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Apple News+ is once again expanding its collection of puzzles. With the release of iOS 18.2 beta 1, Apple News+ now offers daily sudoku puzzles across easy, moderate, and challenging difficulty levels. You can also track your sudoku performance right in the Apple News app.

The ideal HomeKit accessories run themselves. Turning off and on lights from an app is a nice feature, but it’s a similar level of effort to using a light switch. The real magic is when you can “set it and forget it.” The THIRDREALITY Smart Color Night Light is the perfect example of this reality when you need a night light for a kid’s room or to light up a hallway/stairwell at night. Once installed, you can turn on an automation and never think about it again.

A new report from Bloomberg today details that Apple quietly tested an app this year designed to “help people with prediabetes manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes.”

The test comes as Apple continues its work on a noninvasive glucose tracker, a long-running moonshot project that dates back to the Steve Jobs era.

Apple has confirmed that it has an “exciting week” of Mac announcements planned starting on Monday. We’re expecting updates to the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini – alongside the launch of the first Apple Intelligence features.

Here’s everything you need to know about next week.

The iOS 18.2 beta comes with the redesigned Mail app and automatic smart categorization. But what if you want to just see your full list of emails or reorganize how they’re being labeled? Here’s how to see all mail on iPhone and recategorize messages manually with the redesigned Mail app.

Apple TV+ is having a moment. Not necessarily by getting more subscribers or hitting new levels of brand awareness. Those measures can be hard to judge. But TV+ is undoubtedly in the middle of a hot streak with acclaimed shows. Even more impressively, that streak looks set to continue with the strong lineup that’s coming.

Apple may be pitching Apple Intelligence as a key reason to upgrade to the iPhone 16, but it seems that most smartphone buyers are far more interested in the basics – like battery life.

A survey found that only a relatively small minority of consumers are currently using AI features on their smartphones, and it doesn’t yet seem to be a purchase driver …

With the release of iOS 16 in 2022, Apple removed the volume slider from the iPhone Lock Screen except while using AirPlay. In iOS 18.2, however, Apple has decided to bring back that capability with a new “Always Show Volume Control” option in the Settings app.

Apple marketing VP Greg Joswiak yesterday revealed that we can expect an exciting week of Mac announcements, starting on Monday morning.

The tweet also effectively confirmed that there will be no Mac event, just press releases and small-scale briefings for select media reps and creators …

A UnitedHealth hack exposed the personal information and health data of more than 100M Americans – the first time the company has put a specific number on the security breach.

A ransomware attack was made on Change Healthcare back in February, but it was only yesterday that the company revealed its “unprecedented magnitude” …

In most cases, you’d expect a shiny new Apple device to be worth less than you paid as soon as you walk out of the store, at least once you’re past the 14-day return period. You’d also expect companies buying in bulk to pay significantly less than retail.

But one of the biggest resellers in the business tells us that neither of these things is true, and that it is currently selling bulk lots of the iPhone 16 for above retail …

Apple recently announced a new generation of the iPad mini, which features the faster A17 Pro chip inside with support for Apple Intelligence. There are exclusive wallpapers available for these iPads, but you can download them for any device here.

After teasing a native app for macOS last month, Perplexity AI on Thursday officially launched a version of its app for the Mac. Users can now interact with the platform more easily without having to rely on the web version.

Even before releasing iOS 18.1 to the public, Apple has released the first developer beta of iOS 18.2, which includes many new Apple Intelligence features. One of the new features is the long-awaited integration with ChatGPT, and thanks to this, you can now ask Siri for details about what you’re seeing on your device’s screen.

iOS 18.1 is almost here. When it arrives, it will bring the first set of Apple Intelligence capabilities. Here’s the full list of AI features coming to your iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 18.1 and more.

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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Apple has just released new firmware for AirPods Pro 2 ahead of iOS 18.1’s launch next week. This firmware update brings support for the powerful new health features: Hearing Test, Hearing Aid, and Hearing Protection.

Apple is planning a host of M4 Mac announcements for next week, but one model that won’t be included is the MacBook Air. However, a new report indicates we shouldn’t have to wait long for Apple’s most popular Mac to get updated, or the new iPhone that’s expected shortly afterwards.

Ahead of the release of iOS 18.1 to the public next week, Apple today released a major update to TestFlight. The new version comes with a new design and new features that were teased at WWDC 2024 in June. Read on as we detail everything that’s new with the TestFlight update.

Benjamin and Chance discuss all the new Apple Intelligence features available in the first iOS 18.2 beta, including Genmoji, Image Playground, and ChatGPT integration. Also, the new iPad mini receives mixed reviews and there are signs Apple is planning a dedicated Games app for iOS. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance fills Mayo in on his failed iPhone 15 trade-in horror story. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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When it announced Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June, Apple also detailed its new Private Cloud Compute platform. At the time, Apple said it would allow independent experts to verify its claims around security and privacy.

Ahead of the Apple Intelligence launch next week, Apple is making good on this promise.

Apple has released the macOS Sequoia 15.1 RC to both developers and public beta users. This marks the final expected beta before next week’s public launch. Here’s what to expect.

Update 10/24/24: Apple has released a second RC version of macOS 15.1. It includes the build number 24B83.