Chance Miller

One rumored change for the iPhone 17 might not come to fruition after all. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today says that the size of the Dynamic Island across the iPhone 17 lineup will be “largely unchanged” compared to the iPhone 16 models.

Benjamin and Chance give their thoughts on Apple’s attempts to placate the BBC’s complaints about notification summaries with iOS 18.3. Also, the rumored iPhone 17 Air design has a divisive camera bar on the back, and this week also saw an intriguing leak showing apparent design changes for the iOS 19 Camera app. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance struggles to find new things to watch and — much to Benjamin’s delight — brings his own Apple TV app complaints to the table. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Over the last year, we’ve seen multiple long-term holdouts finally cave to the pressure and adopt Apple Pay. At this point, the largest holdout in the United States is Walmart, and the company today indicated that it has absolutely zero plans to change its stance.

Samsung made a slew of announcements today at its Unpacked 2025 event today, headlined by the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

At the end of the event, however, Samsung also dropped a surprise teaser for its forthcoming ultra-thin Galaxy S25 Edge. Samsung’s teaser comes ahead of Apple’s rumored release of its ultra-thin smartphone, the iPhone 17 Air, later this year.

Plex, the popular media server and streaming app, has a handful of announcements today. The service is adding new discovery and community features for all users and upgraded video streaming quality for Plex Pass users.

Perhaps most notable for Apple users, however, is that Plex is expanding its preview of the all-new Plex experience to Apple TV.

Netflix is hiking its prices once again. Starting today, the cheapest Netflix plan will cost $7.99 per month, while the top-of-the-line plan with 4K streaming will cost you a cool $24.99 monthly.

The iOS 18.3 Release Candidate is now rolling out to developers and public beta testers. The update comes one week after Apple released the third beta, which included major changes to the Apple Intelligence notification summaries feature.

Rumors continue to swirl around Apple’s purported iPhone 17 Air. This model is expected to replace the “Plus” model in this year’s iPhone 17 lineup. A new leak today sheds light on what could be a controversial design choice by Apple: a camera bar on the back.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was in attendance at President Trump’s inauguration today in Washington, D.C., and has taken to social media to promise “continued innovation and jobs” for the United States.

According to Trump, Apple is planning a “massive investment” in the United States now that he has taken office.

It’s been a tumultuous several days for TikTok in the United States. The app went offline on Saturday night and was removed from the App Store by Apple. On Sunday afternoon, however, TikTok restored service in the United States thanks to “necessary clarity” provided by President Trump.

Despite TikTok being online once again in the United States, however, the app remains unavailable from the App Store. Here’s what you need to know about that ever-evolving situation.

After being offline in the United States for 14 hours, TikTok now says it is in the process of restoring service. In a statement posted to social media, the company said:

In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.

It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.

Last night, TikTok officially went dark in the United States. In addition to TikTok itself going offline, Apple also removed the app from the App Store.

Apple has now addressed the TikTok ban for the first time, saying it is “obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates.”

In a new notification sent to users, TIkTok has confirmed it is shutting down in the United States. The company says it is “working to restore” its service in the U.S. “as soon as possible” with the help of incoming President Trump.

Apple has also removed TikTok from the App Store in the United States. Google has removed the app from the Play Store.

CapCut, the popular video editing app owned by ByteDance, is also now offline in the United States and has been removed from the App Store.

A new rumor today suggests that the Camera app will get a dramatic overhaul as part of iOS 19 this year. In a video on YouTube, Jon Prosser reveals that the new Camera app in iOS 19 will feature a design that “mirrors the design ethos from visionOS.”

TikTok’s last-ditch effort to avoid its impending ban in the United States has failed. On Friday, the US Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law that forces ByteDance to sell TikTok or else face a ban in the United States.

Perhaps the largest unknown right now is how the impending transition from the Biden administration to the Trump administration will impact the ban.

Updated January 17, 2025 at 10:51 am ET with new statements from the Biden administration and Trump below.

Later this month, a FireAid Benefit Concert is being held in support of the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. Headlined by the likes of Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews, and Katy Perry, the concert aims to raise donations for wildfire relief efforts.

Bloomberg now reports that the FireAid Benefit Concert will be streamed on all major streaming services, including Apple TV+.

Benjamin and Chance react to Mark Zuckerberg’s recent comments about Apple having not done anything good recently … as we also look forward to everything Apple is set to announce this year. Apple gets in hot water about ‘Enhanced Visual Search’, and the iOS 18.3 beta cycle continues, if a little bare.

And in Happy Hour Plus, as Apple ramps up its marketing effort for Severance, Benjamin tries to convince Chance to give the show another chance. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Apple released iOS 18.3 beta 3 to developers this afternoon. The update includes a handful of changes to the notification summaries feature of Apple Intelligence.

Update 4:30 p.m. ET: A new public beta is also now available with these changes.

As we swiftly approach a public release later this month, Apple has released iOS 18.3 beta 3 for developers.

Update 4:30 p.m. ET: A new public beta is also now available.

Just yesterday, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon confirmed that his company’s relationship with Apple could end sooner rather than later. Now, Reuters reports that Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony Financial about replacing Goldman Sachs as its Apple Card partner.

If you’ve noticed a missing toggle from your AirPods Pro settings, you’re not alone. Here’s how to bring back the “Off” option when managing AirPods Pro noise control settings.