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Apple is launching a brand new Home product in the coming year. I’ve been calling it ‘HomePad,’ and these are five of the core features it will bring with it.

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Going on 20 years now, Kantar has released its BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands report, which combines financial data with consumer perception metrics to find the world’s 100 most valuable brands.

In a year in which the total value of the Top 100 reached an all-time high of $10.7 trillion (a 29% jump from last year), Apple has once again led the pack.

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This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: iPhone 20th anniversary model, iOS 19 features, 2027 “product renaissance,” and more. Here are this week’s Apple rumors.

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After a tough period of laying staff down and hiking prices up following its acquisition by Bending Spoons, Evernote has finally been getting some cool features.

Recently, the platform got multimodal AI transcription support, and it’s actually pretty good.

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Apple TV+ has had several hit shows so far this year, but there’s a lot more on the way. It’s still early, so Apple likely has more announcements planned for summer TV+ releases. But with the summer movie season in full swing and schools starting to let out, here’s an early look at what Apple TV+ has planned for the months ahead.

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Benjamin and Chance react to all the new accessibility features Apple previewed for iOS 19, like Magnifier and vehicle motion cues for Mac. This week also saw the surprise debut of next-gen CarPlay, now called CarPlay Ultra, arriving first in partnership with Aston Martin. We’ve also got some more rumors about some software features to expect at WWDC. 

And in Happy Hour Plus, HBO corrects the Max branding mess. Should Apple follow suit? Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Rumors have long indicated new AirPods Pro were in the works, with a fall launch expected. But now, a leak from Apple’s own software has brought the first official hint that AirPods Pro 3 are coming soon.

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Last year Apple launched Music Haptics in iOS 18, letting users experience Apple Music songs through haptic taps and vibrations. Ahead of upgrades to the feature in iOS 19, today the company shared a new video spotlighting Music Haptics.

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Apple’s long-brewing next generation of CarPlay is finally here. CarPlay Ultra officially launched this morning. And while anyone not driving an Aston Martin may be disappointed, Apple’s announcement actually brought good news for all CarPlay users.

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Later this month, Vision Pro’s first ever feature-length Immersive Film premieres. In a new interview, the subject of that film, Bono, has shared about his experience on the project and Apple’s ambitions with Vision Pro, the product’s struggles being affordable, and more.

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It’s taken a very long time, and it’s so far only being offered by a single, niche car-maker, but next-gen CarPlay – which Apple has branded CarPlay Ultra – is finally here.

It’s currently limited to Aston Martin, and is available with new orders, alongside a software update being made available to owners of existing (recent) models …

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Next year’s iPhone Fold will introduce an entirely new form factor to the iPhone lineup. One of its design features, though, will reportedly follow the pattern of new 18 Pro models launching at the same time.

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As I mentioned recently, SmartGym has become one of my favorite apps.

Anyone who uses it as a workout companion can easily see why it was named Apple Watch App of the Year in 2023, chosen as a finalist for the Apple Design Awards, and recently featured by Apple as one of the best apps optimized for iOS 18.

Now, the app just got even better, with its biggest update yet.

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A Coinbase hack has seen some customers tricked into sending funds to the attackers, with the company estimating that they suffered losses of somewhere between $180M and $400M.

The attackers also stole personal data, after Coinbase refused to pay a ransom demand – instead reporting the hack to law enforcement, and offering a $20M reward for information on the perpetrators …

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After months of delays, Apple officially announced the launch of next-gen CarPlay, now with a new brand name of ‘CarPlay Ultra’. From today, CarPlay Ultra is available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the United States and Canada, and a software update will also bring the technology to existing vehicles. Apple also said Hyundai, Kia and Genesis are working on adding CarPlay Ultra to their cars, but did not disclose a timeframe.

CarPlay Ultra integrates vehicle controls with the CarPlay experience, including taking over display of the instrument cluster and gauges, toggles for air conditioning and driver assistance systems, advanced media controls and more.

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Data brokers may be banned from selling your personal data without legitimate justification, under a new proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Back in the summer it was revealed that one of these brokers was hacked, resulting in the compromise of personal data for every person in the US, UK, and Canada.

Update: With the CFPB being neutered by the Trump administration, plans for this protection have been killed. Original post follows …

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Back in February, we saw beta-testing of an Apple Music tool to import playlists from Spotify and other music services. An updated Apple support document suggests that this is now rolling out as a live feature.

Apple says you can import both your music library and playlists into Apple Music, using your iPhone, iPad, Android device, or a web interface …

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Update:

This message has been live in the App Store since the beginning of Apple’s DMA compliance efforts in March 2024.

In August 2024, Apple announced multiple changes to its compliance plan – including a change to the disclosure message that appears in the App Store for apps that do not use Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Apple proposed updating the disclosure to read:

Transactions in this app are supported by the developer and not Apple.

Learn more

The proposal also changed the design of the disclosure message, replacing the bright red “!” icon with a less aggressive gray “i” icon, as you can see below.

Apple tells 9to5Mac it was ready to implement the changes and that the EU took no issue with the updated disclosure sheet. According to Apple, however, the EU requested the company not implement the changes at that time and never followed up with further guidance. It then fined Apple $500 million for noncompliance last month.

Apple’s comments today align with a report from Politico last week, which said Apple tried addressing the EU’s concerns last summer but was stonewalled.

Here’s the updated disclosure sheet proposed by Apple:

Original story below.

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In comments to press this morning, President Donald Trump said he has an issue with Apple’s handling of the tariff policy in regard to iPhone production.

Trump wants Apple to build iPhones domestically in the United States, but has clearly seen the recent news that Apple will source most of the iPhones sold in the US quarter from India, rather than China. “I don’t want you building in India”, he said …

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