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iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing, but as users have had more time with the update, more new features have been uncovered. The latest iOS 26.1 discovery is a new swipe gesture for accessing the Notes app’s text editing menu.

Starting with the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple made a big deal about it being a carbon neutral product. This was due to a combination of an ~80% reduction in emissions, with Apple offering high-quality carbon offsets to make up what’s left. The company also followed suit with the new Mac mini.

However, Apple no longer advertises any Apple Watch or Mac mini as carbon neutral. Why? Well, this change in marketing does not reflect a change in policy. Apple remains committed to its ‘Apple 2030’ carbon neutral target as ever, but a ruling in the EU means Apple now has to avoid using the ‘carbon neutral’ term in relation to its products …

If you’ve ever wanted to use Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2, and Affinity Designer 2 on your iPad, but never got around to buying them, now’s your chance. These three apps are now free, but that may be short-lived. Here’s why.

This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: M5 MacBook Pro and two Mac displays coming soon, Siri app and new features, an M5 iPad Pro leak, and Apple Glasses launch update. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

Last week, just days before The Savant was set to premiere on Apple TV+, the series was unexpectedly pulled from the release schedule. Now, Variety has published its review of the show and calls it “essential television.”

Apple Watch battery life is better than ever. Apple Watch Ultra 3 measures battery life in days, and Series 11 isn’t too far behind.

A new investment note from Morgan Stanley praises a stronger than expected start to sales for the iPhone 17 line, per their sources. Here’s what the report says.

If you use Threads, you’ve probably seen topic tags, which users can add to posts when they want to reach more people interested in that same subject.

Today, Meta is combining topic tags with its custom feeds feature, and rolling out communities as a worldwide beta. Here’s how it works.

Since iOS 26 was released last month, some iPhone users have had problems using iMessage with their phone numbers. Apple has now published a new support document on its website addressing the problem and providing a potential fix.

Benjamin and Chance talk about the week’s Apple news, including the bonkers leak of the so-far-unannounced M5 iPad Pro, and then the FCC chipped in with showing off the new MacBook Pro and Vision Pro too. Also, Benjamin’s robot vacuum got a dramatically better Matter update, Apple uses iPhone cameras to shoot Friday Night Baseball, and Beats unveils the Powerbeats Fit. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, we have some new iPhone follow-up as Chance samples the Max life, and Benjamin’s Air is accruing dust. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break deals are now ready to go. Alongside the early Prime Big Deal Days discounts and ongoing launch deals on Apple Watch Series 11 models, we have $170 price drops on GPS + Cell Series 10 variants and now, new all-time lows on the titanium Apple Watch Series 10 variants at $190 off. We also have up to $743 off iPhone 16 Pro or 15 Pro Max via Amazon Renewed Premium, $200 price drops on Apple’s 15-inch 512GB M4 MacBook Air, and a super-rare deal on Apple’s latest USB-C Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and more waiting down below. 

Yesterday Bloomberg reported that Apple’s ‘Vision Air’ product is being paused so resources can be shifted to the high priority Apple Glasses product. Also noteworthy from that report was a key detail on Apple’s planned launch strategy for the new glasses product.

Disney+ is about to get a big app redesign as it becomes the unified hub not only for Disney+ content but also titles from Hulu and ESPN. Here are the details on what’s new.

Instagram and TikTok’s apps might look even more similar before long. Instagram just announced a test rolling out to “a small group of people“ that makes Reels the default tab view when you launch the app. Here are the details, and why this test could be rolled out widely before long.

We’ve for some time been expecting a cheaper and lighter version of Vision Pro, possibly branded as Vision Air. Potential launch dates have been variously reported as 2025, 2026, and 2027.

But a report yesterday suggested we may have even longer to wait for this as Apple shifts resources to accelerate work on an Apple Glasses product …

Direct payments between Venmo and PayPal will finally become possible from November, some 11 years after it was first expected.

While some may find it convenient, it also opens a new route to scammers, so there’s a privacy setting you may wish to change when it goes live …

Neon, the app that pays you to share your audio recordings with an AI system, says that it will return despite its recent massive security breach.

The app shot up the App Store ratings after promising to pay users hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year for allowing their audio conversations to be used to train AI chatbots …

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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As reported by Bloomberg, Apple has decided to shelve the cheaper and lighter overhaul of the Apple Vision Pro, to speed up the development of its first competitors to Meta’s AI glasses. Here are the details.

Apple was unable to convince a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of promoting, hosting, and profiting from illegal casino-style apps in the App Store. Here are the details.

When considering buying an iPhone 17 Pro, most people will focus on things like battery life, cameras, and design. But there’s one new feature that might be overlooked, but could prove crucial in the future: the vapor chamber cooling system.

Update, October 3: Bitrig is offering unlimited prompts for Pro users for a limited time. Details below.

A group of ex-Apple employees who co-created SwiftUI has launched a vibe coding iPhone app that takes voice or text input, writes SwiftUI apps in seconds, and even lets you distribute them through TestFlight. Honestly, it is kind of awesome. Here’s how it works.