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Benjamin and Chance discuss why Apple is so keen on ditching Qualcomm and using its own modems in the iPhone, why the natural progression for the Apple Watch Ultra is satellite connectivity and get excited over rumors that the upcoming OLED MacBook Pro will replace the notch with a hole-punch cutout screen design. Also, Apple is rumored to be partnering with Sony to bring VR controller support to Vision Pro.

And in Happy Hour Plus, iOS 18.2 has a lot of cool non-AI features to highlight as Apple’s latest operating system updates finally roll out to the public. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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OpenAI has unveiled two new ChatGPT features today as part of its 12 days of OpenAI campaign. Notably, ChatGPT is learning how to include video input and screen sharing in voice conversation. And while the firm is feeling festive, there’s a fun new Santa mode arriving just in time for the holidays.

Apple is reportedly preparing to take another significant step in its silicon independence journey, according to Mark Gurman reporting for Bloomberg. The shift is expected to first appear in refreshed Apple TV and HomePod mini hardware as soon as the upcoming year.

Aside from the $3500 starting price, there’s one common complaint about Apple Vision Pro that most customers experience. Apple has worked with an unlikely partner to provide a solution that the Cupertino firm will sell directly.

Samsung has a new headset coming, powered by Android XR, and it looks an awful lot like an Apple Vision Pro clone. While the existence of another Samsung product that takes inspiration from Apple might upset some users, I think it could be really great news for Vision Pro owners.

iOS 18.2 has arrived, bringing a redesigned Mail app, Photos app fixes, and more. Some of the biggest changes, though, are with new AI features. And for the first time, Apple Intelligence now offers native language support in five places outside the US.

If you’ve ever wondered whether security cameras and alarms are effective at deterring burglars, the answer is yes – and that comes from a very reliable source: burglars.

KGW-TV asked 86 inmates convicted of burglary what would make them more likely to rob a home, and which things would deter them …

Sentiment analysis on social media suggests that certain emoji and internet acronyms are now falling out of favor, either being used less frequently, or attracting negative comments.

Top of the list is the enraged pouting face, aka 😡, while RIP is the most disliked acronym …

Does your state support Apple Wallet’s digital state ID or driver’s license feature yet? As of today, there are 10 locations that officially let iPhone users digitize their ID or license in the Wallet app.

iOS 18 has brought a uniquely staggered rollout of new features, with packed 18.1 and 18.2 releases so far. According to Mark Gurman, that has created some unexpected delays to iOS 19’s development.

Apple last month announced a new Share Item Location feature for helping to track AirTags and Apple devices, and said at the time that it would be partnering with more than 15 airlines. Those airlines would accept links from passengers tracking mislaid baggage.

United Airlines has now shown how it will integrate the feature into its mobile app, enabling customers to easily add the links …

Long before the iPhone 16 launch, there were suggestions that it would have a side-by-side camera layout to better support spatial video across all three lenses. That of course didn’t happen, but a leaker with a decent track record now suggests this layout will be introduced with the iPhone 17 Pro.

Google’s Pixel 9 Pro has already adopted this horizontal camera bar format, and the leaker suggests that “many” Android smartphones will follow suit …

There’s currently very little reason to buy a Mac Pro over a Mac Studio configured with the M2 Ultra chip. That’s because Apple reportedly canceled plans for an M2 Extreme chip for the top-of-the-line Mac.

A new report suggests that history may be about to repeat itself, and that a planned Extreme chip for a future Mac Pro model may also now be in doubt. In the worst case, that could be no true new Mac Pro for years to come …

Welcome to the 2024 9to5Mac Holiday Deal Hub. We have once again secured readers a load of exclusive deals on some of our favorite Apple gear accessory brands ahead of the holidays. Whether you’re looking to get a new leather or stainless steel Apple Watch band under the tree, some of the best iPhone 16 cases you’ll find anywhere, a gorgeous leather MacBook cover for all of the latest releases, or even some EDC upgrades, there’s something for just about everyone here. We are also featuring some sweet home entertainment gear and accoutrements to upgrade your home office as well – this hub will be updated regularly leading up to the big day come month’s end so be sure to check back as we do have some timed exclusive sale events starting later this week as well.

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From now through December 31, save 20% on all 9to5Mac Daily Plus, 9to5Mac Happy Hour Plus, and 9to5Mac Pro annual subscriptions with promo code HOLIDAY! Visit 9to5mac.com/join to sign up.

OpenAI has acknowledged that its popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, is currently experiencing an outage, making the platform inaccessible to users all over the world. This issue has also impacted the integration with Siri following the public release of iOS 18.2 on Wednesday.

As we recently reported, Apple released a second RC build of iOS 18.2 to developers and beta testers before releasing the update to everyone earlier today. Although the RC build is often the same as the one that becomes available to the public, this time beta users have another update to install on their devices.

Apple on Wednesday released iOS 18.2 to the public, and the update brings many more Apple Intelligence features to iPhone and iPad, including Image Playground, Genmoji and ChatGPT integrated into Siri. Genmoji is undoubtedly one of the most fun features of the update, and Apple is already promoting it in a new iPhone 16 ad.

Microsoft this week released an update to the Teams app for iPad that adds an important new feature. With the new version, Microsoft Teams users on iPadOS can now connect and use external webcams rather than the iPad’s built-in camera.

iOS 18.2 is now available to everyone, and the update is headlined by major new Apple Intelligence features.

While those Apple Intelligence features are garnering most of the attention, there are other notable features now available on your iPhone.