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Apple is working on several new smart home products for this year and beyond, including a home doorbell and video camera. Amid the flurry of CES smart home announcements, a common theme has emerged that points to a key reason Apple’s new products may exist in the first place.

Smart home company Aqara has announced no fewer than nine new products at this year’s consumer electronics show. Most, however, won’t be available in the US until later in the year.

These include a large touch-screen panel which performs multiple duties as a smart light switch, a controller and display for other smart home devices, a Zigbee hub, and a Matter bridge for Aqara Zigbee devices …

Last week, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged “unlawful and intentional recording” of Siri interactions.

Apple’s settlement has led to a wave of conspiracy theories claiming that Siri is listening to you for targeted advertising, but the company says those claims are completely unfounded.

We may still be mostly waiting for a smarter Siri, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman thinks the company already knows how to create the holy grail of AI: artificial general intelligence (AGI).

AGI is the term given to an AI system which can match or exceed human cognitive capabilities across a wide range of fields – in other words, AI which is at least as smart as we are …

Today at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Schlage unveiled its new Schlage Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt, marking the company’s first Ultra Wideband-enabled smart lock, complete with support for Matter-over-Thread.

Schlage has consistently been at the forefront of connected home smart locks. In March 2022, it made history as the first company to launch an NFC-assisted Apple Home Keys-enabled smart lock solution, the popular Schlage Encode Plus. Now, let’s take a closer look at the features and capabilities of the upcoming Schlage Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt.

We may be just a few days into 2025, but Apple thinks it can already tell which upcoming music artists are set to make a breakthrough this year. The company shared its predictions as the Shazam Fast Forward 2025.

Apple looked at the trending artists in the first five days of music Shazammed by users, and had its own music editors review them …

Ensuring HomeKit compatibility for smart home products is now very much easier to achieve. Apple has agreed to accept Matter certification for all new devices, without requiring additional testing before granting the Works With Apple Home badge.

Although it was always the goal that Matter support meant automatic compatibility with HomeKit, Google Home, Alexa, and Samsung Smart Things, there was previously a difference between theory and practice …

Lutron has earned a reputation for high-quality HomeKit-compatible window blinds, but with a very hefty price tag. The cost is something the company is seeking to address with the new Caséta Smart Shade.

Lutron says that you can expect the quality and performance it is known for, but at a more affordable price tag of $399 for most window sizes …

Making iPhones in India is a key element of Apple’s efforts to reduce its manufacturing dependence on China, and a new report indicates that the company may be able to cut the cost of doing so.

The Indian government is reportedly planning to offer at least $2.7B in support for local manufacturing, which could reduce iPhone production expenses in the country …

A pair of reports suggest we can expect to see three changes to the materials Apple uses in the casing of at least some iPhone 17 models.

The latest of these concerns the way that the sides of the phone blend in with the rear casing, with a smoother transition promised …

Espresso Displays, the Australian brand known for crafting high-performance portable monitors, has unveiled its latest innovation at CES 2025: the Espresso 15 Pro. This new addition to Espresso Displays’ portfolio is aimed at business professionals and frequent travelers who seek a high-quality, portable dual-screen experience.

There’s been a lot of talk about augmented reality tech lately, especially with the unveiling of Snapchat Spectacles and Meta Orion. Those are both highly expensive and unobtainable to consumers – but there is a growing market of affordable glasses, that provide some of the benefits of AR glasses at a much more palatable price tag. The RayNeo Air 2s’ are one of them, and I’ll be providing some of my thoughts.

Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

Sonuby is a different kind of weather app, designed for users who often partake in outdoor activities. For example, if you often snowboard, you can have a weather forecast that places snow conditions front and center. Weather needs can be very individualistic, which is why Sonuby allows you to tailor the app to what you care about.

With iOS 18, Apple introduced support for RCS messaging, a new protocol that enhances the texting experience between iPhone and Android users. Unlike SMS, you can see read/delivered receipts, send larger files, and have typing indicators, features that were previously missing. At first, only the big three carriers supported RCS messaging. Since then, a lot more have joined in on the fun.

With a free-for-all streaming promotion running this weekend, now is a great time to catch up on Apple TV+ content you may have missed from the past year.

Spanning new TV show seasons, limited series, movies and kids content, Apple released a total of 69 originals in 2024. Here’s a list of everything new you can stream right now …

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Ubiquiti has launched its latest Enterprise Wi-Fi 7 lineup, a series of advanced access points designed to deliver unparalleled wireless performance for enterprise environments. Featuring tri-radio Wi-Fi 7 support, these access points aim to simplify high-density connectivity.

Apple on Friday confirmed that it will release its Q1 2025 earnings report on January 30, 2025. The report will cover iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10 sales more extensively, as well as giving us a hint about sales performance during the holiday season.

Apple announced last year that the company’s CFO Luca Maestri would move to a new role in 2025. As promised, the company has now issued a report to investors making Maestri’s transition from CFO official.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined a chorus of Big Tech executives making sizeable donations to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The news comes via a scoop from Axios as we approach Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Update: As researched by Cabel Sasser, it does not appear that Tim Cook donated to President Biden’s inauguration fund in 2021.

Apple Intelligence notification summaries are, in my view, one of the early killer AI features. But they’re not without their flaws, as the BBC has continued highlighting via several new examples today. Here are the latest Apple Intelligence errors with news alerts.

Apple TV+ is kicking off a free ‘preview’ weekend. From Friday, January 3 through Sunday, January 5, the entire catalog of streaming shows and movies is available free. All you need is an Apple Account, and you can watch free from any device with an Apple TV app (including many smart TVs) or via the web. Here are 13 binge-worthy Apple TV+ shows to stream during this free weekend.

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Apple Intelligence arrived on compatible iPhones, iPads, and Macs via a staggered rollout. There were new features launched in both iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2. Now, we know exactly how much those additional features are costing in terms of iPhone storage space.