Chance Miller

For years, John Hancock has offered Vitality Plus life insurance program members a way to earn an Apple Watch for (almost) free with regular exercise.

Recently, the Vitality program expanded to include the newest Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. Here’s how it works and how to take advantage if you’re hoping an Apple Watch will help with your new year’s resolutions.

Apple has announced Apple Creator Studio, which it describes as a “groundbreaking collection of powerful creative apps designed to put studio-grade power into the hands of everyone.”

Apple Creator Studio will launch on the App Store on Wednesday, January 28, and will cost $12.99 per month or $129 per year. There will also be a one-month free trial offer. College students and educators can subscribe for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

When I tried Apple Vision Pro for the first time at WWDC 2023, one part of the demo immediately stood out: sports in Apple Immersive Video. During a sizzle reel, I watched immersive clips from NBA and MLB games. As a sports fan, I knew right away that Vision Pro had the potential to change the game.

It took a while for that promise to fully materialize, but this weekend I finally watched a full NBA game in Immersive Video: the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Milwaukee Bucks.

Apple has confirmed that it is teaming up with Google to use Gemini models to power future Siri and Apple Intelligence features.

In a new press release today, Apple is celebrating the success of its services division throughout 2025. The company says that 2025 was a “record-breaking year for Apple services,” with milestones for Apple Music, Apple TV, and more.

Apple generally adds new emojis to the iPhone with iOS updates in spring. As spotted by the folks at Emojipedia this week, the Unicode Consortium recently published the full list of draft emojis that could debut next year.

Among the list of new additions are a smiley face with squinting eyes, a pickle, an eraser, and more.

In today’s annual proxy filing, Apple revealed full details on executive compensation for 2025. This includes on how much Apple CEO Tim Cook was paid during the year, as well as other senior executives including Kevan Parekh, Kate Adams, Sabih Khan, Luca Maestri, and Deirdre O’Brien.

In total, Apple says Tim Cook’s compensation was $74,294,811 in 2025, a very small decrease year-over-year.

Apple today filed its annual proxy report for shareholders, announcing that its annual shareholders meeting will take place virtually on February 24, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. PT. Apple shareholders of record as of January 2, 2026 are permitted to attend the meeting as well as vote and submit questions.

During the meeting, shareholders will also vote on re-election for Apple’s board of directors.

Benjamin and Chance cover this week in Apple news, including the long-awaited announcement that the Apple Card will be switching from Goldman Sachs to Chase, in about . Also, Fitness+ doesn’t quite live up to its own new year marketing hype, NBA live-streaming kicks off on Vision Pro, and Apple makes App Store changes to satisfy Japan regulators.

And in Happy Hour Plus, the pair make their annual prediction for 2026, with three relatively risky picks each, about what Apple might do this year. Join now and save 26% on annual plans with code HAPPY26.

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Apple has confirmed that Chase will become the new issuer of Apple Card, taking over for Goldman Sachs. Apple says the transition will occur “in approximately 24 months.”

“During this transition, Apple Card users can continue to use their card as they normally do,” Apple says. “Additional details regarding the transition will be shared with all Apple Card users as the transition date approaches.”

Apple is set to release a consistent stream of new iPhone software updates this year. There are major changes still to come with iOS 26, as well as iOS 27 coming at WWDC in June. Here’s the full timeline on when to expect these updates.

As part of CES 2026 this week, Dell today unveiled what it says is the “world’s first 52-inch 6K monitor.”

The new Dell UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor features a 52-inch ultra wide curved display. That equates to 129 pixel-per-inch density.

Kentucky today launched its new Kentucky mobile ID app for iPhone, allowing residents to access a digital version of their ID.

While the app itself is available on the App Store starting today, there’s a big upgrade coming this summer: support for storing your Kentucky ID in Apple Wallet.

As part of CES 2026 this week, Eve has launched the Eve Thermostat, a new Matter-enabled smart thermostat with a minimalist design. With Matter and Thread connectivity, you can control it via the Eve app or with HomeKit and the Apple Home app.

Apple released iPadOS 26.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.2 last month, and it turns out the updates were hiding a Wi-Fi improvement. The changes mean that select Mac and iPad users might notice faster Wi-Fi speeds, file transfers, and more.

Last week, Apple kicked off its annual New Year Sale in Japan with an array of offerings, including a limited-edition AirTag.

Now, Apple’s Lunar New Year sale has started, and it’s headlined by a limited-edition version of AirPods Pro 3 with a special Year of the Horse emoji on the case. Here’s where you can buy them…

Twelve South is one of my favorite Apple accessory makers, and as CES 2026 kicks off this week, it has announced an addition to its product line: the Twelve South Valet.

The Valet is described as a “wireless charging station and personal essentials tray.” Think of it as a place to drop your phone, keys, wallet, and other essentials — and charge your phone at the same time.

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 what to expect from Apple in the new year, iOS 27 rumors, and the latest on Apple TV. Plus, our usual slate of new podcast episodes, opinion pieces, and much more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.

In a press release today, Apple shared fascinating data about how Apple Watch helps users increase their exercise levels in January and maintain them well into the new year.

The data comes from approximately 100,000 participants in the Apple Heart and Movement Study over the last four years.

As my colleague Ryan detailed last month, Apple has more than 20 products likely launching in 2026. The festivities could begin as soon as this month. Here’s everything to expect from Apple in January.

Apple released a ton of new hardware this year, ranging from new iPhones to iPads to Macs and more. Here’s a recap of all the new products Apple introduced this year.