Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 5,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, detailed comparisons, and tutorials.
Michael has also appeared on the 9to5Mac Watch Time podcast with Zac Hall and TWiT’s Tech News Weekly.
Reach out to Michael with tips, deliberations, typos, or feedback at potuck (at) 9to5mac.com
A neat under-the-radar feature coming to iPhone with iOS 16.2 is the ability to customize Live Activities for “More Frequent Updates.” But even though the capability is valuable, you may not want it turned on for all available apps, more on that below. Here’s how to enable Live Activities more frequent updates on iPhone.
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Sonos first launched its custom EQ software called Trueplay back in 2015 which has evolved over the years to dial in the best acoustic performance based on the room you’re using the speakers. After a curious delay, the Sonos app now appears to support using an iPhone 14 or 14 Pro to configure Trueplay.
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It’s that time again, MKBHD’s fun blind smartphone camera test has kicked off. You can help decide the winner of this year’s best smartphone camera with voting now open. There are a few changes this time around including a dedicated website, a new ranking system to get more scientifically accurate results, and more.
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Wrapping up the year, Apple is out today with its latest chart for 2022, this time for Fitness+. Now available in the app are the best workouts from the last 12 months plus holiday workouts/meditations, and a new Artist Spotlight series featuring Bruce Springsteen.
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R. Kelly started serving a 30-year prison sentence earlier this year but he released his latest album today. As it turns out, the new record was published on Apple Music and Spotify for a few hours before it was taken down this afternoon.
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Apple’s MagSafe wallet has been a popular choice over the last few years, but there are a lot of other great iPhone wallets with varying advantages. Below I’ve rounded up the best iPhone wallets out there including my personal favorite that features a built-in stand while remaining slim.
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Back in March, the majority of Apple shareholders voted for an independent review of how the company has handled situations like employees speaking up about sensitive issues. Now that the investigation is complete, Apple has announced that it is eliminating its gag clauses related to workplace discrimination and abuse.
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Sofa for iPhone and iPad is a beautiful app that offers a single place to organize all the movies, TV, music, books, podcasts, apps, and games you’d like to check out. With a major update, Sofa now has shared lists (in beta), Lock Screen widgets, Shortcuts support, and more.
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Popular iOS app Camera+ is out with a new update that brings some neat limited-time holiday frames plus the addition of segmented editing.
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The EU legislation to mandate a common smartphone charger is now a done deal. After it looked like it would pass back in June, the Council of Ministers ratified the vote in October. Today the law has been officially signed and published with a December 2024 deadline for all new smartphones sold in Europe to use USB-C.
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Apple Design Award-winning ski and ride tracking app Slopes is out today with a big update – interactive maps available for more than 200 resorts around the world. The functionality brings live tracking for where you and your friends are with lift and run details overlayed on-screen, plus you can see exactly where you’ve been.
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As the year comes to a close, Apple has shared an update on its Employee Giving program that’s making a big impact around the world through both direct donations and time from over 76,000 volunteers. The company also shared stories about how the efforts are making the world a better place.
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IKEA and Sonos started collaborating back in 2019 with the original SYMFONISK table lamp that doubles as an AirPlay-enabled smart speaker. After launching V2 last year with a new mix-and-match design, IKEA x Sonos has announced the newest addition to the lineup, the SYMFONISK Floor Lamp Speaker.
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Last week a 5% cash back offer arrived for new Apple Card customers. It turns out there’s also a December promotion for anyone using Apple Pay that brings some valuable holiday savings. The current offers include discounts from 10-70% off popular retailers like Columbia, GOAT, Theory, Fender, HotelTonight, Le Creuset, and more.
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T-Mobile is out with a report today on “The State of Fixed Wireless Access.” Using its own data and research from a number of independent third parties, the Uncarrier says it’s leading the rollout of 5G Home Internet by a wide margin over Verizon, offers one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings across all broadband providers, shares why customers are switching, and more.
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Over the last couple of years, we’ve heard different estimates of when Apple Car might finally make it to market which have ranged from 2024 to 2028. Now the latest report predicts a debut in 2026 with a custom Apple Silicon chip, no self-driving, and a price tag under $100,000.
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The popular Documents iOS app by Readdle has received a valuable update today. The main new feature is an overhauled Action Menu that makes it more seamless than ever to organize, copy/move, rename, and edit your various files by dynamically changing the buttons based on what type of file you’re looking at.
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Following up after launching support for Live Activities on the Lock Screen and the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island, Carrot Weather has received its latest update today. The release includes a new mini-games experience, a major update to the Layout screen, Live Activities support for all precipitation, and more.
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Apple employees at the St. Louis Galleria store were the latest to move toward unionization last month. However, one week after submitting interest to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the group abandoned the plan. An initial announcement from the IAM cited “increased hostility” from Apple as the reason for the U-turn, however, now the Apple employees themselves have spoken up about why the majority changed their minds.
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After announcing its 2022 App Store Awards including the Podcast of the Year, Apple shared eight new Podcast charts for 2022 including the top shows of the year, top new shows, top shared shows, and top free channels.
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After launching free 30-day eSIM trials last month, Verizon has announced that it has hit its goal sooner than expected of covering 175 million customers with its speedy 5G UWB connectivity. The milestone marks a big expansion of Verizon’s 5G coverage going from 100 million to 175 million in one year.
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Back in September, MicroOLED launched Apple Watch support for its ActiveLook technology that transforms sports glasses into a heads-up display for Apple Watch. Now ENGO 2 is the latest eyewear to offer ActiveLook’s real-time heads-up display experience with gesture control, and 12-hour battery in what the company says is the most lightweight package yet.
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With iOS 16 arriving before macOS Ventura, users got the ability to quickly remove backgrounds from images with a couple of taps on iPhone and iPad. Fortunately, the capability is also available with macOS Ventura and is accessible in two different ways. Here’s how to remove backgrounds from images on Mac.
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Apple’s MacBook lineup has been fully refreshed over the last year between the 2022 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 chips and the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro that launched in late 2021. Whether you’re looking for yourself or someone else, here’s an in-depth look at the difference between MacBook Air and Pro to help you figure out which is the best pick.
With the 2023 MacBook Pro now launched, we’ve got a new comparison between the Air and Pro available.
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