Michael Burkhardt

According to the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Apple is facing multiple major hiccups in its AI rollout. While that isn’t a surprise, it does mean that many of its roadmapped features are being delayed, and technical challenges are resulting in certain features, including the ‘more conversational’ Siri update – shipping later.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Fluro provides a delightful recap of everything you’d need to know in a day, all in a neat Mac interface with a special LED scroller. It delivers the weather, your calendar events, reminders, the news, and more – all with a pinch of nostalgia.

Apple’s recently announced iPhone 16e hit store shelves yesterday morning. It serves as a new entry point to the iPhone lineup, and replaces the iPhone SE family. While the iPhone 16e has a number of big upgrades over the iPhone SE 3 that it replaced, there are some smaller ones that might’ve slipped under the radar.

In late 2022, initial payments for the Small Developer Assistance Fund started going out, with each eligible US developer receiving at least $1000 – up to 4x the projected minimum payout. A second round of payouts begun toward the end of 2023, and now the third and final round of payments started going out this week.

In the latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports that Apple plans on integrating future modems within the main chipset of the device. This means that, in the future, there won’t be both an A18 chipset alongside a separate C1 modem, instead they’ll all be one. This development will take a few years, though.

According to the Power On newsletter from Mark Gurman, Apple plans to heavily focus on video recording improvements for the new iPhone 17 Pro models. The company has previously focused primarily on photography, so it’s nice to hear that video will be getting some much-needed love.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is “gearing up” to launch a new version of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air with the M4 chip. The company is preparing for a debut in March.

Today, Apple has unsigned watchOS 11.4 beta 1 for all Apple Watch Series 6 models, meaning it is no longer possible for those users to test out the new beta. This news comes from Aaron Perris on X. They’ve also unsigned iOS and iPadOS 18.4 beta 1 for some iPhones and iPads.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Finma is a financial management app for your iPhone. It has a focus on user privacy and doesn’t require a connection to your bank account. It also features beautiful charts and many useful features to give you a better financial picture.

When 5G debuted with the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple introduced a sneaky new pricing tactic. Apple would list iPhones as “starting at $799”, but that price would require you to activate with one of the major US carriers at the point of purchase. If you wanted an unlocked iPhone, the actual starting price point was $829.

iPhone 16e gets rid of this annoying upcharge.

Brought to you by Uniq: Check out the new rugged cases from Uniq including the glow in the dark Combat Active iPhone case featuring a textured grip for ultimate control and a reflective lanyard. And the Stride SE, a high-performance Apple Watch sports band built tough with durable FKM.

Yesterday, Apple launched the new iPhone 16e, the cheapest new iPhone model in the lineup. It brings Apple Intelligence, Face ID, USB-C, the 48MP Fusion camera, and much more – all down to a starting price of just $599.

Obviously, the iPhone 16e is a noteworthy upgrade over the iPhone SE 3. However, there’s an easy comparison to be made to previous generation entry-level iPhones, such as the iPhone 12, 13, 14 and even iPhone 15 – for many great reasons. We’ll be diving into that here.

Apple will debut its first new product of the year this Wednesday. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the launch through a tweet last week. While we can’t say for certain that the new product launch will be, it’s highly likely to be the new iPhone SE 4, which may receive a new name.

With the Mac transition to Apple Silicon, Apple replaced its 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac models with one singular 24-inch iMac. Many had assumed that there’d eventually be a larger iMac, perhaps a 30 or 32-inch model, maybe even an iMac Pro. However, we’re yet to see that come to fruition.

Despite the fact that it’s been three years since the 27-inch iMac was discontinued, and Apple has since said it’s not making another 27-inch iMac, there’s still some hope. Lets discuss.

According to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is once again considering monetizing its Maps app with search ads. The company already does this with its News and Stocks apps. The goal is to boost its in-house advertising business.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is ramping up development on a Studio Display replacement. The company initially debuted this monitor in 2022 and has left it untouched since. There isn’t much word on what’ll be new with this Studio Display refresh, but it’ll apparently be a companion to the upcoming M5 MacBook Pros.

For me, one of the biggest issues with making the switch from a MacBook to a Mac mini was the display aspect of it. MacBooks all have fairly great displays, especially on the MacBook Pro. However, finding a good display that pairs nicely with a Mac desktop always feels like a little bit of a challenge.

You either have to go with Apple’s expensive options, or compromise significantly on the experience with a third party. Some common compromises include poor brightness, a lack of USB-C, or a lack of macOS integration. While the BenQ MA270U certainly isn’t a Studio Display replacement, it performs excellently in all of the qualities that matter to me.