Chance Miller

The first reviews of AirPods Max 2 dropped today, and I’m a big fan of the improved ANC, Adaptive Audio support, and sound quality.

In a new interview, Apple has shed more light on the engineering work behind AirPods Max, including the H2 chip and upgraded ANC.

After a five-year wait, AirPods Max 2 have officially arrived. They aren’t a dramatic rethink of the product or the form factor, but they bring some much-needed modernization courtesy of the new H2 chip inside.

I’ve been wearing AirPods Max for the last 6 days, here’s what I think.

Apple released iOS 26.5 beta 1 for developers today. The update doesn’t include any of the highly-anticipated new Siri features, but there are a few changes worth noting. Head below for the full roundup of everything new in iOS 26.5 beta 1.

Over the last several weeks, Apple has held celebrations for its upcoming 50th anniversary around the world, including performances by Alicia Keys at Apple Grand Central in New York City and Mumford & Sons at Apple Battersea in London.

Now, new details have emerged about the finale of the Apple 50th anniversary festivities, set for this week.

Welcome to 9to5Mac’s top stories of the week, where we recap the biggest news in the Apple world every Saturday. This week, Apple officially discontinued the Mac Pro, iOS 26.4 is now available, ads in Apple Maps are coming soon, WWDC26 has been announced, and more. Plus, our usual slate of new podcast episodes, opinion pieces, and reviews. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.

Apple has hired Google VP Lilian Rincon as its new vice president of Product Marketing for AI, the company tells me.

Apple says Rincon will lead product marketing and product management for its AI platforms, including Apple Intelligence and Siri. She will report directly to Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

Apple released iOS 26.4 to everyone this week, bringing new emojis, updates to Apple Music, and more to iPhone users everywhere.

Now, attention is shifting to iOS 26.5 among loyal 9to5Mac readers. We’ve received a lot of questions about when the first iOS 26.5 beta will be released, so here’s what we know based on history.

It’s the end of an era: Apple has confirmed to 9to5Mac that the Mac Pro is being discontinued. It has been removed from Apple’s website as of Thursday afternoon. The “buy” page on Apple’s website for the Mac Pro now redirects to the Mac’s homepage, where all references have been removed.

Apple has also confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has no plans to offer future Mac Pro hardware.

A new report from Bloomberg details that Apple recently awarded “rare bonuses to iPhone hardware designers this week.” The bonuses are said to be worth “several hundred thousand dollars” and are viewed as a way to deter employees from departing for high-paying startups like OpenAI.

Benjamin and Chance talk about the surprise AirPods Max 2 announcement, WWDC 2026 is official, and the company confirms that ads are coming to Apple Maps. Also, Bloomberg reports on the latest Siri chatbot designs coming as part of iOS 27.  

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin talks about his trips to the Apple Store during his time in Japan. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Hot on the heels of rolling out a major update last month, Carrot Weather is back with more. A new update today adds two new features to the versatile weather app: multi-model forecasts and analysis from the Storm Prediction Center.

Apple has reached a settlement with a former employee who it says stole thousands of documents before departing for Snap.

The lawsuit was first filed by Apple in June 2025, with Apple saying engineer Di Liu stole a “massive volume” of trade secrets before departing the company for Snap.

iOS 26.4 is now available for everyone. The update adds a range of new features to iPhone, including upgrades to Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Messages, and more.

Here are all of the new iPhone features in iOS 26.4, plus everything else you need to know.

Last December, GM began rolling out a dedicated, native Apple Music app for select Cadillac and Chevrolet cars. Now, the automaker has announced another expansion of its Apple Music app, this time to select Buick and GMC cars.

Apple today announced the “biggest update since its launch” for the Analytics platform inside App Store Connect. Apple touts that there are more than 100 new metrics, new cohort capabilities, new reports for subscriptions and benchmarks, and more.

Optimizing and perfecting my Mac setup is one of my favorite things to do. I love my M4 MacBook Pro, and surrounding it with accessories that improve my productivity is key to my workflow. If you just unwrapped a new Mac, there are tons of ways to upgrade your experience even further.

In fact, almost all of these products are on my desk as I write this story — and they’d pair perfectly with a new M5 MacBook Air or MacBook Neo.

Apple today announced that ads are officially coming to Apple Maps later this summer. In addition to that, however, the company also teased a new feature that Apple Maps should’ve added years ago: Suggested Places.

The Apple Health app on iPhone is a powerful way to track all facets of your health. Whether it’s recording data from your Apple Watch, importing records straight from your doctor, or integration with third-party apps, there’s something for everyone.

Here’s how to get the most out of the Apple Health app.

The University of Texas has announced that it is rolling out digital University IDs starting next year. According to the university, these digital IDs will support Apple Wallet integration and let students access buildings, make dining purchases, and more.

Welcome to 9to5Mac’s top stories of the week, where we recap the biggest news in the Apple world every Saturday. This week, we have the launch of AirPods Max 2, new iPhone Fold rumors, and the MacBook Neo is a hit. Plus, our usual slate of new podcast episodes, opinion pieces, and much more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.