The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air config you actually want is now on sale to headline Thursday’s best deals. You can save $125 on a 16GB MacBook at $1,574, which comes joined by a spring discount on Apple Watch Ultra 2 at $50 off. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

Apple Watch Series 9 is the latest version of the world’s most popular wearable. Two years separate Series 7 and 9 and while there are a number of changes, there’s quite a bit that’s remained the same. Read along for Apple Watch Series 7 vs 9 as we look at everything new.

With Apple now having dragged its decade-long car project to the trash can, the company is reportedly now working on another skunk-works project: an Apple Robot.

Both self-driving cars and home robots have a lot in common. They have long been a science-fiction dream, and nobody has come anywhere close to realizing that dream. But a truly useful and capable domestic robot is an even bigger challenge than an autonomous car …

Apple CarPlay is the safest way to interact with your iPhone in the car. You never need to touch your iPhone while driving – something you should never ever do anyway. Instead, you control navigation, communication, and entertainment with voice control and a simplified interface on your car’s screen.

What if your car doesn’t have a built-in display? What if it has one that doesn’t work with Apple CarPlay? The good news is you don’t have to go out and buy a brand new car. In most cases, you can have a really good in-dash system installed for anywhere from $200 to $1,000. Picking the right solution before you make the investment is important.

Here’s one of our best looks yet at the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups. New images posted to social media today showcase the full iPhone 16 family in the form of dummy units. This gives us a clear look at the new Capture button, the redesigned camera bump on the iPhone 16 models, and more.

A new study at Stanford aims to evaluate how the Apple Watch can play a role in identifying “physiologic, dietary, and environment triggers of severe pain exacerbations” in children with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

In addition to the Apple Watch, the study will integrate artificial intelligence technology from clinical research platform Medeloop. Medeloop is described as an “end-to-end, AI-driven platform for conducting early stage clinical research and clinical trials.”

If you’ve been experiencing problems when trying to access the App Store, it’s not just you. The App Store is currently down for users around the world. Although Apple is yet to acknowledge the problem, many people have been complaining about an ongoing outage affecting the App Store.

Update: Apple has updated its System Status to confirm that App Store is down. Apple Arcade, Apple Books, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple Sports, Apple TV+, and Apple Podcasts are also facing outages.

Update #2: Apple says that the outages have been resolved and its services are back online.

After adding Live Activities support last month, Rivian has another new feature for iPhone users. A new update to the Rivian app today brings support for Lock Screen widgets, making it easy to check your car’s charge percentage at a glance.

Apple turned Jetsons-style video calling into reality with FaceTime. Now the company sees personal robotics as an area worth exploration, reports Mark Gurman for Bloomberg. Is Rosey the Robot the next Jetsonian technology to become a reality?

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Don’t throw your phone out of the window. Whatsapp, Instagram, and other Meta services are facing an outage of some kind for lots of users.

Four years ago, I was wowed by the experience that Pocket Rocket provided on the iPhone and iPad. The ARKit-powered rocket visualizer app excelled at bringing augmented reality rockets to life in your environment. Fast-forward to now and Pocket Rocket has officially taken off on Apple Vision Pro.

Wednesday’s best deals have AirPods 2 marked down to the best price of the year at $89 to go alongside Apple’s new HomePod 2, which starts from $250. Plus, you might as well try out Apple’s FineWoven MagSafe wallet at just $32. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

Apple is sending an email to Apple Card users today informing them of a “system error” that occurred on Monday. According to the email, this led to some Apple Card users erroneously being told they weren’t enrolled in Scheduled Payments.

iPhone 16 Pro rumors continue to fly by, and the latest involves a change to the back glass. According to a Weibo post (via ShrimpApplePro), Apple may be bringing the custom dual ion-exchange glass process to this fall’s premium model.

Spotify is cranking up the volume, err, subscription price, for the second time in a year. Whether it’s to cover the increased cost of licensing music or to fund future complaints against Apple, Spotify will start charging subscribers $1 to $2 more per month, depending on their plan.

Sponsored by Kolide: If a device isn’t secure, it can’t access your apps. It’s device trust for Okta. Visit kolide.com/appleatwork to learn more and watch a demo.

Two things are being discussed by every CIO, CEO, and board in 2024: security threats and the impact of AI. Today, companies are caught between a rock and a hard place, grappling with the need to safeguard their operations without hampering their ability to get things done and stay ahead of the competition. This clash between security measures and the pursuit of productivity is nothing new. Still, it’s become more pressing than ever, thanks to increased cyber threats and the rapid growth of generative AI.

The biggest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years has killed at least four people, with TSMC plants evacuated as a safety precaution.

Apple’s chipmaker is still assessing the impact on production; even the slightest vibration can result in entire batches of chips being destroyed …

We’ve already seen at least two examples of a Vision Pro headset assisting with surgery, and another first has now been notched up in Florida.

Vision Pro was used to provide “touch-free access to the surgical setup, inventory, and procedural guides from within the sterile field of the operating room” during a shoulder replacement – specifically, a reverse one …

Installing a third-party app store is now possible for iPhone owners in the EU – but it’s not exactly a quick-and-easy process.

It seems a safe bet that this is a deliberate move on Apple’s part to deter people from doing it – something which is likely to land the company in court on antitrust charges …

Green energy pioneer BLUETTI has a brand new portable solution that’s ready to power your adventures on land, water, and anything in between. Here’s what you get with the mobile, yet powerful new weatherproof BLUETTI AC240. Plus 9to5Mac readers can get an extra $100 off the already generous early bird launch pricing.