release date. Apple has pulled mentions of the show’s launch from its social media channels, and if you check in the TV app itself, it now simply says “coming at a later date”.
The reason why the show has been pulled from the schedule is not entirely clear …
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The iPhone 17 Pro Max seems to have firmly cemented itself as the smartphone battery king, as seen by Mrwhosetheboss’s battery life test comparison. On this simulated usage test, Samsung’s flagship big phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, managed 11 hours 58 minute. In comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max managed a whopping 13 hours before it died.
Notably, this test used the UK version of the 17 Pro Max, which includes a physical SIM tray. The eSIM-only model sold in the United States and some other markets has an even bigger battery, and probably lasted at least another half an hour extra as a result.
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Ever since Apple unveiled the iPhone Air, calling it its most durable iPhone ever, it feels like all of the Apple YouTube community has been waiting to see the JerryRigEverything hands-on test.
Sure, enough, he delivered. And the iPhone Air held up to Apple’s claims. Despite using all his force, the iPhone Air would not break from bending; the phone simply flexes under strain and returns to its normal flat shape. But it wasn’t just the bend resistance, the scratch resistance of the front screen also impressed thanks to the new second generation of Apple’s Ceramic Shield cover glass.
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It’s iPhone 17 release day, and that means the internet is ready to start the next drama about the redesigned phones. One early concern is about the superficial durability of the iPhone 17 Pro aluminum chassis, especially on the darker color Deep Blue model. If this worries you, it’s a good time to buy a case.
Because anodized aluminum still has the raw silver metal color underneath, any light nicks or scratches are much more visible to the eye, compared to similar wear and tear to the iPhone 16 Pro’s titanium sides or back glass. Bloomberg reported that some buyers were finding visible scuffs and imperfections on the iPhone 17 Pro demo units when they went into Apple retail stores today.
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