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Apple reportedly broke the law by ignoring US sanctions on apps

Apple reportedly broke the law by ignoring US sanctions on apps | App Store icon overlaid on a Russian flag

Apple has been accused of breaking the law by failing to comply with US sanctions after the App Store was found to have contain dozens of apps from sanctioned companies. The same was true of Google, though at a smaller scale.

The banned apps were identified by the Tech Transparency Project, which says it demonstrates that Apple failed to live up to its promises that the App Store represents a safe and trusted source …

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Apple may have accidentally made it almost impossible for governments to ban iMessage

Apple may have accidentally made it impossible for governments to ban iMessage | Image shows iMessage bubbles floating in space

Authoritarian governments don’t like their citizens being able to have private conversations using end-to-end encrypted messaging apps. This is the reason Russia has just banned FaceTime, but it was surprising iMessage had escaped a ban.

A potential reason for this has now been discovered: Apple may have accidentally made it almost impossible for a government to ban its end-to-end encrypted text messaging app …

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EU says easier iPhone-Android switching is proof the DMA is working

Yesterday, Apple and Google announced that they have teamed up to make it easier to switch between Android and iPhone devices. The companies say they have developed new features that make it easier and faster to move data between each platform as part of this joint collaboration.

In a new statement to 9to5Mac, a European Commission spokesperson says this is an “example of how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) brings benefits to users and developers.”

While the European Commission is taking credit for this Apple-Google collaboration, the features will be available worldwide, not just in the European Union.

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Hands-on: Sonnet RackMac mini – up to three Mac minis in a single enclosure [Video]

In macOS 26.2, which will be released soon, Apple is introducing a new low-latency feature that lets you cluster several Macs together using Thunderbolt 5 at up to 80Gb/s. Among other potential use-cases, this feature may prove to be handy for AI developers and researchers looking to run massive local models by pooling together device resources.

This clustering capability won’t just be limited to high end machines like the Mac Studio, but will work with any Thunderbolt 5-enabled Mac, including the M4 Pro Mac mini. It’s perfect timing, because I just went hands-on with Sonnet’s new rack mount solution for the M4-era Mac mini, aptly titled RackMac mini.

The RackMac mini lets users mount up to three Mac mini machines in a standard 19-inch rack footprint, and features a handful of intelligent design decisions – like front power buttons – that make managing multiple machines easy. Watch our hands-on video as we take a closer look, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more.

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Review: GAMEBABY case gives your iPhone real buttons & turns it into a retro handheld console

Back in the day, I remember needing to jailbreak my iPhone to access apps like GBA4iOS and play my classic Game Boy Color games. But last year, Apple finally opened up the App Store and allowed developers to release emulators. It was easily one of the best things Apple could have done. I immediately downloaded Delta and started running through all my old Pokémon games. And while Delta’s haptics and software button layouts are great, nothing beats clicking real, physical buttons. That’s why the GAMEBABY case caught my eye. I reviewed the original version last year and loved it, so when the new model arrived for the iPhone 17 series, I had to test it again. Here’s what you need to know.

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Deals: 512GB Mac mini $130 off, Apple Sport Loop $34, Magic Mouse, AirPods live again, more

Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is carrying over the return low on AirPods Pro 3 while also highlighting the return of AirPods 4 with ANC live again at $99. From there, we also spotted the 512GB M4 Mac mini back down at the Black Friday price this morning at nearly $130 off to join the base model at $479. A rare deal hit Apple’s 2025 Sport Loop today to deliver a new $34 all-time low while just about all black and natural Apple Watch Ultra 2 models are now $250 off. All of that, a rare deal on Magic Mouse (USB-C), and the ongoing all-time lows on Apple Watch Series 11 from $299 await below. 

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9to5Mac Daily: December 9, 2025 – Fitness+ expansion, Apple and Google team up

9to5mac daily podcast

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.

Sponsored by Backblaze: Give yourself the gift of peace of mind. Till the end of the month, 9to5Mac listeners get 30% off with code 9to5Xmas. 

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iFixit launches FixBot AI repair helper, with free and paid versions

iFixit launches FixBot AI repair helper, with free and paid versions | App seen on an iPhone along with an instructional photo of the iPhone 15

iFixit has launched a new AI repair assistant known as FixBot. The company says Fixbot will make it faster and easier than ever before to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it.

There are both free and paid options, although the feature list suggests that the free option is very limited. The subscription tier is free for a limited time …

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