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Level has long been known for its unique “invisible” design philosophy, creating smart home locks that blend seamlessly into your home while delivering robust security with deep Apple integration on the software side. Today, Level announced the new Level Lock+ with Matter. This updated model introduces support for Apple Home Key, Bluetooth compatibility, and Matter support in a single product, making it compatible with HomeKit, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Samsung SmartThings. If you’re an existing Level Lock+ customer, read on for details on how to get the limited-time free Matter firmware upgrade.

The next wave of Apple Intelligence is almost here, bringing some of the most highly anticipated new capabilities. But two such features, Genmoji and Image Playground, come with some key guardrails in iOS 18.2 you should know about.

We’re still awaiting that wacky pack of emoji characters previewed in May. And we probably won’t actually see the shovel and exhausted face appear next to the fingerprint and purple splat until iOS 18.4 next spring. But still, who doesn’t love a new glimpse at proposed emoji characters — even if they’re part of the 2025/2026 set?

Benjamin and Chance debate the curious report from Bloomberg about what the upcoming Apple smart display will look like, and how it will work. Ming-Chi Kuo also says Apple is working on a new smart home camera. iOS 18.2 beta 3 changes the narrative about the Camera Control, and the rumored ‘iPhone 17 Slim’ may not be so slim after all.

And in Happy Hour Plus, Benjamin talks about getting a car for the first time … and an iPhone 16 Plus. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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OpenAI launched a native ChatGPT app for macOS earlier this year, which makes it easier for Mac users to interact with the company’s AI chatbot. Now OpenAI is releasing a huge update to ChatGPT on Mac, which adds integration with third-party apps.

Today Apple released a new immersive music experience from The Weeknd for Vision Pro users. Alongside that release, the company announced the release date for its next immersive video, and it’s right around the corner.

Mythic Quest is one of the best and longest-running comedies Apple TV+ offers, and new episodes are coming very soon—followed by a new anthology series. Here’s when you can expect Mythic Quest season 4 and more to drop.

It seems as though the launch and reception of the new M4 Mac mini has been a hit. The combination of sheer power, the tiny size, and, most importantly, the price point is something we really have not seen before. For under $550, on Amazon, its something that just cannot be overlooked. But the new form factor has people drooling at the idea of using the Mac mini as a portable computing solution. So the next question is, can you use your iPad as a mobile display for a Mac mini mobile setup? The answer is yes, and there are two ways to do it!

There’s a new Apple Store opening later this month in Madrid, and Apple has shared a fun new wallpaper for iPhone, iPad, and Mac that you can download to mark the occasion.

Back in 2020, Apple admitted that some AirPods Pro units suffered from both crackling sounds, and faults in the Active Noise Cancellation feature. The company launched a recall program which allowed customers to return their AirPods and have them replaced.

Apple said that only models made before October 2020 were affected, but a new AirPods Pro lawsuit claims this isn’t true – and says the company’s own actions confirm this …

Some six years after virtual private network company NordVPN started searching data breaches for the most-used passwords, things are every bit as bad as when the company started.

Each year, the company searches the dark web for passwords stolen by malware or exposed in security breaches to determine the most commonly-used passwords, and this year’s crop is as depressing as ever …

Snapchat is rolling out a new feature which will work in a similar way to Apple’s Find My app, but will be limited to family members.

Parents will be able to request the location of the teens, and vice-versa, with some automated location reporting also available …

TSMC’s Arizona plants will enable Apple chips for older devices to be made in the US for the first time, but things haven’t exactly been going to plan.

The latest development is that a group of the company’s US workers have filed a lawsuit accusing the Taiwanese company of ‘anti-American discrimination’ …

Earlier this week Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that we’ll see an Apple smart home camera in 2026, with the company confident it will prove to be a popular accessory, selling in the tens of millions per year.

Given Apple’s habit of minimizing the number of products it makes, if the report is accurate the company must feel there’s good reason to enter a crowded product category, and I think an Apple camera will likely differentiate itself in two ways: privacy, and Apple Intelligence …

UK consumer rights group Which? is leading a lawsuit against Apple, targeting Apple’s dominance over cloud services on iPhone and iPad. Essentially, it argues that Apple forces iOS device users to buy iCloud storage as it does not allow other cloud services to integrate deeply with the system for data backup. Apple said it “rejects any suggestion that … iCloud practices are anticompetitive”.

The class action is looking for damages of about £70 per individual, although this figure could change dramatically once the case goes to trial, or a settlement is reached. The case could also be thrown out entirely. Details of the suit can be found at cloudclaim.co.uk.

Following the release of updates for Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro, Apple has also updated its Final Cut Camera app for iPhone. With the new version of the app, users can finally capture Log videos using the HEVC codec, as well as preview Log videos with the Apple Log LUT and more. Read on as we detail what’s new in Final Cut Camera.

As expected, Apple today took the wraps off the next big version of Final Cut Pro, and it comes with a whole host of new features that will surely make video editors happy. Included in Final Cut Pro 11 is support for spatial video editing, transcribe to captions, magnetic mask, and more.

It’s noteworthy that Final Cut Pro 11 is the first release that isn’t a 10.x release since Apple dropped the ‘X’ from its name back in 2020. Apple also released an update to Final Cut Pro for iPad, version 2.1, and an update for Final Cut Camera. These updates come hot on the heels of Logic Pro 11.1, which also released today, and features several significant enhancements for pro creatives.

Apple on Wednesday released a major update to Logic Pro, its professional audio workstation software. Both Mac and iPad versions of Logic Pro are getting multiple new features, including a Quantec Room Simulator and improvements to Sound Browser on iPadOS. Read on as we detail everything that’s new with the latest Logic Pro update.

Oura’s smart ring has led many to wonder if Apple would ever create its own competing ring product. Oura’s CEO apparently doesn’t think so, and his reasons include some clear bait for the tech giant.

Apple promotes many apps through the App Store, which has its own editorial board to choose the best apps and highlight them for users. However, there wasn’t much transparency about how Apple chooses these apps, but that’s changing now as developers finally can apply to be featured on the App Store.