Benjamin and Chance analyze the latest round of Apple’s changes to appease the EU, get hyped for the impending 2024 iPad Pro features, and news that Apple is testing an AI platform for advertising.

Apple Arcade is the topic in Happy Hour Plus, as we discuss how the service stacks up today compared to how it was presented in 2019.

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Apple has acquired DarwinAI, an artificial intelligence startup focused on making AI systems smaller and faster, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Apple has added dozens of DarwinAI employees to its own AI team following the acquisition earlier this year.

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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The upcoming Apple TV+ movie “Palm Royale” is set to debut on March 20. Ahead of the release, Apple Pay has a new promotion for early access to the “The Palm Royale Collection” at Anthropologie.

The very first discount on one of our favorite smart speakers around is here to headline today’s best deals. Complete with AirPlay 2, the new Sonos Move 2 portable speaker drops to $359 and comes joined by chances to save on Apple’s new 13- and 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs. Or you could just go with a deep discount on Apple’s original 24-inch M1 iMac, which starts from $850.

Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

After starting with a beta at the end of 2023, Proton has officially launched its desktop app for Mac and Windows. The software was designed to offer a fast, focused, and secure native experience.

Along with the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro comes an interesting addition to the status bar – a silence mode icon next to the time. Fortunately, Apple has included a way to hide silent bell icon on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, here’s how.

Yesterday, the US House of Representatives swiftly voted on a bill that would force TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or risk being banned in the US. In light of the bill moving onto the Senate, TikTok CEO Shou Chew has tapped into the app’s 170 million users, telling them to protect their constitutional rights and let their voices be heard.

You won’t need an MLS Season Pass subscription to watch soccer this weekend. Apple has announced that all matches on March 16 and March 17 will be available to watch for free on the Apple TV app.

Usually, Apple has a couple free games each weekend for non-subscribers, but making the whole weekend free is not the norm. An active subscription to MLS Season Pass (available monthly or $99 per season) is usually needed to tune in to all MLS games with no blackouts or geographic restrictions.

The Apple Sports app has received its first update since launching last month. With version 1.1 of the app rolling out today, Apple has made optimizations for NCAA March Madness, added support for Major League Baseball, and more.

ExpressVPN has been making impressive moves in the hardware space since the introduction of the Aircove router in 2022. Today, the popular virtual private network provider is expanding its lineup by launching its first portable Wi-Fi 6 router with built-in VPN protection. Meet Aircove Go.

Apple Vision Pro still lacks many of the apps that iOS and macOS users are already familiar with, and some big developers have already said they have no interest in bringing their apps to Vision Pro for now. However, one app that is coming to visionOS is the popular VLC media player – at least according to VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf.

Apple Vision Pro is currently available exclusively in the US. Although Apple has already said that the headset will come to more countries by the end of 2024, there are no details about which countries Apple has in mind to launch Vision Pro next. However, visionOS code gives us a hint of what to expect for the product’s international expansion.

I’m a huge fan of Apple’s new MacBook lineup, but there is one problem for creative professionals – we need more ports! For my at-home workstation, I use a ton of devices, including multiple monitors, video editing peripherals, speakers, and a number of other accessories – and to turn all of this chaos into one sleek and organized workspace, the iVANKY FusionDock Max 1 is the absolute best solution I’ve found. Packed with 20 ports, it comes with two Thunderbolt 4 chips and is the first and only docking station that lets you set up four monitors at a time.

Apple recently released macOS Sonoma 14.4, which introduces some new features as well as security patches. However, the latest update to the Mac operating system has also been causing issues for some users. More specifically, macOS 14.4 seems to break USB hub support for some external monitors.

Apple Pay Later officially started rolling out a year ago. The feature gives users a way to easily split in-app and online Apple Pay purchases into four equal payments across six weeks, with no fees or interest.

While Apple Pay Later has broadly been available at a lot of retailers since last year, Stripe this week announced that Apple Pay Later is now enabled by default for all merchants who accept Apple Pay.

Over the weekend, early testing revealed that the new base model M3 MacBook Air features significantly faster SSD speeds. This is thanks to Apple’s switch from using one 256GB storage chip to two 128GB storage chips.

Today, a new teardown from iFixit offers our first look inside the M3 MacBook Air, further confirming the switch to two 128GB storage modules.

Last month we got a report from CIRP revealing what share of US iPhone buyers comes from Android. Now the firm is back with a report showing the percentage of new Mac buyers coming from a PC, Chromebook, etc.

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.

Introducing 9to5Mac Daily Plus! Support Chance directly with 9to5Mac Daily Plus and unlock: 

• Ad-free versions of every episode
• Monthly bonus episodes 

Join for $5 per month or $50 a year at 9to5mac.com/join. 

Sponsored by Anker: Overhaul your charging setup with the 3-in-1 Anker Cube with MagSafe. With a clever foldable design, charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods with one cable. Save 10% today. 

Even though Apple just reinstated Epic’s developer account in the European Union, there’s a lot more drama to come. In January, Apple announced changes to the App Store in the United States to give developers the option to link to alternative payment methods outside the App Store.

Epic is unhappy with Apple’s changes, which allow it to link to alternative payment options – but with a catch.

Apple today announced that it is expanding its Restore Fund, a project that it first launched in 2021 with a $200 million investment. Through the Restore Fund, Apple backs new financially-viable initiatives to restore forest woodland areas, which removes carbon from the atmosphere. 

In an update today, Apple said that it is welcoming its partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Murata Manufacturing as new investors in the Restore Fund.

All of today’s best deals are now live for Wednesday. We’ve rounded up price cuts on iPhone 14 Pro starting at $719, as well as even deeper deals on stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9 styles at $239 off. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

As expected, a bill that could ultimately ban TikTok in the United States has officially passed the House. The bill, titled as the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” cleared voting on Wednesday, securing 352 votes in favor versus 65 votes against.

Now, the legislation is set to move to the Senate, where its fate is less clear.