9to5Mac

A lot of excitement has surrounded this fall’s brand new iPhone 17 Air model. But per findings from a just-published survey of 3,500 current iPhone users, the device could prove a tougher sell for Apple than many of us might expect.

In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple firmly rebuked the EU decision announced today about specific interoperability requirements the company must implement over the coming months.

Apple said “Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules. It’s bad for our products and for our European users. We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users”.

Update: Apple has responded to the EU’s announcement with a statement provided to 9to5Mac, that strongly opposes the decision.

The EU has followed up on its Digital Markets Act specification procedures for Apple regarding the iPhone’s interoperability with third-party connected devices like smartwatches and headphones, as announced last fall.

Today’s announcement details exactly what third-party integrations the EU commission expects Apple to implement. This includes giving third-party devices access to iOS notifications, as well as way for companies to make like-for-like competitors to AirDrop file sharing, AirPlay streaming, and much more.

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Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup will introduce one major new model: the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. Thanks to this new option, and some changes to the 17 Pro line, the company could finally please two very different kinds of users.

I last year described the touchscreen Mac as “the idea that will not die.” No matter how many times Apple says it won’t make one, we see continued suggestions that it will, or should.

To be clear, Apple absolutely has made prototypes of touchscreen Macs. The first of these dates back to at least 2008, and probably earlier …

Growth in US Mac shipments hit more than 25% in the final quarter of last year, outperforming that of all PC makers. Only Acer came close with 20% growth, while market leaders HP and Dell both saw their shipments decline year-on-year.

A market intelligence company has suggested a key factor may be Microsoft forcing businesses to replace millions of existing PCs …

The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be the slimmest iPhone Apple has ever made, and a report over the weekend suggested that the company even considered making it the first portless phone. It said the iPhone maker ultimately decided against this, in part because it feared removing the USB-C port would have brought it into conflict with the EU.

However, I’ve had confirmation from the bloc that dropping the USB-C port for a completely portless phone would in fact be completely legal …

Just a week after releasing iOS 18.3.2 to the public, Apple has now stopped signing iOS 18.3.1. For iPhone and iPad users, this means that they can no longer downgrade to this version of the software if their device is already running a newer version.

Following the expansion of Tap to Pay on iPhone to multiple more countries this morning, Apple has now officially launched Apple Pay in Puerto Rico, bringing support for cards issued by local banks.

Gentler Streak, the Apple Design Awards-winning fitness and wellness app, is getting another update – this time to make the app even easier and more intuitive to use. After adding new Home Screen widgets with health metrics, Gentler Streak is now introducing a new For You tab that combines the user’s Streak with health information from the wellness section.

AirTags aren’t designed to prevent theft, but they’ve proven to be a really useful tool. Now, the Denver Police Department has announced it will give out hundreds of AirTags as part of its ongoing efforts to prevent car thefts.

Apple Invites is a brand new app for your iPhone that just launched last month. It offers a fun way to create and share event invites with great Apple Photos and Apple Music integrations. Here are five features of the Invites app that you might have missed.

If you’re having trouble accessing Apple Music, you’re not alone. Apple says its music streaming service is currently experiencing an outage, and there’s no timeline on when things will be back up and running.

Apple offers the iPhone Upgrade Program, but with no equivalent for MacBooks, Upgraded has stepped in to fill the gap with a flexible program using trusted Apple partners.

The program lets you choose any MacBook model – and with the new M4 MacBook Air just out, this could be the perfect opportunity for anyone looking to not only upgrade from an older model but to keep themselves up to date from now on …

Foodnoms is a powerful nutrition tracking app that I’ve written about before. It’s designed to be fast and easy to use with a design that’s optimized perfectly for Apple platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.

This week, Foodnoms is getting a big update with completely revamped Shortcuts integration.

Following the release of Resident Evil 2 for Apple devices last December, Capcom has now released Resident Evil 3 on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This means that fans of the popular game can now play it on the latest Apple devices.

Adaptive Audio originally shipped for AirPods Pro 2 only, but has since expanded to AirPods 4 too. Apple built the feature to be a contender for default noise mode for users. But did you know you can customize Adaptive Audio to better suit your needs? Here’s how an iOS 18 change might help you stick with a single AirPods noise mode moving forward.

MacWhisper has been a must-have transcription tool for a while now, and the new version 12 update makes it downright essential. New customers can save 15% at checkout with the promo code listed below

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 CardPointers: The best way to maximize your credit card rewards. 9to5Mac Daily listeners can exclusively save 30% and get a $100 Savings Card. 

Apple Maps is great for navigation, but I especially love using the app to browse new areas, find a great coffee shop, and plan outings and adventures. For those use cases, iOS 18 brought a key change to search in Apple Maps that somehow has been missing for years: you can now search the specific area you’re viewing on the map. And that’s been a huge answered wish for me.

In iOS 18, Apple spun off its Keychain password management tool—previously only tucked away in Settings—into a standalone app called Passwords. It was the company’s first move at making credential management more convenient for users. It’s now been revealed that a serious HTTP bug left Passwords users vulnerable to phishing attacks for nearly three months, from the initial release of iOS 18 until the patch in iOS 18.2.